Tertia epistola, quae est de affectu et protectione subditorum. Primum capitulum, in quo ostenditur quod affectus pietatis debet esse in principibus per exempta naturalia.
The Ruler's Duty of Affection and Protection
Having nearly completed the journey of instruction, the author introduces the fourth duty of kings and princes: the affection and protection owed to their subjects.
Since, by the grace of the Holy Spirit breathing on us, we now see land as though we have already crossed the open sea, and now from nearby we hold the shore anchorage, the time demands that, with sails loosened, our discourse be shortened. The fourth thing, then, that is necessary for kings and princes is the affection and protection owed to their subjects.
The Sword of Justice and the Example of the Faithful King
Drawing on Romans 13:4, the author teaches that rulers must be loved by their subjects and feared by evildoers, wielding the sword of justice with restraint, and he holds up the example of the faithful king who was a father to the poor and clothed himself in justice, following Gregory the Great's model of paternal charity.
Let kings and princes, then, be moved toward their subjects so that they may be loved by those under their care, and in this way let them protect those same subjects so that they may be feared by evildoers — just as it is written: "If you have acted wickedly, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword without cause; for he is God's minister, a judge for wrath upon the one who acts wickedly."✦ This sword is the avenger of iniquity: for the good, it is kept in its sheath, but for evildoers it is drawn out in accordance with justice. These, then, are the affection and protection that the most faithful king claims to have had within himself. Concerning affection, he says: "I was a father to the poor."✦ And concerning protection: "I have clothed myself in justice," he says. For as the blessed Pope Gregory the Great affirms: through the great duty of charity, he had turned the zeal of mercy into a natural affection, so that through love he might look upon them as if they were sons, and through protection might rule over them as if he were their father.
The Bee-King: Gentle Authority Without a Sting
From the natural example of bees, the author shows that the ideal ruler governs from a place of visible excellence and honor, yet—like the stingless bee-king—exercises restrained and merciful authority, for love of the people is the truest fortification and rulers must transform their natural disposition into a father's devotion.
And if it is acceptable to borrow customs from animals, then just as much by the example of creatures that crawl as of those that fly or swim, the disposition of princes can be shaped. So let us return to the example of bees, who beyond any doubt have a king, under whom each one performs its own particular duty. Their king, however, is established in the most spacious and most secure chamber — say, in their very midst — and he keeps the industrious ones busy, punishes the idle ones, yet he himself does no work at all. He alone rules, and he differs from the others — more beautiful in form, unmatched in size, gentler in character, just as he is honored before the rest because he is more honorable. In this, you see, the distinction of the king is made clear: although bees are extremely irascible and, relative to their body's capacity, fiercely combative — and although they leave their stings behind in the wound — the king, nevertheless, is without a sting. The Lord does not want the king to be cruel to no purpose — he who left the king of the bees without a sting, even though he left anger in the kings of bees.1 Love of one's people is itself an impregnable fortification. And this will certainly happen, if rulers transform their natural disposition into the affection of a father's devotion.
Maternal Devotion in Nature: Dolphins, Seals, and the Hen
The author concludes with the examples of dolphins and seals who shelter their frightened young back in the womb, and the hen so transformed in rearing her chicks that her motherhood is evident even when the chicks are hidden.
Among aquatic creatures are dolphins and seals, which give birth to their young and then, when recently born offspring have slipped back into the womb because the mothers have been frightened by some cause, cherish and protect them there anew. Surely the hen, in rearing her chicks, is so transformed that — bristling in feathers, hoarse in voice, wings drooping — even if you cannot see the chicks, you would recognize the mother.
Read the original Latin
Quoniam, aspirante Spiritus Sancti gratia, velut emenso pelago jam terram aspicimus, et jam e vicino tenemus littoris stationem, tempus exigit, velis laxatis, abbreviari sermonem. Quartum igitur quod regibus et principibus est necessarium affectus est et protectio subditorum.
Afficiantur ergo reges et principes ad subditos ut a suis subditis diligantur, et sic eosdem protegant, ut a malefactoribus timeantur, sicut scriptum est : Si maie feceris, time ; non enim sine causa gladium portât ; Dei enim minister est judex in iram ei qui maie agit. Ultor iniquitatis hic gladius, qui pro bonis mittitur in vaginam, sed pro maleficis secundum justitiam exerendus. Haec ergo sunt, affectus et protectio, quae rex ille fîdelissimus fuisse asserit in seipso. De affectu inquit : Pater eram pauperum. Et de protectione : Justifia, inquit, indutus sum. Sicut enim beatus asserit papa Gregorius : Magno caritatis officio studium misericordiae verterat in affectum naturae, ut eos quasi filios cerneret per amorem quibus quasi pater praeeratper protectionem.
Et si mores liceat ab animalibus mutuari, tam exemplo reptilium quam volatilium, quam natatilium, affectus principum poterit informari. Apum igitur repetamus exemplum, qui procul dubio regem habent sub quo singulae proprium munus exercent. Rex autem earum in cubili amplissimo et tutissimo, ut puta in earum medio, constituitur, laboriosas exercet, otiosas punit, ipse tamen minime operatur. Unicus principatur, et dissimilis caeteris formaque pulchrior, dispar magnitudine, suavior moribus, sicut honorabilior prae caeteris honoratur. In hoc enim manifesta est regis distinctio quod cum apes iracundissimae et pro corporis captu sint pugnacissimae, et aculeos relinquant in vulnere, rex tamen est sine aculeo. Non vult Dominus regem inutiliter esse s crudelem qui iram in regibus apum reliquit inhermem. Amor enim civium unum est inexpugnable munimentum. Quod utique fîet si principes naturam verterint in paternae pietatis affectum.
Natatilia sunt delphini et phocae, quae catulos pariunt, quae fétus suos recenter editos cum ex aliqua causa territi fuerint denuo sublapsos in uterum fovent et protegunt. Certe gallina in educatione pullorum adeo infinnatur ut plumis hispida, voce rauca, alis demissa, etiamsi pullos non videas, matrem agnoscas.
Scripture echoes
Notes
- 1 ↩The normalized text reads 'inutiliter esse s crudelem' where 's' appears to be a textual corruption or abbreviation. The translation follows the most plausible intended sense: the Lord does not want the king to be pointlessly/uselessly cruel. The 's' may represent a scribal mark or truncation; the clause is rendered as 'to be cruel to no purpose' to capture inutiliter + crudelem.
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