I pray thee let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord.
Diplomatic insincerity
Of royal dissemblers like Absalom history records numerous parallels, notably Charles II., who, in his dealings with the Scots, solely to win them over to his cause, took the Covenant with all the solemnity of a pious Covenant, also Napoleon Bonaparte, who, when in Egypt seeking to reconcile the people to his rule, announced: “We Frenchmen are true Mussulmans. Have not we destroyed the Pope, who called upon Europe to make war upon the Mussulmans.” After the capture of Cairo this adept at diplomatic insincerity was to be seen “ seated in the great mosque at the feast of the prophets, sitting cross-legged as he repeated the words of the Koran, and edified the sacred college by his piety.” (Charles Deal.)