The king then cut open the boy's chest, showed the arrow lodged right in his heart, and asked the father whether his aim was steady enough. The father replied that Apollo himself couldn't have shot better. Damn such a man — a slave in his mind, even if not by law! He actually praised an act he should never have been able to watch. He thought his son's chest being ripped open and his heart trembling with its wound was a good chance to give a flattering speech.
He then had his breast cut open, showed the arrow sticking exactly into the heart, and, looking at the boy’s father, asked whether his hand was not steady enough. He replied, that Apollo himself could not have taken better aim. God confound such a man, a slave in mind, if not in station! He actually praised an act which he ought not to have endured to witness. He thought that the breast of his son being torn assunder, and his heart quivering with its wound, gave him an opportunity of making a complimentary speech.