802: "Estque
multo eligibilius ut minus ha beaut (reges
aut principes) dominium, quod sit
rationabile sanctum et durans, dando
aliqua reetringentia.
multo eligibilius ut minus ha beaut (reges
aut principes) dominium, quod sit
rationabile sanctum et durans, dando
aliqua reetringentia.
Thomas Carlyle
1
It may appear to some that these discussions of the binding
nature of the " Contract " of the Prince are of little more than
technical significance, but that is hardly true. The conception
was not new in the fifteenth century, but had a considerable
place in the work of the great Civilians of the fourteenth century,
and it reappears in the sixteenth century in the theory of
Bodin. We venture to suggest that the question arose natur-
ally in Italy, in connection with the great treaties which deter-
mined the relation of the Emperor to the Italian cities, but
it has also a more general significance, as indicating a limit to
the theory of the unrestrained authority of the Prince.
We began this chapter by drawing attention to the sharp
distinction which was made by Christopher Porcius between
the opinions of the " Citra Montani " and the " Ultra Montani"
nam licet Deus subjeoit priucipi leges,
tamen non subjeoit contractus. . . .
Et dicit Baldus . . . quod pacta que
faciunt Papa et Imperator cum civitati-
bus sunt servanda. Subdit autem
Baldus hie, quod licet pacta et con-
tracta principis ligent principem, non
tamen ligent ejus successorem: . . . et
quia jus non transit ad sucessorem sed
de novo creatur per electionen. . . .
Nisi essent de natura vel consuetudine
sue dignitatis, prout est in feudo. . . .
Puto, licet alii non tangant, quod ista
distinctio sic indistinct* non sit vera;
verum intelligo dictum Baldi procedere
in Imperatore vel Papa, quia tales
dignitatis non deferuntur successione
sed per electionem. . . . Tunc quum
successor non habeat dignitatem a pre-
decossore, sed nova electione conse-
quatur, puto verum esse quod dicit
Baldus, quod non teneatur pactis. Sed
in regibus, ducibus, marchionibus, et
similibus, quum regna deferantur per
successionem quia primogenitus sue-
oedit in regno ducato vel comitatu . . .
saltem attenta generali consuetudine,
credo quod successor teneatur servare
omnem contractum et quamcunque
conventionem sicut quilibet successor
privati. ''
1 Philippus Decius, 'Consilium' (in
Goldast, Monarchia, vol. iii. , edition
1621), C. xix. : "Et hoc bene facit, quia
quum prineops ex contractu obligatur,
etiam de plemtudine potestatis con-
travenire non potest, ut notanter dicit
Paulus de Castro in 1. Digna vox.
Cod. de legibus et idem Baldus in C. i.
? ad hoc, col. 5 in ver. item nut aim, ex
Gl. de pace juramento firmata, idem
tenet Paulus de Castro in Consil, 420,
'Videtur in antiquis,' et hoc idem in
termine hujus questionis tradit Petrus
de Anch. in Consil. 65, pro declarationo
? ? dubiorum col. 2. "
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? CHAP, n. ] THE LAW: CIVILIANS AND CANONISTS.
157
on the question of the continuing authority of the Eoman
people in making laws. We have, however, not been able to
find much which illustrates this distinction. This may be due
to the fact that the Civilians whose work we have been able to
examine, are all of them Italian; that is what Porcius pre-
sumably means by " Citra Montani. " It is true, however, that
if we take account not merely of Civilians or even Canonists,
but of the great political writers of other European countries,
such as John Gerson in France, Nicolas of Cusa in Germany,
or Sir John Fortescue in England, we should find that they held
that legislative authority belonged properly and normally
not to the Prince alone, but to the whole community. How
far we may think that Porcius is referring to this, we are, how-
ever, quite unable to say.
If we endeavour to summarise our conclusions about the
position of those Civilians with whom we have dealt here, it
seems to us true to say that they were clear that the Eoman
Emperor had an absolute and unconditional authority in
making " positive " law and that the people of the Empire had
no legislative authority in the general sense, and that even if
they recognised a certain authority in their custom, this rested
upon the sanction of the Prince or Pope. (We are, it must be
carefully observed, not dealing with the powers of the great
Italian cities to establish municipal laws for themselves; this
is a great and complex subject and has been dealt with in
detail by many learned writers. )
Whether they would all have accepted the somewhat ex-
treme terms cited by Jason de Mayno from Baldus, that the
Pope and the Prince could do anything " supra jus et contra
jus, et extra jus," may possibly be doubted. They are all,
including Jason himself, clear that when the Prince has entered
into a " contract" with his subjects, his authority is limited
by the " contract. "
It is evident that there was a very sharp contrast between
the political theory of most of the writers we have dealt with
in this chapter and the general tendencies of the fifteenth
century.
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? 158
CHAPTER III.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE PRINCE: ITS SOURCE
AND NATURE. POLITICAL WRITERS.
We turn from the conception of the authority of the law to
that of the authority of the Prince or Euler, and we find a
number of important writers, who in different countries deal
with the subject in some detail; and as we shall see, they
show a remarkable agreement in their judgments.
We begin with Gerson, for he was earliest in time and cer-
tainly was not less representative than the others. We cannot
here discuss his place in the great conciliar movement, but it
seems to us reasonable to say that his attitude to political
authority is related to his conception of the authority of
General Councils.
In one treatise ascribed to Gerson there is a discussion of
the origin of political society, which is interesting as illustrating
his relation to the Patristic and Stoic tradition. In the state
of innocence man had no laws or coercive justice, it was sin
which compelled men to submit to these, and he enumerates
in technical language the causes of coercive authority. 1
Gerson, however, adds, a little further on, that man is by
1 J. Gerson: 'Sermo pro Justitia ad
Regom' (Opera, vol. iv. col. 855):
"Meditemur etiam hominem creatum
iuitwe sine peccato, et in justitia pro
statu innocontiao. Fecit Deus hominem
rectum ete. Homo in illo statu non
indigebat logibus aut justitia activa
coerciva ut ad bonum converteretur.
Non igitur requirebatur dominatio
civilis aut politica. . . . Accidit autem
quod propter transgressionem legis
quae impoeita orat homini et denun-
ciats, et propter inobodientiam, mox
regnum hominis ot dominium in tyran-
nidem et subjectionem vorsum ait, ac
omino veluti infirmatum et pur vorsum.
