Father said: since you are wrong, you should be the first to reach out and beg his forgiveness, instead of holding the ruler in front of your nobler friends! It means that father is very angry! Because Clyde didn't make a mistake, he apologized to his son, who held the ruler in front of him. This shows that his son is a little stingy and not generous enough to his friends. His father wants him to reflect on this ruler! Father is very angry! Because Clayton didn't make a mistake, he still apologized to his son, who held the ruler in front of him. This shows that his son is very small-minded, so he can break the ruler and let his son reflect on his mistakes. This is probably the meaning of this passage. Father broke the ruler and threw it away, in order to educate me to admit my mistake bravely, instead of holding the ruler to a nobler friend than myself.