Ministros Dei esse tirannos; et quid tirannus:
The Mystery of Tyranny
Tyrants are permitted by God as instruments of divine judgment, yet tyranny itself remains a profound abuse of power.
Now, regarding the character of Gaius, Caligula, and his nephew Nero, and how each of them met their end. I don't deny that there are tyrants among God's ministers; in His just judgment, God has willed them to exist in both realms—over souls and bodies—as a way to punish the wicked and to correct and test the good. For the sins of the people cause a hypocrite to reign, and as the history of the Books of Kings testifies, the failings of priests have brought tyrants upon God's people. Indeed, the early fathers and patriarchs followed nature as the best guide for living. Leaders followed Moses, keeping the Law, and judges ruled the people by the authority of that Law; and we read that these same men were also priests. Eventually, in the Lord's fury, kings were given—some good, but others truly evil. For Samuel had grown old, and when his sons did not walk in his ways but instead pursued greed and impurity, the people—who perhaps had themselves earned the right to have such priests over them—extorted a king for themselves from the God they had despised. Saul was chosen, then, but under the aforementioned right of a king—that is, one who would take their sons to make them charioteers, their daughters to be bakers and cooks, and who would take their fields and estates to distribute them at his whim to his servants, crushing the whole people under the yoke of servitude. Yet he was still called the Lord’s anointed, and in exercising tyranny, he didn't lose his royal honor. For God struck fear into everyone so that they would revere him as a minister of the Lord, whose image he bore in a certain way. I’ll add further that even the tyrants of the nations, though rejected from eternity for death, are ministers of God and are called the Lord’s anointed. Hence the prophet says: 'The leaders will enter the gates of Babylon, namely Cinis and Darius; for I have commanded my sanctified ones and have called my strong ones in my wrath, and those who exult in my glory.' See how he calls the Medes and Persians 'sanctified'—not because they were holy, but because they were fulfilling the Lord’s will against Babylon. He says elsewhere: 'See, I will bring Nebuchadnezzar my servant, and because he served me well at Tyre, I will give him Egypt.' Every power is good, however, because it comes from Him from whom alone all things—and only those things—are good. Yet for the one using it, or for the one suffering under it, it is sometimes not good but evil, even though it is good in relation to the whole, because of the One who makes good use of our evils. Just as a dark or black color, or any other hue, might look unsightly on its own but appears right within the context of an entire painting, so too are certain things that seem unsightly and evil when viewed in isolation; when seen in relation to the whole, they appear good and beautiful, because He who adapts all things to Himself makes all His works very good. Therefore, while the power of a tyrant is indeed good, there is nothing worse than tyranny itself. For tyranny is the abuse of the power that God has granted to a human being. Yet even in this evil, there is much and great use for good things. It is clear, then, that tyranny isn't found only in princes; rather, everyone is a tyrant who abuses the power granted to them from above over those subject to them. Furthermore, if power falls to a wise person who knows all things and knows how to use them, it is welcome to all good people and useful to everyone. If, however, it falls to a foolish person, then even though it cannot be evil for the good—to whom all things work together for good—it is nonetheless burdensome for a time.✦ For it is clear that it happens to both, although (as the malice of our time demands, for we constantly provoke the scourge of the Lord upon ourselves) it is more often granted to the evil, that is, to the foolish.
The Shadow of the Empire
The Roman Empire, while marked by the peace of Christ's birth, was often corrupted by the monstrous cruelty of rulers like Caligula.