. . . Et hie radicem habemus et causae
dominationis et ooercivi dominii. "
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? CHAP, in. ] POLITICAL WRITERS. 159
nature "Civilis," and needs the help of his fellow men, and
was therefore driven to the life of society. The Commonwealth
is a society in which men have to command and to obey to
the end that they may live in peace and sufficiency, and as the
principles of Natural Law are not sufficient for the government
of the temporal life, human laws were established; but these
must not be contrary to the Natural Law. 1
This is interesting, as illustrating what we have before
suggested, that in spite of the great authority of St Thomas
Aquinas, the Aristotelian conceptions had not made any very
profound impression.
We turn to Gerson's treatment of our immediate subject, the
source and nature of the authority of the King or Prince.
In a work described as ' Sermo ad Eegem Franciae nomine
Universitatis Parisiensis,' which is obviously a short treatise
on the nature of Kingship, Gerson describes the monarchy as
having been originally created by the common consent of men,
and for the good of the whole community. 2 And, he goes on,
it is an error and contrary to natural equity and the true
character of lordship to say that the lord is not bound by any
obligation to his subjects; as the subjects owe their lord help
and service, he owes them his protection and defence. 3 The
1 Id. id. , vol. iv. col. 856: '' Adji- sive temporalis sit sive spiritualis. Et
ciamus insuper et dicamus quod postea- quoniam principia juris aut naturalis
quam homo natura sua civilis est et ordinationis non sumciunt ad tempora-
communicativus, et talem habet indi- lem vitam gubernandam, ordinatae
gentiam cui convenienter succurrere fuore et institutao humaaae quae dam
non potest absque alterius subsidio, ordinationes et veluti voluntariae,
homo inductus fuit et veluti compulsus naturali juri minime obviantee. "
in communi vivere cum aliis, et opus * Id. : 'Sermo ad Rogem Franciae
fuit instituere ao ordinare aliquas nomine universitatis Parisiensis/
convivendi modos. Et virtus justitiae, (Opera, vol. iv. col. 798): "Propterea
quae ad hoc faciendum inclinat, nomi- rex aliquis persona privata non est, sed
natur civilis aut politica. Politia (ut est una potestas publica ordinata pro
dictum est) est hominum societas ad totius communitatis salute. Sicuti ab
bonum ordinata, ad recte praecipien- uno capite desceudit, et dependit
dum et obediendum, ut in pace vivatur totius corporis vita, et ad hoo roges
et tranquillitate et sufficientia, aut ordinati fuerunt, et prinoipes in prin-
quoad vitam banc temporalem, aut cipio per communem hominum consen-
quoad spiritualem. Justitia politica sum, et eo modo perseverare debent. "
eat virtus quae inclinat reddere uni- * Id. id. id. , col. 799: "Haec Veritas
cuique quod suum est secundum ordi- est contra horum errorem qui dicere
nationos et finem politiae ubi ipsa fuerit, ausi sunt dominum in nullo subjectis
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? 160 FIFTEENTH CENTURY. [PAST II.
words seem to be reminiscent of the principle of the mutual
obligations of feudal law.
Gerson's conception of monarchy is clearly that of an autho-
rity derived from the community, and limited by obligations
to the community. He repudiates very emphatically the error
of those who said that all things belonged to the lord and that
he could do whatever he pleased,1 and the contention of those
who misapplied the description of the conduct of the King
by Samuel, and neglected the principles of Kingship set out
in Deuteronomy, and the sound judgment of natural reason
which is never contradicted by the divine law. 2
This brings Gerson to a discussion of tyranny, which he
describes as a poison which tends to destroy all political life;
men ought, according to their position, to resist it. He warns
them indeed against unreasonable and unjustifiable sedition
which may produce results worse than tyranny itself, but he
asserts that the tyrant has lost all right to his authority, that he
is hated by God and by man, and rarely dies a natural death. 3
He therefore argues that it would be well that the royal
authority should be limited and restrained; and he cites the
reply of Theopompus to his wife when she complained that he
was leaving a diminished authority to his children; that it
might be diminished but it would be more permanent. It
would be more permanent, because it would be more reasonable
suis teneri aut obligari, quod est contra
jus divinum et naturalem aequitatem,
et veram dominii fidem; quemadmo-
dum subditi fidem, subsidium et servi-
tmm eorum superiori debent, sic
superior fidem, protectionem et defen-
sionem suis debet subjectis; bonitas
una aliam requirit. "
1 Id. id. id. , col. 799: "Hie mani-
festum est bos err are qui dicunt
dominia omnia ad ipsos spec tare, et
quod agere possunt ad eorum arbitrium
et voluntatem, omnia quae subjectorum
sunt absque ullo titulo ad se trahendo,
quid hoc sibi vult. "
Cf. id. : "Kogulae Moralis. " (Opera,
vol. i. part ii. col. 22): "Omnia sunt
principis, non quidem proprietario jure,
nec pro se, sed pro necessitate reipub-
licae. "
2 Id. , 'Son no ad Regem Franciae'
(vol. iv. col. 800): "Hie apparet ulte-
rius, quod devius ille perperam et
perverse intilligeret textum Bibliae, qui
contra veritatem vortere vellet verba
scripta, 1 Reg. viii. cap. 'Hoc est jus
regis,' quia verus sensus literalis alibi
est et specialitor, Deut. xviii. , omnino
his contrarius; et etiam omne bonum
rationis naturalis judicium, cui nun-
quam contrariatur ius Divinum. "
? Id. id. id. , col. 801.
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? chap, in. ]
161
POLITICAL WRITERS.
and more honourable, for true authority is a reasonable
authority. 1
The principle which Gerson sets out here, that the royal
authority should be limited and restrained, corresponds very
closely with that which he expresses in other works. In the
'Sermo in viaegio Eegis Eomanorum ' of July 1415 he cites the
usual definitions of Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy,
but adds that it would be better still to have a constitution
composed of more than one element, as for instance, of
Monarchy and Aristocracy, as in France, where the king does
not disdain to be judged by the Parliament; while it would
be best of all that it should contain all the elements, Monarchy,
Aristocracy and " Timocracy. " 2 In another work he says that
it is intolerable that the judgment of one man should be able
to direct the Commonwealth at his pleasure, for the " canon"
says most truly that what concerns all should be approved by
all, that is by the greater and wiser judgment of all. 3 In
another place again Gerson puts this conception into concrete
1 Id. id. id. , col.
802: "Estque
multo eligibilius ut minus ha beaut (reges
aut principes) dominium, quod sit
rationabile sanctum et durans, dando
aliqua reetringentia. . . . Tale re-
huonsum dedit Theopompus uxori suae
quae conquerebatur de hoc quod certia
legibus potentiam suam restrinxisset,
sicut rex se subest in multis casibus jus-
titiae parlamenti. Verecundia est, dice-
bat foemina ilia, liberis tuis potentiam
diminui sinere quam non conquisisti.
