The ‘Positivism’ of Marsiglio of Padua

Lewis, Ewart, “The ‘Positivism’ of Marsiglio of Padua,” Speculum, vol. 38 (1963).

Excerpt:

“Perhaps no important publicist has baffled interpretation more persistently than Marsiglio of Padua. His orginiality compels recognition; but it seems difficult to determine in what it consisted. Claims that he anticipated modern equalitarian democracy, separation pf power, or separation of church and state have each evaporated on closer inspection. Recently it has been claimed that he made a revolutionary breach with mediaeval tradition in his concept of law: rejecting previous attempts to define law in substantive terms, he first presented a purely positivist theory.”

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