+In Plato's Republic he argues that the soul is composed of three parts: +the logical, the spirited, and the appetitive. The logical (or rational) part is +that which cares for and seeks the truth. The spirited that part by which we are +impassioned by what we could (for the sake of simplicity) call emotions, such as +anger or joy. The appetitive that which is concerned with matters of material +appetite, such as food, sex, and other such pleasures. He also argues that these +three parts, if the soul is to be well-ordered, ought to be placed in a +hierarchy where the logical rules over the spirited and the appetitive, and the +spirited is subject to the logical and commands the appetite. +
+ +So far, all of this should seem to make sense, especially to a Catholic who +understands that we first seek God (i.e. Truth) and subject our whole being to +Him; we then rule over our passions, not to quench them, but to direct them to +that which is conducive to God's glory, which often involves (especially now +during the penitential season of Lent) the control of the appetite. But Plato +goes on to say that what can be found in the soul may also be found in the city +(i.e. society): that it too has these three parts and ought be ordered so. The +argument I would like to make is that Medieval Society (i.e. Christendom) +represented this order. With its imperfections, certainly, but nonetheless I +think it the case that Medieval Society functioned under this model. +
+ ++It is generally well known that the Medieval Society was divided into three main +parts: the Church, the rulers, and the workers. Of these three it seems quite +evident how they line up with the parts of the soul. The Church represents the +logical, not because it is primarily made up of philosophers, but because its +primary concern is with the Truth, i.e. God who is the highest truth. The rulers +are the spirited, as being both warriors and rulers made them seekers of glory, +but namely they were the only ones capable of establishing order based on higher +ideals. The workers were those concerned with the more mundane and merely +necessary affairs of food and crafts. My argument is thus that in the Middle +Ages society was organized such that the Church ruled of the rulers and the +workers, and the rulers subjected themselves to the Church and commanded the +workers. +
+ ++To modern audiences this may be strange considering that the highest authority +within a kingdom was considered to be its king, but this is because in today's +secular society we do not understand how the Church could influence society (and +indeed its governance) without necessarily forming a part of the governing body +(i.e. what we now call the State). Medieval Society took religion seriously, +thus understanding that God's representatives on Earth carried real authority +thought ought not be disregarded, especially as it pertains to matters of faith +and morals. If not for this it would have been impossible for popes to have +convoked the entirety of Christendom to fight in the Crusades. Thus it was not +necessary that the highest authority in a kingdom be a cleric, for all kings +recognized the highest authority on Earth to be none other than God himself. +
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