Respondit ipse: Sino eis minorem
potentiam sed durabiliorem. Quare
durabiliorem? Quia rationabiliorom.
Sed dices: est autem minus honorabilis.
Scias quod non, sed magis honorabilis,
quia habere subjectos secundum ratio-
nem est singulare dominium, singularis
dignitas, honor, nobilitas et ingenuitas.
Et in hoc dominus non se subjecit sub-
jectis sed rationi, cui jure divino et
naturali unusquisque dominus et alius
quilibet obedientiam debet et subjec-
VOL. VI.
tionem. De his Seneca: 'Si vis omnia
subijcero tibi, subijce te rationi. '"
* Id. ,'Sermo in viagio Regis Romano-
rum ' (Opera, vol. i. ool. 182): "Esset
autem inter istas politias ilia melior
quam aliqua singularis quae ex regali
et aristocratiacomponcretur, ut in regno
Franciae, ubi rex instituit parlamen-
tum, a quo judicari non ref ugit. Esset
vero omnium optima et saluberrima
politia quae triplicem hano bonam
compleoteretur, regalem, aristocratiam,
et timocratiam.
>> Id. , 'De considerationibus quas
debet habere princeps ' (Opera, vol. ii.
col. 850): "Quid enim minus tolerabile,
quam si universam rempublicam una
unius sententia presumet pro libito
versare reversareque, cum verissime
dicit canon, 'Quod omnee tangit ab
omnibus debet approbari. ' Ab omni-
bus intellige, vel a majore omnium
sanioreque oonsilio. "
? ? L
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? 162
[PART II.
FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
terms, and says it would be well that the nobles, clergy and
citizens should be called together from the different parts of
France, who know and could set out the miserable conditions of
their various provinces. 1 Gerson, that is, preferred a mixed
constitution, and this not only in the State but in the Church.
In one of his most important works, which was related to the
Council of Constance, and in which he discusses at length the
nature of authority in the Church, he speaks of the best form
of constitution for the Church as being like that of Israel under
Moses, a mixed authority, royal, aristocratic, and "timo-
cratic. " 2 It is indeed evident that the constitutional con-
ceptions of Gerson about the proper organisation of political
authority are closely related to his parallel conceptions about
the constitution of the Church.
In other passages to which we have referred in a former
chapter Gerson expresses the principle that the royal authority
should be Limited and restrained, under the terms of the King's
relation to the law. In the treatise we have just cited "De
Potestate Bcclesiastica" when enumerating the forms of
government which, according to Aristotle are good, he describes
them all, the monarchy, the aristocracy and the " timocracy"
as being according to law;3 and again in another place,
1 Id. , 'Sermo ad regem' (Opera,
vol. iv. col. 807): "Tales ad consilia
vooari deberent qui timereut Deum et
periculum propria(R) eorum oonscientiae,
et qui bonum commune privatae et
propriae preponerent utilitati. . . .
Juxta banc considerationem valde
videretur expediens, ut de princi-
palioribus regni partibus nonnulli
vocarentur et audirentur, tam nobiles,
quam clerici et cives, qui libere misera-
bilem statum patriarum suarum ox-
ponerent. "
1 Id. , 'De Potestate Ecclesiastics'
(Opera, vol. i. col. 123): "Consideratio
viii. Maneat ecclesiastica politia
Optimo regimine; quale fuit sub Moyse
gubornata, quoniam mixta fuit ac
triplici politia. Regali, Moyse, aristo-
cratica in 72 senioribus, et timocratica
dum de populo et singulis tribubus sub
Moyse, rectores sumebantnr. "
* Id. , 'De Potestate Ecclesiastica,'
Consideratio xiii. (Opera, vol. i. col. 138):
"Describitur regnum, quod est politia
sub uno bono. Vel expressius quod est
congregatio communitatis perfect ae
sub uno, secundum leges suas bonas pro
republica. . . . Describitur aristo-
cratia quod est politia sub paucis bonis,
vel expressius quod est congregatio
communitatis perfectae sub paucis,
reipublicae per leges suas principaliter
intendentibus ut senatus. Describitur
politia appropriato nomine seu timo-
cratia . . . quod est congregatio
communitatis perfectae sub plurimis
utilitatem reipublicae per leges suas
principaliter intendentibus. "
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? CHAP. HI. ]
163
POLITICAL WRITERS.
every Prince and Prelate should follow the example of the
humility of Jesus in submitting to the law of circumcision; even
if the Prince is said to be " legibus solutus," he should submit
to the law which he has made, both as an example to his
subjects and to show his reverence to God. 1 In another
place again, in a discourse against John of Paris' assertion of
the right of tyrannicide, he says that even the King cannot
slay any man without due process of law 2; and in another
place in words which we have already cited, that the King
of France submits in many cases to the judgment of the
Parliament. 3
Finally, in one passage incidental to his discussion of the
authority of the Church in the last resort to depose the Pope,
Gerson cites Aristotle as teaching that the community has the
power to correct, and even to depose the Prince if he is in-
corrigible. And he adds, this power cannot either be taken
away from or abdicated by a free community, which has the
power to determine its own affairs. *
We may put beside these judgments of Gerson those of Peter
d'Ailly, the Archbishop of Cambrai, as expressed in an im-
portant tract which he wrote in connection with the Council
of Constance, lie contends that it is not expedient that the
Church should be governed by a purely regal constitution,
and, turning to the State, he admits that the Monarchy in
1 Id. , ' Sermo in Die Circumcinonis'
(Opera, vol. i. col. 240): "Ad apparen-
tem gratiam Dei in circumcisions
humilis pueri Jesu, princepa et prelatus
quilibet, et ai dicatur solutus legibus
pati debet legem quam ipse tulerit, tum
pro subditorum oxemplo, tum pro
reverentia praestanda Deo, ut appareat
gratia Dei in eo, et non secularia de-
sideria videantur dominari. "
* Id. , 'Sermo contra assertionem
Mag. Joannes Paris ' (Opera, vol. i. col.
