Observations concerning the Distinction of Ranks in Society. Under the following heads: I. Of the Rank and Condition of Women in different Ages. II. Of the Jurisdiction and Authority of a Father over his Children. III. Of the Author of a Chief over the members of a Tribe or Village. IV. Of the Power of a Sovereign over an extensive Society. Of the Authority of a Master over his Servants. The Second Edition, greatly enlarged.

London: Printed for J. Murray..., 1773. 8vo, 211 x 127 mms., pp. [iv], xxii, 312, including half-title, contemporary calf; binding dried, piece of leather missing from lower front corner, joints very slightly cracked. John Millar (1735 - 1801), Professor of Civil Law at the University of Glasgow, is a good example of an author whose reputation flourished during his lifetime, and who thereafter virtually disappeared from the map of intellectual history. Observations concerning the Distinction of Ranks in Society was first published in an attractive quarto by John Murray in London in 1771; a Dublin edition was published in the same year by Thomas Ewing with Murray's consent and collaboration. A second edition, "greatly enlarged," followed in 1773, and for the third edition, "corrected and enlarged" of 1779, Millar revised the title to The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks: Or, An Enquiry into the Circumstances which Give Rise of Influence and Authority in the Different Members of Society. Commenting on the last section, the reviewer for The Monthly Review said, "The performance, indeed, deserves to be read in the Author's own words. The manner in which it is written is agreeable; and the style is in general correct, without stiffness or affectation. From the short analysis of it which we have given, the learned Reader will perceive that this is one of those works which only could be produced in an age superior to prejudices, and guided by the spirit of a free and liberal philosophy." Nothing like self-congratulation to warm the cockles of a reviewer's heart. W. Zachs, The First John Murray (1998) 70.