£250
FIRST EDITION, 2 vols., 8vo, pp. [iii]-xlvi, [ii], 415, [1]; [iii]-ix, [iii], 467, 5 (ads). Half-titles discarded. Later half calf, marbled boards, spines divided by raised bands between gilt rules, red morocco labels. Some spotting and foxing. Extremities a bit rubbed, labels slightly chipped, head of spines scraped (from removal of a crest stamp).
The first appearance of this late work by Scottish writer and educationalist Elizabeth Hamilton (1756?-1816). Hamilton satirised freethinkers and her bestselling writings tended towards the traditionally moralising, but she also thought ambitiously about education, especially for women, and published a number of works that attempted to bring advanced subjects to a younger and more female readership. This particular work is more theoretical, opening with the utility of the study of the mind and assessing the role of attention in education and development of taste, and the best method of developing benevolence and positive behavior. In the process she explicitly builds on Adam Smith's work in the Theory of Moral Sentiments, particularly regarding the origin of sympathy towards family members.
