III.i.2 ut Papirius Romanus ille puer A sidenote refers to Macrobius, Saturnalia I.vi.
III.i.3 libertas subditorum regiam maiestatem infirmiorem reddit Evidently the idea is that the people’s possession of liberties guarantees that the state is a genuine commonwealth rather than an autocracy or tyranny.
III.i.3 Per consilium hoc loco A sidenote refers the reader to Politics IV.xiv - xvi.
III.i.3 Sed facile deletur haec obiectio A sidenote refers to ib. II.vii and V.xi, and also (for the Ephors) to Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus and Xenophon’s Constitution of Sparta.
III.i.4 aut popularem statum declinet Since democracy is enumerated below as one of the forms of a well-regulated commonwealth, by popularem statum Case seems to have in mind something like mob rule (what some ancient theorists called an ochlocracy).
III.i.4 Si bene ac iuste fiat alteratio I. e., he remains the a citizen in all these forms of well-regulated state (but not otherwise). I must say that the minor premise in this syllogism scarcely seems cogent (and Case does not seek to justify it). Is the text defective here?
III.i.6 ait Aristoteles A sidenote refers to Politics II.vii.
III.i.10 ut Borreus exponit See the note on Ad Christianum Lectorem 29.
III.i.10 Antonius Caesaris occisi acta rescidit A sidenote refers to Cicero, Philippics II.
III.i.10 OPPOSITIO A sidenote refers to Ethics, Book V.
III.ii.1 Nam etsi civitas vulgo sumatur A sidenote refers to Book I of Caesar’s Gallic Wars (in which the migration of the Helvetians is described), Cicero’s Somnum Scipionis, and Plutarch De Duplici Politeia.
III.ii.1 <Veios> habitante Camillo Lucan, Bellum Civile V.28.
III.ii.1 Expulit armatam Ib. II.574.
III.ii.1 tum Babylon 60 millia passum amplexa A sidenote refers to Herodotus, Book I, Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca III.iv. and Julius Solinus, Collectanea rerum memorabilium lxx.
III.ii.2 Si pulsis a loco Romanis In a sidenote the Turks throwing the Greeks out of Constantinople is given as a second example.
III.ii.2 nec enim locus sed populus facit Carthaginem A sidenote refers to Apian’s Lybike ix.
III.ii.3 de magnitudine civitatis A sidenote refers to Politics IV.xii.
III.ii.4 Succensuit Deus Davidi regi A sidenote refers to II Samuel 24.
III.iii.1 Virtus est vitium fugere Horace, Epistulae I.i.41.
III.iii.1 Eandem esse generatim negat A sidenote refers to Politics II.ix.
III.iii.1 Regis ad exemplum A sidenote indicates these lines come from Claudian’s De Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti.
III.iii.2 Quemadmodum est in gubernatione navis A sidenote refers to Cicero’s De Senectute (probably the reference is to xvii.3).
III.iii.2 Adami familiae Cainum A sidenote refers to Genesis 4.
III.iii.2 sancta Abrahami domus Ismaelum A sidenote refers to Genesis 16.
III.iii.2 Isaac suum Esau A sidenote refers to Genesis 25.
III.iii.2 David propheta suum Absolonem A sidenote refers to II Samuel 3.
III.iii.2 Christus ipse suum Iudam A sidenote refers to Matthew 26.
III.iii.2 quod hic Aristoteles concludit A sidenote refers to Politics II.1 and I.iii.
III.iii.3 magistratum absolute bonum et studiosum virum esse debere It should be realized that the word I translate as “earnest” (used frequently by Case in throughout this work), studiosus, indicates a man who is earnest for, or studious of, virtue. This is spelled out at III.iii.2, haec vero non inest nisi depositis malis moribus vir studiosus virtutis fiat.
III.iii.3 Cf. Terence, Heauton Timorumenos 341f.:

ademptum tibi iam faxo omnem metum,
in aurem utramvis otiose ut dormias.

III.iii.3 Excita teipsum, nam Arbactus venit A sidenote refers to Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Book I.
III.iii.3 Ne mi ista A fragment of Euripides’ lost Aeolus quoted by Aristotle in the text.
III.iii.4 ante Machiavellum A sidenote refers to Il Principe 19.
III.iii.4 Numam Pompilium Numa was an early Roman king famed for his virtue and piety; Codrus was a mythogical king of Athens.
III.iii.4 Vae terrae A sidenote refers to Ecclesiastes 10:16.
III.iii.5 sapienter imperare nemo quidem potest A sidenote refers to Plato, Laws, Book VI, Plutarch,Life of Agesilaus, and cites the case of Agrippina described by Tacitus, Annales IV.
III.iii.5 vox illa Iasonis The tyrant Jason of Pherae, quoted by Aristotle in the text.
III.iii.5 ut sus Minervam A Roman proverb meaning “to teach somebody else something you don’t know yourself” (cf. Festus, De Verborum Significatione 310.53).
III.iii.5 ut in primo libro Politicorum patet A sidenote refers to Politics I.viii.
III.iii.6 ut 6. Ethicorum probatur A sidenote refers to Ethics VI.vii.
III.iii.6 Aristoteles Polycletum artificem prudentem appellat See the note on II.v.9.
III.iii.6 si Omphalem spectes In mythology Hercules was obliged to dress as a woman and serve Queen Omphale.
III.iii.7 Cato fuit bonus magistratus He means Cato Uticensis, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar, who committed suicide after losing a battle.
III.iii.8 Quintus Fabius Maximus Fabius Cunctator, the consul and general who saved Rome from Hannibal by refusing to join battle with him and fighting nothing but delaying actions.
III.iii.9 Lex vestra iubet A sidenote refers to Aristotle, Politicis VI.vii and Valerius Maximus IV.iv.
III.iii.10 Si Plautus molat Tradition has it that the comic poet Plautus was a slave at one time in his life (under Roman law bankrupts could be enslaved).
III.iv.2 Nullius rei sine socio Seneca, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium vi.5.
III.iv.2 quasi quaedam in eo prosperitas et dulcedo A sidenote refers to Cicero, De Finibus V.
