Septimum capitulum, de usu materialis gladii quem accipit judex ad executionem justitiae, et quod princeps debet juramenta illicita cohibere.
The Two Swords Given to the Church
Judges and princes must diligently correct evils and wield the bodily sword in service of the Church, fulfilling the Lord's word that two swords are needed.
Let both judges and princes be careful not to let their own slackness in judgment and justice keep them from upholding what is right. Let them keep a watchful, diligent eye on the wrongs being committed so they can correct them. And once they have examined the offenses that are commonly carried out, let them draw the sword, so that by restraining open wrongdoing they may serve and minister to the Church — just as it is written: Behold, two swords are here.✦ For there is one sword, the bodily one, which by law inflicts punishment on sinners; and the other is spiritual, which through the Gospel heals people by striking at their faults. These are the two coins that the merciful Samaritan entrusted to the prelates for the care of the sick — one of the old currency, the other of the new — so that with the old they may buy remedies that bite, and with the new, remedies that soothe: the first for purging what is rotten, the second for strengthening what is alive.✦ The apostle Peter left this sword in the hands of prelates, and that other sword in his successors — indeed, Constantine placed it in the hands of kings and princes.
Christ Crucified Again by Public Blasphemy
Rulers must not be idle spectators of blasphemy, for every public sin crucifies Christ anew, and the sword's very terror should restrain such outrages.
Let barons and princes see, then, how vigorously they wield this sword — in whose eyes Christ is crucified again, while he is blasphemed daily by the people.✦1 I am not saying they should draw the sword to strike, but at least that they should instill fear and terror.2
The Bee-King as Mirror of Just Rule
Nature's bee-king, chosen for excellence, ruling without plunder, and obeyed with reverence, offers princes a living image of restrained and fruitful governance.
Bees, under kings and princes, carry out their own duty, and by the judgment of nature—choosing the one they have seen to be worthier and better—they eagerly entrust their leadership to that one by skill, not by lot. Whichever among them has been established as king receives the diadem of the principate, excelling among them as much in lightness of movement as in the stature of its limbs.3 It has stings, however, which it nevertheless does not use to harm the others. There, faults are nevertheless lawfully corrected, and the bees that do not follow the lawful institutions of the laws and of kings endure the punishment imposed. To the innocent, however, they cause no trouble; they do not plunder others' property, but shape honeycombs built from flowers, and the honey—gathered from the dewy moisture that sits upon the leaves of trees—they store away in fixed cells.4 So great, indeed, is the obedience and reverence they show their king that they do not dare seek out open fields before they have seen their leader take flight.
Rulers Who Wink at Injuries to Christ
Kings must not ignore injuries done to Christ through plunder, theft, and the multiplication of corrupt offices, nor lead others into sin by their own excessive swearing.
By this example, then, let kings and princes restrain evils and wrongs, and let them not pass over the injuries done to Christ with winking eyes, nor conceal them with deaf ears; but let them forgive personal injuries as they see fit.✦ They look on and carry out acts of plunder and theft, and in order to sustain condemned offices they multiply their revenues and increase their profits. They swear excessively, and by their example they virtually compel others to take abominable oaths.
The King Who Swears Too Much Dishonors His Throne
Aristotle's counsel to Alexander teaches that oaths should be rare, for frequent swearing diminishes royal honor and invites divine judgment, as fallen kingdoms attest.
On this point Aristotle instructs King Alexander on the subject of oaths: Who compelled you to swear so frequently? It should not be done except out of great necessity. A king, however, ought not to swear unless he is strongly urged to do so. For when he swears often, he greatly detracts from his honor, and it is unbecoming to his integrity. If you were to ask what caused the destruction of the kingdoms of the Ebaii and the Secci, I would answer you: because their kings used oaths for the fraud and deception of their people, breaking the treaties of neighboring cities that had been established for the safety and benefit of the human race, and those wicked men abused oaths for the overthrow of their neighbors — and so the most just equity of the Judge could no longer endure it.5
The Unbeliever Who Outdoes the Christian
Catholic men who swear against Christ's teaching should be shamed by unbelievers who forbid oaths, for the latter live the Gospel more faithfully in this regard.
Should not Catholic men be ashamed — men who have trained their mouths to swear oaths against the teaching of Christ — when they consider that an unbelieving man who forbids swearing shows himself to us, in that very regard, to be a man of the Gospel!✦67
Read the original Latin
Videant et judices et principes ne propria rémission judicii et justitiae rectitudini reluctentur, et mala quae fiunt, ut ipsa corrigant, vigili et diligenti oculo contemplentur, et malis inspectis quae communiter fiunt, gladium exerant, ut in cohibendis malis quae manifeste fiunt ecclesiae serviant et ministrent, sicut scriptum est : Ecce gladii duo hic. Est enim unus gladius corporalis, qui secundum legem pœnam peccantibus irrogat ; alius spiritualis, qui secundum Evangelium culpas feriens homines sanat. Hii sunt duo nurami quos misericors Samaritanus pro cura languidis adhibenda praelatis commisit, unus monetae veteris, alter novae, ut emantur veteri medicamina quae mordeant, novo quae mulceant ; prima ad purganda quae putrida sunt, secunda ad confirmanda quae viva sunt. Hune reliquit gladium in praelatis apostolus Petrus, illum in suis successoribus, imo in regibus et principibus Constantinus.
