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Two Classics of the French Revolution: Reflections on the Revolution in France/The Rights of Man
Softcover, combination of two great works by two of the greatest statesmen in history.
515 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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About the author
Edmund Burke
2,107 books572 followersAfter
A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful
, aesthetic treatise of 1757, Edmund Burke, also noted Irish British politician and writer, supported the cause of the American colonists in Parliament but took a more conservative position in his
Reflections on the Revolution in France
in 1790.
Edmund Burke, an Anglo statesman, author, orator, and theorist, served for many years in the House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. People remember mainly the dispute with George III, great king, and his leadership and strength. The latter made Burke to lead figures, dubbed the "old" faction of the Whig against new Charles James Fox. Burke published a work and attempted to define triggering of emotions and passions in a person. Burke worked and founded the Annual Register, a review. People often regard him as the Anglo founder.
Edmund Burke, an Anglo statesman, author, orator, and theorist, served for many years in the House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. People remember mainly the dispute with George III, great king, and his leadership and strength. The latter made Burke to lead figures, dubbed the "old" faction of the Whig against new Charles James Fox. Burke published a work and attempted to define triggering of emotions and passions in a person. Burke worked and founded the Annual Register, a review. People often regard him as the Anglo founder.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 22, 2011
I reviewed Burke's half separately, and here will compare the two.
Astounding that Paine comes off so much the worse. Though neither of them can lay claim to prophecy (the closest Burke comes is when he said something bad might happen to the King), Paine has the distinction of being completely ludicrously wrong more often. He clearly believes that nothing bad can come of the American or French experiment, and that Burke is a fool and worse than a fool for saying so. History has proven him painfully naive, whereas it has only proven Burke to be outdated.
Paine's the better writer, at first, but then he descends into looney speculation. There are a lot of pages of him trying to rewrite the English tax code of 1790 using meandering "I heard" and "I suppose" arguments that now seem like statistical gibberish. Burke's a lot, lot harder to get into, but once you're there he doesn't waste your time quite the same.
Paine's troubling as an unreliable source of information. He makes me question what good eyewitness history can be, because he was certainly there for everything, but what he says is so completely at odds with everything I've learned...I don't know who to believe, the witness or the historian. He's very likeable though, and his heart's in the right place. I'd like to read what he wrote when he got tossed in prison during the Reign of Terror.
Astounding that Paine comes off so much the worse. Though neither of them can lay claim to prophecy (the closest Burke comes is when he said something bad might happen to the King), Paine has the distinction of being completely ludicrously wrong more often. He clearly believes that nothing bad can come of the American or French experiment, and that Burke is a fool and worse than a fool for saying so. History has proven him painfully naive, whereas it has only proven Burke to be outdated.
Paine's the better writer, at first, but then he descends into looney speculation. There are a lot of pages of him trying to rewrite the English tax code of 1790 using meandering "I heard" and "I suppose" arguments that now seem like statistical gibberish. Burke's a lot, lot harder to get into, but once you're there he doesn't waste your time quite the same.
Paine's troubling as an unreliable source of information. He makes me question what good eyewitness history can be, because he was certainly there for everything, but what he says is so completely at odds with everything I've learned...I don't know who to believe, the witness or the historian. He's very likeable though, and his heart's in the right place. I'd like to read what he wrote when he got tossed in prison during the Reign of Terror.
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July 8, 2010Burke has one of the great English prose styles. Even as many of his claims and arguments are redolent of neanderthal thinking before and since, his ability to express them so cogently and intelligently created a standard of which current adherents fall far short.
Then reading Paine's The Rights of Man demonstrates where Burke's rhetoric falls short of reality.
Then reading Paine's The Rights of Man demonstrates where Burke's rhetoric falls short of reality.
January 8, 2009
A useful juxtaposition of two essential works on revolutionary history.
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September 23, 2010Reflections on the Revolution in France & The Rights of Man by Edmund Burke (1969)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews