The Life, Unpublished Letters, and Philosophical Regimen of Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Life, Unpublished Letters, and Philosophical Regimen of Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury The letters of this volume which perhaps most strikingly disclose the benevolent disposition of Shaftesbury are those written to or concerning young men. This gracious trait was first made known by a small collection of his letters printed in 1716, entitled "Several Letters written by a Noble Lord to a Young Man at the University." These were addressed by Shaftesbury to Michael Ainsworth, a student taken by him from his own household and sent to University College, Oxford. The originals of most of these letters, as well as of several additional to "Good Michael," as he is generally styled in them, are among the Shaftesbury papers. Only such of them as are of marked value or have been tampered with in the printed book are here reproduced. The letters of this volume will be found to exhibit a much broader range of Shaftesbury's philanthropic efforts. They disclose a constant and unvarying helpfulness to numerous aspiring youths maintained throughout his entire life. Whether the proteges succeeded or failed his active goodness suffered no diminution or restraint. A mast typical instance of this benevolence may be mentioned in the fact that the only reward he sought for many years of political service was a civil position, not for himself or any of his relatives, but for his deserving young friend Micklethwayte. Various letters in this work, moreover, show that he insisted upon the fulfilment of this claim with unyielding persistency amid changing political factions until at length he won. It is this generous and self-sacrificing spirit so frequently displayed in the interests of others which proves the third Earl to have been a most worthy predecessor to the noble and philanthropic seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. Historical interest will chiefly centre in the political letters from the pen of Shaftesbury which this work contains. He played either an active part or tendered when in retirement fruitful advice during the prolonged critical period in English national affairs when the Stuart dynasty gradually gave place to the present ruling house of Guelph. Throughout the reign of William of Orange, and in that of his successor Queen Anne, Shaftesbury was loyal to the maintenance of a Protestant succession. During his entire parliamentary career, moreover, he ever exercised a "passion for true liberty." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.