graftonfs hankins

8/20/2019 GraftonFS Hankins

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To appear in a Festschrift for Anthony Grafton, ed. Ann M. Blair, Anja Goeing and Urs Leu (Brill)

U!"#$% F&!%T 'M"!AT

*!&A "F A +"+A A+' B"" - "F #"L*B&U%

(a/es 0an1ins)

&ntellectual history is full of 1ey ter/s that ha2e changed their /eanings dra/atically

o2er ti/e3 4ords, for instance, li1e respublica, 4hose 2icissitudes the present 4riter has

recently discussed.5 As they are highly rele2ant to the su6ject of this article, they 4ill

need to 6e su//ari7ed here. &n ancient !o/e respublica /eant, essentially, a good or

just state that respects constitutional traditions and the free status of its citi7ens, treating

the/ as e8ual under the la49 its le:ical opposite 4as tyranny, not /onarchy. &n anti8uity

it did not, as today, refer to an historical period ; 6et4een the e:pulsion of the 1ings in

B

and the Battle of Actiu/ in ?5B

; nor 4as it used in the official na/es of states,

as it 6egan to 6e in the !enaissance, for e:a/ple, in the case of the !epu6lic of @enice.

More i/portantly, it 4as only in the !enaissance, than1s in great part to ne4 hu/anist

translations of Aristotle$s constitutional language, that respublica 6egins to 6e used to

specify a particular type of constitution, a non/onarchical constitution. icero did not

use the 4ord that 4ay9 he applies the 4ord respublica to all of the goodC constitutions in

the standard Gree1 analysis 1ingship, aristocracy or e2en popular go2ern/ent. They

are said to 6e good 6ecause they resist corruption, and 6ecause those 4ho go2ern the/

respect the co//on good. &n this respect respublica is identical 4ith res Romani populi,

the interests of the !o/an people.D But a co/parison of Eillia/ of Moer6e1e$s

5


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translations of Aristotle$s sche/e of si: constutions in Politics &&& 4ith those of Leonardo

Bruni 5= years later illustrates ho4 the 4ord had 6egan to /igrate to ne4 /eanings in

the !enaissance3

A!&%T"TL$% "+%T&TUT&"+AL %0M &+ P OLITICS &&& (5D>A),

A% T!A+%LAT' B* E&LL&AM "F M"!B &+ 5D-?

good politiae corrupt politiae

one regia potestas tyrannia

fe4 aristocratia oligarchia

/any politia de/ocratia

A!&%T"TL$% "+%T&TUT&"+AL %0M &+ P OLITICS &&& (5D>A),

A% T!A+%LAT' B* L"+A!'" B!U+& A. 5H?H

Rectae rerum publicarum Transgressiones et labes

Unum3 regia potestas tyrannis

Pauci3 opti/atiu/ gu6ernatio paucoru/ potestas

Multi3 respu6lica popularis status

For Bruni in 5H?, respublica /eant Iregi/e$ (JKNOPQ) in the generic, a6stract sense and

also a 2irtuous popular regi/e (JKNOPQ for Aristotle), 6oth /eanings une:a/pled in

anti8uity. The denotation of the ter/ respublica e2entually, 6y the end of the fifteenth

century, 4as e:tended to /ean good polyarchic constitutions, i.e., any good regi/e that

in2ol2ed po4ersharing a/ong the ruling group. Bartolo/eo %cala, for instance,

distinguishes 6et4een an aristocratic and a popular repu6lic,


3/26

good repu6lican constitutions, an unusual step that reflects the influence of the fa/ous

de6ate on constitutionsC in 0erodotus (?.=D).- This sho4s, inter alia, that the

polyarchic criterion had 6egun to eclipse Aristotle$s distinction 6et4een sound and

corrupt constitutions, at least for so/e theorists. The use of respublica to indicate a

polyarchic constitution 6eca/e particularly useful in &taly 4here the penisula 4as di2ided

politically 6et4een princely regi/es and 4hat 4e today call repu6licanC regi/es, i.e.

oligarchies 4ith greater or lesser degrees of popular participation. But the older usage

found in icero and other ancient authors li2ed on, and it re/ained possi6le to tal1 a6out

/onarchical repu6lics 4ell into the eighteenth century.

