COMMENTARY NOTES
Latewar poem
4
Alterno…cursu is explicable by Ad Christianum
Lectorem 6, Infinitis sideribus spendide ornatum coelum, quod
motu diurno ab ortu ad occasum, retrogrado ab occasu ad ortum,…[“The heaven, splendidly decorated with countless stars,
which by its daily movement from rising to setting, and retrograde
from setting to rising…”]
Richard
Latewar Latewar, a Fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford. To
judge by the gratulatory epigrams he contributed to other men’s
books of this period, he was evidently a member of William
Gager’s circle.
Dedicatory Epistle
hunc
annum mundi All over Europe it was known that 1588 had been
prophecized to be a portentious “climacteric” year. This is
described by William Camden in his Annales for
that year. It is striking that although Case repeatedly mentions
these prophecies, recent meteorological portents, and frequently
expresses his concern that the world is old, effete and moribund, he
never acknowledges his immediate source of anxiety: as he wrote this
work he must have been no less aware than any other Englishman of the
imminent sailing of the Armada and the great test to which his nation
was about to be put.
ex
minacibus Sybillae foliis The prophetic Sibyl of Cumae was
supposed to have written down her forecasts on laurel leaves.
torvus
coeli vultus For particulars, see the relevant note
on Ad Christianum Lectorem 13.
ut
loquuntur philosophi A sidenote refers to Aristotle’s de
Caelo.
Aristides
Cite frequently cites the fifth century Athenian statesman
known as Aristeides the Just as the type of the wise and just
statesman.
Scaevola
He likewise likes to mention Quintus Mucius Scaevola (d. 82
B. C.) as the type of the wise and upright jurist.
Oratio
insignis illa The speech Hatton made upon the occasion of his
installation as Lord Chancellor in 1587.
volvendam
et revolvendam These words contain a double meaning: “to
turn and to turn again,” and “to ponder and to ponder
again.”
dominus
Thesaurius Lord Burleigh evidently envisioned some more
general literary program. Just as he suggested to Case that he write
this treatise setting forth the political philosophy of
Elizabeth’s reign, so a suggestion of his provided the original
impetus for William Camden’s Annales Rerum Gestarum Angliae
et Hiberniae Regnante Elizabetha, as he stated in his Introduction
to that work.
Untonus
The diplomat Sir Henry Unton. I imagine Unton’s
unpublished writings mentioned here are his letters, which finally
came into print in Correspondence of Sir Henry Unton (ed. J.
Stevenson. London, 1847).
Spartam
In other Latin academic literature of the time written in
England, the word Sparta can be documented with the meaning
“area of specialization.” In
texts currently in the
Philological Museum this usage is found in works by Abraham
Cowley and Digory
Wheare.
Elizabetha
republicae dea A sidenote refers to Psalm 82:6, You
are gods. (Note: in this edition the Psalms will be cited
according to the K. J. V. numeration)
retrogredietur
sol A sidenote refers to II Kings 20.
stabit
in medio coeli A sidenote refers to Joshua 10.
cum
Chore, Dathan et Abiram A sidenote refers to Numbers
16.
cum
Absolone A side note refers to II Kings 15 - 18.
cum
Iuda A sidenote refers to Matthew 26, Mark 14,
Luke 22, and John 18.
Deus
illorum arcum conterat A sidenote refers to Psalms 46
and 2 (cf. particularly Ps. 46:9, He makes wars cease to
the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two
).
Graeci
olim A sidenote refers to Hieronymus Cardanus’ De
Rerum Varietate (1558), where Case found these anecdotes.
1
dixit stultus in corde suo A sidenote refers to Psalms
14.1 and 54.1.
terrae
protinus filii Men with no pedigrees.
1
apertis quasi tabulis Cf. Justinian, Digest,
XXVI.vii.58.2 and XLIV.ii.11.
1
cum blasphemo illo Holoferne A sidenote refers to
Holofernes’ question at Judith 6:2, and who is God but
Nabuchodonosor?
1
qui cum Meli incolis atheismum colunt A sidenote names
Doletus, Argentinus, et Machiavellus. The first two of these
are perhaps Étienne Dolet (burnt for heresy in 1546 and the
late 15th century Cambridge Aristotelian John Argentine.
2
Luciane perniciose sophista? A sidenote refers to the
biographical article in the Suda
lexicon.
2
Iuliane atrox apostata? A sidenote refers to chapter vi of
compilation of translated Church history documents known as the
Historia Tipartita.
2
coelesti fulmine confossus iaces Sidenote:
Theodoret’s Historia Ecclesiastica
III.xxv.
