''Vox Populi, Vox Dei'' is a Whig tract of 1709, titled after a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

phrase meaning "the voice of the people is the voice of God". It was expanded in 1710 and later reprintings as ''The Judgment of whole Kingdoms and Nations: Concerning the Rights, Power, and Prerogative of Kings, and the Rights, Privileges, and Properties of the People''. The author is unknown but was probably either Robert Ferguson or Thomas Harrison. There is no evidence for persistent attribution to

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

John Somers John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, (4 March 1651 – 26 April 1716) was an English Whig jurist and statesman. Somers first came to national attention in the trial of the Seven Bishops where he was on their defence counsel. He published tracts on ...

as authors. The most cited section of the revised (1710) version of the pamphlet read: The 1709 tract's use of the Latin phrase was consistent with earlier usage of ''

vox populi, vox Dei ''Vox Populi, Vox Dei'' is a Whig tract of 1709, titled after a Latin phrase meaning "the voice of the people is the voice of God". It was expanded in 1710 and later reprintings as ''The Judgment of whole Kingdoms and Nations: Concerning the Rig ...

'' in English political history since at least as early as 1327 when the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Walter Reynolds Walter Reynolds (died 1327) was Bishop of Worcester and then Archbishop of Canterbury (1313–1327) as well as Lord High Treasurer and Lord Chancellor. Early career Reynolds was the son of a baker from Windsor, Berkshire, and became a clerk, ...

brought charges against King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

in a sermon ''"Vox populi, vox Dei"''. From Reynolds onwards English political use of the phrase was favorable, not referencing an alternative context of the usage by

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

(c. 735 – 804) who in a letter advised the emperor

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

to resist such a dangerous democratic idea on the grounds that "the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness". ''Vox Populi, Vox Dei: being true Maxims of Government'' was the next year, 1710, republished under the title of ''The Judgment of whole Kingdoms and Nations,'' with considerable alterations. The 10th printing of the revised tract was in 1771.

Other works

The title ''Vox Populi, Vox Dei'' was also borrowed in a Jacobite pamphlet to argue against the Whigs in 1719, resulting in the hanging of the young printer John Matthews.Kathleen Wilson. ''The Sense of the People: Politics, Culture and Imperialism'', 1998, p.115. "The pamphlet Vox Populi, Vox Dei was perhaps the most notorious instance of this tactic, borrowing its title from a radical Whig tract of 1709 to argue that by the Whigs' own principles of. ."

References

Books about politics of England 1709 books {{UK-poli-book-stub