‘Politics drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture’
BOSSUET AND ABSOLUTISM
STATS: JACQUES BENIGNE BOSSUET
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French
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1627-1704
Family involved in Judiciary
 Highly educated
 Clergy member
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Held office of bishop
Ordained priest
Influential theologian with political ties
 Chosen as preceptor to Dauphin, son of King Louis
XIV,1670, dedicated book to him
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POLITICAL ABSOLUTISM
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Principles
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1 state = 1 executive
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1 kingdom = 1 ruler
All legitimate power
belongs to one person
Subject only to God’s law
Bodin
No right to rebel, ruler not
limited by human law
JUSTIFICATION
Absolutism requires back up from some source
of authority
 Bossuet
 Divine
Right Rule
 Placed
 Bodin
and selected by God
and previous theologians/scholars
 popular
mode of thought,17th century France
WHY ABSOLUTISM?

State reeling from Religious and 3
Henrys Wars

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Why did it happen? Prevention?
No strong central government =
anarchy
“Government is established in order to free all men
from every oppression and violence, as has often been
stated. And it is this that creates the state of perfect
liberty, there being in essence nothing less free than
anarchy, which destroys all legitimate rights among
men, and knows no law but that of force.”-Bossuet,
The Divine Right of Kings
BOSSUET’S TAKE
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Scripture as a way to illustrate legitimacy of Divine Right Absolutism
“The service of God and the respect for kings are bound together. St. Peter unites these two duties when he says, ‘Fear God.
Honour the king.’”
"Rulers then act as the ministers of God and as his lieutenants on earth. It is through them that God
exercises his empire....the royal throne is not the throne of a man, but the throne of God himself.“
Political Treatise [Bossuet], Readings in European History 2, 273-274
 Rulers-chosen
by God, doing God’s work
 “God is the true king.”-
Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture,p 39

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“Monarchy is the most common, the most ancient, and the most natural
form of government.”- Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture,p46
Best form of government is heredity monarchy

Self-perpetuating, more motivated to preserve/do a good job, easy way to determine rulers
GOVERNMENT FORMATION
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Men are brutal and let their passions rule them, destroying society
“To form nations and unite people it is
necessary to have a government”-
Politics Drawn from the Very Words of
Holy Scripture, p 14
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“The prince or sovereign magistrate…should establish general rules of conduct…” p 19
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“The just observance of divine and human things among citizens…” p 19
“The law is reputed to be of Divine origin.” p 22
Codified set of laws with a strong central ruler to bring peace and order
Prince subject to the law in that he is the example for the people, but law not brought against him
KING’S ROLE AND POWER

He controls, and does everything, he is Executive, Legislature and Judiciary

“The royal power is absolute…The prince need render account of his acts to no one. ‘I counsel
thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.’”

“…God is all. The prince, as prince, is not regarded as a private person: he is a public
personage, all the state is in him; the will of all the people is included in his. As all perfection
and all strength are united in God, so all the power of individuals is united in the person of the
prince.”

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Louis XIV –”I am the state”
The will of the King is always that of the people (even if they don’t think so)
Political Treatise, p 275
ABSOLUTE BUT NOT TYRANNICAL

“Kings should tremble then as they use the power God has granted them; and let them think
how horrible is the sacrilege if they use for evil a power which comes from God.”-Politics Drawn
from the Very Words of Holy Scripture, p 62

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Kings have a duty to use power well and for good
Absolute to prevent anarchy and ensure order
“Therefore let them respect their power, since it is not theirs but the power of God, and must be
used holily and religiously. . . . That is, they should govern as God governs, in a manner at once
noble, disinterested, benevolent, in a word, divine....”
Bossuet, Divine Right of Kings

Kings are above the affairs of their subjects, separate
RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE STATE
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“He made some great only for the protection of the small; He gave His power to kings only to ensure
the public welfare and to be the support of the people.... Thus princes should understand that their
true glory is not for themselves,…”
-The Divine Right of Kings


The king operates the state with only regard to ‘public welfare’, laws, taxes, swag and
castles are only created for the benefit of the kingdom…rewards will be received later
“Look at the prince in his cabinet. Thence go out the orders which cause the magistrates and the
captains, the citizens and the soldiers, the provinces and the armies on land and on sea, to work in
concert. He is the image of God, who, seated on his throne high in the heavens, makes all nature
move. . . .”
- Political Treatise, p 276

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He is in charge of keeping order, and making sure everyone knows their place and
fulfills their duties
He creates and then directs administration/bureaucracy
NO RIGHT TO REBEL
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“Princes are gods and participate somehow in divine independence.... There is only God who
may judge over their judgments and their persons.... The prince may correct himself when he
knows that he has done evil, but against his authority there is no remedy other than his own
authority....”-Divine Right of Kings
No other source can refute a king, other than himself
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No ‘invalid’ laws
No unjust actions
No interference
No social contract
Placed there by God, and what he says goes, nobody else can stop him, resist him, etc.
“One must obey the prince by reason of religion and conscience” Politics Drawn from the Very
Words of Holy Scripture, p 39
REFERENCES
Web:

Sommerville, J.P. "Absolutism and the Divine Right of Kings." Absolutism and the Divine Right of Kings. Web. 3 Nov.
2015.

Delamarre, Louis, and Ferdinand Brunetière. "Jacques-Benigne Bossuet." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 3. Nov. 2015 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02698b.htm

"Jacques-Benigne Bossuet | French Bishop." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Ed. Jaques Truchet. Encyclopedia
Britannica. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacques-Benigne-Bossuet

"Extracts from Bossuet's Work on Kingship." Extracts from Bossuet's Work on Kingship. Ed. J.H. Robinson. Readings in
European History 2 Vols. Boston: Ginn, 1906, 12 Nov. 1995. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
https://history.hanover.edu/texts/bossuet.html

"Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet." 'Bossuet, Divine Right of Kings'; The Greatness of Louis XIV: Myth or Reality?. Ed.
William F. Church. Boston 5-7, 1959. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
Print:

Bossuet, Jacques Be. Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture. Trans. Patrick Riley. New York: Cambridge
UP, 1990. Print.
NOTES:
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For any questions/clarifications, please contact me at perrillo@bc.edu
This is a link to a PDF version of Bossuet’s text, Politics Drawn from…
 http://www.strobertbellarmine.net/books/Bossuet--Politics.pdf
 This is very useful, easy to read, and navigate, plus it gives the best
perspectives on his views and arguments