The Glorious Excess of Peace in Marsilius of Padua's Defensor Pacis

In Defensor Pacis Marsilius of Padua grounds the legitimacy of the kingdom, or the state (civitas), on the peace that rule provides the citizens. Looking at Aristotle’s claim that the civitas strives to be like an animal in which all parts in the right proportion for the sake of health, Marsilius ar...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inTheoria (Pietermaritzburg) Vol. 66; no. 159; pp. 23 - 51
Main Author Lee Jr, Richard A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Berghahn Journals 01.06.2019
Berghahn Books
Berghahn Books, Inc
Subjects
Analysis
Authors
Christianity
Citizens
Criticism and interpretation
Legitimacy
Marsilius of Padua
Marsilius of Padua (1290-1342)
Peace
Political theory
Politics
Secularism
Sovereignty
Works
Italy
Egypt
Marsilius of Padua
sovereignty
Defensor Pacis
peace
glory
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In Defensor Pacis Marsilius of Padua grounds the legitimacy of the kingdom, or the state (civitas), on the peace that rule provides the citizens. Looking at Aristotle’s claim that the civitas strives to be like an animal in which all parts in the right proportion for the sake of health, Marsilius argues that ‘the parts of the kingdom or state will be well disposed for the sake of peace [tranquilitas].’ Marsilius goes on to define peace as the agreeable ‘belonging together’ of all members of the kingdom or the state. In this way, Marsilius moves away from a theological ground of the legitimacy of the state towards one that is entirely secular. However, the ground is an unstable one in that it acknowledges the fact that the ‘members’ of the body politic are characterised by difference. As such, the ground of legitimate authority will be characterised as much by force as by peace or by the relation of force to peace.
Bibliography:Original Article
Articles
ISSN:0040-5817
1558-5816
DOI:10.3167/th.2019.6615903