The perfect State will be one in which justice between man and man never faileth, and its operation must range from the highest to the lowest in the land. As for the great ones of the earth, the fateful consequences of their conduct is emphasised as follows: _As a roaring lion and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over a poor people_ (Pr. 28^{15})--_By justice the king establisheth the land, but he that exacteth gifts overthroweth it_ (Pr. 29^{4}); and that the latter type of monarch or official was, alas! more than an evil dream is naïvely vouched for by the existence of a most unideal, if frank, intimation that _A gift in secret pacifieth anger, and a present in the purse strong wrath_ (Pr. 21^{14}). Princes are exhorted to temperance, _“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say ‘Where is strong drink?’ lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgement of the afflicted”_ (Pr. 31^{4, 5}); to justice, and consideration of the lowly, _The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever_ (Pr. 29^{14}); to kindness and truth, _Mercy and truth preserve the king, and he upholdeth his throne by mercy_ (Pr. 20^{28}). Two other sayings are worthy of mention; one a subtle proverb, _It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings to search out a matter_ (Pr. 25^{2}); the other ominous, _The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable_ (Pr. 25^{3}). But this demand for right-dealing is extended throughout the body politic: honesty was required in the courts of law from the witness (Pr. 24^{28}) and from the judge (Pr. 17^{23}); from dealers in shop and market (Pr. 20^{23}); and generally from all men, in a saying which is a significant and ringing echo of the Prophets’ work in Israel: _To do justice and judgement is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice_ (Pr. 21^{3}).