Monarchia (II, vi, 1-11)

(1) Et illud quod natura ordinavit, de iure servatur: natura enim in providendo non deficit ab hominis providentia, quia si deficeret, effectus superaret causam in bonitate: quod est inpossibile. (1) Besides it is right to preserve what nature has ordained, for nature in the measures it takes is no less provident than man; if it were so, the effect would surpass its cause in goodness, which is impossible.
(2) Sed nos videmus quod in collegiis instituendis non solum ordo collegarum ad invicem consideratur ab instituente, sed etiam facultas ad offitia exercenda; quod est considerare terminum iuris in collegio vel in ordine; non enim ius extenditur ultra posse. Ergo ab hac providentia natura non deficit in suis ordinatis. (2) But we see that in the setting up of collegiate bodies it is not only the relationship of the members to one another which is taken into account by the founder, but also their capacity to exercise office; and this is to take into account the limits of right within the collegiate body, that is to say in the way it is structured; for right does not extend beyond the capacity to exercise it. Now nature is no less provident than this in its ordering of things.
(3) Propter quod patet quod natura ordinat res cum respectu suarum facultatum, qui respectus est fundamentum iuris in rebus a natura positum. Ex quo sequitur quod ordo naturalis in rebus absque iure servari non possit, cum inseparabiliter iuris fundamentum ordini sit annexum: necesse igitur est ordinem de iure servari. (3) From this it is clear that nature orders things according to their capacities, and this taking into account of their capacities is the basis of right established by nature in the created world. From this it follows that the natural order in the created world cannot be maintained without right, since the basis of right is inseparably bound up with that order: the preservation of that order is therefore necessarily right.
(4) Romanus populus ad imperandum ordinatus fuit a natura; et hoc sic declaratur: sicut ille deficeret ab artis perfectione qui finalem formam tantum intenderet, media vero per que ad formam pertingeret non curaret, sic natura, si solam formam universalem divine similitudinis in universo intenderet, media autem negligeret; sed natura in nulla perfectione deficit cum sit opus divine intelligentie: ergo media omnia intendit, per que ad ultimum sue intentionis devenitur. (4) The Roman people were ordained by nature to rule; and this can be shown as follows: just as a craftsman would never achieve artistic perfection if he aimed only at the final form and paid no heed to the means by which that form was to be achieved, so too nature would fail if it aimed only at the universal form of divine likeness in the universe, yet neglected the means to achieve it; but nature is never less than perfect, since it is the work of divine intelligence: therefore it wills all the means through which it achieves the fulfilling of its intention.
(5) Cum ergo finis humani generis sit aliquod medium necessarium ad finem nature universalem, necesse est naturam ipsum intendere. Propter quod bene Phylosophus naturam semper agere propter finem in secundo De naturali auditu probat. (5) Since therefore the goal of the human race is itself a necessary means to achieving the universal goal of nature, it is necessary that nature wills it. For this reason Aristotle in the second book of the Physics rightly shows that nature always acts with an end in view.
(6) Et quia ad hunc finem natura pertingere non potest per unum hominem, cum multe sint operationes necessarie ad ipsum, que multitudinem requirunt in operantibus, necesse est naturam producere hominum multitudinem ad diversas operationes ordinatorum: ad quod multum conferunt, preter superiorem influentiam, locorum inferiorum virtutes et proprietates. (6) And since nature cannot achieve this end by means of one person alone, since there are many functions necessarily involved in it, and these functions require a vast number of people to carry them out, it is necessary for nature to produce a vast number of people fitted to different functions: as well as celestial influences, the qualities and characteristics of regions here below on earth make a large contribution to this.
(7) Propter quod videmus quod quidam non solum singulares homines, quinetiam populi, apti nati sunt ad principari, quidam alii ad subici atque ministrare, ut Phylosophus astruit in hiis que De politicis: et talibus, ut ipse dicit, non solum regi est expediens, sed etiam iustum, etiamsi ad hoc cogantur. (7) This is why we see that not just certain individuals, but certain peoples are born fitted to rule, and certain others to be ruled and to serve, as Aristotle affirms in the Politics; and, as he says, it is not only expedient but actually just that such people should be ruled, even if force has to be used to bring this about.
(8) Que si ita se habent, non dubium est quin natura locum et gentem disposuerit in mundo ad universaliter principandum: aliter sibi defecisset, quod est inpossibile. Quis autem fuerit locus et que gens, per dicta superius et per dicenda inferius satis est manifestum quod fuerit Roma, et cives eius sive populus. (8) If this is the way things are, there is no doubt that nature ordained a place and a nation to exercise universal rule in the world: otherwise she would have failed in her provisions, which is impossible. From what has been said above and what will be said below it is clear enough which place that was and which nation: it was Rome and her citizens, that is to say her people.
(9) Quod etiam Poeta noster valde subtiliter in sexto tetigit, introducens Anchisem premonentem Eneam Romanorum patrem sic:
Excudent alii spirantia mollius era, credo equidem; vivos ducent de marmore vultus, orabunt causas melius, celique meatus describent radio, et surgentia sidera dicent: tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento. Hee tibi erunt artes, pacique imponere morem, parcere subiectis et debellare superbos.
(9) Our poet too touched on this perceptively in his sixth book, when he introduces Anchises making this prophetic prediction to Aeneas, the father of the Romans: "That others shall beat out the breathing bronze More delicately, I can well believe, And draw forth living features from the marble, Plead causes better, trace movements of the heavens With pointers, tell the rising of the stars. Roman, remember to rule over nations. Your arts shall be: to impose the ways of peace, Spare subject peoples, and subdue the proud".
(10) Dispositionem vero loci subtiliter tangit in quarto, cum introducit Iovem ad Mercurium de Enea loquentem isto modo:
Non illum nobis genitrix pulcerrima talem promisit, Graiumque ideo bis vindicat armis; sed fore qui gravidam imperiis belloque frementem Ytaliam regeret.
(10) He touches on the location of the place perceptively in the fourth book, when he introduces Jove speaking of Aeneas to Mercury in this manner: "Not such a son did his fair mother promise, Nor for this saved him twice from Grecian arms; But that he might rule over Italy, Pregnant with empire, clamouring for war".
(11) Propterea satis persuasum est quod romanus populus a natura ordinatus fuit ad imperandum: ergo romanus populus subiciendo sibi orbem de iure ad Imperium venit. (11) These arguments are sufficient to convince us that the Roman people were ordained by nature to rule; therefore the Roman people by conquering the world came to empire by right.