Religious Revolution and England’s Humane Political Constitution

The humane virtues are the proper reaction to the “mixed kind of life” to which nature has consigned human beings. In its tranquility, order, moderation, and gentleness, the commercial polity reflects the fortified temper, softened passions, self-conscious reflections and relatively steady equilibrium central to a happy disposition (cf. E 177n with EPM 256–7). Hume’s History of England shows how the unique achievement of England’s humane constitution arose in history and how the constitution relies on a complex set of mores to arise and sustain itself. No one in the depths of the Middle Ages would have predicted that England, of all places, would lead the world into an era of humanity and liberty. Only when the superstitious edifice of feudalism crumbled did an ethos of humanity, learning, and industry arise. The edifice crumbled in unexpected ways (through enthusiastic religion) as initiated by unexpected people (the Tudors). This chapter outlines the destruction of the feudal order so we can understand the political, economic, and social underpinnings for a humane polity.