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Girolamo Savonarola

Sermon XIII On Haggai

Delivered 14 December, Advent 1494

[P. Villari and E. Casanova, eds., Scelta di prediche e scritti ti Fra Girolamo Savonarola, con nuovi documenti intorno all
sua vita, Florence, 1898, pp. 75-87 (with cuts); L Firpo, ed., Girolamo Savonarola: Prediche sopra Aggeo, con il Trattato
circa il Reggimento e Governo della Città di Firenze, Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Girolamo Savonarola, Florence,
1965, pp. 209-28. This translation by Gervase Rosser.]

Erudimini, qui iudicatis terram, et servite Domino in timore, et exultate ei cum tremore.

...
Man being a social animal, incapable of living in a solitary state, it has been necessary for men to
band together and to congregate in cities, fortified places or towns, and to hold meetings to
provide for their mutual needs. And in order that they should understand one another in these
meetings, Nature has invented, and given to them, language and speech for each to express his
particular need to others. Moreover, every community of men is ordered to a particular end,
which it may reach by diverse means. There is a need for some body to direct and rule the
others, since every people and place, to attain its natural good, needs government. Such
governments are various, differing in diverse ways. Some are ruled by a single head, some by
many people, some by the entire population together. The rule and government of a single head,
provided that head is good, is the best, or most desirable form of all governments, and is the most
conducive to unity. And this is the reason: because there is great difficulty in reducing to unity
the great together with the small, and where virtue is more unified it has greater strength; and
because it is easier to realise unity in a single leader than in several. Rule by one is, therefore,
better than rule by many, so long as he who governs is good. But when such a ruler is bad, this is
the worst form of government, the very opposite of the best. And therefore a variety of
governments have been invented, according to the diversity of people and places.
In the hot parts of this hemisphere, men are more pusillanimous than in other places, on
account of their lack of blood, and consequently in these parts people readily allow themselves to
be ruled by a single head, whom they easily obey and to whom they willingly subject
themselves. In the cold, northern parts, where there is plenty of blood but little intelligence, they
similarly stand firmly subject to their lord and chief. But in the middle parts, as in Italy, where
blood and intelligence both abound, men will not suffer a single ruler, but every one of them
wishes to be that head and to govern and rule the others, to command and not to be commanded.
And hence arise dissension and discord amongst the citizens of the city, where one seeks to
assert himself and dominate the others. This has been demonstrated often enough by experience,
both in the period of the Romans and daily in our own time when it is exemplified in all the cities
of Italy. Even in your own city, you have often seen and experienced this, and even in the
present time. Yet it is the advice of holy doctors that in places where it appears that men=s nature
will not tolerate subjection, rule by the many is preferable to that by one alone; and this may be
said to be especially applicable to the city of Florence, where men=s nature is fairly abounding
both in blood and intelligence. But it is important to keep this rule by the many well regulated,

