Abstract:
In De Concordantia Catholica Nicholas of Cusa develops two seemingly contradictory views of government. In book I he derives all power from an upper source and builds up a monarchic conception of the Church and the State. Differently, in books II and III he stresses the dependence of government on the consent of subjects, which makes of him a pioneer of democratic formulations of government. The author of the article shows that Nicholas of Cusa 1. frames these two seemingly contradictory views within a broader theologic-christologic thesis. This thesis holds that all government must derive from both humane and divine sources, which allows the author to conclude that 2. Nicholas's singular statements on the radical freedom of man (naturally a gift of God) and on the limitations -to be exerted by control commissions- of both ecclesiastical and temporal powers set the ground for the development of a democratic thought founded on human rights.
