SOURCE: Furtwangler, Albert. “The Form of the Federalist.” In The Authority of Publius: A Reading of the Federalist Papers, pp. 45-79. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1984.

In the following excerpt, Furtwangler discusses the figure of Publius as a coherent voice, distinct from the individual opinions or arguments of Madison, Hamilton, or Jay, and examines the theme of candor—a polite, deferential generosity—found throughout The Federalist Papers.

Publius and Candor

From these beginnings, a new figure emerged before the eyes of readers in 1787. A public figure who might seem to represent a single, thoughtful author, he was in fact an effective mask for these collaborative efforts, a fictitious, well-calculated spokesman for a new way of understanding constitutional government. To all but a handful of its readers, the Federalist was the work of “Publius.” And Publius identified himself with a distinctive way of reviewing and weighing all the constitutional arguments...