Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Politica de Perez

Authors

• Pérez, Antonio, d. 1611

Other related names

• Lea, Henry Charles, 1825-1909, former owner

Call number

Ms. Codex 1419
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 4453540
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/4453540

Publisher

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Language

Spanish

Origin

Date

16--

Place

Spain

Summary

The political philosophy of Antonio Pérez in two volumes. The first volume is addressed to Philip III of Spain, upon his ascension to the throne in 1598, and is divided into three parts. In the first part Pérez covers the conservation and enlargement of empires and it is here that he introduces the essence of his political philosophy. He argues that a sovereign must be loved and respected by his vassals and feared by his enemies. In the second part he outlines the significance of all the territories within the Spanish realm and also of the major foreign powers. He classifies them as either friendly, secretly hostile but outwardly friendly, or openly hostile. He also emphasizes that the territories of Castile are the head of the empire and instructs the young king on proper conduct towards the clergy, the nobility, and the vassals. The third part is a collection of 41 different comments on executive administration, referred to in the text as resolciones de Estado, and other princely conduct that Pérez has taken from the works of Cornelius Tacitus, Sallust, Pliny the Elder, Thucydides, Polybius, Plutarch, Herodian, Quintus Curtius Rufus, and Cassius Dio Cocceianus. Of particular interest is a comment by Sallust (f.274v) which recommends that a prince have many advisers who vote by secret ballot and a comment by Polybius (f.287r) which claims that a man in exile who is wanted for a crime against the crown and has no hope of restitution (which is precisely Pérez's status) can be trusted to defend the prince, who embodies his only hope for remedy. The second volume is addressed to the duque de Lerma, Francisco Sandoval y Rojas, who was Philip III's favorite and essentially ruled in his place. Much of the advice given to Lerma is redundant and covers the same themes as the first volume.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title from spine.
   

Watermark

Unidentified watermark consisting of a mounted picador with the name Fabiani underneath; unidentified watermark consisting of a bull; unidentified mounted knight watermark with the alternating names Federico and Fabiani appearing underneath; unidentified watermark consisting of what appears to be a cross issuing out from a crown with an inverted flower underneath; unidentified watermark consisting of a large armorial achievement. On the shield are two small castles and two animals, each in opposite corners, and a large circle over all containing three fleurs-de-lis. Above the shield is a large crown and below, an eight-pointed star made up of four arrowheads touching at the points. Beneath the star is another animal and beneath that the initials A M A. All around the shield are vines, flowers, and other ornamentations.

Extent

2 volumes (298, 144 leaves) : 200 x 145 (v.1: 160 x 100; v.2: 155 x 100) mm. bound to 209 x 157 mm (v.1) and 209 x 160 (v.2)

Foliation

v.1: Paper, 298 leaves; [iv, 1-290, iv]; v.2: Paper, 144 leaves; [vi, 1-136, ii]; modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto. Catchwords, lower right corner.

Support

Paper

Binding

Contemporary vellum.

Layout

Written in 16-18 long lines.

Script

Written in a cursive script.

Provenance

• Formerly owned by Henry Charles Lea (inscription, f.i recto, 1903; bookplate inside upper cover of each volume).
   

Subjects topical

• Kings and rulers--Duties--Early works to 1800

Genres

• Codices
• Manuscripts, Spanish--17th century
• Manuscripts, European

Licenses

• Text

  This description is ©2016 University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  All referenced images and their content are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/