Johannes Althusius: Politica - Hubertlerch.com - HubertLerch.com

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the right of each member of the commonwealth is conserved, neither diminished nor increased to the detriment of another. The
imperium of the king ought not to be so enlarged that the liberty of the people is suppressed. Nor should the orders and estates
be so amplified that they treat the king with contempt and violate the populace. Nor should popular license be permitted to the
extent that it reduces respect for the king or upsets the affairs of the commonwealth.
[§ 3] The responsibility of the magistrate in this civil administration of the functions of the realm is twofold. It pertains, first,
to the general right ( jus generale), and concerns the management of the necessary means for conserving justice, peace,
tranquillity, and discipline in the commonwealth. It pertains, secondly, to the special right ( jus speciale), and concerns the
management of the means necessary for procuring advantages for the social life.
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General right, in turn, involves (1) the
enactment and execution of useful laws, and the administration of justice, or ´ and
´ ,
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and (2) the endeavor to preserve concord. …
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[§ 4] The enactment of law is the process by which the magistrate, with the consent of the optimates and estates of his
imperium and realm, legislates what is fair, useful, and necessary to the commonwealth.
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The magistrate shall especially see
that the customs, temperament, and ancient rights of the nation are respected, and that new laws are accommodated to them.
Moderation is thus to be exercised in writing new laws and edicts, and the wishes of those who must maintain these laws—that is,
of the optimates and counselors of the realm—are to be ascertained. In the time of the monarchy, the Roman emperors enacted
laws with the counsel of the senate, and in the time of the democracy laws were enacted through the classes and centurial
divisions, a proposed law having been made public for seventeen days. So today general laws are produced in councils. It would
be a sign of indiscretion and foolish arrogance for one man or a few to presume so much upon themselves that they considered
themselves to be able to produce laws sufficiently suitable to a nation without its consent and the united judgments and counsels
of many persons.
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[§ 5] The magistrate should enact law that is equitable and useful. Equity makes law efficacious, august, and inviolable. Utility
calls forth and retains an appreciation and respect for law. …
[§ 9] The magistrate shall interpret the fundamental laws of the realm in keeping with the counsel of the ephors, and shall not
abolish, annul, or reject something in them except with the expressed judgment, will, and command of the ephors. Much less
shall he change, overthrow, or abolish laws concerning the legitimate worship of God once it has been introduced into the realm.
Rather shall he strengthen true religion and its practice, not according to the mandates of men, but the Word of God. Finally he
shall uphold and defend the fundamental laws of the realm by force and arms, if necessary, even if he shall thereby be pitted
with one part of the realm against another, albeit a majority. …
[§ 14] Law should be accurately and precisely executed. For law without execution is like a bell without a clapper. It would be
as if the magistrate were mute or dead. And commonwealths thrive only so long as good laws, which are the soul of a
commonwealth, are respected in them. The magistrate has been constituted for the sake of executing law, and in this sense he is
a living law. …
[§ 15] There are two species of the execution of law: the administration of justice, and censorship.
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The administration of
justice consists in rendering to each his due according to corrective or distributive justice. Corrective justice presupposes equality
or arithmetic proportion. Distributive justice, on the other hand, observes geometric proportion in its assignment of punishments
and rewards. …
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[ § 18 ] The magistrate shall apply punishments to evildoers who offend against the first or second table of the
Decalogue in order that others who witness them may become apprehensive and be deterred from evildoing by the fear of
punishment. Thus the desire and courage to sin are lessened in others. … [§ 19] He shall distribute rewards to the upright who
properly deserve them in order that the love and desire for virtue may be stimulated, nourished, and retained among others.
When honors and rewards are granted to the unworthy, renown is not esteemed and dies, and there is no stimulus to virtue. But
reward is the food, nourishment, and incentive of virtue. The desire to do good and to receive renown is implanted by nature in
man, for the sake of which he will attempt the most demanding things. And rivalry in virtue is nourished by the example of
honor to another, so that rewards accomplish much more than punishments. …
[§ 29] The administration of justice is twofold. One part of it takes place between the magistrate and the subjects. The other
occurs between one subject and another. The first part holds that the people should give to the magistrate what they owe him,
and on the other hand, that the magistrate should render to the people what he owes them. The subjects owe everything to the
magistrate that is necessary for the administration of justice, for the defense of the subjects against violence and injury, for the
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