Virtue Politics : Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy

A bold, revisionist account of the political thought of the Italian Renaissance--from Petrarch to Machiavelli--that reveals the all-important role of character in shaping society, both in citizens and in their leaders. Convulsed by a civilizational crisis, the great thinkers of the Renaissance set out to reconceive the nature of society. Everywhere they saw problems. Corrupt and reckless tyrants sowing discord and ruling through fear; elites who prized wealth and status over the common good; military leaders waging endless wars. Their solution was at once simple and radical. "Men, not walls, make a city," as Thucydides so memorably said. They would rebuild their city, and their civilization, by transforming the moral character of its citizens. Soulcraft, they believed, was a precondition of successful statecraft. A dazzlingly ambitious reappraisal of Renaissance political thought by one of our generation's foremost intellectual historians, Virtue Politics challenges the traditional narrative that looks to the Renaissance as the seedbed of modern republicanism and sees Machiavelli as its exemplary thinker. James Hankins reveals that what most concerned the humanists was not reforming laws or institutions so much as shaping citizens. If character mattered more than constitutions, it would have to be nurtured through a new program of education they called the studia humanitatis the humanities. We owe liberal arts education and much else besides to the bold experiment of these passionate and principled thinkers. The questions they asked--Should a good man serve a corrupt regime? What virtues are necessary in a leader? What is the source of political legitimacy? Is wealth concentration detrimental to social cohesion? Should citizens be expected to fight for their country?--would have a profound impact on later debates about good government and seem as vital today as they did then. Convulsed By A Civilizational Crisis, The Great Thinkers Of The Renaissance Set Out To Reconceive The Nature Of Society. Everywhere They Saw Problems. Corrupt And Reckless Tyrants Sowing Discord And Ruling Through Fear; Elites Who Prized Wealth And Status Over The Common Good; Military Leaders Waging Endless Wars. Their Solution Was At Once Simple And Radical. Men, Not Walls, Make A City, As Thucydides So Memorably Said. They Would Rebuild Their City, And Their Civilization, By Transforming The Moral Character Of Its Citizens. Soulcraft, They Believed, Was A Precondition Of Successful Statecraft. A Dazzlingly Ambitious Reappraisal Of Renaissance Political Thought By One Of Our Generation's Foremost Intellectual Historians, Virtue Politics Challenges The Traditional Narrative That Looks To The Renaissance As The Seedbed Of Modern Republicanism And Sees Machiavelli As Its Exemplary Thinker. James Hankins Reveals That What Most Concerned The Humanists Was Not Reforming Laws Or Institutions So Much As Shaping Citizens. If Character Mattered More Than Constitutions, It Would Have To Be Nurtured Through A New Program Of Education They Called The Studia Humanitatis: The Humanities. We Owe Liberal Arts Education And Much Else Besides To The Bold Experiment Of These Passionate And Principled Thinkers. The Questions They Asked-should A Good Man Serve A Corrupt Regime? What Virtues Are Necessary In A Leader? What Is The Source Of Political Legitimacy? Is Wealth Concentration Detrimental To Social Cohesion? Should Citizens Be Expected To Fight For Their Country?-would Have A Profound Impact On Later Debates About Good Government And Seem As Vital Today As They Did Then-- A Civilization In Crisis: A New Paideuma And The Birth Of The Humanities -- The Causes Of The Crisis -- The Reform Of Christian Culture -- The Humanist Movement Takes Shape -- Virtue Politics: Obedience And Legitimacy -- Virtue Politics -- Classical Sources Of Virtue Politics -- How Not To Reform A Republic -- Eloquence And The Virtuous Environment -- A New Way Of Thinking About Politics -- What Was A Republic In The Renaissance?: The Renaissance Concept Of The State -- What Is The Meaning Of Respublica In The Italian Renaissance? -- Respublica Romana -- Respublica In Medieval Scholasticism -- Leonardo Bruni And Respublica In The Fifteenth Century -- Respublica: An Idealization Of Ancient Government -- Is Civic Humanism Found Only In Non-monarchical Republics? -- Taming The Tyrant: Tyranny In Greek Philosophy -- Cicero's Understanding