The ideas of the late humanists of the early 17th century, unlike those of their 15th and16th century predecessors, have received relatively little attention among modern dayscholars. Through Institutionum Politicarum Libri Quatuor (1623), a work by the handof Nicolaus Vernulaeus (1583-1649), humanist and professor of Latin and rhetoric at theuniversity of Leuven, I will demonstrate that this lack of historical knowledge does notreflect a lack of interesting sources for this period. Vernulaeus holds highly originalideas about the state and political power. Using concepts such as people, religion andempire in often rather unconventional ways, his work develops an original conceptionof the respublica.