III.iv.3 Demonstratum est in libris A sidenote refers to Ethics VIII.x and Politics I.viii.
III.iv.4 Hinc illud Biantis Bias was one of the Seven Sages.
III.iv.4 populare imperium furoremque denotat Again, lack of precise terminology makes this passage confusing. Here populare imperium furoremque designates something like mob rule, whereas immediately below populique imperium designates democracy (now regarded a correct or legitimate form of government). I have tried to avoid this confusion in my translation.
III.iv.5 Recta administratio magistratus A sidenote refers to Plutarch, De Triplici Genere Politiae.
III.iv.5 Concussa republica languescit civitas One can hardly say that this passage offers an adequate distinction of the words “commonwealth” and “republic.” Often in the Sphaera Civitatis the two words appear to be used as synonyms.
III.iv.6 Aristoteles in textu ponit A sidenote refers to Politics I.ii and II.i.
III.iv.6 Ultimus finis civitatis est ipse Deus A sidenote refers to Politics VII.xi, Metaphysics and De Mundo.
III.iv.7 Astraea The Roman goddess of justice, who is supposed to have abandoned the earth out of disgust for Man’s bad dealings.
III.iv.7 Rex est qui posuit metus Seneca, Thyestes 348ff.
III.iv.7 Mens regnum bona possidet Ib. 380.
III.iv.7 Hinc medico ut sanet A sidenote against this passage of comparisons refers to Aristotle, Ethics VIII.x and Augustine, Civitas Dei XIX.xv.
III.iv.7 si navem reipublicae A sidenote acknowledges that Case got this “ship of state” metaphor from Plato.
III.iv.7 se esse vicarios Dei A sidenote refers to Romans 13.
III.iv.7 Iactavit Balthasar A sidenote refers to Daniel 5 and (for the following mention of Herod’s ghastly death) to Acts 12.
III.iv.9 Maior est Aristotelis quarto Ethicorum A sidenote refers to Ethics IV.iii.
III.iv.9 uti scripsit Seneca A sidenote refers to Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium ix.
III.iv.9 ut docet Aristoteles in Ethicis A sidenote refers to Ethics X.viii.
III.v.2 unde timocratia nascitur Aristotle (and consequently Case) use “timocracy” in a way that will startle readers who are familiar with this word primarily from works such as Plato’s Republic, where it means “a kind of government in which membership in the governing body depends on honor.” To Aristotle, time did not mean “honor,” but rather “size of an estate ” so that, to him, a timocracy is “a kind [of contitution] in which membership in the governing body depends on a property qualification” (Ethics I.viii.2260a31).
III.v.3 ut imperator Romanus Holy Roman Emperors were chosen by Electors, Kings of Poland by an assembly of noblemen.
III.v.3 et prudentes tribunos regnat Case does not mean “tribunes” literally, but rather uses this word as an omnium-gatherum word for elected representatives of the people and, in some contexts, demagogues.
III.v.3 ut in Turcia, Moscovia Not too many years previously the poet-diplomat Giles Fletcher the Elder had written a book about the current Tsar, Ivan the Terrible, that was so explicit about Ivan’s monstrosities that it had to be suppressed.
III.v.3 ut Romae in triumviratu We need not wonder which of the two Triumvirates Case had in mind, since his remark applies equally to both.
III.v.5 Sunt mixtae respublicae A sidenote refers to Plato, Laws, Book VI and Politics III.iv.
III.v.7 ergo si a Deo, a patre, a patria defecerint This objection and response may well have been written in response to George Buchanan’s De Iure Regni Apud Scotos Dialogus (1579) and Rerum Scotarum Historia (1582), in which the people’s right to oppose and depose a malfeasant sovereign was vigorously defended. Case agrees with Buchanan in principle, but softens the practical consequences with the final words of his response.
III.v.8 cives occident Phalaridem A proverbially cruel Sicilian tyrant who had a bronze bull constructed, in which he roasted his victims alive (until he suffered the same fate himself).
III.vi.1 ut in Ethicis docuimus A sidenote refers to Aristotle, Ethics V.iii. Case is referring to his exposition of this Aristotelian passage in his previous commentary on that work, Speculum Moralium Quaestionum (1585), in a discussion beginning at V.ii.
III.vi.1 quod sola actio virtutis sit iusta mensura distribuendi honoris There is in this discussion (and in similar ones that have occurred from time to time previously, such as the statement at II.i.7, Iniustum est virtuti praemium negare: ergo iniquum est homini virtute praedito magistratum, qui est virtutis quasi praemium, detrahere, that will probably strike the modern reader as peculiar. While the commonwealth is quite right to award individuals honors (in the form of prizes, medals, knighthoods, and so forth) as a reward for virtue, it is patently wrong to assign a man a magistracy purely as a reward for virtue. A commonwealth whose magistrates are virtuous but incompetent is no more desirable than one whose magistrates are competent but vicious, and would not long endure. In the assigning of a magistracy, while a man’s virtue most certainly ought to be taken into account, so should other considerations, such as his ability to perform the required duties of the office. But it appears absurd to assert that a man has a claim on a magistracy purely on the basis of his virtue. There is a pervasive confusion of thinking in everything Case writes on the subject, growing out of the fact that the Latin word honos can designate both an honor in the modern sense and a public office. Precisely the same observation can be made about the synonym dignitas.
III.vi.2 nam si faederatae civitates It must be understood that what being discussed here is not federated states such as the United States of America or, for that matter, some ancient Greek leagues. Rather by faederatae Case means cities that are linked by various kinds of treaties for the purposes of peace, trade, and mutual defence. I believe it can be held against Aristotle and ancient theorists that they focused their attention so much on the individual polis that they failed to appreciate the theoretical and practical interest of leagues that were genuine political federations. See the new and highly significant discussion of this subject by Gustav Adolf Lehmann, Ansätze zu einer Theorie des griechischen Bundesstaates bei Aristoteles und Polybios (Göttingen, 2001). Therefore it could be alleged that Case did not really appreciate the very significant difference between genuinely political leagues, say, the United Provinces of the Netherland or the Swiss Confederation and sovereign states engaged in various other sorts of leagues, such as the Hanseatic League (for commerce) or the Smalkaldric League (for mutual defense).
