Abstract
In The Happy City, Patrizi describes an ideal city. His analysis is founded on the premise that we can determine what makes a city happy only if we recognize what it is that makes a man happy. Patrizi argues that happiness is the ultimate goal of man’s life: it entails being virtuous and, even more, uniting with the divine. However, man cannot attain happiness on his own; he requires special conditions that only a city can provide. Patrizi envisages a city which creates the best possible environment for man to pursue happiness through its habits, features, laws, and political structures. His city is ideal not because it embodies certain political values (e.g., equality, justice, freedom), but since it enables man to follow his highest calling.
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- 1.
We include in our translation the dedicatory letter with which Patrizi accompanied The Happy City when he sent this small treatise to Urbano Vigerio della Rovere and Girolamo della Rovere. This letter contains several crucial insights into the sources, goal, as well as nature of The Happy City. Patrizi acknowledges his debt to Aristotle and describes the role of politics in his philosophy. He regards politics as necessary to facilitate the pursuit of man’s highest goal, that is, to unite with the divine. Patrizi thinks that the aim of his ideal city is to create the ideal environment that permits man to attain his spiritual purpose. His perspective is radically different from that of Renaissance utopists. He believes that a society which embodies some civic or political values (e.g., justice , equality , fairness) has no merit per se, but only if it contributes to man’s spiritual aims. The dedicatory letter is reported by Plastina in her edition of The Happy City (La città del sole. La città felice, 79–80).
- 2.
The Della Rovere family was one of the most eminent noble families of the Italian Renaissance. Some of its members became popes (Sixtus IV: Julius II); others were prominent political and military leaders (Francesco Maria I della Rovere ; Guidobaldo II della Rovere ). In 1508, the family gained the prestigious Duchy of Urbino and the city of Pesaro. Urbano Vigerio della Rovere had a distinguished ecclesiastical career. He was elected bishop of Senigaglia in 1550, a role that he maintained until his death in 1570.
- 3.
Girolamo Della Rovere (1530–1592) was an intellectual and a prominent figure of the Roman Catholic Church. He studied classics and law at the University of Padua where he probably met Patrizi. In 1564, he became the bishop of Turin and was made a cardinal in 1586.
- 4.
The word used by Patrizi is animo which has a variety of meanings in Italian. Dante offers a representative map of the different meanings that this term has in Italian. In the Divine Comedy, animo often occurs in a general sense to indicate man’s intellectual and spiritual faculties (Inferno, I 25; XIII 67; XXV 146; Purgatory, V 10; X 127; XII 75; Paradise, XXI 2; XXIII 90). An established way of translating this sense of animo is “spirit” or “soul.” In some cases, animo means the seat of emotions and can be understood to mean “heart.” Sometimes, animo indicates the desire to do or avoid something (Inferno, IV 3; XVI 31; XXIV 53); in this case, “will” or “intention” is an apt translation. More rarely, animo refers only to the intellectual faculty (Purgatory, XVII 13; XVIII 24); in this case, it is customary to render it as “mind.” The manner in which Patrizi uses animo tends to differ depending on the context; our translation will vary accordingly. In this sentence, “heart” seems to be a more appropriate translation since Patrizi is referring to the profound affection that motivates him to write The Happy City. Later on in the text, as we will point out, he will use the term in very different senses.
- 5.
Patrizi employs the word animo to signify the spiritual and intellectual qualities of a person—in this case, the addressees of his letter. Typically, when animo is used in this way it is translated as “spirit.” However , this established way of rending animo causes some problems in The Happy City. In chapter three, Patrizi uses the term spirito (spirit) in a technical sense to mean what binds the body and the soul together . The spirito is not to be confused with the animo yet, translating both of them with “spirit” would create confusion. Therefore, when Patrizi uses animo to indicate a person’s spiritual and intellectual features, we translate it as “soul,” as we do in this case. Our choice also reflects Patrizi’s practice of sometimes employing spirito as a synonym of anima (soul). Whenever we render “spirit” with “soul,” we caution the reader with a note.
- 6.
Patrizi acknowledges his debt to Aristotle; although he does not specify it, books VII and VIII of the Politics are clearly his primary source. These books are a self-contained section that examines the ideal city. In The Happy City, Patrizi not only adopts many of Aristotle’s ideas, but also the literary genre of books VII and VIII. Although the analyses of the ideal city formulated by Plato (Republic, Laws) and Aristotle do not, strictly speaking, constitute an established literary genre , they have specific features and are quite different from Renaissance utopias. As we explain in chapter six, these classical works are not elusive dreams of unachievable societies; they are models that can be approximated by existing cities. Moreover, the analyses of classical thinkers are not visionary descriptions of imaginary lands, but tightly argued accounts of why a city should adopt particular habits and institutions.
- 7.
As we shall see, Patrizi does not follow the order with which Aristotle describes his ideal city in books VII and VIII of the Politics ; he rearranges the material with a great degree of freedom . In chapter four, we examine the manner in which the Italian thinker restructures the topics he finds Aristotle and the rationale of his operation.
- 8.
Patrizi implies that the men to whom he dedicates his work are meant to attain the highest state. In note 16, we clarify the sense in which he uses the word “happiness.”
- 9.
Patrizi explicitly indicates that he intends his treatise as a guide for political action. His goal makes this work more similar to a mirror for princes than a utopia.
- 10.
This is the first of several indications in this letter that Patrizi considers his ideal city as a means to an end. The metaphor of the ascent is very common in religious and philosophical texts; it denotes the process whereby a human being reaches a higher ontological realm or spiritual state. Platonic and Neoplatonic thinkers, who are a major source of inspiration for Patrizi, describe this ascent as “divinization”, an intellectual and spiritual process that permits man to unify with the divine.
- 11.
The mountain is a common metaphor to indicate a higher realm of reality.
- 12.
Patrizi indicates that another treatise will follow The Happy City. He remarks that the focus of this second text will be not politics but spiritual matters, and that he will design it in such a way to help its readers to attain the spiritual heights reached by Plato . Thus, it is safe to assume that this work will have a Platonic inspiration. It is unclear as to whether Patrizi wrote this second treatise and, in case he did, it is not easy to identify it within the extensive corpus of his works. These lines offer a further, clear indication which Patrizi believes is the ultimate goal of politics: provide the necessary conditions so that at least some of the citizens can reach the highest spiritual state of which man is capable.
- 13.
