1. For an example of the latter, see the controversy overpréséancebetween the families of Retz and St. Simon, on the one hand, and La Rochefoucauld, on the other. described in Bibliothèque Nationale. MSS fr., 16245, pp. 334–344.
2. To my knowledge, the present essay is the first serious attempt by an historian to explore the implications of Maclntyre's recent work for historical understanding.
3. The idea of negative liberty: philosophical and historical perspectives