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or else it will be in perpetual conflict and faction, and within a few years the restive types will
have split off and formed a faction, and one party will have driven the other from the city and
declared it rebellious. It is therefore vital to know what form of government you are to maintain,
as is stated in the words of our text: Erudimini qui iudicatis terram et servite Domine in timore,
that is, >Study well, you who rule the earth, and serve God in fear=. This is the subject we wish to
treat this morning.
O Florence! I cannot tell you everything I feel within me, because at present you are not
disposed to bear it. Oh! if I could tell you all, you would see that I am like a full new vessel of
must, sealed up, which bubbles when tilted but cannot get out! Many secrets are locked up here,
which cannot come out, especially because you would not believe them! O Florence, if you have
not wished to believe hitherto, at least believe now; and if you have believed, believe more than
ever this morning; and do not take account of me, a poor humble friar, a weak little man, and full
of sins! God has willed that you should see and experience my ineptitude, in order that you
should be all the more aware that it is He, and not I, who does everything, et qui incerta et
occulta manifestavit mihi. You know that in the past few years, while I have been preaching to
you, when it seemed that everything, including Florence itself, was at peace, I warned you then
that you would see much evil and many tribulations; and you did not believe it because you saw
no sign of it. Now you have seen it, and see the troubles beginning, and the start of what I told
you, and cannot deny it. You should therefore now believe all the more what I shall tell you,
having seen begin to be realised that which was told to you in the past. And after I prophesied
evil to you, and you have seen it, if I now forecast good, you should trust in it - for the prophet is
not always one who foresees the bad. I call upon you, Florence, to understand today what I am
saying to you! Understand what God has breathed into me. In what I say to you, I trust only in
Christ: do it, and it will be the better for you if you do.
In the first place, I urge you to do those two things of which I have spoken on other
occasions: let everyone confess and be purged of his sins, and let all attend to the common good
of the city. And if you do this, your city will be glorious, because by this means it will be
reformed both spiritually and temporally, that is, in respect of its people; and from you will arise
the reformation of all Italy, and Florence will become more rich and powerful than it has ever
been, and its empire will spread into many places. But if you do not do what I say, God will
promote those I have told you of who wish to see your division; and this will be your ultimate
destruction. Understand what I have said to you: This is the fire, that is the water; now act! I
have told you before, and you must know and firmly hold that God wishes to renew His Church,
and that He will do this with his sword of tribulation, and that soon. And you should be in no
doubt that this is the time when the Turks and pagans must and will be baptised. This is the fifth
age of the Church; and many who are here will see it.
Florence, I have told you this secret especially in order that you should be inspired to
reform yourself according to God's will, and that you should spread your wings to bring about
the reformation of other peoples; and blessed is he who will participate in these events.
Therefore, O Florence, put away the old things, and renew yourself in everything according to
God's will. Open your ears, Florence, and listen to what I have to say to you. I desired to be
thought mad this morning, because God wished it so. Know, Florence, that there are in this
church this morning many more angels than men. And behold the Divine Majesty, before which
I bow down and say: O Divine Majesty! I beg and pray to you that this morning may be the
beginning of the renewal of the Church. Open, Lord, the hearts of these people, that they may
understand those things which are in me, which you have made manifest and demonstrated to
me. O angels who are here present, proffer your prayer to the Divine Majesty, and ask that it
may be heard. Deus misereatur nobis et benedicat nobis, illuminet vultum suum super nos et

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misereatur nostri, ut cognoscamus in terra viam tuam, in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum. Lord,
have mercy on us, give us your blessing, and permit that we may see the renewal of your Church.
O Florence, this is the third Sunday of Advent, and this is how the Church begins the introit of
the mass: Gaudete in Domino, iterum dico gaudete! that is: Rejoice, let all rejoice in the Lord!
Now let everyone sing these words, and pray to the Lord that this may be the start of your
renewal, so that you can also sing: Ecce, quam bonum et quam iocundum habitare, fratres, in
unum. And turning to the words we took at the beginning of our sermon, I say to you:
Erudimini, qui iudicatis terram: Learn, learn, I say, you who rule the world, how you should live
and reform both yourselves and others.
There is a common proverb, but a bad one (mal detto): that states cannot be ruled by
prayers and rosaries...[Philosophical passage, Firpo pp. 215 l.16 - 216 l.19.]
The more spiritual a state (regno) is, the stronger and better it will be, because, being
closer to God, participating more in the spirit and the divinity, it is bound to be superior, more
stable, and more perfect. Spirituality comes in two forms, by nature or by grace. Neither is
better than the other, as both are gifts of God. Grace is participation in the divinity, because
God, by His grace, draws the soul of man just as a magnet draws iron, and makes that soul a part
of God. It follows therefore that the state which is founded in the grace of God will be more
spiritual than that founded and ruled solely by the light of nature (col lume naturale), and
consequently will be stronger and more stable. So this proverb, that states cannot be ruled by
prayers and rosaries, is untrue. Indeed quite the contrary is the case: that they are much better
ruled by the spirit than with merely human resources. You have the example of Our Saviour,
who founded his kingdom in grace. You can witness how powerful He was from the start, when
those poor, simple and barefooted folk, purely by the grace of Christ, overcame the power of the
world with weakness, wealth with poverty, worldly wisdom with the foolishness (stoltezza) of
the Cross. Now you can see that the power of the spirit and of the spiritual being is greater than
that of any other thing. You can see also, and read in all the old stories, that men attain and
triumph the more, the more they are in grace. Look at Moses; look at Joshua; look at Gideon and
the rest, with whom Scripture and ancient history are filled...[Firpo pp. 217-18.]
By contrast, where charity is lacking, the citizens do not love one another; where
obedience is lacking, they become divided and irremediably lack good counsel to resolve the
difference amongst them. So their state becomes weak and short-lived, and by devotion to
pleasures men become effeminate and consequently weaker still. By their licentiousness, wealth
is consumed, from which follows the disrepute of the city throughout the surrounding parts. The
virtuous flee, seeing the state going downhill, and homicides and evil men flock in.
Now you see that your proverb is false, which holds that states should not be governed by
prayers and good living. Yet, Florence, if you wish your government to be stable and strong and
that it should last a long time, you need to subject yourself to God and to the good life; otherwise
you shall be ruined. Servite ergo Dominum in timore...[Firpo pp. 219-20.]
Furthermore, it is necessary that the magnificent Signoria rule that all those things which
are contrary to divine worship be removed from the city. And it should rule firstly that the clergy
should be good; for priests have to be the mirror of the people, where everyone looks and learns
the right way to live. Bad priests and monks, however, should be banished. I do not say that you
should do it of your own authority, nor that you should deprive them of their benefices. But you
should act with the power of the Supreme Pontiff to ensure that the secular clergy and the
religious of your city are good. And they should not puff themselves up so much in their dress,
but should give it for God's sake to the poor, and leave all such superfluity. This is how they
shall gain Paradise.
I say, therefore, that you should provide that the clergy should be good and that