2
haec habeet verba A sidenote attributes these quotes to
Aristotle, Physics, Book VII.vi, and de Mundo x.
2
Deus inquit perpetuam rerum A sidenote
attributes the following quotes to Aristotle, de Ortu II.x,
Physics VIII.vi, de Coelo I.ix, ib. II.iii,
Ethics VII.i, Metaphysics XI.vii, Magna Moralia
II.viii, and Topica I.ix. Note: All references to
“Aristotle’s Ethics” in Case’s
sidenotes
refer to the Nichomachean Ethics.
4
olim Empedocles dixit I cannot identify Case’s
authority for this statement.
4
Aronis tamen virga A sidenote refers to Exodus 7:12
and 8:19.
4
RATIO 2 A sidenote acknowledges that this argument is
taken from Book VII of Aristotle’s Physics.
4
Sed primum caelum By “the first heaven” Case
means the outermost sphere of the fixed stars.
4
Ego Deus et non mutor A sidenote refers to Malachi
3:6.
4
Apud quem non est transmutatio A sidenote refers to
James 1:17.
4
Non est Deus quasi homo A sidenote refers to Number
23:19.
5
RATIO 3 A sidenote acknowledges that this argument is
taken from Book II of Aristotle’s Metaphysics.
6
invisibilia ipsius a creatura mundi A sidenote refers to
Romans 1:20.
6 […] trepidationis
a meridie Some noun in the
ablative is missing from the text upon which trepidationis
should depend. I suspect Case wrote something like effectu
cuiusdam quasi trepidationis. Here trepidatio probably
does not designate fear, but some kind of propelling force that makes
the stars seem to wheel in a northerly direction rather than parallel
to the Equator (compare the “agitator” in a washing
machine).
6
gloriam ennarant coeli A sidenote refers to Psalm
19.1.
6
Deus est qui fecit A sidenote refers to Psalm
100.3.
6
verbo domini coeli firmati sunt A sidenote refers to
Psalm 33.6.
7
vi ergo naturae non fit A sidenote refers to Aristotle, de
Anima IV.iii.
8
RATIO 6 A sidenote refers to De coelo I.ix and
Metaphysics, Book X.
8
scalam stantem super terram A sidenote refers to
Genesis 28:12 - 13.
9
RATIO 7 A sidenote acknowledges that this argument is
taken from Book I of the Ethics.
9
Optat Moses A sidenote refers to Exodus 33:18.
9
multorum vir desideriorum A sidenote refers to Daniel
9:23.
9
heu mihi, inquit David A sidenote refers to Psalm
120.5, Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech, that I dwell among
the tents of Kedar!
10
Ratio 8 A sidenote acknowledges that this argument is
taken from Book VIII of Aristotles’ Ethics and Book IV of
the Metaphysics.
11
Ratio 9 A sidenote acknowledges that this argument is
taken from Book III of Aristotle’s Ethics.
12
Gentes (inquit divinus apostolus) A sidenote refers to
Romans 2:14.
13
coelum et terra, omniaque in universo theatro mundi A
sidenote refers to 2 Peter 3:4, but the paraphrase is loose.
The actual text is “Where is the promise of His coming? For
since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from
the beginning of creation.”
13
unus dies sicut mille anni A sidenote refers to 2 Peter
3:8.
13
Stella non diu abhinc Sidenote: Anno 1572 & 1573.
The comet
was actually the 1572 nova in Casseiopia, which
inspired Tycho Brahe’s De
Nova Stella (mentioned also in Camden’s Annales).
Camden also describes the earthquake in Hertfordshire, which in fact
occured in 1571,
and the aurora borealis, which occurred in 1574.
14
Adesdum, Caligula A sidenote refers to Suetonius,
Caligula li.
14
fac tale coelum, terram, et mundum A sidenote attributes
this demand to St. Ambrose.
14
Cur igitur crystam attollimus? A standard Roman idiom for
“his head has become swollen.” The Oxford Latin
Dictionary cites as an example Juvenal iv.69f., et tamen illi
/ surgebant cristae.
15
Ratio 13 A sidenote says this argument is taken “from
Church history.”
15
qui neque post non esse A sidenote attributes these words
to St. Augustine.
15
accedentem ad Deum oportet credere A sidenote refers to
Hebrews 11:6.
16
Veruntamen quoniam Sidenote: Deus unus et trinus esse
probatur (“God is proved to be one and three”).
16
Hoc dico non quod Sidenote: Ratio cur ratione mysteria
probantur (“The reason why mysteries are proven by
reason.”)
17
Magnus ille philosophus Aristoteles A sidenote refers to
Book III of de Anima.
