General History of Civilisation in Europe, From the Fall of the Roman Empire Till the French Revolution. A Treatise on Death Punishments.Guizot, François
History
General History of Civilisation in Europe, From the Fall of the Roman Empire Till the French Revolution. A Treatise on Death Punishments.
Guizot, François
Europe -- Civilization
'God, the creator of all things, in disposing the structure of
the human body, has placed the head on high, and has willed
that thence should proceed the nerves of all its members. And
he has placed in the head the torch of the eyes, in order that
thence should be discerned all things that might be noxious.
And he has there established the seat of intelligence, imposing
on it the duty of governing all the members, and discreetly
regulating their action. Therefore is it necessary, in the
first place, to make order for what concerns princes, to
provide for their safety and protect their lives, and
afterwards to prescribe what affects the people; so that by
guaranteeing, as is fitting, the safety of kings, that of the
people may be at the same time and more effectually secured.'
[Footnote 13]
[Footnote 13: Forum Judicum, tit. i. 1. 2; tit. i. 1. 2. 1. 4.]
But another element besides royalty itself almost always intruded
itself into the system of religious royalty. A new power seated
itself by its side, a power more connected with God, and
therefore with the source whence the royalty emanated, than
royalty itself. This was the ecclesiastical power, which came
forward to interpose between God and kings, and between kings and
people, so that royalty, the image of the Divinity, ran the
chance of sinking to a mere instrument of human interpreters of
the Divine will. Here was a new cause of diversity in the
destinies and effects of the institution.
{162}
Such were the various orders of royalty which manifested
themselves amid the wreck of the Roman Empire in the fifth
century--namely, the barbarian royalty, the imperial royalty, and
the rising religious royalty. Their fortunes were as diverse as
their principles.
In France, under the first race, the barbarian royalty prevailed.
There were several attempts on the part of the clergy to impress
on it the imperial or the religious character; but election in
the royal family, with some mixture of hereditary right and
religious ideas, remained predominant.
In Italy, amongst the Ostrogoths, the imperial royalty overcame
the barbarian manners. Theodoric asserted himself the successor
of the emperors. The pages of Cassiodorius bear sufficient
evidence to this character of his government.
In Spain, royalty appeared more religious than elsewhere. As the
councils of Toledo were, I will not say the masters, but the
influencing power, the religious character held the sway, if not
in the government, properly so called, of the Visigoth kings, at
least in the laws with which the clergy inspired them, and the
language it caused them to hold.
In England, amongst the Saxons, the barbarian manners subsisted
almost entire. The kingdoms of the heptarchy were no more than
the domains of different bands having each its chief. Military
election was more clearly displayed there than anywhere else. The
Anglo-Saxon royalty was the most faithful type of the barbarian.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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