Now this authority, which pertains absolutely to the Church herself, and is part of her manifest rights, and which has long been opposed by a philosophy subservient to princes, she has never ceased to claim for herself and to exercise publicly; the Apostles themselves being the first of all to maintain it, when, being forbidden by the leaders of the synagogue to preach the Gospel, they boldly answered, "We must obey God rather than men." [367] This same authority the holy fathers of the Church have been careful to maintain by weighty reasonings as occasions have arisen; and the Roman pontiffs have never ceased to defend it with inflexible constancy.
Quin etiam et opinione et re eamdem probârunt ipsi viri principes rerumque publicarum gubernatores, ut qui paciscendo transigendis negotiis, mittendis vicissimque accipiendis legatis, atque aliorum mutatione officiorum, agere cum Ecclesia tamquam cum suprema potestate legitima consueverunt.--Neque profecto sine singulari providentis Dei consilio
Nay, more, princes and civil governors themselves have approved it in theory and in fact; for in the making of compacts, in the transaction of business, in sending and receiving embassies, and in the interchange of other offices, it has been their custom to act with the Church as with a supreme and legitimate power. And we may be sure that it is not without the singular
factum esse censendum est, ut hæc ipsa potestas principatu civili, velut optima libertatis suæ tutela muniretur. providence of God that this power of the Church was defended by the civil power as the best defence of its own liberty.
Itaque Deus humani generis procurationem inter duas potestates partitus est; scilicet ecclesiasticam et civilem, alteram quidem divinis, alteram humanis rebus præpositam. Utraque est in suo genere maxima: habet utraque certos, quibus contineatur, terminos, eosque sua cujusque natura caussaque proxima definitos; unde aliquis velut orbis circumscribitur, in quo sua cujusque actio jure proprio versetur. Sed quia utriusque imperium est in eosdem, eum usu venire possit, ut res una atque eadem, quamquam aliter atque aliter, sed tamen eadem res ad utriusque jus judiciumque pertineat, debet providentissimus Deus, a quo sunt ambæ constituæ, utriusque itinera recto atque ordine composuisse. Quæ autem sunt, a Deo ordinatæ sunt. [368]
God, then, has divided the charge of the human race between two powers, viz., the ecclesiastical and the civil, the one being set over divine, and the other over human things. Each is supreme in its own kind: each has certain limits within which it is restricted, and those limits defined by the nature and proximate cause of each: so that there is, as we may say, a world marked off as a field for the proper action of each. But forasmuch as each has dominion over the same subjects, since it might come to pass that one and the same thing, though in different ways, still one and the same, might pertain to the right and the tribunal of both, therefore God, who foreseeth all things, and who has established both powers, must needs have arranged the course of each in right relation to one another, and in due order, "For the powers that are are ordained by God." [369]
Quod ni ita esset, funestarum sæpe contentionum concertationumque caussæ nascerentur; nec raro sollicitus animi, velut in via ancipiti, hærere homo deberet, anxius
If this were not so, causes of rivalries and dangerous disputes would be constantly arising; and man would often have to stop in anxiety and doubt, like a traveller with
quid facto opus esset, contraria jubentibus binis potestatibus quarum recusare imperium, salvo officio, non potest. Atqui maxime istud repugnat de sapientia cogitare et bonitate Dei, qui vel in rebus physicis, quamquam sunt longe inferioris ordinis, tamen naturales vires caussasque invicem conciliavit moderata ratione et quodam velut concentu mirabili, ita ut nulla earum impediat cæteras, cunctæque simul illæ, quo mundus spectat, convenientur aptissimeque conspirent. two roads before him, not knowing what he ought to do, with two powers commanding contrary things, whose authority, however, he cannot refuse without neglect of duty. But it would be most repugnant so to think of the wisdom and goodness of God, who, even in physical things, though they are of a far lower order, has yet so attempered and combined together the forces and causes of nature in an orderly manner and with a sort of wonderful harmony, that none of them is a hindrance to the rest, and all of them most fitly and aptly combine for the great end of the universe.
Itaque inter utramque potestatem quædam intercedat necesse est ordinata colligatio: quæ quidem conjunctioni non immerito comparatur, per quam anima et corpus in homine copulantur. Qualis autem et quanta ea sit, aliter judicari non potest, nisi respiciendo, uti diximus, ad utriusque naturam, habendaque ratione excellentiæ et nobilitatis caussarum; cum alteri proxime maximeque propositum sit rerum mortalium curare commoda, alteri cælestia ac sempiterna bona comparare.--Quidquid igitur est in rebus humanis quoquo modo sacrum, quidquid ad salutem animorum cultumve Dei pertinet, sive tale illud sit natura
So then there must needs be a certain orderly connection between these two powers, which may not unfairly be compared to the union with which soul and body are united in man. What the nature of that union is, and what its extent, cannot otherwise be determined than, as we have said, by having regard to the nature of each power, and by taking account of the relative excellence and nobility of their ends; for one of them has for its proximate and chief aim the care of the goods of this world, the other the attainment of the goods of heaven that are eternal. Whatsoever, therefore, in human affairs is in any manner sacred; whatsoever
sua, sive rursus tale intelligatur propter caussam ad quam refertur, id est omne in potestate arbitrioque Ecclesiæ: cætera vero, quæ civile et politicum genus complectitur, rectum est civili auctoritati esse subjecta, cum Jesus Christus jusserit, quæ Cæsaris sint, reddi Cæsari, quæ Dei, Deo. [370] pertains to the salvation of souls or the worship of God, whether it be so in its own nature, or on the other hand is held to be so for the sake of the end to which it is referred, all this is in the power and subject to the free disposition of the Church; but all other things which are embraced in the civil and political order are rightly subject to the civil authority, since Jesus Christ has commanded that what is Cæsar's is to be paid to Cæsar, and what is God's to God. [371]
Incidunt autem quandoque tempora, cum alius quoque concordiæ modus ad tranquillam libertatem valet, nimirum si qui principes rerum publicarum et Pontifex Romanus de re aliqua separata in idem placitum concenserint. Quibus Ecclesia temporibus maternæ pietatis eximia documenta præbet, cum facilitatis indulgentiæque tantum adhibere soleat, quantum maxima potest.