17
trinitatis ad personam refertur A sidenote
acknowledges this formula is taken from St. Augustine’s de
Fide.
17
ego qui generationem aliis A sidenote refers to
Isaiah 66:7 (in error for for 66:9).
20
Ratio 4 A sidenote acknowledges these arguments come from
St. Augustine, de Trinitate VI.x, Marcantonio Sabellicus’
Enneads (wrongly cited as his Aeneid) II.xi,
and
Fulgentius VII.vi.
20
Olympi pessime Ariane A sidenote makes it clear Case is
addressing the heresiarch Arius (who died suddenly, but scarcely in
the manner described here).
20
magistri tui Meletus, perhaps.
21
Ratio 5 Sidenote: Ab inductione exemplorum
(“Derived from examples by induction”).
21
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus A sidenote refers to Isaiah
6:3.
21
Benedicat nos Deus A sidenote refers to Psalm 67:6
(the following quote is verse 7).
21
et si forte cum Abrahamo aut Lotho A sidenote
refers to Genesis 18:3 and 19:1.
22
Ex his nunc perspici potest Sidenote: Creatio mundi,
exilium hominis, adventus Christi, aedificatio ecclesiae, regum
institutio, vitae sanctitas, et religio ratione probantur.
(“The creation of the universe, Man’s exile, the advent
of Christ, the building of the Church, the institution of kings, the
sanctitude of life, and religion are proved by reason.”)
23
In the Timaeus Plato taught that a creator-god (Demiurge)
created the world by embodying the forms of the eternal Ideas in
matter. But Plato’s Demiurge creates neither the Ideas nor
matter.
23
cum tuo discipulo Aristotle.
23
posse et velle in Deo A sidenote attributes
this quotation to Artistotle, Physics Book III.
24
semen mulieris A sidenote refers to Genesis
3:15.
25
erunt reges nutricii tui A sidenote refers to Isaiah
49:23.
25
nam vos estis dii terrae A sidenote refers to Psalm
82:6
26
sed Orosius venerabilis The allusion is to Orosius’
Historiarum adversus paganos libri septem. According to
Case’s sidenote this work (which he evidently did not know
first-hand) is mentioned by Thomas Cooper in his 1565 Thesaurus
Linguae Romanae et Britannicae.
27
in Anglia successores Aeduini A sidenote refers to Bede, III.i.
27
illi tandem Gygis annulum Plato tells the story of Gyges
and his invisibity-conferring ring in Book II of the
Republic.
28
Audies ut Leovitius refert The sixteenth century
astrologer Cyprianus Leovitius [1524-1574], author of De Magnis
Coniunctionibus.
28
An omnia Sybillae folia See the relevant
note on the Dedicatory Epistle.
The sidenote says, misleadingly, In prooemio
(“In the proem.”) The reference is actually to the
spurious poem “Chaucer’s
Prophecy.” Did Case know the similar poem “Merlin’s
Prophecy”?
28
Defecisti in multitudine A sidenote refers to Isaiah
47:13.
28
Transibit mundus, transibunt gaudia mundi A sidenote
refers to the chapter on eternal joys from Sebastian Brant’s
Stultifera Navis.
28
ut Dagon coram archa For the story see I Samuel
5.
29
nominatum sunt Thomas St. Thomas Aquinas’ commentaries on
the Politics (Sententia
Libri Politicorum) were first printed together with
the 1492 Rome edition of the text; Donato Acciaiuioli In
Aristotelis libros octo politicorum commentarii (there is a 1556
Venice edition, available here),
Johannes Versor wrote a commentary on the Politics (printed
with Guilelmus de Moerbeka’s Latin translation, Cologne, 1492);
Martin Borrhaus, a disciple of Melanchthon, whose Aristotelis
Politicorum, siue De Republica libros octo was printed at Basel
in 1545; Paulus Victorius (Pier Vettori), whose notes were reprinted
together with Lambinus’ in the 1582 Basel edition of the Politics; Juan
Ginés de Sepúlveda, who, besides translating the Politics into
Latin, revived Aristotle’ s ideas about
natural slavery and just war against barbarians in Democrates
Alter; the German Ramist Johann Thomas Freigius (Freige),
Quaestiones Politicae; Schmitt
(p. 152 n. 45) points out the impossibility of identifying
“Osyrus”; “Regius” is
Loys le Roy, who translated
the Politics into French in the mid-16th century.
Francis
Willis President of St. John’s College, and currently
Vice-Chancellor of the university.
Laurence
Humphreys President of Magdalen College and Regius Provessor of
Divinity.
Edward
Craddock Student of Christ Church and Lady Margaret Reader of
Divinity.
