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No ONE who has writtenabout Republics,says Bodin, has consideredthe fundamentalproblemof how the formof a Republic shouldbe adapted to the natural
aptitudesof its people. Failure to appreciatethis principle,and the attemptto
framelaws by absolutestandardshas onlybroughtgreatstatesto ruin.He therethe theory
foreproceedsto the enquiryhimself.'A modernreader,investigating
of 'climate,'or environmentas it applies to politics,whichhe proceedsto expound,mustbe struckby thefactthat someofhis mostimportantstatementsforinstance- appear to be made quite
the distributionof the temperaments,
forno explanationsare given.This in itselfsuggeststhat his theory
arbitrarily,
was not 'prolessinematre,'but that he was drawingupon somecommonstockof
The suggestionbecomes cerscientificnotionsfamiliarto his contemporaries.
taintywhenhe cuts shorthis illustrationof a particularpoint withthe remark
that he need not go into particularswhichare mattersof commonknowledge,
and easily accessiblein the sourcesfromwhichhe himselfhad got them.2
But what werethosesources?He does not say. He does, of course,frequently
citeauthorityforhis facts.This authorityis oftwo sorts,eitherthewritersofthe
ancientworldsuch as Aristotle,Ptolemy,Galen, Caesar, Tacitus, Livy, or contemporaryhistoriansand travellers.He uses Comminesand Guicciardinion the
Italians, Sigismundd'Heberstein'shistoryofthe Muscovites,FrancescoAlvarez
on Ethiopia, and Las Casas on the AmericanIndians. He also repeatsconversationswiththePolishambassadorfromLithuania,3HenryII's Frenchambassador
to the English Court,4and reportsof the Frenchambassadorswho negotiateda
settlementof the Italian questionwiththe EmperorCharlesV.5
But, althoughit is clear that he drewhis factsfromthese sources,only suggestionsare to be foand in them of the theoriesabout environmentthat he
thoughtthe factsillustrated.It has in consequencebeen verygenerallyassumed
that his theorieswere original,and possiblyhis most importantcontributionto
politicalthought,thoughsubjectto the qualificationthathe mixedincongruously
penetratingobservationson the consequencesof such naturalinfluencesas temperatureon the physicaland moralconstitutionof men withmuchsuperstitious
1 Six Livresde la RMpublique,
v, i (Paris, 1608), p. 665. Thereare threeversionsof thischapter.The
firstdraftappeared in the Methodusad facilemhistorianum
cognitionem,
v, publishedin 1566; in it
all the generalprinciplesare stated,but not particularlyrelatedto contemporary
politics.This relationwas made in the Six Livresdela Rhpublique,
v, i, of 1576.In 1586Bodin publishedhis ownLatin
version,De RepublicaLibri Sex, whichis a freetranslationof the French,but witha fewsignificant
are to the Frenchversionunless otherwiseindicated.
additions.All references
2 Meth.,[Geneva, 1610],p. 189.
8 Rep., p. 668.
4 Rep., p. 669. In the Latin version(Frankfort,
1609), p. 777, he refersto a visit whichhe himself
had made to England, wherehe noted the weather.
Rep., p. 676.
84
65
66
18 Pp. 554-556.
19The structure
oftheheavenisis thesubjectofthewholeofBook V.
67
throughspace Bodin does not say, thoughhe arguesthat a cause can be remote
froim
its effects,and instancesthe controlof the moon over the tides.20But the
matterhad been very fullydiscussed in the thirteenthcentury,and scientific
theirrevolutionsthe heavenlybodies
doctrineon the subjectfixed.In performing
communicatetheir several 'virtues' by emittingrays equally in all directions.
is at the centerofthe total radiation
Each pointon the earth'ssurface,therefore,
of that part of the heavenscontainedwithinits horizon,and the intensityof the
influenceofeach particularstar dependsupon the angle of incidenceat whichits
Thus all individuals,'les creaturesqui sont cy aval
raysfallupon the recipient.2'
soit herbes,ou arbres,ou vermines,ou bestes, poissons,oyseaux, hommeset
are the productof, and perpetuallysubject to an influenceat once
femmes,'22
as the temperinginfluenceof the starsupon
complexand perpetuallymodifying,
one anotherchangeswiththe changein theirrelativepositions.In this way the
almost infinitevariety of individualsin the world of matterand the endless
mutabilityof thingsterrestrialwere explainied.
