Trenchard and Gordon ("Cato")
John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, authors of Cato's Letters (1720-23), among the most widely cited English writings on liberty in the colonies.
Ask Trenchard and Gordon ("Cato") a question
Answers come only from their own recorded words, with every quotation checked against its source.
Who they were
John Trenchard (1662-1723) and Thomas Gordon (c. 1691-1750) wrote Cato's Letters (1720-23) together under the name Cato.
The letters argue for freedom of thought and speech as a ground of free government, and against standing armies.
Why they are at the Seat
Trenchard and Gordon are on the Lutz-based roster. They sit as one joint voice because the 1724 printing of Cato's Letters does not mark which of them wrote each letter.
What we hold
- Editions
- Cato's Letters (4 vols., 1724; scanned text)
- The Independent Whig; A Collection of Tracts; Gordon's Discourses (Online Library of Liberty)
- Size
- About 1.2 million words. Word counts are whole files, so they include editors' headnotes and footnotes.
Known limits
- Cato's Letters cannot be split between the two authors from this printing.
- The 1724 text is rough scanned type; quotations keep the old long s, with a note. Letter No. 62 was not located in the scan. The clean 1995 edition is under copyright.
Questions they answer well
The questions their engine was tested on before it opened.
- Why is freedom of speech essential to free government?
Published answers
- What does the liberty of the press mean, and what are its limits?
- Is a standing army in time of peace dangerous to liberty?
- How should a free people treat libels?
- What is liberty?
- Why do men love power, and how should it be checked?
- What are the dangers of public corruption?
- Why must public men be watched and held to account?
- Why is freedom of speech essential to free government?
More in Prior Questions.