Edmund
Lillie Master of Baliol College.
Martin
Heton One of the Canons of Christ Church. A future Bishop of
Ely.
Matthew
Gwinne Like John Latewar, Gwinne was a Fellow of Case’s old
college, St. John’s. A biographical sketch is provided here
in connection with his tragedy Nero.
Gwinne’s epigram (typically of his poetry) is in some parts
difficult to the point of obscurity. I suppose the point of lines
7ff. is that Aristotle bests himself because he has engendered an
equal (Case,) who is his superior insofar as he is illuminated by
Christian morals (and — although I am far from sure that this
interpretation is correct — line 9 seems to suggest that, in
Gwinne’s opinion, if you subtract the religious element, Plato
was Aristotle’s superior, although this is view violently
opposed to Case’s own). The “twice four tablets” are
the Roman Law of the Twelve Tables and the “twice five
tables” are the Ten Commandments: Case has managed to combine
the two.
12
Omne ferat punctum A deliberate echo of Horace, Ars
Poetica 343, omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile
dulci.
John
Pryme Fellow of Winchester College (who took the D. D. in this
same year).
Nicholas Morris This individual
cannot be identified with
certainty. I am not sure I have Englished the surname correctly, and
the only Oxford individual of the period whose name could possibly be
latinized as Moricius seems to be Nicholas Morryce, a sometime
Fellow of Corpus Christi, who incepted for the M. A. in 1577.
volve,
revolve globum For this phrase see the note on the dedicatory
epistle.
John
Lyly The playwright and Euphuist, who had received his B. A. at
Oxford in 1575.
7
Ars Amatoria III.425.
William
Gager William Gager of Christ Church was Oxford’s premier
poet-playwright of the time. This hendecasyllabic poem = Gager’s
poem XXXVa. The idea is that Case has now fathered three great books: Summa
Veterum Interpretum in Universam Dialectical Aristotelis
(1584), Speculum
Moralium Quaestionum in Universam Ethicen Aristotelis
(1585), and now the present one.
14
Cui mores hominum urbiumque noti An echo of Odyssey
I.3.
18f.
Cf. Horace, Odes IV.viii.28, dignum laude virum Musa
vetat mori.
William
Paddy Fellow of St. John’s College, subsequently President
of the Royal College of Medicine and Royal Physician to James I.
trinos
parturiendo libros See the note on William Gager’s poem
above (which Paddy must have seen before writing this epigram).
John
Underhill Rector of Lincoln College, former Vice-Chancellor of
the university, and royal chaplain.
Prolegomena
illud Aristotelis A sidenote refers to Politics,
Book III.
Sapienter
olim Antisthenes A sidenote refers to Antisthenes quoted by
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers Book VI.
Ille sine fide, sine clementia A sidenote refers to
Machiavelli, Il Principe chapters 16, 17, 18, and 15
respectively for these four things the republic can do without.
tanquam
canem et anguem Cf. Horace, Epistulae I.xvii.30,
cane peius et angui.
Fides,
clementia A sidenote refers to Il Principe
chapter 18.
Principi
peierare A sidenote refers to Machiavelli’s commentary
on Livy II.2.
Religio
animos hominum deprimit A sidenote refers to Il Principe
chapter 17 (also the source of the next quote).
a
natura quae parit et alit civitatem The reader will no doubt
discover a fundamental flaw in Case’s thinking. He expends a
tremendous amount of energy trying to ascertain whether the
commonwealth and various features within it are “natural,”
“in accordance with nature,” “in accordance with
nature’s law,” and so forth (and thus to approve or
disapprove of the features in question). Yet at no point are we given
an adequate definition of “nature,” or a rationale for the
great importance placed on this concept. Given the his heavily
Christianized reading of the Politics, Case’s
“nature” may have something to do with God, but we are not
told how, save for a single reference at II.vi.7 to ancilla Dei
nempe natura (“namely nature, God’s handmaiden”).
Therefore when (for example) Case goes to great lengths to show that
slavery is acceptable in the commonwealth because it is in accordance
with nature, and that usury is not, because it is unnatural, we are
within our rights to ask why their relation to “nature” should supply
the definitive test for the acceptability of these
possible social institutions.
tuta
est civitas quae dissidia et factiones A sidenote refers to
Machiavelli’s commentary on Livy I.4.
ut
ait Philosophus A sidenote refers to Politics
III.iv.
ut
definit Aristoteles A sidenote refers to ib.
III.v.
Tunc
tua res agitur Horace, Epistulae I.xviii.84 (with
tunc for nam).
