Lectures on the French Revolution

by Baron John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton Acton

TIMES.—"These volumes 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. The resulting picture of the great student, the partisan striving for impartiality, is admirably put together in a sympathetic and lucid introduction supplied by the editors."

ATHENÆUM.—"We have said enough to indicate the varied attractions of this volume. It shows us, indeed, the great scholar at his best, in his wide knowledge, sound judgment, and intense but restrained moral fervour. It is a book which does more than add to our information: it strengthens and inspires."

SPECTATOR.—"These thirty-seven lectures, essays, and reviews are but a small part, the editors tell us, of Lord Acton's literary 'output.' Let us say at once that they are sufficient to convince us, if we had needed conviction, of the prodigious learning, the consummate literary ability, and the unfailing candour of the writer."

Mr. Oscar Browning in the CAMBRIDGE REVIEW.—"The perusal of the volumes before us will confirm the opinion already formed by those who are best acquainted with Lord Acton, that he was one of the most distinguished men of his age, and that he claims to be placed in the first rank of English historians."

ACADEMY.—"We can imagine no better mental training for any reader of history than a study of Lord Acton's methods of inquiry and criticisms as exemplified in these learned treatises. The teacher of history will find that these two volumes have a value as books of reference, which will aid his judgment on many constantly recurring historical problems—a reference made easy by the admirable indexes, which in themselves are a testimony to the immense range of Lord Acton's erudition."

DAILY NEWS.—"The present volumes, prefaced by an admirable editorial essay, contain a large number of the writings by which Acton won the reputation of the most learned Englishman of his time, together with addresses and unsigned articles that are little known.... The articles and reviews which he contributed to the pages of the English Historical Review are reprinted in these volumes, and contain the ripest and most valuable work of his life. There is, indeed, nothing like them in English historical literature."

NATION.—"It is no exaggeration to say that Lord Acton's Essays are the book of the season, and that their publication is an event. Their author stood in the first rank of Gelehrte. His reading was immense, his memory unfailing. He added to his learning a considerable knowledge of affairs and an almost passionate moral energy. The former kept him in touch with life, the latter with principle; he lived in the world of men without descending to its level; he raised and inspired. The works of such a man are of public, it is not too much to say of European, interest."

MORNING POST.—"Nobody can read these two volumes, so massive in their learning, so moving in their grave and eloquent appeal, without feeling the moral grandeur of the life of which they form the most adequate commemoration. Only one of the papers printed in this collection, an address upon the causes of the Franco-Prussian War, positively sees the light for the first time, but we question whether any one of the other essays was known to the general reading public, or whether there are ten historical experts in the country who had tracked Lord Acton through the many devious periodicals in which he deposited the results of his genius and industry. These volumes, then, to all intents and purposes form a new book. It is to them, and not to the 'Cambridge Lectures,' that we should look for Lord Acton's most finished literary work, for the expression of his deepest convictions upon the most profound problems of faith and morals, and for the most convincing proofs of the wide span of his interests and the inexhaustible arsenal of his knowledge. They enable us to understand the animating conception which guided his life of arduous toil, and indicate the lines of a historical apologetic for the Catholic Church more just, original, and profound than any which the writers of the Ultramontane School have offered."

DAILY TELEGRAPH.—"There is so much of fine thought and brilliant expression in these volumes, and so diverse a variety of themes, that it is difficult to do more than indicate the treasures which they offer to intelligent readers."

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