In an age where scholars, lawyers, judges and just plain folk debate the original intent of the U.S. Constitution, Commentary on the Constitution from Plato to Rousseau demonstrates that the issues confronting the founders--as well as issues of understanding what the founders intended--can be traced back to antiquity. Stein looks at 14 historical figures who--by their words and/or deeds--set the stage for political thought before the constitution was written. All the subjects of this book deal as best they can with questions of the relationship between executive and other branches of...