A Theologico Political Treatise [Part IV]
B >>
Benedict de Spinoza >> A Theologico Political Treatise [Part IV]
Pages:
1 |
2 | 3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7
(17:67) In order that the question may be thoroughly understood, I will duly
set forth the administration of the whole state.
(68) First, the people were commanded to build a tabernacle, which should
be, as it were, the dwelling of God - that is, of the sovereign authority of
the state. (69) This tabernacle was to be erected at the cost of the whole
people, not of one man, in order that the place where God was consulted
might be public property. (70) The Levites were chosen as courtiers and
administrators of this royal abode; while Aaron, the brother of Moses, was
chosen to be their chief and second, as it were, to God their King, being
succeeded in the office by his legitimate sons.
(17:71) He, as the nearest to God, was the sovereign interpreter of the
Divine laws; he communicated the answers of the Divine oracle to the people,
and entreated God's favour for them. (72) If, in addition to these
privileges, he had possessed the right of ruling, he would have been neither
more nor less than an absolute monarch; but, in respect to government, he
was only a private citizen: the whole tribe of Levi was so completely
divested of governing rights that it did not even take its share with the
others in the partition of territory. (73) Moses provided for its support by
inspiring the common people with great reverence for it, as the only tribe
dedicated to God.
(17:74) Further, the army, formed from the remaining twelve tribes, was
commanded to invade the land of Canaan, to divide it into twelve portions,
and to distribute it among the tribes by lot. (75) For this task twelve
captains were chosen, one from every tribe, and were, together with
Joshua and Eleazar, the high priest, empowered to divide the land into
twelve equal parts, and distribute it by lot. (76) Joshua was chosen for the
chief command of the army, inasmuch as none but he had the right to consult
God in emergencies, not like Moses, alone in his tent, or in the
tabernacle, but through the high priest, to whom only the answers of God
were revealed. (77) Furthermore, he was empowered to execute, and cause the
people to obey God's commands, transmitted through the high priests; to
find, and to make use of, means for carrying them out; to choose as many,
army captains as he liked; to make whatever choice he thought best; to
send ambassadors in his own name; and, in short, to have the entire control
of the war. (78) To his office there was no rightful successor - indeed, the
post was only filled by the direct order of the Deity, on occasions of
public emergency. (79) In ordinary times, all the management of peace and
war was vested in the captains of the tribes, as I will shortly point out.
(80) Lastly, all men between the ages of twenty and sixty were ordered to
bear arms, and form a citizen army, owing allegiance, not to its general-in-
chief, nor to the high priest, but to Religion and to God. (81) The army, or
the hosts, were called the army of God, or the hosts of God. (82) For this
reason God was called by the Hebrews the God of Armies; and the ark of the
covenant was borne in the midst of the army in important battles, when the
safety or destruction of the whole people hung upon the issue, so that the
people might, as it were, see their King among them, and put forth all their
strength.
(17:83) From these directions, left by Moses to his successors, we plainly
see that he chose administrators, rather than despots, to come after him;
for he invested no one with the power of consulting God, where he liked and
alone, consequently, no one had the power possessed by himself of ordaining
and abrogating laws, of deciding on war or peace, of choosing men to fill
offices both religious and secular: all these are the prerogatives of a
sovereign. (84) The high priest, indeed, had the right of interpreting laws,
and communicating the answers of God, but he could not do so when he liked,
as Moses could, but only when he was asked by the general-in-chief of the
army, the council, or some similar authority. (85) The general-in-chief and
the council could consult God when they liked, but could only receive His
answers through the high priest; so that the utterances of God, as reported
by the high priest, were not decrees, as they were when reported by Moses,
but only answers; they were accepted by Joshua and the council, and only
then had the force of commands and decrees {Like the separation of powers in
the United States of America.}
(17:86) The high priest, both in the case of Aaron and of his son Eleazar,
was chosen by Moses; nor had anyone, after Moses' death, a right to elect to
the office, which became hereditary . (87) The general-in-chief of the army
was also chosen by Moses, and assumed his functions in virtue of the
commands, not of the high priest, but of Moses: indeed, after the death of
Joshua, the high priest did not appoint anyone in his place, and the
captains did not consult God afresh about a general-in-chief, but each
retained Joshua's power in respect to the contingent of his own tribe,
and all retained it collectively, in respect to the whole army. (88) There
seems to have been no need of a general-in-chief, except when they were
obliged to unite their forces against a common enemy. (89) This occurred
most frequently during the time of Joshua, when they had no fixed dwelling.