The history of the 4ord respublica sho4s ho4 radically a Latin 4ord could

change in /eaning e2en in an age deter/ined to /odel its linguistic usages as closely as

possi6le on anti8uity, and a6o2e all on icero.

*et e2en /ore stri1ing are the 1ey ter/s that ha2e not so /uch changed in

/eaning as undergone a co/plete re2ersal of their /oral polarities. Eell1no4n

e:a/ples are 4ords li1e curiosity, innovation, ambition3 4ords that once, in pre/odern

ti/es, signified /orally du6ious pheno/ena 6ut ha2e co/e /ore recently to stand for

positi2e 8ualities. %uch changes in /oral 2alence are often signals of 4hat Anthony

Appiah descri6es as /oral re2olutionsC ; relati2ely sudden changes in ethical attitudes.

&n our o4n ti/es, /oral re2olutions in attitudes to 4o/en and gay people ha2e led to

those rapid linguistic changes and re2ersals in the ter/s of /oral appro2al and

disappro2al 4ith 4hich 4e are all fa/iliar ; though the t4entieth century has introduced

the no:ious practice of trying to coerce such linguistic changes 2ia legal, ad/inistrati2e

and political de2ices rather than through si/ple social pressure, as in earlier ti/es.

?


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0o4e2er that /ay 6e, the present essay ai/s to contri6ute to the history of a 4ord

that has 6oth changed dra/atically in /eaning and re2ersed its /oral polarity3

democracy. As is 4ell 1no4n, the 4ord has undergone a re/ar1a6le transfor/ation in

/oral 2alence since the end of the eighteenth century.> A political constitution that 4as

once 4idely regarded 6y the learned as rare or i/possi6le and certainly undesira6le

suddenly, 4ithin the decade 5>>>, ac8uired a positi2e significance, first for the

aco6ins, and in due course for /any radical friends of the French !e2olution. "2er the

course of the follo4ing centuries, the 4ord has co/e to signify a political syste/

regarded as the default setting of the hu/an race, the for/ of go2ern/ent standing at the

end of history, and the only legiti/ate for/ of go2ern/ent. Ehat 4as an in1horn ter/ in

the /edie2al and early /odern periods 6eca/e a 6attle cry in t4o 4orld 4ars and is

today a 4ord on the lips of refor/ers in /any parts of the 4orld.

To grasp just ho4 radical this change 4as, 4e 4ill need to s1etch out an o2er2ie4

of attitudes to the 4ord de/ocracyC and the de/ocratic constitution since anti8uity.5=

The desira6ility, practical and /oral, of de/ocracy 4as highly contested fro/ the

/o/ent of its e/ergence in late si:th century B Athens under the refor/er leisthenes

(4ho used the ter/ ἰRKSKPQ, legal e8uality, rather than VKWXQNPQ). Though de/ocracy

had /any defenders in Athens fro/ the si:th to the fourth century B, /ost fa/ously

#ericles in the Funeral "rationC as related 6y Thucydides, political po4er in the hands

of nonelite citi7ens 4as still 4idely regarded 6y /any, e2en in the Gree1 classical age,

as dangerous, desta6ili7ing, and pernicious in its /oral effects. &t 4as regarded as such,

unsurprisingly, 6y elites in ri2al regi/es such as oligarchies, 1ingdo/s and tyrannies. But

its /ost i/portant ene/ies 4ere the philosophers, especially Yenophon, #lato, Aristotle

H


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and later #oly6ius.55 For #lato, de/ocracy 4as the 4orst constitution, the one that

6rought out the 4orst aspects of hu/an character.5D Aristotle regarded it as a 6ad

constitution in its pure for/, 6ut thought that certain de/ocratic institutions li1e

asse/6lies could 6e incorporated into his preferred constitution ; 4hat he called polityC

; in order to sta6ili7e it. &f oligarchic and de/ocratic features could 6e 6alanced in this

/i:ed constitution, the /ain ele/ents in the state could 6e satisfied and their interests

6lended. Eith the help of good la4s and 2irtuous citi7ens ; an aristocratic ele/ent ;

hu/an political organi7ation could reach its opti/al state and thus /a:i/i7e the

prospects for happiness.

