Government
‹ 3 · Outline · 5 ›
4.Rulers and their qualifications
4a.The virtues and education of the ruler
See also: Virtue and Vice 11b
Confucius, The Sayings of ConfuciusVol. 44
- p. 5Guiding a state requires diligence, honesty, thrift, love of the people and moderate demands upon them.read · scan
- p. 6–7A ruler who cleaves to good is like the north star holding the multitude.read · scan
- p. 8–9Rulers gain the people's loyalty by exalting the straight, dignity, piety and teaching the unskilled.read · scan
- p. 13–14A kingdom is swayed by courteous yielding.read · scan
- p. 17–18Chung-kung says laxness to the people is right only if one is stern to self.read · scan
- p. 19Character, intelligence, and ability make men fit for governing.read · scan
- p. 39Ruling is setting straight; the ruler's example bends the people as wind bends grass.read · scan
- p. 42Rulers who love courtesy, right and truth win obedience and people flock to them without husbandry.read · scan
- p. 42–43He who cannot rule himself cannot rule others; hard to be king or minister.read · scan
- p. 43Kingcraft is gladdening those near and drawing men from afar; avoid haste and small gains.read · scan
- p. 49–50When rulers love courtesy the people are easy to lead; officers obeyed the chief minister during mourning.read · scan
- p. 51–52Yen Yuan is told how to rule: follow ancient rites and music, shun glib men.read · scan
- p. 63A prince does not forsake kinsmen, neglect great vassals, discard old servants or demand perfection.read · scan
- p. 64A gentleman must win the people's trust before burdening or reproving them.read · scan
- p. 66Had Confucius power, all would follow him and be tuned to harmony.read · scan
- p. 67Rulers should burden people according to strength and teach before punishing.read · scan
The Book of PsalmsVol. 44
- p. 267–269Psalmist vows as ruler to keep the faithful near, destroy slanderers, deceivers and the wicked from the city.read · scan
Sophocles, AntigoneVol. 8
- p. 260Creon states his principles of ruling: speak counsel boldly, put country above friends, and learn a ruler's character through exercising power.read · scan
Luke, The Gospel According to LukeVol. 44
- p. 410–411Jesus contrasts Gentile kings' lordship with greatness as service: the chief must be as one who serves.read · scan
Plutarch, PericlesVol. 12
- p. 52Pericles turns from pandering to the populace to austere aristocratic and regal rule for the country's best interests.read · scan
Plutarch, Comparison of Demosthenes and CiceroVol. 12
- p. 261–262Cicero as consul exemplifies Plato's saying that states prosper when supreme power, wisdom and justice are united.read · scan
Plutarch, CaesarVol. 12
- p. 293Caesar's clemency to prisoners quiets Rome and wins over soldiers and fugitives.read · scan
Plutarch, AntonyVol. 12
- p. 383–384Caesar acquits the Alexandrians of blame, for Alexander's sake, the city's sake and Areius's sake.read · scan
Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of EpictetusVol. 2
- p. 150Governing men as reasonable creatures means example and appeal to God's ordinance, not threats of prison.read · scan
- p. 160The Cynic already holds a greater government than any state office.read · scan
Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations of Marcus AureliusVol. 2
- p. 196Administration of the empire: watchful, frugal, resisting flattery and popular applause.read · scan
- p. 196Kept few secrets, only about public matters; managed public spending.read · scan
- p. 198A ruler can live near the fashion of a private person yet do what befits a ruler for the public interest.read · scan
Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16
- p. 60The Khalifeh goes disguised at night to learn what news he can from his city.read · scan
Sir Thomas More, UtopiaVol. 36
- p. 160One who cannot reform subjects without impoverishing them does not know how to govern free men; the ruler must amend himself.read · scan
- p. 210Magistrates are fatherly, not haughty; the prince is distinguished only by a sheaf of corn.read · scan
- p. 210–213Neighbouring peoples borrow Utopian magistrates because rulers' manners make or mar the commonwealth.read · scan
Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31
- p. 252–254Rulers who oppress the poor should be taught the jail's lessons so they rule by reason, truth and right.read · scan
- p. 392The Duke personally inspects the city and directs the defence works, asserting his authority over the design.read · scan
William Harrison, A Description of Elizabethan EnglandVol. 35
- p. 341Absence of wolves ascribed to the politic government of King Edgar.read · scan
Miguel de Cervantes, The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha, Part IVol. 14
- p. 73Sancho claims himself able to govern any island as well as anyone who ever governed.read · scan
- p. 187–188Sancho claims to understand something of good government, defending his advice to flee.read · scan
- p. 493He fears Sancho will not be able to govern the promised earldom.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 127–129Ranks founders, lawgivers, liberators, extenders and just rulers as degrees of sovereign honor.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of MacbethVol. 46
