James Harrington (author) 303656 220737640 2008-06-21T09:55:07Z Boleyn 6127189 moved [[James Harrington]] to [[James Harrington (author)]]: Several JHs {{otherpeople2|James Harington (disambiguation)}} [[Image:James Harrington.png|thumb|right|Portrait of James Harrington, oil on canvas, c. [[1635]]]] '''James Harrington''' (or '''Harington''') ([[January 3]], [[1611]]-[[September 11]], [[1677]]) was an [[England|English]] [[political theorist]] of [[classical republicanism]],<ref>"England's premier civic humanist and Machiavellian. He was not the first to think about English politics in these terms..., but he was the first to achieve a paradigmatic restatement of English political understanding in the language and world-view inherited through Machiavelli." Pocock, "Intro", p. 15.</ref> best known for his controversial work, ''[[The Commonwealth of Oceana]]'' (1656). ==Early life== James Harrington was born in 1611 in [[Upton, Northamptonshire]], eldest son of [[Sir]] Sapcote(s) Harrington of [[Rand, Lincolnshire]] (d. [[1629]]), and great-nephew of the first Lord [[Harington Baronets|Harington of Exton]] (d. [[1615]]). His mother was Jane Samwell (or Samuell) of Upton (d. 1619), daughter of [[Sir William Samwell]]. He was also for a time a resident, with his father, in the [[Manor House]] at the village of [[Milton Malsor]], Northamptonshire. The village church contains a plaque on the [[Chancel]] wall, on the south side, quite a decorative plaque, to [[Dame]] Jane, the late wife of Sir Sapcote(s)<ref>{{cite web|title = Milton Malsor Historical Society|url = http://www.miltonmalsorhistory.org.uk/times/harrington/|accessdate = 2008-03-22}}</ref>. Knowledge of Harrington's childhood and early education is practically non-existent; both, it seems, were conducted at the family manor in Rand. In 1629, he entered [[Trinity College, Oxford]] as a gentleman commoner and left two years later with no degree. For a brief time, one of his tutors was the royalist High Churchman [[William Chillingworth]]. He entered then abruptly left the [[Middle Temple]] despising lawyers forever, an animus which later appeared in his writings. By this time, Harrington's father had passed away, and his inheritance helped pay his way through several years of continental travel. He enlisted in a Dutch militia regiment (apparently seeing no service), before touring the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France and Italy. Toland says while visiting the Vatican circa 1634-36, he "refused to kiss the pope's foot", and that a trip through Venice helped bolster his knowledge of the Italian republics. Harrington appears to have returned to England no later than 1636; the following decade, including his comings and goings during the Civil Wars, are largely unaccounted for by anything other than unsubstantiated stories of the ilk: that he accompanied Charles I to Scotland in 1639 in connection with the first [[Bishops' Wars|Bishops' War]]; and that he came to Parliament's financial assistance with loans and solicitations in 1641-42 and in 1645. Otherwise, he appears to have simply "resided at Rand, an unmarried country gentleman of studious tastes." Harrington's apparent political loyalty to Parliament interfered not all with a strong personal devotion to the King. Following his capture, Harrington accompanied a "commission" of MPs appointed to persuade Charles to move from [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] to [[Holdenby House|Holmby House]], as to be nearer London. When a further attempt was made to forcibly transfer the King to the capital, Harrington successfully intervened. In May 1647, he became a [[Groom of the Chamber|gentleman groom of the royal bedchamber]]; we see him acting in that capacity through the end of the year and also in 1648 at [[Hurst Castle]] and at [[Carisbrooke Castle|Carisbrooke]]. Sometime around New Year 1649, his attendance on the King was abruptly terminated by parliamentarians furious, it is said, over his refusal to swear to report anything he might hear of a royal escape attempt. At least two contemporary accounts have Harrington with Charles on the scaffold, but these do not rise above the level of rumor. ==''Oceana'' and imprisonment== After Charles' death Harrington devoted his time to the composition of his ''The Commonwealth of Oceana'', a work agreeable perhaps to no one but its author. By order of England's then [[Lord Protector]] [[Oliver Cromwell]], it was seized when passing through the press. Harrington, however managed to secure the favour of Cromwell's favourite daughter, Mrs Claypole; the work was restored to him, and appeared in 1656, newly dedicated ''to'' Cromwell.