399): "Sicut est rox, qui quidem rex
non posset sine juris online non moni-
tum, non vocatum, non convictum in-
terficere. "
* Id. , 'Sermo, ad Regem' (Opera,
vol. ii. col. 802): "Siout rox se subdit
in multis casibus justitiae parlamenti. "
Cf. id. , 'Sermo pro Viagio Regis
Romanorum ' (vol. i. col. 152): "Ut in
regno Franciae ubi rex instiluit parla-
mentum a quo judicari non refugit. "
4 Id. , 'Do auferribilitate Papae ab
Ecclesia' (Opera, vol. i. col. 161):
"Sicut enim tradit Arist. V. Poli,
quod ad communitatem totam spectat
principis vel correctio, vel totalis
destitutio, si irremediabilis perseveret.
Et haoc potostas inauferabilis vel in-
abdicabilis est a communitate libera,
quae do rebus suis facero potest ad
libitum, nee per appropriationem vel
aliquam legem potest suspendi; quanto
magis hoc habebit ecclesia. "
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? 164
[pabt n.
FIFTEENTH CENTCRY.
which one man rules according to virtue is the best of all
simple forms of government, but a mixed government, in
which Aristocratic and Democratic elements are combined
with Monarchy is better, for in such a government all have
some part,1 and he maintains as St Thomas and Gerson had
done, that this was the nature of the government of Israel as
originally instituted by God. 2
It is also interesting to observe that, in discussing the
question whether the Pope was subject to the government of
a General Council, he says that the principle that the greater
is not judged by the less is not always true, for the King of
France, though he is greater than any other in the Kingdom is
often, in some cases, judged by the Parliament, and judgment
is given against him. 3
We put beside these theories of the authority of the ruler in
Gerson and Peter d'Ailly, those of some of the most important
Canonists of the fifteenth century, Zabarella, " Panormitanus,"
and Turrecremata, for their opinions correspond rather with
those of Gerson and d'Ailly than with those of the Civilians.
We may begin by observing that " Panormitanus " is clear
that political authority is the result of sin; if it were not for
this, all men would be equal. * This does not mean that
>> Peter D'Ailly, ' De Ecclosiae et Car-
dinalium auctoritate' (Gerson. Opera,
vol. i. col. 918): "Sciendum est, quod
licet regimen regium, in quo unus
singulariter principatur multitudini
secundum virtutem, sit melius quolibet
alio regimine simplici, ut ostendit
philosophus III. Politicorum, tamen si
fiat mixtum cum aristooratia, in qua
plures dominantur secundum virtutem,
et cum democratia in qua populus
principatur, tale regimen melius est, in
quantum in regimine mixto omnes
aliquam partem ha bent in principatu:
et etiam quia, licet regimen regis sit
optimum in se, si non corrumpatur,
tamen propter magnam potestatem,
quae rogi concoditur, de facile regimen
dogeneret in tyrannidem, nisi sit in
rege perfecta virtus, quae raro et in
paucis reperitur. "
>> Id. id. id.
* Id. id. (Gerson, Opera, vol. i. col.
931): "Ad hanc autern rat ionem,
respondetur primo, quod maior rationis
licet regulariter sit vera, tamen quan-
doque fallit. Nam rex Franciae, qui
est major et superior in toto regno,
saepe in aliquibus casis judicatur, et
contra eum fertur sententia in suo
parlamento. "
* Panormitanus: Comm. on Decre-
tals i. 33, 6 (vol. i. part it. fol. 125):
"Fatendum est quod exercitium juris-
dictionis non competit contra bonos;
unde si non esset peccatum non opor-
teret habere suporiorem, sed omnes
humanitus essent aequales. "
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? chap, m. ]
165
POLITICAL WRITERS.
these Canonists conceived of government as coming directly
from God. On the contrary, Zabarella, at least, emphatically
maintained that normally it was derived immediately from the
community. He cites the "philosophers" as saying that
the rule (regimen) of the State (civitas) belonged to the con-
gregation of the citizens or its " valentior pars," and he infers
that it may therefore be said that the rule of the world be-
longed to the congregation of the men of the whole world,
or their "valentior pars. " 1 He refers to the authority of
Aristotle for the first part of his statement, but his reference
to the "valentior pars " suggests rather a reference to Mar-
silius. In another place Zabarella says that a kingdom may
arise in one of three ways: by the revealed will of God, by the
consent of those who are ruled, or by violence; the third, he
says, is not to be justified, it is merely " de facto. " The usual
method, he evidently means, is by consent. 2
He applies this principle to the Eoman Empire, for the whole
"Plenitudo Potestatis" was in the first "universitas," and
thus it has been said that the Eoman people, while transferring
its authority to the Prince, also retained it, for it could not
make a law which it could not revoke. 3 Again he says that
the Eoman people had transferred their authority to the
Prince by the Lex Eegia, and mentions that he had seen in
the Church of the Lateran a brazen tablet which described
the powers given by the Eoman Senate and people to Ves-
1 Zabarella: Comm. on Decretals I. expedit justificare, quia ilia est de
vi. 6 (fol. 107): Sic enim dicunt philo- facto. "
aophi quod regimen civitatis consist it >> Id. , I. vi. 6 (fol. 110, v. ): "Nam in
penes congregationem civium, vol ipsius prima universitate est totalis plenitudo
congregationis partem valentiorem, potestatis tamquam in fundamento,
quae sententia colligitur Aristotele, ut ibi per hoc quod dicitur quod populus
tertio politicorum, c. viii. , et confor- Romanus transforendo jurisdictionem
miter dicendum est quod regimen orbis in principem, etiam in se retinuit, quia
penes congregationem hominum totius non potuit a se abdicare, statuendo
orbis, vel ipsius partem valentiorem legem a qua non posset recedere. . . .
consistat. " Et colligitur quod major est potestas
* Id. id. , I. vi. 34 (fol. 149, v. ): populi quam magistratus ipsius. Ex
"Regnum in terris surgit tribus modis, hoc dicit Oulielmus de Cuneo, ft.
primo per Dei voluntatem aliquo modo de legi. non ambigitur (Dig. i. 3, 9)
revelatum hominibus, secundo modo per populum Romanum posse revocare
consensum eorum qui reguntur, tertio, potestatem datum principi.