- p. 356–357Macbeth as host greets the lords by rank, asserting order at his banquet.read · scan
Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, Philaster, or Love Lies A-BleedingVol. 47
- p. 671Philaster tells courtiers to make their country a virtuous court, refusing flattery.read · scan
- p. 744Princes are taught to rule the passions of their blood.read · scan
Thomas Hobbes, Of Man, Being the First Part of LeviathanVol. 34
- p. 309–310He who governs a nation must read mankind in himself, not particular men.read · scan
John Milton, Poems Written at Horton, 1632-1638Vol. 4
- p. 43–44A noble peer is charged to guide an old and proud nation with tempered awe.read · scan
John Milton, Paradise RegainedVol. 4
- p. 371One ruled by lawless passions is unfit to rule cities or multitudesread · scan
Blaise Pascal, Minor WorksVol. 48
- p. 382The great should rule not by force or harshness but by satisfying reasonable desires and being beneficent.read · scan
John Dryden, Dedication of the AeneisVol. 13
- p. 24–25Augustus's greatest virtue was the perfect art of governing, bringing forty years of felicity.read · scan
- p. 53–55Royal rewards and encouragement of poets, as Augustus did, and Ovid's banishment.read · scan
William Penn, Some Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1
- p. 350Rulers should not strain points with the people; obedience and justice; example with authority; let people think they govern.read · scan
- p. 350–351People are the politic wife of the prince, better managed by wisdom than force; partial magistrates lose authority.read · scan
Oliver Goldsmith, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 505Burke faulted as too nice for a statesman and too fond of the right to pursue the expedient.read · scan
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in FranceVol. 24
- p. 187–188No qualification for government but virtue and wisdom; selection by lot or rotation cannot match man to duty.read · scan
- p. 316Legislators are shepherds of their kindred and should know their flocks as different kinds.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Hermann and DorotheaVol. 19
- p. 354A city's condition reflects its rulers; order and cleanliness must work downward from above, or citizens grow untidy.read · scan
George Washington, Washington's First Inaugural AddressVol. 43
- p. 226–227National policy should rest on private morality, free of local prejudice and party animosity.read · scan
Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)Vol. 21
- p. 491The Unnamed organizes shelter, lodging and defense like a ruler over a large company of refugees.read · scan
- p. 492–493Guards and watchers keep order among strangers in the castle; his presence restrains disorder.read · scan
Thomas Carlyle, Inaugural Address at EdinburghVol. 25
- p. 372Ruling a district in one's own image is called the most divine thing a man can do for others.read · scan
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 976–977Ulysses leaves the sceptre to Telemachus, who by slow prudence will civilize a rugged people.read · scan
James Russell Lowell, Abraham LincolnVol. 28
- p. 430The statesman must rely on the deliberate reason and firmness of the people rather than mere enthusiasm.read · scan
- p. 432Statecraft shown in guiding public sentiment, using compromise without weakness, and turning hostile combinations to advantage; a ruler worthy of a commonwealth of freemen.read · scan
- p. 435Lincoln entered office with few resources and divided support yet won the people's confidence through three years of stormy administration.read · scan
- p. 437A statesman's object is to achieve his ends quietly, not proclaim doctrines.read · scan
- p. 437Compares Lincoln with Henry IV of France as practical rulers who reorganized a divided nation around legitimate authority.read · scan
- p. 439Governing is the most complicated human contrivance, not to be worked at sight by a ready talker.read · scan
James Russell Lowell, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1383Lincoln as shepherd of mankind who loved his charge but never loved to lead.read · scan
4b.The burdens and perils of high place
Confucius, The Sayings of ConfuciusVol. 44
- p. 54–55The ruler's danger lies within his own palace, not in the neighbouring state.read · scan
The Book of PsalmsVol. 44
- p. 327–328Do not trust princes, whose power perishes; God alone reigns forever.read · scan
Plutarch, DemosthenesVol. 12
- p. 211–212He warns young men off public business because of the fears, envies, calumnies and contentions that attend politics.read · scan
Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of EpictetusVol. 2
- p. 160Cynic's concern is not revenue or state administration but happiness, misery and freedom.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, PurgatoryVol. 20
- p. 223Adrian says the papal robe weighs on him who would guard it from the mire; other burdens seem feathers.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 26Public envy falls on ministers rather than kings, but general envy on all ministers signals discontent with the state itself.read · scan