III.vi.3 sed hoc tantum eis curae est ut iniuria ne fiat A sidenote mentions the Swiss Confederation and the Hanseatic League.
III.vi.4 ut in septimo Politicorum patet A sidenote refers to Politics VII.xiv.
III.vi.4 ut ait philosophus secundo Ethicorum A sidenote refers to Ethics II.vi.
III.vi.4 distinctio Faedus est nihil aliud A sidenote refers to Aristotle’s definition of a league at Politics II.i.
III.vi.5 exemplo Archiae poetae A sidenote refers to Cicero’s speech Pro Archia Poeta and (for Paul) to Acts 22.
III.vi.6 Recte, Scaevola For Scaevola see the relevant note on the Dedicatory Epistle. I cannot identify the source of the quotation.
III.vi.6 Licet Catilinae in tripode civitatis sedere For Catiline, see the note on II.vi.6. The “tripod of the city” refers to the tripod at Apollo’s sanctuary at Delphi, where the priestess sat while delivering oracles (to understand this metaphor cf. the statement above in this paragraph that “the house of the judge is the oracle of the commonwealth”).
III.vi.7 ut ait Cato Dionysius Cato, Disticha I.v.2.
III.vii.2 Iros in valle vivit Irus is the beggar in the Odyssey.
III.vii.2 At Quintus Aurelius A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Sulla.
III.vii.3 ut Briareus Briareus was the hundred-handed giant in mythology.
III.vii.3 Multorum manibus I cannot identify the quote.
III.vii.4 Praeterea, ut partes A sidenote refers to Cicero, De Inventione, Book III (for Apelles and Zeuxis see the note on II.v.9).
III.vii.4 proprium enim bonum A sidenote refers to Aristotle, Politics III.xi.
III.vii.4 Sed ubi est iste telorum A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Apophthegmata and Stobaeus, ser. 82.
III.vii.4 et Thersite Thersites is the grotesque hunchback who appears in Book II of the Iliad.
III.vii.4 probat philosophus authoritate Solonis A sidenote refers to Politics II.x and Plutarch’s Life of Solon.
III.vii.5 ut olim voluit Phocylides Case’s very interpretative paraphrase of Phocylides’fragment (preserved by Stobaeus).
III.vii.5 Nam quemadmodum alimentum subtile A sidenote refers to Aristotle, De Generatione Animalium, Book I.
III.vii.5 quod olim in Graecis reprehendit Anacharsis
A half-Scythian philosopher [ca. 600 B. C.], reckoned as one of the Seven Sages.
III.vii.7 qui status ab Aristotele ut optimus laudatur A sidenote refers to Politics III.xi.
III.vii.7 Existimamus tamen nos imperium aliquod esse populare A sidenote states that this was once true of Athens, and currently so of some German cities.
III.vii.7 rectam republicam in tres species divisit philoshophus A sidenote refers to chapter v.
III.vii.7 in Gallia simplex monarchia dicitur A sidenote refers to Claude de Seyssel’s La Grande Monarchie de France (1519), Book I.
III.vii.8 Nemo de rebus quas ignorat recte et sapienter iudicat A sidenote refers to Ethics I.iii.
III.vii.9 quoniam sub velo et non aperte loqueris A sidenote refers to ib. I.vi.
III.vii.9 sed monarchia (hoc est, unius principatus) A sidenote refers to Plato’s Politicus.
III.vii.9 est autem in rege vera imago Dei A sidenote refers to Romans 13.
III.vii.10 ille status sit optimus qui est antiquissimus A sidenote informs us that this dictum is Tertullian’s.
III.vii.10 unum patrem regemque omnium fecit Adam.
III.vii.10 Infinitum hic esset si de republic apium A sidenote refers to Patricius, De Republica I.i.
III.vii.10 quae scripta sunt a poeta A sidenote refers to Vergil, Georgics, Book IV.
III.vii.10 Sic olim Epaminondas A Theban general of the fourth century B. C. who defeated the Spartans.
III.vii.11 Non est quod de propositione dubites A sidenote refers to Aristotle, Politics III.xi.
III.vii.11 Areopagitae distracti iudicio The old aristocratic court of Athens.
III.vii.13 Lacedaemonii praeter suos ephorus suum praefectum I do not understand this: the Spartans had two kings.
III.vii.13 Athenienses praeter suos censores By “censors” Case presumably means archons. Their “one wise man” was the popular leader of the Themistocles - Pericles type.
III.vii.13 Carthaginenses praeter suos cosmos Evidently Case uses the word cosmoi borrowing it from the similar magistrates at Crete (cf. II.viii.1). A sidenote refers to Patricius, De Regibus I.xiii.
III.vii.13 Plena sunt monumenta Platonis A sidenote refers to Plato, Politicus, Isocrates, De Pace, Herodotus, Book III, Dionysius of Halicarnassus Roman Antiquities, Book II, and Patricius, De Regibus I.iii, I.xiii and De Republica I.i.
III.vii.13 Saulem dedit populo A sidenote refers to I Samuel 9:17.
III.vii.13 Davidem approbavit A sidenote refers to ib. 16:1.
III.vii.13 utrique obtemperare iussit A sidenote refers to Romans 13:5.
III.vii.14 Rex enim viros a consilio sapientes habet A sidenote refers to Patricius, De Republica I.i.
III.vii.15 Tarquinios, Pisistratidas The Tarquins were the tyrannical kings of Rome, the Peisistratids the tyrants of Athens in the late sixth century B. C.
III.vii.15 penes eum autem quem praeesset sive sit unus A sidenote refers to Politics II.vi.
III.viii.1 Primum igitur instituto suo A sidenote refers to Aristotle, Ethics I.i.
III.viii.1 Primum, si ob excellentiam cuiusque boni A sidenote refers to Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, Book V.
III.viii.1 Non nostrum inter vos Vergil, Eclogue iii.108ff.