Male
profecto egit An anonymous partial translation of
Ovid’s Ars Amatoria was issued by Wynken De Wilde in
1515. An anonymous and undated
translation De Secretis Mulierum et Virorum falsely ascribed
to Albertus Magnus was printed at London by W. Copeland in the
mid-16th century.
ista
nova et periculosa paradoxa A sidenote indicates these three
quotes come from Il Principe, chapters 180, 20, and 18
respectively.
is
enim non ad malum sed ad bonum A sidenote refers to
the Preface to Books I and II of Machiavelli’s commentary on
Livy.
In bello silent leges A sidenote refers to
Cicero, Pro Caecina (perhaps the reference is to section
xliii).
necesse
est cum Regulo A sidenote refers to Cicero, De Officiis
Book I (i. e. to chapter xxxix).
prohibemur
malum facere ut inde eveniat bonum A sidenote refers to
Romans 3:8.
Aristoteles
docet A sidenote refers to Politics III.iii.
I.i.1
Plato Aristotelis praeceptor A sidenote refers to
Politics II.i and III.iii.
I.i.1
Rationem reddit Albertus Albertus Magnus in his commentary
on the Politics.
I.i.2
Causae civitatis sunt Deus, homo et natura A sidenote refers
to Aristotle, Politics II.i and III.iii.
I.i.2
quia latissime omnium in hac scientia diffunditur It
will be
observed that this remark excludes international law and international
relations
from the purview of political science, as
does the following one, “because all things handled in this
science are brought down to it exclusively.” This, some readers
may think, is a defect inherited from Aristotle.
I.i.2
Quandoquidem videmus omnem civitatem A sidenote refers to
Aristotle, Politics III.8 and Ethics I.2.
I.i.3
Insinuat in textu Socratem et Platonem A sidenote refers
to Plato’s Politicus.
I.i.3
si quis paucis eisdemque servis praesit despoticus seu herus
The reader may be surprised to find a sixteenth century
Englishman assuming slave ownership is a fundamental social
institution within the commonwealth (at this time, I believe, the
Spaniards in Central and South America were the only Europeans who
owned slaves). But that “slave” rather than
“servant” is the proper translation of servus in
this work is shown by the explicit discussion of slaves as a form of
property at I.iii.2. This is an
indication of how closely Case followed his model Aristotle.
I.i.5
Sunt ergo natura dominus et servus A sidenote refers to
chapter 4 (surely a mistake for the discussion of slavery in
chapter iii of the present
Book).
I.i.5
Cum ergo natura in re qualibet tam aeternitati quam suae
similitudini studeat A sidenote refers to Aristotle, De
Anima II.4, Galen, De Usu Partum XIV, Cicero, De
Officiis I, De Finibus V, and De Legibus I.
I.ii.5
ab Epimenide dicuntur The philosopher Epimenides of Crete,
as quoted by Aristotle in the text.
I.i.6
Versori See the note on Ad Christianum
Lectorem 29.
I.i.6
Ratio est, quia saepe familiae A sidenote refers to
Aristotle, Politics III.xi.
I.i.6
Communitatem, ut non enim uni A sidenote refers to
Aristotle, Ethics I.i.
I.i.7
Maior probatur, quia prima veritas A sidenote refers to
Book XI of Aristotle’s Metaphysics.
I.i.9
Durus es, Demea Demeas is here used as the name of an
average Roman man-on-the-street.
I.i.9
imitare Socratem Socrates philosophically put up with his
shrewish wife Xanthippe.
I.i.9
Ratione propositi ac finis A sidenote refers to
Aristotle’s Economics.
I.ii.2
Cui neque curia, nec lex est Somebody’s translation
of Odyssey ix.112. Note that Case fails to enunciate his third
proposed argument, the one from effect.
I.ii.3
Ubi sunt nunc dierum Thaletes A sidenote cites Diogenes
Laertius’ Lives of the Philosophers.
I.ii.3
O utinam tamen apem in regno A sidenote refers to
Vergil’s description of the life of bees in Book IV of the Georgics.
I.ii.4
animal est omnium animalium optimum A sidenote refers to
Book II of Plato’s Laws, the final chapter of Book VI of
Aristotle’s Ethics, and Cicero, De Natura Deorum
III.
I.ii.5
civitatis quotidie (ut experentia docet) mutantur A
sidenote refers to Aristotle, Ethis II.1 and Politics
III.11.
I.ii.5
Nam status civitatis est forma civitatis A sidenote refers
to Politics III.ii.
I.ii.5
RESPONSIO A sidenote acknowledges this argument is taken
from Patricius, De Regibus VIII.ii.
