LORD ACTON

Estudio preliminar, por Manuel Álvarez Tardío.Contiene: - La Historia de la Libertad y otros ensayos. - Cristianismo y Libertad. Las posibilidades de un catolicismo liberal. - Ensayos de historia mod

El presente volumen recoge fundamentalmente la selección de ensayos de Lord Acton que Gertrude Himmelfarb publicó en 1948 bajo el título Essays on Freedom and Power. Sin embargo, se han añadido otros que, a nuestro juicio, completan dicha selección y ayudan a comprender la visión de Lord Acton sobre el progreso de la libertad en la historia. Los ensayos aquí recogidos son los siguientes: El Estudio de la Historia, conferencia pronunciada en Cambridge el 11 de junio de 1895. Publicada con el título A Lecture on the Study of History (Londres 1895). Reeditada en Acton, Lectures on Modern Story (ed. por John Figgis y Reginald Laurence, Londres 1906), pp. 1-28, 319-342; Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power (ed. por Gertrude Himmelfarb, Illinois 1948), pp. 3-29, 399-428; Acton, Essays in the Liberal Interpretation of History (ed. por William McNeill, Chicago 1967), pp. 300-359. En nuestra edición se han suprimido las abundantes notas, material no integrado en el texto y reunido por el Autor en vistas a una posterior elaboración. Historia de la Libertad en la Antigüedad. Publicado originariamente, junto con "The History of Freedom in Christianity", con el título The History of Freedom in Antiquity and the History of Freedom in Christianity, Two Addresses delivered to the members of the Bridgnorth Institute at the Agricultural Hall, February 26, and May 28, 1877 (Bridgnorth: C. Edkins, Printer), pp, 11, 12. Reeditado en Acton, History of Freedom and other Essays (ed. por John Figgis y Reginald Laurence, Londres 1907), pp. 1-60; Freedom and Power, cit., pp. 30-87; Liberal Interpretation of History, cit..continúa

The two volumes of his lectures on modern history and on the French Revolution give us in their full ripeness the sum of Actons historical judgments. History was not to Acton a mere academic pursuit. With that view of history which considers it, beneath the dry light of science, as a series of phenomena capable of detachment from the present, susceptible to separate analysis, he had no sympathy. Still less did he consider history a mere form of literary exposition. The one justification for the study of history was to Acton its value as a guide in the affairs of the every-day world. The present is what it is because of what the past has been. Human development has been a continuous chain of cause and effect. Any course of action in the present must be based upon a knowledge of the way in which things we now do are hedged in, limited by what men have done before us. History thus becomes a great mentor, a schoolmaster of action. This is the annotated edition including more than one hundred footnotes.

The two volumes of his lectures on modern history and on the French Revolution give us in their full ripeness the sum of Actons historical judgments. History was not to Acton a mere academic pursuit. With that view of history which considers it, beneath the dry light of science, as a series of phenomena capable of detachment from the present, susceptible to separate analysis, he had no sympathy. Still less did he consider history a mere form of literary exposition. The one justification for the study of history was to Acton its value as a guide in the affairs of the every-day world. The present is what it is because of what the past has been. Human development has been a continuous chain of cause and effect. Any course of action in the present must be based upon a knowledge of the way in which things we now do are hedged in, limited by what men have done before us. History thus becomes a great mentor, a schoolmaster of action.

This volume must be regarded not as the support of an existing reputation, or as a bid for the establishment of posthumous renown, but as the record and memorial of a rare and attractive personality. The accurate, insatiable, and broad-minded student is revealed ; the generous champion of a noble cause which has suffered temporary defeat is seen on the field of his eager endeavour in controversy with Popes and Cardinals for the sake of freedom and truth ; and the principles which he brought to the study of history or elicited from his observation of men and affairs throughout the centuries are set forth for all to read. From the Contents: Wolsey And The Divorce Of Henry VIII. The Borgias And Their Latest Historian Secret History Of Charles II. The Civil War In America. Its Place In History The Rise And Fall Of The Mexican Empire The Causes Of The Franco-Prussian War ... and many more ...

This volume must be regarded not as the support of an existing reputation, or as a bid for the establishment of posthumous renown, but as the record and memorial of a rare and attractive personality. The accurate, insatiable, and broad-minded student is revealed ; the generous champion of a noble cause which has suffered temporary defeat is seen on the field of his eager endeavour in controversy with Popes and Cardinals for the sake of freedom and truth ; and the principles which he brought to the study of history or elicited from his observation of men and affairs throughout the centuries are set forth for all to read. This is the annotated edition including several hundred footnotes. From the Contents: The History Of Freedom In Antiquity The History Of Freedom In Christianity Sir Erskine Mays Democracy In Europe The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew The Protestant Theory Of Persecution Mr. Goldwin Smiths Irish History ... and many more ...

The Cambridge Modern History is a comprehensive modern history of the world, beginning with the 15th century Age of Discovery. The first series was planned by Lord Acton and edited by him with Stanley Leathes, Adolphus Ward and George Prothero. The Cambridge Modern History Collection features all five original volumes:Volume I: The RenaissanceVolume II: The Reformation, the End of the Middle AgesVolume III The Wars of ReligionVolume IV: The 30 Years WarVolume V: The Age of Louis XIV