Daedalus is a figure from classical mythology. He was an artist; his most celebrated work was the labyrinth which he built on the island of Crete and in which the Minotaur was imprisoned. Here, however, Patrizi refers to another legend about Daedalus. He devised a way to fly with wings he fashioned by gluing together with wax birds’ feathers. He flew with his son Icarus, but cautioned him not to fly too close to the sun because its heat would melt the wax. Icarus did not follow his father’s advice. He got too near to the sun that melted the wax; the wings came apart, resulting in his death in the fall. Often, artists and poets portrayed Icarus as an unwise individual whose ambition to come in close proximity to the sun causes him to disregard his father’s cautious recommendation; they depicted Icarus’s death as a morality tale that warns human beings against being too ambitious. However, Patrizi focuses not on Icarus’ recklessness, but on the limitations of Dedalus’ wings that he depicts as an unsuitable means to attain spiritual excellence. The Italian philosopher alludes to the works that claim they can teach men how to unite with the divine, but cannot deliver on their promise.
- 14.
In the Renaissance (and beyond), “divine” was the epithet commonly used for Plato ; it was meant to indicate that his philosophy was a path to the divine world.
- 15.
Literally: “I kiss your hand (loro bacio la mano)”.
- 16.
This chapter consists of two main sections that reveal the philosophical inspiration along with the aim of the text. The first part is (predominantly) Aristotelian; it describes the essence of man and his material needs. The second is Platonic and examines the spiritual origin and purpose of the human soul. It is noteworthy that the Italian thinker indicates very explicitly that the goal of his ideal city is to facilitate the spiritual life of its citizens.
- 17.
The incipit of The Happy City reveals that Patrizi established his ideal city on a specific understanding of human nature . In other words, he thinks that what makes his city perfect is not that it embodies some political values, but the fact that it provides the best environment for its citizens to attain happiness and blessedness . His approach follows the one articulated by Plato and Aristotle in their analyses of the ideal city and differs sharply from those of Renaissance utopists. In chapter six, we examine the difference between these approaches.
- 18.
Although these initial lines reveal an Aristotelian inspiration, Patrizi’s Aristotelianism is not always orthodox. Here, he expresses the belief in the immortality of man’s soul, a view that, as per most scholars, Aristotle did not hold.
- 19.
Here, Patrizi summarizes Nicomachean Ethics I.8 wherein Aristotle argues that the moderate possession of “external goods” (e.g., friends, health , honor, wealth) is necessary for human happiness . In Politics VII.1, Aristotle offers a more condensed version of this analysis.
- 20.
Patrizi alludes to Aristotle’s famous definition of man as a social animal (Politics, I. 2, 1253 a1).
- 21.
Patrizi alludes to Aristotle’s view that the ability to laugh is a distinctive feature of human beings (Parts of Animals, III.4).
- 22.
Here, Patrizi describes the origin of the human soul from the divine and her yearning to return to it. The image of the “heavenly waters” has a long history. It originates from Genesis I.7 according to which God, when creating the universe, divided the waters above the firmament from those below. In Christian theology, this passage was interpreted to mean that there are three realms of reality. The highest is the intellectual, which is sometimes referred to as the “waters above the firmament” or the “heavenly waters.” The lower one is the sublunary world that, at times, is called the “water below.” The celestial realm is the one in between and is also referred to as “firmament.”
- 23.
Here, Patrizi adopts the popular Platonic and Neoplatonic theory that the soul maintains a memory of the celestial world from which she derives; such memory spurs her to desire to return to this realm.
- 24.
Patrizi states very clearly that the ultimate objective of his city is to help its citizens to return to the divine realm.
- 25.
Aquinas formulates a very famous version of this argument. He posits that the ultimate goal of man is to unite with God and it must be attainable, otherwise he would be in the absurd situation of having being created to attain an unachievable goal (Aquinas, S.Th., I–IIae, q. 5, a. 1).
- 26.
This chapter recalls chapter one of book VII of Aristotle’s Politics wherein he summarizes the extended account of happiness that he presents in books one and ten of the Nicomachean Ethics. Patrizi adopts Aristotle’s view that one should not even begin to investigate what makes a city happy without a solid grasp of what makes man happy in the first place. This approach is very different from that of most Renaissance utopists, especially non-Italian ones, who assume that the presence in a city or state of specific values (e.g., justice , equality , fairness, etc.) will make all citizens happy . However, they do not offer any definition of happiness.
- 27.
Patrizi chooses the term cosa (thing) due to its broad scope. The seven things he will list and examine range from the soul to the material things that are necessary to maintain the body.
- 28.
Patrizi adopts Aristotle’s definition of happiness (NE, I.8; Politics , VII.1).
- 29.
Patrizi here alludes to Aristotle’s difference between “perfect” or “absolute” (haplós) virtue and “conditional” virtue ( Politics , VII.13, 1332a7–21). The difference is between virtuous actions that are constrained by contingent situations and those that are not. External factors can limit virtuous actions in various ways. For example, if a virtuous man is in terrible conditions (e.g., bad luck, disease, poverty , etc.) the unfavorable context hinders his behavior even though he still acts virtuously. By contrast, when he is in the best possible circumstances, he can express his virtue fully and without limitations. However, a man may also act virtuously in response to a specific situation. For example, he may right a wrong by punishing an offender. In this case, his behavior is not “perfectly virtuous” since it is prompted by necessity and meant to improve a negative situation. By contrast, if a person acts virtuously without being “motivated” by circumstances, his action is perfectly virtuous. Aristotle thinks that happiness requires “perfect” virtue , and Patrizi designs his city in such a manner that its citizens can engage in this higher form of virtuous behavior.
- 30.
In this context, “impediment” signifies the lack of an adequate amount of external goods . Patrizi adopts Aristotle’s view that external goods do not cause happiness despite being a necessary element of it. The Greek thinker argues that although possessing such goods does not make us virtuous, our capacity to act virtuously is significantly hindered without them. Aristotle explicitly states that external goods are valuable only because they facilitate virtuous behavior. He also observes that man needs only a “moderate” level of external goods since having them in great quantity is of no benefit and can bring us harm. See Aristotle , NE, I.8; Politics, VII.1
- 31.
Patrizi follows Aristotle’s view that man needs to live a long life in order to be happy (NE, I.7, 1098a18). His view is based on the notion that a happy life is one wherein a person acts virtuously. On this analysis, a long life is necessary for an individual to (1) develop the ability to act virtuously and (2) experience many different situations that grant him the opportunity of performing different virtues. For example, a man who dies in his youth may never have the chance to learn or practice the virtues required when acting in the capacity of the head of the household or holding a senior political office.
- 32.
That is, happiness is an activity without impediment.
- 33.
These are the three bodily things out of the seven items listed at the very beginning of this section in which happiness is present.
- 34.
In this chapter, Patrizi’s medical background emerges clearly. His attention to the needs of human biology has no match in the classical analyses of the ideal city or Renaissance utopias. This chapter shows that Patrizi established his city not only on his metaphysical account of human nature, but also on his analysis of human physiology. He does not formulate original medical theories; he simply relies on views, common in his times, derived from Greco-Roman physicians.
- 35.
Patrizi’s frequent references to the heavenly waters are a constant reminder that the ultimate goal of his city is man’s spiritual ascent.
- 36.
Here, Patrizi mentions that the spirits are what bind the body and soul . In a few lines, he will offer some explanation about the nature of this union by relying on theories derived from Ancient medicine.
- 37.
Patrizi refers to man’s ability to reach the intelligible realm without separating from the body . He is probably alluding to philosophy which, he believes, can permit man to connect with the intelligible world while he is still alive.
- 38.
Patrizi is referring to cases, such as mystical states in which he thinks a man can take leave of the body without dying.
- 39.
Patrizi operates a synthesis of various ancient medical theories. He argues that the “spirits” are what keep the body and the soul together. The spirit (pneuma) is a fundamental notion in Greco-Roman medicine; it indicates an air-like substance essential for man’s life. The Roman physician Galen (129 C.E.–c. 210 C.E.) believed that different types of spirits operate in the human body. One is the “vital spirit” which conveys life energy and is present in the heart and the arterial system. The other is the “psychic spirit,” which oversees the activities of the brain and the nervous system. See Galen, The Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato, V.211–284; V.605–6; V.609. On this issue, see Lloyd , Pneuma between Body and Soul.
- 40.
Patrizi is alluding to Galen’s idea that the vital spirit is produced in the heart by the inhaling and exhaling of air. Galen , Whether the blood is naturally contained in the arteries, vi, vii.
- 41.
Greco-Roman doctors believed that chyle is a liquid substance the stomach produces during digestion; after passing through liver, it is converted into blood and brings nutriment into the entire body. See Galen , On the Substance of the Natural Powers, II.20–27; II.89; II.102–107; II.154–157.
- 42.
In this chapter, Patrizi introduces a theory that is central to his political view: a city can be happy only if some people sacrifice their happiness for the sake of others. The only justification he offers for the inequality of his society is that man needs many external goods in order to be happy and some people have to provide these goods without enjoying them. The rigid class distinction of Patrizi’s society and his readiness to accept its inequality is one of the most significant differences between The Happy City and Renaissance utopias. Some Renaissance utopists propose a communist society (e.g., Campanella , Doni, More); others make compelling cases in favor of societies that are as equal as possible (e.g., Agostini’s IR; Zuccolo’s RE). In chapter XII, Patrizi indirectly explains as to why there is such a great inequality amongst the inhabitants of his city. However, he does not find these differences problematic. Perhaps, we can interpret his attitude towards this issue, which is very similar to that of Aristotle in Politics VII, as an indication that he designs a society that is not utopian but ideal, that is, it is a model that can, at least, be approximated by existing cities.
- 43.
Patrizi uses the word “blessed” (beata) to again remind the reader that although the present discussion is political, the ultimate goal of his ideal city is spiritual.
- 44.
Unlike other Renaissance utopias (e.g., Campanella’s COS, More’s Utopia), there are no slaves , only servants in The Happy City. Patrizi systematically avoids the word “slave” (schiavo) and only uses “servant” (servo). However, although Renaissance utopias often criticize the practice of having people whose life is entirely devoted to the service of others, Patrizi has no problem with this institution.
- 45.
Patrizi reports Aristotle’s words (Politics, VII.10, 1330a 25–28) almost verbatim.
- 46.
Patrizi argues that the difference between freeborn and servants is natural. A few lines later, he goes as far as to say that servants and farmers have souls that are less noble than those of others and a different (i.e., inferior) type of blood. In light of these remarks, we may suggest that the distinction between these six different classes Patrizi discusses in chapter XI stems from the belief that people are intrinsically different. In this respect, his view is somewhat reminiscent of Plato’s Republic in which the division of citizens into three classes depends on the features of their souls.
- 47.
This is yet another reminder of the spiritual aim of Patrizi’s ideal city.
- 48.
This literally means: “in that state when the earth produces them.”
- 49.
In this chapter, Patrizi only examines the health reasons that dictate the choice of a specific site . In chapter nine, he will consider the military ones.
- 50.
In this chapter, Patrizi does not primarily look at Aristotle, as he often does in The Happy City, but at medical theories that were prominent in his time. Although Aristotle mentions the health of the site as one of the essential criteria for deciding where to locate the ideal city, he mainly discusses the impact of climate on the citizens’ character ( Politics , VII.7). By contrast, Patrizi’s main concern is how the climate of the site affects not the character, but the health of the citizens .
- 51.
Patrizi is the only one of the utopists studied in this volume who substantiates his views with some medical considerations. Zuccolo is also quite empathic in pointing out the advantages of establishing a state in a healthy location in The Republic of Evandria and The Happy City. However, he does not use any medical theory to support his view; he primarily relies on the commonsensical idea that a healthy place makes life better.
- 52.
During the Renaissance, people adopted the classification of the Earth’s climatic zones they inherited from classical sources. The Pythagoreans divided the Earth into five zones: two cold polar zones, two hot central zones, and a temperate zone which had a mild climate. The polar zones were located one in the Northern hemisphere and the other in the Southern hemisphere—and so it was for the central zones. The moderate zone corresponded to the known world, that is, Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. In Patrizi’s time, the Southern hemisphere was still largely unknown; thus, it is possible that what he calls the “forth” zone is the moderate zone whereas the ones he refers to as the “third” and “fifth” zones are the cold and hot zone of the Northern hemisphere, respectively.
- 53.
Patrizi is not only specifically referring to Ethiopia, but Africa in general.
- 54.
These are the regions located at the extreme North.
- 55.
This is one of the many examples of how, according to Patrizi, lack of proper material conditions can impede man’s spiritual development.
- 56.
Patrizi departs from the convention of most Renaissance utopias in which all citizens are required to wear the same garment, granted few exceptions, depending on a person’s age and/or sex. This practice is often presented as means to reinforce the notion that all citizens are equal (Antonio de Guevara, RP, ch. 32, 34; Campanella , COS, 12.210–213, 17.338–350; Doni, WCW; Mambrino Roseo, EG, 44, 54; More, Utopia , 125.15–19, 132.16–29). By contrast, in The Happy City, Patrizi is only interested in the practical role of clothes and does not impose any restrictions on their color or shape.
- 57.
Patrizi observes that the desirability of the city’s location cannot be entirely attributed to its characteristics; human ingenuity plays a crucial role as well. This idea, though quite obvious, is not adopted by all utopists. Some Italian Renaissance utopias stress the necessity of choosing a territory that is naturally healthy (e.g., Agostini’s IR, 82–83) and pay much less attention to man’s intervention. This is also Aristotle’s approach (Politics VII.5). On the opposite side of the spectrum is More who stresses man’s decisive contribution in making Utopia a good place to live. Utopia’s site presents some positive features, but has a poor climate and soil (Utopia, 178.20–21) and lacks vital resources, such as iron (Utopia, 146.14–15). It is only due to the Utopians’ skills, hard work, and lifestyle that, in spite of these deficiencies, they can thrive (Utopia, 178.21–31). In his utopia, Patrizi strikes a middle ground. He notes that his city is healthy because of the combination of the natural qualities of the site and structures built by man.
- 58.
The notion of a “subordinate” art or discipline comes from Aristotelian philosophy. It indicates a discipline which principles derive from those of another science. For example, optics is subordinate to geometry since it borrows its principles. See Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, I. 13, 78b34–79a16.
- 59.
Architecture plays a prominent in Italian Renaissance utopias (e.g., Campanella , COS, 4.22–7.76; 8.98–10.147; Zuccolo, RE) as well as in More’s Utopia (118.3–120.15). However, Patrizi is the only one who shows that architecture can be a tool to maintain the citizens’ health. In these lines, Patrizi solely focuses on how architecture promotes and maintains the citizens’ physical well-being ; in the next chapter , he alludes to its civic potential.
- 60.
The idea that part of city should be built on a hill and part on a plane is formulated also by Bonifacio , La Repubblica delle Api, 11; Campanella , COS, 4.15–20; Jacopo Mazzoni , De Triplici Hominum Vita, n. 1219; More, Utopia , 116.5.
- 61.
It is a northern Italian city in the region of Veneto.
- 62.
That is, to have access to garments suitable for summer.
- 63.
Patrizi seems to allude to the theory, presented in some Hippocratic treatises (e.g., On Breaths, VI, VII; On the nature of man, IX; On Airs, Waters, and Places, II), as per which the air we breathe is often one of the primary causes of disease . On this view, it is essential to place the ideal city in an area with healthy air.
- 64.
It is the name of a southern wind in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a warm and humid wind.
- 65.
Patrizi is referring to the position of the Western wind in the Rose of the Winds. This wind is not located in the same quadrant of the Ostro since the latter is in the Southern quadrant while the former in the Western. With that being said, these two winds have similar characteristics: they are both warm and humid, though the Western wind possesses these qualities in a milder form.
- 66.
See Aristotle, Politics, VII.11, 1330a 34–41; On Airs, Waters, and Places, VI.
- 67.
In the Renaissance, doctors typically examined patients and formulated diagnoses but did not perform surgery. Surgeries were usually conducted by barbers who had some medical training and expertise.
- 68.
The primary subject of this chapter is to it determine how a city should proceed to prevent its people from engaging in acts of violence. Although Patrizi does note that punishment is a good deterrent against violence, he thinks friendship between citizens is the most effective way to have a united and peaceful population. The term he uses to describe the bond between the citizens is amore. Although this word is typically is translated as “love,” “friendship” is a better translation in this case. The context suggests that Patrizi is referring to the Greek term philía that we can translate as “love” or “friendship.” In this case, friendship indicates the bond between different people who cooperate for a common task, that is, the well-being of their city. Patrizi’s view that friendship is one of the most important ingredients of a virtuous society is grounded in Aristotle’s philosophy. The Greek thinker does not offer a systematic analysis of civic friendship, but he often examines this issue in his ethical works and regards it an essential factor of his ideal city (e.g., NE, VIII, 1155a20–25; IX, 1167a22–b3; IX, 1163b32–1164a2). However, civic friendship played an important role in the works of Renaissance humanists as well. The Florentine humanist Matteo Palmieri (1406–1475) stressed on the importance of civic friendship that he described as the “only bond that keeps cities together” (On Civic Life, IV, 223). Similarly, Bodin, who lived in Patrizi’s time, considered friendship as the only true foundation of a virtuous society (Les Six livres de la République, III.8; IV.6; VI.4).
- 69.
The size of the city’s population is an important concern for Aristotle as well, who in Politics VII.4 argues that a city can be deemed happy only if its population is neither too great nor too small. Here, as in other cases, Patrizi reports Aristotle’s view but not his arguments. In general, the Italian thinker is more interested in offering an overview of his ideal city than arguing in favor of its features.
- 70.
Patrizi here connects, within one sentence, two separate portions of Aristotle’s Politics VII: the analysis of the size of the city in VII.4 and the analysis of public banquets in VII.10. Patrizi’s combination of two far apart sections of book VII within one sentence illustrates his remark in the dedicatory letter where he notes that he has freely rearranged Aristotle’s investigation in The Happy City.
- 71.
Sesostris was an Egyptian king who lived in the nineteenth century B.C.E. In the Histories (II.102), Herodotus recounts his military expedition to Europe.
- 72.
The claim that the city should be divided in classes and the reference to the Egyptian ruler Sesostris are both taken from initial lines of VII.10 (1329a40–1229b4) that Patrizi reports almost verbatim.
- 73.
Patrizi does not feel the need to argue in favor of the advantages of a city of moderate size because, presumably, his model is Italian city-states whose population was relatively limited.
- 74.
Common meals are a recurrent feature of Renaissance utopias (e.g., Campanella COS, 16.310–325; Doni, WCW; More, Utopia, 140.10–144.3). Typically, Renaissance utopists borrow this practice from monastic orders; Patrizi derives it from Aristotle’s Politics (VII.10, 1329b 5–35). The Italian thinker states that this practice is useful to instill friendship amongst citizens , but does not support his view with an argument . In The Republic of Evandria, Zuccolo also introduces public banquets, but he discusses both their civic merit and how the Evandrians organize them in more detail.
- 75.
He is the legendary king of one of the earliest inhabitants of Italy, the Oenotrians. He is mentioned by many classical authors who claim that the name Italy is derived from him: Aristotle (Politics, VIII, 1329b); Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Roman Antiquities, I.35); Thucydides (The Peloponnesian War, VI.2.4).
- 76.
Aristotle also suggests using the produce derived from a portion of land commonly owned by the citizens in order to provide the food for the banquets (VII.10, 1329 a 25–26).
- 77.
In Italian, “woodworm of envy” (tarlo d’invidia) is an idiomatic expression which corresponds to the English “the seed of envy.” We translate this idiom literally since, despite the fact that it sounds a bit awkward, maintaining the reference to the woodworm is the best way to make sense of the image of the tree being consumed by woodworms, which occurs a few lines later.
- 78.
That is, the city.
- 79.
In an ideal city , there are no significant economic differences amongst the citizens , and public offices are equally distributed amongst them.
- 80.
The brevity of this chapter indicates that Patrizi considers laws necessary for the well-being of his city, but not one of the major causes of its happiness . This chapter is not only short; it also lacks any detailed explanation of the city’s legal system . Moreover, the actual analysis of the laws and magistrates in charge of enforcing them is only confined to the first part of the chapter; the second argues that civic discord is more effectively avoided if all citizens partake in the political life of the city.
- 81.
Prudence (prudenza) is a technical term in Italian Renaissance political philosophy. We examine its meaning and sources in note 14 to the translation of Zuccolo’s Belluzzi.
- 82.
This chapter proves that Patrizi is not interested in considering the administrative structure of his ideal city . He does not provide any information about the city’s constitution and political offices; he only observes that the elders are in charge of administrating the city. The lack of even a superficial account of the ideal city’s political system may surprise the reader who is used to Renaissance utopias’ lengthy discussions of this topic. However, Patrizi’s choice is less surprising when we consider that Aristotle also says very little about how his ideal city is run. Perhaps, Patrizi’s tacit assumption is that managing the city is unproblematic and constitutional rules are redundant due to the friendship that exists between the citizens.
- 83.
Patrizi derives this custom from Aristotle’s Politics (VII.9, 1329a13–16) where, however, it is used in a different context. In Aristotle’s ideal city, young people do not partake in politics because they have not yet acquired sufficient wisdom; their role is to serve in the army where they can put their youthful strength to good use. The youth accepts this arrangement since they know they will be part of the ruling class when they grow older. Patrizi also excludes young people from politics but, unlike the view of Aristotle, the distinction between the class of the soldiers and that of the rulers does not depend on age. As he explains in chapters XI and XII, these are two separate social classes, and the soldiers never become rulers. Patrizi’s adoption of the custom devised by Aristotle in a different, though not entirely unrelated, context is an excellent example of the way in which he deconstructs and re-appropriates various sections of book VII of the Politics.
- 84.
This is one of the longest chapters of The Happy City; its length suggests that Patrizi regarded the city defense system as a pivotal issue. Later on in his life, he devoted much attention to the art of war by composing two treatises on this topic: The Roman Militia (1583) and the Military Parallels (1595). The analysis contained in this chapter is not very original. Patrizi offers the commonsensical view that three are the main ingredients of a city’s defense: fortifications, the skill and valor of the soldiers, and weapons. He describes the soldiers’ military equipment in some detail; the city have all the weapons typical of a Renaissance army and possesses none of the strange war machines imagined by Campanella (COS, 29.608–31.65). With regard to military matters, Patrizi’s ideal city comes across as nothing more than a well-equipped and efficiently organized Renaissance city.
- 85.
The notion that the courage of the citizens is a decisive element in their ability to oppose an enemy is a recurrent theme of Renaissance utopias (Campanella, COS, 27.563–570; More, Utopia, 212.5–19; Zuccolo, RE).
- 86.
Literally: the “goods.” However, it is clear from the context that in this case , it is the territories that are to be shared.
- 87.
Patrizi borrows from Aristotle’s (Politics, VII.10, 1330a 14–24) idea that all citizens should own two lots of territories, one near the borders of the city and the other near the city, in order to prevent them from making arrangements with invading forces.
- 88.
Here we translate spirito with “soul.” In notes 4 and 5, we explain the reason for our choice.
- 89.
Patrizi summarizes Machiavelli’s famous critique against the use of mercenaries (The Prince, ch. XII–XIII).
- 90.
He was a Greek mythological hero and the founder of Thebe. Patrizi seems to allude to the tragic fate of some of Cadmus’s daughters: Agave and Autonoë. In Euripides’ tragedy the Bacchae, Agave accidentally kills her son Pentheus with the assistance of her sister Autonoë.
- 91.
He was a character in Greek mythology; he was the leader of the Argonauts with whom he went in search of (and acquired) the Golden Fleece. Here, Patrizi is referring to the tragic events that followed his successful quest. When he reached Corinth, he fell in love with Creusa and rejected his wife Medea who, maddened by jealousy, killed the children she had with Jason.
- 92.
They are the warriors of the city.
- 93.
Aristotle also notes that the territory surrounding the city should be such that an invading army will have difficulties navigating it (Politics, VII, 1326b39–42).
- 94.
Here, Patrizi acknowledges the value of fortifications. Later on in his life (Military Parallels, 88–95), he changed his mind and embraced Machiavelli’s view (Discourses, II. 24) that fortifications are of little use in defending a city.
- 95.
The city, as Patrizi will explain in detail later, is by sea. Some parts of it are by the sea, others by land.
- 96.
Aristotle suggests that while the soldiers should be citizens , the rowers can be farmers . ( Politics , VII. 6. 1327b9–14).
- 97.
This brief chapter brings together two very different topics: commerce and religion . It is not clear why Patrizi chooses to examine these issues within the same chapter. It seems that his primary reason for considering them together is that the city needs to provide infrastructure (squares for commerce; churches for worship ) in both cases so that its citizens can partake in these activities. Unlike Renaissance utopists, Patrizi is not interested in debating the value of commerce and religion per se. He does not extensively argue in favor or against them; he briefly observes that they are necessary for the city, and human beings naturally engage in them. His focus is on determining how his city should be designed to attend to man’s need for trade and worship. His examination of commerce and religion reveals a recurrent feature of The Happy City. In some cases (e.g., class distinction, commerce, common meals , laws, legal system, religion) Patrizi does not make any special efforts to prove the merit of a habit or institution of his ideal city; he only offers some basic remarks about their necessity for civic life. It may seem that Patrizi does not devote sufficient attention to these topics ; yet, we should keep in mind that his primary goal is only to assess how the city should implement these customs and institutions efficiently.
- 98.
Aristotle distinguishes two types of commerce: one which exclusively aims to obtain the goods that a city needs, and another one whose goal is profit (Politics, I.9, 1257a–b; VII.6, 1327 a25–32). He accepts the former and condemns the latter. By contrast, Patrizi allows both types of commerce. His position owes much to the realities of Italian Renaissance city-states in which commerce for the sake of profit had an essential economic role.
- 99.
Patrizi’s view of commerce differs from those of classical theorists of the ideal city and Renaissance Utopists. Some ideal cities and utopias (e.g., Doni’s WCW; Plato, Republic, II. 369b; 370e; 371a) are completely self-sufficient and have no need for commerce. Others adopt a more moderate position: they engage in commerce only to obtain those necessary goods they lack (e.g., Aristotle, Politics , I.9, 1257a–b; Campanella , COS, 33.723–728; More, Utopia, 146.7–33; 184.8–17; 202.29–204.2). On the contrary , The Happy City is not self-sufficient and crucially depends for its survival on the profit its merchants make through commerce . In fact, it is to facilitate commercial exchanges that Patrizi locates his city by the sea. His focus on commerce reflects the central role that it played in Renaissance Italy. The Republic of Evandria by Zuccolo is the only other Italian Renaissance utopia in which commerce plays such a pivotal function.
- 100.
Patrizi rejects Aristotle’s recommendation that markets should be located at the port and away, but not too distant, from the city ( Politics , VII.6, 1327a 34–40). The Happy City reflects the urban structure of Italian Renaissance cities wherein market-squares were essential features of the urban environment. During the Renaissance, Italian cities underwent a radical transformation of their urban spaces and market-squares were often at the center of this process. The area of Rialto in Venice is one of the best examples of the kind of transformation urban areas underwent in order to create commercial hubs.
- 101.
Here Patrizi introduces a brief but revealing reference about the importance of shaping the urban structure in such a way that the city is not only functional and efficient, but also beautiful. The process of beautification played a central role in many of the urban project developed in Italian cities during the Renaissance.
- 102.
Here we translate spirito with “soul.” In note 5, we explain the reason for our choice.
- 103.
Typically, religion plays a prominent role in Renaissance utopias (e.g., Agostini’s IR, 63, 67, 108–110, 115–116, 120, 125; Andreae’s Christianopolis, LXIX–LXXXVII; Campanella’s COS, 43.974–59.1315; More’s, Utopia , 218–244); Patrizi only briefly discusses the value of religion. He examines it based on what we would call a “psychological” point of view: he observes that man is naturally inclined to believe in God.
- 104.
Patrizi’s very limited account of religion seems to be incongruent with his overarching view that his ideal city’s goal is to aid the process of divinization . His approach in this chapter becomes clearer when we recognize that he distinguishes the practice of an established religion from the inner spiritual process that leads the human soul to reconnect with the divine. In this chapter, he is only interested in pointing out how the city should be organized to facilitate religious practices. Here, he does not directly discuss how man can unite with the divine; in chapter XII, he indicates the kinds of training we have to receive in order to partake in the process.
- 105.
Here we translate spirito with “soul.” We explain the rationale for our choice in notes 4 and 5.
- 106.
Patrizi’s comment on the need to erect religious buildings suggests that, in this case, he is interested not in exploring the role of religion in human society; he merely wants to indicate how the city should meet man’s religious yearnings.
- 107.
This chapter consists of two main sections. The first examines the kind of people who live in the ideal city; the second explains why only some of them qualify as citizens. Here, Patrizi follows Aristotle more closely than in other parts of The Happy City. The chapter is a synthesis of Aristotle’s Politics VII.8–9. More specifically, the first section of the chapter refers to VII.8, the second to VII.9. Patrizi does not explain why only some classes of people should be part of the citizenry . His view may seem unjustified, but we can understand their rationale once we recognize that he presupposes several Aristotelian theories that he does not explicitly mention, though he alludes to them. The first is the distinction between (1) the parts of the city and (2) the things necessary for its existence (Politics, VII.8, 1328a21–27). The latter exists for the sake of former, but they do not have anything in common (Politics, VII.8, 1328a28–35). For example, infrastructures are essential for a city, but are not a part of it, only people are. On this view, some classes of people are indeed necessary for the city, but they are not part of it. According to Aristotle, the only people who are part of the city (i.e., the citizens ) are those who share a common goal, that is, the virtuous life, which is the happy life ( Politics , VII.8, 1328a28–35). Patrizi adopts the Aristotelian idea that not everyone can attain the best life. The requirements for this kind of life are such that a city would not be able to function if its entire population pursued the happy life; some need to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others (Politics, VII.8, 1328a35–1328b2). Although Patrizi entirely relies on Aristotle’s theoretical account of the roles of citizens and non-citizens, he changes the composition of the Greek thinker’s ideal city in order to adapt it to his social and cultural context. Aristotle distinguishes six classes: farmers, artisans, wealthy, warriors, magistrates, and priests. He excludes the first two from the citizenry (Politics, VII.8, 1328b2–22; VII.9, 1328b 33–1329 a 34). Meanwhile , the six classes of Patrizi’s city comprise of farmers, artisans, merchants, warriors, governors or magistrates, and priests . In his city, only warriors , magistrates, and priests are citizens. Patrizi’s inclusion of merchants in his classification is probably due to the social and economic importance of commerce in Renaissance Italy. In this chapter, Patrizi does not explain what his criteria are for allocating people to these six classes. We may find his lack of explanation problematic since it is this division that is the cause of the social inequality in his city—an inequality that results in some people being forever deprived of happiness. However, The Happy City does contain some comments that suggest Patrizi’s possible rationale for dividing the inhabitants of his city into different classes. In chapter four, he explicitly argues that some people are naturally inferior to other. In the twelfth chapter, he alludes to this view.
- 108.
Once again, Patrizi reminds us that the ultimate goal of his city is spiritual, that is, to permit (some) of its people to attain union with God.
- 109.
Patrizi adopts Aristotle’s view according to which the attainment of virtue requires learning proper habits and intellectual inclinations from a young age; people who devote most of their lives to toil have no opportunity to develop such abilities.
- 110.
Patrizi is alluding to Aristotle’s idea that some people are not part of the city, but exist for the sake of allowing others to partake in the best life (Politics, VII.8, 1328a21–27; Politics, VII.8, 1328a28–35).
- 111.
Patrizi departs from the conventions of several Renaissance utopias that celebrate the virtues of manual labor and require almost all their inhabitants to engage in manual activities (e.g., Campanella’s COS, 23.493–25.518, 33.709–711; More’s Utopia , 110.13–17; 124.5–9; 128.29–130.29).
- 112.
Although Patrizi follows Aristotle in excluding people who engage in manual profession and commerce from his ideal city, his language and attitude differ from that of the Greek thinker. The latter quickly dismisses these professions as “vulgar” (bánausos) and ignoble; Patrizi comments on the challenges, risks, and sacrifices they require in a compassionate, though slightly paternalistic, way.
- 113.
Literally: “servers of knife and cups.”
- 114.
This chapter opens a new section of The Happy City. From chapter IV to XI, Patrizi examined the external conditions necessary to attain happiness ; from now onwards , he focuses on its internal attributes. They are the intellectual and moral qualities a person needs to acquire in order to pursue a virtuous and, in effect, a happy life. Not surprisingly, Patrizi considers education the essential factor in the development of a person’s character and intellect. This chapter also contains an indirect indication of Patrizi’s rationale for dividing people into different classes. He argues that acquiring virtues requires three elements: nature, habit, and reason. Habit is due to education; developing reason needs both education and natural gift. On this view, nature plays an important part in building people’s capacity to attain virtue. Thus, we may deduce that in The Happy City, people who obtain the education that will make them virtuous are those who are more naturally gifted. Although Patrizi does not explicitly state that people are divided into different classes based on their natural ability to become virtuous, his analysis of the crucial ingredients for the attainment of virtue does warrant this conclusion. We find additional support for this interpretation in chapter four, where Patrizi argues that servants and farmers have souls that are less noble than those of others; they also have a different (i.e., inferior) type of blood. If our reading is correct, Patrizi endorses a form of meritocracy based on natural gifts.
- 115.
Patrizi does not miss any opportunity to reiterate that the ultimate goal of his city is spiritual. In this case, he observes that the city helps the citizens attain a state of blessedness by teaching them how to act virtuously.
- 116.
This paragraph summarizes Aristotle’s discussion in Politics, VII.13, 1332a38–b8.
- 117.
Patrizi follows Aristotle’s analysis in Politics, VII.14, 1333a16–29 very closely.
- 118.
The Italian word ozio corresponds to the Classical notion of otium or schóle. In the Greco-Roman world, it indicated the time that is free from daily businesses—a time that, they believed, is best spent by engaging in politics and scholarly activities as opposed to idling.
- 119.
These conditions are leisure, work, peace , and war.
- 120.
Patrizi argues that we cannot immediately reach the best thing, but we have to proceed progressively from the lower to the higher things.
- 121.
Patrizi follows Aristotle’s view (Politics VII.14, 1330a30–1333b4) closely. The Greek thinker argues there are three main kinds of action: necessary , useful, and noble. He also notes that the most common conditions of life are four: war, work, peace, and leisure. The aim of political leaders is to teach citizens (1) what parts of the soul should be engaged in the different actions, (2) that noble actions are the most worthy ones, and (3) that leisure and peace are the best conditions.
- 122.
Classical analyses of the ideal city devote extensive attention to the generation of children (e.g, Plato, Republic, VII, 458d–460e; Aristotle, Politics, VII.16. Patrizi’s The Happy City follows these models. As his Greek predecessors, he notes that political authorities should ensure that the child is conceived under the best possible conditions by mandating the age of the parents , the time of day, the season, as well as the mother’s diet and lifestyle during pregnancy. Patrizi also alludes to medical theories that were common in his age, as he did in chapters two and three. Campanella examines at great length when and how children should be generated (COS, 18.365–22.446), but other Renaissance utopists (e.g., Agostini , Doni, More , and Zuccolo) mention this issue only as a passing reference.
- 123.
Patrizi seems to follow rather closely, Plato’s Republic (460e) which states that the best age to generate children is from thirty to thirty-five for man, and from twenty to forty for women.
- 124.
Aristotle also considers winter as the best season for the generation of children (Politics, VII.16, 1335a 36).
- 125.
In this section and the next, Patrizi describes the educational system of his ideal city. This chapter examines the manner in which children are trained until the age of seven; chapter XV describes the education they receive subsequently. The distinction between citizens and non-citizens Patrizi made in chapter XI only suggests that the former have the benefit of a complete education. However, we should assume that all infants and little children obtain the care and training presented here since it is in the interest of the entire city that even non-citizens grow up physically strong and psychologically stable. Education is a common concern of Renaissance utopists. They believe that it is preferable to make people virtuous through training than via the imposition of rules and laws that impel people to behave in a particular way. Although most Renaissance utopists state that education does play a paramount role in societies, only some of them provide a thorough account of its characteristics. More observes that the Utopians receive a rigorous intellectual and physical training, but he offers a series of isolated remarks as opposed to a systematic analysis of many details (Utopia, 154.1–158.16; 180.1–184.7). Amongst Italian utopists, Agostini and Doni mention that the children of their utopias get an education , although they do not explore the issue in depth. Patrizi, Campanella (COS, 5.10–10.147; 12.209–13.232; 27.556–560), and Zuccolo (RE) offer extensive accounts of the different features of the education system of their utopian societies.
- 126.
In this chapter, Patrizi discusses the first two stages of the education of children from birth to age five as well as from age five to seven . His discussion owes much to Aristotle (Politics VII.13, 1336a 3–40). Patrizi reports the Greek thinker’s main ideas, but leaves out most of his arguments.
- 127.
Aristotle too recommends feeding children milk (Politics, VII. 17, 1336a 7–8).
- 128.
Aristotle also argues that children should be exposed to the cold, but, unlike Patrizi, he does not offer any argument in support of this practice. He only reports that it is a custom adopted by many populations (Politics, VII. 17, 1336 a 12–20). Once again, Patrizi relies on his medical background to support some of his views.
- 129.
Patrizi follows Aristotle (Politics, VII. 17, 1336 a 35–37) and disagrees with Plato, who in the Laws, argues that children should be stopped from crying (Laws, 791e–792c).
- 130.
The first stage of education is from birth to five years old; it entirely focuses on the child’s physical growth. This phase entails feeding him properly and ensuring that his body develops correctly.
- 131.
The second stage of education (from the age of five until seven) begins to address the child’s psychological development, although his physical growth remains a primary concern.
- 132.
Here we translate spirito as “soul.” In notes 4 and 5, we explain the reason for our choice.
- 133.
In Patrizi, as in the classical analyses of the ideal city and most Renaissance utopias, the training of the body is as important as that of the mind.
- 134.
Here, Patrizi reports Aristotle’s words (Politics, VII.17, 1336a 25–26) almost verbatim.
- 135.
Patrizi follows Aristotle’s words (Politics, VII.17, 1336a 27) very closely.
- 136.
Patrizi’s pedagogical system relies on, despite not stating it explicitly, Aristotle’s idea according to which the natural goal of man is to be virtuous (NE, I. 1, 1094a 1–25). He does not mean that we are naturally virtuous, but that we have an inherent ability to become virtuous. Aristotle thinks that all living things have a natural goal; for human beings, this objective is to acquire virtue. However, just as a plant needs a suitable environment to develop adequately, humans are no exception. On this view, the challenge is to ensure that citizens receive the proper training and live in a supportive setting so they can attain their natural goal.
- 137.
In this chapter, Patrizi examines the education children receive from age seven onwards . This more advanced education has three primary goals: to make the citizens virtuous, teach them disciplines they need in everyday life (e.g., grammar ), and ensure that they appreciate suitable forms of entertainment (e.g., music). The chapter consists of two main parts. The first paragraph describes the negative things to which the children should not be exposed; the second analyses what they should be taught.
- 138.
Once again, Patrizi remains his readers that the ultimate goal of his city is spiritual.
- 139.
Classical comedies were written is poetry, not prose. Patrizi paraphrases Aristotle’s words in Politics, VII. 17, 1336b12–23.
- 140.
In the Renaissance, as is the case in the Greco-Roman world, poetry was not simply read; it was recited. Reading a poem often meant enacting the characters depicted in the poem. The concerns Plato expresses towards poetry in the Republic (II, 392d–397d) partly originate from the worry that a person, especially a young one, may excessively identify with the characters in the poem and acquire their negative traits.
- 141.
In this chapter, we translate spirito into “soul.” We explain the reason for our choice in notes 4 and 5.
- 142.
Patrizi borrows Aristotle’s concept that people who say inappropriate things in the presence of children should be punished (Politics, VII. 17, 1336b8–13). However, he differs from the Greek philosopher since he does not punish young men and adults differently. Patrizi adopts the punishments Aristotle reserves to young men and extends it to adults as well.
- 143.
This stage of children’s education takes place in public. We should assume that the education described in chapter fourteen occurs at home; this is the position we find also in Aristotle’s Politics, VII, 17.
- 144.
Here, Patrizi uses the same argument Aristotle employs (Politics, VII. 17, 1336b 24–34) in order to explain why it is paramount to ensure that children are not exposed to negative influences. However, he illustrates it with a different example. Patrizi compares things beneficial to the development of children to seals that imprint their souls. Aristotle reports the example of the tragic actor Theophrastus who wanted to get on stage before any other since he believed people appreciate the most what they see first. Patrizi’s modification of Aristotle’s example is indicative of the freedom with which he borrows from his source.
- 145.
The kind of moral education Patrizi describes in these lines is obviously designed for young children, although he does not explicitly state it. By contrast, the training that he depicts in the rest of the chapter, which involves the study of grammar , music , and philosophy, is clearly intended for older children.
- 146.
Patrizi alludes to the Platonic theory that we are born with the knowledge of some fundamental truths learned by the soul when she was in the realm of forms before entering the body . See Plato, Meno, 81 a–e.
- 147.
The word employed by Patrizi (speculazione) is a technical one and corresponds to the Greek term theoría Aristotle uses to indicate the highest and most abstract type of philosophical investigation. The Greek thinker juxtaposes theoría with prâxis, which is the kind of knowledge required for practical disciplines, such as ethics and politics.
- 148.
Although in this chapter Patrizi does not explicitly state that only the children destined to be part of the higher classes receive an extensive education , it is implicit from the discussion in chapter XI.
- 149.
Patrizi’s views on music are informed by his classical sources. In Ancient Greece, music (along with grammar and physical training) was one of the disciplines in which any educated person was trained. Not surprisingly, both Plato and Aristotle devote substantial attention to the role of music in the education of the ideal cities’ citizens. However , the Greek notion of music was broader than our own since it included poetry, which was not simply read, but also sung with the accompaniment of music. Patrizi’s analysis of music is a synthesis of Aristotle’s extensive account in Politics (VIII.3, VIII.5–7). He adopts the Aristotelian idea that musical education has three goals. It promotes virtues, gives pleasure, and is a very apt form of entertainment . In the final two paragraphs of this chapter, Patrizi examines these three goals of music; here, he mentions a fourth one. In humans, music stimulates the desire to know the causes of things. Aristotle calls this type of knowledge “metaphysics,” and regards it to be the highest form.
- 150.
Patrizi seems to be alluding to the initial lines of Aristotle’s Metaphysics (I.1, 980a 21–b1), which explain why human beings pursue philosophy. He concurs with Aristotle’s view that human beings have a natural desire to know and that the pleasure we experience when we know the world through the senses, mostly via sight and hearing, is evidence that such desire is inherent in us. Patrizi observes that hearing melodies and seeing beautiful things awakens not a generic desire to know in us, but a yearning for a very specific type of knowledge, that is, the knowledge of what causes such things. This is precisely Aristotle’s account of the desire that motivates us to pursue the highest type of philosophy: metaphysics. He defines metaphysics as the discipline which studies the first causes of all things (Metaphysis, I. 1, 981b 1–28).
- 151.
Patrizi uses the word “images” (immagini), which is the Italian counterpart of the Greek phantasmata. This is a technical term that occurs in Aristotle and is used extensively by Scholastic thinkers. Phantásmata is typically translated as “mental images,” although scholars observe that Aristotle and his followers do not always think of them as inner pictures. More generally, phantásmata, or immagini in Italian, indicate distinct mental states which consists in the perpetual traces of our sensory experience. Patrizi observes that the intellect brings to completion the images coming from the senses. The idea is that knowledge begins with sense perception and gets completed only when the intellect fully processes the information that it obtains from the senses.
- 152.
Patrizi uses the word nato, which means “born.” However, we think that “awaken” is a translation that captures Patrizi’s view more accurately. In The Happy City, he often mentions that human beings have an innate desire to return to the celestial world from where their souls come. In this regard, it makes more sense to claim that music and beauty awaken the intellectual desire, which aims to know the divine, as opposed to giving birth to it since such a desire is always intrinsically present in us.
- 153.
They are music and painting.
- 154.
They are grammar, music, and painting.
- 155.
Patrizi points out that the purpose of education is not only moral (“to help the soul attain its perfection”), but also practical.
- 156.
Patrizi find this idea in Aristotle (Politics, VIII.3, 1337b 24–25; 1338a 39–1338b 3).
- 157.
Patrizi reports Aristotle’s view (Politics, VIII.3, 1337b 24–25; 1338a 37–40).
- 158.
The idea is that music can have a beneficial effect on the human soul since it has the capacity to bring about a change in our souls; for example, it can make us calmer, more courageous, and more balanced. The psychological benefits of music are extensively discussed by Plato (Republic, III, 398b–403d) and Aristotle (Politics, VIII.5, 1339a 21–24; 1339a 41–1339b 3; 1340a 18–25; 1340a 38–1340b 19; VIII.7, 1342a 1–15), but also have an essential role to play in Neo-Platonic philosophy (Proclus, In Platonis, I, 56.20–60.13; I, 57.11–16; I, 211.26–213-27) which had an important influence on Patrizi.
- 159.
Patrizi’s explanation of the effects of Phrygian and Dorian music follows those of Aristotle (Politics, VIII.5, 1340b 3–5; VIII.7, 1342a 28–1342b 2; 1342b12–17). However, Patrizi attributes to Hypolydian music, the effects that Aristotle credits to Mixolydian music (Politics, VIII.5, 1340b 1).
- 160.
Patrizi concludes The Happy City by stressing on the importance of the city’s spiritual goal one more time.
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Donato, A. (2019). Translation of The Happy City by Francesco Patrizi of Cherso. In: Italian Renaissance Utopias. Palgrave Studies in Utopianism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03611-9_5
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