"I have heard something of your nobility," said Tarzan; "I understand that there are two classes of nobles, and that one class rather looks upon the other with contempt even though a man of the lower class may hold a higher title than many of those in the other class."
"We do not look upon them with contempt if they are worthy men," replied Gemnon. "The old nobility, the Lion Men of Cathne, is hereditary; the other is but temporary—for the lifetime of the man who has received it as a special mark of favor from the throne. In one respect at least it reflects greater glory on its possessor than does hereditary nobility, as it is often the deserved reward of merit. I am a noble by accident of birth; had I not been born a noble I might never have become one. I am a lion man because my father was; I may own lions because, beyond the memory of man, an ancient ancestor of mine led the king's lions to battle."
"What did Erot do to win his patent of nobility?" inquired the ape-man.
Gemnon grimaced. "Whatever services he has rendered have been personal; he has never served the state with distinction. If he owns any distinction, it is that of being the prince of flatterers, the king of sycophants."
"Your Queen seems too intelligent a woman to be duped by flattery."
"No one is, always."
"There are no sycophants among the beasts," said Tarzan.
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Gemnon. "Erot is almost a beast."
"You malign the beasts. Did you ever see a lion that fawned upon another creature to curry favor?"
"But beasts are different," argued Gemnon.