Contrasting Views on Governance in History

Question:

Passage 1 is adapted from Procopius’s The Secret History, written in AD 550.

Passage 2 is adapted from Thomas Aquinas’s On Kingship, first published in AD 1267. Passage 1 So then, the Romans being at peace with the whole world, and he by reason of his lust for blood not knowing what to do with himself, Justinian kept bringing all the barbarians into collision with one another. And these then began straightway to enslave the Roman Empire, and they nevertheless were receiving pay in the meantime from the Emperor; and after these, others promptly took over the business of plundering the hapless Romans, and after the pillage they would receive, as rewards for the attack, the Emperor’s generous gifts. And while he was stirring up the evils of faction and of war for the Romans and fanning the flames, with the one thought in mind that the earth should by many a device be filled with human blood and that he should plunder more money, he contrived another massacre of his subjects on a large scale, in the following manner.

There are in the whole Roman Empire many rejected doctrines of the Christians, which they are accustomed to call “heresies”—those of the Montani, the Sabbatiani, and all the others which are wont to cause the judgment of man to go astray. All these heretics he commanded to change their earlier beliefs, threatening many things in case of their disobedience, and in particular that it would be impossible for them in the future to hand down their property to their children or other relatives. And many persons, and that too of the orthodox faith, excusing themselves by the occupations in which they were engaged, always depended upon the property of these sects for the means of their livelihood. So the Emperor Justinian began by confiscating the properties of these sanctuaries, thus stripping them suddenly of all their wealth. From this it came about that thereafter most of them were cut off from their livelihood.

Passage 2 Having set forth these preliminary points we must now inquire what is better for a province or a city: whether to be ruled by one man or by many.

This question may be considered first from the viewpoint of the purpose of government. The aim of any ruler should be directed towards securing the welfare of that which he undertakes to rule. Now the welfare and safety of a multitude formed into a society lies in the preservation of its unity, which is called peace. If this is removed, the benefit of social life is lost and, moreover, the multitude in its disagreement becomes a burden to itself. The chief concern of the ruler of a multitude, therefore, is to procure the unity of peace . . . Thus, the more efficacious a government is in keeping the unity of peace, the more useful it will be. For we call that more useful which leads more directly to the end. Now it is manifest that what is itself one can more efficaciously bring about unity than several. Therefore the rule of one man is more useful than the rule of many.

Again, whatever is in accord with nature is best, for in all things nature does what is best. Now, every natural governance is governance by one. In the multitude of bodily members there is one which is the principal mover, namely, the heart; and among the powers of the soul one power presides as chief, namely, the reason. Among bees there is one king bee and in the whole universe there is One God, Maker and Ruler of all things. Every multitude is derived from unity. Wherefore, if artificial things are an imitation of natural things and a work of art is better according as it attains a closer likeness to what is in nature, it follows that it is best for a human multitude to be ruled by one person.

These passages have been excerpted and adapted from their originals, including minor punctuation changes, spelling changes, and other modifications that have not substantially changed content or intent. The author of Passage 1 would likely blame Justinian for everything EXCEPT Not Answered A) destabilizing the Roman Empire. B) allowing Christian heresies to proliferate. C) encouraging conflict between barbaric tribes and Romans. D) financially ruining his own subjects. Which lines in Passage 1 best support the answer to the previous question? Not Answered A) Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (“So then . . . another”) B) Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 (“And these . . . gifts”) C) Paragraph 2, Sentence 2 (“All these . . . relatives”) D) Paragraph 2, Sentence 5 (“From this . . . livelihood”) The tone of Passage 1 can be best described as Not Answered A) vitriolic. B) critical. C) disappointed. D) sardonic. In Passage 2, which of the following does Aquinas NOT cite as an example of the rule of one over many in nature? Not Answered A) The king bee over other bees B) Reason over the soul C) God over the universe D) Christ over the church In Passage 2, Paragraph 2, Sentence 5, the word “procure” most closely means Not Answered A) impose. B) extract. C) grasp. D) secure. In Passage 2, Aquinas argues that rule of one over many is best for every reason EXCEPT Not Answered A) a society ruled by one man is most likely to be peaceful. B) a government where one person rules is most useful. C) what imitates nature is best. D) one is better able to create unity than several. Over the course of Passage 2, Aquinas moves from Not Answered A) arguing that preserving peace is the purpose of government to explaining how the rule of one best accomplishes that purpose. B) defining the purpose of government to arguing why it is best for one person to rule. C) discussing one possible form of government to speculating on the benefits of that form. D) explaining the importance of unity within a society to arguing that unity is only possible in a society governed by one ruler. Which of the following best summarizes the difference in focus between Passage 1 and Passage 2? Not Answered A) Passage 1 recounts the evils of a particular emperor’s rule, while Passage 2 argues that rule of a single ruler is the best method of governance. B) Passage 1 argues that the rule of one over many leads to tyranny, while Passage 2 argues that the rule of one over many leads to stability and peace. C) Passage 1 is concerned with deposing an evil emperor, while Passage 2 is concerned with defending an emperor’s right to rule. D) Passage 1 argues that the main concern of a ruler is to suppress heresy, while Passage 2 argues that the main concern of a ruler is to preserve peace. The following analogy refers to Passage 1:

Justinian : barbarians :: Not Answered A) Montoni : Roman Empire B) heretical sects : Orthodox Christians C) Orthodox Christians : heretical sects D) Sabbatiani : Justinian The following analogy refers to Passage 2:

ruler : secure welfare :: Not Answered A) God : create universe B) ruler : imitate nature C) government : keep unity of peace D) government : imitate nature

Contrasting Views on Governance in History

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