Consistency

It has been sometimes suggested that Giles’ thought underwent a profound change between its first and second phase and that, in effect, he chose to abandon a novel Aristotelian perspective inspired by the recently rediscovered Politics in favor of a more traditional Augus-tinian perspective (Scholz 1903). It is more probable that each phase represents Giles’ thought on a different conceptual level (McCready 1974). On the Rule of Princes considers a microcosm: the best means of organizinG the secular state and the formation of its ideal ruler. On Ecclesiastical Power is strikingly different in tone but only because the author’s perspectivE has altered to consider a larger structure within which the secular state aPpears as simply a component part. In fact, two features of Giles’ thought offer striking examples of consistency: he subscribed to a conception of hierarchy that led him to favor models of unrestrained regal rule and, echoing ideas found in Aquinas and most Thomists (Wilks 1963), he also suggested that such rulers, whether kings or popes, should and will impose limitations on themselves.

See also: > Henry of Ghent > James of Viterbo > John of Paris > John Pecham > Mirrors for Princes > Parisian Condemnation of 1277 > Peter of Auvergne > Thomas Aquinas, Political Thought > Thomism