"The same," Michael said. "I have often thought of it in connection with St. Francis' Canticle to the Sun."
"It is difficult," Margaret said, "to know how far wars and empire-building, and everything that makes for worldly-ambition and encourages the vanity of monarchs, are compatible with the true meaning of the words 'God is Love,' with the true conception of Christ's doctrines."
"Which were Akhnaton's," Michael said. "He did all in his power to raise the morals of his people. He was the first king to recognize the higher rights of women, to insist on the reverence of womanhood. He brought his queen forward on every public occasion, and that had never been heard of before. He tried to introduce a new ideal of home-life. He was a model father and husband. He thought of nothing but the moral welfare of his people and of their happiness. He was willing to lose his kingdom for the saving of their souls."
"And yet he was a bad king?" Margaret said.
"He had none of the qualities of a ruler or an empire-builder," Freddy said.
"Damn empire-building!" Mike said. "If people would only stick to their own natural territory and not go straying into other peoples!"
"I wonder what you'd do if Germany strayed into ours? Sit down and let them walk over you?"
"I'd do what you'd do," Mike said, with a flash of Irish anger in his eyes—"kill every damned one of them!"
"There you are!" Freddy said hotly.
"No, I am not," Michael said, "for, as I said, what we've got, let us keep—England's possessions no more belong to Germany than my soul does. But some of our wars—well!" he laughed. "Empires are built up in rum ways, ways I don't agree with, but we won't do any good by handing them over now to feed the vanity of the Kaiser. But the Egyptians had enough land in Africa to expand in, there was no need for their warrioring in strange lands."