Liber I, Pars I — Quod non deceat regiam maiestatem suam felicitatem ponere in robore corporali, vel in pulchritudine, vel in aliis bonis corporis. Cap. XI.

Liber I, Pars I — Quod non deceat regiam maiestatem suam felicitatem ponere in robore corporali, vel in pulchritudine, vel in aliis bonis corporis. Cap. XI.

It is clear enough that happiness should not be placed in bodily goods. However, there are three bodily goods that people seem to desire most: health, beauty, and strength. Rather, some place their happiness in such things. For it seems altogether contrary regarding bodily goods and the soul. Bodily goods are desired more the less they are possessed; for before such goods are tasted, they are believed to be greater than they are; but once they are obtained, they appear not to be as great as they were believed. Virtues and intellectual goods hold a reversed measure: for once obtained, they are found to be greater than they were believed. Therefore, those who do not know the sweetness of wisdom sometimes blame those who devote themselves to philosophy and scientific study, because they are ignorant of the goodness and sweetness of virtues and sciences. But if they truly knew it, they would not only not blame those who devote themselves to sciences and virtues, but they would even mock whoever does not devote themselves to such things. Therefore, bodily things are considered to be greater than they are when they are not possessed; many who lack bodily goods desire them so much that they believe these things to be of such great excellence that if they had them, they would think themselves happy. Therefore, it is said I. Ethics. First, because such goods are bodily. But it is not happiness in strength, nor in health, nor in beauty, that we can pursue in three ways. First, because such goods are bodily. Secondly, because they are, in a way, external. Thirdly, because they are easily changeable. Corporeal things exist because they have being in the physical realm, as a subject: for health is in the humors, beauty in the limbs, strength in the bones, and in the sinews. For, as the Philosopher says. 3. Regarding what should be chosen, health is the proper balance of the humors. Beauty is the proper proportion of the limbs. Strength is the proper proportion of the bones and sinews. Therefore, since the humors, limbs, sinews, and bones are corporeal, health, beauty, and strength are said to be corporeal; thus, happiness should not be placed in them. Secondly, happiness ought not to be placed in such things, because they are somewhat external goods. For a person (according to the Philosopher) is more intellect than sense; the soul is more a part of what defines a person than the body; and form expresses the nature of a thing more than matter does. Therefore, the greatest goods are those that are interior to us, which are held by the soul; happiness should not be placed in health, nor in the beauty of the body, but in the soul. No one should believe they are happy if they have balanced humors and are healthy in body; or if they have well-formed limbs and are beautiful; or if they have the proper proportions of bones and nerves and are strong in body. But if one has balanced powers, so that the lower powers are subject to reason; and if one is healthy and strong in mind; and if one has such powers adorned with virtues and good works and is beautiful in soul, then (as their state requires) they may believe they are happy. We say, however (as their state requires), that complete happiness cannot be had in this life. Therefore, happiness should not be placed in health, strength, or bodily beauty, because these are, in a sense, external goods. That happiness is properly found in internal goods is clear from the Philosopher. The Philosopher states that God is a witness to us, that happiness is to be found in internal goods. God testifies to this through Himself, as the same source hints: for God is not blessed through any external goods, but through those that are within Himself. If, therefore, a blessed soul is likened to God, it will not be blessed unless it is through good things. These are the things that are within itself. Thirdly, happiness should not be placed in such goods, because they are very changeable. The equilibrium of humors, since it is subject to the motion of supercelestial bodies, the variation of air, and the change of foods, easily receives variation. But when health is lost, the strength of the body is lost, because the limbs are loosened and the nerves are weakened. Because of this, the proportion of those nerves and bones, in which bodily strength has its being, is removed. So too beauty is removed, because when health is lost, the limbs become thin, and there remains no proper color in them: they lose that conformity in which beauty and decor are preserved. Therefore, it is not fitting for a king, nor for any man, to place his happiness in such things as are bodily, somewhat external, and easily changeable. Let us say, then, for the understanding of all that has been said, that it is not fitting for a prince to place his happiness in bodily pleasures, nor in wealth, nor in honors, nor in reputation, nor in civil power, nor in health, nor in physical strength, nor in beauty; yet he should use all these things as instruments for happiness. For he must use food, in which there is bodily delight, for the preservation of the individual, or for the preservation of his own person; for if he is the head of the kingdom, from his deficiency, evil could arise for the people. He should engage in marital acts for the preservation of the species, or for the procreation of offspring; for due to the lack of children, many kingdoms have suffered division and scandals: when princes die without heirs, many rise up to dominate and cause dissension among the people. For a prince must possess sufficient wealth so that he can defend the kingdom and carry out virtuous deeds; it is fitting for a king to be magnificent and to benefit deserving people, which cannot be done without wealth. Thus, too, he should ensure that royal majesty is not held in contempt. A king is worthy of honor, and it is expedient for him to have civil power; for due to the contempt of the prince, many often commit evils and show others that it is not expedient for the kingdom. Thus, too, he must be concerned about his reputation, for this is what leads the subjects to virtue. For, as it has been proven, as the prince is, so is the people. Since the prince is proclaimed good, the subjects receive the means to do good. Health, beauty, and strength are fitting for the prince, not because true happiness lies in them, but because they can serve as instruments for happiness. Such things should be valued, as they are instruments for happiness and contribute to a certain clarity of happiness. Therefore, regarding how these things should be valued, we have briefly covered them here, because we will address some of them further below.