Cato's Letters, Or, Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects (2 Vol. Set) [Hardcover]

John Trenchard (Author), Thomas Gordon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0865971285 | ISBN-13: 978-0865971288 | Publication Date: July 1, 1995 | Edition: New Edition

Modern Political Philosophy

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Trenchard and Gordon's arrangement of the Roman statesman's epistles was first published in four volumes in 1755. In addition to the text of the letters, this edition contains a publishing history and notes on the text. For scholarly collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Trenchard and Gordon

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1064 pages
• Publisher: Liberty Fund; New Edition edition (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865971285
• ISBN-13: 978-0865971288
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 2.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #934,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Wisdom of Radical Whiggery, March 15, 1999

By 

eunomius (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cato's Letters, Or, Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects (Vols. 1) (Paperback)

Cato's Letters are a must have for any lover of liberty. They are filled with enough passion, wisdom, and wit to make them shining gems on any bookshelf. The philosophy expounded in these letters is that of radical liberty according to the laws of nature. It is made clear throughout that governments are the servants of people, not there masters. The only just role of government is to protect the life, liberty, and property of the governed, any other role being usurped and explicitly tyrannical. It was this radical philosophy that made Cato's Letters such a huge influence in America throughout the 18th century. Their influence on the Revolutionary generation is rivaled only by John Locke and his Second Treatise of Government. Above all, these letters are classics of reason and resistance. In my opinion, they are the best exposition of libertarian principles ever written.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valueing the source, May 7, 2007

By 

Robert Harper "spirit caller" (The woods of Maine) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cato's Letters or Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects : Four Volumes in Two (Paperback)

If you are searching the source documents of the founding period to find what folks were saying about the role of government and this idea of "liberty", then this is a must have. Following the recent passage of the Patriot Act many citizens would be shocked about these wide rangeing essays concerning the value of liberty and the deligence by which the citizen must watch the workings of government(and institutions)to restrict this concept. This is a great edition and a great addition to a founding period library...both then and now.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking..., May 11, 2010

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Amy R. Nix "Aspen74 - just another bibliophile" (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cato's Letters or Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects : Four Volumes in Two (Paperback)

Revolutionary writings on liberty, the sovereignty of the individual, and the dangers of government. I don't see how anyone could do without them.

The set I received was a duo of sturdily-bound and attractive hardcover volumes with brown cover boards and red spines. There are no dust jackets. Since what I received looked nothing like the picture provided here, I thought you might like to have a description of the actual books.