An Essay on the Influence of Authority in Matters of Opinion.

LEWIS, George Cornewall.

$475.00

Item Number: 134128

London: John W. Parker, 1849.

First edition of Cornewall Lewis’ classic work of political philosophy. Octavo, original half cloth. From the library of American journalist William Safire, although not marked. William Safire was an important American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign for the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. After Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a speechwriter for him and Spiro Agnew. He authored several political columns in addition to his weekly column “On Language” in The New York Times Magazine from 1979 until the month of his death and authored two books on grammar and linguistics: The New Language of Politics (1968) and what Zimmer called Safire’s “magnum opus,” Safire’s Political Dictionary. Safire later served as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board from 1995 to 2004 and in 2006 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. In very good condition.

British statesman and man of letters George Cornewall Lewis is best known for preserving neutrality in 1862 when the British cabinet debated intervention in the American Civil War. Lewis's large circle of friends included Edmund Walker Head, George and Harriet Grote, the Austins, Lord Stanhope, John Stuart Mill, Henry Hart Milman, and the Duff Gordons.