Title page from On Temporal and Spiritual Authority

On Temporal and Spiritual Authority

The political thought of Bellarmine was at the center of post-Reformation debates on the relationship between state and church; on the nature, aim, and limits of temporal government; and on the relation between religion and natural law. He posed in a novel, controversial manner the relationship between public and private spheres, thus opening up questions central to what we consider “modernity.”

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Key Quotes

Presidents, Kings, Tyrants, & Despots

People: Why do you prohibit what God commands us to do? Pope: No, I do not prohibit, but rather I command you not to do what God prohibits you to do. I am the shepherd, established by Christ who is the Lord of the flock. You people are the little sheep; your kings are the rams. And therefore, as…