I sort of took it as (1) gladness to see a familiar face, like it says; and (2) relief to finally meet a person whose motives he can be sure of. Here Sophos is in the middle of a giant guessing game, what with the Medes who are trying to steal his throne from him but pretending to be his friend, and barons who may or may not be rebels with various ulterior motives, and all of this uncertainty as to who he can trust and who's lying to his face...
...and he sees Basrus, who was always very straightforward with him even though he was kidnapping him to sell into slavery, and who didn't lie or pretend to be a friend or do anything according to hidden political motives. Basrus was in it for personal gain from beginning to end, and that was something Sophos could trust.
That's not a perfect explanation, since there's a line later where Sophos admits to being uncertain about Basrus... "I wasn't sure if I had a wolf or a dog, but I knew how to tell the difference: a dog does what you tell it to," as he sends Basrus off to fetch somebody for a dressing-down. Basically, though, I think the idea is that whether Basrus is a wolf (and too much for Sophos to handle) or a dog (and able to be used as a tool), he only has one motive: his own survival and self-interest. That's comforting to Sophos amid all these other confusing political power games.
Sorry for the mini essay. Does that make sense at all? I'm sure it's only one possible theory.
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Date: 9/29/10 10:29 pm (UTC)...and he sees Basrus, who was always very straightforward with him even though he was kidnapping him to sell into slavery, and who didn't lie or pretend to be a friend or do anything according to hidden political motives. Basrus was in it for personal gain from beginning to end, and that was something Sophos could trust.
That's not a perfect explanation, since there's a line later where Sophos admits to being uncertain about Basrus... "I wasn't sure if I had a wolf or a dog, but I knew how to tell the difference: a dog does what you tell it to," as he sends Basrus off to fetch somebody for a dressing-down. Basically, though, I think the idea is that whether Basrus is a wolf (and too much for Sophos to handle) or a dog (and able to be used as a tool), he only has one motive: his own survival and self-interest. That's comforting to Sophos amid all these other confusing political power games.
Sorry for the mini essay. Does that make sense at all? I'm sure it's only one possible theory.