I.ii.6
Heraclitus non ridet Heraclitus had the reputation of
being “the weeping philosopher”
I.ii.6
Elias, Iohannes Baptista, Macedonius A sidenote gives the
further examples of Marulus and
Cassianus.
I.ii.7
ut in septimo libro docet philosophus A sidenote refers to
Politics VII.iii.
I.ii.7
Invita Minerva For this usage, cf. the Oxford Latin
Dictionary, Minerva def. 3b with the examples cited.
I.iii.2
servum et rem possessionem et instrumentum esse A sidenote
refers to Plato’s Meno, in which a slave is an
interlocutor.
I.iii.3
Altera ratio sic se habet A sidenote refers to
Aristotle’s Ethics I.i.
I.iii.3
ab Apelle olim sic graphice delineatum fuisse Apelles was
a famous Greek painter.
I.iii.4
Levis et inconsiderate homo A sidenote refers to Galen,
Therapeutica Book XIII, Plutarch, De Placitis Philosophorum
iv, and Cicero, De Natura Deorum Book III.
I.iii.5
Inter illas enim sunt Sabae A sidenote refers to III Kings 10 and Matthew 10.
I.iii.5
Cornelia A sidenote refers to Quintilian (i.
e.,
to Institutes I.i.6).
I.iii.5
Artemesiae A sidenote refers to Aulus Gellus, Attic
Nights X.
I.iii.5
Susannae A sidenote refers to Daniel 13.
I.iii.5
Tomeris A sidenote refers to Justin’s epitome of
Pompeius Trogus, Book I.
I.iii.5
Hester A sidenote refers to Esther 6.
I.iii.5
Judith A sidenote refers to Judith 13.
I.iii.5
Insanis ergo furentius A hit against John Knox and
his treatise The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous
Regiment of Women (1558), in which he claimed Mary Queen of Scots
was unfit to rule because of her sex.
I.iii.9
servus ad usum non ad crucem datur Not a quote from
Seneca.
I.iii.10
Antecedens probatur ex philosopho A sidenote refers to
Politics I.viii.
Animus in corpus A side notes Cicero, De Finibus
v and Plato’s Timaeus.
I.iii.11
Civitas accipitur vel A sidenote refers to Plato,
Politics IV.viii - ix.
I.iv
In reading this chapter, it may be useful for the reader to bear
in mind that, although prisoners of war were not enslaved by
Case’s contemporary English, they were often held for ransom,
and therefore could be regarded being reduced to the status of
saleable chattel. On the other hand, Spain and other countries did
employ prisoners as slaves.
I.iv.1
carere non debeat triumpho A sidenote refers to Plato,
Laws Books IV and V (after Pindar).
I.iv.3
Divina utraque stirpe A sidenote refers to
Theodectes’ Helen. In the text Aristotle quotes two lines
from this lost tragedy.
I.iv.3
Quare, quemadmodum dicimus A sidenote refer to
Aristotle, Rhetoric Book II.
I.iv.4
fatendum est Hecubam concepisse flammam A rhetorical way
of saying she gave birth to Paris.
I.iv.4
Optimus ille quidem Hesiod, Works and Days 293,
295.
I.iv.5
For Sepúlveda see the note on Ad
Christianum Lectorem 29.
I.iv.5
quia opifices mercede conducti This objection seems less
far-fetched in Latin than in English, for the same word servus
is used to designate a slave and a servant.
I.iv.9
Sapienter Zeno…Degeneras, Pari Zeno the philosopher,
Paris son of the Trojan king Priam.
I.v.i
sine Cerere et Baccho Terence, Eunuchus 732.
I.v.4
Cuncta timent hominem Source unidentified.
I.v.4
Sic vos non vobis A sidenote incorrectly credits these
lines to Vergil.
I.v.4
ad cuius voce A sidenote refers to Joshua 10.
I.v.4
qui ignem de coelo evocavit A sidenote refers to II Kings 1.
I.v.8
Agnocso Xerxis exercitum A sidenote refers to
Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus (Book I).
I.v.8
Scio Miloni plantam, Alexandro lethale non pepercisse venenum
Milo of Croton is known as one of the greatest ancient
Olympic champions of his time. Testing his strength in the woods, he
came upon a tree trunk with wedges inserted into them. He inserted
his hands and feet into these wedges and pulled as hard as he could.
The tree collapsed on his hands and he was trapped, becoming the food
of wild prey. Alexander the Great was rumored to have been
poisoned.
I.v.9
Saepe etiam cursu Vergil, Georgics III.49f. A
sidenote refers to the further discussion at VI.1.