III.viii.2 ut Milo A famous Greek wrestler.
III.viii.2 et sane (ut ait Aristoteles) A sidenote refers to Aristotle, Ethics I.xii.
III.viii.2 At dices multitudo A sidenote refers to ib. V.i.
III.viii.3 Notum id est A sidenote refers to ib. I.viii.
III.viii.3 honos alit artes Cicero, Tusculan Disputations I.iv. 5.
III.viii.4 iustitia est habitus cuique tribuendi suum The definition of justice given at the beginning of Justinian’s Code.
III.viii.4 ut nemo sui iudex A sidenote attributes this maxim to Bias, one of the Seven Sages.
III.viii.4 Dignitas enim ostendit virum A sidenote refers to Ethics V.i.
III.viii.5 ut in primo Ethicorum A sidenote refers to ib. I.xii.
III.viii.5 Fabius a fabis The name Fabius is derived from the Latin word for bean.
III.viii.5 Aristoteles antea cives esse negavit A sidenote refers to Politics III.iii.
III.viii.6 Tantone amore legum A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus.
III.viii.6 at prudentiae hoc est A sidenote referst to Cicero, De Legibus, Book II, and Plutarch, Doctrina Principi Requisita ii.
III.viii.7 at populus legis voce magis opus habet A sidenote refers to Politics III.ix and Plato, Laws, Book IV.
III.ix.1 An iuste Hannibal A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Hannibal and Life of Aristeides.
III.ix.1 nunquam profecto beatum virum A sidenote refers to chapters vi and viii of this Book of the Politics.
III.ix.1 sed vir heroice excellens alios A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus and Life of Aristeides.
III.ix.1 ut ait Plato A sidenote refers to Plato’s The Laws, Book IV.
III.ix.1 ut allegorice narrat Antisthenes Antisthenes, fragment 100.
III.ix.3 Sic hic tyrannidem A sidenote refers to Politics V.iii, viii, ix, and xi.
III.ix.3 quod Argonautae Herculem suum ducem A sidenote refers to Book I of Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica.
III.ix.3 ab exemplis Periandri A sidenote referst to Dionysus of Halicarnassus, Book IV, and compares the Roman Tarquinii as decribed by Livy, Book I, and Ovid’s Fasti.
III.ix.3 Somniant enim Caesares A sidenote refers to Suetonius, Tiberius lv.
III.ix.5 Ostracismus est genus quoddam A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Aristeides, Life of Alcibiades, Life of Themistocles, Alessandro Alessandri, Genialium dierum libri sex, III.xx, Budé’s Annotationes, Erasmus’ Chiliades and Machiavelli’s commentary on Livy I.xxviii - xxix.
III.ix.6 Adhortatus est Seneca A sidenote refer’s to Suetonius’ Nero.
III.ix.7 nempe quod sicut inferiores potentiae viresque animi A sidenote refers to Politics I.iii, Ethics I.vi, and Plato, Timaeus.
III.ix.8 2. Ethicorum A sidenote refers to Ethics II.i.
III.x.1 nempe in Laconicam Literally the “Laconian,” the barbaric, the “aesymnetian” (from the Greek for word for a dictator-like kind of elected official), there heroic, and the “pambasilean” (“all-royal”).
III.x.1 ab exemplo Agamemnonis A sidenote refers to Homer, Iliad, Book I.
III.x.1 Quem longe a pugna A translation of ib. II.391ff. (the final line is not in the vulgate Iliad).
III.x.1 ubi religio Reguli Marcus Atilius Regulus. Caputured by the Carthaginians, he was sent back to Rome with an offer of peace, but advised the Senate not to accept it. Then, rather than breaking his parole, he returned to Carthage and death.
III.x.2 Sic olim Persae A sidenote refers to Isocrates, Panegyricus.
III.x.3 opinione sua recenset philosophus A sidenote refers to Politics V.x, and also to Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Book I.
III.x.3 Legimus in sacris literis A sidenote refers to Genesis 10.
III.x.4 in Oziae fronte A sidenote refers to II Chronicles 26:19.
III.x.4 Nadab et Abihu A sidenote refers to Leviticus 10.
III.x.4 Meminerint reges A sidenote refers to examples of “kings caring for the heavenly kingdom”: Isaiah 40, Daniel 5.5, and 2 Macabees 3:25.
III.x.5 Barbarica administratio tyrannis est A sidenote refers to Politics IV.x.
III.x.5 Nam barbarica administratio haereditaria A sidenote refers to Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
III.x.5 ut Iustinus scribit A sidenote refers to Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Book I.
III.x.5 Hinc Ninus Assyriorum rex A sidenote refers to Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Book I.
III.x.6 Districtum gladium A sidenote refers to Romans 13.
III.x.6 ut truncus inter ranas Case is of course thinking of the fable of King Log and King Stork.
III.x.6 lictores, secures The bundled fasces and axe carried by a Roman consul’s lictor symbolized his power to punish.
III.x.6 non tamen omnes mali A sidenote refers to Romans 13 again.
III.x.6 ubique gentium in omni imperio A sidenote refers to Romans 13 again.
III.x.6 maleficos non patieris Exodus 22:18.
III.x.6 obedite regi Romans 13:4 paraphrased.
III.x.7 Quicquid est causa mali est quoque ipsum malum A sidenote refers to Aristotle, Topica, Book II.
III.x.8 nolo mortem peccatoris A sidenote refers to Ezechiel 18.
III.x.8 recte tamen cum hoc affectu A sidenote refers to Matthew 13:30.
III.xi.1 an melius ab optimo rege A sidenote refers to Ethics V.x and Politics III.7 and 12.
III.xi.1 Melius per plures quam per unum probat A sidenote refers to Politics III.vii.
III.xi.1 Quartum quod in hoc capite tractatur A sidenote refers to Hieronymus Osorius, De Regis Institutione, Book III, Sebastian Fox Morcillo, De Regni Regisque institutione, Book III.
III.xi.2 Lex solum universim loquitur A sidenote refers to Politics II.vi.