For what in human affairs can any memory recall that is more powerful than the Roman Empire? If you look back through the series of times since the city was founded, you'll find that evil men have held power more frequently. For who, besides Nero, was more foul or monstrous than Gaius Caligula, the third successor of Augustus, who surpassed all his predecessors and successors in the baseness of his life and in unheard-of crimes? This Caligula, the most flagrant of them all, ruled—or rather, twisted—the empire with such cruelty that, begrudging his own happiness, he would complain about the state of his times because they were marked by no public calamities. Yet He who came to destroy the empire of contradiction and death had indeed brought peace to the ages by His birth. For although this vast peace was attributed to Augustus, it should rather be attributed to Christ, who was enrolled as a Roman citizen during the census that took place while Augustus was reigning. Indeed, it is established by the truthful account of the Gospels and histories that the one author of peace, God-made-man, Christ the Son of the Virgin, was born under him; His eternal plan wrote the elect into true peace and the blessedness of a most happy kingdom, and His coming was foretold and revealed by many signs. For, as Orosius reports, when Caesar was entering the city after returning from Apollonia following the death of Julius, around the third hour, a circle like a heavenly rainbow suddenly surrounded the sun in a clear, pure, and serene sky; and this is believed to have happened on the eighth day before the Ides of January, which is called the Epiphany, when Caesar closed the gates of Janus for the first time, having quieted and ended all civil wars, and obtained the name of Augustus, declaring the pinnacle of his power so that it might be taught that the sum of affairs and powers rested with one man, which the Greeks call a monarchy. The same historian reports that when he was returning from Sicily, having received the legions from Pompey and Lepidus, he restored thirty thousand slaves to their masters and decreed that all the people's previous debts should be forgiven, even having the records of them destroyed. On those very days, a massive fountain of oil flowed from a public tavern for an entire day, clearly announcing the presence of the one who had come to subject the devil's slaves—sinners—to the just rule of God and to have mercy on the poor. When, therefore, all things were silent before the face of Christ and the world was stunned by such great mercies of the Most High, the fullness of power and authority fell to Caligula, the third after Augustus. His cruelty, to put it briefly, is said to have prompted him to exclaim, 'If only the Roman people had but one neck!' Because he lacked an enemy, he set out with great and incredible preparation to go find one. He marched his idle forces through Germany and Gaul, stopped on the shores of the Ocean within sight of Britain, and returned to Rome having accomplished nothing and with no war to fight, except for accepting the surrender of Belinus, the son of the British king, whom his father had driven out. He was indeed most hostile to the Jews; he ordered the sacred places of Jerusalem to be profaned and filled with statues, and demanded that he be worshipped as God. He pressed Pilate, the governor of Judea, with such great anguish that Pilate, piercing himself with his own hand, sought a shortcut to death to end his miseries. He condemned his sisters, whom he had first defiled, to exile, and later ordered all the exiles to be killed at once. He himself, however, was killed by his own bodyguards.
The Reckoning of Nero
Nero's reign serves as a definitive example of unbridled wickedness, persecution of the faithful, and the resulting collapse of the state.
In his private quarters, two small books were found containing the names of the most distinguished citizens whom he had marked for death; one was inscribed 'The Sword,' the other 'The Dagger.' A massive chest filled with various poisons was also discovered, which, when dumped into the sea by order of Claudius Caesar, reportedly infected the waters and caused a great destruction of fish. Nero Caesar succeeded his uncle Caligula (though Claudius held the throne in between); he was the successor to his vices, or rather, he surpassed them, indulging in petulance, lust, luxury, greed, and cruelty with unparalleled wickedness. According to Orosius, he was so driven by petulance that he toured nearly every theater in Italy and Greece, often appearing in various shameful costumes, where he was seen outperforming the actors, harpists, tragedians, and charioteers. He was so consumed by such lusts that it's said he didn't even refrain from his own mother or sister, nor did he show any reverence for blood ties; he took a man as his husband, and he himself was taken by a man as a wife. His luxury was so unbridled that he fished with golden nets and purple ropes; he bathed in cold and hot scented oils, never wore the same garment twice, and never traveled with fewer than a thousand carriages. His greed, however, was so insatiable that after the fire in the city—which he had boasted he had rebuilt from brick into marble—he allowed no one to approach the ruins of their own property. He seized everything that had in any way survived the flames; he ordered the Senate to contribute ten million sesterces to him annually; he stripped many senators of their wealth for no reason; and in a single day, using torture, he extorted the entire fortune of every merchant. He was so unbridled in his rabid cruelty that he killed a large part of the Senate and nearly wiped out the equestrian order. But he didn't even stop at parricide; he struck down his mother, brother, sister, wife, and all his other relatives and kin without a moment's hesitation. His reckless impiety toward God only added to the weight of his crimes. He was the first in Rome to subject Christians to torture and death, and he ordered them to be tormented with the same persecution in every province. In his attempt to wipe out the very name of Christ, he killed the most blessed apostles, Peter by crucifixion and Paul by the sword. Soon, disasters arose from every side to overwhelm the wretched city with the utmost severity. For in the following autumn, such a plague descended upon the city that thirty thousand deaths were recorded in the Libitinian register. Finally, the British disaster followed immediately, in which two major towns were destroyed by a great slaughter and massacre of citizens and allies. Furthermore, in the East, vast provinces of Armenia were lost, Roman legions were sent under the Parthian yoke, and Syria was held only with great difficulty.
