Quod uitiaferenda sunt aut tollenda et a flagitiis
The Duty of Endurance and Correction
The ruler and subjects must discern when to patiently endure the vices of others and when to actively correct them for the health of the body politic.
Distant; and a certain generosity regarding the prince's duty; and a brief summary of how much reverence is to be shown to him. I have taken care to include these few points, excerpted from many others, from a sincere source in this present little work, so that those who are ignorant of the law might keep themselves far from the crime of treason by looking at these things, and so that no one might slander me for having presumed anything in any way against the authority of the prince. It's commonly said that the bark isn't easily removed from a cork tree without damage; but whoever separates the service of the members from the head is harmed much more justly and quickly. May the excellence of the head always flourish, because the health of the whole body consists in it. Varro, in the satire titled 'Manipea' written about the duty of marriage, says: 'A spouse's vice must either be removed or endured.' Whoever removes the vice provides a more suitable spouse; whoever endures it makes himself better. Thus, the vices of princes and subjects must either be endured or removed; for the confederation of these things either equals or precedes the affection of marriage. But Varro's own words about enduring and removing are indeed elegantly composed. It's clear, however, that the term 'removing' is a mark of correction. His position is clearly that we must endure what cannot be removed. Yet a faithful interpretation adds that we should understand 'vice' as something that can be endured honorably and without compromising our religious life. For vices are lighter than flagrant crimes; and there are some things that it is not permitted to endure, or that cannot be endured faithfully. A spouse may lawfully separate from their partner on account of adultery, and anyone who hides a wife's crime is often a patron of that shame. Hence the saying: 'Whoever keeps an adulterous wife is foolish and impious.' These points apply equally to both physical and spiritual adultery, even though the spiritual kind is worse and must be avoided more diligently. Similarly, Varro's rule of enduring or removing must be applied to the structure of the body politic as well.
The Ruler as a Surgeon of the Commonwealth
A ruler must act like a surgeon, removing or crushing members that threaten the faith or the public welfare to preserve the whole body.
No one doubts that limbs must be treated, whether with the soothing oil or the sharp wine that the Samaritan pours into the wounded man to bring about healing. That they must be removed, however, is clear from what is written: 'If your eye or your foot causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you.' I believe a ruler should apply this to all his members: if they are a scandal to the faith or to the public welfare, they shouldn't just be plucked out, cut off, and cast away, but rather crushed so that the safety of the whole is secured through the destruction of the one. Who, I ask, will he spare, if he is commanded to be severe even with his own eyes? Certainly, neither the ear, nor the tongue, nor anything else within the body of the commonwealth can be secure if it rises up against the soul, for the sake of which even the eyes are plucked out. But when God is offended by the abuse of crimes or the Church is trampled upon, the salvation of the entire soul is in peril. This is so foreign to the office of a ruler that, whenever such things happen in the commonwealth, the ruler is believed to be either completely unaware, or asleep, or staying at an inn. The sun stands above all things so that it may see and judge everything; I believe the ruler is a second sun.
The Glory and Responsibility of the Prince
A righteous prince promotes virtue, administers justice, and deserves honor as God's representative, making any treason against him a grave offense.
He acts rightly, of course, when he keeps lazy drones away from the hives—those pests that plunder the honeycombs and drink up or carry off everything sweet. He acts rightly when he promotes the standing of the Church, expands the practice of religious life, humbles the proud, and lifts up the lowly—being generous to the needy and more frugal with the wealthy—when he rewards virtues with prizes and vices with an equal measure of punishment, and when justice walks before him everywhere, guiding his steps along the path of prudence and other virtues. Indeed, this is how heaven is sought—not by piling Ossa on Olympus or having Pelion touch the highest stars. Wisdom says: 'Do not appear glorious before the king, and do not stand in the place of the great.' The wise man’s decree aims at this: that anyone who is not humbled in the presence of the prince, covered in deserved confusion, is worthy to be stripped of the glory he has usurped; for the prince is the distributor of honors, and while he administers his rule rightly, the perpetual dispensing of gifts rests with him. He certainly governs rightly when, with him presiding, the people rejoice and the breadth of the whole land exults in a kingdom of equity. I say perpetual because, as it is written, 'The king who judges the poor in truth, his throne will be established forever.' Who, then, would take away the honor from him whom he hears is honored by the Lord with a perpetual gift? Clearly, to presume anything against the insensitive statue of a prince has at times been a crime of high treason, to be punished by the most bitter death, as it pleased the ancients.
The Sanctity of Thought and Speech
Because the prince is an image of God, even the secret thoughts and private words of subjects must be guarded against malice.
Who, then, would dare to offend the image of God—who is a prince—with malicious intent and expect to go unpunished? That advice from the wise man is therefore most sound: "Do not speak against a king in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich man in the privacy of your bedroom, for the birds of the air will carry your voice, and those with wings will report what you said." If even your very thoughts, the secrets of your room, and the intentions of your heart are restricted so that you don't plot or conceive anything against a prince, is it then permissible to do so in word or deed?
