ALTHUSIUS (Althus, Altusio), JOHANNES. - German Protestant jurist, born in East Friesland or the principality of Wittgenstein, c. 1556, died in Emden in 1638. In 1590 he was appointed professor of law
Among his works, special mention should be made of: Juris-prudentiae Romanae methodicae digestae atque exemplis sacris et profanis illustratae libri II (Basel 1586-89, Herborn 1592-99, and elsewhere), placed on the Index by decrees of March 20, 1615, and October 9, 1618, for erroneous ideas regarding the principle of authority. According to A., in fact, kings are nothing more than magistrates: he who possesses authority and sovereignty is the people, who can change at whim and even condemn to death the masters they have elected. The State is nothing more than the federalist result of families, communes, provinces; therefore no absolute and totalitarian power must exist. His other work, a continuation of the first, was also condemned (decree of March 18, 1620): Dicaelogiae libri III totum et universius, quo utimur complexentes (Herborn 1617 and elsewhere), where he returns to the same ideas: popular sovereignty, the mandate of the king or prince, revocable at the people's pleasure. The same must be said of a third work: Politica methodica digesta (Herborn 1603), which, however, is not explicitly on the Index.