<ref>Pocock writes that this explanation of Cromwellian censorship "has the authority of family tradition, but is not especially convincing." More credible, he finds, is that ''Oceana'' criticizes the Protectorate's maintenance of a ''standing army'' (in order to hold power), a concept clearly denounced in ''Oceana'' and other English republican tracts of the time, in favor of locally controlled regiments (militia). Pocock, "Intro", 8-9.</ref> The views embodied in ''Oceana'', particularly those bearing on vote by ballot and rotation of magistrates and legislators, Harrington and others (who in 1659 formed a club called the "[[Rota Club|Rota]]") endeavoured to push practically, but with no success.<ref>the Rota being "a select debating society" which conducted "high quality discussions" where "proposals were formally voted on" by members of "salience", which may have included [[Samuel Pepys]]. Höpfl, ''ODNB'', p. 388.</ref> Following the [[Stuart Restoration]], on [[December 28]], [[1661]], Harrington was arrested on a charge of conspiring against the government in the "Bow Street" [[cabal]]<ref>a "circle of Commonwealthsmen [radical republican] 'plotters'." Höpfl, ''ODNB'', p. 390.</ref> and, without a trial, was thrown into [[Tower of London|the Tower]]. There, he was "badly treated" until his sisters succeeded in bribing his jailers to obtain a writ of ''[[habeas corpus]]''. Before it could be executed, however, the authorities rushed him to [[St Nicholas Island]] off the coast of [[Plymouth]]. Other relatives won Harrington's release to the fort at Plymouth by posting a £5000 bond. Thereafter, his general state of health promptly plunged and quickly deteriorated, apparently from his ingestion on medical advice of the addictive drug [[guaiacum]].<ref>tincture of the lingum resin of a West Indies tree, "best known as a remedy in gout and rheumatism and as a diuretic." see [http://www.homeoint.org/clarke/g/guai.htm John Henry Clarke, M.D., ''Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica''].</ref> Harrington's mind appeared to be affected. He suffered "intermittent delusions;" one observer judged him "simply mad." He recovered only a bit, then slipped decidedly downhill. He proceeded to suffer attacks of gout and palsy before falling victim to a paralyzing stroke. In 1675, just two years before his death, he married "a Mrs Dayrell, his 'old sweetheart'", the daughter of a Buckinghamshire noble. The short-lived couple had no children. Following his death at Little Ambry, he was buried next to [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] in [[St. Margaret's, Westminster|St Margaret's Church]], [[Westminster]]. Harrington has often been confused with his cousin [[Sir James Harrington, 3rd Baronet of Ridlington]], MP, a member of the [[List of regicides of Charles I|parliamentary commission which tried Charles I]], and twice president of Cromwell's Council of State. He was subsequently excluded from the [[Indemnity and Oblivion Act]] which pardoned most for taking up arms against the King during the Civil Wars (1642-1646). ===Editorial history=== Harrington's manuscripts have vanished; his printed writings consist of ''Oceana'', and papers, pamphlets, aphorisms and treatises, many of which are devoted to its defence. The first two editions are known as the "Chapman" and the "Pakeman". Their contents are nearly identical. His ''Works'', including the Pakeman ''Oceana'' and the somewhat important ''A System of Politics'', were first edited with biography by [[John Toland]] in 1700.