Erasmus wrote this advice book in a time which was politically unstable owing to the frequent missions of various European powers to expand their territories. He wrote this work in order to teach how to build a head of the state who will be a ‘true Christian prince’. In this endeavour of his, he makes a comparative study between a prince and a tyrant so that a prince in the making is able to distinguish between the role he should adopt and that he should abhor.
Seneca is of the view that a prince and a tyrant are not distinguished in terms of their titles but in terms of their actions. Action after all makes a man who he is. Tyranny must be avoided. A prince must always act for the good of his state and not for his personal gains. A prince is equally adept in managing both personal and public matters while a tyrant tries to convert communal welfare to personal benefit. Erasmus says that a prince is like a father who constantly thinks of his children while a tyrant is like a cruel master who is more interested in meeting his selfish needs. A good prince can be likened to God who only makes us feel His presence through his benevolence and goodness but a tyrant makes his presence felt through the misfortune of his people. Erasmus refers to the tyrant as “the Prince of Darkness’ who is loved by none but hated by all, has only wicked men in his support and not the entire community.
A Prince must be such that individuals willingly respect and love him as their king instead of being coerced out of fear to regard him as their prince. A Christian prince ought to make himself loved by serving his people. One who becomes the prince suddenly has access to power. But he should not misuse this power to become an impulsive tyrant. Erasmus pragmatically advises that a good prince must be a philosopher, because a philosopher cannot become a tyrant.
Erasmus opines that a good tutor is very necessary for the upbringing of a true prince. This tutor should be able to portray model of a good prince as well as that of a monstrous tyrant so that his student despises the “loathsome beast” named tyrant. He should be made to realize that a tyrant is a menace whose removal will also be accompanied by destruction, he having the armed forces in his control. Tyrants like Caligula, Claudius, etc are hated by the entire human race. On the other hand a true prince is revered and looked up to by people. He has a godlike presence and is chiefly concerned in maintaining peace in his state. He can even risk his own life for this end. Also, his people always remain ready to lay down their lives in return for their prince. While good and virtuous men are rewarded by him, the wicked are not punished but forgiven if they promise to mend their ways.
A true prince is not whimsical like a tyrant. He governs through wisdom, integrity and goodwill where as a tyrant rules by deceit and by threatening people. A tyrant is always anxious about his safety and keeps guards around him. He also remains anxious about internal revolts since he keeps his people in oppression. He issues edicts and establishes laws for this purpose too. The prince on the other hand knows that he is loved and imparts freedom to his people. A tyrant is happy in waging wars and in arousing internal conflicts and party disputes in order to make his subjects weak by not allowing them to gain strength through unity. But the prince aims at promoting harmony, peace and co-operation realizing that war is the source of all misfortunes and that his strength lies in the strength of his people. The tyrant strives to concentrate the wealth of his subjects in the hands of a few, unlike the prince for whom the wealth of his subjects is his own. Besides, a prince’s greatest wealth lies not in property but in the honour and love that he receives from his countrymen. Those members of the state who should be valued for their advice, moral quality and judgement are not trusted by the tyrant as he fears that they may overthrow him from power. But the prince regards them as true advisers and does not give importance to flatterers because he knows that a true friend will be a good critic and a false friend will only be flatterer.
A tyrant does not realize the fact that through oppression he can own only bodies of his subjects, not their spirits, where as a prince and his people are bound by Christian charity. The honour that a tyrant acquires by inducing fear in his people is not honour or obedience but servitude or flattery. His authority ensues out of his arrogance where as a prince’s authority ensues out of his concern for the well being of his people. A true prince should have a sense of belonging for his people. If one cannot develop this feeling, Erasmus feels, one should not take responsibility of being a prince in the very first place. Being a true Christian prince is a tough job, but being a tyrant is tougher. It is difficult to maintain simulation and deception that a tyrant takes aid of. A tyrant cannot rule for long by keeping his people threatened but a prince’s realm will be long lasting. A tyrant can keep his contemporary people mum, but he cannot prevent posterity from abhorring him.
Erasmus goes on to draw analogies among animals, tyrants and princes. He says that a tyrant should be compared to predatory animals that live by plundering and killing. He even points out that a tyrant is far more savage that an animal because animals do not kill animals of their own kind but a tyrant does immense harm to his fellow men. But a prince should be compared to an animal like King Bee who remains at the center but constantly strives for the welfare of his fellow men. It does not have a sting like other bees since nature does not want a prince to be vengeful.
Erasmus further advises about the virtues that should be present in a Christian prince, also alluding in the process to pagan princes. For pagans, kingship is analogous to tyranny. But it is not the case for Christians. Pagan princes rule barbarously where as a Christian prince is expected to rule with benevolence, keeping in mind the fact that Christ himself is also addressed as the Prince.
Erasmus compares the role of a prince in a state to that of the heart in a human body; both give life to the whole that they are a part of. He also refers to Homer who calls the prince the shepherd of the people, a pastor and the tyrant a predator.
Julius Pollox while teaching his student Emperor Commodus, enlisted some adjectives appropriate for a prince like far sighted, perceptive, not at the mercy of his emotions, cautious, accessible, one who knows how to keep balance between being a commander and a prince, etc and some apt for a tyrant like rapacious, proud, bad tempered, unapproachable, a slave to his desires, stormy, stupid, immoral, ruled by emotions instead of reason, intolerant of criticism, unbearable, etc. A tyrant is dictated by his desire, ambition, anger, greed and foolishness, a prince by reason.
Erasmus in his work initially refers to monarchy as the best form of government but then adds that monarchy should be combined with aristocracy and democracy in order to prevent monarchy from breaking out into tyranny.
Samuel, Nero, Solomon, Aristotle (in Politics) also hold views some of which are similar to those of Erasmus.
It becomes evident that the greatest curse to humanity comes in the form of a tyrant, but a true prince is seen as boon from God who is loved by all. However, in saying that the energies used by a tyrant in furthering his ambition can be redirected in maintaining the welfare of people if one becomes sincerely dedicated to the cause of his fellow countrymen, giving up the course of tyranny, Erasmus gives resonances of optimism.
Thus, The Education of a Christian Prince proves to be an indispensable work for the upbringing of a true Christian Prince.
Koyel Ghosh
Roll No. 68
PG-II
Thank you for your write-up. I was looking for words to define a courtier and this paper does a good job of doing it.
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