The History of Freedom and other Essays: Annotated Edition

by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

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 The History Of Freedom In Antiquity The History Of Freedom In Christianity Sir Erskine May's Democracy In Europe The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew The Protestant Theory Of Persecution Mr. Goldwin Smith's Irish History ... and many more ...

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Essays

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English historian.

Reviews

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

Along with the two titular lectures, this book includes a handful of other essays by the author, but the bulk of its content is made up of his reviews of other books. Acton wrote excellently and his essays are always full of insights, though I must admit that a lot was lost on me because his essays on history and Christianity assume a lot of background knowledge of both Christian and European history which I do not have.

As one might expect, some of Acton's views on freedom are a little out of date today (such as the "necessity" of slavery - though he calls it deplorable with the same breath), but there's still plenty to be learnt here. The book reviews were probably more relevant when this book was first published, but history scholars might get something out of them.

I'd recommend the titular essays to just about anyone who finds the title "The History of Freedom" appealing (as long as they can think critically about what Acton has to say). Scholars who are interested in (and have a thorough background knowledge of) Christian history will gain more from the remainder of the book than I did.

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

17 Dec. 2018 - I remember reading the title essay and some of the other essays in college for an independent study class and generally liking it, but not being as impressed as I was expecting to be, considering the renown of the author.

This essay I believe, is where the famous phrase: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" comes from.

[Szplug · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about the man, but I'm a tad Lord Acton'ed out at the moment...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just have the main essay-and it's oh so well written.

[Craig Bolton]

The history of freedom and other essays by Baron John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton Acton (2005)