Commonwealth

part of the soul lies in the intellectual virtues of prudence, knowledge, 
and faith. By the first we distinguish good and evil, by the second truth 
and falsehood, and by the third piety and impiety, and what is to be sought 
and w hat avoided. These are the sum of true wisdom, which is the highest 

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felicity attainable in this world.
If one turns from the microcosm to the macrocosm, it follows by parity of 
argument that the commonwealth should have a territory which is large 
enough, and sufficiently fertile and well stocked, to feed and clothe its 
inhabitants. It should have a mild and equable climate, and an adequate 
supply of good water for health. If the geography of the country is not in 
itself its best defence, it should have sites capable of fortification 
against the danger of attack. These are the basic needs which are the first 
objects of concern in all commonwealths. These secured, one looks for such 
luxuries as minerals, medicinal plants, and dyes. Offensive weapons must 
also be provided if one would extend one's frontiers and subjugate the 
enemy, for the appetites of men being for the most part insatiable, they 
desire to secure great abundance not only of what is necessary and useful, 
but of what is pleasant merely, and redundant. But just as one does not 
think of educating a child until it is grown and capable of instruction, so 
commonwealths do not concern themselves with the moral and mental sciences, 
still less with philosophy, till they are amply furnished with all that they 
regard as necessities. They are contented to cultivate that modest degree of 
prudence which is sufficient for the defence of the state against its 
enemies, the prevention of disorders among its subjects, and the reparation 
of injuries.
A man of good disposition however who finds himself well provided with the 
necessities and comforts of life, secure and at peace, turns away from 
unworthy companions and seeks the society of wise and virtuous men. When he 
has purged his soul of troubling passions and desires, he is free to give 
his attention to observing his fellows, and interests himself in the 
difference that age and temperament makes between them, the causes of the 
greatness of some and the failure of others, and of the fluctuations of 
states. From men he turns to the contemplation of nature, and considers the 
great chain of being, minerals, plants, and animals in their hierarchical 
order, the forms, qualities, and virtues of all generated things, and their 
mutual attractions and repulsions. From the world of material things he 
moves forward to the contemplation of the immaterial world of the heavens, 
where the splendour, beauty, and pow er of the stars is manifested in their 
proud, remote, and majestic movements, comprehending the whole universe in a 
single harmony. The ecstasy of this vision inspires him with a perpetual 

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longing to penetrate to the first cause and author of this perfect 
creation. But there he must pause, for the greatness, the power, the wisdom , 
and goodness of the Supreme Being, being infinite, must for ever remain 
inscrutable in its essence. By such a progression a wise and thoughtful man 
reaches the concept of the one infinite and eternal God, and thereby as it 
were attains the true felicity of mankind. 
If such a man is adjudged both wise and happy, so also will be the 
commonwealth which has many such citizens, even though it be neither large 
nor rich, for in it the pomps and vanities of proud citizens, given over to 
pleasure, are contemned. But it must not be assumed from this account that 
felicity comes from a confusion of many elements. M an is made up of a mortal 
body and an immortal soul, but his final good pertains to the more noble