Liber II, Pars I — Quomodo se habet communitas domus ad communitates alias, et quomodo huiusmodi communitas sit necessaria in humana vita. Cap. II.

Liber II, Pars I — Quomodo se habet communitas domus ad communitates alias, et quomodo huiusmodi communitas sit necessaria in humana vita. Cap. II.

Someone might doubt, saying that we ignore the limits of knowledge: because the society, or community, through which we are sufficient in food and clothing, and in other necessities for life, does not seem to be a domestic community, but a civil one; because according to the Philosopher. In political matters, the domestic community is not sufficient for the whole of life. Therefore, the city was established so that the necessities for life, which cannot be found in one house or in one village, might be found in another village or in another part of the city. Thus, if the city is rightly ordered, it must contain provisions for the whole of life, as will be shown more fully in the third book. Therefore, if determining the community of citizens does not pertain to this book, which deals with the governance of the household; but rather to the third book, which deals with the governance of the city: we seem to have transgressed the limits of this art by discussing in the previous chapter matters pertaining to the community of the city. But if we carefully consider how the domestic community relates to other communities: since every community includes the domestic community, and neither a city nor a village can exist unless they have houses: if any community is necessary for human life: it follows that the domestic community is necessary for such a life. In the previous chapter, we determined that human society is necessary for our life: because through this it is clearly shown that the domestic community is necessary: since every other community presupposes that one. Therefore, if we diligently consider the political statements, it will appear that there is a fourfold community. That is, the household, the neighborhood, the city, and the kingdom. For just as a house is made up of many people, so a neighborhood is made up of many houses, and a city is made up of many neighborhoods, and a kingdom is made up of many cities. Therefore, just as individual persons are parts of a house, so houses are parts of a neighborhood, a city, and a kingdom. However, not in the same way: neighborhoods are immediate parts because a neighborhood is constituted directly from houses. Indeed, houses are said to be parts of a city because by establishing a neighborhood, they can consequently establish a city and a kingdom. Thus, the household relates to other communities in this way: because all other communities presuppose it, and it is in a sense a part of all the others. The natural origin of the city is evident, as shown by the Philosopher in Book I. In this way, it exists because initially there was one household: but as children and daughters increased, and they could not all live in that one house due to the crowd, they built additional houses for themselves; and thus, from many houses, a neighborhood was formed. Therefore, it is said in the Politics that a village is a neighborhood of houses, which some call collections and children of children. It is stated that a village is a neighborhood of houses, which some call collections and children of children. Thus, the natural origin of a village is from the neighborhood of houses, which a multitude of collections and children have built. For as it was said, with the growing number of collections, that is, grandchildren and sons, and the sons of sons: and since they could not live in one house, they were compelled to build more houses and establish a village. Thus, as their generation proceeds and the multitude increases, a plurality of villages is formed, and consequently a castle or city is established; further, as castles and cities multiply, a principality and kingdom arise. However, whether there is another way for the generation of a village, city, or kingdom, other than the growth of collections or children, will be shown more fully below: for now, it is sufficient to say that such generation is the most general, because it proceeds from a kind that is a work of nature. Whatever may be said about this, and however a village, city, or kingdom may be established, the household always relates to other communities in such a way that it is a part of all the others, and in some way all the others presuppose it. Seeing how the household relates to other communities: it is clear how such a community is necessary for human life. If all other communities depend on the household, and if any community is necessary for the sufficiency of life, then the household community must be necessary. Therefore, kings and rulers, whose duty it is to guide others toward living well, should not be ignorant of how households and cities contribute to the sufficiency of human life.