Algernon Sidney - the ideas he put forth in his 'Discourses Concerning Government' ultimately culminated in the founding of the United States... and literally cost him his life yet who knows of him today?
Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician and member of the middle part of the Long Parliament. A republican political theorist, colonel, and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England, he opposed the king's execution. Sidney was later charged with plotting against Charles II, in part based on his most famous work, Discourses Concerning Government, used by the prosecution as a witness at his trial. He was executed for treason. After his death, Sidney was revered as a "Whig patriot–hero and martyr".
The works of Algernon Sidney, along with those of contemporary John Locke, are considered a cornerstone of western thought. Discourses Concerning Government cost Sidney his head. However, the ideas it put forth survived and ultimately culminated in the founding of the United States. Sidney directly opposed the divine right of kings political theory by suggesting ideas such as limited government, voluntary consent of the people and the right of citizens to alter or abolish a corrupt government. Discourses Concerning Government has been called "the textbook of the American revolution."
A fascinating man who really put his life on the line for his convictions, and an interesting fact is that for his trail the law stated that two witnesses were necessary so the chief justice ruled that his draft of the Discourses could be the second witness because he ruled: "Scribere est agere" ("to write is to act"). The fact that the work was not even published makes that ruling rather questionable for this purpose.
On the scaffold, Sidney argued that his conviction was unlawful, disputing the quality of the evidence against him and pointing out various deviations from proper legal procedure at his trial. He also reiterated his objections to absolute monarchy from Discourses Concerning Government, arguing that these did not constitute treason. Still, he observed that he was abstaining from tackling truly "great matters" in this last speech of his, because "We live in an age that makes truth pass for treason".
Sidney became widely used as a given name in the United States after the American Revolution due to admiration for Algernon Sidney as a martyr to royal tyranny.
It was also Algernon Sidney who originated the now familiar wording: "God helps those who help themselves".
More interesting details at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon…
#algernonsidney #martyr
from Beiträge von Danie van der Merwe https://ift.tt/2I8ZaPk
via IFTTT
The works of Algernon Sidney, along with those of contemporary John Locke, are considered a cornerstone of western thought. Discourses Concerning Government cost Sidney his head. However, the ideas it put forth survived and ultimately culminated in the founding of the United States. Sidney directly opposed the divine right of kings political theory by suggesting ideas such as limited government, voluntary consent of the people and the right of citizens to alter or abolish a corrupt government. Discourses Concerning Government has been called "the textbook of the American revolution."
A fascinating man who really put his life on the line for his convictions, and an interesting fact is that for his trail the law stated that two witnesses were necessary so the chief justice ruled that his draft of the Discourses could be the second witness because he ruled: "Scribere est agere" ("to write is to act"). The fact that the work was not even published makes that ruling rather questionable for this purpose.
On the scaffold, Sidney argued that his conviction was unlawful, disputing the quality of the evidence against him and pointing out various deviations from proper legal procedure at his trial. He also reiterated his objections to absolute monarchy from Discourses Concerning Government, arguing that these did not constitute treason. Still, he observed that he was abstaining from tackling truly "great matters" in this last speech of his, because "We live in an age that makes truth pass for treason".
Sidney became widely used as a given name in the United States after the American Revolution due to admiration for Algernon Sidney as a martyr to royal tyranny.
It was also Algernon Sidney who originated the now familiar wording: "God helps those who help themselves".
More interesting details at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon…
#algernonsidney #martyr
from Beiträge von Danie van der Merwe https://ift.tt/2I8ZaPk
via IFTTT
Comments