Liber III, Pars I — Quod communitas civitatis est aliquo modo principalissima, et est alicuius boni gratia constituta. Cap. I.

Liber III, Pars I — Quod communitas civitatis est aliquo modo principalissima, et est alicuius boni gratia constituta. Cap. I.

Since every city is a kind of community, and every community exists for the sake of some good, a city must be established for the sake of some good. The Philosopher proves this in the first book of Politics. The first way to investigate this is through the perspective of the city being established in relation to other cities. The first way is taken from the perspective of the people who are establishing the city. The second way is from the perspective of the established city. The first way is clear. For, as it is said in the first book of Ethics, every action and choice seems to aim at some good. And it is written in the first book of Politics that, for the sake of what seems good, all actions are performed by all. If therefore all people direct their actions toward what seems good, and since the city is a human work, it must be established for the sake of what seems good. However, it should not be understood that the city is established for the sake of what seems good, as if it were not also established for the sake of what truly is good. For when we direct our actions toward some good, sometimes we have an impulse toward that good from nature, and sometimes it seems to arise from a corruption of nature. That good, toward which all people have an impulse from nature, seems to be a good that truly exists: this is the foundation of the city. For this is stated in the first book of Politics. Indeed, nature instills an impulse toward such a community, as is the community of the city. Therefore, with respect to the people who establish the city, since they have a natural impulse toward its establishment, the city is not only established for the sake of what seems good, but also for the sake of what truly is good. The second way to investigate this same point is taken from the aspect of the city being established in comparison to other cities. For although every natural community is ordered toward good, the principal community is primarily ordered toward itself: this is the community of the city, which is the most principal in relation to the community of the household and the village. Therefore, if the household community is ordered toward good and also toward many goods, as was demonstrated more extensively above in the second book, the community of the village, which is more principal than the household community, is ordered much more toward good; and for this reason, the community of the city, which is the most principal community in relation to the village and the household, is ordered primarily toward good. This is what is first said in Aristotle's Politics. However, it should be noted that the community of the city is not the most principal simply and in every way, but in relation to the community of the household and the village. If we say that every community is established for the sake of some good, especially the most principal of all, and that which is the most principal of all, encompassing all others, is established primarily for the sake of good, this is the political community, which is commonly called the city. It should be noted, however, that the community of the city is not simply and in every way the most principal, but in relation to the community of the household and the village. For the community of the kingdom seems to relate to the community of the city in the same way that this community relates to the household and the village. Indeed, the city encompasses the household and the village; it is more principal than those communities and more sufficient in life than the aforementioned communities: in the same way, the community of the kingdom encompasses the community of the city and is much more perfect and more sufficient in life than that community.