“It is common knowledge that nothing reinforces social order, providing it with stability, strength, and the ability to withstand alien influences better than … small private owners, whose interests would suffer adversely from all disruptions of normal working conditions.”
Dmitry Sipiagin
Thomas Aquinas is credited as one of the greatest proponents of natural law. During his time in Cologne he was taught by Albertus Magnus. Magnus used the teachings of Aristotle in his mentorship of Thomas Aquinas.
“Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” - Thomas Hobbes
“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.” Jean Jacques Rousseau
In January 1238 the Moskva River was frozen solid. This made it a great highway for the advancing army. The Golden Horde was commanded by Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan. Batu only knew victory and approaching Moscow he must have felt confident in continued success on the battlefield. His latest round of imperial conquest had begun the year before.
In 1237 Batu marched on Riazan. He was seeking a tribute of ten percent of armaments and of the armed men. Iurii Igorevich the prince of Riazan refused. This meant a battle would ensue. Iurii reached out to the nearby cities requesting aid, but it would be too slow in coming. Riazan fell to Batu.
Batu continued his advance. Geoffrey Hosking in his book Russia and the Russians notes:
“In Vladimir many of the inhabitants took refuge in the Cathedral of the Assumption, where...