5?

#oly6ius$ ideas 4ere in so/e respects si/ilar to Aristotle$s.5H Eriting in the

second century B, he typologi7ed constitutions follo4ing a si/ilar si:fold sche/e,

agreed that corrupt popular go2ern/ent 4as 6ad, and argued that /i:ed constitutions

4ere superior to their pure types. &n his case the /i:ed constitution included

/onarchical, oligarchical and de/ocratic ele/ents, not just oligarchic and de/ocratic as

in Aristotle$s case.5<

0o4e2er, #oly6ian constitutional theory displayed so/e crucial differences fro/

Aristotelian. First, #oly6ius introduces the idea of anacyclosis, the idea that there is a

natural cycle of constitutional change, or rather degeneration and rene4al.5-

#"L*B&U%$ *L "F "+%T&TUT&"+AL 0A+G (-.D>)3

Monarchy (6rute, preci2ili7ed one/an rule)

ingship (i/pro2ed /onarchy, accepted as just 6y the people)

Tyranny (corrupted 1ingship)

Aristocracy (good rule 6y the fe4)

"ligarchy (corrupted aristocracy)


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'e/ocracy (good popular rule)

"chlocracy (/o6 rule, 6ad popular rule)

Monarchy (4hich 6egins the cycle all o2er again)

#oly6ius 6elie2ed this pattern 4as so regular as to ha2e predicti2e 2alue. 8ually

crucially, he used the ter/ democratia 4here Aristotle had used politeia or timokratia,

i.e., for the uncorrupt popular regi/e.

#"L*B&U%$ "+%T&TUT&"+AL %0M &+ B"" - "F 0&% 0&%T"!* "F ! "M 5

ZKSQX[PQ (pri/iti2e 1ingship)

ood Corrupt

"ne \QROία τυραννίς

Fe4 ἀριστοκρατία ὀλιγαρχία

Many δημοκρατία ὀχλοκρατία

This is the first and only sur2i2ing e:a/ple 4e ha2e fro/ anti8uity of the 4ord

VKWXQNPQ used in a positi2e sense 6y a political philosopher (as opposed to an historian

or orator). #oly6ius specifies that this is trueC de/ocracy, a co//unity 4here it is

traditional and custo/ary to re2erence the gods, to honor our parents, to respect our

elders, and to o6ey the la4s, ]and 4here^ the 4ill of the greater nu/6er pre2ails.C5

'e/ocrats set a high 2alue on e8uality and freedo/ of speech.C5> To distinguish true

de/ocracy fro/ 6ad, he coined the ter/ oc!locratia, /o6 rule, rule 6y la4less people

4ho lac1 control of their appetites and passions and use go2ern/ent po4er to coerce

others and unjustly ta1e their /oney. The ter/ oc!locratia is used 6y #oly6ius hi/self

only t4ice, 6oth in Boo1 - of his uni2ersal history (-.H. and -.). &t re/ained an

e:tre/ely rare ter/. According to the T!esaurus Linguae raecae, a /odern electronic

-


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le:icon 6ased on the totality of ancient Gree1 and a 2ast nu/6er of By7antine Gree1 te:ts

as 4ell, the 4ord can 6e found only DH ti/es, al4ays in o6scure late ancient and

By7antine te:ts.D=

As is 4ell1no4n, #oly6ius 4as a /ajor influence on icero,D5 6ut despite that,

pure de/ocracy ne2er 6eca/e a regi/e accepta6le to the !o/ans, and the 4ord

VKWXQNPQ itself 4as ne2er naturali7ed in Latin the 4ay that /any Gree1 ter/s,

tyrannis for e:a/ple, 4as. &t occurs in only a handful of cases in the hurch Fathers,

usually as a transliteration of an o6scure Gree1 ter/, and ne2er in a 4ay that sho4s

understanding of the concept of a de/ocratic constitution.

