Mandeville, Bernard, The Fable of the Bees: Or; Private Vices, Public Benefits; With, An Essay on Charity and Charity-Schools; And A Search into the Nature of Society, Printed for W. Gray and W. Peter, 1755

12mo. 2 vols. ix, 374, xii, 345, [24], p. Contemporary full, speckled calf. Spine w/six gilt compartments. Raised bands on spine. Red label w/gilt lettering on spine. Both volumes have a 2cm crack at the top of their front joint, worn edges and faded boards. The gilt detailing on the spine is faded. Otherwise both volumes are in good condition. The bindings are tight, the content complete and clean. The ninth edition of the famous and popular satire on the true causes of social welfare and riches, in which Mandeville suggests that base behavior produces positive economic effects. The theory of the origin of society so prominent in Part I was widely criticized after the publication of the 1723 edition. In the second volume, probably in response to his critics, Mandeville moved towards a more evolutionary account of society. The work had a clear influence on the thinking of Adam Smith and David Hume.