And now, methinks, I have reached the goal which I set before me. I have unravelled the truth of the questions which I asked: whether the office of Monarchy was necessary to the welfare of the world; whether it was by right that the Roman people assumed to themselves the office of Monarchy; and, further, that last question, whether the authority of the Monarch springs immediately from God, or from some other. Yet the truth of this latter question must not be received so narrowly as to deny that in certain matters the Roman Prince is subject to the Roman Pontiff. For that happiness, which is subject to mortality, in a sense is ordered with a view to the happiness which shall not taste of death. Let, therefore, Cæsar be reverent to Peter, as the first-born son should be reverent to his father, that he may be illuminated with the light of his father's grace, and so may be stronger to lighten the world over which he has been placed by Him alone, who is the ruler of all things spiritual as well as temporal. THE END. CONTENTS OF DE MONARCHIA. BOOK I. WHETHER A TEMPORAL MONARCHY IS NECESSARY FOR THE WELL-BEING OF THE WORLD? CHAP. PAGE I.--Introduction 177 II.--What is the end of the civil order of mankind? 178 III.--It is to cause the whole power of the human intellect to act in speculation and operation 180 IV.--To attain this end, mankind needs universal peace 184 V.--When several means are ordained to gain an end, one of them must be supreme over the others 185 VI.--The order which is found in the parts of mankind ought to be found in mankind as a whole 188 VII.--Kingdoms and nations ought to stand in the same relation to the monarch as mankind to God 189 VIII.--Men were made in the image of God; but God is one _ib._ IX.--Men are the children of Heaven, and they ought to imitate the footprints of Heaven 190 X.--There is need of a Supreme Judge for the decision of all quarrels 191 XI.--The world is best ordered when justice is strongest therein 192 XII.--Men are at their best in freedom 198 XIII.--He who is best qualified to rule can best order others 201 XIV.--When it is possible, it is better to gain an end by one agent than by many 203 XV.--That which is most one is everywhere best 206 XVI.--Christ willed to be born in the fulness of time, when Augustus was monarch 209 BOOK II. WHETHER THE ROMAN PEOPLE ASSUMED TO ITSELF BY RIGHT THE DIGNITY OF EMPIRE?