1704 Discourses Concerning Government by Algernon Sidney

Description: Discourses Concerning Government, by Algernon Sidney, Son to Robert Earl of Leicester, and Ambassador from the Commonwealth of England to Charles Gustavus King of Sweden, Publish’d from an Original Manuscript, The Second Edition carefully corrected, To which is Added, The Paper He deliver’d to the Sheriffs immediately before his Death. And an Alphabetical Table, Printed by J. Darby in Bartholomew-Close, London, 1704, 424 pp, plus table, frontispiece, original boards, 11.75 x 8.25”, folio. In good condition. Spine nicely rebacked with original spine compartments and morocco adhered. Light chipping to original compartments , gilt tooling remains.. overall abraded, but sturdy. Original Cambridge style boards in nice shape. Moderate scuffing to tips with light abrasions to surface of leather. Leather remains soft and rich in color. A previous owner’s old hand decorations to center panel on front and rear boards.. swirling pattern. Tulips elaborations embossed at each corner of center panel. Front hinge tender, but intact. Typical toning to edges of end papers with modest soiling. Interior lightly toned with a few instance of light fingersoiling to margins. Very light foxing, if any. Free of known markings or marginalia. Binding tight and intact. A very solid book! Please see photos. Algernon Sydney (1623-1683) was an English politician, republican theorist, colonel and opponent of King Charles II of England, who became involved in a plot against the King and was executed for treason. Thomas Jefferson regarded Locke and Sidney as the two leading sources for the American understanding of the principles of political liberty and the rights of humanity, and therefore his writing played a major role in the shaping of the American identity and drafting of the Declaration of Independence. For Sidney, absolute monarchy, in the form practiced by Louis XIV, was a great political evil. Discourses was written during the Exclusion Crisis, as a response to Robert Filmner’s Patriarcha , a defense of divine right monarchy, first published in 1680. Sidney was strongly opposed to the principles espoused by Filmer and believed that the Sovereign’s subjects had the right of duty to share in the government of the Realm by giving advice and counsel. It was Filmer’s business, he wrote, “to overthrow liberty and truth.” The book was first published in 1698, fifteen years after his execution. A formative book in U.S. history. RAREB1704KXYB

Price: 2500 USD

Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-02-28T16:01:39.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.57 USD