DD

!o/ans sa4 their o4n state

or respublica as ha2ing a popular ele/ent 6ut the ter/ VKWXQNPQ 4as only used to

descri6e aspects of !o/an political institutions 6y Gree1s 4riting in Gree1, li1e Arrian,

'io assius and #lutarch. All of these authors 4ere hostile to de/ocracy in its pure,

direct for/9 it 4as regarded 6y /ost 0ellenistic and later Gree1s as a corrupt, failed

constitution 4hose 4ea1ness and insta6ility had led to the rapid do4nfall of Athens as a

Gree1 po4er. A/ong the By7antines, 1no4ledge of the political history of Athens further

declined, to the point 4here the /ost pro/inent /eaning of the 4ord VKWXQNPQ in

/edie2al Gree1 4as a street riot.CD?

Acti2e use of the ter/ 4as not re2i2ed until the thirteenth century, 4hen,

follo4ing the translation of Aristotle$s Politics 6y Eillia/ of Moer6e1e (see a6o2e), the

4ord entered the 2oca6ulary of political Aristotelians in the scholastic tradition,

6eginning 4ith Tho/as A8uinas. A8uinas naturally used the ter/ as Aristotle had, as the

na/e of a corrupt or unjust regi/e conducted 6y the /any, glossing it as potentatus

populi or principatus multitudinis.DH Tho/as regarded pure de/ocracy as unjust 6ut


8/26

shared Aristotle$s 2ie4 that a de/ocratic ele/ent in a /i:ed constitution could 6e a

useful sta6ili7ing de2ice.D


9/26

of anti8uity) as he called hi/self, a tireless tra2eller, a ci2ic dignitary in the to4n of

Ancona, a prot`g` of #ope ugenius &@, and a /an 4ho /et and corresponded 4ith /any

leading political and cultural figures of his ti/e. *et, though he had a nu/6er of

follo4ers in the later $H== 4ho carried on his 4or1 of collecting classical inscriptions and

dra4ing the ruins of ancient 6uildings, he re/ained for the /ost part outside the

/ainstrea/ of hu/anist acti2ity, /arginali7ed 6y his lac1 of a fine educational pedigree

and the inelegance of his Latin style.D>

The rele2ant point in the current conte:t, ho4e2er, is that yriac 4as the one

securely identifia6le hu/anist of in the fifteenth century, to /y 1no4ledge, 4ho uses the

ter/ democratia as a legiti/ate Latin 4ord, and in a positi2e sense.?= 0e is the one

person 4ho regards de/ocracy as a practical for/ of go2ern/ent and indeed praises it as

the actual for/ of go2ern/ent enjoyed 6y his o4n ho/e to4n of Ancona, as 4ell as 6y

Florence and (oddly) the to4n of !ecanati near Ancona.

The source of yriac$s positi2e use of the 4ord democratia, it see/s al/ost

certain, is his 1no4ledge, apparently uni8ue in his ti/e, of Boo1 - of #oly6ius. The chief

e2idence for this is his use of the ter/ oc!locratia in a short 4or1 4ritten a6out 5HH=

called the Si, Constitutions.?5 As 4e ha2e already seen, the 4ord 4as coined 6y #oly6ius

and re/ained e:tre/ely rare. +o later sur2i2ing source 6ut #oly6ius uses the ter/ as

part of an e:position of constitutional types, as 4e find it also used in yriac$s Si,

Constitutions.?D &t does not e:ist either in ancient or /edie2al Latin. ?? "ne can add too

that yriac$s list of constitutions uses the sa/e Gree1 ter/inology and follo4s the sa/e

precise order as is found in #oly6ius$s discussion of anacyclosis or the constitutional

cycle.

