Archetypally, the King (apex masculinity) is ruthless, yet benevolent, merciful, yet vengeful. To the untrained eye, he appears a paradox.

The nuance lies in discipline, discernment and good planning for he lives for his kingdom, not himself.

Good planning, because the macro is more important than the micro, and it is the prioritisation of the macro over the micro which determines the cost-benefit estimation of whether ruthlessness is a necessary evil or costly indulgence

The king is the leader-servant of his kingdom

An effective kings employs a trusted adviser, for he is King, not God, and as a man - he is prone to error, and therefore subjects himself to the peer review of a wise man not subject to the same risks and emotional forces as he is in order to help him *SEE* from outside himself.

Trusted is the most important word in this paragraph, meaning vetted, principled, bound by honour and loyalty - be it through blood or through battle, but not by fear - one who would willingly opt to suffer for the king, rather than break an oath for momentary relief from pain.

The trust is crucial, because the adviser is in a sensitive position and becomes a liability should he choose to sabotage the king out of envy or ambition with disingenuous input, or leak the king's strategies, vulnerabilities & state of mind to his enemies. He must be kept close

He must be kept close as a matter of prudence, and yet this closeness cannot be dominated by paranoia and distrust, or the entire nature of the relationship in and of itself becomes ineffective & thereby pointless. Trust is fragile but necessary, it is a delicate game of balance.

This is why the king requires strong discernment, and may employ, but must not rely on his adviser to judge for him, for to do so would would be to delegate part of the burden of kingship, and thereby render himself ineffective - making him little more than a puppet king.

Good discernment is itself the byproduct of wisdom - an intellectual understanding of human nature, and a familiarity with the patterns of human behaviour derived from lived experience.

Good discernment likewise comes from emotional self-discipline, being able to employ detachment (egolessness) and passion (egoism) as and how the situation calls for.

Control of the self is necessary, for incorrectly employed emotion makes idiots of even the wisest men.

I wish I had something poetic or otherwise profound to add to conclude and thereby properly punctuate this thread's ending, but I don't, so I'll leave it there.

Enjoy the read.

This is difficult knowledge to apply, so anybody who can manage it, deserves it. Hats off to you.