It may appear to some that these discussions of the binding
nature of the " Contract " of the Prince are of little more than
technical significance, but that is hardly true. The conception
was not new in the fifteenth century, but had a considerable
place in the work of the great Civilians of the fourteenth century,
and it reappears in the sixteenth century in the theory of
Bodin. We venture to suggest that the question arose natur-
ally in Italy, in connection with the great treaties which deter-
mined the relation of the Emperor to the Italian cities, but
it has also a more general significance, as indicating a limit to
the theory of the unrestrained authority of the Prince.
We began this chapter by drawing attention to the sharp
distinction which was made by Christopher Porcius between
the opinions of the " Citra Montani " and the " Ultra Montani"
nam licet Deus subjeoit priucipi leges,
tamen non subjeoit contractus. . . .
Et dicit Baldus . . . quod pacta que
faciunt Papa et Imperator cum civitati-
bus sunt servanda. Subdit autem
Baldus hie, quod licet pacta et con-
tracta principis ligent principem, non
tamen ligent ejus successorem: . . . et
quia jus non transit ad sucessorem sed
de novo creatur per electionen. . . .
Nisi essent de natura vel consuetudine
sue dignitatis, prout est in feudo. . . .
Puto, licet alii non tangant, quod ista
distinctio sic indistinct* non sit vera;
verum intelligo dictum Baldi procedere
in Imperatore vel Papa, quia tales
dignitatis non deferuntur successione
sed per electionem. . . . Tunc quum
successor non habeat dignitatem a pre-
decossore, sed nova electione conse-
quatur, puto verum esse quod dicit
Baldus, quod non teneatur pactis. Sed
in regibus, ducibus, marchionibus, et
similibus, quum regna deferantur per
successionem quia primogenitus sue-
oedit in regno ducato vel comitatu . . .
saltem attenta generali consuetudine,
credo quod successor teneatur servare
omnem contractum et quamcunque
conventionem sicut quilibet successor
privati. ''
1 Philippus Decius, 'Consilium' (in
Goldast, Monarchia, vol. iii. , edition
1621), C. xix. : "Et hoc bene facit, quia
quum prineops ex contractu obligatur,
etiam de plemtudine potestatis con-
travenire non potest, ut notanter dicit
Paulus de Castro in 1. Digna vox.
Cod. de legibus et idem Baldus in C. i.
? ad hoc, col. 5 in ver. item nut aim, ex
Gl. de pace juramento firmata, idem
tenet Paulus de Castro in Consil, 420,
'Videtur in antiquis,' et hoc idem in
termine hujus questionis tradit Petrus
de Anch. in Consil. 65, pro declarationo
? ? dubiorum col. 2. "
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? CHAP, n. ] THE LAW: CIVILIANS AND CANONISTS.
157
on the question of the continuing authority of the Eoman
people in making laws. We have, however, not been able to
find much which illustrates this distinction. This may be due
to the fact that the Civilians whose work we have been able to
examine, are all of them Italian; that is what Porcius pre-
sumably means by " Citra Montani. " It is true, however, that
if we take account not merely of Civilians or even Canonists,
but of the great political writers of other European countries,
such as John Gerson in France, Nicolas of Cusa in Germany,
or Sir John Fortescue in England, we should find that they held
that legislative authority belonged properly and normally
not to the Prince alone, but to the whole community. How
far we may think that Porcius is referring to this, we are, how-
ever, quite unable to say.
If we endeavour to summarise our conclusions about the
position of those Civilians with whom we have dealt here, it
seems to us true to say that they were clear that the Eoman
Emperor had an absolute and unconditional authority in
making " positive " law and that the people of the Empire had
no legislative authority in the general sense, and that even if
they recognised a certain authority in their custom, this rested
upon the sanction of the Prince or Pope. (We are, it must be
carefully observed, not dealing with the powers of the great
Italian cities to establish municipal laws for themselves; this
is a great and complex subject and has been dealt with in
detail by many learned writers. )
Whether they would all have accepted the somewhat ex-
treme terms cited by Jason de Mayno from Baldus, that the
Pope and the Prince could do anything " supra jus et contra
jus, et extra jus," may possibly be doubted. They are all,
including Jason himself, clear that when the Prince has entered
into a " contract" with his subjects, his authority is limited
by the " contract. "
It is evident that there was a very sharp contrast between
the political theory of most of the writers we have dealt with
in this chapter and the general tendencies of the fifteenth
century.
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? 158
CHAPTER III.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE PRINCE: ITS SOURCE
AND NATURE. POLITICAL WRITERS.
We turn from the conception of the authority of the law to
that of the authority of the Prince or Euler, and we find a
number of important writers, who in different countries deal
with the subject in some detail; and as we shall see, they
show a remarkable agreement in their judgments.
We begin with Gerson, for he was earliest in time and cer-
tainly was not less representative than the others. We cannot
here discuss his place in the great conciliar movement, but it
seems to us reasonable to say that his attitude to political
authority is related to his conception of the authority of
General Councils.
In one treatise ascribed to Gerson there is a discussion of
the origin of political society, which is interesting as illustrating
his relation to the Patristic and Stoic tradition. In the state
of innocence man had no laws or coercive justice, it was sin
which compelled men to submit to these, and he enumerates
in technical language the causes of coercive authority. 1
Gerson, however, adds, a little further on, that man is by
1 J. Gerson: 'Sermo pro Justitia ad
Regom' (Opera, vol. iv. col. 855):
"Meditemur etiam hominem creatum
iuitwe sine peccato, et in justitia pro
statu innocontiao. Fecit Deus hominem
rectum ete. Homo in illo statu non
indigebat logibus aut justitia activa
coerciva ut ad bonum converteretur.
Non igitur requirebatur dominatio
civilis aut politica. . . . Accidit autem
quod propter transgressionem legis
quae impoeita orat homini et denun-
ciats, et propter inobodientiam, mox
regnum hominis ot dominium in tyran-
nidem et subjectionem vorsum ait, ac
omino veluti infirmatum et pur vorsum.
