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Chapter 35ErudR.1.35

Tertium capitulum, de discretione justitiae.

The Danger of Hasty Judgment

A prince must investigate causes diligently and avoid rushing to judgment, drawing on Scripture, a pagan proverb, and Aristotle's counsel to Alexander on measured action.

And because the strictness of justice easily goes beyond what the uprightness of judgment does not shape, Scripture therefore says: "The cause that I did not know I most diligently investigated."123 A prince — indeed, every servant of justice — must thoroughly investigate all things and examine the order of affairs with full inquiry, so that no party is prejudiced and no judgment is passed on a matter not yet seen to rest on lawful grounds.45 As the pagan writer says:6 Whoever judges quickly is rushing toward repentance. And Aristotle, in his letter to Alexander: when a king sees that something good or useful needs to be done, let him do it with discernment — not too slowly, not too quickly — so he doesn't seem impulsive or slack.

Discerning the Merits of Persons and Intentions

True discernment in justice requires weighing the rank of persons, the intention behind offenses, and the prudent use of simulation and dissimulation according to circumstance.

This, then, is the first step in discernment regarding justice: through it one learns to give each person what their individual merits deserve. As Aristotle himself says, if anyone commits an act of injustice, they are to be punished according to the standing of their person, so that others may be deterred and learn to keep themselves from wrongdoing. And a person of noble and exalted rank is to be punished differently from one who is of common and lowly station. If, then, anyone in the court or in the presence of royal majesty presumes to commit an injustice or inflict an offense, it must be considered with what intention they do it — whether in jest, to please and stir the spirits toward merriment, or in contempt of royal majesty. If in the first way, let them be punished lightly; if in the second, let them be restrained more severely. Therefore, this discernment rightly distinguishes between the merits of persons, between the will and the purpose when a wrong is committed, and through it one also simulates and dissimulates according to time and place.

The Emperor's Mercy Toward Slanderers

Public law prescribes severity, yet the emperor's own decree shows mercy toward those who slander, distinguishing frivolity, madness, and wrongdoing as grounds for compassion rather than punishment.

This is also why public law has decreed that anyone is to be punished with severity. For the emperor, confirming the statutes of Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, says this: if anyone, ignorant of moderation and shameless, has believed our names are to be assailed with shameful and abusive speech, and has been a slanderer turbulent with the drunkenness of the times, we do not want that person subjected to punishment or made to endure anything harsh or severe, since if it came from frivolity, it's to be despised; if from madness, it's most deserving of compassion; if from wrongdoing, it's to be forgiven.

Philosophers on Enduring Slander

Drawing on Aristippus, Antisthenes, Xenophon, and Diogenes, the text teaches that a wise ruler weighs the character of accusers, masters his own ears, and recognizes slander as a mark of the slanderer's inferiority.

Since all these sources are intact, let us bring this report back to our own knowledge, so that from the characters of men we may weigh their words, and judge whether they ought to be passed over or looked into more closely. Hence Aristippus, leaving the company of philosophers after being slandered by one of them, is reported to have said: As you are master of your tongue, so I am master of my ears.7 And when someone told Antisthenes, "That man has spoken ill of you," he replied, "Not of me — but of the one who recognizes in himself the fault that man finds. But even if he should take the trouble to slander me, I don't care, because hearing ought to be stronger than speech, since each person has a single tongue but two ears."8 Still, I do care to some extent, because by that very fact he confesses me to be his superior, since it is the mark of a person of higher standing to be subject to detractions, and of one lower to inflict them.9 So I would rejoice — unless necessity pressed me to sympathize with an unfortunate man.10 Xenophon says: You learned how to slander; I, with my conscience as witness, learned to despise slander. Diogenes, however, when someone brought him the news — "Your friends," he said, "all blame you" — replied: "Wisdom ought not to be faulted by the unwise; for a bad tongue picking at someone shows that the person is better than the one doing the picking."11 From here let us turn from the prophets to kings.

Kings and Emperors Who Bore Reproach

Antigonus, Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, and Tiberius exemplify the patient endurance of criticism, showing that true sovereignty lies in mastering indignation and resting content that no one can do more against us.

Antigonus, Alexander's tutor, broke a lyre and threw it away shattered, saying: "It's time now for your age to reign — and it's shameful that in a king's body the pleasure of luxury should rule." And this, it's said, he endured as patiently as he did discreetly. But I'll pass over the Greeks and move to the Romans. For when Scipio Africanus had heard that certain people were accusing him — 'Oh!' — of being too little a combative commander, he said: 'My mother bore me not to be a warrior.' The first of the Roman emperors, Julius Caesar, exercised himself greatly in this patience and wisdom: he not only endured many things patiently but declared what had to be endured. For when Tiberius was complaining in a letter that many people were speaking wrongly about him, he answered like this: 'My dear Tiberius, don't be too indignant that there's anyone who speaks ill of you.' For it's enough if we have this: that no one can do more against us.

