All of law’s most momentous achievements – Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, the Magna Carta, and the American Bill of Rights – and most celebrated advocates – Plato and Aristotle, Cicero, Aquinas, Edward Coke, Hugo Grotius, and John Marshall – are featured. So are law’s darkest moments: the trial of Socrates, the burning and beheading of witches and heretics, the persecution of Jews, and the proclamation of Lex Regia which legalized the dictatorial powers of Roman emperors and medieval kings.

Faith, Force, and Reason challenges readers to think about the lessons of the history they have read. What does the rule of law mean in our own time? What does it demand of us as well as our political leaders?