. . . Et hie radicem habemus et causae
dominationis et ooercivi dominii. "
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? CHAP, in. ] POLITICAL WRITERS. 159
nature "Civilis," and needs the help of his fellow men, and
was therefore driven to the life of society. The Commonwealth
is a society in which men have to command and to obey to
the end that they may live in peace and sufficiency, and as the
principles of Natural Law are not sufficient for the government
of the temporal life, human laws were established; but these
must not be contrary to the Natural Law. 1
This is interesting, as illustrating what we have before
suggested, that in spite of the great authority of St Thomas
Aquinas, the Aristotelian conceptions had not made any very
profound impression.
We turn to Gerson's treatment of our immediate subject, the
source and nature of the authority of the King or Prince.
In a work described as ' Sermo ad Eegem Franciae nomine
Universitatis Parisiensis,' which is obviously a short treatise
on the nature of Kingship, Gerson describes the monarchy as
having been originally created by the common consent of men,
and for the good of the whole community. 2 And, he goes on,
it is an error and contrary to natural equity and the true
character of lordship to say that the lord is not bound by any
obligation to his subjects; as the subjects owe their lord help
and service, he owes them his protection and defence. 3 The
1 Id. id. , vol. iv. col. 856: '' Adji- sive temporalis sit sive spiritualis. Et
ciamus insuper et dicamus quod postea- quoniam principia juris aut naturalis
quam homo natura sua civilis est et ordinationis non sumciunt ad tempora-
communicativus, et talem habet indi- lem vitam gubernandam, ordinatae
gentiam cui convenienter succurrere fuore et institutao humaaae quae dam
non potest absque alterius subsidio, ordinationes et veluti voluntariae,
homo inductus fuit et veluti compulsus naturali juri minime obviantee. "
in communi vivere cum aliis, et opus * Id. : 'Sermo ad Rogem Franciae
fuit instituere ao ordinare aliquas nomine universitatis Parisiensis/
convivendi modos. Et virtus justitiae, (Opera, vol. iv. col. 798): "Propterea
quae ad hoc faciendum inclinat, nomi- rex aliquis persona privata non est, sed
natur civilis aut politica. Politia (ut est una potestas publica ordinata pro
dictum est) est hominum societas ad totius communitatis salute. Sicuti ab
bonum ordinata, ad recte praecipien- uno capite desceudit, et dependit
dum et obediendum, ut in pace vivatur totius corporis vita, et ad hoo roges
et tranquillitate et sufficientia, aut ordinati fuerunt, et prinoipes in prin-
quoad vitam banc temporalem, aut cipio per communem hominum consen-
quoad spiritualem. Justitia politica sum, et eo modo perseverare debent. "
eat virtus quae inclinat reddere uni- * Id. id. id. , col. 799: "Haec Veritas
cuique quod suum est secundum ordi- est contra horum errorem qui dicere
nationos et finem politiae ubi ipsa fuerit, ausi sunt dominum in nullo subjectis
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? 160 FIFTEENTH CENTURY. [PAST II.
words seem to be reminiscent of the principle of the mutual
obligations of feudal law.
Gerson's conception of monarchy is clearly that of an autho-
rity derived from the community, and limited by obligations
to the community. He repudiates very emphatically the error
of those who said that all things belonged to the lord and that
he could do whatever he pleased,1 and the contention of those
who misapplied the description of the conduct of the King
by Samuel, and neglected the principles of Kingship set out
in Deuteronomy, and the sound judgment of natural reason
which is never contradicted by the divine law. 2
This brings Gerson to a discussion of tyranny, which he
describes as a poison which tends to destroy all political life;
men ought, according to their position, to resist it. He warns
them indeed against unreasonable and unjustifiable sedition
which may produce results worse than tyranny itself, but he
asserts that the tyrant has lost all right to his authority, that he
is hated by God and by man, and rarely dies a natural death. 3
He therefore argues that it would be well that the royal
authority should be limited and restrained; and he cites the
reply of Theopompus to his wife when she complained that he
was leaving a diminished authority to his children; that it
might be diminished but it would be more permanent. It
would be more permanent, because it would be more reasonable
suis teneri aut obligari, quod est contra
jus divinum et naturalem aequitatem,
et veram dominii fidem; quemadmo-
dum subditi fidem, subsidium et servi-
tmm eorum superiori debent, sic
superior fidem, protectionem et defen-
sionem suis debet subjectis; bonitas
una aliam requirit. "
1 Id. id. id. , col. 799: "Hie mani-
festum est bos err are qui dicunt
dominia omnia ad ipsos spec tare, et
quod agere possunt ad eorum arbitrium
et voluntatem, omnia quae subjectorum
sunt absque ullo titulo ad se trahendo,
quid hoc sibi vult. "
Cf. id. : "Kogulae Moralis. " (Opera,
vol. i. part ii. col. 22): "Omnia sunt
principis, non quidem proprietario jure,
nec pro se, sed pro necessitate reipub-
licae. "
2 Id. , 'Son no ad Regem Franciae'
(vol. iv. col. 800): "Hie apparet ulte-
rius, quod devius ille perperam et
perverse intilligeret textum Bibliae, qui
contra veritatem vortere vellet verba
scripta, 1 Reg. viii. cap. 'Hoc est jus
regis,' quia verus sensus literalis alibi
est et specialitor, Deut. xviii. , omnino
his contrarius; et etiam omne bonum
rationis naturalis judicium, cui nun-
quam contrariatur ius Divinum. "
? Id. id. id. , col. 801.
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? chap, in. ]
161
POLITICAL WRITERS.
and more honourable, for true authority is a reasonable
authority. 1
The principle which Gerson sets out here, that the royal
authority should be limited and restrained, corresponds very
closely with that which he expresses in other works. In the
'Sermo in viaegio Eegis Eomanorum ' of July 1415 he cites the
usual definitions of Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy,
but adds that it would be better still to have a constitution
composed of more than one element, as for instance, of
Monarchy and Aristocracy, as in France, where the king does
not disdain to be judged by the Parliament; while it would
be best of all that it should contain all the elements, Monarchy,
Aristocracy and " Timocracy. " 2 In another work he says that
it is intolerable that the judgment of one man should be able
to direct the Commonwealth at his pleasure, for the " canon"
says most truly that what concerns all should be approved by
all, that is by the greater and wiser judgment of all. 3 In
another place again Gerson puts this conception into concrete
1 Id. id. id. , col.
802: "Estque
multo eligibilius ut minus ha beaut (reges
aut principes) dominium, quod sit
rationabile sanctum et durans, dando
aliqua reetringentia. . . . Tale re-
huonsum dedit Theopompus uxori suae
quae conquerebatur de hoc quod certia
legibus potentiam suam restrinxisset,
sicut rex se subest in multis casibus jus-
titiae parlamenti. Verecundia est, dice-
bat foemina ilia, liberis tuis potentiam
diminui sinere quam non conquisisti.
