Marsilius de Padua

I. Biography

also known as Marsilio dei Mainardini, Marsilius of Padua, or Marsiglio da Padova

born: c. 1275 at Padua, Italy; died: 1342 at Munich, Germany
physician and theologian
a layman and neither a religious nor the legitimate Archbishop of Milan
received his early education in Padua
soon moved to the University of Paris, where he became rector in December 25, 1312
published the Defensor Pacis in 1324 together with Jean de Jandun
excommunicated in April 9, 1327
was appointed vicar of Rome in 1328
in 1342 he wrote a short work entitled Defensor Minor
first exponent of the doctrine of sovereignty later put forward by Hobbes and many
others, i.e., the doctrine that there must be ultimately just one coercive power in a state.

II. Contribution
Defensor Pacis
laid the foundations of modern doctrines of sovereignty
Defender of Peace
set out to refute the doctrine of papal fullness of power and, in particular, to prove that the
pope is not the source of government power
- one of the most original treatises on political theory produced during the Middle Ages,
significantly influenced the modern idea of the state
- divided into three parts; the first two form a diffuse essay, and the last is a summary of his
arguments in the form of forty-two conclusions (attached in a separate pages)
- five statements were selected and condemned as heresies in the Bull of John XXII
(attached in a separate page)
- argues that all coercive power comes from the people, and that no people can have more
than one supreme ruler, who is the source of all coercive power in that community
- the general tendency of the treatise is imperial and anti-papal and thus regarded by -papal
party as unorthodox and heretical
- states that the supreme institution is the state which has established the priesthood or the
church to look after the spiritual welfare of its citizens. Hence the state has the right to
control the church, but the church has not the corresponding right to control the state
- explains that there can be several meanings of the word law but among its various
implications the most significant meaning is a natural inclination of the senses towards
some action or passion
- states that the purpose of law is to exclude malice and error from the civil judgments or
sentences of judges.
- arrives at the theory of the "Contrat Social" or the Social Contract
-

Defensor Minor
- a restatement and defense of Marsilius's best known work, the Defensor pacis
- discusses civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the confession, penance, indulgences,
the Crusades, pilgrimages, plenitudo potestatis, legislative power, the origin of the
sovereignty, wedding, and divorce.
III. Famous Quotations (with reflection)
what was necessary for living and living well was brought to completion by human
reason and experience, and the perfect community was instituted ...
Our community was made not because of our government but simply because of the people
through our human reason and experience. Reason is universally implicit in human nature
and requires stimulation and guidance, of the sort provided by prudence, to bring it to
fruitition. We do not owe our community to our government but we owe it to our
predecessors, our forerunners. There is no politics then but there is community.
Through reason and experience, these community evolved their understanding thus
constituting a body of people who will manage the community the government. Aiming
to build a perfect community, politics was the result of the reason and experience of our
forefathers. But nowadays, politics is not doing its role to the community. The reason of its
establishment by our predecessors is now used to deceit the public. People use this to
persecute and deceive the weak or the majority. Politics now became a business, a family
business, and worst a dynastic business.
the first and real effective source of law is the people or the body of citizens or the
prevailing part of the people
It simply says that power resides mainly on the people. The people are the main source of
law and not only the source of law. This can be practiced primarily by vote through
elections. The people have the power to enact or make laws for the people is the main
source of law. Here in the Philippines, the Philippine constitution proves this statement for
the constitution was made by the people and for the people. When the people have the
power, then power resides where people believe it resides as what George R.R. said. The
quote also gives us an idea that power reside to the prevailing part of the people. It means
that the majority of the people mostly the poor is given more power in this country. In all
these account or explanation, it is contrary to what is happening in our time. Power resides
to those who have money, to the minority. Elections are controlled by those in power, by
those who have money, by some religious organizations, by some persons! People are not
the first source of law nowadays and I also believe that the people are not an effective
source of law for majority of us is uneducated. To hold power means that we have given a
big task, a task that need not only a good heart but also a sound mind. As a typical citizen
of the Philippines, I cannot really think of any solution to these kind of complication in our
country but I believe that proper education and a good character can answer these
problems.

Bibliography:
Kilcullen, John (2006). Medieval Political Philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (Spring 2014 Edition). Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Retrieved from http://
plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-political/#MarPad
Thatcher, Oliver J. (2013). A Source Book for Medieval History. London: Forgotten
Books.
(Original
work
published
1905).
Retrieved
from
http://www.forgottenbooks.com
/readbook_text/A_Source_Book_for_Medieval_History_1000231122/337
The Editors of Encyclopeadia Britannica (2015). Marcilius of Padua. Encyclopeadia
Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/366702/
Marsilius-Of-Padua
The Editors of Encyclopedia of World Biography (2010). Marsilius of Padua Facts.
Encyclopedia of World Biography. The Gale Group. Retrieved from http://
biography.yourdictionary.com/marsilius-of-padua
The Editors of New World Encyclopedia (2014). Marsilius of Padua. New World
Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Marsilius
_of_Padua
Marsilius of Padua. (1968). International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.
Retrieved
from
Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G23045000776.html
Salembier, L. (1910). Marsilius of Padua. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York:
Robert
Appleton
Company. Retrieved
from
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09719c.htm

Other References:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright 2013, Columbia University
Press.
Licensed
from
Columbia
University
Press.
All
rights
reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu /cu/cup/
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). 2010 The Gale Group,
Inc. All rights reserved.

