Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) was born in Switzerland and became one of France's leading writers, as well as a journalist, philosopher, and politician. His colourful life included a formative stay at the University of Edinburgh; service at the court of Brunswick, Germany; election to the French Tribunate; and initial opposition and subsequent support for Napoleon, even the drafting of a constitution for the Hundred Days. Constant wrote many books, essays, and pamphlets. His deepest conviction was that reform is hugely superior to revolution, both morally and politically. While Constant's fluid, dynamic style and lofty eloquence do not always make for easy reading, his text forms a coherent whole, and in his translation Dennis O'Keeffe has focused on retaining the 'general elegance and subtle rhetoric' of the original. Sir Isaiah Berlin called Constant 'the most eloquent of all defenders of freedom and privacy' and believed to him we owe the notion of 'negative liberty', that is, what Biancamaria Fontana describes as "the protection of individual experience and choices from external interferences and constraints." To Constant it was relatively unimportant whether liberty was ultimately grounded in religion or metaphysics -- what mattered were the practical guarantees of practical freedom -- "autonomy in all those aspects of life that could cause no harm to others or to society as a whole." This translation is based on Etienne Hofmann's critical edition of Principes de politique (1980), complete with Constant's additions to the original work.

"Principles of Politics," first published in 1815, is a "microcosm of Constant's] whole political philosophy and an expression of his political experience," says Nicholas Capaldi in his Introduction. In "Principles," Constant "explores many subjects: law, sovereignty, and representation; power and accountability; government, property and taxation; wealth and poverty; war, peace, and the maintenance of public order; and above all freedom, of the individual, of the press, and of religion. . . . Constant saw freedom as an organic phenomenon: to attack it in any particular way was to attack it generally."Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) was born in Switzerland and became one of France's leading writers, as well as a journalist, philosopher, and politician. His colorful life included a formative stay at the University of Edinburgh; service at the court of Brunswick, Germany; election to the French Tribunate; and initial opposition and subsequent support for Napoleon, even the drafting of a constitution for the Hundred Days. Constant wrote many books, essays, and pamphlets. His deepest conviction was that reform is hugely superior to revolution, both morally and politically. While Constant's fluid, dynamic style and lofty eloquence do not always make for easy reading, his text forms a coherent whole, and in his translation Dennis O'Keeffe has focused on retaining the "general elegance and subtle rhetoric" of the original.Sir Isaiah Berlin called Constant "the most eloquent of all defenders of freedom and privacy" and believed to him we owe the notion of "negative liberty," that is, what Biancamaria Fontana describes as "the protection of individual experience and choices from external interferences and constraints." To Constant it was relatively unimportant whether liberty was ultimately grounded in religion or metaphysics--what mattered were the practical guarantees of practical freedom--"autonomy in all those aspects of life that could cause no harm to others or to society as a whole."This translation is based on Etienne Hofmann's critical edition of "Principes de politique" (1980), complete with Constant's additions to the original work.Dennis O'Keeffe is Professor of Social Science at the University of Buckingham and Senior Research Fellow in Education at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He has published widely in the area of education and the social sciences. His books include "The Wayward Elite" (1990) and "Political Correctness and Public Finance" (1999). His previous translations include Alain Finkielkraut's "The Undoing of Thought" ("La Defaite de la Pensee") (1988).Etienne Hofmann is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social and Political Science at the University of Lausanne and also teaches in the Faculty of Arts where he directs L'Institut Benjamin Constant. He specializes in critical editions of texts and correspondence and is working on the edition of Constant's complete works.Nicholas Capaldi is the Legendre-Soule Distinguished Chair in Business Ethics at Loyola University, New Orleans, and was Professor at the University of Tulsa and Queens College, City University of New York. Among his books are "Out of Order: Affirmative Action and the Crisis of Doctrinaire Liberalism"; "Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Unfair Preference?"; and "Immigration: Debating the Issues."

