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Robert Filmer's prime assumption is that the Bible contains the entire truth about the nature of the world and the nature of society
List of contents
Introduction; Patriarcha and other Political Works of Sir Robert Filmer; Patriarcha; The Freeholder’s Grand Inquest Touching; The Argument; The Author’s Preface; The Freeholder’s Grand Inquest Touching Our Sovereign Lord The King, and His Parliament; Observations Upon; The Preface; Touching Forms Of Government; Directions For Obedience to Government In Dangerous Or Doubtful Times; Observations Concerning The Origin All Of Government,; The Preface; Observations On Mr. Hobbes’s Leviathan; Observations On Mr. Milton Against Salmasius; Observations Upon H. Grotius De Jure Belli Et Pacis; The Anarchy Of A Limited Or Mixed Monarchy Or; The Preface; The Anarchy Of a Limited Or Mixed Monarchy; The Necessity Of The Absolute Power of all Kings; The Power Of Kings
About the author
Robert Filmer
Summary
Robert Filmer's prime assumption is that the Bible contains the entire truth about the nature of the world and the nature of society. Along with details of recorded history from the beginning to the death of the Apostles, the Bible also includes the laws that would govern history from that time to the end of the world. This central assumption was shared by nearly every member of Tory Christendom in England in the seventeenth century. In the same way, Filmer holds that it is impossible for a people to escape political anarchy once it is assumed that all individuals are independent and equal. It is also impossible for people to escape from collectivism, if it is granted that everyone has a moral right to an equal share of the gifts of nature. In explaining why Filmer remains both important and influential, Laslett argues that his reputation owes a great deal to the fortuitous circumstances of the time at which his works were resuscitated. His work passed almost unnoticed when it was first issued. Only the position of the Tory party gave his views prominence. The value of Patriarcha as a historical document consists primarily in its revelation of the strength and persistence in European culture of the patriarchal attitude to political problems. The opening essay by Laslett offers a brilliant analysis of late seventeenth-century English politics and philosophy. Long unavailable, this is a masterpiece of religious conservatism that still registers in debates at present.
