IT was talking one night with a certain prince, one of the banishedministers of state belonging to the Czar, that the discourse of myparticular case began. He had been telling me abundance of finethings of the greatness, the magnificence, the dominions, and theabsolute power of the Emperor of the Russians: I interrupted him,and told him I was a greater and more powerful prince than ever theCzar was, though my dominion were not so large, or my people somany. The Russian grandee looked a little surprised, and, fixinghis eyes steadily upon me, began to wonder what I meant. I saidhis wonder would cease when I had explained myself, and told himthe story at large of my living in the island; and then how Imanaged both myself and the people that were under me, just as Ihave since minuted it down. They were exceedingly taken with thestory, and especially the prince, who told me, with a sigh, thatthe true greatness of life was to be masters of ourselves; that hewould not have exchanged such a state of life as mi