REASON OF STATE. — *Ratio* is the principle, the rule that governs the life of the State. The *reason of state* is the translation of *ratio reipublicae*. The famous phrase makes its first appearance in the Italian language in the *Dialogo del reggimento di Firenze* by Francesco Guicciardini (cf. ed. by R. Palmarocchi, Bari 1932, p. 163). Its original sense (according to the Italian etymology of *ragione*: *ratio status*) is the concept of the State, and such is the sense BORGO (v.) to his political work: *Della r. di S.* (Venice 1589), famous in its time as a work to be contrasted with Machiavelli’s *Prince* (v.). But already from that time (end of the 16th century) the phrase began to take on a somewhat different meaning, interpreting *ragione* in the sense of a reason for action and thus an exigency.
At first, it was restricted to the existence of what is necessary for survival, that is, to guaranteeing the State’s right to exist. The *reason of state* was invoked to justify exceptional measures that limited the ordinary rights recognized by law or custom for the people, or that seemed to violate international justice. The phrase had a very elastic sense, thus serving in politics and diplomacy to cloak with a mantle of dignity the selfish interests of a nation or a dominant caste (cf. G. Chiaramonti, *Della r. di S.*, Florence 1635). In this sense, it was not without precedents in the maxims and practices of politicians of all ages, such as the Roman *salus publica suprema lex* and Caiaphas’ plea: “You understand nothing; do you not reflect that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, rather than that the whole nation should perish?” (John 11:49-50).
In political doctrine, which developed along the lines of Machiavelli, what at first was presented as an emergency measure became a maxim: the interest of the State stands above all else (*Prince*, chap. 18 § 2). Gradually, with the prevalence of Enlightenment mentality, the limits that respect for the moral doctrines of the State’s own religion imposed—at least in appearance—on this maxim fell away: the theory of the modern State was perfected and received from Hegel its metaphysical formulation. The *reason of state* thus ends in the identification of reason with the State: the State is the highest realization of reason, of the Spirit.
Medieval doctrine, summarized by St. Thomas Aquinas, assigned to the State a purpose beyond itself, namely the *bonum humanum*, the good of the human person (cf. *Sum. Theol.*, 1a-2ae, q. 102, a. 1; 2a-2ae, q. 174, a. 2; I. Leclerq, *L'État ou la politique*, Namur 1929). The modern State, however, recognizes no purpose beyond itself: it absorbs the individual, who is not truly a man except insofar as he is a cell of the State, and has no rights except those granted by the State, nor can he assert before it demands that do not coincide with the life of the State. Similarly, smaller societies, intermediate between the State and the individual (among which the family comes first), do not exist for their own sake but only as an emanation of the State: the State does not content itself with directing and disciplining them with its sovereignty; it absorbs them into itself as the principle of their very existence. The State monopolizes entirely the social nature of man, denying or ignoring that it can be realized in ways that do not fall within the scope of the State itself, as occurs with the bond of universal humanity or with the spiritual bond that unites Christians in the supernatural society of the Church of Christ (M. Missioli, *Date a Cesare*, Rome 1931, pp. 7, 339 ff.; A. Hitler, *Mein Kampf*, Munich 1933, esp. pp. 451 ff., 490 ff.; G. Del Vecchio, *La crisi dello Stato*, in *Saggi intorno allo Stato*, Milan 1936, p. 49 ff.; C. Benoist, *La crise de l'état moderne*, Paris 1936). In this conception, characteristic of the modern State, the *reason of state* is no longer merely an intransigent assertion of the primacy of the State’s interest over any other consideration, even moral; nor is it merely the proclamation of the autonomy of politics (v.), as a category irreducible to that of ethics (a doctrine that can in some way be traced back to Machiavelli); but it becomes the supreme rationalization of reality, and thus the very principle of ethics identified with politics (cf. C. Schmitt, *Politische Theologie*, Munich-Leipzig 1922). The inhuman consequences to which such a doctrine leads in practice have entered the historical experience of recent decades. A reaction (cf. C. Dawson, *Il giudizio delle nazioni*, Milan 1946; H. Belloc, *La crisi della civiltà*, Brescia 1948) has already appeared, and the aforementioned doctrine of the modern State is beginning to provoke opposition in our day, even outside the field of Catholic scholars, who have always rejected it as false in itself and the mother of despotism (cf. J. Huizinga, *Lo scempio del mondo*, Milan 1948).
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**RAGUSA, DIOCESE OF** — Interior of the church of S. Maria della Scala, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1900. It preserves in the right aisle some arches from the 14th century.
of which, instead, the churches of the larger municipalities constituted the benefices of the canons of the Metropolitan of Syracuse.
The territory of the diocese of R. was inhabited in prehistoric times by the Siculi, with necropolises carved into the rocky walls of the valleys; the indigenous name of Ibla probably belongs to the city of R. In the Greek age, the territory is listed by the colony of Camarina. In the Roman period, some small cities arose in whose vicinity are found the principal testimonies of early Christianity: catacombs and hypogea, generally of Constantinian age, but with some older elements. Churches of Byzantine age are documented at Caucana, Acrilla, and Comiso. At the anchorage of Caucana, in 533, Belisarius gathered his fleet to sail for Malta and Africa.
The importance of R. in the Norman age—it had been conquered by the Arabs in 856—is attested by the geography of Edrisi, who celebrates its buildings and squares, its cultivable land, the frequency of commerce, its nobility, and ancient civilization. In this period, it was granted by Count Roger to one of his comrades-in-arms, and perhaps his natural son, Goffredo, who took the name of Ragusa; he contributed to the endowment of the Church of Syracuse and in R. built the abbey of S. Maria la Nuova and donated the mother church of S. Giorgio.
The development of R. reflects the particular forms of the Sicilian feudal system, which, where personal initiatives, fertile lands, and lively trade converge, permits the formation of a bourgeois and noble class that culminates in the achievement of municipal institutions. R. had 7,827 inhabitants in 1583, rising to 8,863 in 1714 and to 23,500 at the close of the 18th century.
In Ragusa, the surviving portal of the ancient church of S. Giorgio, built around the mid-15th century, is to be considered one of the most elegant examples of Sicilian architecture of the time, characterized by Castilian volumes; the stylized flower with which the arch concludes is accompanied by a series of figurative sculptures that serve the architectural function. In Chiaramonte, the oldest part of the sanctuary of Gulfi dates back to the same period; while two marble statues of the Saviour and the Madonna belong to the Renaissance. In Comiso, the structures of the Castello, the church of S. Francesco, the work of an extensive craftsman who with exceptional skill combined various architectural experiences, are testimonies to the architectural nobility that marked the capital and the major centres before the earthquake of 1693, which gravely damaged them. Rising from the destruction, Ragusa enriched itself with a new district, which, drawing from the slope the motifs of an appropriate urban layout—attributed to the animator of the rebirth, Baron Mario Leggio—became the new urban centre.
The church of S. Giorgio Nuovo, in the old quarter, begun in 1739 (architect R. Gagliardi) and enriched internally with paintings and decorations, including the remains of a *fare gagesco* tribune from the previous church, is the largest building in the old town, crowned by thirty smaller churches (about 40 no longer exist), as well as by palaces among which it is worth recalling the Sortino palace, with its rich Baroque balustrade, and the Donnafugata palace, which houses a notable collection of paintings and ceramics. In the new town, the cathedral of S. Giovanni, in Baroque style, erected between 1706 and 1778, contains notable works of art (paintings by Manno, Vaccaro, and Paolo Vetri), while the church of the Ecce Homo (1808) is remarkable for its scenographic arrangement, and that of the Collegio represents one of the most correct examples of 18th-century Sicilian architecture. To these works has been added an entire complex of new buildings, following the elevation of Ragusa to the capital of the homonymous province in 1926.
In the field of religious institutions, Ragusa boasts a constant tradition of civic generosity. Charitable works and confraternities have arisen at all times through the initiative of individuals and families; among these are the Opera Ospedale Sammito, the Messa dell'Alba, the Ospedale Paternò-Arezzo, and more recently the donations of Sozzi and Cartia, which have formed the basis for the establishment of the diocese.
Among the notable figures of Ragusa are the Jesuit Niccolò Urso, praised by Aguilera for his exemplary virtues; G. B. Odierna (1597–1660), the famous astronomer; the theologian Carlo Bellio of the second half of the 15th century; Ascenzo Guerrieri, tutor to Pope Urban VIII, who appointed him Bishop of Castellana in Apulia; Vincenzo Laureffe, polyglot and orientalist, who in 1623 was appointed Bishop of Monreale; Giuseppe Micieli Marquez, author of a Latin-Spanish ecclesiastical lexicon; and the bibliophile