>


10/26

#"L*B&U%$ "+%T&TUT&"+AL %0M &+ B"" - "F 0&% 0&%T"!* "F ! "M,

E&T0 T0 T!A+%L&T!AT&"+% U%' B* *!&A "F A +"+A&+ 0&% S I- C OSTITUTIOS (A. 5HH=)

KSQX[PQ

(/onarchia, pri/iti2e 1ingship)

ood Corrupt

"ne \QROία τυραννίςregnu/ tyrannis

Fe4 ἀριστοκρατία ὀλιγαρχίαaristocratia oligarchia

Many δημοκρατία ὀχλοκρατίαde/ocratia ochlocratia

There are also so/e other signs of a #oly6ian 4ay of thin1ing a6out constitutional

change that 4ill e/erge in due course.

This is a surprising disco2ery. &n Arnaldo Mo/igliano$s classic article of 5>H,

#oly6ius$ !eappearance in Eestern urope,C the great `/igr` scholar clai/ed that Boo1

- of #oly6ius 4as only reco2ered in the early si:teenth century, and first entered the

/e/epool of Eestern thought 2ia Machia2elli$s /iscorsi.?H

Boo1 -, it should perhaps 6e

e:plained, constitutes the /ost i/portant sur2i2ing 4or1 of 0ellenistic political theory

and 4as 4ell 1no4n as a 1ey theoretical te:t during the early /odern period, influencing

not only Machia2elli, 6ut also thin1ers li1e Guicciardini, a/es 0arrington, Montes8uieu

and the authors of the A/erican constitution. &ts constitutional theory, its account of the

!o/an$s constitution and /ilitary organi7ation as 4ell as the e:planation it offered for

!o/e$s i/perial success 8uic1ly /ade it into a canonical treat/ent of the relationship

6et4een constitutional order and i/perial po4er, once it finally 6egan to 6e pu6lished

and translated around the /iddle of the si:teenth century.?


11/26

Mo/igliano found no e2idence that any Eestern scholar 6efore Machia2elli 1ne4

of Boo1 -, and the /anuscript and early printed e2idence see/ed to 6ear hi/ out. Boo1s

5, and Leonardo Bruni produced in 5HD= 4hat

pro2ed to 6e an i//ensely popular adaptation of 0istoriae 5.D.?H called the /e primo

bello punico, intended to fill so/e of the gaps in Li2y$s history.?- Ehen Boo1s 5< 4ere

first properly translated 6y +iccol #erotti in 5H


12/26

For /ost hu/anists of the !enaissance, such a usage 4ould surely count as a

6ar6aris/ in the rhetorical sense of that 4ord. Leonardo Bruni had attac1ed the /edie2al

translator of the Politics on precisely this point in his treatise On Correct Translation3

Ehat shall & say of the 4ords left in Gree1, so nu/erous as to /a1e the

translation see/ half in Gree1 And yet there has ne2er 6een anything said in

Gree1 that cannot 6e said in Latin. %till, & 4ill e:cuse hi/ a fe4 o6scure and

strange 4ords if they cannot 6e translated easily into Latin. But it is certainly a

2ery ignorant thing to lea2e 4ords in Gree1 4hen 4e ha2e perfectly good Latin

e8ui2alents. Ehy, tell /e, do you lea2e politeia in Gree1, 4hen you can and

ought to use the Latin 4ords respublica Ehy o6trude in a thousand places the

4ords democratia and oligarc!ia and aristocratia, and offend the ears of your

readers 4ith outlandish and unfa/iliar ter/s 4hen 4e ha2e e:cellent and 4idely

used ter/s for all of the/ in LatinH5

Good taste, as hu/anists understood it, dictated that a 4riter /a1e use of e8ui2alents in

his or her o4n language 6efore i/porting an unfa/iliar, oddsounding foreign 4ord,

especially 4hen there 4as no ancient authority for doing so. Ee can see 4hat a stylistic