Read the original Latin
distant; et genercdia quaedamde offixdo principis; et breuis epUogus quanta sit ei renerentia exhibenda. Haec quidem pauca de multis excerpta de sincera uena a iuris praesenti opusculo curaui inserere, quo et iuris ignari a maiestatis crimine seipsos longius amouerent his inspectis, et ne quisquam meipsum calimipnietur in aliquo aduersus auctoritatem principis quippiam praesumpsisse. Dici solet quia sine lesione unguiiun non facile remouetur robur a subere; sed multo aequius et citius leditur quisquis obsequium membrorum seiungit a capite. Vigeat semper excellentia capitis, quia in eo totius corporis consistit salus. Varro in satira quae Manipea inscribitur et de officio matrimonii instituta est, ait: Vitium coniugis aut tollendum est aut ferendum. Qui tollit uitium, commodiorem coniugem praestat; qui fert, seipsum efficit meliorem. Sic principiis et subiectorum uitia aut ferenda sunt aut tolt) lenda; horum quippe conf ederatio affectum coniugii aut aequat aut praecedit. Sed et ipsa Varronis uerba ferre et tollere lepide quidem composita sunt.
Apparet autem quia tollendi nomen correctionis est nota. Constat equidem eius esse sententiam ut feratur quod tolli non potest. Hoc tamen fidelis adicit interpretatio ut uitium intelligatur quod honeste ferri potest et religione incolumi. Vitia enim flagitiis leuiora sunt; et sunt nonnulla quae non ferri licet aut quae fideliter ferri non possunt. Ex causa fornicationis licenter diuertit coniunx a coniuge, et plerumque patronus est turpitudinis qui crimen celat uxoris. Inde est forte: Qui adulteram retinet, stultus et impius est. Haec autem in mechia corporali et spirituali quod ad aliquid aeque obtinent, etsi deterior sit spiritualis et studiosius declinanda. Similiter et in membrorum compagine ferendi aut toUendi Varronis est regula admittenda.
Nam quin membra curari oporteat nemo ambigit siue in fomento olei siue in austeritate uini quod Samaritanus infundit, uulnerato procedat cura. Quod autem tollenda sint, ex eo liquet quod scriptum est: Si oculus uel pes tuus scandalizat te, erue eum et proice abs te. Hoc in membris omnibus principi arbitror obseruandum ut nou modo eruantur abseidantur et procul eiciantur, si fidei aut publicae saluti dentur in scandalum, sed ita conterantur ut in exterminio unius uniuersorum incolumitas procuretur. Cui, inquam, parcet qui etiam in oculos suos seuire praecipitur? Vtique nec auris nec lingua aut si quid aliud in corpore rei publicae degit, securum est si insurgat in animam ob gratiam cuius ipsi oculi effodiuntur. Cum autem Deus offenditur abusu criminum aut Ecclesia conculcatur, totius animae periclitatur salus. Quod ita alienum est ab ofiicio principis ut, quotiens ista proueniunt in re publica, aut omnino non sentire credatur princeps aut dormire aut in diuersorio esse. Sol eminet uniuersis ut cuncta uideat et diiudicet uniuersa; solem alterum principem esse credo.
Recte utique facit cum ignauum fucos pecus a praesepibus arcet a qui aluearia spoliant et quicquid dulce est ebibunt aut asportant. Recte facit cum Ecclesiae promouet culmen, cum religionis dilatat cultum, cum superbos humiliat et exaltat humiles, munificus in egenos, in copiosos frugalior, cum uirtutes praemio et uitia aequa poenarum lance remunerat, cum iustitia usquequaque ambulat ante eum et ponit in uia prudentiae aliarumque uirtutum gressus suos. Equidem sic petitur celum, non ut ferat Ossan Olippus summaque PeKacus sydera tangat apex. Inquit Sapientia: Ne gloriosus appareas coram rege et in loco magnorum ne steteris; eoque spectat sapientis edictum ut quisquis non humiliatur in facie principis merita conf usione obductus, gloria, quam usurpauit, dignus est spoliari; hononim siquidem distributor est et, dum recte ministrat principatum, penes eum est perpetua dispensatio munerum. Recte quidem ministrat, cum eo praesidente letantur populi et in regno aequitatis totius terrae latitudo exultat. Perpetua, inquam, quia, ut scriptum est, rex qui iudicat in ueritate pauperes, thronus eius in etemum fundabitur. Quis ergo ei honorem detrahat quem audit a Domino perpetuo munere honoratum? Plane in insensibilem principis statuam quicquam praesumere quandoque crimen extitit maiestatis et morte acerbissima, prout ueteribus placuit, puniendum.
Quis ergo in imaginem Dei, qui est princeps, malitia praesumente impune ofFendit? Proinde consiliosissimum est illud sapientis: In cogitatione tua regi non detrahas et in secreto cubiculi tui ne maledixeris diuiti, quia aues celi portabunt uocem tuam et qui habet pennas annuntiabit sententiam. Numquid ergo quicquam licebit in opere aut uerbo, cum et ipsa cogitatio cubiculique secretum et sententia cordis arceatur, ne quid moliatur aut concipiat aduersus principem?
Policraticus companion
Study the argument weekly; pray the tradition daily
Pair the outline with the Chosen Portion app, which serves short daily portions from the same royal devotional tradition — free on iOS.
John of Salisbury argued that rulers must keep the law of God before their eyes daily; Chosen Portion gives modern readers that same daily discipline in five minutes a morning.
- 8 weeks, one book per week, with the 3-4 key chapters flagged in each
- Discussion questions usable for a reading group from week one
- A daily 5-minute companion portion in the app alongside your weekly study