Western Legal Tradition Essay, Research Paper
Western Legal Tradition Paper #1
Oct. 7, 1996
When Machiavelli wrote of whether it was more important to be feared
than loved, he had definitely studied the cases brought up in this paper. He
talked of how politics and power were all that a real leader should be
concerned with, and, if he isn’t how he will not be a strong leader. When
Machaivelli writes of being loved, he may have had the love for the gods in
mind, as is the case of the examples given in the assignment. The main
difference between the law and conceptions of law held by the ancient
Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, and Hebrew leaders versus rule by a band of
thieves, is just that- a distinction between love versus power.
All conceptions of law in ancient civilizations had one thing in
common: they were all supposed to be enforced by a more supreme being.
For the Egyptians that being was the Pharaoh; for the Mesopotamians, the
Gods and the rulers descended from them; and for the Jews, their God. The
people and the rulers both believed that if you violate the rules, then the
Gods would punish you. If you followed the Gods, then, conversely, they
would see to it that you were rewarded. In rule by a band of thieves, you
may have small amounts of love for the leaders, but the real reason that
keeps you following them is fear.
In ancient Egypt, rule was kept by a class of people known as
Pharaohs. These men were seen to have been descended from God, so they
were considered more than men- but just short of real gods. The earliest
Pharaohs were seen as some kind of shaman, or holy men with almost
mystical powers, sometimes wearing animal tails and “the beard of their
goat-flocks”(Course Packet, 6). Their conceptions of law had everything to
do with being “able to sustain the entire nation by having command over the
Nile flood”(Course Packet, 7). The Pharaoh was an omnipotent power and
was able to control everyone and everything- in all lands. The Egyptian
people were said to believe that He controlled the rain in other lands
because, as they felt, that rain was nothing but a Nile in the sky- and why
shouldn’t he control it? The Egyptians also believed, in conjunction with
belief in the Pharaoh, that there was a sense of “‘Ma’at’, which may have the
meaning of order, truth, justice, according to it’s context”(Course Packet,
13). Ma’at was believed to control the Nile. When there was a period of
Ma’at, the Nile was kind to the people, giving them favorable tides and
floods. Usually, the anti-Ma’at times were in between Pharaohs, and when
the Pharaohs were reanointed, Ma’at was restored. This all contributed to the
Egyptians’ belief in law and order and the conceptions that were held by the
Egyptians in loving their Pharaohs and seeing that their love was what makes
their lives better. The only fear involved may have come with the power that
the Pharoah’s had. The citizens may have feared the Pharoah’s power over
the Nile and other assorted natural occurences, but it was also in the
Pharoah’s best interests to keep everything running smoothly. He did this
because Pharoahs, when their powers began to wane, they were ritually
sacrificed.(Course Packet, 6)
As far as ancient Mesopotamia goes, the Code of Hammurabi was the
defining document of it’s time. It is seen as a document of prophetic
proportions because its ideas, such a pe
others would be considered fair even to this day. It also, however, made no
mention of religion. The code also praises Hammurabi, exalting him for
causing justice to prevail in His land and for destroying the wicked and the
evil. This was so because Hammurabi loved his people and wanted to be
loved by them, all the while keeping social order. He set rules for legal
procedure and then stated the penalties for the crimes such as unjust
accusation, false testimony, and injustice done by judges. Also, laws on
property rights, loans, deposits, and debts were inacted. In possibly the
most modern laws, he put into place laws which offered equal protection to
all of the classes of society; they sought to protect the weak and the poor,
and women and even children in a time when they were considered property.
Hammurabi’s fair laws and judgment made him loved and be followed by his
people, not just because he, too, had been called upon by the Gods to
protect this land from the “wicked and the evil”.
For the case of the ancient Hebrews, they believed in and followed
their true ruler, God. They had faith in His commandments and followed
them to the letter. They do this, of course, out of love. They love their God
and do not necessarily fear him. They want please him, so any fear that they
may have is one of failure to please the God that they love. A main part of
this theory is their conception of the laws. They believed that law, since it
came from their God, it is good, and they should follow it. Failure to do so,
in their minds, would have meant disobeying God, and that was no good.
The basis of these laws were the Ten Commandments, which lead the
Hebrews in all aspects of their lives. This basis was founded solely on their
religion and the beliefs associated with it. They could fear the wrath of God,
if you angered him, as the Egyptians did, but their love for him was stronger
than the fear of his power.
With a band of thieves, however, rule is of a different sort. Whoever
had the most power at the time had all the power. That is all that it is about-
power. If you have it, you can control the band; if you do not, someone
else will take it from you. Along with this power came an element of fear.
These criminal societies had no moral code, killing and injuring meant
nothing, so, even in the most evolved of criminal societies, the Mafia, you
can be killed if someone more powerful than you questions your dedication or
character. Order was kept, just like in other societies, but it was enforced in
a different manner. People in a Pharoah’s Egypt followed his rule because
they loved him and did not want to dissapoint him, not that they feared his
power. The underlings in a complex organized crime syndicate follow the
leader’s rule because they feared his wrath. This alone kept them from going
against the established rule, not love.
All the leaders of the societies shown had complete power over their
people, except for the band of thieves. Through love and trust, the leaders
of the ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and the ancient Hebrews had that
in common. They could rule without inducing the element of fear, their
subjects loved them because they were good, and their rules were thought to
be good, as well. If the rulers were happy, and the people were happy, then
the Nile would flow, order would be intact, and God would be happy.