Quote 2
Why
can’t you harness Might so that it works for Right?… The Might is
there, in the bad half of people, and you can’t neglect it.
Arthur utters these words in a speech
from Book II, Chapter 6, in which he first
articulates the philosophy that is to make him such a great ruler.
He synthesizes the lessons he has learned from Merlyn and decides
to use his new position of king to harness physical force to establish
morality. He expresses his belief that the proper function of power
is to subordinate might to right. This idea may seem simplistic
to modern readers, but White presents a medieval world in which
force is blindly equated with justice and shows that it is truly
innovative for Arthur to draw a distinction between power and justice.
Essentially, White shows that Arthur is a king worth remembering
not for his heroism or his military exploits, but because he champions
the idea of civilized society. He recognizes that all people have
a good side and a bad side and thinks his political philosophy will
allow him to harness people’s bad sides for the common good. For
example, knights who long to fight will still be able to fight,
but they will fight against those who do evil deeds rather than
fight for its own sake.
