(1838-)
James Bryce was born at Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch and Irish parents.
He studied at the University of Glasgow and later at Oxford, where he
graduated with high honors in 1862, and where after some years of legal
practice he was appointed Regius Professor of Civil Law in 1870. He had
already established a high reputation as an original and accurate
historical scholar by his prize essay on the 'Holy Roman Empire' (1864),
which passed through many editions, was translated into German, French,
and Italian, and remains to-day a standard work and the best known work
on the subject, Edward A. Freeman said on the appearance of the work
that it had raised the author at once to the rank of a great historian.
It has done more than any other treatise to clarify the vague notions of
historians as to the significance of the imperial idea in the Middle
Ages, and its importance as a factor in German and Italian politics; and
it is safe to say that there is scarcely a recent history of the period
that does not show traces of its influence. The scope of this work being
juristic and philosophical, it does not admit of much historical
narrative, and the style is lucid but not brilliant. It is not in fact
as a historian that Mr. Bryce is best known, but rather as a jurist, a
politician, and a student of institutions.
[Illustration: JAMES BRYCE]
The most striking characteristic of the man is his versatility; a
quality which in his case has not been accompanied by its usual defects,
for his achievements in one field seem to have made him no less
conscientious in others, while they have given him that breadth of view
which is more essential than any special training to the critic of men
and affairs. For the ten years that followed his Oxford appointment he
contributed frequently to the magazines on geographical, social, and
political topics. His vacations he spent in travel and in mountain
climbing, of which he gave an interesting narrative in 'Transcaucasia
and Ararat' (1877). In 1880 he entered active politics, and was elected
to Parliament in the Liberal interest. He has continued steadfast in
his support of the Liberal party and of Mr. Gladstone, whose Home Rule
policy he has heartily seconded. In 1886 he became Gladstone's
Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and in 1894 was appointed President
of the Board of Trade.
The work by which he is best known in this country, the 'American
Commonwealth' (1888), is the fruit of his observations during three
visits to the United States, and of many years of study. It is generally
conceded to be the best critical analysis of American institutions ever
made by a foreign author. Inferior in point of style to De Tocqueville's
'Democracy in America,' it far surpasses that book in amplitude, breadth
of view, acuteness of observation, and minuteness of information;
besides being half a century later in date, and therefore able to set
down accomplished facts where the earlier observer could only make
forecasts. His extensive knowledge of foreign countries, by divesting
him of insular prejudice, fitted him to handle his theme with
impartiality, and his experience in the practical workings of British
institutions gave him an insight into the practical defects and benefits
of ours. That he has a keen eye for defects is obvious, but his tone is
invariably sympathetic; so much so, in fact, that Goldwin Smith has
accused him of being somewhat "hard on England" in some of his
comparisons. The faults of the book pertain rather to the manner than to
the matter. He does not mislead, but sometimes wearies, and in some
portions of the work the frequent repetitions, the massing of details,
and the absence of compact statement tend to obscure the general drift
of his argument and to add unduly to the bulkiness of his volumes.
* * * * *