Edmund Burke—brilliant prophet, party leader, and rhetorician—in his defense of the American Colonies as in his opposition to the French Revolution spoke directly to the modern age. Yet he has been, when not neglected, persistently misunderstood: his principles of prudence garbled, his distrust of abstract law misinterpreted, his appeals to nature misrepresented, his concept of the law of nations ignore. This study of his ideas presents at last his true position as a philosopher, relating his convictions to the great tradition of Christian and classical civilization and showing their relevance for today.