Jean Bodin > Quotes

“[I]f justice is the end of law, law the work of the prince, and the prince the image of God; then by this reasoning, the law of the prince must be modelled on the law of God.”
― Jean Bodin, On Sovereignty: Four Chapters from The Six Books of the Commonwealth

“Men of a fat and fertile soil are most commonly effeminate and cowards; whereas contrariwise a barren country make men temperate by necessity, and by consequence careful, vigilant, and industrious.”
― Jean Bodin

“The best expedient for preserving the state is never to grant a prerogative of sovereignty to any subject, much less a stranger, for it is a stepping stone to sovereignty.”
― Jean Bodin, On Sovereignty: Four Chapters from The Six Books of the Commonwealth

“[O]h, how many tyrants there would be if it were lawful to kill them! He who taxes too heavily would be a tyrant, as the vulgar understand it; he who gives commands that the people do not like would be a tyrant, as Aristotle defined a tyrant in the Politics; he who maintains guards for his security would be a tyrant; he who punishes conspirators against his rule would be a tyrant. How then should good princes be secure in their lives?”
― Jean Bodin, On Sovereignty: Four Chapters from The Six Books of the Commonwealth

“The combination of royal, aristocratic, and democratic power makes only a democracy.”
― Jean Bodin, On Sovereignty: Four Chapters from The Six Books of the Commonwealth