Representing perhaps the most celebrated English historian since Gibbon, this collection of a series of F.W. Maitland's (1850-1906) later essays is designed to bring his thought to the attention of political theorists and political scientists, as well as historians. The essays are about the historical origins of the state, and many of their themes--the limits of state power, the interrelationship between states and corporations--are of continuing relevance today.

Sir Thomas Smith (1513 77) was a humanist scholar, colonialist and diplomat, and also held a prominent position in the court of Queen Elizabeth. First published in 1906, this book contains the original 1583 text of De republica Anglorum, Smith's pioneering study of the English social, judicial and political systems. The work was written from 1562 to 1565, when Smith was Elizabeth's ambassador to France. This edition contains an editorial introduction and appendices, including information on manuscripts and versions of the text after 1583. It will be of value to anyone with an interest in...