Essays in the History of Liberty is a very dense text and is compiled of writings
by the 19th century historian, John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, also known as Lord Acton. Acton set out to establish a history of liberty but was never able to sit down and write a book. To trace the history of liberty, Acton first looked at liberty in the thought of the ancient Greeks and followed it with the transition of liberty through the Christian perspective. The rest of his essays are on the evolution of liberty in England, the American colonies, the American Revolution, and even the
American Civil War. More interestingly, Acton corresponded with the Confederate
General Robert E. Lee, and their letters are included in his essays.
Early in the text, Acton gave his definition of liberty. Unlike the modern concept of liberty which equates to relativism, Acton believed liberty was “the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes is his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom, and opinion.”[1] In his work on liberty in antiquity, Acton looked at several key Greek figures such as Solon, whom he referred to as “the wisest man to be found in Athens” and “the most profound political genius of antiquity.”[2]
Other ancients he included were Pericles, Epicurus, and even Julius Caesar. In his conclusion on antiquity, Acton called on Christ’s words to render unto Caesar what was his and His death. He wrote, “His death, gave to the civil power under the protection of conscience, a sacredness it had
never enjoyed, and bounds it had never acknowledged; and they were the repudiation of absolutism and the inauguration of freedom.”[3]
Acton was born into a noble family in England in 1834. His education was under the Catholic
Church historian Ignaz von Dollinger. Acton, as one can see in his essays on liberty, took a particular interest in the Liberal Catholic movement. Eventually, Acton would go on to teach at Cambridge as a professor of Modern History.[4] In the forward of the text, Rufus Fears described Acton as “A devout Catholic and a committed political Liberal, he believed that it is the true character and mission of the
Church to foster principles of individual liberty, political self governance, and unfettered scientific research.”[5]
While being most known for his strong stance against papal infallibility, Acton should be more known for his thought on liberty. From his time under Dollinger, Acton came to believe history was supposed to be studied critically in order to understand the present. This is seen throughout his works by his tracing of the history of liberty through the ages, and how it affected different societies in different times. He also believed the grand story of history was found in the story of liberty. Fears remarked, “Everything that he wrote touched ultimately on his belief ‘that the development of liberty is the soul of history...that liberty occupies the final summit...and the motive in the onward and upward advance of the race for which Christ was crucified.”[6]
The work of Lord Acton should be a central text for all historians, christian and secular. His vast knowledge of liberty in antiquity and the Christian world is one of the greatest contributions to the western world. Further, with the misconceptions surrounding General Robert E. Lee, students of history could benefit from the primary sources noted in the text. Personal letters between one of the greatest historians and one of the greatest generals is not something which should just be discarded. It is safe to say, Lord Acton’s history of liberty is the very story of Christianity and Western Civilization.
Essays in the History of Liberty: Selected Writings of Lord Acton, Vol. 1
ISBN-13: 978-0865970472
ISBN-10: 0865970475
[1] John
Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, Selected
Writings of Lord Acton: Essays in the History of Liberty, Vol. I, ed. J. Rufus Fears (Indianapolis, MN:
Liberty Fund, 1985), 7.
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