Three Essays on Religion.

£250 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

The first edition of this posthumously published collection of three essays by the English philosopher J.S. Mill (1806-1873) on religion, edited with an introductory note by Mill's stepdaughter Helen Taylor (1831-1907). As Taylor explains, the essays were 'written at considerable intervals of time ['Nature' and 'The Utility of Religion' being written between 1850 and 1858, and 'Theism' between 1868 and 1870], without any intention of forming a consecutive series, and must not therefore be regarded as a connected body of thought' (Introductory Notice). Nevertheless, they provide keen insight into Mill's nonconformist views characterised by his agnosticism and his scientific approach to question of the existence of God. First edition; 8vo (23 x 15 cm); 2pp ads to rear, pencil notes and annotations to margins, book label to front pastedown, occasional light spotting; publisher's green pebble-grain cloth, spine lettered in gilt, a little rubbed and frayed at extremities, very good; xi, [6], 4-257, [3]pp.

• Binding: Hardcover

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