Sometimes, however, circumstances arise when another method of concord is available for peace and liberty; we mean when princes and the Roman Pontiff come to an understanding concerning any particular matter. In such circumstances the Church gives singular proof of her maternal goodwill, and is accustomed to exhibit the highest possible degree of generosity and indulgence.
Ejusmodi est, quam summatim attigimus, civilis hominum societatis christiana temperatio, et hæc non temere neque ad libidinem ficta, sed ex maximis ducta verissimisque principiis, quæ ipsa naturali ratione confirmantur.
Such then, as we have indicated in brief, is the Christian order of civil society; no rash or merely fanciful fiction, but deduced from principles of the highest truth and moment, which are confirmed by the natural reason itself.
Talis autem conformatio reipublicæ nihil habet, quod possit aut
Now such a constitution of the State contains nothing that can be
minus videri dignum amplitudine principum, aut parum decorum: tantumque abest, ut jura majestatis imminuat, ut potius stabiliora atque augustiora faciat. Immo, si altius consideretur, habet illa conformatio perfectionem quamdam magnam, qua carent cæteri rerum publicarum modi: ex eâque fructus essent sane excellentes et varii consecuturi, si modo suum partes singulæ gradum tenerent, atque illud integre efficerent cui unaquæque præposita est, officium et munus.--Revera in ea, quam ante diximus, constitutione reipublicæ, sunt quidem divina atque humana convenienti ordine partita: incolumia civium jura, eademque divinarum, naturalium humanarumque legum patrocinio defensa: officiorum singulorum cum sapienter constituta descriptio, tum opportune sancita custodia. Singuli homines in hoc ad sempiternam illam civitatem dubio laboriosoque curriculo sibi sciunt præsto esse, quos tuto sequantur ad ingrediendum duces, ad perveniendum adjutores: pariterque intelligunt, sibi alios esse ad securitatem, ad fortunas, ad commoda cætera, quibus communis hæc vita constat, vel parienda vel conservanda datos. thought either unworthy of the majesty of princes or unbecoming; and so far is it from lessening the imperial rights that it rather adds stability and grandeur to them. For, if it be more deeply considered, such a constitution has a great perfection which all others lack, and from it various excellent fruits would accrue if each party would only keep its own place and discharge with integrity that office and work to which it was appointed. For in truth in this constitution of the State, which we have above described, divine and human affairs are properly divided; the rights of citizens are completely defended by divine, natural, and human law; and the limitations of the several offices are at once wisely laid down, and the keeping of them most opportunely secured. All men know that in their doubtful and laborious journey to the everlasting city they have at hand guides to teach them how to set forth, helpers whom they may safely follow to show them how to reach their journey's end; and at the same time they know that they have others whose business it is to take care of their security and their fortunes, to obtain for them, or to secure to them, all those other goods which are essential to the life of a community.
Societas domestica eam, quam par est, firmitudinem adipiscitur ex unius atque individui sanctitate conjugii: jura officiaque inter conjuges sapienti justitia et æquitate reguntur: debitum conservatur mulieri decus: auctoritas viri ad exemplum est auctoritatis Dei conformata: temperata patria potestas convenienter dignitati uxoris prolisque: denique liberorum tuitioni, oommodis, institutioni optime consulitur.
Domestic society obtains that firmness and solidity which it requires in the sanctity of marriage, one and indissoluble; the rights and duties of husband and wife are ordered with wise justice and equity; the due honor is secured to the woman; the authority of the man is conformed to the example of the authority of God; the authority of the father is tempered as becomes the dignity of the wife and offspring, and the best possible provision is made for the guardianship, the true good, and the education of the children.
In genere rerum politico et civili, leges spectant commune bonum, neque voluntati judicioque fallaci multitudinis, sed veritate justitiaque diriguntur: auctoritas principum sanctitudinem quamdam induit humana majorem, contineturque ne declinet a justitia, neu modum in imperando transiliat: obedientia civium habet honestatem dignitatemque comitem, quia non est hominis ad hominem servitus, sed obtemperatio voluntati Dei, regnum per homines exercentis. Quo cognito as persuaso, omnino ad justitiam, pertinere illa intelliguntur, vereri majestatem principum, subesse constanter et fideliter protestati publicæ, nihil seditiose facere,
In the domain of political and civil affairs the laws aim at the common good, and are not guided by the deceptive wishes and judgments of the multitude, but by truth and justice. The authority of the rulers puts on a certain garb of sanctity greater than what pertains to man, and it is restrained from declining from justice, and passing over just limits in the exercise of power. The obedience of citizens is accompanied by honour and dignity because it is not the servitude of men to men, but obedience to the will of God exercising his sovereignty by means of men. And this being recognized and admitted, it is understood that it is a matter of justice to respect
sanctam servare disciplinam civitatis. the majesty of rulers, to obey public authority constantly and faithfully, to do nothing seditiously, and to keep the civil order of the State intact.