place, and possessed all things in common. [17:7] (90) After all the tribes
had gained their territories by right of conquest, and had divided their
allotted gains, they, became separated, having no longer their possessions
in common, so that the need for a single commander ceased, for the
different tribes should be considered rather in the light of confederated
states than of bodies of fellow-citizens. (91) In respect to their God and
their religion, they, were fellow-citizens; but, in respect to the rights
which one possessed with regard to another, they were only confederated:
they, were, in fact, in much the same position (if one excepts the Temple
common to all) as the United States of the Netherlands {or United States of
America}. (92) The division of property, held in common is only another
phrase for the possession of his share by each of the owners singly, and the
surrender by the others of their rights over such share. (93) This is why
Moses elected captains of the tribes - namely, that when the dominion was
divided, each might take care of his own part; consulting God through the
high priest on the affairs of his tribe, ruling over his army, building and
fortifying cities, appointing judges, attacking the enemies of his own
dominion, and having complete control over all civil and military affairs.
(94) He was not bound to acknowledge any superior judge save God
[Endnote 32], or a prophet whom God should expressly send. (95) If he
departed from the worship of God, the rest of the tribes did not arraign him
as a subject, but attacked him as an enemy. (95) Of this we have examples in
Scripture. (96) When Joshua was dead, the children of Israel (not a fresh
general-in-chief) consulted God; it being decided that the tribe of Judah
should be the first to attack its enemies, the tribe in question contracted
a single alliance with the tribe of Simeon, for uniting their forces, and
attacking their common enemy, the rest of the tribes not being included in
the alliance (Judges i:1, 2, 3). (97) Each tribe separately made war against
its own enemies, and, according to its pleasure, received them as subjects
or allies, though it had been commanded not to spare them on any conditions,
but to destroy them utterly. (98) Such disobedience met with reproof from
the rest of the tribes, but did not cause the offending tribe to be
arraigned: it was not considered a sufficient reason for proclaiming a civil
war, or interfering in one another's affairs. (99) But when the tribe of
Benjamin offended against the others, and so loosened the bonds of peace
that none of the confederated tribes could find refuge within its borders,
they attacked it as an enemy, and gaining the victory over it after three
battles, put to death both guilty and innocent, according to the laws of
war: an act which they subsequently bewailed with tardy repentance.
(17:100) These examples plainly confirm what we have said concerning the
rights of each tribe. (101) Perhaps we shall be asked who elected the
successors to the captains of each tribe; on this point I can gather no
positive information in Scripture, but I conjecture that as the tribes were
divided into families, each headed by its senior member, the senior of all
these heads of families succeeded by right to the office of captain, for
Moses chose from among these seniors his seventy coadjutors, who formed with
himself the supreme council. (102) Those who administered the government
after the death of Joshua were called elders, and elder is a very common
Hebrew expression in the sense of judge, as I suppose everyone knows;
however, it is not very important for us to make up our minds on this point.
(103) It is enough to have shown that after the death of Moses no one man
wielded all the power of a sovereign; as affairs were not all managed by one
man, nor by a single council, nor by the popular vote, but partly by one
tribe, partly by the rest in equal shares, it is most evident that the
government, after the death of Moses, was neither monarchic, nor
aristocratic, nor popular, but, as we have said, Theocratic.
(104) The reasons for applying this name are:
(17:105) I. Because the royal seat of government was the Temple, and in
respect to it alone, as we have shown, all the tribes were fellow-citizens,
(106) II. Because all the people owed allegiance to God, their supreme
Judge, to whom only they had promised implicit obedience in all things.
