Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts

makes some interesting remarks upon the “ Philosophy of Bight,” and informs us as to the ■wav m which the matter of the book had been put togethei He dates his preface May 29th, 1833, tlmteen years, lacking one month, later than Hegel’s date for the tomidetion of his own preface, and eighteen months aftei the philosopher’s death. Hegel had, it would appeal, lived to see the outbreak of unusual ojiiiosition to his political conceptions, and so Dr Hans begins ‘ The wide-spiead uiisuiiderstauding, which pievents the lecogmtion of the leal value of the present woilc, and stands in the uav of its general acceptance, urgo me, now that an enlaiged edition of it has been prepaied. to touch upon some things, which I would rathei have left simplv to me leasing philosophic msight ” He goes on to give thiee leasous foi placing gieat value upon this woik of Hegel’s 1 He thinks that the highest piaise is due to the author for the way in which he does justice to every side of the subject, even investigating questions -which hare only a shght bearing upon the matter in hand, and thus erecting a marvellouslv complete structure This fact is more striking, thinks Di Gans, than the foundation of the work, which had been aheady in a measure laid In Kant and "Rousseau 2 A second achievement of the “ Philosophy of Eight ” IB the abolition of the distinction, so prominent in the X TRANSLAIOR’S PKEFACJC, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuiies, between law and politics Even m oui own time, lemaiks the oditoi, many think of law as the skeleton, as it woic, ot the difEerent toims of the state, as an abstiact thing devoid ot life and movement Pohties, again, they conceive to be more mobile and a iimctiou ot a living thing Law is thus said to stand to politics as auatomv to 2 >hysiology This divergence, which was unknown to Plato and Aristotle, had its oiigin in the sejiaiatist clnaiactci ot the Middle Ages, and…