Conclusions in Defensor Pacis

1. The one divine canonical Scripture, the conclusions that necessarily follow from it, and
the interpretation placed upon it by the common consent of Christians, are true, and
belief in them is necessary to the salvation of those to whom they are made known.
2. The general council of Christians or its majority alone has the authority to define doubtful
passages of the divine law, and to determine those that are to be regarded as articles of
the Christian faith, belief in which is essential to salvation; and no partial council or
single person of any position has the authority to decide these questions.
3. The gospels teach that no temporal punishment or penalty should be used to compel
observance of divine commandments.
4. It is necessary to salvation to obey the commandments of the new divine law [the New
Testament] and the conclusions that follow necessarily from it and the precepts of
reason; but it is not necessary to salvation to obey all the commandments of the ancient
law [the Old Testament].
5. No mortal has the right to dispense with the commands or prohibitions of the new divine
law; but the general council and the Christian "legislator" I alone have the right prohibit
things which are permitted by the new law, under penalties in this world or the next, and
no partial council or single person of any position has that right.
[Note: In regard to the "legislator," Marsilius cites Aristotle as follows: 'The legislator or
the effective cause of the law is the people, the whole body of the citizens, or the
majority of that body, expressing its will and choice in a general meeting of the citizens,
and commanding or deciding that certain things shall be done or left undone, under
threat of temporal penalty or punishment."]
6. The whole body of citizens or its majority alone is the human "legislator."
7. Decretals and decrees of the bishop of Rome, or of any other bishops or body of bishops,
have no power to coerce anyone by secular penalties or punishments, except by the
authorization of the human "legislator."
8. The "legislator" alone or the one who rules by its authority has the power to dispense
with human laws.
9. The elective principality or other office derives its authority from the election of the body
having the right to elect, and not from the confirmation or approval of any other power.
10. The election of any prince or other official, especially ,,one who has the coercive power is
determined solely by the ,,expressed will of the "legislator." [Note: "Coercive" or
"coactive" power is the power, residing in the ruler or the officials of the state and
derived from the "legislator," to compel observance of the laws or decrees of the state
by force or threat of penalty. A coercive judgment is a judgment given by an official who
has the power to enforce his decisions. Marsilius maintains that coercive power and
coercive judgments are the prerogatives of the state and cannot be exercised by the
church.]

11. There can be only one supreme ruling power in a state or kingdom.
12. The number and the qualifications of persons who hold state offices and all civil matters
are to be determined solely by the Christian ruler according to the law or approved
custom [of the state].
13. No prince, still more, no partial council or single person of any position, has full authority
and control over other persons, laymen or clergy, without the authorization of the
"legislator.
14. No bishop or priest has coercive authority or jurisdiction over any layman or clergyman,
even if he is a heretic.
15. The prince who rules by the authority of the "legislator" has jurisdiction over the persons
and possessions of every single mortal of every station, whether lay or clerical, and over
every body of laymen or clergy.
16. No bishop or priest or body of bishops or priests has the authority to excommunicate
anyone or to interdict the performance of divine services, without the authorization of
the "legislator."
17. All bishops derive their authority in equal measure immediately from Christ, and it
cannot be proved from the. divine law that one bishop should be over or under another,
in temporal or spiritual matters.
18. The other bishops, singly or in a body, have the same right by divine authority to
excommunicate or otherwise exercise authority over the bishop of Rome, having
obtained the consent of the "legislator," as the bishop of Rome has to excommunicate or
control them.
19. No mortal has the authority to permit marriages that are prohibited by the divine law,
especially by the New Testament. The right to permit marriages which are prohibited by
human law belongs solely to the "legislator" or to the one who rules by its authority.
20. The right to legitimatize children born of illegitimate union so that they may receive
inheritances, or other civil or ecclesiastical offices or benefits, belongs solely to the
"legislator."
21. The "legislator" alone has the right to promote to ecclesiastical orders, and to judge of
the qualifications of persons for these offices, by a coercive decision, and no priest or
bishop has the right to promote anyone without its authority.
22. The prince who rules by the authority of the laws of Christians, has the right to
determine the number of churches and temples, and the number of priests, deacons,
and other clergy who shall serve in them.
23. "Separable" ecclesiastical offices may be conferred or taken away only by the authority
of the "legislator"; the same e is true of ecclesiastical benefices and other property
devoted
to
pious
purposes.
[Note: "Separable" offices of the clergy, according to Marsilius, are those functions
commonly exercised by the clergy, which are not essentially bound up with their spiritual
character. The terms essential and non-essential are used as synonymous respectively