1au, pas this 4as if 4e loo1 at the other e:a/ple of #oly6ian influence 1no4n to the

present 4riter fro/ the fifteenth century (also un1no4n to Mo/igliano), na/ely the

appearance of #oly6ius$ theory of anacyclosis in a te:t fro/ 5H>=b>5. This occurs in

Boo1 ? of Aurelio Lippo Brandolini$s dialogue Republics and 2ingdoms Compared .HD

#"L*B&U%$ *L "F "+%T&TUT&"+AL 0A+G (-.D>)

E&T0 AU!L&" L#& B!A+'"+L&+&$% LAT&+ U&@AL+T%

Monarchy unius principatum

ingship re,, regnum

5D


13/26

Tyranny tyrannis

Aristocracy optimatum gubernatio

"ligarchy paucorum potestas

'e/ocracy a raecis politice3 a nostris respublicaC "chlocracy a nostris plebeius principatus3 a raecis

democratiaC

Monarchy

Although #oly6ius is not na/ed as the source of Brandolini$s theory of anacyclosis here

(4hich is placed in the /outh of the interlocutor ing Mattias or2inus), it is clear that

#oly6ius /ust ha2e 6een the source 4hen 4e co/pare Brandolini$s cycle 4ith the

accounts of constitutional degeneration in #lato and Aristotle3

"+%T&TUT&"+AL 'G+!AT&"+ &+ #LAT"$% R 4PU5LIC ,B"" (U+&'&!T&"+AL)

Aristocracy (the 6est, philosophical constitution, 6ased on 4isdo/)

Ti/ocracy (status 6ased on honor and 4ealth)

"ligarchy (status 6ased on 4ealth alone)

'e/ocracy (e8uality and license)

Tyranny

"+%T&TUT&"+AL 'G+!AT&"+ &+ A!&%T"TL

4 T0ICS .5= A+' P OLITICS < ( +"+*L&AL)

ingdo/ Tyranny

Aristocracy "ligarchy

Ti/ocracy or #olity 'e/ocracy Tyranny

5?


14/26

0ere one /ay see that Brandolini, despite adopting #oly6ius$ theory, had the good sense

or good taste to use the standard Latin e8ui2alents for Aristotle$s constitutional

ter/inology rather than the unfa/iliar #oly6ian ter/inology, especially its outlandish use

of democratia as the na/e for a good constitution.

_ _ _

&t 4ould 6e te/pting to conclude that yriac 4as open to using democratia in a positi2e

4ay 6ecause he hi/self had a preference for that 1ind of constitution. But in fact yriac

4as a de/ocrat only in a 2ery li/ited and idiosyncatic sense. &t is true that another little

1no4n 4or1 see/s to sho4 hi/ as an enthusiastic de/ocrat9 6ut only after a fashion.

This 4or1, called 6nconitana Illyrica#ue Laus, 4as a lettertreatise addressed to an

a/6assador fro/ !agusa ('u6ro2ni1), Marino de$!esti and dated 5 une 5HH=9 it 4as

designed as an introduction to the te:t of a treaty 6et4een Ancona and !agusa.H? &n it

yriac praises his nati2e city for its ancient de/ocratic constitution 4hich has allo4ed

her to flourish unica et alma civium democratica libertate, a citadel of freedo/ for

refugees fro/ tyranny going 6ac1 to the 'oric Gree1s. Than1s to its fostering de/ocratic

li6erty it has a political life /ar1ed 6y /odesty, honor, tran8uillity, peace, unity, concord,

security and piety. This description echoes, perhaps, #oly6ius$ description of the citi7en

2irtues present in a true de/ocracy.CHH Ancona is not, ho4e2er, a so2ereign de/ocracy

6ut enjoys its li6erty sub alma /ei vicarii potestate, 6eneath the 1indly po4er of the

@icar of God,C i.e. the pope. &t is Ancona$s li6erty that /a1es it a natural sistercity of

!agusa, also distinguished for its li6erty. !agusa, ho4e2er, enjoys an aristocratic

5H


15/26

constitution 4hich yriac also praises for the great pro6ity, resourcefulness, industry and

2irtue of its citi7ens, as the uni8uely honora6le and 6est of the &llyrian polities,

flourishing in aristocratic li6erty through the 6rilliant po4er of its no6le and opti/ate

citi7ens.