It willbe seen that in thissystemof ideas the principlesof astrologyhad to be
of the universe.Moreover,they seemed to
assumed to explain the functioning
be confirmed
by suchobservationsas the relationbetweenthe cycleoflifeand the
circuitof the sun, and betweenthe movementsof the tides and the phases of
the moon.Astrologywas fundamentalto all the naturalsciences.All occurrences
fromthefloraofa districtto the historyofits inhabitantsmustbe determinedby
the virtueof the presidingstars,and explainedby referenceto theirinfluence.
The astrologicalsystemof the worldwas thereforeuniversallyaccepted in the
later Middle Ages,23and expounded in literatureat all levels of scholarship,
thinkerssuch as AlbertusMagnus,24or popular
whethertheworkof constructive
encyclopaediasin the vulgar tongue such as the Image du Monde of Maitre
Goussouin.25
pp.
152-153.
68
Meth.,p. 95.
28 Vincentof Beauvais,
69
83Meth.,p. 89.
34
ViI, iv, p.
381.
lxiv-
70
overa particularlocality.38
In any case, Bodin was not so muchinterestedin this
divisionof the earth into quartersas in the divisioninto zones, because he attacheda muchgreaterimportanceto latitudethan to longitudeas a determinant
what was
of the natureof place. In consideringplanetaryradiation,therefore,
usefulto him was the traditionthat the planets were independently
associated
withthe divisionsof latitude.The almostuniversalrule was to followPtolemy
in assigningthe sevenplanetsto the sevenclimatesin order,as does,forinstance,
or d'Ailly,40
or Bonatti.41However,this
the authorof the Cuer de Philosophie,39
methodofdistribution
did notsuitBodin,forthatpartoftheinhabitedearththat
ofthesevenclimates.
interestedhimdid notfallexclusivelywithintheframework
Instead he adopted the muchrarerpracticeof assigningthe planetsto the zones.
One writerat any rate in the thirteenthcenturyhad done so. Guido Bonatti
ascribedone ofthe threeouterplanets,and one ofthe threeinnerto each zoneSaturnand Luna to the frigid,Jupiterand Mercuryto the temperate,and Mars
Bodin followsthe principlebut changesthe order.He
and Venus to the torrid.42
transposesMars and Saturn,thusplacingthe frigidzone underMars and Luna,
This is extremelyarbitraryof him,for
and the torridunderVenus and Saturn.43
it involvesthe linkingof a hot witha cold planet in each case, and sacrificesthe
principleof similaritybetween a climate and its planets. The only reason he
givesforthisdistribution
is not its logic,but its conformity
withobservedeffects
(d'Aillyhad alreadyobservedthat thismustbe the finaltest44),and he thought
he observedthe warlikeinfluenceof Mars in the north,and the contemplative
virtueof Saturnin the south.45
For Bodin, therefore,
differences
of latitude subject the human organismto
morecomplexinfluences
than merelythe effectsof heat. The occultinfluencesof
the planetsproperto each zone emphasizedivergencies,
and environment
in one
zone is highlydifferentiated
fromthat in another.
Bodin's second constituentof place, longitude,everyonewas agreed was far
less important.East is east and west is west,forthe sun is in the ascendantand
morepotentover the one, and in declensionand therefore
therefore
feeblerover
the other.46
But the distinctionis less marked,occultior.
Neitherthe dividingline,
northe principleof differentiation
had everbeen defined.47
Bodin agreesthat it is
38
39 Cvii. vO.
71
Albertus,ii, ii.