The Prophetic and Christian Patience of Silence

The practice of discernment conforms the wise to the holy fathers: David's silence before Shimei, the prophet's holy stillness, and Christ's own silence under torment reveal that patient endurance of slander is the highest imitation of God.

Why should we imitate the customs of men who stand outside the life of discernment, unless it is because in the practice of that very discernment they showed themselves conformed to the holy fathers, even though those fathers lived in distant times? 'I became silent,' says the prophet, 'and I was humbled, and I held my peace from good things.'✦ Not by killing but by keeping silent and by yielding did he withstand the insults of Shimei.✦ He was not moved when he was called a man of blood, for he was conscious of his own gentleness.✦ So it is that those skilled in the art of throwing overcome their pursuers by dodging, and wound with the heaviest blows those who follow them. So also Christ the Lord was silent during his torments, because neither good nor evil had gone forth from the mouth of the most high Lord, our Savior.✦

Read the original Latin

Et quia de facili justitiae rigor exorbitat quam rectitudo judicii non informat, ideo Scriptura dicit : Causam quam nesciebam diligentissime investigabam.

Oportet enim principem, imo omnem ministrum justitiae cuncta rimari, et ordinem rerum plena inquisitione discuttere, ne praejudicium fiât parti, nec super illa quaestione ferat sententiam quam needum videt legitimis rationibus limitatam. Ut "enim ait ethnicus :

Ad poenitendum properat quisquis cito judicat.

Et Aristoteles in epistola ad Alexandrum : Cum rex viderit aliquod bonum vel utile faciendum, faciat cum discretione, nec nimis tarde, nec nimis cito, ne videatur impetuosus vel remissus.

Haec est]autem justitiae discretio praevia per quam novit unicuique retribuere juxta singulorum mérita, sicut idem Aristoteles ait : Si quis facit aliquam injuriara, puniendus est secundum qualitatem suae personae, ut terreantur alii, et discant ab injuriis abstinere. Et aliter puniendus est nobilis et excelsus, aliter popularis et abjectus. Si quis ergo in curia vel in praesentia regiae majestatis praesumit injuriam perpetrare vel offensam inferre , considerandum est quo animo istud facit, aut ludendo ut placeat et animos ad gaudia provocet, an in contemptu regiae majestatis. Si primo modo, leviter puniatur ; si secundo, gravius arceatur. Ergo hujus discretionis merito distinguit inter mérita personarum, inter voluntatem et propositum cum perpetratur maleficium, et per hanc etiam simulât et dissimulât secundum tempus et locum.

Inde est etiam quod publico jure statutum legitur quisquam pœnarum severitate plectatur. Aitenim imperator, Theodosii, Archadii et Honorii statuta confirmans : Si quis modestiae nescius et pudoris ignarus, inprobo peculantique maledicto nomina nostra crediderit lascessenda, ac temulentia turbulentus temporum obtrectator fuerit, eum pœnae nolumus subjugari neque durum aliquid nec asperum sustinere, quoniam si id ex levitate processit, contemnendum ; si ab insania, miseratione dignissimum ; si ex injuria, remittendum.

Unde integris omnibus hoc ad nostram scientiam referamus, ut ex personis hominum dicta pensemus, et utrum praetermitti an exquiri debeant, censeamus. Hinc Aristippus philosophais a maledicente se discedens dixisse legitur : Ut tu linguae tuae sic ego dominus aurium sum mearum. Et Antistenes cuidam dicenti : Maledixit tibi ille ; non mihi, inquit, sed illi qui in se quod ille culpat agnoscit, sed etsi mihi maledicere curet, non euro, quia auditus lingua debet esse robustior, cum singulis hominibus linguae sunt singulae, binae aures. Aliquatenus tamen euro, quia eo ipso me fatetur superiorem esse, quoniam superioris personae usus est detractionibus subjacere, inferioris inferre. Gauderem itaque nisi urgente necessitate homini compaterer infelici. Xenophon ait : Tu maledicere didicisti, ego conscientia teste didici maledictum contemnere. Diogenes autem cum ei quidam nuntiaret amicus : Te amici, inquit, cuncti vitupérant : Oportet, inquit, sapientiam a non sapientibus fœtiri ; esse enim meliorem indicat mala lingua quem carpit. Hinc a prophetis convertamur ad reges.

