St. John of Salisbury St.
Thomas of Aquinas
Background:
- A bishop
- most typical medieval political
writer
Main Work:
- Stateman's Book (Policratus), it
asserts the ecclesiastical over the
temporal power
Political Doctrine #1
"Ecclesiastical Power above
Temporal Power"
Theory of Two Swords
- consists of two swords, the
temporal and the spiritual which
belong to the church for the proper
order of society (the sword denotes
authority to rule)
- the prince receives them in the
form of authority from the church
- the church can depose the prince if
he violates the law of God
- The ecclesiastical church and the
temporal state can co-exist with one
another, so as they confine their
powers within their own jurisdictions
or domains, through separation of
powers and checks and balances.
Justice and Mercy
- If the prince sees something wrong
in the society's people, the prince
Dante
Background:
- theologian
Main Works:
On Kingship (De Regno)
Definition of Kingship
- a regime is ruled justly
through:
monarchy, aristocracy, polity
- a regime is ruled unjustly
through:
tyranny, oligarchy, democracy
- each government has its own
strengths and weaknesses
- monarchy is the best form of
government, influenced on
Aristotle’s choice where
kingship is the ideal form of
government.
- unity of peace is effectively
secured by one single wise
authority, based from the
christian doctrine where the
universe is governed by one
God, so states should be ruled
by one individual
as well (the king/monarch).
Obedience
- one should support whatever
government he chose to have,
Marsilio of Padua
Background:
- Favors the imperialist
government over the papal state
- antipapalist
- founded the italian language
- Tackled the collapse of Rome
and the ensuing Feudalism
- authority fell to those who had
land, replacing the
administration
- Growth of capitalism and cities
that were influenced by the
church
- Instability of churches
- Dominance of intellectual
activity in churches
Main Work:
On Monarchy
Three major questions:
1. Whether a world
government ruled by a
monarch is necessary for the
welfare of the
people?
- Yes, it is necessary.
- full potential of people is
reached when there is peace
and unity in the universal
government
- less chance of conflict when
there is a higher body that
mediates conflicting states
Machiavelli
Background: Background:
- influenced by aristotle's politics - Renaissance, greatest discovery is
- italian political philospher the discovery of "man"
- influenced the modern idea of the state
-church's importance was declining
during the middle age as imperialism
arised
Famous Work: Main Works:
Defensor Pacis/Defender of Peace The Prince, The Discourses
- devoted to theology
- shows that Jesus did not claim to - Ignores the issue of the end of state
possess any temporal power and so did in extrapolitical (ethical, religious,
the church cultural)
terms
Types of Governments: - power is an end in itself
Well-tempered/temperate - best, act for ( state means autonomous system of
the benefit of the community, ruled independent values)
voluntarily (means is best suited way to acquire
power)
-Kingly Monarchy
-Aristocracy Inspirations for 'The Prince"
-Polity - Cardinal Borgia, for his deceptions
and perspective
Diseased - worst, act out for the benefit - Cesare Borgia, the main inspiration
of rulers, ruled involuntarily
-Tyrannical Monarch Characteristics of a Prince:
- Oligarchy - must above all guard against being
- Democracy hated
- built fortress to protect thy self
Means of appointment - be successful to gain best reputation
-hereditary succesion/elections/force - uphold the majesty of his dignity
Legislators and Laws Amorality - prioritizing rules of power
- laws are carried out by older men who over morality
are more experienced with practical
affairs Good and Evil
should annihilate it, but seek to help
it first
- if mild measures don't work, the
prince rightly resorts to killing
Human Body Analogy/ State as an
Organism
- proves the superiority of the
ecclesiastical (church) over the
temporal power
human body - the commonwealth
feet - workers, no governing
authority but are crucial
stomach - finance officers
heart - senate
head - prince
hands - soldiers
soul - church
- Not proposing the complete
takeover of the church of the
temporal
government, nor recommend a
prince to submit every law to the
approval
of the supreme court of priests
Political Doctrine #2
Prince vs. Tyrant.
Tyrannicide and how it is justified
- tyrants should be killed without
reservation because of the ff
reasons.
1. for he who takes the sword shall
perish by the sword
2. the tyrant aims against justice and
disarms the laws
3. one saves himself and the
community from injustice when
prosecuting the tyrant
- no violation of law is committed
because the tyrant disarmed it at
since it's he who put the
government in power, so better
obey it
- good government is a reward
for good people, bad
government is a punishment
Requisites for right to resist
tyranny
- minor tyranny, some would
tolerate the tyranny
- excess tyranny, people may
depose his power
Church and State
- both are two distinct
institutions with different
spheres of influence
- the church is concerned with
spiritual matters
- the state is concerned with
temporal matters
- neither should interfere with
the domain of the other
Kings subjected to Priests
- a king needs another spiritual
care to direct him to eternal
salvation, this care is provided
by the priests, so kings are
subjected to our Lord Jesus
Christ
On Laws
Eternal law – Gods plan, there
is already the eternal law before
your birth.
