Table Of ContentHISTORY OF POLITICAL THEORY
AN INTRODUCTION
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History of Political
Theory: An Introduction
Volume I: Ancient and Medieval
2nd Edition
GEORGE KLOSKO
1
3
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# George Klosko 2012
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Second Edition published in 2012
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To my teachers at Columbia University
and my students at Columbia, Purdue,
and the University of Virginia
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Preface
“In this subject as in others,” Aristotle writes in the. Politics, “the best method
of investigation is to study things in the process of development from the
beginning.” (1252a 24–6; Rackham, trans.) This two-volume History of Politi-
cal Theory traces the growth of the central ideas of Western political theory
“from the beginning” to the mid-nineteenth century. Volume I covers the
period from the ancient Greeks to the Reformation. Volume II will begin with
Machiavelli and the Renaissance and end with Marx. The authors examined
are among the greatest thinkers our society has produced. The central concern
in writing these books has been to provide clear, careful accounts of their
political theories and reasons for their continuing relevance.
The history of political theory is not a dead subject, of only antiquarian
interest. The theories I examine provide the concepts and the language with
which subsequent political discussion has been conducted, up until the present
day. Accordingly, I have concentrated on topics of greatest concern to contem-
porary readers. For instance, in the medieval chapters, I pay special attention to
issues of constitutionalism, natural law, and resistance to unjust political
authority. In these respects especially, one can see central components of our
conceptual vocabulary taking shape over the centuries.
Throughout this book, I have attempted to develop theorists’ ideas in their
own words. The result is an unusual amount of direct quotation. Collecting
this material should give students small anthologies of the most important
political passages of the theorists covered. Because much of this material
makes little sense removed from the circumstances of thinkers’ lives, I also
provide essential intellectual and political background, though this seemed
more necessary in some cases than in others.
This textbook is intended for the standard two-semester sequence in the
history of political theory. It is aimed primarily at courses in which the
instructor wants sustained, detailed attention to the ideas of the great thinkers
but does not wish to assign only original texts. Because this book does not
assume familiarity with works discussed, I have been careful to explain and
illustrate basic concepts. I hope my discussions will be of interest to more
advanced readers as well. The philosophies of many of the thinkers discussed
are difficult. Clear, reliable accounts of their political theories should be helpful
to a variety of audiences.
A work of this sort requires numerous choices about what to include and
what to omit. Because my main concern is depth rather than breadth, I focus
on a small number of major thinkers, paying less attention to subsidiary
figures. The two main exceptions are chapters on early Greek political theory
and the Hellenistic period; both are necessary for understanding subsequent
material. Concentrating on major themes has led to striking omissions. For
instance, little is said about Plato’s Statesman and Laws or Aristotle’s Ethics.
But this allows additional space for more important concerns in Plato’s
Republic and Aristotle’s Politics. In military affairs, generals have always seen
the need to concentrate their forces. In pedagogy as well, the need to focus on
central themes is apparent.
To make this work as useful as possible, I have attempted to use translations
of works that are widely available. For easy reference, primary source infor-
mation is collected at the end of each chapter under the heading “Texts Cited.”
Translations are occasionally modified slightly. I have not thought it necessary
to indicate relatively slight changes, which occasionally include substituting a
few words from other published translations. When these are used, they are
included under Texts Cited. I also include brief lists of suggested secondary
readings and a brief chronology, including authors, works, and some historical
background, at the end of the book.
In referring to primary sources, I use standard citations when available. These
are generally in the form of Book and Chapter numbers and are explained in the
notes to each chapter. To minimize the number of footnotes, I have frequently
included citations in parentheses in the text.
Specific chapters were read by Daniel Devereux, Dante Germino, Mark Hall,
and Tim Collins. I am grateful for their comments and suggestions, as I am to
the readers for Harcourt Brace College Publishers: Richard Dagger, Arizona
State University; Jean Danielson, Tulane University; Christine DiStefano, Uni-
versity of Washington; Daniela Gobetti, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor;
Isaac Kramnick, Cornell University; Joe Kunkel, Mankato State University;
Stuart A. Lilie, University of Central Florida; Kenneth Peter, San Jose State
University; Steven Smith, Yale University; Richard Taylor, Kent State Univer-
sity; and Graham Walker, University of Pennsylvania.
My greatest debt is to Julian Franklin and the late Herbert Deane, who
taught me how to work in the history of political theory and whose model of
sound historical scholarship I have sought to emulate here. I am also greatly
indebted to my students, undergraduate and graduate, at Columbia and
Purdue Universities and the University of Virginia, to whom I have presented
different versions of this material for the past sixteen years. David Tatom and
Cathlynn Richard of Harcourt Brace College Publishers have been model
editors in terms of suggestions, encouragement, and gentle guidance.
