View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3Hallam, Henry
History
View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3
Hallam, Henry
Europe -- History -- 476-1492; Middle Ages
The two great divisions of civil rule, the absolute, or regal as he
calls it, and the political, Fortescue proceeds to deduce from the
several originals of conquest and compact. Concerning the latter he
declares emphatically a truth not always palatable to princes, that such
governments were instituted by the people, and for the people's good;
quoting St. Augustin for a similar definition of a political society.
"As the head of a body natural cannot change its nerves and sinews,
cannot deny to the several parts their proper energy, their due
proportion and aliment of blood; neither can a king, who is the head of
a body politic, change the laws thereof, nor take from the people what
is theirs by right against their consent. Thus you have, sir, the formal
institution of every political kingdom, from whence you may guess at the
power which a king may exercise with respect to the laws and the
subject. For he is appointed to protect his subjects in their lives,
properties, and laws; for this very end and purpose he has the
delegation of power from the people, and he has no just claim to any
other power but this. Wherefore, to give a brief answer to that question
of yours, concerning the different powers which kings claim over their
subjects, I am firmly of opinion that it arises solely from the
different natures of their original institution, as you may easily
collect from what has been said. So the kingdom of England had its
original from Brute, and the Trojans, who attended him from Italy and
Greece, and became a mixed kind of government, compounded of the regal
and political."[373]
[Sidenote: Erroneous views taken by Hume.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account