Genealogies of a Dying Republic
a perspective of St. Paul and Machiavelli
This morning at Divine Liturgy, the Epistles reading came from 1 Timothy 1; what caught my ear was:
“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.”
The “myths and endless genealogies” really peaked my interest (I’ve been trying to get political friendlies recently to stop overdosing on the red pill and rabbit holes). That being said, I did some keyword searches to know more parts of the New Testament which uses the word “genealogies” and it does appear similarly in Titus 3:
“But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.”
What I found interesting were the titles of each section—Timothy Charged to Oppose False Teachers and Saved in Order to Do Good. I take the statutes of Jesus Christ seriously. Anyway it hit me hard and just got me thinking deeply while I waited for my coffee as I continued reading Machiavelli’s “The Discourses” where I got through Book One—The Transition from Servitude to Freedom | Chapter 18. How in Corrupt Cities a Free Government can be maintained where it exists, or be established where it does not exist (link in footnotes)1.
In this short chapter, Machiavelli argues that once a state becomes deeply corrupted, the preservation of a free republican government is virtually impossible. The institutions and its laws (designed for a virtuous citizenry) can no longer function since virtue is lost. Any attempts at reform—meaning gradual or suddenly—are hindered by the very nature of corruption itself. Machiavelli lands that in an environment such as this, only a monarchy or near-monarchial power may restore order.
We live in an age obsessed with symbols of legitimacy—heritage, founding myths, sacred documents (e.g. the Constitution)—but blind to the rot that eats through their foundations. St. Paul warned the early Church not to waste time with “myths and endless genealogies.” Why? Because they “promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work.” In other words, fixating on lineage and legalism—on where we came from and who said what centuries ago—becomes a theological cul-de-sac when men have abandoned truth and virtue.
Machiavelli makes a similarish observation in the civic realm. He says that once a republic becomes corrupt, its original laws and institutions—no matter how brilliant or noble—become unfit for purpose. When citizens are no longer virtuous, the forms created for a virtuous people cannot restrain them. The republic may still carry the outer shell of legitimacy, but its inner life is gone. Updating the laws won’t work if the constitution remains stuck in the past; one must change the very frame of governance, or face collapse.
We are here 📍
We’re governed by the genealogies of the Enlightenment and the Constitution, citing checks and balances and individual rights while it cannibalizes the nation. The people’s character has decayed, but the system built for a once-virtuous citizenry remains on autopilot, vulnerable to manipulation, inertia, and ideological or even technical capture. Laws are passed, elections are held, institutions are staffed—but nothing works as it should, because the body politic is diseased and the treatment is cosmetic.
St. Paul tells us how to handle those who stir up division with vain speculation: warn them once, warn them twice, and then cut them off. Machiavelli, in a colder but just as clear tone, says the only way to reform a corrupted republic is through extraordinary means—by force, if necessary, and under the command of a ruler strong enough to impose order where the law no longer can. Not because monarchy is ideal, but because it’s the only thing left when civic virtue is dead. Lest you forget the etymology of king.
The ignored truth is that republicanism requires restraint, and restraint requires self-governance—and that’s a virtue no longer taught, expected, nor rewarded. We don’t live in a land of citizens anymore; we live in a theme park of consumers and rival tribes. Our Constitution is now a genealogy—worshipped as a relic, invoked in legal briefs, but useless for advancing the good in a corrupt age.
The question isn’t whether to defend the old forms, but whether we still have the courage to recognize they’ve lost their grip—and whether someone will arise willing to do what’s necessary to restore order, not just nostalgia.
Because when the people are too far gone, and the law is no longer feared, the only thing that stops the bleeding is a hand strong enough to cauterize the wound.
Link is here: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/machiavelli/works/discourses/ch01.htm#s18
search for “How in a corrupt state a free government may be maintained, assuming that one exists there already; and how it could be introduced, if none had previously existed”