political conflicts in which they were engaged, or when in retirement towards the close of their lives, resolved to describe themselves, their own times, and the part they played therein. In the drawing together of such men, and in the mixture of truth and vanity which characterises such works, there is, unless I am greatly mistaken, abundance to interest persons of serious and curious minds, especially amongst us and in our times; for in spite of the great diversity of manners, contemporary comparisons and applications will present themselves at every step, however careful we may be not to seek them. Paris, March, 1851. GUIZOT. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. To dilate upon the character of the present work, after the ample explanation given by M. Guizot in his own Preface, would be superfluous; but a few words in reference to the circumstances under which it was originally composed, may not be out of place, as it belongs to a most interesting period of its distinguished author's career. About thirty years ago, whilst M. Guizot was Professor of History at the Sorbonne, he published some pamphlets on political questions, which gained for him the ill-will of the ministry of the day. Upon this, his enemies sought to drive him from the university, and to deprive him of bread; but their machinations only stimulated him to increased effort, and he nobly replied to their attacks by the publication of his "Collection of Memoirs relating to the History of the Revolution in England." This great work, which extended to twenty-seven volumes, was enriched by him with copious annotations, and biographical sketches of the various authors whose works he had translated. These sketches he has recently revised and enlarged; and they are now presented to the British public, for the first time, in a complete form. It only remains for me to add, that I am indebted to my friend Mr. R. M. Theobald for a translation of several of the articles; and that an English version of M. Guizot's new work on the History of Representative Government is in active preparation, and will speedily be published. A. R. SCOBLE. London, July, 1851. |