Liber III, Pars II — Quod est officium regis, et qualiter rex se habere debeat in regimine civitatis et regni. Cap. VIII.

Liber III, Pars II — Quod est officium regis, et qualiter rex se habere debeat in regimine civitatis et regni. Cap. VIII.

If a king or prince wants to govern the people entrusted to him properly and desires to know what his duty is, he must diligently consider the natural order of things. For if the whole of nature is governed by God himself, who is the supreme prince and king of kings, from whom all of creation is rightly ruled, then the governance we observe in nature should inform the governance of kings; it is indeed an art that imitates nature. In the natural world, we see that nature first provides things with the means by which they can achieve their ends. Secondly, it gives them the means to remove obstacles that might prevent them from reaching their goals. Thirdly, through these means, they naturally aim towards their own ends or goals. Just as nature gives weight to fire, allowing it to rise upwards. Secondly, it gives heat to fire, through which it acts and resists opposing forces. Thirdly, fire naturally tends upwards through what it receives from nature. Therefore, for a rule to be good and natural, three things are required. First, the people must be arranged and organized in such a way that they can achieve their intended purpose. Second, obstacles and deviations from this purpose must be removed. Third, the people must be directed and promoted toward the stated end. For we see this in the arrow that is directed toward a target: first, it is made straight so that it can better aim at its goal; second, it is feathered so that it can cut through the air more effectively, preventing it from being hindered in reaching the target; third, it is shot by the archer and directed toward the intended mark. Thus, a king and any director of the people is like an archer: the people, in turn, are like an arrow that is to be directed toward a good end. Therefore, three things pertain to the office of the king. First, he must be solicitous so that the people entrusted to him have the means to achieve their intended purpose. Secondly, he must remove what hinders. Thirdly, he must direct the people toward the intended goal. These three things are necessary for the people to achieve their intended purpose and to live well. Namely, virtues, knowledge, and external goods. Therefore, the king must be concerned that in his kingdom the pursuit of learning thrives, and that there are many wise and industrious people. For where wisdom and the source of Scriptures thrive, the entire people must receive some education; otherwise, those living in the kingdom will be engulfed in the darkness of ignorance, and it is crucial for kings and princes to be very diligent about the study of letters. Indeed (as will be explained below), if the ruler of the kingdom does not promote the study and does not wish his subjects to be knowledgeable, he is not a king but a tyrant. Secondly, good habits and virtues are necessary to achieve the intended goal. For it’s not enough to know the goal and have an enlightened understanding; unless one is virtuous and has a well-ordered desire to achieve that goal, it falls to the ruler of the kingdom to guide his subjects toward virtue. Thirdly, to achieve the intended goal in political life, external resources are also necessary. Therefore, it is fitting for kings and princes to govern cities and kingdoms in such a way that their subjects abound in external resources as they serve to live well and to achieve the intended goal in political life. However, how this can be done, and how the city should be organized so that what is necessary for life can be found in it, although it may be somewhat clear through precedents, will be explained more clearly below. Seeing that it pertains to the king's duty to be concerned about those things through which the people can achieve their intended goal, it remains to show how it pertains to kings and princes to remove such hindrances. There are also three such hindrances, one of which takes its origin from human nature, another from the wickedness of citizens, and the third from the malevolence of enemies. The first is clear, for humans are naturally corruptible in themselves; hence, because they cannot endure in themselves, they naturally desire to have their offspring, whether natural or adopted. It seems that a person lives on after death if, upon their passing, another succeeds them in their inheritance according to their institution. The peaceful state and harmony of the city and the intended goal in politics can be greatly disturbed if kings and princes do not concern themselves with how their successors will inherit from their predecessors: therefore, one of the main obstacles to a good political life is to properly arrange how the inheritances of the deceased will reach their heirs. Secondly, the peaceful state of the city and kingdom is sometimes hindered by the wickedness of the citizens: for there are some so perverse that they always want to trouble others. Therefore, kings and princes must be concerned that the peace of the kingdom is not hindered, so that evildoers may be exterminated and wrongdoers corrected. The third obstacle of this kind arises from the malice of enemies: for it is as if there were nothing to avoid the internal dangers unless the external threats are prohibited. Thus, it is the duty of the king to be concerned about civil power; and about the readiness of the armed forces, so that they can prevent the fury of enemies. How this can be done will be explained more fully in the third part of this book, where the subject of wars will be discussed. Having shown how kings and princes should be concerned, so that the people entrusted to them have the means to achieve their goals, and how they should remove obstacles: it remains to show how they should guide them toward their end. These are also three points. First, what has been entrusted must be supplied: if they see something lacking for the good governance of the city, that must be supplied; this can be done through the counsel of the wise, which will be discussed further below. Secondly, good ordinances and good statutes must be observed. Thirdly, those who work well and especially those who do what results in the common good should be rewarded and honored; for although it is important to supply what is lacking and to maintain good ordinances, it is much more important that the people be rightly directed towards their end, and it seems that rewarding the worthy is the best way to achieve this. For (as it is said in the third chapter of the Ethics), among them are the strong, who are greatly honored; among them are the wise and good, who are rewarded and honored. Therefore, it seems that it is the king's duty to be concerned about the aforementioned nine points. Thus, it seems that the king's duty pertains to these matters.