Batman: Someone who serves a cavalry officer in the military.
"But nowadays we see some princes who aspire to anything except the one thing which would make them deserve the name of prince; and stupid subjects, who look for everything in their kings except the one thing needful. 'He is young'; that would recommend him as a bridegroom to a bride, not as a prince to the state. 'He is good-looking'; that is the right praise for a woman. 'He is broad-shouldered'; if you were praising an athlete, that would be the way to do it. 'He is strong and can stand hard toil'; that is a testimonial for a batman or a houseboy. 'He has a large store of gold'; you are describing an active moneylender. 'He is eloquent'; that's what dazzles me in a sophist. 'He sings well, he dances well'; that is the way to praise flute-players and actors, not kings. 'He has no equal in drinking'--for former princes actually delighted in this commendation! It would be fitter praise for a sponge. 'He is tall, and stands head and shoulders above the rest'; that's splendid, if one wants to reach something down from a high place. As for saying 'He's a skilled dice player, he's good at chess', that is praise shared with the lowest idlers, and a prince should be ashamed of it. You may heap up everything--public adoration, gold and jewels, statues, a pedigree drawn from Hercules (or from Codrus or Cecrops if you prefer), but unless you tell me of a mind far removed from vulgar foolishness, free from sordid desires for worthless things, and from the prejudices of the herd, I have not heard any praise worthy of a king."
Erasmus, Adages ("Aut fatuum autregem nasci oportere") (1515).
[translated by Margaret Mann Phillips (1967)].
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