I replied, "Show mercy to the weak peasant, that you may not experience difficulty from a strong enemy. It is criminal to crush the poor and defenceless subjects with the arm of power. He liveth in dread who befriendeth not the poor; for should his foot slip, no one layeth hold of his hand. Whosoever soweth bad seed, and looketh for good fruit, tortureth his imagination in vain, making a false judgment of things. Take the cotton out of thine ear, and distribute justice to mankind; for if thou refusest justice, there will be a day of retribution. "The children of Adam are limbs of one another, and are all produced from the same substance; when the world gives pain to one member, the others also suffer uneasiness. Thou who art indifferent to the sufferings of others deservest not to be called a man." [Illustration: THE DESPOTIC AGE ISIDORE KONTI (_American sculptor, born 1862; group from the Buffalo Exposition_)] [Illustration: THE SEA OF BLOOD "COURAGE, YOUR MAJESTY, ONLY ONE STEP MORE" (_Example of Russian cartooning, published at the height of the Revolution of 1905_)] The Eloquent Peasant (Egyptian, B.C. 2000 or earlier) An interesting primitive protest against injustice is the story of the Eloquent Peasant, which was one of the most popular of ancient Egyptian tales, and is found in scores of different papyri. The story narrates how a peasant named Rensi was robbed of his asses by the henchmen of a certain grand steward. In spite of all threats the peasant persisted in appealing against the robber to the grand steward himself. The scene is described in "Social Forces and Religion in Ancient Egypt," by James Henry Breasted, as follows: