Joseph de Maistre's Considerations on France (1797) is the best known French equivalent of Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. The work of the self-exiled Maistre presents a providential interpretation of the French Revolution and argues for a new alliance of throne and altar under a restored Bourbon monarchy. Although Maistre's influence within France was delayed until the Restoration, he is now acknowledged as the most eloquent spokesperson for continental conservatism. This edition features an Introduction by Isaiah Berlin.

David Hume is commonly known as one of the greatest philosophers to write in English. He was also one of the foremost political and economic theorists and one of the finest historians of the eighteenth century. His political essays reflect the entire range of his intellectual engagement with politics--as political philosophy, political observation and political history--and function as an extension of and supplement to works such as his Treatise of Human Nature and his History of England. The twenty-seven most important essays are presented in this fully annotated edition, together with...

This remarkable expression of republican thought has never before been published. Algernon Sidney was among the most unrelenting republican partisans of the seventeenth century, and was executed for his opposition to Charles II. Written during Sidney's continental exile, the vivid Court Maxims was only recently rediscovered. The work presents a lively discussion about the principles of government and the practice of politics, articulating a vital tradition of republicanism in an absolutist age.

The French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857) is generally acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of sociology, and one of the most influential "grand theorists" of the nineteenth century. This edition of his early essays from the 1820s is based on a new translation, and aims to make his ideas and the development of his thought accessible to modern readers. A comprehensive introduction establishes the historical significance of Comte's work and shows how his ideas emerged from the rich intellectual turmoil of post-revolutionary France.

This is a new and highly accessible rendition of one of the classics of English political writing. Paul Smith presents the text of the first (1867) edition of Bagehot's The English Constitution, together with the original conclusion, as well as Bagehot's long introduction to the second edition of 1872. All the usual student-friendly features of the Cambridge Texts series are present, including a concise explanatory introduction, select bibliography and brief biographies of key figures, as well as annotation designed to explain to modern readers some of Bagehot's more arcane contemporary...

Almost on the eve of the sixteenth-century Reformation, the long-running debate over the respective authority of popes and councils in the Catholic Church was vigorously resumed. This book offers the first English translation of four major contributions to that debate. These complex arguments are fundamental for any society under government, whether church or state, and even on the threshold of the twenty-first century the concerns that underlie and animate these scholastic disputations continue to retain their force.

Thoreau's political writing is intensely personal and direct. Both his life and work focus uncompromisingly on the question "how should I live?." This edition of Thoreau's political essays includes "Civil Disobedience," selections from Walden, and the anti-slavery addresses. In her introduction, Nancy L. Rosenblum places the essays in the context of Thoreau's life of self-examination, and analyzes the themes of citizenship and resistance that have made Thoreau an enduring influence in political philosophy and practice.

This book brings together a comprehensive collection of the writings of one of the greatest philosophers in the Western tradition. Along with five of John Locke's major essays, seventy shorter essays are included that stand outside the canonical works that Locke published during his lifetime. For the first time students will be able to fully explore the evolution of Locke's ideas concerning the philosophical foundations of morality and sociability, the boundary of church and state, the shaping of constitutions, and the conduct of government and public policy.

This is a completely new translation of one of the great works of Western political thought. In addition to Tom Griffith's vivid, dignified and accurate rendition of Plato's text, this edition is suitable for students at all levels. It contains an introduction that assesses the cultural background to the Republic, its place within political philosophy, and its general argument; succinct notes in the text; an analytical summary of content; a full glossary of proper names; a chronology of important events; and a guide to further reading.

Benjamin Franklin is one of the best known and least understood figures in the history of eighteenth-century political thought. Alan Houston clarifies our understanding of his thought by making available a representative selection of his most important political writings. The entire text of the Autobiography is included alongside letters, essays, pamphlets, and manuscript notes that cover political economy, moral psychology, and religious belief and practice, among other topics.