Note 17 — Chapter IV · THE NATURE AND FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

The doctrine of the divine right of rulers was based upon certain Biblical texts, particularly Romans xiii, 1-7, and was put forth in the Middle Ages to support the secular rulers against the Church. The Bourbon kings of France, especially Louis XIV, asserted it, as well as the Stuart kings of England. The House of Hohenzollern in Germany maintained the doctrine, and the former Kaiser on more than one occasion alluded to himself as a ruler by divine right. Those who are interested in pursuing this topic further will find a great deal about it in J. N. Figgis, The Divine Right of Kings (London, 1896) and in The Political Writings of James I (ed. C. H. McIlwain, Cambridge, 1915).