The Limits of Power
Historical wisdom confirms that while tyrants may be resisted, the sacred office of the priesthood demands a different standard of reverence.
In Asia, three cities—Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colossae—collapsed due to an earthquake. Orosius says as much, and I use his words and sense all the more willingly because I know he was a Christian and a disciple of the great Augustine, and that he applied himself with diligence to the truth of our faith's religion. You can find these things in other historians who write more extensively about the atrocities of tyrants and their miserable ends. If you want to review these matters more carefully, read what Trogus Pompeius, Josephus, Hegesippus, Suetonius, Quintus Curtius, Cornelius Tacitus, Titus Livius, Serenus, Tranquillus, and other historians—too many to list—have recorded in their works. From these accounts, it’s easy to see that it was always permissible to flatter a tyrant, permissible to deceive him, and honorable to kill him, provided he couldn't be restrained in any other way. This isn't about private tyrants, but about those who oppress the state. Private individuals are easily restrained by the public laws that bind everyone's life; however, it is not permitted to wield the material sword against a priest, even if he acts like a tyrant, because of the reverence due to the Sacrament—unless, perhaps, he has been deposed and extends a bloody hand against the Church of God, with the understanding that he does not incur a double tribulation for the same cause. Still, it seems relevant to support what has been said with a few examples.
Read the original Latin
et de moribus Oai Caligulae et Neronis nepotis eius et exitu utriusque. Ministros Dei tamen tirannos esse non abnego, qui in utroque primatu, scilicet animarum et corporum, iusto suo iudicio esse uoluit per quos punirentur mali et corrigerentur et exercerentur boni. Nam et peccata populi faciunt regnare ypocritam et, sicut Regum testatur historia, defectus sacerdotum in populo Dei tirannos induxit. Siquidem primi patres et patriarchae uiuendi ducem optimam naturam secuti sunt. Successerunt duces a Moyse sequentes legem, et iudices qui legis auctoritate regebant populum; et eosdem fuisse legimus sacerdotes. Tandem in furore Domini dati sunt reges, alii quidem boni, alii uero mali. Senuerat enim Samuel et, cum filii eius non ambularent in uiis suis sed auaritiam et immunditias sectarentur, populus, qui fortasse et ipse meruerat ut ei tales praeessent sacerdotes, a Deo, quem contempserat, sibi regem extorsit. Electus est ergo Saul, regis tamen iure praedicto, id est qui filios eorum tolleret ut faceret aurigas, et filias ut panificae fierent et focariae, et agros et praedia ut ea pro libito distribueret seruis suis, populumque totum seruitutis premeret iugo.
Idem tamen christus Domini dictus est, et tirannidem exercens regium non amisit honorem. Incussit enim Deus timorem omnibus, ut eum quasi ministrum Domini, cuius quodammodo gestabat imaginem, uenerarentur. Amplius quidem adiciam; etiam tyranni gentium reprobati ab eterno ad mortem ministri Dei sunt et christi Domini appellantur. Vnde propheta; Ingredientur portas Babilonis duces, uidelicet Cinis et Darius; ego enim mandaui sanctificatis meis et uocaui fortes meos in ira mea et exultantes in gloria mea. Ecce quia sanctificatos uocat Medos et Persas, non quod sancti essent, sed Domini aduersus Babilonem implebant uoluntatem. Alias quoque: Ecce ego adducam, inquit, Nabugodonosor seruum meum, et, quia bene michi seruiuit apud Tirum, dabo ei Egiptum. Omnis autem potestas bona, quoniam ab eo est a quo solo omnia et sola sunt bona. Vtenti tamen interdum bona non est aut patienti sed mala, licet quod ad uniuersitatem sit bona, illo faciente qui bene utitur malis nostris.