I.v.10 Etsi libenter non audio nimiam Hispanorum et
Portugalensium in Indos severitatem A sidenote refers to
Osorius’ account of Portuguese navigations in the East
Indies
I.vi.3 Animus hominis dives non arca appellari solet.
The quotation is from Cicero, Paradoxa Stoicorum vi.44.
I.vi.3
O cives, cives Horace, Epistles I.i.53f.
I.vi.3
In mundo summus rex Source unidentified.
I.vi.3
Crescit amor nummi Juvenal xiv.139.
I.vi.3
Quo plus sunt potae Ovid, Fasti I.216.
I.vi.5
Natura beatis Source unidentified.
I.vi.6
etsi instar monstri parturientem pecuniam quaerat To
understand this seemingly remarkable statement, it is helpful to know
that the Greek word for “interest” is tokos, which
also means “offspring.” It is well known (think of
Shylock!) that usury was regarded as sinful and unnatural. But why?
One reason is that lent money went on gathering interest during the
Sabbath. Another is that it seemed profoundly unnatural that money
could, so to speak, give birth to itself.
I.vi.9
Maior est Aristotelis. A sidenote refers to
Aristotle’s De Sensu.
I.vii.2
aliae quarum dominium usu non transferatur At this point,
Case seems to be thinking of renting rather than sale.
I.vii.2
si quid ultra sortem pro usu sumas It is not wholly clear
what the phrases extra sortem and ultra sortem, used
repeatedly in this chapter, really mean. Did Case think a “just
price” theory applied to interest on loans as well as to the
price of goods and services, so that sortem indicates a fair
return of interest on a loan? Or did he believe that loans should
earn no interest at all, so that extra/ultra sortem indicates
any sum whatsoever repaid the lender by the borrower in excess of the
principal amount of the loan (the sortem )? The example of the
£100 annuity cited in paragraph 7
below would seem to indicate he meant the latter. But here, when
he goes on to say “it is usury: ownership and possession of the
thing being reserved, it is permitted to demand something in exchange
for its use” he may be acknowledging that lent money is, so to
speak, rented money, and it reasonable for the lender to charge a
fair rent for its use (but then again, at Speculum Quaestionum
Moralium IV.i.8 he specificially denies that money is something
that is rented).
I.vii.2
quod tamen expresse vetat usuram A sidenote refers to
Deuteronomy 23:19.
I.vii.3
tam facilis descensus Averni An echo of Aeneid
VI.126.
I.vii.4
quam vulgo metallicam appellant So called from Lat.
metallum (= “mine”) because it is a mixture of the
arts of mining and moneymaking.
I.vii.4
Tempora mutantur, This famous line is from Matthew
Bourbon’s epigram on Lothar I.
I.vii.6
velo ipsius templi scisso A sidenote refers to Matthew
27:51.
I.vii.7
mala mens malus animus Terence,
Andria164.
I.viii.1
quod in illo sit vicissistudo imperandi Smith may be a
magistrate now, and Jones a private citizen; come the next election,
the situation may be reversed.
I.viii.1ne
quidem Xantippe See the note on I.i.9.
I.viii.3
Male profecto ille Ille is probably John Knox (see
the note on I.iii.5).
I.vii.4
Nunquam Stygias Ps. - Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus
1983f.
I.viii.8
in Cimmeriis tenebris The Cimmerians lived in the extreme
north, and the darkness of their winters became proverbial for
obscurity in general.
II.i.2
qui ut omnino unam facias civitatem A sidenote refers to Book
V of Plato’s Laws.
II.i.2
tuum de uxorum communitate dogma A sidenote refers to
Plato’s Republic, Book V.
II.i.2
nulla respublica si nulla vicissitudo imperii A
side note refers to Cicero, De Legibus Book III and Polybius
I.ii.
II.i.2
teste philosopho A sidenote refers to Aristotle’s Economics.
II.i.4
Omnia fert aetas Vergil, Eclogue ix.51.
II.i.4
quam Sicilia a Verre Verres was the corrupt governor of
Sicily prosecuted by Cicero.
II.i.4
qui diffidentes tempori They “mistrust time” because they
are conscious they have a limited amout of time to do
their dirty work.
II.i.5
Unio est duplex A sidenote refers to Plato, Republic
I, II, Plato, Laws VI, and Aristotle, Ethics V.3
-
5.
II.i.6
OPPOSITIO A sidenote refers to Plato, Laws III and
VI.
II.i.6
amicus est alter ego A sidenote refers to Plato,
Symposium.
II.i.6
Communitas enim non charitatem A sidenote refers to
Aristotle, Politics II.ii - iii.
