The Development of Constitutional Liberty in the English Colonies of America (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Development of Constitutional Liberty in the English Colonies of America It is only when surveying its course from the eminence upon which the lapse of time has placed us, that the action of the law of development can be viewed in its entirety, and the constant force of its energy be calculated. Then we see, that this energy has expanded or, advanced by steps of unequal length; that the development of the race or tribe is marked by successive stages and that the law which controls this energy is to be found in these stages or eras, and not in the individual phenomena which have been but its temporary expressions. Thus it is, that his torical eras - which may be described as historical phenomena grouped into organic systems - are of greater importance to human knowledge than individual phenomena; and thus it is, that the philosopher will seek the truth of history in eras rather than in the events of a day or the acts of individuals, however striking to the eye they may be. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.