The Mediaeval Theory of the Tyrant
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6401953 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Wilfrid Parsons (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1942 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 129-143 |
| Publication date | 1942-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Review of Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-6705 • E-ISSN: 1748-6858 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0034670500009062 |
| OpenAlex | W2069545507 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
In that famous passage in his De Civitate Dei which has been called the first “Mirror of Princes,” St. Augustine outlines the qualities of the good king. The passage is toolong to quote here, but certain of the qualities listed are pertinent to this discussion. He tells us that kings are happyIf they rule justly; ... if they make their power the handmaid of His majesty by using it for the greatest possible extension of His worship; ... if more than their own they love that kingdom in which they are not afraid to have partners; if they are slow to punish, quick to pardon; if they apply that punishment as necessary to government and the defense of the republic, and not to gratify their own enmity; ... if they prefer to govern depraved desires rather than any nation whatsoever; and if they do all these things, not through ardent desire of empty glory, but through love of eternal felicity, not neglecting to offer to the true God, who is their God, for their sins the sacrifices of humility, contrition, and prayer
Glory · Humility · Majesty · Political science · Power (physics · Prayer · Punishment (psychology · Theology · Worship · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Byzantine Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Religious studies · Social Psychology · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 0.18 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2020 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |