reflections upon liberty and free institutions-that graceful and conclusive argument in favor of popular government which his elaborate "Discourses" contain, are a rich legacy, bequeathed by a master mind, to his countrymen and the world.

Not only was Sidney a Republican statesman and patriot, but he was a philosopher, scholar, and man of genius. His writings, so little appreciated, and, indeed, in our day so little known, were, at one time, extensively read and widely influential. The "Discourses on Government" was a political text-book with the fathers of our Republic, and the men who achieved the American Revolution. Their influence upon the minds of the first statesmen of that age is plainly apparent. Between the views of Sidney, and the political doctrines laid down in the Declaration of Independence, a striking resemblance can be traced; indeed, they are almost identical. A distinguished American statesman,* criticising the preamble to that Declaration, which he calls a "hypothetical truism," traces it directly, as an abstract proposition, to the writings of Sidney and Locke. So much for the influence which these writings have had upon the minds of our own statesmen, and incidentally upon the political character of our government It may be added, that their influence has extended even to other lands. At the dawn of the French

*The late John C. Calhoun. It is proper to add, however, that Mr. Calhoun's criticism is merely verbal. We do not understand him as dissenting from the general principle of political equality and rights laid down in the Declaration.

Revolution, when the principles of popular liberty were minutely investigated by the keenest intellects of the age, Sidney's Discourses were republished, and, with the writings of Rousseau, contributed to the awakening of the revolutionary mind of France.

It

These writings, once so highly prized as to be thought adequate to supply the loss of Cicero's six books de Republica, have, in our day, sunk into obscurity, if not oblivion. Perhaps they have fulfilled their mission, and, with the writings of Bacon, have become obsolete, and are passing away. may be so; but their influence, like the thoughts of Bacon, will live for ages to come. Nor is the task an unpleasing one to remove the dust of three quarters of a century from these almost forgotten volumes, and to bring them anew before the public. If not a study of practical utility in an age like ours, so rich in lessons of political philosophy, and in the science of government so far in advance of the age in which Sidney wrote, still it cannot fail to be a matter of curiosity to note the bold speculations, as well as just conclusions, of a political writer, educated under an arbitrary government like that of Charles I.; and who, if not the very first, was amongst the foremost in modern Europe to assert and defend the fundamental doctrines of political liberty; and our curiosity is enhanced, and our interest increased, by the reflection that we are perusing the words which awakened the intellect, and confirmed the political faith, of the sages of our own Revolution. The ven

erable John Adams, in his elaborate and now almost forgotten treatise in defence of "the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America," published in London in the year 1788, speaking of these Discourses of Sidney, in connection with the writings. of Harrington, Milton, Locke, and other champions of popular government, says, "Americans should make collections of all these speculations, to be preserved as the most precious relics of antiquity, both for curiosity and use. There is one indispensable rule to be observed in the perusal of all of them, and that is to consider the period in which they were written, the circumstances of the times, and the personal character as well as the political situation of the writer."

Another reflection may here be properly made. It is one calculated still further to enhance the value of this last legacy of Sidney to his countrymen. He literally proved a martyr, and died for the principles advocated in these Discourses. A portion of them, or of similar works, found in manuscript in his closet, was produced as evidence against him on his trial, as we shall see when we come to speak more particularly of that event. Two witnesses were necessary, by the law of England, in order to convict for treason. Only one was found against Sidney, and these manuscripts were held equivalent to another! To the modest remonstrance that there was nothing treasonable in the writings, the Chief Justice Jeffries, replied, "There is, not a line in it scarce, but what is trea

son ;" and immediately added, "That is the worst part of your case. When men become so riveted in their opinions as to maintain that kings may be deposed, that they are accountable to their people, and that a general insurrection is no rebellion, and justify it, it is high time, upon my word, to call them to ac

count."

And, for holding opinions like these, but little more than a century and a half ago in England, Algernon Sidney was found guilty of high treason, and adjudged to die! But the principles for which he suffered did not die with him. A few years later they were asserted, and triumphantly maintained, in that Revolution which drove the tyrant James from his throne. The king was deposed, and called to account by the people; and not only was the general insurrection, which Sidney had truly held to be no rebellion, solemnly legalized, but the original compact between the monarch and his subjects was recognized by act of Parliament. It was not until after this memorable event, during the reign of William and Mary, and in the year 1698, that the "Discourses on Government" were first published, and read by English statesmen.

The name of Algernon Sidney is not an obscure one. Associated with that of Russell, as a martyr for liberty, it has come down with honor to our day. Yet the remark previously made holds true, that we are able to derive from general history but an imperfect view of the career, the opinions, and the cha

racter of this eminent republican. Tradition, rather than history, has preserved the memory of his virtues and his genius. Hume makes mention of him as a "singular person," wedded to his one idea of a republic. He gives a very fair and impartial account of his trial and condemnation, which he justly considers a blemish upon the administration; but, it is evident that Hume, if he understood, was not the man to appreciate such a character as that of Sidney. Other historians occasionally allude to him; but with the exception of his trial, we find nowhere any circumstantial account of his private life or public career, save in the brief and imperfect sketch by Collins in his "Memoirs of the Sidneys," printed in 1746, and in the narrative of an enthusiastic admirer, Mr. Meadley, published in London in the year 1813; a work, we imagine, never much known among us, and now almost forgotten on this side of the Atlantic. To these may be added the "Brief Memoir" by Richard Chase Sidney, also published in London, containing the substance of Meadley's narrative, with a short account of Sidney's trial, and a description of Stephanoff's celebrated painting of that event. These, we believe, are all the writers who have as yet undertaken to sketch the life of this celebrated man. The materials for a complete biography are, therefore, not very abundant. The most valuable, as well as reliable, are those which are to be found in the large volume containing his "Discourses," published at the same time with Harrington's "Oceana." In