50 iv, Cxii. What followsis
49
792
exaggeratethe differences
in latitude betweenFrance and Spain, by exposing
Frenchmento northerlyinfluencesonly, and Spaniards to southerly;and the
Appennineshave the same effectin emphasizingthe distinctionbetweenTuscan
and Lombard.58Rough prevailingwinds make the people of Britain,Portugal,
Thrace, and Persia turbulent,whereasthe Italians and the inhabitantsof Asia
Minor,livingin approximatelythe same latitudesare humaneby reason of the
softairs that blow over them; and it is the wind that makes Gascons more inFlorence,built
tractablethan Belgians,despitetheirmoresoutherlysituation.57
in mountainouscountry,is an energeticand turbulentcity,and its citizens,like
thoseofthe Swiss Cantons,impatientof government;Venice,beinga cityof the
plain, is stable because is inhabitantsare more pacificand amenable to good
of a
counsel.58
He ascribesthe prosperityof Genoa or Ghentto the opportunities
maritimesituation,but the prosperityof Nuremberghe thinksis due to the
infertility
of the soil,whichhad compelledits inhabitantsto exertthemselvesin
For the same reason Attica was the
other ways to assure their subsistence.59
motherof all the arts.A0
Environmentreacts on men throughtheirbodies in the firstinstance; for
temperatureand humidity,whichare the fundamentalpropertiesof place, are
also the fundamentalpropertiesofthe fourelementsof whichbody is composed.
Hence the fourradical complexionsin men are characterizedby the physical
element;the phlegmatic,like water,is cold and
propertiesof the predominating
moist; the sanguine,like air, hot and moist; the choleric,like fire,hot and dry;
the melancholic,like earth, cold and dry. A causal connectionwas therefore
traced betweenplace and radical complexion.But, as d'Ailly pointed out, this
is theresultofa processnot ofassimilation,but ofreaction;cold climatesproduce
Externalheat,
men ofhot temperaments,
and hot climates,cold temperaments.6'
it was believed,drawsout the moistureof the body,and withthat the 'spiritus'
or breathoflifethat courseswiththe blood throughthe veins; internalheat and
moistureis therebylost, the temperatureof the body reduced and vitality
lowered.External cold and drought,on the otherhand, conserveinternalheat
and moistureby closingthe poresof the skinand so checkingevaporation.Extremecold or drought,however,have the opposite effect;by preventingany
too much
ofthebodyby conserving
evaporationat all theylowerthetemperature
moisture,and so diminishits vitality.62
Rep., p. 692.
to the Gascons and the Belgians appears only in the Latin version,
Rep., p. 696. The reference
p. 808.
56
57
58
Rep.,p. 664.
59Rep., p. 697.
60 Meth.,p. 130.
61 De Concordantia
Discordantium
Astronomorum.
See also Aquinas, In LibrisPoliticorum,
vii, lect.
V. (This section of the Commentaryon the Politics is probably not Aquinas' own work-see
M. Grabmann,'WelchenTeil der aristotelischen
Politik hat der hl. Thomas von Aquin selbst commentiert,'PhilosophischesJalhrbuch
der Gorres-Gesellscehaft,
xxviii, 3 (Fulda, 1915). I have used
Aquinas' name forthe sake of brevity.)
62 These doctrinesare fullyexpoundedby Bartholomaeus,iv, i-xi. They are in part stated,or implied,in any discussionofcomplexion,e.g.,Albertus,ii, ii, or VincentofBeauvais, op. cit.,IV, cix-Cxi.
73
65 YmagoMundi, xii.
74
677.
Bacon, p. 138.
68 'Organicaspartesquoque preparantydoneepassionesut cito moveanturad dilectabilemconsecutionem'(d'Ailly,De Concordantia
Discordantium
Astronomorum).
69 De Universo,
i, xlvi.
70 Op.cit.,III, xXXiV.
71 Aquinas, In LibrisPoliticorum,
vii, lect. v.
72 The doctrineof the processesof sensationcame fromthe De differentia
spirituset animae attributedto Constabulinlus,
(or Costa ben Luca). It was includedin the collectedworksof Constantine Africanuspublishedin Basel in 1536.
