BOTERO, Giovanni.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Della Ragion di Stato, Libri Dieci. First edition of Botero's most important contribution to political philosophy, an anti-Machiavellian mirror-for-princes treatise which grounds "reason of state" in Christian morality.Botero's premise is that the foundation of the state is the obedience of subjects to their superiors. Machiavelli did not necessarily disagree, though he argued that the subjects' fear of the leader is sufficient to maintain obedience (as famously stated in The Prince: "it is better to be feared than loved"). Botero in contrast asserts that this obedience is dependent on the reputation (riputazione) of the leader. This reputation can only be preserved through acting virtuously, in accordance with Christian ethics. The Machiavellian approach where "reason of state" is separated from religious considerations, with the ends taken to justify any means, is thus refuted - Christian virtue and "reason of state" are interlinked, and obedience cannot be commanded by fear alone, as reputation is eroded through immoral action. Botero was a Jesuit priest, and his treatise can be placed within the broader context of the Counter-Reformation, seeking to reconnect political action with the medieval mirror-for-princes tradition.The second part of the book is as important in economic thought as the first is in political. "On the Causes of the Greatness and Magnificence of Cities" had originally been published in Rome the previous year, and attempts to explain why some cities pro

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.