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Article: Taming the top brass: it's convenient for sovereigns to think there is no higher power. But even supreme leaders need rules to guide them. Otherwise, they are accountable to no one, and, human nature being what it is, they mill fight each other in an endless quest to conquer all. (Introduction).(Powers of the Sovereign)
- Article from:
- Canada and the World Backgrounder
- Article date:
- January 1, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Canada & the World. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By most accounts, Jean Bodin had a major-league brain. He was born in the town of Angers in west-central France in 1530. His family was prosperous and that meant he was able to get a good education. But, Bodin did not have to be dragged by the heels to the classroom, he had a naturally enquiring mind and he read everything he could get his hands on.
In 1551, Bodin went to the University of Toulouse to study civil law. He stayed there for 10 years, first as a student, and then as a law teacher. He moved to Paris to work as a lawyer and began writing. He published books on history and economics before his most famous work. In 1576, his Six Livres de la Republique ...