III.xi.2 ut medicus non est ita iuratus A sidenote refers to Plato’s Politicus.
III.xi.4 a Davide ad Christus Case was thinking of the genealogy of Christ at the beginning of Matthew.
III.xi.4 exemplum de filiabus Salphat A sidenote refers to Numbers 27.
III.xi.4 Alteram quoque conditionem A sidenote refers to Politics VII.xiv, I Samuel 9:2, Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, quest. iii, and Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus.
III.xi.4 Absolon omnes sua forma vicit A sidenote refers to II Samuel 14:25.
III.xi.5 Principes legum solum A sidenote refers to Politics III.xii.
III.xi.6 ut antea docuit philosophus A sidenote refers to the present chapter in the Politics.
III.xi.6 ut habet Aristoteles A sidenote refers to Rhetoric II.xxx.
III.xi.7 ut est in Ethicis A sidenote refers to Ethics II.i.
III.xi.7 ut docet philosophus A sidenote refers to Politics III.vii.
III.xi.9 Maior est Aristotelis A sidenote refers to Politics V.xi (the text specifies Book V of the Ethics, but the mistake is not repeated in the sidenote).
III.xii.1 nam homo inquit sine lege A sidenote refers to Patricius, de Regibus VIII.v.
III.xii.1 Homerum introducit A sidenote refers to Iliad X.
III.xii.2 aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus Horace, Ars Poetica 359.
III.xii.3 A descriptione magistratus A sidenote refers to Patricius, De Republica I.v, III.i, and Floccus seu Fenestella in praefat. de potest. Rom. (i. e.., evidently, Lucius Fenestella, De Ecclesiastica Potestate, although Case seems uncertain whether this work was written by Fenestella or by Andreas Domenichus Floccus (Fiochi)). The confusion may have been caused by the fact that both men wrote works entitled De Romanorum Magistratibus.
III.xii.3 Quae legibus non sunt decisa A sidenote refers to Cicero, De Oratore.
III.xii.3 ut ab Apollonis tripode See the relevant note on III.vi.6.
III.xii.4 Aristotles in praecedenti capite A sidenote refers to Aristotle, De Mundo.
III.xii.4 Maior est Aristotelis A sidenote refers also to Politics II.vi.
III.xii.4 Quod vero dicis A sidenote refers to Cicero, Pro Flacco.
IV.i.2 Sed ad philosophum A sidenote refers to Politics III.iv - v.
IV.i.2 quaenam sint a politico Throughout this chapter (and elsewhere in the Sphaera Civitatis) Case uses the word politicus somewhat ambiguously. Depending on the context, this word designates the philosophically-inclined student of politics, or (as in the final sentence of this chapter) the statesman actively concerned with managing the commonwealth. While Case would probably maintain that the latter needs also to be the former, it is doubtful whether he would argue the converse.
IV.i.2 In hoc ratiocinatione A sidenote refers to ib. I.i and III.viii.
IV.i.3 exactissima media This chapter repeatedly invokes the Aristotelian concept of the mean. In a political context this means a balance between the various interest-groups within the commonwealth, and a balance of the various forms of constitution.
IV.i.4 hypsea The text has Hyspea, the catchword at the bottom of the preceding page (309) is hispia. Neither word is in the Oxford Latin Dictionary. The word conceivably is derived from the Greek word hips (used by Theophrastus), “woodworm.”
IV.i.5 ut hoc loco docet philosophus A sidenote refers to Ethics V.iii.
IV.i.6 turpiter perfecto Albertus See the relevant note on the Prolegomena.
IV.i.7 Timotheus insignis ille musicus A sidenote refers to Lucius Domitius Brusonius, Facetiarum Exemplorumque Libri VII, II.xxiii.
IV.i.7 consuetudo . . . altera natura fiat Cicero, De Finibus V.lxxiv.3.
IV.i.7 Respublica Romana olim sapienter fundata A sidenote refers to Macchiavelli’s commentary on Livy I.iii.
IV.i.7 Magna molis erat Aeneid I.33.
IV.i.7 Sic in textu Aristoteles A sidenote refers to Politics II.vi.
IV.ii.1 Sed antequam ad tyrannidem A sidenote refers to ib. III.iv.
IV.ii.1 docetque se rectae republicae A sidenote refers to ib. III.v.
IV.ii.1 Nam regni lapsus in tyrannidem A sidenote refers to ib. III.xi and Machiavelli’s commentary on Livy I.ii.
IV.ii.2 quia tyrannis est pestis monarchiae A sidenote refers to the discussion of tyranny in Book III of the Politics.
IV.ii.2 Nero Senecam praeceptorem A sidenote refers to Tacitus, Annales, Books XIV and XV.
IV.ii.3 Dionysios, Phalarides Dionysius and Phalaris (repeatedly mentioned by Case as types) were two particularly cruel Sicilian tyrants. Phalaris had a brazen bull in which he liked to roast his victims.
IV.ii.3 tyrannis est quasi vipera A sidenote refers to Plato, The Republic, Book VIII ad fin.
IV.ii.4 qui dicebat popularem administrationem A sidenote refers to Plato’s The Republic.
IV.ii.5 Maior constat A sidenote refers to Politics IV.x.
IV.ii.5 sed furiosa populi administratio A sidenote refers to Johannes Bodinus’ De Republica Libri VI.
IV.ii.5 iustitia Dei est legitima A sidenote refers to Job 34:30.
IV.ii.5 Deus permittit saepe tyrannos regnare A sidenote refers to Proverbs 8:15.
IV.ii.7 ut illa secundum philosophum A sidenote refers to the final chapter of Politics VII, Plato’s The Republic, Book II, and Plutarch’s De Educatione Liberorum.
IV.ii.7 quippe regis ad exemplar A sidenote identifies this line as quotation from Claudian’s poem on Honorius’ fourth consulship.
IV.ii.7 Nathan A sidenote refers to II Kings 12.
IV.ii.7 Elias A sidenote refers to III Kings 18.
IV.ii.7 Iohannes A sidenote refers to Mark 6:18.
IV.iii.3 quae est quod superius allata A sidenote refers to Politics III.iv - v.