67
75
temptuousof wounds- he does not fearloss of blood because he can well spare
dull. Southerners
it. But as a necessarydefectof thesevirtueshe is intellectually
are timid,and vengefuland cruelin conon the otherhand, beingthin-blooded,
sequence. But their 'spirit'being unimpededin its operation,they are characterizedby subtilitasor fineimpressionsand speculativeacuteness.They excel,
in the sciences,especiallythe occult,in religionand the liberalarts. In
therefore,
extremecases the vividness of their imaginationsleads the melancholicinto
delusionsand madness.In practicalaffairstheycompasstheirends by guileand
not by force;theircrueltyis the crueltyofartistsnot ofbrutes.73
WhenBodin particularizesabout 'la diversitedes hommes,'he selectsprecisely
fordiscussion.He too comparesmen in respectof size,
the same characteristics
the typeof energyin whichtheyexcel,theircoloring,the qualityof theirvoices,
the nature of theircruelty,and theircharacteristicformsof madness; and he
findsall the old generalizationssubstantiallytrue.74From the ambassadorfrom
Lithuania he learnedthat the Muscovites of the far northwere veryfair,like
Ptolemy'salbinos;75and on the testimonyofLas Casas he noticedthat Magellan
had found the Patagonians of the southernhemispherevery large and very
simple;76 and the West Indians, especiallythe Brazilians, like other southern
races, he ascertainedwere extremelycruel.7 Moreoverhe foundin mediaeval
medicinethe answeras to whyall thesethingsshouldbe so; it is always 'radical
thatpredisposes
complexion"'It is the black bile ofthemelancholictemperament
men are reSuch
and
sciences.
the
occult
to
religion
southerners contemplation,
to
it
is
mostfully
is
illumination
and
whereas
divine
all,
given
and
docile,
poseful
mostbrightlyin stillwaters.78
in the quietmind,just as lightis mirrored
effective
The yellowbile of the cholerictemperamentmakes men energetic,practicalin
theiractivities,apt to undertakegreatenterprises.Such is the dispositionof the
French. The Germans,on the otherhand, thoughactive, are unstable; it is a
consequenceof the sanguinecomplexion,ofthehot blood thatmakesmenrobust
and gay, but unreliableand at the mercyof impulsebecause too thickwittedto
plan and keep to a courseof action.He remarksin parenthesesthat tyrantshave
always drawntheirbodyguardsfromnorthernraces,not onlyfortheirstrengtb
Whensuchpeople
and courage,but also because oftheirinaptitudeforintrigue.79
frenzyof the melanbecome deranged,theirmadnessis not the self-tormenting
choly,but a merefollyof dancingand singing.The phlegmaticsof the farnorth,
73 Albertus,ii, iii, Aquinas, In Libris Politicorum,
VII, v. and De RegiminePrincipum,ii, i; Vincent of Beauvais, op. cit.,iv, cX and cxi; Bartholomaeus,xv, 1; Cuer de Philosophie,pp. Cxi, V?-CXii,
Thereis moredetail in some than in others,
Discordantium
Astronomorum.
r?;d'AillyDe Concordantia
forthereis a commonliteraryparentage,chieflyPtolemy,Haly and Avicenna.
but no disagreements,
D'Ailly's discussionis the fullest.
74 Rep., p. 678, and Meth.,p. 90.
75Rep., p. 688.
76 Rep., p. 671.
77 Rep.,p. 680.
78
79 Rep., p.
76
84
Rep.,pp. 690-691.
Albertus,ii, i.
Albertus,II, iii.
87Rep., p. 670.
85
88
77
Rep., p. 698.
89 VI, vii.
90 In LibrisPoliticorum,
the passagein thisway in his De ConVII, v. Pierred'Aillyalso interprets
cordantiaDiscordantiumAstronomorum.
91Rep., p. 672, and Meth.,p. 91.
92 Rep., p. 676.
9 Rep., p. 690, and Meth.,p. 108.
94 Rep.,p. 679.
95Meth.,p. 91.
