taxes, however, do not belong to the King personally. They are money
entrusted to him to be used for the common good.

But after a short while a new class of people, neither peasants nor
king, begins to develop. This new class, commonly called the nobles,
stands between the ruler and his subjects.

Since those early days it has made its appearance in the history of
every country and it has played a great role in the development of
every nation.

I must try and explain to you how this class of nobles developed out of
the most commonplace circumstances of everyday life and why it has
maintained itself to this very day, against every form of opposition.

To make my story quite clear, I have drawn a picture.

It shows you five Egyptian farms. The original owners of these farms had
moved into Egypt years and years ago. Each had taken a piece of
unoccupied land and had settled down upon it to raise grain and cows and
pigs and do whatever was necessary to keep themselves and their children
alive. Apparently they had the same chance in life.

How then did it happen that one became the ruler of his neighbors and
got hold of all their fields and barns without breaking a single law?

[Illustration: THE ORIGINS OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM.]

One day after the harvest, Mr. Fish (you see his name in hieroglyphics
on the map) sent his boat loaded with grain to the town of Memphis to