The Values Of Government And Monarchs During The Pre-Enlightenment Era
586 Words3 Pages
During the pre-Enlightenment era monarchs ruled over Europe. The Kings and Queens had absolute power over their people. At the time, freedom was only a dream. During the enlightenment, people started to question their government and their leaders authority. The traditional ways and values of western society were challenged by the alternative morals of the enlightenment which caused many revolutions.
During the age of absolutism, monarchs demanded complete obedience from his people. Sophocles, a distinguished writer who died in 406 BC, wrote in the tragedy Antigone that "He whom the state appoints must be obeyed to the smallest matter." Even in ancient Greece, their rulers had complete obedience from their subjects. This was how the government was always arranged. Martin luther, a priest during the reformation, “God wills fidelity and allegiance shall be sacredly kept” Martin is trying to say that people could not decide if they disliked their king or wanted to change their loyalty. They believed if the appointed ruler was in power, then his people had no reason to question his rule.…show more content… In the treaty, "Two Treatises of Government" by John Locke, he believed "the state of nature is also the state of equality." He is saying that without a Monarchy, we all have equal and natural rights. To obtain freedom, a government does not need to give freedom, but it must not restrict and uphold the citizens freedom. According to Jean Jacques Rousseau, an enlightenment philosopher , "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." He believes that the government constrains its citizens and deprives them of their freedom. During the enlightenment, their ideas were applied to society which led to many revolutions and the freedom of many