Sicut enim in pictura fuscus aut niger color aut aliquis alius per se consideratus indecens a est, et tamen in tota pictura decet; sic per se quaedam inspecta indecora et mala, relata ad uniuersitatem bona apparent et pulchra, eo omnia sibi adaptante cuius omnia opera ualde sunt bona. Ergo et tiranni potestas bona quidem est, tirannide tamen nichil est peius. Est enim tirannis a Deo concessae homini potestatis abusus. In hoc tamen malo multus et magnus est bonorum usus. Patet ergo non in solis principibus esse tirannidem, sed omnes esse tirannos qui concessa desuper potestate in subditis abutuntur. Porro, si potestas accedat sapienti, qui rerum omnium nouit et habet usum, omnibus bonis grata est et omnibus utilis. Si uero cadat in insipientem, etsi bonis, quibus omnia cooperantur in bonum, mala esse non possit, molesta tamen ad modicum temporis est. Nam eam utrisque contingere manifestum est, licet (exigente malitia temporis nostri qui in nos flagellum Domini iugiter prouocamus) malis, id est insipientibus, sepius concedatur.
Quid enim in rebus humanis Romano imperio potentius potest ulla memoria recordari? Si temporum series ab urbe condita reuoluatur, illud inueniuntur mali gessisse frequentius. Quis enim Gaio Caligula Augusti tertio successore tetrior aut immanior praeter Neronem, qui antecessores et successores omnes turpitudine uitae et inauditis flagitiis superauit? Hic autem Caligula omnium flagitiosissimus tantum rexit aut potius torsit imperium, ea quidem crudec litate ut propriae inuidens felicitati de conditione suorum temporum quereretur eo quod nullis insignirentur calamitatibus publicis. Ille siquidem ortu suo pacauerat secula qui delere uenerat contradictionis et mortis imperium. Licet enim haec immensitas pacis asscriberetur Augusto, Christo tamen potius asscribenda est, qui ciuis Romanus indictione census asscriptus est regnante Augusto. Siquidem euangeliorum et historiarum ueridica relatione constat quia sub eo natus est auctor unicus pacis, Deus homo, uirginis filius Christus, cuius eterna dispositio ad ueram pacem et felicissimi regni beatitudinem conscripsit electos, cuius aduentus multis praenuntiatus est et patefactus indiciis. Nam, ut Orosius refert, cum Cesar lulio interfecto ex Apollonia rediens urbem ingrederetur, hora circiter tertia repente liquido ac puro sereno circulus ad speciem celestis arcus orbem solis ambiit; et hoc octauo Idus lanuarii die qui dicitur Epiphaniorum creditur accidisse, quo Cesar primura lani portas sopitis finitisque omnibus bellis ciuilibus clausit et Augusti adeptus est nomen, apicem declarans imperii, ut penes unum doceretur summa rerum et potestatum esse, quam monarchiam nominant Greci.
Refert idem historicus quod, cum a Sicilia rediens receptis legionibus a Pompeio et Lepido triginta milia seruorum dominis restituisset et omnia superiora populi debita donanda litteramm etiam monimentis abolitis censuisset, in diebus ipsis fons olei largissimus de tabema meritoria per totum diem a defluxit, illum utique manifeste adesse imperio nuntians qui seruos diaboli peccatores iusto Dei dominio subdere uenerat et pauperum misereri. Cum ergo a facie Christi silerent omnia et tantas miserationes Altissimi obstupesceret mundus, summa rerum et potestatum in tertium ab Augusto Caligulam cecidit. Cuius ferocia, ut breuibus liqueat, exclamasse fertur: Vtinam populus Romanus unam tantum ceruicem haberet! Et quia hostis deerat, magno et incredibili apparatu profectus est hostem quaerere, otiosisque uiribus Germaniam Galliamque percurrens in ora Occeani circa prospectum Britanniae substitit, Romamque reuersus est, belli deficiente materia et nullo expleto negotio nisi quod Belinum Britannorum regis filium, quem pater expulerat, cum paucis in deditionem accepit. Infestissimus quidem ludeis extitit et sacra lerosolimorum loca prophanari et statuis repleri iussit et se coli ut Deum. Pilatum ludeae praesidem tantis coartauit angoribus ut sua se transuerberans manu malorum compendium mortis celeritate quaesierit. Sorores, quas primum stupro polluerat, dampnauit exilio, et post omnes simul exules iussit occidi. Ipse autem a suis protectoribus occisus est.