Respondit ipse: Sino eis minorem
potentiam sed durabiliorem. Quare
durabiliorem? Quia rationabiliorom.
Sed dices: est autem minus honorabilis.
Scias quod non, sed magis honorabilis,
quia habere subjectos secundum ratio-
nem est singulare dominium, singularis
dignitas, honor, nobilitas et ingenuitas.
Et in hoc dominus non se subjecit sub-
jectis sed rationi, cui jure divino et
naturali unusquisque dominus et alius
quilibet obedientiam debet et subjec-
VOL. VI.
tionem. De his Seneca: 'Si vis omnia
subijcero tibi, subijce te rationi. '"
* Id. ,'Sermo in viagio Regis Romano-
rum ' (Opera, vol. i. ool. 182): "Esset
autem inter istas politias ilia melior
quam aliqua singularis quae ex regali
et aristocratiacomponcretur, ut in regno
Franciae, ubi rex instituit parlamen-
tum, a quo judicari non ref ugit. Esset
vero omnium optima et saluberrima
politia quae triplicem hano bonam
compleoteretur, regalem, aristocratiam,
et timocratiam.
>> Id. , 'De considerationibus quas
debet habere princeps ' (Opera, vol. ii.
col. 850): "Quid enim minus tolerabile,
quam si universam rempublicam una
unius sententia presumet pro libito
versare reversareque, cum verissime
dicit canon, 'Quod omnee tangit ab
omnibus debet approbari. ' Ab omni-
bus intellige, vel a majore omnium
sanioreque oonsilio. "
? ? L
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? 162
[PART II.
FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
terms, and says it would be well that the nobles, clergy and
citizens should be called together from the different parts of
France, who know and could set out the miserable conditions of
their various provinces. 1 Gerson, that is, preferred a mixed
constitution, and this not only in the State but in the Church.
In one of his most important works, which was related to the
Council of Constance, and in which he discusses at length the
nature of authority in the Church, he speaks of the best form
of constitution for the Church as being like that of Israel under
Moses, a mixed authority, royal, aristocratic, and "timo-
cratic. " 2 It is indeed evident that the constitutional con-
ceptions of Gerson about the proper organisation of political
authority are closely related to his parallel conceptions about
the constitution of the Church.
In other passages to which we have referred in a former
chapter Gerson expresses the principle that the royal authority
should be Limited and restrained, under the terms of the King's
relation to the law. In the treatise we have just cited "De
Potestate Bcclesiastica" when enumerating the forms of
government which, according to Aristotle are good, he describes
them all, the monarchy, the aristocracy and the " timocracy"
as being according to law;3 and again in another place,
1 Id. , 'Sermo ad regem' (Opera,
vol. iv. col. 807): "Tales ad consilia
vooari deberent qui timereut Deum et
periculum propria(R) eorum oonscientiae,
et qui bonum commune privatae et
propriae preponerent utilitati. . . .
Juxta banc considerationem valde
videretur expediens, ut de princi-
palioribus regni partibus nonnulli
vocarentur et audirentur, tam nobiles,
quam clerici et cives, qui libere misera-
bilem statum patriarum suarum ox-
ponerent. "
1 Id. , 'De Potestate Ecclesiastics'
(Opera, vol. i. col. 123): "Consideratio
viii. Maneat ecclesiastica politia
Optimo regimine; quale fuit sub Moyse
gubornata, quoniam mixta fuit ac
triplici politia. Regali, Moyse, aristo-
cratica in 72 senioribus, et timocratica
dum de populo et singulis tribubus sub
Moyse, rectores sumebantnr. "
* Id. , 'De Potestate Ecclesiastica,'
Consideratio xiii. (Opera, vol. i. col. 138):
"Describitur regnum, quod est politia
sub uno bono. Vel expressius quod est
congregatio communitatis perfect ae
sub uno, secundum leges suas bonas pro
republica. . . . Describitur aristo-
cratia quod est politia sub paucis bonis,
vel expressius quod est congregatio
communitatis perfectae sub paucis,
reipublicae per leges suas principaliter
intendentibus ut senatus. Describitur
politia appropriato nomine seu timo-
cratia . . . quod est congregatio
communitatis perfectae sub plurimis
utilitatem reipublicae per leges suas
principaliter intendentibus. "
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? CHAP. HI. ]
163
POLITICAL WRITERS.
every Prince and Prelate should follow the example of the
humility of Jesus in submitting to the law of circumcision; even
if the Prince is said to be " legibus solutus," he should submit
to the law which he has made, both as an example to his
subjects and to show his reverence to God. 1 In another
place again, in a discourse against John of Paris' assertion of
the right of tyrannicide, he says that even the King cannot
slay any man without due process of law 2; and in another
place in words which we have already cited, that the King
of France submits in many cases to the judgment of the
Parliament. 3
Finally, in one passage incidental to his discussion of the
authority of the Church in the last resort to depose the Pope,
Gerson cites Aristotle as teaching that the community has the
power to correct, and even to depose the Prince if he is in-
corrigible. And he adds, this power cannot either be taken
away from or abdicated by a free community, which has the
power to determine its own affairs. *
We may put beside these judgments of Gerson those of Peter
d'Ailly, the Archbishop of Cambrai, as expressed in an im-
portant tract which he wrote in connection with the Council
of Constance, lie contends that it is not expedient that the
Church should be governed by a purely regal constitution,
and, turning to the State, he admits that the Monarchy in
1 Id. , ' Sermo in Die Circumcinonis'
(Opera, vol. i. col. 240): "Ad apparen-
tem gratiam Dei in circumcisions
humilis pueri Jesu, princepa et prelatus
quilibet, et ai dicatur solutus legibus
pati debet legem quam ipse tulerit, tum
pro subditorum oxemplo, tum pro
reverentia praestanda Deo, ut appareat
gratia Dei in eo, et non secularia de-
sideria videantur dominari. "
* Id. , 'Sermo contra assertionem
Mag. Joannes Paris ' (Opera, vol. i. col.