<ref>''The Oceana and other Works of James Harrington, with an account of his Life by John Toland''.</ref> Toland's edition, with numerous substantial additions by [[Thomas Birch]], appeared first in Dublin in 1737 and 1758, and then in England in 1747 and 1771. ''Oceana'' was reprinted in Henry ''Morley's Universal Library'' in 1883; S.B. Liljegren reissued a fastidiously-prepared version of the Pakeman edition in 1924. Harrington's modern editor is [[J.G.A. Pocock]], Professor of History Emeritus at [[Johns Hopkins University]], [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]]. In 1977, he edited and published a thoroughly comprehensive, and what has become the ''definitive'', compilation of Harrington tracts, along with a lengthy editorial/historical introduction. Harrington's prose was marred by what Pocock described as an undisciplined work habit and a conspicuous "lack of sophistication." He never attained the level of "a great literary stylist." For example, as contrasted with Hobbes and Milton, ''nowhere'' to be found are: <blockquote> "important shades of meaning...conveyed [through] rhythm, emphasis and punctuation; ...He wrote hastily, in a baroque and periodic style in which he more than once lost his way. He suffered from Latinisms...his notions of how to insert quotations, translations and references in his text were at times productive of confusion."<ref>Pocock, "Intro", p. xv.</ref> </blockquote> ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * H.M. Höpfl, "Harrington, James", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', vol. 25, eds. H.C.G. Matthew; Brian Harrison (Oxford: 2004), 386-391. cited as 'Höpfl, ''ODNB''<nowiki>'</nowiki>. * J.G.A. Pocock, "Editorial and Historical Introductions", ''The Political Works of James Harrington'' (Cambridge: 1977), xi-xviii; 1-152. [hb: ISBN 0-521-21161-1]; cited as 'Pocock, "Intro"'. {{1911}} Portions have also been adapted from Pocock, "Intro" and Höpfl, ''ODNB''. ==Further reading== *Blitzer, Charles. ''An Immortal Commonwealth: the Political Thought of James Harrington'' (Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1970;1960); [ISBN 0-208-00811-X]. *Cotton, James. ''James Harrington's Political Thought and its Context'' (New York: Garland Pub., 1991); [ISBN 0-8153-0130-8]. *Dickinson, W. Calvin. ''James Harrington's Republic'' (Washington, DC: University Press of America, 1983); [ISBN 0-8191-3019-2]. *Downs, Michael. ''James Harrington'' (Boston: Twayne Pubs., 1977); [ISBN 0-8057-6693-6]. *Pocock, J.G.A. "Interregnum: the ''Oceana'' of James Harrington", chapter 6 in Pocock, ''The Ancient Constitution and the Feudal Law: a Study of English Historical Thought in the Seventeenth Century, a reissue with a retrospect'' (Cambridge: 1987;1957); [pb: ISBN 0-521-31643-X]. *Pocock, [[The Work of J.G.A. Pocock#Machiavelli and James Harrington|The Work of J.G.A. Pocock: ''Harrington section''.]] *Russell-Smith, Hugh Francis. ''Harrington and his Oceana; a story of a 17th century Utopia and its influence in America'' (New York: Octagon Books, 1971); [ISBN 0-374-96996-5]. *Scott, Jonathan. "The Rapture of Motion: James Harrington's Republicanism", in Nicholas Phillipson; Quentin Skinner, eds. ''Political Discourse in Early Modern Britain'' (Cambridge: 1993), 139-163; [ISBN 0-521-39242-X]. ==External links== {{Commons|James Harrington}} * {{gutenberg author| id=James+Harrington | name=James Harrington}} * [http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/search?amode=start&author=Harrington%2c%20James Free full-text works of James Harrington online] {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, James}} [[Category:1611 births|Harrington, James]] [[Category:1677 deaths|Harrington, James]] [[Category:People from Northamptonshire]] [[Category:Political theorists|Harrington, James]] [[Category:Republicanism in the United Kingdom]] {{Link FA|de}} [[es: James Harrington]] [[de:James Harrington]] [[fr:James Harrington]] [[he:ג'יימס הרינגטון]] [[ka:ჯეიმზ ჰარინგტონი]] [[ja:ジェームズ・ハリントン]] [[sv:James Harrington]]