Omnia sunt communia
Omnia sunt communia is a Latin phrase and slogan translated as "all things are to be held in common"[1] or simply "all things in common". Originating in the Latin translation of the Acts of the Apostles, altered forms of the slogan were applied as a legal maxim in canon law and later in secular law. The phrase was also a central inspiration for Christian communism.
Origin[edit]
Omnia sunt communia derives from Acts 2:44 and 4:32 in the Christian Bible.[2] The standard Koine Greek texts of the New Testament describe the Early Christians of the Apostolic Age as "having all things in common" (Greek: εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά, eîchon hápanta koiná).[3] after the miracles of Pentecost while the apostles celebrated Shavuot in Jerusalem shortly after Jesus's crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. This event is celebrated by Christians as the beginning of the church[4] and usually dated to somewhere between AD 30 and 36.[5] After Peter's first trial before the Sanhedrin at some later date, the Christians are described as "one in heart and mind" and it is repeated that "to them all things were in common" (ἦν αὐτοῖς πάντα κοινά, ēn autois panta koina).[6] In the Vulgate, Jerome's Latin translation, these passages become "they held all things in common" (Latin: habebant omnia communia)[7] and "to them all things were in common" (erant illis omnia communia).[8]
Legal doctrine[edit]
The 12th-century Italian jurist Bernardus Papiensis adapted the phrase into canon law as tempore necessitate omnia sunt communia, "in a time of necessity all things are common".[9] In his treatise on justice in the Summa Theologica,[10] 13th-century philosopher Thomas Aquinas used the same phrase, as well as the broader concept, to argue that it was not a sin for a person to steal if they were motivated by genuine need.[11] Dialogus, a text written in the 14th century by William of Ockham, also used the specific Latin phrase omnia sunt communia.[12] The same principle was later applied in secular law in various contexts, including justifying emergency taxation by a monarch.[13]
Hugo Grotius used the phrase as adapted by Papiensis to argue that states must not prevent refugees from entering their lands if they had been forced out of their own.[14] English jurist Matthew Hale added a qualifier, proposing that in casu extremæ necessitatis omnia sunt communia, literally "in cases of extreme necessity everything is held in common". In English common law, this essentially meant that private property could be seized by the government for the purpose of its defense, and the previous owners of that property would have no legal recourse. More broadly, it signified that the welfare of the community was prioritized over that of any individual.[15] This concept developed over time into expropriation,[15] as well as eminent domain.[16]
Other historical use[edit]
The description of the members of the early church in Acts was a key inspiration for Christian communism.[2] Thomas Müntzer, a leader in the German Peasants' War, described the concept of omnia sunt communia as the definition of the Gospel,[17] arguing also that all things "should be distributed as occasion requires, according to the several necessities of all".[2]
In Utopia by Thomas More, the phrase omnia sunt communia is used to describe the lifestyle of the Utopians, as on More's fictional island of Utopia "all things are held in common".[18]
See also[edit]
- Koinonia – Christian fellowship
- Zwijndrechtse Nieuwlichters – 19th cent. Christian sect inspired by apostolic communism
- "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" – Communist slogan
- The Goose and the Common - 18th cent. poem that condemned enclosure
References[edit]
- ^ Boer 2019, p. 21.
- ^ a b c Boer 2019, p. 22.
- ^ Acts 2:44 (Nestle)
- ^ BBC 2014.
- ^ Cf. Chronology of Jesus.
- ^ Acts 4:32 (Nestle)
- ^ Acts 2:44 (F)
- ^ Acts 4:32 (F)
- ^ de Wilde 2015, p. 29.
- ^ "Justice". Summa Theologiae.
- ^ de Wilde 2015, p. 33.
- ^ Offler 1977, p. 212.
- ^ de Wilde 2015, p. 30.
- ^ de Wilde 2018, p. 489.
- ^ a b Alward 1899, p. 230.
- ^ Alward 1899, p. 231.
- ^ Boer 2019, p. 64.
- ^ Baker-Smith 2014, pp. 502–503.
Works cited[edit]
- "Pentecost", Religions: Christianity, London: BBC, 2014.
- Alward, Silas (1899). "Expropriation of Property". Canadian Law Times. 18 (11): 230–236.
- Baker-Smith, Dominic (2014). "On Translating More's Utopia". Canadian Review of Comparative Literature. 41 (4): 492–505. doi:10.1353/crc.2014.0044. ISSN 1913-9659. S2CID 162268309 – via Project MUSE.
- Boer, Roland (February 11, 2019). Red Theology: On the Christian Communist Tradition. Studies in Critical Research on Religion. Vol. 10. Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/9789004394773_003. ISBN 978-90-04-39477-3. S2CID 188857352.
- de Wilde, Marc (2015). "Emergency Powers and Constitutional Change in the Late Middle Ages". Legal History Review. 83 (1): 26–59. doi:10.1163/15718190-08312p03. S2CID 142368337 – via Hein Online.
- de Wilde, Marc (2018). "Seeking Refuge: Grotius on Exile, Expulsion and Asylum". Journal of the History of International Law. 20 (4): 471–500. doi:10.1163/15718050-12340094. S2CID 151145377 – via Hein Online.
- Offler, H. S. (1977). "The Three Modes of Natural Law in Ockham: A Revision of the Text". Franciscan Studies. 37 (1): 207–218. doi:10.1353/frc.1977.0004. ISSN 1945-9718. S2CID 171071867 – via Project MUSE.