What do you think? Was Nat's final act out of kindness? or was it something else?

kindness AND something else

yeah. he was really grateful i think... Barti did a lot for him...

I think it was kindness, as Ptolemy did, and a last thank you for everything bart did for him.

It's definitely kindness and gratitude, but it's also good strategy. Dismissing Bartimaeus is easier and faster than trying to break all of Gladstone's presumably intricate seals.

Ya I agree. Nat had realized that Bart could have destroyed him by using his birth name & left him to die instead of asking Nouda to spare his life. He also knew it was Bart who actually saved him from the Golem and was responsible for shielding Kitty from the magicians by proclaiming her dead (he was angry for shielding Kitty from him though).

However Nat did'nt want to appear kind & sentimental in Bart's eye, so he gave another reason for dismissing him then the true one. Nat knew Bart would'nt make a mistake while releasing his hold on the staff.

Nathaniel hence did'nt allow Bart to get a word in edgeways. He did'nt want Bart to thank him or something...............

What Nat did was noble, to answer your question, but I don't think Nat did it just for the sake of being noble. Nathaniel actually CARES about his country as a whole and the well being of the people who reside there...Nat also did what he did partly because he wanted to keep Kitty safe

Nat's final act of releasing Bart was out of love. Yes, it might have been noble. It might have been sacerficial. It might have left Bart with a lasting impression of Nathaniel as someone like Ptolemy. But Nat probably didn't think about that when he saved Bartimaeus...he just thought about saving Bart.

Kindness and that he had a guilty conscience.

Nathaniel always wanted to be a hero. He thought to himself how he wanted to be just like Gladstone. He even had the power to survive Gladstone's staff backfiring.

His final act was selfless. He sacrificed himself to defeat Nouda, rather than serve his own interests and wait to see if it would devour enough people to explode.

So yeah. That's the mark of a hero.

He might have felt guilty, but at that moment I don't think that marred his act.

And yes, Makepeace, he did fullfill his dream.

He did something he allways wanted, and became a hero. Jackpot.:D

But...he died.

I think that he did everything for the best possible reasons, and he should have lived.

I think what he did was noble. He could have easily stepped down from the fight and let Nouda destroy London(or more). Or he could have made Bartimaeus stay and Die with him. But he chose to die and save London,Kitty and Bartimaeus.

He did that to repay Bart for all the times he saved his life, and because i think he had a special conection w/ bart. He also did it to protect Kitty, out of love. Also, he wasnt as ambitious as his former personality, Mandrake. He had gone back into being the original Nat, a real person w/ more real feeling, and compassion for others, like the commoners.

What he did was human.

You forgetting what he said.
Yes, it was kindness.
Yes, it was for legacy.
Yes, it was to save everyone.
BUT, why he dissmissed bart is to repay and out of respect and all that, but you're forgetting that Bart would have messed it up, lessened the power, even if unintentionally.
The three reasons why Nat dissmissed him.

Yes, it was very noble. While I was reading the end, the last few sentences struck me very hard. This is very meaningful okay listen, Bartimaeus said, "to all intent and purposes we were one and the same." This means what Ptolemy always wanted has been achieved, Djinni and human having trust and not needing any stupid pentacle. Nathaniel dismissed Bartimaeus because he knew they were going to die, Nathaniel didn't want to tell Bartimaeus out loud that he cared so he made an excuse telling him that he didn't want to take the chance with you messing up.

Bart could tell what he was thinking remeber? he wouldnt have to tell him.

Exactly.
That why Bart said Typical magician right to the end.
And the part about I think he knew anyways.

Vinr Alfakyn wrote:

What he did was human.

Not neccecarily.....Human Nature is to save yourself. Not others. Like for example:If you are Drowning and there is a person near you, you will grab him and pull him down to try and save yourself and all you get is death to both of you. So not neccecarily human. I would say that he did it because he knew that his death would kill the Demon and London would be saved. He *Knew* that he had to die and nobody else(now I am not saying that Humans wouldn't do that anyways but it is just our nature)