Videant ergo barones et principes quomodo hujus gladii usus ab eis ener;viter exercetur, in quorum oculis Christus iterum crucifigitur dum a populo quotidie blasphematur. Non dico ut exerant gladium ad percussionem, sed saltem ut metum incutiant et terrorem.
Apes sub regibus et principibus suum exercent officium, et naturae judicio quem digniorem et meliorem viderint eligentes, arte, non sorte, sibi suum committunt alacriter principatum. Qui autem in eis rex fuerit constitutus, accipit infulam principatus, excellens in eis tam levitate moveri quam proceritate membrorum. Habet autem spicula quibus tamen non utitur ad laesionem aliarum. Ibi nihilominus légitime corriguntur errata, et pœnam impositam sustinent apes quae non sequuntur legum et regum légitima instituta. Innocentibus autem molestiam nullam faciunt, aliéna patrimonia non diripiunt, sed constructos ex floribus favos fingunt, mel autem de humore rosato qui foliis insidet arborum ore collectum in certis cellis recondunt. Tantam autem regi suo exhibent obedientiam et reverentiam ut prius non audeant campos patentes appetere quam suum principem viderint volasse.
Hoc igitur documento reges et principes et mala coherceant et Christi injurias oculis conniventibus non pertranseant, surdis auribus non dissimulent, personales autem prout voluerint has remittant. Vident et exercent rapinas et furta, et ut officia damnata sustineant multiplicant redditus, augent lucra. Jurant enormiter, et eorum exemplo quasi quodammodo compellunt alios ad execrabilia juramenta.
Unde Aristoteles circa juramentum sic regem instruit Alexandrum : Quis te compulit tam fréquenter jurare ? Non est faciendum, nisi ex magna necessitate. Rex vero nisi multum requisitus non debet jurare. Quando enim jurât, multum derogat honori, et non convenit honestati. Si enim quaeres quae causa fuit destructionis regni Ebaiorum et Seccorum, responderem tibi quia reges eorum utebantur juramentis ad fraudem et deceptionem hominum, et proximarum civitatum frangentes fœdera quae fuere stabilita ad salutem humani I generis et utilitatem, iniqui illi abutebantur juramentis ad subversionem proximorum, et ideo aequitas justissima judicis non potuit amplius sustinere.
Quidni erubescant viri catholici qui assuefecerunt os suum jurationi contra doctrinam Christi, considérantes hominem infidelem qui jurare prohibet,in quo virum se nobis evangelicum exhibet !
Scripture echoes
- ↩Luke.22.38 — They said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough."
- ↩Luke.10.34-Luke.10.35 — and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Luke.10.35 — And on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
- ↩Heb.6.6 — and having fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying again for themselves the Son of God and holding him up to open shame.
- ↩Acts.9.4-Acts.9.5 — He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Acts.9.5 — He said, "Who are you, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."
- ↩Matt.5.34-Matt.5.37 — But I say to you, do not swear at all—neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; Matt.5.35 — Neither by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Matt.5.36 — Neither swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Matt.5.37 — Let your word be 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these comes from the evil one.
Notes
- 1 ↩The phrase 'in whose eyes Christ is crucified again' frames the ruler's responsibility in starkly theological terms: the misuse of temporal power becomes a fresh crucifixion of Christ, echoing Hebrews 6:6.
- 2 ↩The first 'ut' after 'dico' is treated as a complementizer ('that'), introducing the content of what is not being said. The second 'ut' after 'saltem' is purposive ('so that'), expressing the minimum expected effect of the sword's presence.
- 3 ↩infulam: rare word rendered 'diadem' to convey the insignia of royal authority.
- 4 ↩ore: rendered 'leaves' with the sense of the surface or edge of foliage where dew collects.
- 5 ↩Ebaiorum and Seccorum are uncertain proper nouns; the reading 'humani I generis' is also uncertain (possibly a numeral or scribal abbreviation). Translation follows the most plausible intended sense.
- 6 ↩The rhetorical question (quidni) carries exclamatory force: the author is indignant that Catholics who habitually swear fall short of the standard set by an outsider who refuses to swear at all.
- 7 ↩Virum evangelicum ('a man of the Gospel') is used ironically: the infidel, by forbidding oaths, lives closer to the Gospel teaching (cf. Matt. 5:34–37) than the Catholics who habitually swear.
Eruditio regum et principum (Education of Kings and Princes) companion
Louis IX kept a daily rule of reading. Keep yours.
After day 21, Chosen Portion keeps the habit going with one historic devotional portion each morning, free on iOS.
Guibert formed Louis IX through short scheduled installments, and Chosen Portion delivers formation in the same daily-installment pattern.
- One reading and prayer per day, about 3 minutes
- Continue with 78 royal and monastic works after the plan ends
- Reflection questions suited to reading with a teen or small group