The first full-length study of Francesco Patrizi―the most important political philosopher of the Italian Renaissance before Machiavelli―who sought to reconcile conflicting claims of liberty and equality in the service of good governance.
At the heart of the Italian Renaissance was a longing to recapture the wisdom and virtue of Greece and Rome. But how could this be done? A new school of social reformers concluded that the best way to revitalize corrupt institutions was to promote an ambitious new form of political meritocracy aimed at nurturing virtuous citizens and political leaders.
The greatest thinker in this tradition of virtue politics was Francesco Patrizi of Siena, a humanist philosopher whose writings were once as famous as Machiavelli’s. Patrizi wrote two major works: On Founding Republics, addressing the enduring question of how to reconcile republican liberty with the principle of merit; and On Kingship and the Education of Kings, which lays out a detailed program of education designed to instill the qualities necessary for political leadership―above all, practical wisdom and sound character.
The first full-length study of Patrizi’s life and thought in any language, Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy argues that Patrizi is a thinker with profound lessons for our time. A pioneering advocate of universal literacy who believed urban planning could help shape civic values, he concluded that limiting the political power of the wealthy, protecting the poor from debt slavery, and reducing the political independence of the clergy were essential to a functioning society. These ideas were radical in his day. Far more than an exemplar of his time, Patrizi deserves to rank alongside the great political thinkers of the Renaissance: Machiavelli, Thomas More, and Jean Bodin.
Author(s): James Hankins
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 448
City: Cambridge
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Note on Sources
Timeline of Events in Patrizi’s Llife
Introduction
1. The Formation of a Political Philosopher
The Young Patrizi: Poet, Teacher, and Statesman
The Crisis of 1456: Condemnation and Exile
Governor of Folign
Calm after the Storm: Gaeta, 1464–1494
2. The Great Political Treatises
The Humanist Synthetic Treatise
How to Found a Republic
Aimsin Writing the De republica and the Meaning of Institutio
On Kingship and Kingly Education
Patrizi’s Historico-prudential Method
3. Principles of Republican Government
The Defense of Republics
Republican Values: The Rule of Law
Republican Values: Equality
Republican Principles: Liberty
Ranking Constitutions
Practical Wisdom in Warfare
4. Meritocracy and the Optimal Republic
Meritocracy and the Best Regime
Which Citizens Should Be Admitted to Political Office?
How to Keep the Best Men in Charge
Deliberation and the Virtue of Free Speech
Preventing Corruption and Revolution
Magistracies in the Best Republic: General Principles, the Senate, Consuls
The Legal System
Censors, Quaestors, Overseers of Provisions, Aediles
Summary: The Patrizian Republic
5. The Virtuous Society
Educating the Virtuous Citizen
The Roles of Wife and Husband
The Role of the State
A Scheme of Public Education
The Moral Economy: The Household, Unfree Labor, and Marriage
The Moral Economy: The City-State
Republican Architecture and Urban Planning
Piety and Religion in the Best Republic
6. Citizenship and the Virtuous Citizen
Two Models of Citizenship
Who Should Be a Citizen in a Republic?
Inclusion of Workers among the Citizenry in a Republic
Admitting Foreigners to Citizenship
The Virtues of a Good Citizen
Royal Citizenship
7. Virtuous Absolutism: Patrizi’s De regno
Rethinking Monarchy: The View from Gaeta
The Argument for Monarchy
Can Monarchical Power Be Virtuous?
The Ideal Prince
The Sources of Royal Legitimacy
How the King May Become Virtuous
Civil Friendship, Humanity, and Piety
Monarchy, Dyarchy, and the Future of Republics
Conclusion: Patrizi and Modern Politics:
Appendix A: List of Patrizi’s Works (Compiled withthe assistance of Caroline Engelmayer)
Appendix B: Editions, Translations, and Compendia of Patrizi’s Political Works, 1518–1702 (Compiled by Victoria Pipas)
Appendix C: Patrizi’s Epigram 14: “What Would Make Me Happy” (Latin text)
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
