Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
by GODWIN, William
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Glendale, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Two volumes. Tall Quarto (9 by 11 inches), near-contemporary half-calf and marbled boards. pp. xiii, (21), (1) 2-378; (xxviii), (389) 380-895. With half-titles in each volume and errata leaf with directions to the binder. FIRST EDITION of Godwin' revolutionary masterwork "his passionate advocacy of individualism, his trust in the fundamental goodness of man, and his opposition to all restrictions on liberty have endured" (PMM) a profound influence on Thomas Jefferson, who had the first American edition in his library and is viewed as Godwin's "American born counterpart." Along with those of Burke and Paine, Godwin's Enquiry was one of the most influential English political books of the late eighteenth century. It was an equally important landmark in the development of Utilitarian thought, and on political thinking in general. Godwin-the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft-"saw no good in human institutions and sought to put an end to all organized politics, religion and society… The Enquiry was, and remained, the work by which he was best known. It was one of the earliest, the clearest, and most absolute theoretical expositions of… anarchist doctrine. Godwin believed that the motives of all human action were subject to reason, that reason taught benevolence, and that therefore all rational creatures could live in harmony without laws and institutions. Believing in the perfectibility of man, he thought 'that our virtues and vices may be traced to the incidents which make the history of our lives, and if these incidents could be divested of any improper tendency, vice would be extirpated from the world'. All control of man by man was intolerable and 'government by its very nature counteracts the improvement of the original mind… Godwin's passionate advocacy of individualism, his trust in the fundamental goodness of man, and his opposition to all restrictions on liberty, have endured." PMM 243. Enquiry concerning Political Justice drew enormous response: 4000 copies were sold within a few years of its first publication. Wordsworth purportedly said to a student, "Throw aside your books on chemistry, and read Godwin." Allibone I: 684. Evans 30493. CBEL II: 655. A handsome wide-margined copy in an attractive contemporary binding. Housed in a large green clamshell case with a brown morocco label.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Reginald C. Williams Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 035
- Title
- Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
- Author
- GODWIN, William
- Format/Binding
- Contemporary leather over boards
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- G.G.J. and J. Robinson
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1793
- Size
- Tall 8vo.
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Social Studies
- Bookseller catalogs
- Americana;
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Reginald C. Williams Rare Books
About the Seller
Reginald C. Williams Rare Books
About Reginald C. Williams Rare Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Errata
- Errata: aka Errata Slip A piece of paper either laid in to the book correcting errors found in the printed text after being...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Marbled boards
- ...
- Quarto
- The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
Frequently asked questions
Also Recommended
-
Save 10% on every purchase!
Join the Bibliophiles’ Club and start saving 10% on every book.
$29.95 / Year