Abstract

In modern times, an enlightened prince could be one who put the power of the State at the service of promoting science and knowledge, one who reformed the State in the light of political science, or one who sought to reconcile the unrestricted use of reason and obedience with civil laws. The convergence between the first two figures is present in the thoughts of Francis Bacon and Thoams Hobbes. While recognising the sovereign authority’s right to govern opinions, Hobbes was perhaps not as far from the third figure as one might think, given that he considered that the obedience of citizens must henceforth be voluntary and rational, resulting from their lucid knowledge of the indispensable role of the State in ensuring a peaceful social existence for all.