0earing this typically inflated praise one /ight suppose yriac to 6e a 1ind of

/inor Leonardo Bruni, praising his city$s regi/e and its free institutions. &n fact,

ho4e2er, yriac sho4s hi/self (li1e Biondo Fla2io) an opponent of the repu6lican

ideology ela6orated 6y %alutati and Bruni in Florence, and a critic of the repu6lican

narrati2e of !o/an history the t4o Florentine chancellors had 4or1ed out decades

6efore.H


16/26

this treatise, 1no4n as the Caesarea Laus, yriac defends ulius aesar against the slurs

of #oggio Bracciolini, 4ho had co/pared the great dictator unfa2ora6ly 4ith %cipio

Africanus. 0ere (cap. 5) yriac gi2es us an e:plicit hierarchy of constitutions.

"ligarchy and tyranny are set aside as 6ad for/s of go2ern/ent9 ochlocracy is not

/entioned. This lea2es #oly6ius$s three goodC for/s of go2ern/ent, 4hich in ascending

order of dignity are de/ocracy, aristocracy, and /onarchy. Follo4ing the usual argu/ent,

/onarchy has the /ost estee/ 6ecause it /ost rese/6les the go2ern/ent of God in

hea2en. And !o/an /onarchy 4as no ar6itrary tyranny, dependent on the 4ill of a single

/an9 nor 4as it a6solute /onarchy. aesar$s rule and Augustus$ rule too1 care to

ad/inister the pro2inces and 1ingdo/s in accordance 4ith la4, decrees of the %enate or

6y resolutions of the #eople and the tri6unician po4er.CH &n other 4ords, it 4as a

constitutional /onarchy, as that ter/ 4as understood in the !enaissance and early

/odern period.

%o yriac, li1e #oly6ius, considers de/ocracy a good for/ of go2ern/ent, to 6e

preser2ed in citystates 4ith old traditions of de/ocratic freedo/. For yriac it is good in

part 6ecause it is an inherently /i:ed for/. &t is not /i:ed in Aristotle$s sense, i.e. a

/i:ture of institutional features ta1en fro/ de/ocracy and oligarchy, 6ut /i:ed in an a

so/e4hat no2el sense3 i.e., it consists of a /i:ture of a city$s populace ( populus) and

other free to4ns/en (municipes),H> 4ho on suita6le occasions ta1e the counsel of the

Areopagites, 4hich introduces an aristocratic ele/ent to the regi/e.

'e/ocracy3 A /i:ed regi/e of the people ( populus) and free to4ns/en

(municipes) in a citystate (civitas), such as 4e learn the Athenians /aintained,

although they 2ery often usefully used to e/ploy the e:cellent counsel of the

5-


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Areopagites at suita6le /o/ents, just li1e an aristocratic regi/e. Today a/ong

the &talians, Florence in Tuscany, Ancona in #icenu/ and the colony of !ecanati

see/ to /aintain this ]type of regi/e^. These indeed are protected and regulated

6eneath the fostering pontifical po4er of the 2icar of God.


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aesar$s son Augustus he sent his son esus to /ingle 4ith the hu/an race9 and just as

though he held joint co//and 4ith aesar o2er hea2en and earth, ]esus^ agreed in a

sacred pronounce/ent that 4hat is aesar$s should 6e gi2en to aesar, and 4hat is

God$s, to God.C


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4hy !o/e fell 4as that all hu/an things are su6ject to decay. Ee are not gods, 6ut /en.

Ee die9 and our go2ern/ents die too. The 6ody politic is /ortal.


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the 2oice crying in the 4ilderness, 6ut 4hen it ca/e to the idea of the !enaissance, he

4as singing 4ith in chorus 4ith the angels.