- p. 26–28Men in great place are thrice servants and lose freedom; ascent is laborious, standing slippery, retirement impossible.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkVol. 46
- p. 162–171The King frets over concealing Polonius's death and wise counsel, fearing slander will harm his name.read · scan
- p. 177–178The King fears the muddied people and Laertes's whispers.read · scan
John Webster, The Duchess of MalfiVol. 47
- p. 799Antonio laments the rotten ground of service to a prince and the instability of service in a household.read · scan
Izaak Walton, The Life of Dr. John DonneVol. 15
- p. 330–331Uncertainty and delays of Court promises and hopes of state employment contrasted with the church.read · scan
Pierre Corneille, PolyeucteVol. 26
- p. 117–119Felix fears for his sceptre and crown if the mob is unchecked and Decius is turned against him.read · scan
- p. 119–121Felix as ruler worries about the rabble's will and the Emperor's approval.read · scan
Blaise Pascal, ThoughtsVol. 48
- p. 47–48The Sultan unites working for a living with ruling the most powerful state, an example of oddity.read · scan
- p. 56High officials are kept so busy they cannot think of themselves, and are wretched when disgraced.read · scan
Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)Vol. 21
- p. 303The Count complains that his nephews burden him beyond the affairs of state.read · scan
George Long, The Philosophy of AntoninusVol. 2
- p. 323–324Antoninus bore the administration of an empire from the Euphrates to the Atlantic, with little power to do the good he wished.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, CompensationVol. 5
- p. 87–88The President pays dearly for power and place, losing peace and manly attributes.read · scan
4c.The arts of princes in holding power
See also: Monarchy 5b · Liberty 9e · Aristocracy 6a · Prudence 8b
Traditional BalladsVol. 40
- p. 173–175The king's forester advises disguising the king and knights as monks to find Robin.read · scan
Niccolò Machiavelli, The PrinceVol. 36
- p. 5Defends a humble man's right to lay down rules for governing princes, comparing the mapmaker's vantage of people and princes.read · scan
- p. 7Examines how states are governed and maintained.read · scan
- p. 8Difficulties of holding newly joined states; the conqueror must gain inhabitants' goodwill and cannot avoid offending subjects.read · scan
- p. 9Advises the conqueror to extinguish the old line, keep laws and taxes unchanged, and reside in the province in person.read · scan
- p. 10–11Colonies are cheaper, more faithful and give less offence than garrisons for holding a conquered province.read · scan
- p. 11The conqueror should protect weaker neighbours, weaken the strong and bar powerful strangers from the province.read · scan
- p. 11–12Romans planted colonies, conciliated the weak and humbled the great in ruling conquests.read · scan
- p. 12–13Louis XII lost Italy by doing the opposite of what a conqueror should, alienating friends and strengthening the Church.read · scan
- p. 14Balance of powers in Italy and the danger of aggrandizing rival states.read · scan
- p. 15He who causes another's greatness is undone; contrasts rule by a sole prince with servants versus a prince with hereditary barons.read · scan
- p. 16–17Kingdoms with native lords are easy to enter but hard to hold; Darius's state resembled the Turk's, so Alexander kept it.read · scan
- p. 18Three methods of holding a conquered free state: destroy it, reside in it, or rule through a friendly few under tribute.read · scan
- p. 18Contrasts holding princely subjects with holding republics.read · scan
- p. 23–24Policy of gaining nobles' loyalty through rank, provision and command to secure his rule.read · scan
- p. 25Borgia gives Romagna a stern governor, then a civil tribunal representing every town, restoring order.read · scan
- p. 31He secures the princedom with new civil and military ordinances until Borgia entraps and strangles him.read · scan
- p. 31–32Advises a usurper seizing a state on how to win over his subjects and hold their confidence.read · scan
- p. 33A prince can make and unmake nobles at will but must always live with the same people.read · scan
- p. 35A prince ruling through magistrates is weaker, since they can withhold obedience in difficult times.read · scan
- p. 40A prince defends his State with his own subjects, mercenaries or auxiliaries; mercenary reliance leaves his rule insecure.read · scan
- p. 60–61Well-ordered states keep the nobles from desperation and the commons contented.read · scan
- p. 62–63Rulers cannot avoid being hated by some and should avoid the hatred of the stronger class.read · scan
- p. 67Turk and Soldan depend on standing armies and must please soldiers rather than the people.read · scan
- p. 68Princes disarm subjects, divide towns, or build fortresses to govern securely; judgment depends on circumstances.read · scan
- p. 68–69Policy on disarming subjects and fostering factions; deliberately caused divisions never lead to good.read · scan
- p. 69–70Fostering factions, as Venice did, shows weakness and fails in war; princes may win over former suspects.read · scan
