6 - Constitutions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
Summary
All … things [which] depend on the person of a man … must … necessarily be perpetually wavering and uncertain, according to the life of him that gives the impulse unto them. But in commonwealths it is not men but laws, maxims, interests, and constitutions that govern: men die or change, but these remain unalterable. A senate or assembly … may be capable of some passions and be deceived. But their passions are not so easily moved when composed of many men of the greatest experience and choicest parts, nor are they so easily deceived as one man, who, perhaps, has small parts, little experience, and is informed by none but those who endeavour to deceive him.
Algernon Sidney, Court Maxims (1665)INTRODUCTION: THE EMPIRE OF LAWS AND NOT OF MEN
One essential means to the achievement of republican objectives was an appropriate constitutional framework. The constitution held liberty in its hand and enabled it to transcend not only the temporal but moral fragility of particular persons. The superiority of republican government over that of princes was partly a product of these and other aspects of the ‘empire of laws and not of men’. Nevertheless, in relation to the absolute moral ends of self-government, constitutions were themselves particular, and adaptable. Constitutions, ‘depending upon future Contingents … must be alterable according to circumstances and accidents’.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Commonwealth PrinciplesRepublican Writing of the English Revolution, pp. 131 - 150Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown
and may be updated in the future.