The History of England - Volume V

By David Hume

David Hume (7 May 1711 to 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment.[In 1754 to 1762 Hume published the History of England, a six-volume work of immense sweep, which extends, says its subtitle, "From the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688". Inspired by Voltaire's sense of the breadth of history, Hume widened the focus of history, away from merely Kings, Parliaments, and armies, to literature and science as well. He argued that the quest for liberty was the highest standard for judging the past, and concluded that after considerable fluctuation, England at the time of his writing had achieved "the most entire system of liberty, that was ever known amongst mankind."This fifth volume of the Chronicon Edition covers the reign of King Charles I, the English Civil War, and Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. While the Thirty Years War consumes Europe and frees the British Isles from all foreign wars and threats of invasion, religious conflict continues to tear each of the three kingdoms of Great Britain apart. Catholics, Episcopals, Presbyterians, Puritans, Covenanters, and Independents vie for control of the king, the parliaments, and the minds of the people in spite of the well-meaning but ineffectual policies of King Charles. Hume's exhaustive narrative concerning the disintegration of the English kingdom caused by virulent disputes over the most trivial details of religious practice provides vivid evidence for how this relatively recent experience must have influenced America's founding fathers when they established the principals of tolerance and the separation of church and state -- concepts totally alien to all parties at the time of which he writes.Hume also explores the deepening conflict between king and parliament relative to the powers of imposing taxes, regulating commerce, enforcing laws, ensuring justice, raising armies and fleets, and the many other concerns of a modern state.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1492840602
• ISBN13: 9781492840602
• Release Date: September 2013
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 582 Pages
• Weight: 2.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.5" x 6.0"