- p. 71Fortresses are useful or not by circumstance; the best fortress is not being hated by one's subjects.read · scan
- p. 71–72Fortresses helped the Countess of Forli once but failed when the people hated her; better not to have subjects as enemies.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 35–36Kings gain ease in employing able nobles, to whom people naturally bend.read · scan
- p. 40A wise government holds men's hearts by hopes when it cannot satisfy them, as Epimetheus kept hope in the vessel.read · scan
- p. 92–93Princes should use ambitious men only with care, keeping them progressing, and use them as commanders, screens and instruments against overgreat subjects.read · scan
- p. 93Princes should curb ambitious men by balancing rivals and alternating favors and disgraces, and choose ministers mindful of duty.read · scan
- p. 141Fame is the least-handled place in politics; rulers should tame and govern rumors.read · scan
- p. 141–142Wise governors should watch rumors as carefully as actions and designs; historical examples abound.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkVol. 46
- p. 146–148The King resolves to send Hamlet to England, since madness in great ones must be watched.read · scan
- p. 158–159The King moves to send Hamlet to England because his madness endangers the estate.read · scan
- p. 184Claudius says he could not bring Hamlet to public trial because of the people's love for himread · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of MacbethVol. 46
- p. 352–354Macbeth cannot openly remove Banquo despite power, for mutual friends, and so hides the deed from the common eye.read · scan
William Penn, More Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1
- p. 376Questions the policy of political dissimulation.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, EgmontVol. 19
- p. 295–296Egmont describes the Regent as suspicious and dissembling, as all who have objects to attain.read · scan
- p. 305–306Alva plans the arrest of the princes, deploying guards and signals to secure Orange and Egmont.read · scan
Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)Vol. 21
- p. 76–77Court intrigue, the Emperor's investiture and dealings of rulers and ministers.read · scan
- p. 77–78Podesta flatters the Count Duke's cunning statecraft against Richelieu, a satire of courtly politics and diplomacy.read · scan
- p. 298–299The Count's authority is maintained by ambiguous language and silence, like empty japanned boxes sustaining an apothecary's credit; Privy-council and governor.read · scan
- p. 304Power maneuvering by the Count, using indirect means over commands.read · scan
- p. 436Don Gonzalo manages appearances before Venice's ambassador and uses complaints about Renzo to show unshaken boldness, then forgets the matter.read · scan
- p. 446His shelf of political writers: Machiavelli, Botero and Castiglione's Statista Regnante, a book of every trick and virtue of statecraft.read · scan
Thomas Babington Macaulay, MachiavelliVol. 27
- p. 368Rulers of Rome, Madrid and Constantinople must appease city populations.read · scan
- p. 388Machiavelli's speculations on government colored by observing Borgia and the statesmen of Europe during his embassies.read · scan
- p. 394The Prince traces an ambitious man's rise, the Discourses an ambitious people's; the same principles explain both.read · scan
- p. 400–401Machiavelli's political theory was seized on by the new rulers, whose practice matched parts of it, to blacken his memory.read · scan
Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the BeagleVol. 29
- p. 109–110General Rosas directs the campaign, using treaties and placing allies in the front ranks to thin them.read · scan
4d.Rulers' vices and the abuse of power
Aesop, FablesVol. 17
- p. 17Hares persecuted by stronger beasts live in fear; the fable hints that the weak always have others weaker, an image of the ruled and the powerful.read · scan
The Book of JobVol. 44
- p. 124–125One who hates justice cannot govern; God is no respecter of princes or the rich.read · scan
Sophocles, AntigoneVol. 8
- p. 287Teiresias says the state suffers because of Creon's counsels.read · scan
Ecclesiastes; or, The PreacherVol. 44
- p. 346–347Rulers' error sets folly in dignity and the rich in low places; gentleness allays a ruler's anger.read · scan
Plutarch, AlcibiadesVol. 12
- p. 129Alcibiades cares not whether people or better citizens govern, only that it secures his return.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, PurgatoryVol. 20
- p. 216The abbot denounces a ruler who misused power by placing an unfit son as pastor of the monastery.read · scan
Jean Froissart, The Chronicles of FroissartVol. 35
- p. 62Rebels say the realm is evil governed and nobles take their money; city authorities debate closing gates.read · scan
- p. 65Rebels complain the realm has been ill governed by the king's uncles, the clergy and the chancellor, and demand accounting.read · scan
Martin Luther, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German NationVol. 36
- p. 311Rulers are blind leaders of the blind, like the people.read · scan
Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31
- p. 104Duke Alessandro shelters Cellini and advises him to stay quiet, showing the influence of patrons over the punishment of crime.read · scan
- p. 105–106The Pope knows of the murder yet, pleased with the work, lets it pass with a warning to live carefully.read · scan
- p. 248–249The Pope, swayed by wine at supper, grants the Cardinal's plea for Cellini's release; the prisoner's fate depends on rulers' whims and politics.read · scan
Sir Philip Sidney, The Defense of PoesyVol. 27
- p. 25–26The pastoral shows the misery of people under hard lords and the blessedness from the goodness of the highest.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 48–49Nero tuned harp well but in government wound pins too high or too low; unequal interchange of power destroys authority.read · scan
Christopher Marlowe, Edward the SecondVol. 46
- p. 35The nobles catalogue the realm's failures: drained treasury, lost garrisons, Scottish and Irish incursions, unprotected seas.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King LearVol. 46
- p. 221–224Goneril and Regan plan to curb Lear's surrendered authority, noting his rash, changeable old age.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The TempestVol. 46
- p. 399Prospero neglected rule for study; Antonio, controlling offices and suits, remade the state's officials and set all hearts to his tune.read · scan
Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, Philaster, or Love Lies A-BleedingVol. 47
- p. 668–669The King risked both kingdoms by imprisoning Philaster; the city rose in arms and he seeks foreign power to awe subjects.read · scan
Pierre Corneille, PolyeucteVol. 26
- p. 127Felix justifies the execution by state necessity, as when Manlius and Brutus slew sons, bleeding the diseased part.read · scan
William Penn, Some Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1
- p. 328Religion and government are reproached for suffering both poverty and excess.read · scan
William Penn, More Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1
- p. 374–375Cunning man is a lurcher in politics, a trickster in public affairs.read · scan
- p. 392–393Enforcing conformity in indifferent matters is a weakness in government.read · scan
Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1
- p. 20–21The Assembly imprisons his brother and forbids him printing the paper, an arbitrary act.read · scan
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm, or The Soldier's FortuneVol. 26
- p. 353–354Tellheim says the great see soldiers as serving self-interest and discard them when peace makes them superfluous.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Tragedy of Faust, Part IVol. 19
- p. 39–41A burgher complains the new Burgomaster grows arrogant, adding restraints and taxes while the town worsens.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, EgmontVol. 19
- p. 262–263Machiavel charges Spanish rule with self-enrichment, foreign bishops and stadtholders, ignoring ancient customs and the people's welfare.read · scan
Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6
- p. 153Peasants talk of church patronage, taxes and state affairs; landlords' factors oppress tenants.read · scan
- p. 461–463Men of State blamed for causing deadly hate, widows' tears and orphans' cries.read · scan
Friedrich Schiller, William TellVol. 26
- p. 386–387Rulers' pride and avarice are to be borne in patience until another emperor may come.read · scan
The Declaration of IndependenceVol. 43
- p. 151–152Charges on legislatures, judiciary, offices and military power show the abuse of executive authority.read · scan
Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)Vol. 21
- p. 476–477Rulers' pride and pleasure in war are blamed for the scourges suffered by the people.read · scan
- p. 503–504The governor, preoccupied with war, ignores plague warnings and decrees public rejoicings that gather crowds, neglecting the population in his care.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, CompensationVol. 5
- p. 88–89Cruel governors are unsafe; under all governments character's influence remains the same.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, PoliticsVol. 5
- p. 242Limits exist beyond which the folly and ambition of governors cannot go, whatever forms prevail.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, English TraitsVol. 5
- p. 452The Times shares the limitations of governing classes; imperial and official tone.read · scan
John Stuart Mill, On LibertyVol. 25
- p. 260Mediocre masses produce mediocre government; wise initiative comes from individuals.read · scan
Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the BeagleVol. 29
- p. 370Darwin condemns a government that unfurls a death's-head flag at its independence anniversary.read · scan
William Makepeace Thackeray, Jonathan SwiftVol. 28
- p. 11–12Swift observed men who had governed the world and found them small, with pompous commonplaces.read · scan
James Russell Lowell, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1372–1374Satire of a self-serving politician who believes in office, taxes, missions and pay.read · scan
‹ 3 · Outline · 5 ›