| Keywords |
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| ID |
1832 |
| Text |
De civitate Dei (413 - 427) Augustine of Hippo |
| Quotation |
ueteres igitur primique romani, quantum eorum docet et commendat historia, quamuis ut aliae
gentes excepta una populi hebraeorum deos falsos colerent et non deo uictimas, sed daemoniis
immolarent, tamen "laudis auidi, pecuniae liberales erant, gloriam ingentem, diuitias honestas
uolebant"; hanc ardentissime dilexerunt, propter hanc uiuere uoluerunt, pro hac emori non
dubitauerunt; ceteras cupiditates huius unius ingenti cupiditate presserunt.
ipsam denique patriam suam, quoniam seruire uidebatur inglorium, dominari uero atque imperare
gloriosum, prius omni studio liberam, deinde dominam esse concupiuerunt.
hinc est quod regalem dominationem non ferentes "annua imperia binosque imperatores sibi
fecerunt, qui consules appellati sunt a consulendo, non reges aut domini a regnando atque
dominando"; cum et reges utique a regendo dicti melius uideantur, ut regnum a regibus, reges autem,
ut dictum est, a regendo; sed fastus regius non disciplina putata est regentis uel beniuolentia
consulentis, sed superbia dominantis. |
| Translation |
The ancient and primitive Romans, therefore, worshipped false gods (as did all the other nations apart from the one people of the Hebrews) and sacrificed victims not to God, but to demons. But, as their history teaches with approval, ‘they were avid for praise, generous with their wealth, and desired boundless glory and riches with honour’.16 This glory they loved most ardently. They chose to live for it, and they did not hesitate to die for it. They suppressed all other desires in their boundless desire for this one thing. In short, because they deemed it ignoble for their fatherland to serve and glorious for it to rule and command, the first object of all their desire was freedom, and the second mastery. It was for this reason that they could not endure the rule of kings, and ‘appointed two commanders to hold office for a year, whom they called consuls because they were counsellors, and not kings or lords because they reigned or lorded it over them’.17 (In fact, it seems more correct to derive the word ‘king’ [rex] from ‘to rule’ [regere] rather than from ‘to reign’ [regnare]. ‘Kingdom’ [regnum] comes from regnare, but ‘king’ from regere.) Royal majesty, then, was not regarded as the mark of a proper ruler or of a benevolent counsellor, but of a proud master. (Trans. Dyson) |
| Quotation source |
Lib. 5, Cap. 12 (lin. 11) |
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| Comment |
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