(17:107) III. Because the general-in-chief or dictator, when there was need
of such, was elected by none save God alone. (108) This was expressly
commanded by Moses in the name of God (Deut. xix:15), and witnessed by the
actual choice of Gideon, of Samson, and of Samuel; wherefrom we may conclude
that the other faithful leaders were chosen in the same manner, though it is
not expressly told us.
(17:109) These preliminaries being stated, it is now time to inquire the
effects of forming a dominion on this plan, and to see whether it so
effectually kept within bounds both rulers and ruled, that the former were
never tyrannical and the latter never rebellious.
(17:110) Those who administer or possess governing power, always try to
surround their high-handed actions with a cloak of legality, and to persuade
the people that they act from good motives; this they are easily able to
effect when they are the sole interpreters of the law; for it is evident
that they are thus able to assume a far greater freedom to carry out their
wishes and desires than if the interpretation if the law is vested in
someone else, or if the laws were so self-evident that no one could be in
doubt as to their meaning. [17:8] (111) We thus see that the power of evil-
doing was greatly curtailed for the Hebrew captains by the fact that the
whole interpretation of the law was vested in the Levites (Deut. xxi:5),
who, on their part, had no share in the government, and depended for all
their support and consideration on a correct interpretation of the laws
entrusted to them. (112) Moreover, the whole people was commanded to come
together at a certain place every seven years and be instructed in the law
by the high-priest; further, each individual was bidden to read the book of
the law through and through continually with scrupulous care. (Deut. xxxi:9,
10, and vi:7.) (113) The captains were thus for their own sakes bound to
take great care to administer everything according to the laws laid down,
and well known to all, if they, wished to be held in high honour by, the
people, who would regard them as the administrators of God's dominion, and
as God's vicegerents; otherwise they could not have escaped all the
virulence of theological hatred. (114) There was another very important
check on the unbridled license of the captains, in the fact, that the army
was formed from the whole body, of the citizens, between the ages of twenty
and sixty, without exception, and that the captains were not able to hire
any foreign soldiery. (115) This I say was very, important, for it is well
known that princes can oppress their peoples with the single aid of
the soldiery in their pay; while there is nothing more formidable to them
than the freedom of citizen soldiers, who have established the freedom and
glory of their country, by their valour, their toil, and their blood. (116)
Thus Alexander, when he was about to make wax on Darius, a second time,
after hearing the advice of Parmenio, did not chide him who gave the advice,
but Polysperchon, who was standing by. (117) For, as Curtius says
(iv. Para. 13), he did not venture to reproach Parmenio again after having
shortly, before reproved him too sharply. (118) This freedom of the
Macedonians, which he so dreaded, he was not able to subdue till after the
number of captives enlisted in the army, surpassed that of his own people:
then, but not till then, he gave rein to his anger so long checked by, the
independence of his chief fellow-countrymen.
(17:119) If this independence of citizen soldiers can restrain the princes
of ordinary states who are wont to usurp the whole glory of victories, it
must have been still more effectual against the Hebrew captains, whose
soldiers were fighting, not for the glory of a prince, but for the glory of
God, and who did not go forth to battle till the Divine assent had been
given.
(17:120) We must also remember that the Hebrew captains were associated only
by the bonds of religion: therefore, if any one of them had transgressed,
and begun to violate the Divine right, he might have been treated by the
rest as an enemy and lawfully subdued.
(17:121) An additional check may be found in the fear of a new prophet
arising, for if a man of unblemished life could show by certain signs that
he was really a prophet, he ipso facto obtained the sovereign right to rule,
which was given to him, as to Moses formerly, in the name of God, as
revealed to himself alone; not merely through the high priest, as in the
case of the captains. (122) There is no doubt that such an one would easily
be able to enlist an oppressed people in his cause, and by trifling signs
persuade them of anything he wished: on the other hand, if affairs were well
ordered, the captain would be able to make provision in time; that the
prophet should be submitted to his approval, and be examined whether he were
really of unblemished life, and possessed indisputable signs of his mission:
also, whether the teaching he proposed to set forth in the name of the Lord
agreed with received doctrines, and the general laws of the country; if his
credentials were insufficient, or his doctrines new, he could lawfully be
put to death, or else received on the captain's sole responsibility and
authority.