Adolphe is just past the his coming-of-age, but has a much more room to grow. As the son of a government official, Adolphe has a privilege of comfortable wealth and access to a good education, however, he feels trapped in routine, boredom, and a bleak world. Shaped by his childhood, Adolphe has a melancholy outlook on life, turning him into an introverted young man. After he graduates from college, Adolphe struggles to find fulfillment, so he travels to Germany for an adventure. There, he feels overwhelmed and displeased by the stupidity he perceives from society, earning him a reputation for an unpleasant wit. While he is just looking for fun, Adolphe meets Ellenore, a thirty-two-year-old polish refugee. Though she has a husband and two kids, Adolphe is enamored by her. As if it were a game, Adolphe is dedicated to seducing Ellenore, but soon finds himself deeply in love with her. They engage in an illicit affair, riddled with jealousy, secrets, and lust. Despite these qualities, and that Ellenore is ten years older than Adolphe and married, they share a significant love for each other. However, they are quickly shunned from society when their affair is made public, causing Adolphe to worry that their relationship could affect his future endeavors. When Ellenore makes the sacrifice of leaving her family behind to fully commit to him, Adolphe must decide if he is willy to do the same for her. When Adolphe was first released in 1816, it invited controversy due to the resemblance to Benjamin Constant's own romantic affairs. Since then, Benjamin Constant's Adolphe piques readers interests with its passionate romance and complicated protagonist. Adolphe's indecisive immaturity invokes strong emotions from audiences, both sympathetic and critical. With elements of a coming-of-age story and philosophical observations, this romantic novel appeals to a wide range of audiences, engaging readers with its eclectic genre and themes that prove to still be relatable to a contemporary audience. This edition of Benjamin Constant's Adolphe is perfect for a modern reader. With an eye-catching cover design and a stylish font, Adolphe by Benjamin Constant has been restored for the 21st century.

This volume contains the definitive version of the second of the five volumes of Benjamin Constant's major study entitled "De la Religion, considA(c)rA(c)e dans sa source ...." Its unusually extensive annexes assemble a selection of manuscripts illustrating the working methods and strategies employed by the author. Further, the volume contains a general introduction, a chronology and a detailed critical apparatus comprising explanatory notes, biographical details of the persons referred to, a bibliography, and an index of proper names. As such it gives a graphic idea of the astounding originality displayed by Constant in his approach to research on religion.

The volume of the "OEuvres ComplA]tes de Benjamin Constant," which marks the starting point of this important publication, contains all the material relating to "The Hundred Days," the most controversial episode in the career of Benjamin Constant, the politician. After having cricised Napoleon very severely in the press during the march on Paris, Constant rallied to the support of the Emperor on his return to power. He then agreed to work on the publication of the "Acte Additionnel aux Constitutions de l'Empire." Following the battle of Waterloo, Constant felt bound to offer an explanation for his conduct and he prepared the volume which appeared, between 1820 and 1822, under the title "MA(c)moires sur les Cent-Jours." Volume 14 of the "OEuvres ComplA]tes de Benjamin Constant," which has been carefully edited by Kurt Kloocke of the University of TA1/4bingen and AndrA(c) Cabanis of the University of Toulouse, includes all the texts which relate to the "MA(c)moires," together with all the drafts left by Constant.

This first volume, published under the supervision of Jean-Daniel Candaux and Lucia Omacini, assembles the texts produced between 1774 and 1799. The volume divides into three sections: Constant's essays written when still a boy; texts stemming from his study years in Scotland, France, Switzerland and Germany; and above all his first political writings (pamphlets, speeches, articles), which appeared during the Directoire and Consulat years. Other scholars involved in the making of this volume are Simone BalayA(c), Mauro Barberis, Claude Bruneel, Magda Campanini, Paul Delbouille, Edouard Guitton, Kurt Kloocke, Roland Mortier and Claude Reymond.

Published simultaneously in London and Paris in 1816, Adolphe is the story of a tragic love affair between its narrator and his lover Ellenore, two characters locked into a fatal dance of self-destruction. In what is one of the earliest examples of autofiction, from a period when all creative endeavour was permeated by autobiography. Constant's aim was to create an exemplary fiction of high moral purpose which would also function as an act of intimate self-vindication and revenge on his former lover, the formidable Madame de Stael. The result is a tautly-strung Racinian tragedy in prose.

Soon after publication, Constant was defending himself from charges that he had written a novel based on real people, which he strenuously denied. The work was translated into English by Alexander Walker, and overseen by the author, resulting in what Richard Sieburth describes as 'an eccentrically bevelled jewel of Regency prose'.

This riverrun edition publishes Walker's translation and Constant's preface in a new edition here for the first time since 1817.