The Excellencie of a Free-State: Or, The Right Constitution of a Commonwealth (Thomas Hollis Library)

This edition brings back into print, after two and a half centuries, the pioneering work of English republicanism, Marchamont Nedhams The Excellencie of a Free-State , which was written in the wake of the execution of King Charles I. First published in 1656, and compiled from previously written editorials in the parliamentarian newsbook Mercurius Politicus , The Excellencie of a Free-State addressed a dilemma in English politics, namely, what kind of government should the Commonwealth adopt? David Womersley is Thomas Warton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford. His most recent book is Divinity and State . Marchamont Nedham (16201678) was a polemicist, pamphleteer, and editor of Mercurius Politicus . Blair Worden is Emeritus Fellow of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. Marchamont Nedham / The Excellencie of a Free-State; Or, The Right Constitution of a Commonwealth Front Matter Half Title Page, p. i Frontispiece, p. ii Full Title Page, p. iii Copyright Page, p. iv Contents, p. v The Thomas Hollis Library, p. vii Preface, p. ix Acknowledgments, p. xi Abbreviations, p. xiii Introduction, p. xv Marchamont Nedham and the English Republic, p. xvi Nedham and Mercurius Politicus, p. xxv Nedham and The Excellencie (1656), p. xliv The Republication of The Excellencie (1767), p. lvii The Reception of the Republication, p. lxxxiii Nedham and His Classical Sources, p. ciii The Text and the Notes, p. cvii Part: The Excellencie of a Free-State, p. 1 Original Title Page, p. 3 To the Reader, p. 5 An Introduction to the Following Discourse., p. 8 The Right Constitution of a Commonwealth., p. 19 All Objections Against the Government of the People, Answered., p. 47 The Original of All Just Power Is in the People., p. 70 Errours of Government; And Rules of Policie., p. 75 Appendix A: The Edition of 1656, p. 127 Textual Emendations, p. 127 Advertisement, p. 128 Appendix B: The Edition of 1767, p. 129 Title Page, p. 129 The Preface, p. 129 Textual Adjustments, p. 130 Appendix C: Corresponding Passages of Mercurius Politicus, p. 133 The Endnotes, p. 133 Three Other Editorials, p. 174 Index, p. 189 Colophon, p. 212 Marchamont Nedham (1620-78) wrote The Excellencie of a Free-State during the only period of republican rule in English history. After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, the monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished, and a sovereign House of Commons governed in the Crown's place. Published in 1656, The Excellencie was based on essays Nedham had printed in the republic's newsbook Mercurius Politicus in 1651-52. Nedham's arguments anticipated those of his friend and literary partner John Milton and of James Harrington, Algernon Sidney, and Henry Neville. He was the most influential writer of the first age of journalism, who took advantage of the breakdown of censorship in the civil wars and the ferment of public debate that they provoked