(17:123) Again, the captains were not superior to the others in nobility or
birth, but only administered the government in virtue of their age and
personal qualities. (124) Lastly, neither captains nor army had any reason
for preferring war to peace. (125) The army, as we have stated, consisted
entirely of citizens, so that affairs were managed by the same persons both
in peace and war. (126) The man who was a soldier in the camp was a citizen
in the market-place, he who was a leader in the camp was a judge in the law
courts, he who was a general in the camp was a ruler in the state. (127)
Thus no one could desire war for its own sake, but only for the sake of
preserving peace and liberty; possibly the captains avoided change as far as
possible, so as not to be obliged to consult the high priest and submit to
the indignity of standing in his presence.
(17:128) So much for the precautions for keeping the captains within bounds.
[17:9] (129) We must now look for the restraints upon the people: these,
however, are very clearly indicated in the very groundwork of the social
fabric.
(17:130) Anyone who gives the subject the slightest attention, will see that
the state was so ordered as to inspire the most ardent patriotism in the
hearts of the citizens, so that the latter would be very hard to persuade to
betray their country, and be ready to endure anything rather than
submit to a foreign yoke. (131) After they had transferred their right
to God, they thought that their kingdom belonged to God, and that they
themselves were God's children. (132) Other nations they looked upon as
God's enemies, and regarded with intense hatred (which they took
to be piety, see Psalm cxxxix:21, 22): nothing would have been more
abhorrent to them than swearing allegiance to a foreigner, and promising him
obedience: nor could they conceive any greater or more execrable crime than
the betrayal of their country, the kingdom of the God whom they adored.
(17:133) It was considered wicked for anyone to settle outside of the
country, inasmuch as the worship of God by which they were bound could not
be carried on elsewhere: their own land alone was considered holy, the rest
of the earth unclean and profane.
(17:134) David, who was forced to live in exile, complained before Saul as
follows: "But if they be the children of men who have stirred thee up
against me, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this
day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other
gods." (I Sam. xxvi:19.) (135) For the same reason no citizen, as we should
especially remark, was ever sent into exile: he who sinned was liable to
punishment, but not to disgrace.
(17:136) Thus the love of the Hebrews for their country was not only
patriotism, but also piety, and was cherished and nurtured bv daily rites
till, like their hatred of other nations, it must have passed into their
nature. (137) Their daily worship was not only different from that of other
nations (as it might well be, considering that they were a peculiar people
and entirely apart from the rest), it was absolutely contrary. (138) Such
daily reprobation naturally gave rise to a lasting hatred, deeply implanted
in the heart: for of all hatreds none is more deep and tenacious than
that which springs from extreme devoutness or piety, and is itself cherished
as pious. (139) Nor was a general cause lacking for inflaming such hatred
more and more, inasmuch as it was reciprocated; the surrounding nations
regarding the Jews with a hatred just as intense.
(17:140) How great was the effect of all these causes, namely, freedom from
man's dominion; devotion to their country; absolute rights over all
other men; a hatred not only permitted but pious; a contempt for their
fellow-men; the singularity of their customs and religious rites; the
effect, I repeat, of all these causes in strengthening the hearts of the
Jews to bear all things for their country, with extraordinary constancy and
valour, will at once be discerned by reason and attested by experience.
(141) Never, so long as the city was standing, could they endure to remain
under foreign dominion; and therefore they called Jerusalem "a rebellious
city" (Ezra iv:12). (142) Their state after its reestablishment (which was a
mere shadow of the first, for the high priests had usurped the rights of the
tribal captains) was, with great difficulty, destroyed by the Romans, as
Tacitus bears witness (Hist. ii:4):- "Vespasian had closed the war against
the Jews, abandoning the siege of Jerusalem as an enterprise difficult
and arduous rather from the character of the people and the obstinacy of
their superstition, than from the strength left to the besieged for meeting
their necessities." (143) But besides these characteristics, which are
merely ascribed by an individual opinion, there was one feature
peculiar to this state and of great importance in retaining the affections
of the citizens, and checking all thoughts of desertion, or abandonment of
the country: namely, self-interest, the strength and life of all human
action. (144) This was peculiarly engaged in the Hebrew state, for
nowhere else did citizens possess their goods so securely, as did the
subjects of this community, for the latter possessed as large a share in the
land and the fields as did their chiefs, and were owners of their plots of
ground in perpetuity; for if any man was compelled by poverty to sell his
farm or his pasture, he received it back again intact at the year of
jubilee: there were other similar enactments against the possibility of
alienating real property.