IV.iii.4 Aliae sunt magis propriae differentiae reipublicae A sidenote refers to ib. III.v.
IV.iii.4 Partes civitatis sunt homines A sidenote refers to Politics I.i and IV.iv.
IV.iii.6 Ridiculum est quod obiicis A sidenote refers to Machiavelli’s commentary on Livy II.xvi and xviii.
IV.iv.2 Dubitatio est A sidenote refers to Politics III.v.
IV.iv.2 qua hoc ipsum probat Aristoteles A sidenote refers to ib. VII.xiv.
IV.iv.3 Hac comparatione facta A sidenote refers to ib. VII.viii and Plato, The Republic, Book II.
IV.iv.4 a testimonio Homeri A sidenote refers to Iliad, Book II.
IV.iv.5 A natura legis A sidenote refers to Politics II.vi, III.vii and III.xi.
IV.iv.7 Antecedens patet ex primo libro A sidenote refers to Politics I.v.
IV.iv.8 Maior constat A sidenote refers to ib. V.x.
IV.iv.9 Nam ut fulmen A sidenote refers to Diogenes Laertius I.vi.
IV.iv.9 Primo hoc ipsum probo A sidenote refers to Plutarch, Quomodo Adulator ab Amico Internoscatur.
IV.iv.9 Nam ut ab effecto Gnatonicae artis Gnatho is the parasite in Terence’s Eunuchus, and has imparted his name to the character-type.
IV.iv.9 Quid Caesarem contra patriam A sidenote refers to Suetonius, Julius Caesar lxxviii - lxxix.
IV.iv.9 Quid Rehoboam regem Israeli A sidenote refers to III Kings 12.
IV.iv.9 tyrannidis suae tragaediam A possible reference to Thomas Legge’s successful and influential Richardus Tertius, trilogy performed at Cambridge in 1579.
IV.iv.9 Unus Clytus A sidenote refers to Quintus Curtius, Book VIII.
IV.v.2 an forma civitatis A sidenote refers to Machiavelli’s commentary on Livy I.xv.
IV.v.1 Lucullique A proverbially rich Roman, worthy to be linked with Croesus.
IV.v.1 Plutus non Irus Plutus was the Greek god of wealth; Irus is the beggar in the Odyssey.
IV.v.2 Lente festinandum est The proverb festina lente was a favorite saying of Augustus (Suetonius, Augustus xxv, where it is quoted in Greek). See also Erasmus’ essay on this proverb in the Adages.
IV.v.2 sat cito si sat bene This was a saying of Cato the Censor (Memorabilia 80).
IV.v.2 Romani olim Tarquinio rege expulso A sidenote refers to Livy, Book I.
IV.v.2 In mutatione ergo reipublicae A sidenote refers to Politics II.vi.
IV.v.2 Philosophus in Ethicis suadet A sidenote refers to Ethics V.x.
IV.v.2 Lesbia regula Cf. Erasmus, Adagia I.v.93.
IV.v.2 Facilius quidem est A sidenote refers to Politics IV.i.
IV.v.5 leges cuiusque civitatis A sidenote refers to Politics III.vii.
IV.vi.2 in discribendo secundo genere A sidenote refers to Politics III.iii.
IV.vi.3 Praeterea quid aliud est A sidenote refers to Politics I.iv, II.i, and III.iv.
IV.vi.4 Si ergo mali malos plerunque generent A sidenote refers to Seneca’s Hippolytus (probably Case was thinking of Phaedra) and Politics I.iv.
IV.vi.4 Postremo maiorum exempla A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles.
IV.vi.5 quoniam hoc raro contingit A sidenote gives the example of Hercules’ deification.
IV.vi.6 Eadem certe A sidenote refers to Politics III.iv.
IV.vi.7 Regalis vox Pyrrhi A sidenote refers to Valerius Maximus IV.iii and compares Curius.
IV.vi.7 Iustis laudibus A sidenote refers to Cicero’s De Senectute.
IV.vi.7 Romae Fabritius A sidenote refers to Cicero’s De Officiis.
IV.vi.7 Vaenale tamen habere officium A sidenote refers to Politics III.ix.
IV.vii.1 ut Socrates et Plato A sidenote refers to Plato, Republic Books IV (at the beginning) and VIII (at the end).
IV.vii.2 Quaestio est, an in aristocratia A sidenote refers to Politics III.iii.
IV.vii.2 absolute tamen et simpliciter A sidenote refers to Politics III.i.
IV.vii.2 The words montes tamen non parturiunt make no sense by themselves. It is likely that the printer has left out the word mures, and that the statement is Case’s paraphrase of Horace, Ars Poetica 139, parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.
IV.vii.3 Inanis est disputatio A sidenote gives the examples “A donkey’s shadow, goat’s wool.” The latter (taken from Horace, Epistulae I.xviii.15) is a favorite Case phrase for something of no worth or importance whatsoever
IV.vii.3 Aristoteles antea in tertio libro A sidenote refers to Politics III.iii.
IV.viii.2 Draco non sum A sidenote refers to Demades (fragment 23) and Plutarch’s Life of Solon..
IV.viii.3 Maior patet A sidenote refers to Aristotle, De Generatione I.x.
IV.viii.3 Leges aliquando pravae et iniquae fiunt A sidenote refers to Politics II.vi.
IV.ix.1 exemplo Lacedaemoniorum A sidenote refers to Poltics II.iv, II.vii, and Plato, Laws, Book IV.
IV.ix.2 Sequitur nunc quaestio A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus and Polybius, Histories Book VI.
IV.ix.2 ut antea probatum est A sidenote refers to Politics I.iii.
IV.ix.3 Hic tamen oligarchicum In writing this paragraph Case was thinking of the various scholarship schemes that allowed poor boys to attend schools and universities. The most conspicuous of these were the Queen’s Scholarships, instituted in the late 1570’s, that allowed young men to attend Christ Church, Oxford (William Gager was one of the first beneficiaries of this new scheme).
