Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun(1653-1716)was one of the most acute observers of the Europen political order of his time,and an important forerunner of the Scottish Enlightenment.Famous in his own day and since for his patriotic pooosition to the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707,in his political thought Fletcher was an admirer of the ancients and a student of Machiavelli,who sought to adapt Machiavelli's concepts to a world increasingly shaped by commerce.His lucidly written works address the fate of small nations dominated by larger,the concentration of power and wealth in great capital cities,and the prospects for new political union which would be to the benefit of all of Europe's regions.

This is the first complete modern edition of Fletcher's works.The editor's introduction draws on new research into Fletcher's life and thought,and the annotated text enables to appreciate for the first time the range and sharpness of Flecther's analysis.

《安德鲁•弗莱彻政治著作选》：在政治理论领域，“剑桥政治思想史原著系列”作为主要的学术教科丛书，如今已牢固确立了其地位。《剑桥政治思想史原著系列》旨在使学生能够获得从古希腊到20世纪初期西方政治思想史方面所有最为重要的原著。它囊括了所有著名的经典原著，但与此同时，它又扩展了传统的评价尺度，以便能够纳入范围广泛、不那么出名的作品。而在此之前，这些作品中有许多从未有过现代英文版本可资利用。只要可能，所选原著都会以完整而不删节的形式出版，其中的译作则是专门为《剑桥政治思想史原著系列》的目的而安排。每一本书都有一个评论性的导言，加上历史年表、生平梗概、进一步阅读指南，以及必要的词汇表和原文注解。《剑桥政治思想史原著系列》最终目的是，为西方政治思想的整个发展脉络提供一个清晰的轮廓。