Of Caesar's Tyranny As Violation Of Ius -- Bartolus Of Sassoferrato And Baldo Degli Ubaldi -- Petrarch On Living With Tyrants-- Was Caesar A Tyrant? Petrarch, Salutati, Guarino, Poggio -- Poggio On Tyranny And The Problem Of Counsel -- Pier Candido Decembrio On The Virtues Of A Tyrant -- The Recovery Of Ancient Greek Sources On Tyranny -- The Triumph Of Virtue -- Petrarch's Political Thought: Petrarch's Politics Of Virtue -- Cola Di Rienzo: Populism And Its Limits -- Petrarch's New Realism -- Should A Good Man Participate In A Corrupt Government?: Petrarch On The Solitary Life -- The De Vita Solitaria: An Ideal Of Private Life For Literary Men -- The Defense Of Private Life -- Seneca Versus Augustine: Political Obligation And Political Autonomy -- Boccaccio On The Perils Of Wealth And Status: Boccaccio's Political Experience -- The Need To Reform The Materia Prima Of Politics: Human Nature -- Virtue, Education, And Tyranny -- Boccaccio And The Humanist Debate About Private Wealth And Economic Injustice -- Boccaccio And Virtue Politics-- Leonardo Bruni And The Virtuous Hegemon: Why Florence Deserves To Be The Heir Of Rome: The Panegyric Of The City Of Florence -- Political Liberty As A Source Of Virtue -- The Etruscan Model: Leadership In A Federal Republic -- Dante And Bruni On The Legitimation Of Empire -- War And Military Service In The Virtuous Republic: Late Medieval Civic Knighthood And The Context Of Leonardo Bruni's De Militia -- Excursus: The Humanists And Partisan Politics -- Bruni's De Militia: A New Interpretation -- Excursus On The Virtuous Environment: Donatello And The Representation Of Classical Military Virtue -- Do Humanist Teachings On Warfare Anticipate Machiavelli? -- Virtue In Military Life -- Roberto Valturio On The Education Of Soldiers -- A Mirror For Statesmen: Leonardo Bruni's History Of The Florentine People -- History As Political Theory -- Virtue In The Service Of The Republic's Glory -- The Primacy Of The Popolo And The Suppression Of Factions-- Moderation In Politics As The Key To Social Concord -- Biondo Flavio: What Made The Romans Great: The Roma Triumphans And The Revival Of Roman Civilization -- What Was The Respublica Romana For Biondo? -- Biondo's Virtue Politics, Republicanism, And The Greatness Of Rome -- A Cosmopolitan Papalist -- Cyriac Of Ancona On Democracy And Empire: A Short History Of The Term Democratia -- Cyriac Of Ancona's Attempted Rehabilitation Of The Term Democratia -- Cyriac The Caesarian -- Leon Battista Alberti On Corrupt Princes And Virtuous Oligarchs: Why Virtue Is Incompatible With Court Life -- Who Should Constitute The Political Elite? -- The De Iciarchia And The Regime Of Virtuous House-princes -- George Of Trebizond On Cosmopolitanism And Liberty: George's Attack On Nativism And Defense Of Cosmopolitanism -- A Renaissance Libertarian? -- Francesco Filelfo And The Spartan Republic: Filelfo And The Recovery Of The Spartan Tradition -- Filelfo And Humanist Adaptations Of The Myth Of Sparta-- Greek Constitutional Theory In The Quattrocento: The Second Wave Of Greek Constitutional Theory -- Legitimation And The Republican Regime -- Francesco Patrizi On Republican Constitutions -- Delegitimation: Bruni And The Chivalric Ideal -- Substitution: Platonizing Venice's Constitution -- Mario Salamonio Compares Florence To Athens -- Francesco Patrizi And Humanist Absolutism: The Recovery Of Ancient Greek Monarchical Theory -- Patrizi And His Project In The De Regno -- Virtuous Royal Legitimacy And Humanist Absolutism -- The Argument For Monarchy -- Can Monarchical Power Be Virtuous? -- How The King May Become Virtuous -- Machiavelli: Reviving The Military Republic: The Calamità D'italia -- Machiavelli And Humanist Literary Culture -- Machiavelli's Political Education And The Art Of War -- Why Princes And Republics Should Follow The Ancient Way Of Warfare -- Machiavelli: From Virtue To Virtù: Machiavelli's Prince And Renaissance Concepts Of Tyranny-- The Machiavellian Revolution In Political Thought -- Machiavelli's Virtù -- Two Cures For Hyperpartisanship: Bruni Versus Machiavelli: Two Competing Narratives Of Florentine History -- The Ordinances Of Justice -- Walter Of Brienne And The Instability Of Tyranny -- The Restoration Of Popular Institutions In 1343 -- Two Cures For Hyperpartisanship -- Conclusion: Ex Oriente Lux. James Hankins. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Winner of the Helen and Howard Marraro Prize A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year "Perhaps the greatest study ever written of Renaissance political thought." —Jeffrey Collins, Times Literary Supplement "Magisterial...Hankins shows that the humanists' obsession with character explains their surprising indifference to particular forms of government. If rulers lacked authentic virtue, they believed, it did not matter what institutions framed their power." — Wall Street Journal "Puts the politics back into humanism in an extraordinarily deep and far-reaching way...For generations to come, all who write about the political thought of Italian humanism will have to refer to it; its influence will be...nothing less than transformative." —Noel Malcolm, American Affairs "[A] masterpiece...It is only Hankins's tireless exploration of forgotten documents...and extraordinary endeavors of editing, translation, and exposition that allow us to reconstruct—almost for the first time in 550 years—[the humanists'] three compelling arguments for why a strong moral character and habits of truth are vital for governing well. Yet they are as relevant to contemporary democracy in Britain, and in the United States, as to Machiavelli." —Rory Stewart, Times Literary Supplement "The lessons for today are clear and profound." —Robert D. Kaplan Convulsed by a civilizational crisis, the great thinkers of the Renaissance set out to reconceive the nature of society. Everywhere they saw problems. Corrupt and reckless tyrants sowing discord and ruling through fear; elites who prized wealth and status over the common good; religious leaders preoccupied with self-advancement while feuding armies waged endless wars. Their solution was at once simple and radical. "Men, not walls, make a city," as Thucydides so memorably said. They would rebuild the fabric of society by transforming the moral character of its citizens. Soulcraft, they believed, was a precondition of successful statecraft. A landmark reappraisal of Renaissance political thought, Virtue Politics challenges the traditional narrative that looks to the Renaissance as the seedbed of modern republicanism and sees Machiavelli as its exemplary thinker. James Hankins reveals that what most concerned the humanists was not reforming institutions so much as shaping citizens. If character mattered more than laws, it would have to be nurtured through a new program of education they called the studia humanitatis : the precursor to our embattled humanities. "Convulsed by a civilizational crisis, the great thinkers of the Renaissance set out to reconceive the nature of society. Everywhere they saw problems. Corrupt and reckless tyrants sowing discord and ruling through fear; elites who prized wealth and status over the common good; military leaders waging endless wars. Their solution was at once simple and radical. "Men, not walls, make a city," as Thucydides so memorably said. They would rebuild their city, and their civilization, by transforming the moral character of its citizens. Soulcraft, they believed, was a precondition of successful statecraft. A dazzlingly ambitious reappraisal of Renaissance political thought by one of our generation's foremost intellectual historians, Virtue Politics challenges the traditional narrative that looks to the Renaissance as the seedbed of modern republicanism and sees Machiavelli as its exemplary thinker. James Hankins reveals that what most concerned the humanists was not reforming laws or institutions so much as shaping citizens. If character mattered more than constitutions, it would have to be nurtured through a new program of education they called the studia humanitatis: the humanities. We owe liberal arts education and much else besides to the bold experiment of these passionate and principled thinkers. The questions they asked-Should a good man serve a corrupt regime? What virtues are necessary in a leader? What is the source of political legitimacy? Is wealth concentration detrimental to social cohesion? Should citizens be expected to fight for their country?-would have a profound impact on later debates about good government and seem as vital today as they did then"-- Información editorial James Hankins challenges the view that the Renaissance was the seedbed of modern republicanism, with Machiavelli as exemplary thinker. What most concerned Renaissance political theorists, Hankins contends, was not reforming laws but shaping citizens. To secure the social good, they fostered virtue through a new program of education: the humanities.