James Harrington (author)

thumb|A commonwealth is an empire of laws and not of men. James Harrington (or Harington; 3 January 1611 – 11 September 1677) was an English political theorist of classical republicanism. He is best known for his controversial publication The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656). This work was an exposition of an ideal constitution, a utopia, designed to facilitate the development of the English republic established after the regicide, the execution of Charles I in 1649. Quotes Again, if the liberty of a man consists in the empire of his reason, the absence whereof would betray him to the bondage of his passions, then the liberty of a commonwealth consists in the empire of her laws, the absence whereof would betray her to the lust of tyrants. And these I conceive to be the principles upon which Aristotle and Livy (injuriously accused by Leviathan for not writing out of nature) have grounded their assertion, "that a commonwealth is an empire of laws and not of men." The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656) Cf. John Adams, Gerald Ford External links "James Harrington: The Commonwealth of Oceana 1656", Marxists Internet Archive Category:1611 births Category:1677 deaths Category:Non-fiction authors from England