About the regimen politicum in De Regimine Principum of Ptolomeu of Lucca

Abstract

Ptolemy of Lucca's Regimine Principum presents a new way of conceiving city's political ordenation, departing from the theoretical framework of Aristotle's Politics in Latin translations. Ptolemy presents new practices and actions for individuals who constitute the city political body. There is, one can assume, a new understanding of the political context from the point of view of the institutional framework, but also from the point of view of the individuals. The notion of regimen politicum begins to be outlined in a few chapters in books II and III, and is the main subject of book IV, where the notion is presented as a conceptual novelty, whether in relation to the Latin tradition before the translation of Politics, either in respect with the political Aristotelianism. The novelty is the Ptolemy's proposal of a political disposition of a city composed in several parts. In such disposition, the role and action of citizens gain centrality in structuring and driving the composed city. This paper intends to show that Ptolemy is very innovative in relation to Aristotelian tradition, most especially concerning the regimen, where political participation of individuals acquires centrality.