Alexandro Antigonus pedagogus cytharam fregit et fractam abjecit dicens : Aetati tuae jam regnare convenit, pudetque in corpore regni voluptatem luxuriae dominari. Quod et ille tam patienter quam discrète dicitur pertulisse. Sed de Graecis transeo ad Romanos. Cum enim Cipeio Africanus audisset quod quidam eum arguèrent IO eum parum esse pugnacem imperatorem, inquit : Me mater peperit non bellatorem. Primus Romanorum imperator Julius Caesar in hac se patientia et sapientia multum exercuit, qui non solum multa patienter " sustinuit, sed sustinenda indixit. Quum enim Tiberius quereretur per epistolam quod multi de illoperperam loquerentur, ita respondit : Mi Tyberi : Noli nimis indignari quemquam esse qui de te mala loquatur. Satis est enim si hoc habemus ne quis nobis maie facere possit.

Quid hommes qui foris sunt imitamur ad mores, nisi quia in hujus discretionis exercitio sanctis patribus etsi a remotis fuere conformes ? Obmutui, inquit propheta, et humiliatus sum, et silui a bonis. Non occidendo sed tacendo et cedendo restitit Semei convitiis. Non movebatur cum vir appellaretur sanguinis qui conscius erat propriae mansuetudinis. Sic enim in arte periti jaculatoria fugiendo superant et gravissimis ictibus eos qui sequuntur vulnerant. Sic et Christus Dominus siluit in tormentis, quia nec bona nec mala de ore egressa sunt altissimi Domini utique Salvatoris.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Ps.38.3;Ps.40.2 — Because your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has pressed down on me. Ps.40.2 — I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined to me and heard my cry.
  2. ↩2Sam.16.5-2Sam.16.13 — When King David came to Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul came out from there, and his name was Shimei son of Gera. He came out, cursing as he came. 2Sam.16.6 — And he pelted David and all the king's servants with stones, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right and on his left. 2Sam.16.7 — And thus Shimei said as he cursed: 'Come out, come out, you man of blood, you man of worthlessness!' 2Sam.16.8 — The LORD has brought back upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And here you are, in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed. 2Sam.16.9 — Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head." 2Sam.16.10 — But the king said, "What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse, for the LORD has told him, 'Curse David.' Who then shall say, 'Why have you done this?'" 2Sam.16.11 — And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son, who came from my own body, is seeking my life. How much more now this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to." 2Sam.16.12 — Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction, and the LORD will repay me good for his cursing this day. 2Sam.16.13 — So David and his men went along the road, while Shimei went along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went, throwing stones at him, and flinging dust.
  3. ↩2Sam.16.7-2Sam.16.8 — And thus Shimei said as he cursed: 'Come out, come out, you man of blood, you man of worthlessness!' 2Sam.16.8 — The LORD has brought back upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And here you are, in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed.
  4. ↩Matt.27.14;Isa.53.7 — And he did not answer him, not even a word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Isa.53.7 — He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb led to slaughter, and like a sheep silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Justitiae rendered as genitive singular 'of justice' rather than nominative plural 'of justices,' following the juridical context of the chapter on discretion in justice.
  2. 2 ↩Exorbitat rendered 'goes beyond' rather than 'exceeds' or 'departs from'; the sense is that strictness of justice can overstep the bounds that proper judgment has not yet formed.
  3. 3 ↩The quotation 'Causam quam nesciebam diligentissime investigabam' is a candidate scripture allusion; source identification deferred to tx-08 Moses resolution.
  4. 4 ↩needum is treated as a scribal variant of nondum ('not yet'); discuttere as a variant of discutere ('examine').
  5. 5 ↩fiât (impersonal subjunctive of fio) rendered as 'arise' to capture the sense of prejudice coming into existence.
  6. 6 ↩The quotation introduced here is cut off in the source; the identity of the pagan author and the content of the quote are not recoverable from this section alone.
  7. 7 ↩philosophais: form uncertain, possibly a medieval or corrupted form of philosophis; translated as 'philosophers' on the most plausible reading.
  8. 8 ↩euro: rare verb of uncertain etymology; rendered as 'I care' following the gloss authority.
  9. 9 ↩euro: rare verb; rendered as 'I care.'
  10. 10 ↩compaterer: rare form, possibly from compati; rendered as 'sympathize with.'
  11. 11 ↩fœtiri: rare form, possibly a corruption; rendered as 'faulted' in context.

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