On Kingship
LXII. On Kingship
1. O King of created virtue!
You are King of all that is possible,
for which reason You became man.
2. God is king by reason of loftiness,
and is king by reason of humility,
of freedom and of charity.
3. Since God is the king of the beginning,
the middle and the end,
He acts beyond the course of nature.[1]
4. He is king who serves God
and he is king who knows himself
and he is king who is good.
5. It is preferable to be king of <one’s own> will
than of a kingdom or of possessions,
for by means of <one’s> will can one attain God.
6. A king exists in order to issue judgments,
and if he errs in judging
he belies the name of king itself.
7. No man is king in order to feast,
or to hunt, or to live idly,
but rather in order to take care of his people.
8. Every king is the servant of his kingdom,
for which reason he commits a great wrong and a great sin
if he wishes to be at liberty.
9. To every king does it pertain to give,
to speak the truth, to judge and to forgive:
for which reason he cannot be free.
10. Ah, if <only> someone could find a king
who caused his entire kingdom to honour God!
Much would <that king> do <that warranted> praise.
[1] See n. 1, Ch. V, § 6.