Whom men could not honour in presence, because they dwelt far off, they took the counterfeit of his visage from far, and made an express image of a king whom they honoured, to the end that by this their forwardness they might flatter him that was absent, as if he were present.
When people could not honor a king in person because he lived far away, they took a likeness of his face from a distance and made a lifelike image of the king they honored, so that by this eager display they might flatter the absent ruler as though he were present.
