RING PARABLE
Over the decades of his life, Nathan has not only become extremely wise but wealthy as well. (So, there are people in Jerusalem who certainly would like to have a hand in his fortune if there were another pogrom.) Therefore, Saladin, who is low on wealth but looking for a way to offer a dowry to the family of Richard the Lionhearted to set up a marriage involving Saladin's own sister, decides to invite Nathan to his house in order to borrow capital from the famed "Nathan the Wise".
Along the way to Saladin, Nathan gets a hunch as to why the leader wishes to see him, i.e. to borrow some money, but when Nathan arrives, he is surprised at the first question which Saladin asks. Saladin asks him a question of faith and belief in order to test this famed Jew's wisdom.
Saladin asks the man, nicknamed "Nathan the Wise", which religion is the true religion: Christian, Jewish or Islam? He adds that it is too illogical or too relativist to think that they all could be correct, isn't it?
Nathan responds carefully by telling the classic "ring parable", which begins as follows:
There was a certain family who ruled a great kingdom. The family had a tradition of giving a certain priceless ring to the most virtuous son of each generation to wear. In other words, the chosen son had to demonstrate as he grew up that he was living and practicing a, honest, loving, just, and noble life.
Of all the sons of any family patriarch, only that son would become the next head of the family if he was able to live such a virtuous life. In this way each generation prospered more than the other and the kingdom and virtue of its leadership became renowned. There was rarely any squabble over succession to such leadership. At the end of his life, the patriarch would pass the ring on to the son of his choosing who he observed to be living an honest, loving, just, and noble life.
This tradition had gone on several centuries, when finally one patriarch bearing the precious ring of leadership reached a stalemate of sorts. That is, this particular father had great difficulty in determining which of his three sons was the most noble, fairly, loving, and just. They all seemed be living faithful and fair lives.
On any one day the old patriarch would think, "Ah, this is the son who shall receive the ring and take over the leadership of the household for our great family!"
However, the next day, this same father would think, "No, that is the son who should take over and get the ring!"
Within a few days, the old man would change his mind again and voice his opinion favoring the third son.
This stalemate in the old man's heart went on for over a year. Finally, the old man decided to secretly have two more identical rings made.
The second and third rings could not be told apart from the original one-even by the patriarch himself who had worn it.
Subsequently, the old man smiled and called in each of those three sons individually. The, the patriarch quietly presented each son with a ring and asked each not to reveal to anyone else his decision to give the ring to him until the old man had passed away and had been buried.
Naturally, after the old patriarch was buried, chaos broke out in the household as each son claimed to be heir to leadership of the home and property. Each showed hisidentical ring to all the others.
There was fighting and yelling.
Finally, all three took the matter to a judge-who at first wanted to throw the whole matter out. The judge said, "Only the father could tell which son lived the most faithful and virtuous life and who had the right to take over the kingdom."
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