Athelstane, utterly confounded at an order which the manners and feelings of the times rendered so injuriously insulting, unwilling to obey, yet undetermined how to resist, opposed only the "vis inertiae" to the will of John; and, without stirring or making any motion whatever of obedience, opened his large grey eyes, and stared at the Prince with an astonishment which had in it something extremely ludicrous.
Ilyen parancsnak nem akart engedelmeskedni, de hamarjában nem tudta, hogyan tiltakozzék. Egyelőre csupán a vis inertiae-t (a tehetetlenségi erőt) állította szembe a herceg akaratával: meg se moccant, csak rábámult a hercegre.