Modern Editions of Classic Works for Readers TodayrnDAVID HUMErnProphet of the Counter-revolutionrnSecond EditionrnBy Laurence L. BongiernForeword by Donald LivingstonrnThough usually Edmund Burke is identified as the first tornarticulate the principles of a modern conservative politicalrntradition, arguably he was preceded by a Scotsman who is betterrnknown for espousing a brilliant concept of skepticism. AsrnLaurence Bongie notes, “David Hume was undoubtedly therneighteenth-century British writer whose works were most widelyrnknown and acclaimed on the Continent during the laterrnEnlightenment period. Hume’s impact [in France] was of undeniablernimportance, greater even for a time than the related influence ofrnBurke, although it represents a contribution to French counterrevolutionaryrnthought which, unlike that of Burke, has beenrnalmost totally ignored by historians to this day.” The bulk ofrnBongie’s work consists of the writings of French readers ofrnHume who were confronted, first, by the ideology of humanrnperfection and, finally, by the actual terrors of the FrenchrnRevolution. Offered in French in the original edition of David Hume published by OxfordrnUniversity Press in 1965, these vitally important writings have been translated by the author intornEnglish for the Liberty Fund second edition. In his foreword, Donald Livingston observes thatrn”If conservatism is taken to be an intellectual critique of the first attempt at modern totalrnrevolution, then the first such event was not the French but the Puritan revolution, and the firstrnsystematic critique of this sort of act was given by Hume.”rnLaurence L. Bongie is Professor Emeritus of French at the University of British Columbia.rnDonald Livingston is Professor of Philosophy at Emory Universit>’.rnHardcover $18.00 0-86597-208-7rnPaperback $10.00 0-86597-209-5rn(lndi;ina residt-nts add :rnCall 800-9SS-8335 I I K p r t v F l l r i f l We pavrnFax 317-S79-Anfin ^’ ^”^J ” ” ^ 579-6060rnor writernshipping onrnprepaid orders.rn8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite #300, Dept. S12N, Indianapolis, IN 46250-1684rnExplt^re Liberty Fund’s catalogue on the World Wide Weh atrnWT.vvv.libertyfund.orgrnrnrn
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
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