| Like others before me, my initial interest in Burke was occasioned by a reading of Russell Kirk's Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered. This discovery of Burke came for me at a time of deepening interest in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, an interest which was first nourished by Professor Francis Kovach, a truly outstanding Thomist philosopher, and then enriched by Professor Leo Sweeney, S.J. Without their guidance and the example of their zeal for the Common Doctor I could not have approached the metaphysical riches of Aquinas. And, in turn, it is Aquinas who provides, in considerable measure I will argue, the framework necessary to comprehend the metaphysics of Edmund Burke. |
| Both Professor Francis Canavan, S.J., and Professor Peter Stanlis read portions of the text along the way and provided invaluable suggestions and comments. Others who assisted at various stages in the writing of the text include Professors Tom W. Boyd, J. Clayton Feaver, and Curtis Hancock. Also, the comments and recommendations for improving the text provided by the three anonymous readers greatly assisted in producing the final form of this work. |
| I am especially pleased to acknowledge the generous support of the Earhart Foundation, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a fellowship in 1984-85, and for additional support in 1991. Their assistance came at crucial moments, enabling the completion of this work. Also, I would like to thank John F. Lulves, Jr., who introduced my work to the Earhart Foundation, and who is a true friend of Burke scholars. |
| I am most grateful to Dr. Mary Beatrice Schulte, executive editor at Fordham University Press, for her constant interest in this work. I cannot imagine working with a more encouraging and considerate editor. The close reading provided by Katherine Moreau led to many improvements in the style of the essay. I am pleased to acknowledge her cheerful assistance. The essen- |
|
