O rektorze w cycerońskiej koncepcji rzeczypospolitej oraz recepcji jego filozofii politycznej w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej XVI wieku

Abstrakt

Although Cicero valued the Monarchy, he considered a mixed System to be the best in terms
of durability, combining elements of three pure Systems. The monarchist Element of the Roman
Republic was seen in the Power of the Consuls, although at the Time he published De re
publica, their Power proved to be insufficient to ensure the Balance of States. So it was necessary
to strengthen this Element. For this Purpose Mark created a Character named rector, moderator
or gubernator rei publicae. He was a Character endowed with Virtue, with the first Goal being
the Happiness of Citizens entrusted to him. Earlier on, he must acquire the Wisdom to guide
the Justice that ensures the Survival of the Republic. The Prize that awaits him for this is extraterrestrial:
for People dedicated to their Homeland there is a Place in the Hereafter, presented
in the famous Somnium Scipionis. Cicero did not publish a Theory of the State modelled on
Plato, his Dialogue described the Roman Republic, while the Postulate of endowing one with
quasi-monarchist Power served an ad-hoc anti-Cesarian Purpose, and the rector was a Model
for Pompey. Nevertheless, the Cicero legacy has been applied: in the 16th Century in Poland, the
Nobility, seeing themselves as heirs of the Roman Commonwealth, eagerly reached out to Cicero
in order to emphasize the ethical Basis of politics and community Souveraineté of the State. They
postulated the use of a mixed System, limiting the Power of the King (sometimes called the rector),
at the same Time making him responsible for Maintaining the Permanence of a System in
which the Senate meant an aristocratic Power, and the Parliament and, more broadly, the Nation
of Nobility, a democratic Element.