An Essay on the Principle of Population; or, a View of its Past and Present Effects on Human Happiness; with an Inquiry into our Prospects Respecting the Future Removal or Mitigation of the Evils which it Occasions

J. Johnson by T. Bensley, 1803. Hardcover. Very Good. A New Edition, Very Much Enlarged". Having previously published his work anonymously in an octavo edition 1798, Malthus considerably expanded his essay for the second edition, declaring in his preface "In its present shape, it may be considered as a new work, and I should probably have published it as such" (v). In addition to adding further evidence and restructuring his argument, Malthus notes that his views softened:

"Throughout the whole of present work, I have so far differed in principle from the former, as to suppose another check to population possible, which does not strictly come under the head either of vice or misery; and, in the latter part, I have endeavoured to soften some of the harshest conclusions of the first essay. In doing this, I hope that I have not violated the principles of just reasoning; nor expressed any opinion respecting the probable improvement of society, in which I am not borne out by the experience of the past. To those who shall still think that any check to population whatever, would be worse than the evils which it would relieve, the conclusions of the former essay will remain in full force; and if we adopt this opinion, we shall be compelled to acknowledge that the poverty and misery which prevail among the lower classes of society are absolutely irremediable" (vii).

Quarto. viii, [4], 610pp. C4 signed C3. Sturdy modern calf binding, with uneven pattern of fading reflecting the shadows of its former shelfmates. Speckled edges. Very slight foxing in the final chapters. 10.75 x 9