5 quoted lines · 1–3 deep
Jeff Wilson wrote:
On 9/26/2010 2:24 PM, Andrew Mason wrote:
As I understand it, what properly distinguishes an autarch is that he rules himself: that is why Ymar and his successors chose that title. However, most people probably don't know that; having lived under an autarch for a thousand years, they think of that as the normal term for a ruler. Both Jonas (as Roy mentioned) and Cyriaca refer to ancient rulers as autarchs, before pointing out that strictly speaking this is wrong.
This doesn't distinguish them from Typhon, who owes fealty to no one else.
As I understand it, 'rule himself' doesn't just mean 'owe fealty to no one else', but 'control, discipline himself', 'not rule only in his own interests', etc. But I'll have to check the passage to be sure of that.
However, I don't think that matters to my original point. All I meant is that Ymar and his successors called themselves autarchs, that Typhon (and apparently earlier rulers) did not call themselves autarchs, but monarchs, but that people in the Commonwealth sometimes used 'autarch' for earlier rulers, because that was the term they were used to. This can be so whether or not there is any principled basis for the distinction.