This paper explores an important problem in political theory and a central issue in the study of Cicero’s thought: the tension between philosophy and rhetoric. Through an exploration of the virtue of decorum in Cicero’s rhetorical thought (chiefly On the Ideal Orator and Orator) and in his moral philosophy (On Duties), I argue that the virtue of decorum provides an external check on both speech and action rooted in humans’ rational nature. Given the roots of decorum in humans’ rational nature (...) and the natural law, the desire to meet our audience’s approval does not involve Cicero in a sophistic approach to rhetoric. Rather, the desire to observe decorum provides the orator and his audience with standards of judgement that transcend mere taste and reflect underlying moral knowledge. (shrink)

Neorepublican treatments of Hobbes argue that his conception of liberty was deliberately developed to counter a revived and Roman-rooted republican theory of liberty. In doing so, Hobbes rejects republican liberty, and, with it, Roman republicanism. We dispute this narrative and argue that rather than rejecting Roman liberty, per se, Hobbes identifies and attacks a language of liberty, Roman in character, often abused by ambitious persons. This is possible because Roman liberty—and, by extension, Hobbes’s relationship to it—is more complex than neorepublican (...) authors have allowed. Drawing on Roman sources, along with Hobbes’s major works, we argue that Hobbes’s theory of liberty owes much to his engagement with Roman sources, and that this theory speaks to the egalitarian elements in his political thought. (shrink)

Building on a number of recent studies that have turned to Hobbes in light of covid-19, I explore the context of Hobbes’ own encounters with plague while at Oxford, along with efforts to mitigate plague by the regime of James I. I then explore what role his encounters with plague may have played as he wrote his philosophical masterpiece, Leviathan.

This paper explores political fear in classical thought. Through an analysis of Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, and Sallust, I discuss two broad uses of fear: fear as a source of unity and of moral energy. In addition, the paper addresses the enervating role of political fear in Tacitus’ writings. The discussion centers on three issues: first, I draw attention to an important and often neglected set of themes in classical thought; second, I provide a historical resource for contemporary discussions of political (...) fear; third, I argue that fear’s multiple uses in political theorizing ought to be a focus of scholarly inquiry. (shrink)

This article explores Tacitus’ negotiation of the dilemmas of writing due to the emergence of the Principate and the displacement of Republican politics. These developments constrained the orator and the historian, and required a distinctive approach to the writing of history. I argue that Tacitus develops a conception of the historian’s task that centers on the historian’s moral freedom and educative role in the Principate. This freedom is evident in Tacitus’ depiction of good and bad principes, as well as his (...) discussion of how one ought to behave under the Principate. The historian’s task and moral freedom are important given Tacitus’ desire to avoid the twin dangers of writing under autocratic rulers: contumacy and obsequiousness. (shrink)

This book explores comparative political theory through the study of a range of places and periods with contributions from a diverse group of scholars. The volume builds on recent work in political theory, seeking to focus scholarly attention on non-Western thought in order to contribute to both political theory and our understanding of the modern globalized world. Featuring discussions of international law and imperialism, regions such as South Asia and Latin America, religions such as Buddhism and Islam, along with imperialism (...) and revolution, the volume also includes an overview of comparative political theory. Contributing scholars deploy a variety of methodological and interpretive approaches, ranging from archival research to fieldwork to close studies of texts in the original language. The volume elucidates the pluralism and dissensus that characterizes both cross-national and intra-national political thought. (shrink)

This paper explores the relationship between Machiavelli's The Prince and Sallust's War with Catiline. In particular, I will argue that Sallust's War with Catiline, and especially the debate between Cato and Caesar over the treatment of the Catilinarian conspirators, provide both a model and a source for portions of Machiavelli's The Prince often held to be most inconsistent with classical thought. Moreover, I will argue that Machiavelli, in describing his ideal prince and the attributes he should adopt, recreates the rhetorical (...) and deliberative context faced by Cato in his debate with Caesar before the Roman senate concerning the treatment of the Catilinarian conspirators. This context, marked by a confusion of moral language and a misunderstanding of virtue, enables Machiavelli's prince, like Sallust's Cato, to appear to depart from conventional virtue and to criticize would- be Caesars. (shrink)

Hobbes Studies presents a special issue dedicated to the career and work of Professor Johann Sommerville on the occasion of his retirement. This introduction provides a brief overview of Sommerville’s professional achievements and the major themes of his scholarly work over the past forty years. It closes with a very brief summary of the contributions made in his honor.

Drawing on Rex Stem’s analysis of exempla, I explore Mercy Otis Warren and John Marshall’s narrations of the Society of the Cincinnati, and Washington’s place within it, to draw out the lessons they sought to impart. Beginning with an exploration of Cincinnatus’ exemplum in antiquity, its relationship to late 18th-century portrayals of Washington, and its invocation in the establishment of the Society of the Cincinnati, I also discuss the exemplum by a prominent critic of the Society of the Cincinnati, Aedanus (...) Burke. I then turn to Warren and Marshall’s accounts of the Cincinnati. I do so with a particular focus on how a single exemplary American – George Washington – is depicted in two different ways, exemplifying two different sets of moral teaching. I conclude by suggesting that Warren, Marshall, and Burke’s battle over the exemplum of Cincinnatus is a battle over the moral ordering of America’s future. (shrink)