 Describing the hierarchy preserved in the ideal state, Erasmus draws on the traditional medieval image of the three estates—clergy, nobility, and common people—arranged in three concentric circles around the central figure of Christ. This suggests a political and moral hierarchy with specific duties assigned to each tier. While everyone “according to the measure that is given him must strive upwards toward Christ”, the hierarchical arrangement also involves a responsibility to those in the tier below. Explaining the image, Erasmus notes that this monarchic order is divinely instituted, and those who fight it, “fight against God its author” (CWE 42: 74). Thus kings, the representatives of Christ, must be obeyed even if they are corrupt,