Natural law – Man’s reason,
natural instinct
(self-preservation, conformity,
seek society)
Divine law – refers to laws
written with the divine scripture
in mind (more on morality)
- a higher authority will judge
which state is right or wrong
Monarchy is the choice
- a monarch's reason governs
all actions
- a monarchy's centralized
government provides the best
political sovereignty
- jurisdiction is extended to
political matters concerning the
monarch's states
2. Whether the roman empire
acquired world domination by
right?
Yes.
- It is under Roman rule when
citizens were relatively secure,
and law, order, and
stability were stabilized
- the achievements of rome
proved that they can subject a
part of the world
- the roman empire are
supreme, thus they are set to
lead and to be governed
because of their grasp on
knowledge
3. Whether the authority of
the emperor derives from
God/church/pope?
- the authority of the emperor is
derived directly from God
instead from a pope or the
church.
- based from the dual nature of
man or Two Fold Ends, where
God gave separate authority to
the church and state to guide
man to these two-fold ends.
A. Life on earth
B. Eternal life with God
Citizens
- come together for the benefit of the
community
- participates in the civil community in the
government
Is the multitude fit to rule?
- those who are vicious must not make
laws due to their ignorance, they might
create bad laws
- laws should be made by the wise, the
few
Accountability of Rulers
- corrected as a subject who has
transgressed the law
- won't be measured by others
- grave scandal occurs or
ex-communication when the ruler doesn't
follow the law
Church and Coercive Authority
- the act of ex-communication happens
as a form of coercive authority when men
resist to obey the decrees, punishments
are imposed to those who resist
- ex-communication of louis of bavaria
done by pope john for his policies that
threatened papal sovereignty
- goodness coincides with efficiency,
as goodness is used for assuming
power as the end of politics.
Machiavelli's virtue
Rome - manliness
Christian - humanity, cheerful
acceptance of suffering
Machiavelli - military valor
Morals and Religion
- pessimistive view as mankind is
unchangable
- optimist about the future, man is
improvable
- no religious view, as it is a tool of
influence
- a good christian can't be a leader nor
a statesman
- choice is between larger and lesser
evil
Constant Readiness for War
- the only art necessary to a
commander is war, be armed at all
times
- being disarmed is disgraceful, an
ignorant prince is not esteemed by his
soldiers
Liberality and Niggardliness
- distinguishes virtue from vice
- a prince can spend his resources and
of his subject's
Curelty and Clemency: Be loved or
feared?
- one ought to be both feared and
loved
- much safer to be feared than loved
- love is held by a chain of obligation,
while fear is maintained by a dread of
punishment
first
Ecclesiastical Tyrants
- priests who seek glory in church,
especially with pursuit of wealth
- much worse than temporal tyrants
because the church is supreme
above the state
Difference between the prince and
a tyrant
- a prince rules in accordance to the
law, while the tyrant rules by force
- prince is likened to a deity to be
loved, the tyrant to wickedness to be
killed
Nature and Source of Royal
Authority
- Lord God is the source, whose
absolute power is exercised through
the prince, whose rule is supreme
- he who resists the prince's rule,
resists the ordinance of God
Relation of the Prince to Authority
- law is a gift from God, all men
should live according to it
- princes should live in EQUITY.
through love of justice and prefer the
good of others before thy self
Human law – human laws
based and created by human
reasoning (e.g., penalizing
crimes).
Main Work:
- Summa Theologica
Law and Reason
- law pertains to reason
because law is a form of reason
that is promulgated to direct the
choice of man to the common
good
Law and Common Good
- law is used for particular
matters that aim for the common
good, which becomes the
common end
Rationality of creating laws
- laws have to be just and have
objective principles brought by
reasoning, similar to Cicero's
idea on unity of mankind
Promulgation
- essential to the law, for it
become a directive means for
human action
- law is derived from natural law,
which ninds to all humans
- the empire came first before Ways Princes must keep faith
the church was institutionalized - princes who have done great things
have little regard for good faith
The end of political 2 methods of fighting:
organization 1. by law - of man
- universal peace and tranquility 2. by force - of beasts
allow men to achieve perfect - the prince must know how to use
wisdom both man and beast
- what is true for a part is true - know how to act like a beast "imitate
for the whole the fox and the lion"
World Peace through world - fox recognizes traps, lion frightens
empire wolves
- universal peace can be
achieved through a temporal
world monarchy
- monarchy is ideal, one ruler is
necessary to rule the entire
world for the sake of prosperity
using the part-whole principle
- different ambitions aside from
monarchy can lead to conflict
Pax Romana
- tranquility throughout the
mediterranean states under the
monarchy of Augustus.
- the empire protected and
governed states and bestowed
them political sovereignty under
augustus' centralized
government
Church and Empire
- abolishment of the idea that
the empire belongs to the
church under the facts:
- the dignity of rome is not the
church would receive
- different foundations. church =
Christ, rome = men
- the emperor owes his entire
being to the empire only
- the church doesn't receive
temporal things like the empire
- the emperor is subject to the
church