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In: Essays, Letters & Speeches·History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)·Philosophy & Ethics
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #50922.
Perpetual Peace is Immanuel Kant’s philosophical essay, first published in 1795 and presented here in a careful early‑twentieth‑century English translation. The work opens with a vivid, almost poetic illustration that imagines a future world where commerce sails the heavens and war drums fall silent in a global parliament. From this imaginative vision the text moves into a scholarly preface by Professor Latta, who explains the translation’s purpose: to make Kant’s dense argument accessible to both political scientists and general readers interested in the development of international law. The introduction outlines the essay’s structure, preliminary and definitive articles, supplements, and appendices, while emphasizing Kant’s central claim that lasting peace is a moral duty, not a fanciful utopia, and that it can only be secured through a federation of republican states.
The prose reflects the formal, argumentative style of late‑eighteenth‑century German philosophy, rendered into English with the careful footnotes and extensive commentary typical of early academic editions. Readers who appreciate rigorous reasoning, historical context, and the interplay of moral philosophy with political theory will find it rewarding. It suits students of political science, law, and philosophy, as well as anyone drawn to the intellectual foundations of modern peace movements and the idea of a world federation.
The opening · free to read
“For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be; Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails, Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales; Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rain’d a ghastly dew From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue; Far along the world-wide whisper of the south-wind rushing warm, With the standards of the peoples plunging thro’ the thunder-storm; Till the war-drum throbb’d no longer, and the battle-flags were furl’d In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world. There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law.”
TENNYSON: Locksley Hall.
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