In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Book 3 Chapter I In thisfirst chapterI consider andprovethat alldominionisfrom Godbyconsidering thenature of being. [I] "The heart of a king is in the hand of God, and it will go wherever he has willed;' as is written in Proverbs.' Cyrus, king of the Persians, that great monarch of the east, announced this in a public edict after his victory over Babylon, which he razed to its foundation, and after the slaying of its king, Belshazzar, as the histories tell us: "Cyrus the Persian says these things: The Lord God of heaven has given all the kingdoms of the world to me,"? It is apparent that all lordship comes from God, as from that First One who exercises lordship. We can show this in the three ways touched on by Aristotle, that is, with regard to being, to motion, and to ends. [2] With regard to being, since all being must be reduced to the First Being, which is the origin of all being, as all heat is reduced to the heat of fire, as Aristotle makes clear," For this reason, all being derives from the First Being, as does lordship, since it is founded on being. To the extent that it is founded on a more noble being, it comes before the others to exercise lordship over persons who are equal by nature, so that there is no cause for pride, but rather I. Proverbs 2I.I. 2. r Esdras (Ezra) 1.2; 2 Paralipomenon (2 Chronicles) 36.23. Belshazzar is mentioned only in a confused account in Daniel y.r-go, where Darius the Mede, not Cyrus the Persian, is given as conqueror of Babylon. In actuality the last king of Babylon was Nabodinus (r.556-539 B.C.E.). Belshazzar was his son and heir and apparently commander of part of the Babylonian armies. Cyrus the Great (r.550-529 B.C.E.), king of the Medes and Persians, conquered the Median, Lydian, and the Babylon Empires, establishing the vast Persian Achaemenian Empire. The Bible celebrates him for ending the "Babylonian Captivity" and allowing the Jewish elite to return to Judah. 3. Aristotle, Metaphysics,2.2.994a-994b.30. Aristotle discusses the First Cause here, but does not specifically mention being as such or heat. Book 3, Chapter I 147 a cause for humanely exercising governance over the people, as Seneca says in his letter to Lucilius.' On this account it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Did they make you rector? Don't exalt yourself, but be among them as if you were one of them." 5 Thus, all being derives from that being which is the First Cause, and all lordship that a creature exercises derives from God as from that one who first exercises lordship and as from the First Being., [3] Further, every multitude proceeds from one and is measured by one, as Aristotle makes clear," Therefore, the multitude of those who exercise lordship takes its origin in the same way, from the one who exercises governance, which is God. We see the same thing in regal courts, in which there are many who exercise governance in various offices, yet all derive from one, namely the king. On that account Aristotle says that God or the Prime Cause stands in the same relationship to the whole universe as a leader, from whom the whole multitude of a camp derives, stands in relationship to the whole army? In Exodus, Moses himself calls God the leader of the people: "In your mercy;' he says, "You have been a leader to your people that you have redeemed." 8 All lordship, therefore, takes its origin from God. [4] There is another argument with regard to being. A virtue is proportionate to the being of which it is a virtue and is made equal to it, because virtue flows from the essence of a thing, as Aristotle makes clear," Therefore, the virtue of any being whatever stands in the same relationship to that uncreated virtue 4ยท Seneca, Letters toLucilius.This is a series of many letters that deal with philosophy, but also journeys, visits, and personal material. Letter 47 says that slaves are equal by nature and that you should treat inferiors as you would wish your superiors to treat you, in particular, you should treat slaves with courtesy and compassion. Letter 90 says the first mortals were uncorrupted in their obedience to nature and reports thar Posidonus said that the wise ruled then and that to govern was to serve...

Share