399): "Sicut est rox, qui quidem rex
non posset sine juris online non moni-
tum, non vocatum, non convictum in-
terficere. "
* Id. , 'Sermo, ad Regem' (Opera,
vol. ii. col. 802): "Siout rox se subdit
in multis casibus justitiae parlamenti. "
Cf. id. , 'Sermo pro Viagio Regis
Romanorum ' (vol. i. col. 152): "Ut in
regno Franciae ubi rex instiluit parla-
mentum a quo judicari non refugit. "
4 Id. , 'Do auferribilitate Papae ab
Ecclesia' (Opera, vol. i. col. 161):
"Sicut enim tradit Arist. V. Poli,
quod ad communitatem totam spectat
principis vel correctio, vel totalis
destitutio, si irremediabilis perseveret.
Et haoc potostas inauferabilis vel in-
abdicabilis est a communitate libera,
quae do rebus suis facero potest ad
libitum, nee per appropriationem vel
aliquam legem potest suspendi; quanto
magis hoc habebit ecclesia. "
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? 164
[pabt n.
FIFTEENTH CENTCRY.
which one man rules according to virtue is the best of all
simple forms of government, but a mixed government, in
which Aristocratic and Democratic elements are combined
with Monarchy is better, for in such a government all have
some part,1 and he maintains as St Thomas and Gerson had
done, that this was the nature of the government of Israel as
originally instituted by God. 2
It is also interesting to observe that, in discussing the
question whether the Pope was subject to the government of
a General Council, he says that the principle that the greater
is not judged by the less is not always true, for the King of
France, though he is greater than any other in the Kingdom is
often, in some cases, judged by the Parliament, and judgment
is given against him. 3
We put beside these theories of the authority of the ruler in
Gerson and Peter d'Ailly, those of some of the most important
Canonists of the fifteenth century, Zabarella, " Panormitanus,"
and Turrecremata, for their opinions correspond rather with
those of Gerson and d'Ailly than with those of the Civilians.
We may begin by observing that " Panormitanus " is clear
that political authority is the result of sin; if it were not for
this, all men would be equal. * This does not mean that
>> Peter D'Ailly, ' De Ecclosiae et Car-
dinalium auctoritate' (Gerson. Opera,
vol. i. col. 918): "Sciendum est, quod
licet regimen regium, in quo unus
singulariter principatur multitudini
secundum virtutem, sit melius quolibet
alio regimine simplici, ut ostendit
philosophus III. Politicorum, tamen si
fiat mixtum cum aristooratia, in qua
plures dominantur secundum virtutem,
et cum democratia in qua populus
principatur, tale regimen melius est, in
quantum in regimine mixto omnes
aliquam partem ha bent in principatu:
et etiam quia, licet regimen regis sit
optimum in se, si non corrumpatur,
tamen propter magnam potestatem,
quae rogi concoditur, de facile regimen
dogeneret in tyrannidem, nisi sit in
rege perfecta virtus, quae raro et in
paucis reperitur. "
>> Id. id. id.
* Id. id. (Gerson, Opera, vol. i. col.
931): "Ad hanc autern rat ionem,
respondetur primo, quod maior rationis
licet regulariter sit vera, tamen quan-
doque fallit. Nam rex Franciae, qui
est major et superior in toto regno,
saepe in aliquibus casis judicatur, et
contra eum fertur sententia in suo
parlamento. "
* Panormitanus: Comm. on Decre-
tals i. 33, 6 (vol. i. part it. fol. 125):
"Fatendum est quod exercitium juris-
dictionis non competit contra bonos;
unde si non esset peccatum non opor-
teret habere suporiorem, sed omnes
humanitus essent aequales. "
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-19 10:33 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/mdp. 39015002404211 Public Domain in the United States, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-us-google
? chap, m. ]
165
POLITICAL WRITERS.
these Canonists conceived of government as coming directly
from God. On the contrary, Zabarella, at least, emphatically
maintained that normally it was derived immediately from the
community. He cites the "philosophers" as saying that
the rule (regimen) of the State (civitas) belonged to the con-
gregation of the citizens or its " valentior pars," and he infers
that it may therefore be said that the rule of the world be-
longed to the congregation of the men of the whole world,
or their "valentior pars. " 1 He refers to the authority of
Aristotle for the first part of his statement, but his reference
to the "valentior pars " suggests rather a reference to Mar-
silius. In another place Zabarella says that a kingdom may
arise in one of three ways: by the revealed will of God, by the
consent of those who are ruled, or by violence; the third, he
says, is not to be justified, it is merely " de facto. " The usual
method, he evidently means, is by consent. 2
He applies this principle to the Eoman Empire, for the whole
"Plenitudo Potestatis" was in the first "universitas," and
thus it has been said that the Eoman people, while transferring
its authority to the Prince, also retained it, for it could not
make a law which it could not revoke. 3 Again he says that
the Eoman people had transferred their authority to the
Prince by the Lex Eegia, and mentions that he had seen in
the Church of the Lateran a brazen tablet which described
the powers given by the Eoman Senate and people to Ves-
1 Zabarella: Comm. on Decretals I. expedit justificare, quia ilia est de
vi. 6 (fol. 107): Sic enim dicunt philo- facto. "
aophi quod regimen civitatis consist it >> Id. , I. vi. 6 (fol. 110, v. ): "Nam in
penes congregationem civium, vol ipsius prima universitate est totalis plenitudo
congregationis partem valentiorem, potestatis tamquam in fundamento,
quae sententia colligitur Aristotele, ut ibi per hoc quod dicitur quod populus
tertio politicorum, c. viii. , et confor- Romanus transforendo jurisdictionem
miter dicendum est quod regimen orbis in principem, etiam in se retinuit, quia
penes congregationem hominum totius non potuit a se abdicare, statuendo
orbis, vel ipsius partem valentiorem legem a qua non posset recedere. . . .
consistat. " Et colligitur quod major est potestas
* Id. id. , I. vi. 34 (fol. 149, v. ): populi quam magistratus ipsius. Ex
"Regnum in terris surgit tribus modis, hoc dicit Oulielmus de Cuneo, ft.
primo per Dei voluntatem aliquo modo de legi. non ambigitur (Dig. i. 3, 9)
revelatum hominibus, secundo modo per populum Romanum posse revocare
consensum eorum qui reguntur, tertio, potestatem datum principi.