78
rightfunctioning
of the practicalintellect,whichresultsfromthat union of intelligenceand skillthat a moderateclimate,and the beneficent
planetsofJupiter
and Mercuryinduce. Such people excel in businessand politics.Hence all the
greatsystemsoflaw - Greek,Roman,and French- have been evolvedin these
regions.Here also have arisenall the greatempiresthe worldhas ever knownAssyrian,Median, Persian, Parthian, Greek, Roman, and Celtic. The great
historians,orators,and poets have come fromthese regions.Here men are
governednot by forcebut reason; they reach theirconclusionsby discussion,
and preferthe methodofnegotiationto war.96
The childrenof Saturn,the visionariesof the south,are preoccupiedwiththe
problemsofabstracttruthratherthan good conduct,and all the greatsystemsof
religionhave arisenfirstin theseparts.It is not reasonbut faithby whichthey
are ruled, and they appeal to oracles ratherthan arguments.The enervating
effectsof a hot climatemake themwretchedsoldiers,but theyprevail,nevertheless, in virtue of theirsuperiorcunning.9"The more southerlyrace, therefore,
has always excelledover its northernneighborsin mattersof diplomacy.Bodin
quotes with approval Commines'remarkthat thoughthe French have usually
been defeatedby the English,theyhave always securedadvantageoustermsby
the peace settlements
that have followedwar; thoughthey,in theirturn,rightly
complainthat theyare habituallybeaten at the diplomaticgame by the Spaniards,whohave got the betterof themin everysettlementforthe last hundred
yearsor more.98
And the moral?Bodin concludedboldlythat certainmodes of conductare not
altogetherwithinthe provinceofhumanvolition;ifLeo Africanusand Francisco
Alvarez had realizedthis,he says, theywould not so have praised Africansfor
theirabstemiousness- it is the simpleconsequenceof a feebleappetite. Similarly,the chastityof northerners
is not to be particularlyadmired,forit comes
of the weaknessof the sexual impulsein those of a phlegmatictemperament;
nor is the licentiousnessof the southto be blamed,forit is equally the markof
the melancholiccomplexion.99
The apparentvirtuousnessof the Germanscomes
fromtheirlack of imagination;it takes 'spirit'to make men eithergreatlygood
or greatlybad, and Livy should not, therefore,
have blamed Hannibal forhis
vices,fortheywereinseparablefromhis genius.100
But moreimportantto Bodin
than thesecriticismsof otherwritersis the practicalconclusionhe draws.Statesmen must frametheirpolicy in accordancewith these unalterablefacts of the
situation;to try and subject southernersto the laws properto the temperate
regions,or accustomnortherners
to legal processeswill only bringall to ruin.10'
He ascribesthe failureof the Spaniardsin the Low Countriesin his own day to
96
97
98
Rep.,p. 676.
79
80
112In
LibrisPoliticorum,
vii,
V.
81
this principlegovernsnot only formsof law, but also formsof governmentdes plus grands,et peutestrele principalfondementdes Re'estat'-'L'un
publiques est d'accomoderl'estat au naturel des citoyenset les edicts et les
The determinaordonnancesa la naturedes lieux,des personneset des temps."'13
tionofthemeasuresappropriatein any givensituationBodin leftto thepractical
politician;his own task was completedwhen he had described'la nature des
lieux' upon whichpolicymustbe based.
These comparativestudiesof the capacitiesof men inevitablyraisedthe questionas to whichwas the nationmostfavoredby nature.The Schoolmenhad no
hesitationas to the principleof selection.Aristotlehad lent his immenseauthority to the opinionthat it is the middleand not the extremesituationwhichis to
be preferred,
because the union of northernvigorand southernintelligencecorof
rectsthe defectsofeither.Controversyarose,however,over the identification
on
Ptolemy
held,
the middlesituation.Aristotlehad said the Greeksoccupiedit.
the otherhand,that the fourthclimatewas the best,i.e., the area lyingapproximatelybetween28?N. and 34?N. Haly agreed,but thoughtthat its easternregionswerethe mostexcellent;forthe fourthclimateoccupiesa centralposition
amongthe sevenclimates,and theeast oftheworldis on therighthand,partakes
ofthenatureofthe sun (whichis therein the ascendant),is masculine,and under
These considerations
that offire.14
made the
the mostmajesticof the triplicities,
Arabs the most fortunateof races. His authoritycarriedgreatweight;Albertus
and Pierred'Aillyquoted it withrespect.
