De principis mansuetudine

De principis mansuetudine

Moreover, gentleness adorns other virtues in a ruler. What could be more beautiful or fitting than a person who is set above others yet still wishes to be counted among them and to be seen as one of the group? He who leads the multitude should sometimes lower himself and act with the people out of a generous spirit. According to what is written in Ecclesiasticus, "They have appointed you as a leader." Don't elevate yourself; rather, be among them as one of them. And under the authority of the emperor, although we may be free from the laws, we still want to live according to them; and elsewhere, 'Worthy is the Code.' Justin. ; ■» o iib. i*. tit. ir « vox majcstate regnantis, legibus alligatum se prinf. . " To profess oneself. Thus, the authority of our law depends on authority, and indeed it is more under the command of the laws than under the oracle of the present edict, which we judge does not allow us to act. And again, "For although the law may free the emperor from solemn obligations, nothing is so proper to the spirit of the empire as to live according to the laws," etc. The beauty of Julius Caesar's authority was such that Pliny expressed it in words: "Julius Caesar entered the auditorium of Tully." When Tullius was about to rise, Caesar, holding him back, said, 'Don't stand up for me; wisdom is greater than power.' To this, Tullius replied, 'Shouldn't I stand up for the victor of the world?' ' To which Caesar replied, 'But you have achieved a greater honor, for it is more significant to extend the boundaries of Roman intellect than to expand the Roman Empire.' On the occasion of this word from Caesar, a law was established so that no one holding a codex should rise to anyone. It also refers to the third. . . Valerius Maximus said that Accius, the poet, did not rise for Julius Caesar when he came into the assembly of poets. When asked why he had refrained from such great majesty, he replied, "An inferior rises before a superior, as is fitting." It is fitting that incomparably superior beings are acknowledged as such. Julius, without any indignation, commended both the statement and the one who spoke it. Two children, a boy and a girl, were brought to Julius for a miracle; when he examined them both, he found that they were both gifted in a remarkable way. The two children, a boy and a girl, were brought to Julius, and when he had examined them both, he finally gave them a gift worthy of an emperor. The song was sent forth with verses, 'Let the pairs be equal, let them sweat together,' etc., as it was announced to him about the son of the king, and 'Thrax, pure, bound in ice, plays in Hebro,' etc., beautifully enough and with a literary indication of generosity, now reported to him as a new case in poetic verses. It is also written about Augustus's generosity during the Saturnalia that "a certain veteran..." . . It seems. Also, Augustus Caesar, in a certain sacred way, a desperate man would say to him, "Tyrant," this. It is. He replied, "If I were, you wouldn't say that," and so on. Therefore, let humanity be clothed in the principal men in the assembly. In the assembly, indeed, the majesty of nobility is honored and revered; and with this moderation, stand firm. In private. Let each one be governed in such a way that their public dignity is evident, while their private nature remains hidden. It is said that when a certain senator's son was elevated to the rank of consul in Rome, his father publicly served him with all due reverence, devotedly standing among others; yet at home, he completely concealed both his authority over his son and his nature, acting as if he were utterly ignorant of the dignity he held. When asked why he had done this, he replied, "In public, there's dignity; in private, there's nature," and so on. "But we know," as Ambrose says in the Offices, "nothing is as useful as being loved, and nothing is as useless as not being loved." . . What good is it to you if you don't love? If you do love. "All things," and so on. Therefore, it is better for a ruler to be feared by those under him, following the example of King David, than to be loved in a way that leads to fear; indeed, it is good to be feared, but let that fear come from love rather than coercion. Whatever you cherish with tender affections will also be feared; but what is feared does not always remain. Whatever is cherished with tender feelings is bound to be feared; but what is feared is not immediately loved. Release, No. It is necessary. , . - attributed to Macrobius, Saturnalia, II. Janus, ii. And it is loved. Therefore, let your actions be tempered with love, so that neither a careless generosity grows cold into indifference, nor a harsh fear, extorted by violence, turns into tyranny. Of the Office. Letter. Ixvi. Letter. CVIII.