On The Governance Of Rulers

The book that influenced much of the political thought of the later Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Early Modern period is presented in a translation by James Blythe (history, U. of Memphis). Ptolemy, who is considered a proto-Humanist by some, combined the principles of Northern Italian republicanism with Aristotelian theory. He was the first to attack kingship as despotism, and to draw parallels between ancient Greek models of mixed constitution and the Roman Republic, biblical rule, the Church, and medieval government. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR