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The Medieval Church · c. 1265–1267; unfinished
On Kingship
De Regno
Thomas Aquinas · 1225–1274
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What it is
Written for a king of Cyprus: monarchy is the best form of government and tyranny the worst, and a people may act against a ruler who has broken the terms of his office.
Why it lasted
Aquinas's most direct political writing, and a source for later Catholic theories of legitimate resistance.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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