acceptedit,"15
But forall theirgreat reverencefor the opinionsof theirteachers,western
of
to accept withoutquestionthe naturalsuperiority
Christiansfoundit difficult
the infidelArab. Even Albertusin one passage argues on the evidence,and deof the inhabispite the opinionof the 'philosophers,'in favorof the superiority
Afterhis time and as a resultof the
tants of the sixthand seventhclimates.1"6
nationalismfostered-bythe governmentof Philip IV, the Greek
self-conscious
and the Arab weredeposedin favorofthe Frenchman.JohnofJandunexplicitly
Aristotleclaimedforthe Greeks."7
claimsforthe Frenchpreciselythe superiority
Pierre Dubois expressessimilarviews. In the De RecuperationeTerreSancte,
whilepressingfora Frenchcrusade,he warnsthe kingnot to lead it in person,
but stay in France and beget and educate childrenthere,'forthose born and
broughtup in thekingdomof Francegreatlyexcel those bornin otherregionsin
their manners, constancy, courage and beauty."'8 In the De Abbreviatione
Guerrarumet Litium he argues in favor of a sort of universalFrench empire,
because 'as everybodyknows,the Franks excel the people of all otherregions
and kingdoms. . . theymake a much greaterand betteruse of theirjudgment
than any othernation; they do not give way to irrationalanger,nor resistthe
113
114
Rep., p. 666.
This is how Pierred'AillysummarizesHaly, YmagoMundi,xiii.
115Albertus,
ii, ii.
116 Albertus,
i, xi.
892
83
ofpurpose.This is illustrated
withwhichit is associated,comesfromuncertainty
by the inconstancyof the barbariansin the past to the faiththey so readily
adopted,and the multiplicationof sects amongthe Germansand the Englishin
of the south,associated
his own time.In contrast,the melancholytemperament
withmiddlelife,makes men obstinatein perseverance.He gives the Jewsas an
that ifhis climatetheoryholds,theirmigrations
forgetful
example,momentarily
shouldlong ago have changedtheirradical complexion,and withthat theirpersistentadherenceto the religionof theirfathers.But the impetuosityCaesar
- 'allegresse'withtheenergyand enterprise
ascribesto the Gauls he identifies
ofthe cholericdisposition.In facttheFrench,in virtueof
ofyouth,characteristic
exhibitin theirconductthe firmness
and energythat is the
theirenvironment,
happy mean betweenlevity and obstinacy.'24He not only agrees with Pierre
Dubois and JohnofJandunbut he agreeswiththemforreasonswhichtheywould
have understoodand approved.
thoroughly
Certainconclusionsemergeveryclearlyfromthis comparisonof Bodin's observationson climatewiththoseofhis mediaevalpredecessors.In the firstplace,
his theoryis coherentin all its parts,because it deriveslogicallyfromthemediaeval conceptionof the systemof the world,and so shares its consistency.In the
secondplace, Bodin added nothingsubstantiallynew; he dreweveryone of his
main ideas fromacceptedtraditionsverygenerallyheld. Nevertheless,he didnot
leave the doctrineexactlyas he foundit. For one thing,he assembledwithinthe
compassofa singlediscussion,not onlyall that had been said on the subject,but
also what had hithertoonly existedin fragmentary
form,as scatteredobservationsarisingincidentallyout ofsomeothertopic.He therebyreducedto coherent
formmaterialtillthenunordered.For anotherthing,thoughhe foundno reason
to modifyany of the ideas he inherited,he greatlyenrichedtheircontentby
observed.The Schoolmenwere
adducinga mass of new evidence,independently
primarilyinterestedin the philosophicalproblemofestablishingby ratiocination
a singlesystemof ideas fromthe various traditionsthey inherited.If they illustratedat all, theywere contentto repeatexampleshallowedby age and use.
Bodin took the systemfor granted,and gave all his attentionto its practical
implications.He was thereforemost originalwhere they were least so, in the
handlingof evidence.He did what theydid not do, systematicallysurveyedthe
sceneto showhow the laws ofenvironment
actuallyworked.More
contemporary
new emphasis.The
the
doctrine
a
in
this
he
quite
gave
importantstill, doing
because they
influence
environment
to
discuss
the
of
were
Schoolmen
provoked
Bodin
was not
the
will
the
individual.
moral
of
free
of
the
saw it raised
problem
so muchinterestedin the problemsraised,as in theuse that could be made ofthe
he
scienceby the statesman.A true understandingof the laws of environment,
thought,was the inevitablestartingpoint of all sound policy,all good laws, all
beneficialinstitutions.His claim to originalityrests on this re-orientationof
traditionalbeliefs,to servea usefulpurpose.He applied the science.
BEDFORD COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
124