Aquinas, On Kingship

On Kingship Chapter 12 In this chapter, Aquinas focused on the duties and responsibilities of a king. He thinks that, nature shows us how to act with reason; and the best way to learn the duties of a king is focusing on the examples of government that can be found in nature. He means, to learn something, first its substance that is nature, should be observed. According to Aquinas, nature consists both a universal and particular …

…the king has the right to command the things which ought to be done and he has the right to forbid the evil things which take people away from heavenly bliss. Therefore, the king must be instructed in the divine law and he should be guided by priests. It is necessary for the king to complete his duties, that are to establish the prosperity in the society, to preserve it and then to improve it.