IV.ix.3 Recte Seneca Case’s paraphrase of De Beneficiis III.xx.1 (Seneca’s actual words are Errat, si quis existimat servitutem in totum hominem descendere. Pars melior eius excepta est: corpora obnoxia sunt et adscripta dominis, mens quidem sui iuris).
IV.ix.3 Athenis inter Musis viverent In academic literature of the time, the university is sometimes represented as a second Athens, the new home of the Muses. See, for example, John Sanford, Apollonis et Musarum Εὐκτικὰ Εἰδύλλια. A sidenote refers to Ethics I.ii.
IV.ix.5 Minor est in secundo A sidenote refers to Ethics II.vi.
IV.ix.6 Verum si sit aliquis Heraclitus A sidenote refers to Aelian’s Varia Historia, Book IX.
IV.ix.6 oportet te, Appi senex A sidenote refers to Machiavelli’s commentary on Livy I.xxxvi.
IV.ix.6 ab hemicyclo tuo It is just a guess that Appius “hemicycle” is a threshing floor (what would a blind man be doing consulting a sundial?). The idea of a threshing-floor provides a satisfactory rhetorical balance for Fabricius’ plow and a hemicycical threshing-floor likewise provides a satisfactory balance for a hemicycical theater (symbolic of the “theater” of public affairs, an image Case uses several times in this work).
IV.ix.6 Patria communis parens est omnium A sidenote refers to Politics II.vii.
IV.ix.7 Antea probavit philosophus A sidenote refers to Politics III.i.
IV.x.1 Repetit hic Aristoteles A sidenote refers to Politics III.x.
IV.x.1 veraque species ac forma tyrannidis A sidenote refers to Plato’s Republic, Books VIII and IX.
IV.x.2 Ex hac sententia A sidenote refers to “Junus Brutius’” Vindicia Contra Tyrannos, quaestio 2 and George Buchanan’s De Iure Regni apud Scotos. Usually a tyrant is somebody who has taken power by brute force, as opposed to a king who has legitimately inherited his crown. The question here, however, involved a redefinition of the tyrant, and asks what is to be done about the king who has legitimately inherited his crown but nevertheless comports himself in a tyrannical way, for example by violating the laws of the land and committing acts of violence against his subjects. Buchanan, writing about Mary Queen of Scots, had argued that in such a case citizens have a positive duty to depose, and if possible kill, such tyrannical sovereigns. It is therefore tempting to read this entire chapter as Case’s refutation of Buchanan’s argument.
IV.x.2 Sed omissis verborum ambagibus A sidenote refers to Peter Martyr writing on Judges 19.
IV.x.2 sin vero malus A sidenote refers to Job 34:30.
IV.x.2 David rex ille unctus A sidenote refers to I Kings 14:7 and 26:9.
IV.x.3 Antecedens est Aristotelis A sidenote refers to Politics III.9 ad fin.
IV.x.3 ab exemplo Arbarcti A sidenote refers to Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Book I.
IV.x.3 ab exemplo Otanis A sitenote refers to Herodotus, Book III.
IV.x.3 Ehud A sidenote refers to Judges 3:21.
IV.x.3 Jael A sidenote refers to Judges 4:21.
IV.x.3 Jehu A sidenote refers to IV Kings 9:24.
IV.x.3 Judith A sidenote refers to Judith 13:9.
IV.x.3 Attende quod Christus A sidenote refers to Matthew 17:17.
IV.x.3 Placuit ei ut Elias A sidenote refers to 3 Kings 18:38.
IV.x.3 placuit ut Elizeus A sidenote refers to 4 Kings 2:24.
IV.x.3 Non tamen placuit ut Petrus A sidenote refers to Matthew 26:52.
IV.xi.3 Tertio, ex aequalibus A sidenote refers to Politics II.i, and III.iii - iv.
IV.xi.3 ut testimonio Phocylidis The reference is to Phocylides, fragment 12, quoted in the text.
IV.xi.3 ut probatum est A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Solon, Life of Lycurgus, and Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca, Book XII.
IV.xi.4 In omnibus igitur urbibus A sidenote refers to Plato, Republic, Book IV and Laws “chapter 9” (Book unspecified).
IV.xi.4 Recte quidem in hoc suadet philosophus A sidenote refers to Politics II.i.
IV.xi.4 ut verbis philosophi utar A sidenote refers to Politics I.ii.
IV.xi.4 Xerxes opibus et armis A sidenote refers to Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus (Book I).
IV.xi.5 ut docet Aristoteles in Ethicis A sidenote refers to Ethics II.iii.
IV.xi.6 unde magna vis amicitiae A sidenote refers to Politics II.ii, II.v, and Plato, Laws, Book III.
IV.xi.6 Minus in parvis Seneca, Phaedra 1124f.
IV.xii.1 nam quis illi parti A sidenote refers to Politics V.ix.
IV.xii.3 Cogitemus enim aliquem Cadmum A sidenote refers to Ovid’s account of Cadmus founding Thebes in Book III of the Metamorphoses.
IV.xii.3 Roma neglecta hac consideratione A sidenote refers to the story of Romulus killing Remus in Book I of Livy.
IV.xii.3 quippe temporis progressu A sidenote refers to Plato’s Laws, Book IX.
IV.xii.4 Antecedens probatur A sidenote refers to Politics I.iii, III.viii, and Plato’s Laws, Book III.
IV.xii.5 cui plus licet A sidenote quotes Seneca, Phaedra 215, quid non potest vult posse qui nimium potest.
IV.xii.5 ita opes abundantes A sidenote quotes ib. 214, plura quam fas est petunt.
IV.xiii.1 Herculis furentis tragaediam There is of course an allusion here to Seneca’s tragedy Hercules Furens.
IV.xiii.1 ut sunt illa quidem arcana A sidenote refers to the phrase arcana imperii at Tacitus, Annales II.xxxvi.6.
IV.xiii.3 itaque perspicuum est A sidenote refers to Politics IV.ix.
IV.xiii.5 quod est nihil aliud A sidenote refers to Cicero, De Officiis, Book III.
IV.xiii.6 Hoc vulnus olim senserunt Scythae A sidenote refers to Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Book II.