In secreto eius inuenti sunt duo libelli, continentes lectissimorum nomina ciuium quos morti destinauerat; eratque alterius inscriptio gladius, alteri pugio. Archa quoque ingens multiplicium uenenorum inuenta est, quibus Claudio Cesare iubente demersis maria ipsa magno piscium exitio protestante traduntur infecta. Successit auunculo Caligulae (Claudio tamen interposito) Nero Cesar; rerum uitiorumque successor, immo transgressor, petulantiam libidinem luxuriam auaritiam crudelitatemque scelere quouis exercuit. Teste namque Orosio percitus petulantia, omnia paene Italiae et Graeciae theatra perlustrans, assumpto etiam uarii uestitus dedecore, cericas (id est comicines) citharistas tragedos et aurigas saepe uisus est superasse. Libidinibus quoque tantis exagitatus est ut ne a matre quidem uel sorore ullaue consanguinitatis reuerentia abstinuisse referatur, uirum in uxorem duxerit, ipse a uiro ut uxor acceptus sit. Luxuriae tam effrenatae fuit ut retibus aureis piscaretur, purpureis funibus; frigidis et calidis lauaret unguentis; nullam uestem bis induit, nec umquam minus mille carrucis Auaritiae autem tam praeniptae extitit ut post hoc incendium urbis, quam se Augustus ex lateritia marmoream reddidisse iactauerat, neminem ad reliquias rerum suarum adire permiserit. Cuncta, quae flammae quoquo modo superfuerant, ipse abstulit; centies centena milia sextertium annua a senatu conf erri sibi imperauit; plurimos senatorum nulla extante causa bonis priuauit; negotiatorum omnium sub una die, tormentis quoque adhibitis, omnem penitus censum abstorsit. Crudelitatis autem rabie ita effrenatus est ut plurimam senatus partem interficeret, equestrem ordinem pene destitueret.
Sed ne parricidiis quidem abstinuit; matrem, fratrem, sororem, uxorem ceterosque omnes cognatos et propinquos sine hesitatione prostrauit. Auxit hanc molem facinoris eius temeritas impietatis in Deum. Nam primus Romae Christianos suppliciis et mortibus affecit ac per omnes prouincias pari persecutione excruciari imperauit. Ipsumque nomen exstirpare conatus beatissimos Christi apostolos Petrum cruce Paulum gladio interfecit. Mox acerbissime miseram ciuitatem obortae undique oppressere clades. Nam subsequente autumno tanta urbi pestilentia incubuit ut triginta milia funerum in rationem Libicinianae uenirent. Britannica denique clades e uestigio accidit, qua duo praecipua oppida magna ciuium sociorumque clade et cede direpta sunt. Praeterea in oriente magnis Armeniae prouinciis amissis Romanae legiones sub iugum Particum missae, egreque Siria retenta est.
In Asia tres urbes, hoc est Laodicie lerapolis Colose, terrae motu conciderunt. Haec Orosius fere; cuius uerbis et sensu eo libentius utor quod scio Christianum et magni discipulum Augustiui propter religionem fidei nostrae ueritati diligentius institisse. Haec quidem possunt et apud alios historicos inueniri diff isius, qui tirannorum atrocitates et exitus miseros plenius scribunt. Quae si quls diligentius recenseri uoluerit, legat ea quae Trogus Pompeius, losephus, Egesippus, Suetonius, Quintus Curtius, Cornelius Tacitus, Titus Liuius, Serenus et Tranquillus et alii historici, quos enumerare longum est, suis comprehenderunt historiis. Ex quibus facile liquebit quia semper tiranno licuit adulari, licuit eum decipere et honestum fuit occidere, si tamen aliter coherceri non poterat. Non enim de priuatis tirannis agitur sed de his qui rem publicam premunt. Nam priuati legibus publicis, quae constringunt omnium uitas, facile cohercentur; in sacerdotem tamen, etsi tirannum induat, propter reuerentiam sacramenti gladium materialem exercere non licet, nisi forte, cum exauctoratus fuerit, in Ecclesiam Dei cruentam manum extendat; eo quidem perpetuo optinente ut ob eandem causam non consurgat in eum duplex tribulatio. Praeter rem tamen non uidetur, si haec, quae dicta sunt, aliquibus astruamus exemplis.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rom.8.28 — And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good — for those who are called according to his purpose.
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