文藝復興時代的政治論述：白蘭度里尼的比較政體理論

Political Discourse in the Renaissance: Brandolini's Theory of Comparative Polity

文藝復興時代的政治書寫的主流，乃是「君王鏡鑑」（或稱「獻策書」）。自佩脫拉克以迄馬基維利，諸多的關心政治的人文主義者，皆留下了敬獻給不同的統治者，並以統治者所應具備之德性為探討要旨的「君王鏡鑑」。在此種書寫的氛圍底下，白蘭度里尼（Aurelio Lippo Brandolini, 1454-1497）在2009年才被重新發現的《共和國與君主國之比較》一書就顯得極為特殊了。在該書中，白蘭度里尼並非不關注統治者所應具備之德性，但他更注重的則是共和國與君主國孰優孰劣的整體比較，並以仿照柏拉圖的對話錄形式，展開論點的交鋒與辯論。雖然白蘭度里尼係是君主國的辯護者，但他對於以佛羅倫斯為代表的共和國的批判式檢視，一方面記錄了共和國的運作實況，另一方面則可謂是比較政府的先驅。本文將還原文藝復興時代義大利的歷史背景，以及當時的政治論述的整體脈絡，並在此一基礎上，從自由、正義、好的政體等角度，探討白蘭度里尼做為一個政治理論家的意義及特殊性。 A special genre of political writing, the so-called mirrors for prince or advice-book, played predominate role in Renaissance Europe. Many celebrated humanists, from Petrarca, Pontano, Sacchi to Machiavelli and Erasmus, wrote their mirrors for prince to urge the virtue that princes or rulers should adopt and cultivate. In contrast to this genre of political writing, Aurelio Lippo Brandolini's Republics and Kingdoms Compared, though relatively little known until today, exhibited a rather different prospect of political discourse. His concern was to evaluate and compare the two dominant forms of polity of his time, namely republic and kingdom, and, by doing so, to insist the superiority of kingdom over monarchy. By bringing him back to the political context and theoretical milieu of Quattrocento Italy, this essay asserts that Brandolini is both a modern precursor of comparative politics/government and a keen political theorist inheriting the long tradition of inquiring what a good polity should be.

A special genre of political writing, the so-called mirrors for prince or advice-book, played predominate role in Renaissance Europe. Many celebrated humanists, from Petrarca, Pontano, Sacchi to Machiavelli and Erasmus, wrote their mirrors for prince to urge the virtue that princes or rulers should adopt and cultivate. In contrast to this genre of political writing, Aurelio Lippo Brandolini's Republics and Kingdoms Compared, though relatively little known until today, exhibited a rather different prospect of political discourse. His concern was to evaluate and compare the two dominant forms of polity of his time, namely republic and kingdom, and, by doing so, to insist the superiority of kingdom over monarchy. By bringing him back to the political context and theoretical milieu of Quattrocento Italy, this essay asserts that Brandolini is both a modern precursor of comparative politics/government and a keen political theorist inheriting the long tradition of inquiring what a good polity should be.