Publisher: Boston, Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln, 1837
Fourth edition
Francis Wayland, 1796-1865
Size: 7.75" x  5.25" - 398 pages

Wonderful survivor
Subjects: Christian Ethics, Theoretical Ethics, Moral Philosophy

The Elements of Moral Science, first published in 1835, was one of the most widely used and influential American textbooks of the nineteenth century. Direct and simple in its presentation, the book was more a didactic manual than a philosophic discussion of ethical problems. The book grew naturally out of the lectures Wayland prepared for the senior course in moral philosophy he taught as President of Brown University beginning in 1827.

Ordained first as a minister, he served as President of Brown from 1827 to 1855, advocating a wider, more liberal, more practical curriculum at a time when courses of study were still tightly bound to the classics. In politics anti-expansionist, and a pacifist by conviction, he bitterly opposed the Mexican War and the admission of Texas. His opposition to slavery gradually increased until, on the outbreak of the Civil War, he could write, "Can it be doubted on which side God will declare himself? ... The best place to meet a difficulty is just where God puts it. If we dodge it, it will come in a worse place ...

Teal embossed floral blind stamped covers with gilt lettering on spine. For it's years, this book is in remarkable shape. Foxing throughout, bumped corners and spine ends.Front blank pages show what may have been a wax stamp with a name above. Pages clear of writings, book intact.

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