Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Part I Life and works
- Part II Critical fortunes
- Part III Contexts
- Chapter 10 America
- Chapter 11 Anglicanism
- Chapter 12 Anthropology
- Chapter 13 Authorship
- Chapter 14 Biography
- Chapter 15 Book trade
- Chapter 16 Clubs
- Chapter 17 Conversation
- Chapter 18 Dictionaries
- Chapter 19 Domestic life
- Chapter 20 Education
- Chapter 21 Empire
- Chapter 22 Essays
- Chapter 23 Fiction
- Chapter 24 History
- Chapter 25 Journalism
- Chapter 26 Law
- Chapter 27 Literary criticism
- Chapter 28 London
- Chapter 29 Medicine
- Chapter 30 Mental health
- Chapter 31 Money
- Chapter 32 Nationalism
- Chapter 33 Philosophy
- Chapter 34 Poetry
- Chapter 35 Politics
- Chapter 36 Scholarship
- Chapter 37 Science and technology
- Chapter 38 Scotland
- Chapter 39 Sermons
- Chapter 40 Shakespeare
- Chapter 41 Slavery and abolition
- Chapter 42 Social hierarchy
- Chapter 43 Theatre
- Chapter 44 Travel
- Chapter 45 Visual arts
- Chapter 46 War
- Chapter 47 Women writers
- Further reading
- Index
- References
Chapter 35 - Politics
from Part III - Contexts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Part I Life and works
- Part II Critical fortunes
- Part III Contexts
- Chapter 10 America
- Chapter 11 Anglicanism
- Chapter 12 Anthropology
- Chapter 13 Authorship
- Chapter 14 Biography
- Chapter 15 Book trade
- Chapter 16 Clubs
- Chapter 17 Conversation
- Chapter 18 Dictionaries
- Chapter 19 Domestic life
- Chapter 20 Education
- Chapter 21 Empire
- Chapter 22 Essays
- Chapter 23 Fiction
- Chapter 24 History
- Chapter 25 Journalism
- Chapter 26 Law
- Chapter 27 Literary criticism
- Chapter 28 London
- Chapter 29 Medicine
- Chapter 30 Mental health
- Chapter 31 Money
- Chapter 32 Nationalism
- Chapter 33 Philosophy
- Chapter 34 Poetry
- Chapter 35 Politics
- Chapter 36 Scholarship
- Chapter 37 Science and technology
- Chapter 38 Scotland
- Chapter 39 Sermons
- Chapter 40 Shakespeare
- Chapter 41 Slavery and abolition
- Chapter 42 Social hierarchy
- Chapter 43 Theatre
- Chapter 44 Travel
- Chapter 45 Visual arts
- Chapter 46 War
- Chapter 47 Women writers
- Further reading
- Index
- References
Summary
PO′LITICKS. n.s. [politique, Fr. πολιτικὴ.] The science of government; the art or practice of administring publick affairs.
Be pleas’d your politicks to spare,
I’m old enough, and can myself take care. Dryden.
When it comes to the study of eighteenth-century British politics, the barrier to entry can seem either deceptively simple or surprisingly difficult. At first glance an understanding of the period appears to be a straightforward matter of defining the terms Whig and Tory, the names of the two political parties through the eighteenth century. Yet definitions are hardly straightforward, especially considering there is good reason to wonder if the terms define anything at all; and if they do, their meaning changes significantly over the course of the era. In his essay “Of the Parties of Great Britain,” David Hume admits that “to determine the nature of these parties is, perhaps, one of the most difficult problems that can be met with, and is a proof that history may contain questions as uncertain as any to be found in the most abstract sciences.”
Hume was not alone in struggling with this problem, which continues to frustrate students of the period today. These terms do not have exact modern equivalents, and it can be anachronistic, even misleading, to link them with current categories such as “liberal” or “conservative.” But the frustration posed by Whig and Tory is only the beginning, as the terms permutate into Hanoverian and Jacobite, Court and Country, and the ever-vexatious Patriot, which can be applied, for good or ill, to all or none. Complicated twists and turns of policy, as new monarchs and ministries followed old, and supporters of one war opposed the next, make it difficult to figure out what the parties stood for.
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- Samuel Johnson in Context , pp. 303 - 311Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011