Nathan monologue (Act 3) — Nathan the Wise; a dramatic poem in five acts

In days of yore, there dwelt in east a man Who from a valued hand received a ring Of endless worth: the stone of it an opal, That shot an ever-changing tint: moreover, It had the hidden virtue him to render Of God and man beloved, who in this view, And this persuasion, wore it. Was it strange The eastern man ne’er drew it off his finger, And studiously provided to secure it For ever to his house. Thus—He bequeathed it; First, to the _most beloved_ of his sons, Ordained that he again should leave the ring To the _most dear_ among his children—and That without heeding birth, the _favourite_ son, In virtue of the ring alone, should always Remain the lord o’ th’ house—You hear me, Sultan?