INTRODUCTION BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH EDMUND BURKE, one of England's greatest orators and statesmen, was a man of remarkable versatility and power. As an orator he ranks among the greatest of all time, and as a statesman few Englishmen have excelled him in clearness of vision, in magnanimity, or in political sagacity. As a profound and philosophical thinker he had few peers, and at the same time he was possessed of literary talents of no mean order. Indeed, he may easily be ranked as the leading prose-writer of the eighteenth century, and some critics have gone so far as to accord him pre-eminence over all others, a distinction which cannot justly be accorded him. Though he excelled in many different fields of effort, his greatest victories were won by his matchless oratory and by his power as a thinker and writer. Although he discharged with honor the duties of every, administrative position which he was called upon to fill, his greatest triumphs were won on the floor of Parliament, of which body he was the recognized leader for many years. It was his high distinction to appear many times as the champion of the oppressed and the fearless opponent of unjust and corrupt government. He loved freedom with all his heart, and, with a magnificent moral courage, more than once became an advocate of unpopular causes, submitting himself not only to adverse criticism, but also to the charge of a lack of loyalty and patriotism. Thus, true to his convictions, he appeared as America's strongest friend, at a time when the English policy was slowly but surely driving the colonists from protest to rebellion. With truly prophetic eye he saw clearly the inevitable result of the petty tyranny with which the king was vexing the hearts of the Americans, and he lived to see, with melancholy satisfaction, his predictions fulfilled. Later in his life he espoused the cause of the cruelly wronged inhabitants of India, and his long and unwearying efforts in their behalf culminated in his magnificent oration impeaching Warren Hastings, in which his fiery indignation urged him on to a height of oratorical and dramatic power which has rarely been equaled and perhaps never excelled. He was also a strong opponent of human slavery, and was one of the originators of the great movement which finally, under the advocacy of Wilberforce, culminated in the abolition of that obnoxious institution throughout the British Empire. Unlike Macaulay, upon whom his mantle fell, Burke has never had a great biographer, though several interesting Lives have been written, which may be read with pleasure and profit. The more important of these works are mentioned in the Bibliography, which the student should consult. Here it is possible to give only the barest outline of his life-history. Edmund Burke was born in Dublin either in 1728 or in 1729. His father was a prosperous attorney of good family and standing, who early determined to educate his son for his own profession. From 1743 to 1747 young Burke was a student in Trinity College, Dublin, where he made a good, but by no means extraordinary, record. He was awarded a scholarship in the Classics, but did not carry off the highest honors in any one department. Much of his time was spent in miscellaneous reading, from which he gathered a vast fund of information, which was of incalculable value to him in his after-life. His natural tastes led him, also, to devote much time to the practice of oratory and to verse-making. He graduated in 1748 and took the degree of A. M. in 1751. In 1750 he went to London and began the study of law at the Middle Temple, but he never took this work seriously and soon abandoned his legal aspirations. From 1750 to 1756 he seems to have spent the time in traveling through England, enjoying the society of literary men, in extensive reading, and in writing for various periodicals. His first literary production appeared in 1756, in the shape of an essay entitled "A Vindication of Natural Society." This was soon followed by the "Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful," which was a philosophical inquiry into the nature and characteristics of these esthetic conceptions. This essay brought to him great popularity, and was for many years considered an exhaustive and authoritative treatment of these subjects, but the rapid progress of art-criticism has taken away its prestige, and it is now seldom read or quoted. .6 In 1757 he married Miss Mary Nugent, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a celebrated physician, who proved to be a sympathetic and helpful companion to him throughout his life. The same year he wrote an Account of European Settlements in America." Two years later he became private secretary to Mr. William Hamilton, who was jocularly known as "Single Speech Hamilton," because his sole claim to distinction rested upon a single brilliant speech in Parliament. Burke remained in this position until 1765, when he received the higher appointment of private secretary to the Prime Minister, Lord Rockingham, who remained his firm friend throughout his life. In 1766 he entered Parliament, where he remained for nearly thirty years, and, after a brilliant career, characterized by earnest and conscientious labor, he retired with the public thanks of the Commons for his numerous and distinguished services. At the special request of the king he was rewarded with pensions amounting to £3700. He died at his home in Beaconsfield, July 8, 1797. 66 Burke's literary works were many and varied in character, of which only the most important can be enumerated here. In 1769 he published his first great political pamphlet, entitled Observations on a Pamphlet on the Present State of the Nation." The next year he published another, "On the Cause of the Present Discontents." For a number of years thereafter he devoted himself so exclusively to his parliamen |