Abstract
HENRY SIDGWICK'S exposition of the theory of politics was published in two editions in his lifetime, as is well known to all English students of the subject. These posthumous lectures are the historical complement, βan evolutionary study of the development of polity within the historic period in Europe,β as Mrs. Sidgwick says in her preface. The author conceived, as the final part of the work, a comparative study of living modern constitutions, founded so far as possible on personal observation. He did not live, unhappily, to carry out any substantial portion of that design. Everyone who knew Sidgwick or was acquainted with his work would expect his account of any period or aspect of European history to be sound and careful, notwithstanding that he was not a professed historian. Everyone who knows anything of the difference between finished and not quite finished work is aware of the difficulties that commonly attend the posthumous publication of an author's materials, even if he has not had the experience of being charged with such a production himself. General observations of this kind prepare the way, in many cases, for an appreciation more or less apologetic in tone.
The Development of European Polity.
By Henry Sidgwick. Pp. xxvi + 454. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.; New York: the Macmillan Company, 1903.) Price 10s. net.
Enjoying our latest content?
Log in or create an account to continue
- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team
- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research
or
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
POLLOCK, F. The Development of European Polity . Nature 69, 265β266 (1904). https://doi.org/10.1038/069265a0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/069265a0