D=


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]+"T% T" 0A+&+% "+T!&BUT&"+^

D5


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5 a/es 0an1ins, :clusi2ist !epu6licanis/ and the +onMonarchical !epu6lic,C Political T!eory

?.H (D=5=)3 H


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and /odern concepts of de/ocracy, see #eter Liddel, 'e/ocracy Ancient and Modern,C in !yan .

Balot, ed., 6 Companion to reek and Roman Political T!oug!t (":ford3 EileyBlac14ell, D==>),

5??5H.5= %ee hristian Meier, hristian, 0ans Leo !ei/ann and Eerner on7e, 'e/o1ratie,C in "ttoBrunner, Eerner on7e and !einhart osellec1, esc!ic!tlic!e rundbegri11e; !istorisc!es Le,ikon

=ur politisc!en>so=ialen Sprac!e in /eutsc!land3 2ols. (%tuttgart3 . lett, 5>D>), 53 D5>>. %ee

also the article 6y Eilfried +ippel, 'e/ocracy,C in T!e Classical Tradition, ed. Anthony Grafton,Glenn E. Most and %al2atore %ettis (a/6ridge, MA3 Bel1nap #ress, D=5=), D>H), chapters ? and H.5D %ee especially Boo1 of the Republic and orgias


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D- For the interesting though rare cases of democratia and the adjecti2e democraticus used 6y atholics

as negati2es to descri6e churches 4ith #rotestant tendencies in the early !efor/ation, see !en` 0o2en,

Le,i#ue de la prose latine de la Renaissance, Dnd edn. (Leiden3 . . Brill, D==-), 5


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a/es 0an1ins (Toronto3 #ontifical &nstitute of Medie2al %tudies #ress).?- For the /anuscripts, see a/es 0an1ins, Repertorium 5runianum; 6 uide to t!e ?orks o1 Leonardo

5runi, 2ol. 5 (!o/e3 &stituto storico italiano per il Medio 2o, 5>>).? uoted fro/ 'e eyser, #oly6iusC3 A6sol2i tande/ ali8uando delegatu/ /ihi a6s te /unus, pontife: /a:i/e, con2ersis in Latinu/ ser/one/ 8uin8ue li6ris #oly6ii, 8ui soli no6is superstites e:

a/plissi/a illius historia re/ansere. @eru/ ta/en o/ne/ hanc /ea/ 2oluptate/ at8ue hoc o/ne

solatiu/ non paru/ ad e:tre/u/ contur6a2it i/perfectio operis, 8uod e: 8uadraginta a6 illo editis2olu/ini6us 2i: 8uin8ue pri/a no6is supersunt.C For the DD /anuscripts and nine editions of this

translation, and for further 6i6liography, see 'e eyser$s discussion.? ohn M. Moore, T!e Manuscript Tradition o1 Polybius (a/6ridge3 a/6ridge Uni2ersity #ress,5>- 'e eyser, #oly6ius.CH= Moore, T!e Manuscript Tradition, #art &&.H5 Leonardo Bruni, Sulla per1etta tradu=ione, ed. #aolo @iti (+aples3 Liguori ditore, D==H), 5D=, cap.

H?.HD Brandolini, Republics and 2ingdoms Compared , D?DH=, caps. &t is far fro/ clear 4hat yriac /eans 6y municipes. &t is possi6le that yriac is thin1ing of !o/ani/perial citi7enship and thus 4ishes to distinguish !o/an citi7ens 4ho li2ed in !o/e itself fro/ free

citi7ens of other to4ns in the /pire 4ho enjoyed !o/an citi7en rights9 see Aulus Gellius$ essay on

the 4ord in 6ttic ig!ts 5-.5?. Another possi6ility is that yriac is using municeps in its /edie2al


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/eaning of castellanC and thin1ing of so/ething li1e the early popular co//une of the thirteenth

century, 4here the popolo, the /iddle classes, shared po4er 4ith magnati, no6les 4hose po4er 4as

often sy/6oli7ed 6y the possession of ur6an to4ers.

graftonfs hankins

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