As always, I am deeply indebted to my wife, Margaret, and daughters,
Caroline, Susanna, and Deborah, for moral support.
viii
Preface
Preface to the Second Edition
For this new edition, I have carefully reviewed the text of the previous edition,
improving the exposition in different ways. In several chapters, I have rewrit-
ten various sections to clarify presentation. To cite a few examples: in
Chapter 11, I have clarified the relationship between Luther’s “ascending”
view of authority in the Church, as opposed to a “descending” view in the
state. In Chapter 10 I have rewritten my account of Marsilius of Padua’s view of
law and its relationship to legal positivism. In addition, in earlier chapters, I have
clarified the relationship between the teachings of the Old and New Testaments,
and added a brief section on St. Thomas Aquinas’ views concerning the
treatment of heretics. Numerous other, less significant, changes have also
been made. In order to bring the work up to date, I have substituted newer
translations for some translations used in the previous edition and updated
references and suggestions for Further Reading.
In revising this work, I have taken advantages of much that I have learned
from an additional twenty years of working in and teaching the history of
political theory. I am grateful to my colleagues and my students at the
University of Virginia, from whom I have learned a great deal. I wish to
thank my editor, Dominic Byatt, and the staff at Oxford University Press,
for making this new edition possible and seeing it through the press. As ever,
I am grateful to my wife Meg, and daughters Caroline, Susanna, and Deborah,
for moral support.
I am grateful for permission to reprint the following material:
From Plato. Republic. R. Waterfield, trans. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1998. Reprinted with permission of Oxford University Press.
From Aristotle. Politics. E. Barker and R. F. Stalley, trans. Stalley, ed. Oxford,
1995. Reprinted with permission of Oxford University Press.
From E. Barker, ed. and trans. From Alexander to Constantine: Passages
and Documents Illustrating the History of Social and Political Ideas,
336 B.C.-A.D. 337. Oxford, 1956. Reprinted with permission of Oxford
University Press.
From The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and
1971, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States
of America., as reprinted in The Oxford Annotated Bible. H. May and
B. Metzger, eds. Oxford, 1962. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
From St. Augustine. City of God.
Trans. H. Bettenson. Introduction by
D. Knowles. Harmondsworth, 1972. Reprinted with Permission of Penguin
Books Ltd,
From Marsilius of Padua. The Defender of the Peace. A. Brett, ed. and trans.
Cambridge, 2005. Permission of Cambridge University Press.
From Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. New York, 1950.
Permission of Abingdon Press.
Whilst every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders of material
in this book, in some cases we were unable to do so. If the copyright holders
contact the author or publisher, we shall be pleased to rectify any omission at
the earliest opportunity.
x
Preface to the Second Edition
To understand Rousseau you must read Rossaeus, and to appreciate the
latter you must go back to Aquinas, to Hildebrand and to Augustine. The
sonorous phrases of the Declaration of Independence or the Rights of
Man are not an original discovery, they are the heirs of all the ages, the
depositary of the emotions and the thoughts of seventy generations of
culture. . . . Mariana planted, Althusius watered, and Robespierre reaped
the harvest.
J. N. Figgis
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Contents
Abbreviations
xiv
Introduction
1
Part 1: Classical Political Theory
1. Origins: The Polis, Traditional Values, the Sophists
9
2. Socrates
38
3. Plato: The Defense of Justice
57
4. Plato: The Just City
83
5. Aristotle
114
6. Hellenistic Political Theory
151
Part II: Medieval Political Theory
7. The New Testament Background
193
8. St. Augustine
221
9. St. Thomas Aquinas and the High Middle Ages
257
10. Marsilius of Padua and Medieval Constitutionalism
296
11. Reformation Political Theory
326
Chronology
362
Index
365
Abbreviations
AP
Admonition to Peace: A Reply to the Twelve Articles of the Peasants in
Swabia, Luther
Ap.
Apology, Plato
ARC
An Appeal to the Ruling Class of German Nationality, Martin Luther
ARMHP
Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants, Martin Luther
BW
The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther
Crat.
Cratylus, Plato
DL
Diogenes Laertius
EN
Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle
Ep. 7
Epistle 7, Plato
FC
The Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther
GA
Generation of Animals, Aristotle
GR
On the Governance of Rulers, Thomas Aquinas
Grg.
Gorgias, Plato
MLW
Dr. Martin Luther’s Warning to His Dear German People, Martin Luther
Pol.
Politics, Aristotle
Prt.
Protagoras, Plato
Rep.
Republic, Plato
RPP
On Royal and Papal Power, John of Paris
SA
Secular Authority: To What Extent It Should be Obeyed, Martin Luther
SCG
Summa Contra Gentiles, Thomas Aquinas
ST
Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas
SVF
Stoiocorum veterum fragmenta, H. Von Arnim
Symp.
Symposium, Plato
Tht.
Theaetetus, Plato
Vat.
Vatican Collection of Epicurus’ sayings
