| Title: | Absolute monarchy |
| Original Title: | Monarchie absolue |
| Volume and Page: | Vol. 10 (1765), pp. 636–637 |
| Author: | Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt (biography) |
| Translator: | Victor Genecin |
| Subject terms: |
Government
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| Original Version (ARTFL): | Link |
| Rights/Permissions: |
This text is protected by copyright and may be linked to without seeking permission. Please see http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/terms.html for information on reproduction. |
| URL: | http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0001.690 |
| Citation (MLA): | Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de. "Absolute monarchy." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Victor Genecin. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2011. Web. [fill in today's date in the form 18 Apr. 2009 and remove square brackets]. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0001.690>. Trans. of "Monarchie absolue," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 10. Paris, 1765. |
| Citation (Chicago): | Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de. "Absolute monarchy." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Victor Genecin. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0001.690 (accessed [fill in today's date in the form April 18, 2009 and remove square brackets]). Originally published as "Monarchie absolue," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 10:636–637 (Paris, 1765). |
Absolute monarchy, form of monarchy in which the whole of the citizenry believed that they should confer their sovereignty upon their prince, to the full extent, and with the absolute power, that resided originally in the citizens as a body, without imposing any restriction apart from those contained in the established laws. One should not confuse the absolute power of such a monarch with arbitrary and despotic power, because the origin and nature of absolute monarchy is limited by its very nature, by the intent of those from whom the king has his power, and by the fundamental laws of his state. Just as a people who live in a well-ordered society are happier than those who wander the forests without rulers or leaders, so monarchs who live according to the fundamental laws of their states are happier than despots, who have nothing that can govern the hearts of their subjects, nor their own hearts.