(17:145) Again, poverty w as nowhere more endurable than in a country where
duty towards one's neighbour, that is, one's fellow-citizen, was practised
with the utmost piety, as a means of gaining the favour of God the King.
(146) Thus the Hebrew citizens would nowhere be so well off as in their own
country; outside its limits they met with nothing but loss and disgrace.
(17:147) The following considerations were of weight, not only in keeping
them at home, but also in preventing civil war and removing causes of
strife; no one was bound to serve his equal, but only to serve God, while
charity and love towards fellow-citizens was accounted the highest piety;
this last feeling was not a little fostered by the general hatred with which
they regarded foreign nations and were regarded by them. (148) Furthermore,
the strict discipline of obedience in which they were brought up, was a very
important factor; for they were bound to carry on all their actions
according to the set rules of the law: a man might not plough when he liked,
but only at certain times, in certain years, and with one sort of beast at a
time; so, too, he might only sow and reap in a certain method and season -
in fact, his whole life was one long school of obedience (see Chap. V. on
the use of ceremonies); such a habit was thus engendered, that conformity
seemed freedom instead of servitude, and men desired what was commanded
rather than what was forbidden. (149) This result was not a little aided by
the fact that the people were bound, at certain seasons of the year, to give
themselves up to rest and rejoicing, not for their own pleasure, but in
order that they might worship God cheerfully.
(17:150) Three times in the year they feasted before the Lord; on the
seventh day of every week they were bidden to abstain from all work and to
rest; besides these, there were other occasions when innocent rejoicing and
feasting were not only allowed but enjoined. (151) I do not think any better
means of influencing men's minds could be devised; for there is no more
powerful attraction than joy springing from devotion, a mixture of
admiration and love. (152) It was not easy to be wearied by constant
repetition, for the rites on the various festivals were varied and recurred
seldom. (153) We may add the deep reverence for the Temple which all most
religiously fostered, on account of the peculiar rites and duties that they
were obliged to perform before approaching thither. (154) Even now, Jews
cannot read without horror of the crime of Manasseh, who dared to place au
idol in the Temple. (155) The laws, scrupulously preserved in the inmost
sanctuary, were objects of equal reverence to the people. (156) Popular
reports and misconceptions were, therefore, very little to be feared
in this quarter, for no one dared decide on sacred matters, but all
felt bound to obey, without consulting their reason, all the commands given
by the answers of God received in the Temple, and all the laws which God
had ordained.
(17:157) I think I have now explained clearly, though briefly,, the main
features of the Hebrew commonwealth. (158) I must now inquire into the
causes which led the people so often to fall away from the law, which
brought about their frequent subjection, and, finally, the complete
destruction of their dominion. (159) Perhaps I shall be told that it sprang
from their hardness of heart; but this is childish, for why should this
people be more hard of heart than others; was it by nature?
[17:A] (160) But nature forms individuals, not peoples; the latter are
only distinguishable by the difference of their language, their customs, and
their laws; while from the two last - i.e., customs and laws, - it may arise
that they have a peculiar disposition, a peculiar manner of life, and
peculiar prejudices. (161) If, then, the Hebrews were harder of heart than
other nations, the fault lay with their laws or customs.
(17:162) This is certainly true, in the sense that, if God had wished their
dominion to be more lasting, He would have given them other rites and laws,
and would have instituted a different form of government. (163) We can,
therefore, only say that their God was angry with them, not only, as
Jeremiah says, from the building of the city, but even from the founding of
their laws.
(17:164) This is borne witness to by Ezekiel xx:25: "Wherefore I gave them
also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not
live; and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass
through the fire all that openeth the womb; that I might make them desolate,
to the end that they might know that I am the Lord."
Pages:
1 |
2 | 3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7