Marsilius of Padua 1275 – 1342
Marsilius of Padua was an Italian political philosopher and physician, one of the most original thinkers of the late Middle Ages. His Defensor Pacis, completed in 1324, constructed a sustained argument that the legislator is the people or the prevailing part thereof, and that the temporal authority of the priesthood is a usurpation that is the principal cause of civil discord. The work led to his condemnation by Pope John XXII and his flight to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV. His thought anticipated themes of conciliarism, popular sovereignty, and the separation of church and state.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Italian
- Era
- Medieval
- Movements
- Medieval, Political
Selected quotes
-
Attributed to Marsilius of Padua:
“The legislator is the people, or the prevailing part thereof, by means of its election or will expressed in general convention by word.”
-
Attributed to Marsilius of Padua:
“The cause of civil discord is the temporal power claimed by the priesthood.”
-
Attributed to Marsilius of Padua:
“The end of the state is the good life of all the citizens.”
-
Attributed to Marsilius of Padua:
“A law is a coercive command directed to outward acts.”
-
Attributed to Marsilius of Padua:
“The whole body of citizens is the source of all legitimate authority.”