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everything should be reformed. It is needful that the Signoria make a law against that terrible
vice of sodomy, for which Florence is infamous throughout Italy. It may be that this infamy
arises because you talk and gossip so much about this vice, which perhaps does not exist so
much in fact as it is spoken of. Make a law about it, I tell you, one without mercy, that is, that
such people should be stoned and burned.
You need also to remove these poems, games and taverns, and the evil customs in
women's dress. Everything harmful to the soul's health must be banished, everyone should live
for God and not for the world, and all with simplicity and charity, so that all of us may sing: Ecce
quam bonum et quam iocundum habitare fratres in unum! Aprehendite disciplinam, etc. learn to
live quite purely according to God's will. This is our first conclusion.
The second is, pay attention to the common good. O citizens, if you come together and
attend to the common good, each one will have more temporal and spiritual goods than he would
on his own account. Care, I say, for the common good of the city, and let whoever attempts to
raise his head be deprived of all his goods...
O Florence, learn to conserve the whole, and take care of the common good before the
particular. And to that person who attends to the common good more readily than his own, God
will grant temporal, spiritual and eternal rewards. And whoever loves rightly and truly will
always love the common good more than his own, just as that potential for loving instilled into
creatures by God tends to love their cause and universal nature more than their particular selves.
And if you cannot understand this, you must realise that your love is neither true nor ordered.
Citizen, if you wish to be a good citizen, do not seek status (stato) or office unless they are given
to you; and if they are given to you, exercise them for the public and common good, and not for
yourself. Redirect your love to God, Who is the highest good, and do not twist your love into
vanities! Do it, first, to honour God, and second, not to break the commandment that you should
love God more than yourself, and the common good more than your own; and God will pour out
for you every good, and will give you His light, by which you will understand how best to
govern the city and yourselves. Moreover, the right ordering of the city will give you this: that
you will be loved by all, behaving as you should, and not only within the city but beyond it you
will be reputed good citizens, of good fame everywhere.
And if the city is thus made good and full of charity, God will make it abound once more
with wealth, and the citizens shall share in this as they contribute, and whoever is rich can
sustain and help the poor.
This is the manner of good government, if you desire that it should be durable, stable and
pleasing to God. It is also necessary in a well governed city that those who rule should impose
with justice those taxes which are payable by the town and its dominions, assessing them on
goods, and not by judgement (arbitrio), as has sometimes been done, in order that men may exert
themselves for the good of all. They should also take care that these imposts on goods should be
so moderated as not to exceed the level of income. Similarly, excises should be moderated to
that both public and private have their due (el publico ed el privato abbia suo dovere). In short,
all tyranny and bad practice should be removed. Dowries, too, should be kept within bounds, for
houses and families are often seen to be impoverished by excessive ones. For example,whoever
tries to regulate these matters would judge that the greater citizens' dowries ought not to exceed
five hundred ducats, and those of craftsmen around three hundred, and no one on this account
should spoil the dowries of the Monte, which are a common resource for all to share.
Above all, you should take care that no one sets himself up as chief or lord of the city.
Such men lack the grace of God and His special providence and are commonly the worst sort of
people, lacking both understanding and faith. They conduct all their affairs by means of
astrology, which is contrary not only to holy Scripture, but also to natural philosophy, since they

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cannot know future contingent things nor many particular events which may occur. Besides,
men of this kind have no real love of anyone, and they trust no one. True and warm friendship is
the necessary guarantee of virtue in human affairs, yet these have no good qualities, nor can they
establish true friendship. They always harbour hatred towards the good, and towards those
whose behaviour differs from their own; and they are afraid of such men, and cannot bear to have
just men around them, because justice makes men magnanimous, and the wicked shun them.
They consort only with people of the worst kind, and say, 'You look after me, and I'll look after
you'. They often cannot even trust themselves, nor sometimes their wives, nor their children.
And continuous fear will not permit them undiluted happiness even in their own pleasures, and
indeed their lordship cannot be long-lasting since the whole people, even if they do not show it,
regard their tyranny with hatred. It is said that a population under a tyranny is like a blocked
stream which, as soon as it finds a small opening through which to escape, bursts suddenly and
destructively out. All of this is willed by divine justice, for these tyrants are given to people for
their sins, as Scripture says: Dabo tibi regem in furore meo; and when the punishment is served,
it has a term, since God is merciful, and then the tyrant is sent away and the whole people rises
up against him. So, when God wishes to show His mercy, He banishes the tyrant. Have a care,
therefore, that such men do not raise their heads within your city, and attend to the common
good. And I shall tell you how this should be done, as God inspires me. I have told you in the
past few days that, when a natural agent wishes to do something, its entire attention is shaped in
the form of that thing; and similarly I say that you should seize upon a good form for this new
government of yours - and above all, that none should think of making himself head of it, if you
wish to live in liberty. The form which you have initiated will not survive unless you reorder it
in a better way. I believe there is no better example than that of the Venetians, and that you
should adopt their example, excluding whatever is irrelevant or of no use to us, such as that
concerning the doge. And I think, too, that it would be as well to inspire the artisans to behave
virtuously by offering them some kind of reward and inducement in the form of honours. And
again, that it should not be out of the question that greater offices should be chosen by election,
and lesser ones by sortition. Other than this, there is a need for laws, as I have told you before,
against the vice of sodomy and persons of ill repute, and that all vice should be banished from
the city.
Onward, then! and take in the first place a good form; and then, as to other arrangements,
we shall advise and provide whatever is necessary. What I have said hitherto is not inconsistent
with what you have begun. And I urge you to act with all speed, for so God has inspired me.
The very illustrious Signoria will press on, in order that your crown should not be taken from
you. If you perform in a good spirit all these things I have spoken of, I promise you ex parte Dei
the remission of all your sins, and great glory in Paradise. You, citizen of another state, say that
you wish to feel secure. Behold, you are safe. The form of a new mode of life which is taking
shape will make you safe; the government of the city in accordance with God's will shall make
you secure, requiring that you be at peace with the others. Recedant vetera et nova sint omnia;
everything is in process of renewal, and the form it is taking will make all safe, because it will
guarantee to everyone whatever is his and whatever he needs. So none should fear: the city will
belong to everyone; and it is better to have the whole than a part.
Forward, it begins today! Today is the start of the good life. And to start with, the first
thing you must establish is a universal peace amongst the citizens. All things past should be
pardoned and cancelled out. I tell you this and command you in the name of God: pardon
everyone, I say, and consider that anyone, if investigated, might have proved guilty of the same
thing. And if you do what I have told you, you will be safe on all sides; and if this does not
prove true, take me and do to me whatever ill you wish. If all of you citizens make this peace

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together and be as one, believe me that, hearing of this unity, all of your enemies will fear you,
and you will thus be safer and stronger than they.
Now, in order to make this universal peace amongst all the citizens, in the new as in the
old state, you must turn first to God, from Whom comes all grace and every gift. So let prayers
be offered up continuously everywhere for three days, so that God may dispose each heart to
make peace willingly. And in this way, having been able to give your government a good form,
you can, by referring more carefully to it, realise this ordinance. (E in questo mezzo, per potere
pigliare buona forma al vostro governo, potete, per consultarla meglio, pigliare questo ordine.)
You have in your city sixteen so-called gonfaloni di compagnia, who hold under them
and embrace the entire city and all the citizens. Let the citizens all gather together, each to his
banner (gonfalone), and let them discuss and examine what seems to them the best form for your
regime (reggimento) to take. And let each gonfalone take the form advised by his citizens, so
that there will be sixteen forms; then let the gonfaloni meet and choose what appear to them the
best and most stable four designs, and report them to the magnificent Signoria. And there, after a
mass of the Holy Spirit has been sung in the chamber, let them select one of these four. And you
can be certain that whatever is chosen in this way will be from God. And as I said before, I
believe the Venetian form of government to be very good; and you should not be ashamed to
learn from others, since this form was given to them by God, and ever since they adopted it, there
has never been civil strife amongst them. And know this also, Florence, that God has made
Himself and will act as your doctor, if you will do as I have told you. Nor should you fear your
enemies, because you will always be stronger than they, and God will defend you, qui est
benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

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