II.i.6
beatam esse civitatem A sidenote refers to ib.
i.
II.i.6
Bonum unius hominis et civitatis est idem A sidenote
refers to ib. ii ad fin.
II.i.6
OPPOSITIO A sidenote refers to ib. V.iv and Plato,
Republic VI.
II.I.7
succedant, serventque vices Vergil, Aeneid IX.222
(succedunt servantque vices ).
II.i.8
Ah proh dolor A sidentore refers to Cicero, Epistolae
ad Atticum VII.xiv and Machiavelli, Il Principe 20.
II.ii.1
trahit sua quemque voluptas Vergil,
Eclogue ii.65.
II.ii.2
Dicebat enim Plato A sidenote refers to Plato, Republic
Book V and the introduction to the Timaeus.
II.ii.2
quippe quod publicum est A sidenote refers to the
further discussion of this subject in chapter
iii.
II.ii.3
Libro 5 De Republica A sidenote also refers to the
Timaeus.
II.ii.3
ut in pelicano constat Queen Elizabeth adopted the pelican
as an image for this reason, to sybolize her self-sacrifice on behalf
of the English people (hence Sir Francis Drake’s famous
circumnavigation ship was originally called the Pelican).
II.ii.4
At et apud Garamantas A sidenote refers to Pomponius Mela,
who mentions the Garamantes at De Chorographia I.xxiii and
I.xlv.
II.ii.4
hos vultus meus Seneca, Troades 464ff.
II.ii.4
taceo Thibios A sidenote refers to Pliny, Natural History
VII.xvii.3.
II.ii.4
Redit ad authores genus Seneca, Phaedra 907 and
Troades 536.
II.ii.4
Persina Aethiops albam peperit Charicliam A sidenote
indicates Case is referring to characters in Heliodorus’ romance, the Aethiopica.
II.ii.4
Turpissima diceres A sidenote quotes Ovid,
Metamorphoses X.333, pietas geminato screscit amore
(“piety grows with redoubled love.”)
II.ii.4
Sapienter Seneca The allusion would appear to be to De
Clementia I.i.1, in hanc inmensam multitudinem discordem,
seditiosam, inpotentem, in perniciem alienam suamque pariter
exultaturam, si hoc iugum fregerit.
II.ii.5
Is enim sancita hac lege A sidenote refers to Plato’s Symposium
and Laws, Book V.
II.ii.5
Statuit enim Plato A sidenote refers to the end of Plato,
Republic, Book III.
II.ii.8
Raro meretrices cuilibet prostitutae A sidenote refers to
Aristotle, Problems.
II.ii.9
ut narrat Sabellicus Marcantonio Coccio Sabellicus in the
Enneades.
II.ii.8
OPPOSITIO A sidenote refers to Plato, Laws, Book
III.
II.ii.11
nuptialis tedae Torches were employed in Roman marriage
ceremonies.
II.ii.11
ut ait Seneca This is not a quotation, but probably a
generalized description of the situation of the children in the
Medea.
II.iii.1
Voluerunt Socrates et Plato A sidenote refers to
Plato, Republic III and VII, Laws V, and Timaeus.
II.iii.1
ut Socrates et Plato voluerunt A sidenote refers to Plato,
Laws IX.
II.iii.1
Prima est a necessario A sidenote refers to what has been
said on this score in the preceding chapter.
II.iii.1
iuxta illud Isocrates Perhaps a paraphrase of the
statement at Oratio XVIII.lx.4.
II.iii.2
Altera ratio a iucundo petitur A sidenote repors to Plato,
Laws V and Aristotle, Ethics IX.viii.
II.iii.2
Quinta ab exemplo Laecedaemonum In a sidenote Case gives the
further example of Cimon’s land reform at Athens.
II.iii.3
Sic olim Elotae A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life
of Demetrius.
II.iii.3
ineptam similitudinem Platonis A sidenote refers to Plato,
Republic, Book V.
II.iii.3
Quae haec est comparatio (inquit) A sidenote
refers to Politics II.vii, Economics 2, and Xenophon,
Oeconomica 12.
II.iii.3
fabulosa comparatio illa A sidenote refers to Plato,
Republic, Book III.
II.iii.4
Antecedens probatur authoritate Senecae Seneca,
Epistulae Morales at Lucullum xl.38.1 (I cannot identify the
passage in Isidore of Seville).
II.iii.4
OPPOSITIO A sidenote refers to Plato, Laws, Book
IX.
II.iii.5
ut habetur 1. Politicorum A sidenote refers to the end of
Politics I.v.
II.iii.6
non timor sed furor A sidenote refers to Seneca,
Phaedra 96f.: