Henry St. John: Viscount Bolingbroke
Few politicians can claim to live a career as vivacious as that of Henry St. John. A member of the Tory party from the time he was 23 years, he lived every bit of political tension in Europe. Some of his contributions to policymaking at his time were great as they were controversial. An eloquent speaker, he took part in impeaching the Whig Lords with regards to improper conduct in the partition treaty, which could have prevented the 1700’s Spanish Succession War. After founding the Brother’s club, a commune of Tory politicians, he tried to form an economic treaty with France to secure Britain’s future. The removal of the Tories and the writing of an inciting article made him flee for France, reborn into another political era[1]. Henry St. John joined forces with satirical poets like Pope and, for a while, was an adviser to Frederick, Prince of Wales after his return to Britain[2]. Revolutions like the Jacobite Uprising held no fancy for the Viscount said to influence republicanism in America and the Enlightenment Age.
The Age of Enlightenment was a movement bound by philosophical intent to introduce reasoning to the people. As Henry St. John said many times, it was the use of history as a learning point, given the many provisions of examples it provides us. There is nothing new under the sun, and imitation is sometimes not the sincerest form of flattery. In the book, the model of Codrus and the Decii have used as case points for sacrifice to death. Superstitious beliefs informed Their choice of the death of an army’s general overturning its path to defeat[3]. When a person decides to look into the history and particularly past cultures, there is a marked resemblance. The Romans, Israelite, Athenian, and Egyptian bear a superstitious belief relating to human blood, religion, and heroism. As it turns out, the same thing applies to modern society as people die in service to their country or for a religious belief. It is celebrated as giving oneself for views held so dear is the ultimate form of courageous ideals.
A descent into the books of history reveals a lot to the discerning heart. Ironically enough, it is the repeated order of events in a new century. To some extent, some things are changed a bit, but one can trace the success or failure of something to an event in the past[4]. Enlightenment requires a closer look at the strengthening of a judgment call, whatever choice that is taken needs to be done so with a steady yet flexible mind. As said in the book, history is the author leaving us to experience its justices and injustices in equal measure. How we translate, a matter is an imitation of what someone else did before our time. The fact is matters of the present help in decisions for the future. If a person can understand the logic behind the statement, they are all the better for it.
Mr. Locke appears briefly in this chapter understudy for the beliefs he makes in his research. He seems to suggest the importance of everybody studying a geographical concept, whether or not they will actively apply it in their lives. Locke is not proposing mathematical solutions but seems to agree with the ideas relating to history with imitation. A suggestion he makes is to avoid the maze and confusion made when a person is looking for a solution[5]. Too often, the bombardment of plausible solutions can be reduced by making a trip down memory lane to see how predecessors solved it. That statement seems like a rather good advice for anybody to appreciate.
Bibliography
Kramnick, Isaac, ed. The portable Enlightenment reader. Penguin, 1995.
Walsh, Ashley James. “Civil Religion in Britain, 1707-c. 1800.” PhD diss., University of Cambridge, 2018.
[1] Walsh, Ashley James. “Civil Religion in Britain, 1707-c. 1800.” PhD diss., University of Cambridge, 2018: 96
[2] Walsh, Ashley James. “Civil Religion in Britain, 1707-c. 1800.” PhD diss., University of Cambridge, 2018: 102
[3] Kramnick, Isaac, ed. The portable Enlightenment reader. Penguin, 1995: 357
[4] Kramnick, Isaac, ed. The portable Enlightenment reader. Penguin, 1995: 356
[5] Kramnick, Isaac, ed. The portable Enlightenment reader. Penguin, 1995: 358