Book Reviews : Marsilius of Padua: The Defender of the Peace. Volume II, The Defensor Pacis. Translated with an introduction by ALAN GEWIRTH. (New York: Columbia University Press. 1956. Pp. xciv, 450. $8.50.)

• Published date: 01 September 1958
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295801100334
• Author: Thomas P. Jenkin
• Date: 01 September 1958
• Subject Matter: Articles

733

peaceful

settlement

of

international

conflict,

and

strongly

urges

the

develop-

ment

of

regional

courts,

in

particular

an

Arab

Court,

with

compulsory

jurisdiction

to

hear

cases

brought

by

international

bodies,

other

public

bodies,

and

individuals,

as

well

as

by

states.

Along

the

route

of

his

argu-

ment,

he

demonstrates

a

willingness

to

profit

from

and

knowledge

(though

not

always

understanding)

of

considerable

Western

experience

with

the

problems

involved.

Perhaps

the

most

valuable

section of

the

book

is

Chapter

IV,

in

which

Islamic

theories

of

sovereignty

are

discussed.

Other

than

this,

the

unique

features

of

Islamic

law

in

a

regional

system

of

international

law

are

not

identified,

though

frequently

insisted

upon.

The

author

is

at

his

best

in

Part

III,

in

which

he

comments

upon

the

details

of

the

Draft

Statute

of

1950

which

would

determine

the

Court’s

composition,

jurisdiction,

and

related

matters.

One

is

perhaps

justified

in

failing

to

agree

with

the

author’s

frequently

expressed

belief

that

pan-Arabism

is

a

stronger

force

than

the

nationalisms

of

the

separate

Arab

states,

which

are

alleged

to

be

largely

the

product

of

Western

imperialism.

One

may

also

question

his

optimism

in

attributing

the

ills

of

international

affairs,

both

regional

and

general,

to

the

absence

of

properly

constituted

international

courts

with

compulsory

jurisdiction,

including

jurisdiction

over

cases

brought

by

individuals,

to

determine

all

relevant

matters

including

the

existence

of

domestic

questions;

and

to

the

absence

of

machinery

for

the

enforcement

of

such

court

decisions.

The

latter

is

only

briefly

referred

to

and

the

solution

is

hardly

discussed.

At

some

points

the

author

gives

evidence

of

being

at

the

mercy

of

his

authorities.

This

leads

to

contradictions

and

repetition.

The

book

also

con-

tains

far

too

many

printing

errors,

only

a

few

of

which

have been

noted

in

the

accompanying

errata

sheet.

University

of

California,

Los

Angeles.

FOSTER

H.

SHERWOOD.

Marsilius

of

Padua:

The

Defender

of

the

Peace.

Volume

II,

The

Defensor

Pacis.

Translated

with

an

introduction

by

ALAN

GEWIRTH.

(New

York:

Columbia

University

Press.

1956.

Pp.

xciv,

450.

$8.50.)

As

the

citation

may

indicate,

this

volume

consists

chiefly

in

a

transla,

tion

of

the

Defensor

Pacis;

but

the

Introduction

adds

an

extensive

and

valu,

able

critique

of

the

work

of

Marsilius.

The

volume

is

complete

in

itself;

that

is,

it

does

not

depend

in

any

essential

way

on

Volume

I,

Marsilius

of

f

Padua

and

Medieval

Political

Philosophy,

even

though

the

volumes

are

obviously

mutually

supplementary.

Professor

Gewirth

notes

in

his

Preface

that

&dquo;the

first

complete

transla-

tion

of

the

De f ensor

Pacis

into

any

modern

language&dquo;

is

encompassed

in

the