On Liberty. By John Stuart Mill.

Published by London Longmans Green & Co, 1884

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Seller: Shapero Rare Books, London, United KingdomShapero Rare Books

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Hardcover

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People's Edition; 8vo (19 x 12.5 cm); old pencil notes to rear endpaper; publisher's blind-tooled purple cloth, upper-cover lettered in gilt, spine faded and ends a little frayed, top-edge uncut, very good; [8], 68pp. Mill's great essay on liberty and the duty owed by fellow man. Widely considered a masterpiece of nineteenth-century political thought, which brought up to date the Benthamite utilitarianism of Mill's (1806-1873) precursors, introducing the key, defining principle that the 'greatest happiness' of society cannot be achieved at the expense of individual liberty. The 'sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others' (pp21-22). On Liberty was written during the 8 years of Mill's happy marriage to the women's rights activist Harriet Taylor Mill, who died shortly before the book was first published in 1859. The work is movingly dedicated to her memory as 'the inspirer, and in part the author, of all that is best in my writings' (dedication). Mill himself was an early advocate for expanded suffrage; as MP for Westminster he became one of the strongest voices in Parliament calling for women to be given the right to vote, and on his death left a legacy of £6000, nearly half of his estate, to the furtherance of women's education. Mill's own education, under the aegis of his father James Mill, a historian and noted disciple of Jeremy Bentham, was famously severe. 'At the age of the three the boy could read Greek; by the time he was eight he was reading Plato and Herodotus and an incredible quantity of historical writing; at twelve he had embarked on Aristotle's works of logic, Adam Smith and Ricardo' (PMM). Nevertheless, Mill was later thankful for the firm grounding this tutelage gave him, concluding that 'in the main his method was right, and it succeeded' (Autobiography).

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Bibliographic details

Title
On Liberty. By John Stuart Mill.
Author
MILL, John Stuart.
Publisher
London Longmans Green & Co
Publication year
1884
Binding
Hardcover

Shapero Rare Books

London, United Kingdom

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since June 27, 1998

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Shapero Rare Books is an internationally renowned dealer in antiquarian & rare books and works on paper. Our specialists have particular expertise in fine illustrated books from the 15th to the 20th century, travel & voyages, natural history, modern firsts, rare children’s books, guidebooks, Hebraica & Judaica, works of Russian interest, and Islamica. We have possibly the largest selection of Baedeker and other Travel Guides and our Print Gallery has an enormous selection covering every topic of Antique Prints including Maps and Photographs. Please visit us at http://www.shapero.com

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Shapero Rare Books

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London, United Kingdom W1S 1SJ