with inseparable and separable. The essential or inseparable powers of the clergy are
"the power to bless the bread and wine, and turn them Into the blamed body and blood
of Christ, to administer the other sacraments of the church, and to bind and to loose men
from their sins." Non-essential or separable functions are the government or control of
one priest over others (i.e., the offices of bishop, arch. bishop, etc.), the administration of
the sacraments, etc., in a certain place and to a certain people, and the administration of
temporal possessions of the church. In respect to their separable functions the clergy are
under the control of the state.]
24. No bishop or body of bishops has the right to establish notaries or other civil officials.
25. No bishop or body of bishops may give permission to teach or practice in any profession
or occupation, but this right belongs to the Christian "legislator" or to the one who rules
by its authority.
26. In ecclesiastical offices and benefices those who have received consecration as deacons
or priests, or have been otherwise irrevocably dedicated to God, should be preferred
those who have not been thus consecrated.
27. The human "legislator" has the right to use ecclesiastical temporalities for the common
public good and defence after the needs of the priests and clergy, the expenses of divine
worship, and the necessities of the poor have been satisfied.
28. All properties established for pious purposes or for works of mercy, such as those that
are left by will for the making of a crusade, the redeeming of captives, or the support of
the poor, and similar purposes, may be disposed of by the prince alone according to the
decision of the "legislator" and the purpose of the testator or giver.
29. The Christian "legislator" alone has the right to forbid or permit the establishment of
religious orders or houses.
30. The prince alone, acting in accordance with the laws of the "legislator," has the authority
to condemn heretics, delinquents, and all others who should endure temporal
punishment, to inflict bodily punishment upon them, and to exact fines from them.
31. No subject who is bound to another by a legal oath may be released from his obligation
by any bishop or priest, unless the "legislator" has decided by a coercive decision that
there is just cause for it32. The general council of all Christians alone has the authority to create a metropolitan
bishop or church, and to reduce him or it from that position.
33. The Christian "legislator" or the one who rules by its authority over Christian states,
alone has the right to convoke either a general or local council of priests, bishops, and
other Christians, by coercive power; and no man may be compelled by threats of
temporal or spiritual punishment to obey the decrees of a council convoked in any other
way.
34. The general council of Christians or the Christian "legislator" alone has the authority to
ordain fasts and other prohibitions of the use of food; the council or "legislator" alone
may prohibit the practice of mechanical arts or teaching which divine law permits to be

practiced on any day, and the "legislator" or the one who rules by its authority alone
may constrain men to obey the prohibition by temporal penalties.
35. The general council of Christians alone has the authority to canonize anyone or to order
anyone to be adored as a saint.
36. The general council of Christians alone has the authority to forbid the marriage of
priests, bishops, and other clergy, and to make other laws concerning ecclesiastical
discipline, and that council or the one to whom it delegates its authority alone may
dispense with these laws.
37. It is always permitted to appeal to the "legislator" from a coercive decision rendered by a
bishop or priest with the authorization of the "legislator."
38. Those who are pledged to observe complete poverty may not have in their possession
any immovable property, unless it be with the fixed intention of selling it as soon as
possible and giving the money to the poor; they may not have such rights in either
movable or immovable property as would enable them, for example, to recover them by
a coercive decision from any person who should take or try to take them away.
39. The people as a community and as individuals, according to their several means, are
required by divine law support the bishops and other clergy authorized by the gospel, so
that they may have food and clothing and the other necessaries of life; but the people
are not required to pay tithes or other taxes beyond the amount necessary for such
support.
40. The Christian "legislator" or the one who rules by its authority has the right to compel
bishops and other clergy ho live in the province under its control and whom it supplies
with the necessities of life, to perform divine services and administer the sacrament.
41. The bishop of Rome and any other ecclesiastical or spiritual minister may be advanced to
a "separable" ecclesiastical office only by the Christian "legislator" or the one who rules
by its authority, or by the general council of Christians; and they may be suspended from
or deprived of office by the same authority.

The following sentences taken from Marsilius of Padua and John of Jandun were condemned by
John XXII, 1327.
(1) "When Christ ordered the coin which was taken from the fish's mouth to be paid to the tax
collector, he paid tribute to Caesar; and he did this not out of condescension or kindness, but
because he had to pay it. From this it is clear that all temporal powers and possessions of the
church are subject to the emperor, and he may take them as his own. (2) That St. Peter had no
more authority than the other apostles, and was not the head over the other apostles; and that
Christ left behind no head of the church, and did not appoint anyone as his vicar.
(3) That the emperor has the right to make and depose popes and to punish them.

(4) That all priests, whether pope or archbishop or simple priest, are, in accordance with the
appointment of Christ, of equal authority and jurisdiction.
(6) That the whole church together can not punish any man with coactive punishment, without
the permission of the emperor.
The above articles are contrary to the holy scriptures and hostile to the catholic faith and we
[John XXII] declare them to be heretical and erroneous, and the aforesaid Marsilius and John [of
Jandun] to be open and notorious heretics, or rather heresiarchs.

Note: Pages 4, 5, and 6 are not included in the maximum two-page rule and are
merely documents to support the topic.