IV.xiii.6
IV.xiii.7 Nam dociles sunt si armentur A sidenote refers to Maecenalis, Oratio pro Monarchia vii.
IV.xiv.1 cum concio purpuram The allusion is to the purple stripe Roman senators wore on their togas.
IV.xiv.2 ut Romae A sidenote refers to Fenestella, De Romanorum Magistratibus II.xi.
IV.xiv.4 unde dubitatio The reader will observe that Case does not pose this question as the dubium for this chapter, but reserves it as his second quaestio in chapter xv.
IV.xiv.6 ut in Ariopago et senatu Romano A sidenote refers to Plutarch’s Life of Romulus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Book II and Fenestella, De Romanorum Magistratibus II.i.
IV.xv.1 In hoc tractatu A sidenote refers to Patricius, De Republica, Book III (proem).
IV.xv.1 Inter hos annumerantur A sidenote refers to the Preface of Fenestella, De Ecclesiastica Potestate.
IV.xv.3 Quin etiam non hic Iliad II.203ff.
IV.xv.3 Nam ut unum candelabrum A sidenote refers to Politics II.ix.
IV.xv.4 Exempli causa A sidenote refers to the Preface of Fenestella, De Ecclesiastica Potestate, and “Pompon. Volater., Commentaria lib. XXIX.” In this passage Case cites the examples of Roman rather than English magistrates.
IV.xv.4 ut Romani consules A sidenote refers to Livy, Book II and Fenestella, De Romanorum Magistratibus II.viii.
IV.xv.6 dico Sauli non licere A sidenote refers to I Samuel 28.
IV.xv.6 abigantur Bacones He means Roger Bacon, the Franciscan friar who was allegedly versed in the Black Arts.
IV.xv.6 Lux cum tenebris A sidenote refers to Cornelius Agrippa, de Vanitate Scientiarum
IV.xv.6 augurum, aruspicum, flaminum Various colleges of Roman priests with prophetic functions.
IV.xv.7 Nam in populari statu A sidenote refers to Politics II.iv and Patricius, De Republica I.iii.
IV.xv.7 Deinceps in electione A sidenote refers to ib. VI.vi.
IV.xv.7 fortuna favet fatuis No doubt this Latin proverb originated as a parody of Terence, Phormio 203, fortis fortuna adiuvat.
IV.xv.8 Fit enim tum neccesitas virtus A sidenote refers to Cicero, Pro Caecina.
IV.xv.9 Antecedens ratione probatur A sidenote refers to Politics II.iv.
IV.xv.9 in electione Matthiae A sidenote refers to Acts 1:26.
IV.xv.10 quod est sacerdotis munus A sidenote refers to Numbers 18:20.
IV.xv.10 Si enim sit medium A second sidenote refers to the same chapter and verse and to John Chrysostom’s commentery on Matthew.
IV.xv.10 Actio et speculatio repugnantiam A sidenote refers to Ethics X.viii.
IV.xv.10 Nam in ea solum aetate A sidenote refers to Politics VII.ix.
IV.xv.10 Recte, Chrysosotomus A sidenote refers to De verbis Esaiae homilia iv.
IV.xv.11 Si sint Danieles A sidenote refers to Daniel 2.
IV.xv.11 Si sint Epiphanii A sidenote refers to Euodius’ Life of Epiphanius.
IV.xv.12 quia partes civitatis sunt cives A sidenote refers to Politics VII.iv and VII.xviii.
IV.xv.12 ut antea definivit Aristoteles A sidenote refers to Politics III.i.
IV.xv.12 Maior est Aristotelis A sidenote refers to Politics V.ix.
IV.xv.12 Agnosco urgendissimis de causis A sidenote refers to Patricius, De Republica III.iv.
IV.xvi.1 quia in iudicio A sidenote refers to Plato, Laws, Book VI.
IV.xvi.1 Instituitur enim iudicium A sidenote referst to Politics II.vii and Plato, Laws, Book XII.
IV.xvi.1 Lentulus et Cethegus A sidenote refers to account of the Catilinarian conspiracy by the contemporary historian Sallust. Sallust writes about two of Catilines’ chief lieutenants, Lentulus and Cethegus, sought to flee to Catiline’s military camp outside the city, and also about how the Senate’s decision to put the conspirators to death resulted from a severe speech by Cato.
IV.xvi.2 Nam aliter irae The reader will have noticed long ago that Case is addicted to mixed metaphors.
IV.xvi.3 Antecedens probatur A sidenote refers to Ethics III.i and III.v, and also to Seneca’s Hercules Furens (using the title character of that play as an example of an involuntary murderer).
IV.xvi.4 obsta principiis Ovid, Remedia Amoris 91.
IV.xvi.4 ergo optabilius est A sidenote refers to Plato, Republic, Book III.
IV.xvi.5 haematitem Hematite is a stone rich in iron oxide that derives its name from its blood-red color. As far as I know, it has no ability to staunch blood.
IV.xvi.5 dormiens Philippus Cf. Sir Francis Bacon’s Apothegems 158, Philip, Alexander’s father, gave sentence against a prisoner what time he was drowsy, and seemed to give small attention. The prisoner, after sentence was pronounced, said, “I appeal.” The king somewhat stirred, said; “To whom do you appeal?” The prisoner answered, ”From Philip when he gave no ear, to Philip when he shall give ear.
IV.xvi.5 Phalaridis tauro See the relevant note on IV.ii.3.
IV.xvi.5 Voluntas est causa sceleris According to a sidenote, the dictum is St. Augustine’s.
IV.xvi.5 caedes involuntaria The dramatic situation in Ps.- Seneca’s Hercules Oetaeus is cited as another illustration of involuntary manslaughter.
IV.xvi.5 furiosus Alexander A sidenote refers to Quintus Curtius, Book VIII.
IV.xvi.5 temerarius Lamech A sidenote refers to Genesis 4.
IV.xvi.5 Milo seipsum defendens A sidenote refers to Cicero’s Pro Milone, in which Cicero argued that this was a case of self defense.