The King (aside). That voice. (Aloud.) I know--it does not concern itself with the air a patient breathes, but only with his lungs! Excellent!--All the same, Christianity ought to keep an eye on the monarchy. Ought to tear the falsehood away from it! Ought not to go in crowds to stare at a coronation in a church, like apes grinning at a peacock! I know what I felt at that moment. I had rehearsed it all once that morning already--ha, ha! Ask your Christianity if it may not be about time for it to interest itself a little in the monarchy? It seems to me that it scarcely ought any longer to allow monarchy, like a seductive harlot, to keep militarism before the people's eyes as an ideal--seeing that that is exactly contrary to the teachings of Christianity, or to encourage class divisions, luxury, hypocrisy and vanity. Monarchy has become so all-pervading a lie that it infects even the most upright of men. The Mayor. But I don't understand, your Majesty! The King. Don't you? You are an upright man yourself, Mr. Mayor--a most worthy man. The Mayor. I do not know whether your Majesty is pleased to jest again? The King. In sober earnest, I say you are one of the most upright of men. The Mayor. I cannot tell your Majesty how flattered I am to hear your Majesty say so! The King. Have you any decorations? The Mayor. Your Majesty's government has not, so far, deigned to cast their eyes on me. The King. That fault will be repaired. Be sure of that! The General (to the Mayor). To have that from his Majesty's own mouth is equivalent to seeing it gazetted. I am fortunate to be able to be the first to congratulate you! Bang. Allow me to congratulate you also! The Priest. And me too! I have had the honour of working hand in hand with you, Mr. Mayor, for many years; I know how well deserved such a distinction is. The Mayor. I feel quite overcome; but I must beg to be allowed to lay my thanks at your Majesty's feet. I trust I shall not prove unworthy of the distinction. One hesitates to make such confessions--but I am a candid man, and I admit that one of the chief aims of my ambition has been to be allowed some day to participate in-- The King (interrupting him).--in this falsehood. That just points my moral. As long as even upright men's thoughts run in that mould, Christianity cannot pretend to have any real hold on the nation. As for your decoration, you are quite sure to get one from my successor.--In a word, Christianity must tackle monarchy! And if it cannot tear the falsehood from it without destroying it, then let it destroy it! The General. Your Majesty! The King (turning to him). The same thing applies to a standing army, which is a creation of monarchy's. I do not believe that such an institution--with all its temptations to power, all its inevitable vices and habits--could be tolerated if Christianity were a living thing. Away with it! The Priest. Really, your Majesty--!