EDMUND BURKE ( 1729-1797) was born in Ireland. His
people were of the middle class, substantial, but lacking
influence or great wealth. Hence, while they were able to
give their son a good education, it was on his own efforts that
he had to rely in making his career. A cousin and a brother,
it is true, aided his entry into politics by connections they had
made, though subsequently they became a burden on his in-
adequate finances. Moreover, they were at times involved in
somewhat shady financial transactions, which, through their
close contacts with him, cast some reflection on his honesty and
the disinterestedness of his motives.

His mother was a Roman Catholic, at a time when that faith
was in Ireland subject to harsh laws and severe civic disabilities
imposed by England. The father, anxious for careers for his
sons, accordingly had them brought up as Protestants. Never-
theless, Burke's early political life was made difficult by popu-
lar accusations of papism, and at the time of the Gordon riots
his friends feared for his personal safety in turbulent London,
which he refused to quit. Yet it was perhaps in part maternal
influence that developed in him some degree of religious tol-
eration, as well as a constant interest in the well-being of his
native land.

His father, a retired solicitor, was a confirmed believer in the
nobility of the legal life. Accordingly, after Burke had finish-

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