Crown under Law

Crown under Law is an investigation of the constitutional idea through an exploration of the political thought of Richard Hooker and John Locke. It should appeal to academics within a number of disciplines including history of ideas, political philosophy, philosophy of law, and theology.

By Alexander S. Rosenthal

Rosenthal's arguments are carefully reasoned and rich in content. Ethical Perspectives, September 2009 Professor Rosenthal's book is a genuine delight to read. Rosenthal's richly documented study makes a major contribution to the history of political thought in Western Europe, especially in England and other English-speaking countries, including America. In his meticulous effort to set the major writings of both Richard Hooker and John Locke within their own proper historical settings, Rosenthal demonstrates his thorough familiarity with the best modern critical editions of the works of these two English authors. He also demonstrates his mastery of the secondary literature when he addresses some of the most pressing issues being debated by contemporary scholars. These strengths place Rosenthal in the rather unique position of being able to bridge the gap between two disparate fields of scholarly investigation which all too often remain, to the detriment of each, isolated from each other. All scholars engaged in Hooker or Lockean studies are in debt to Rosenthal for writing this book. -- Lee W. Gibbs, Cleveland State University