Emilius and Sophia: or, A New System of Education

4 vol. 12mo. [5], iv-xix, [4], 2-310; [5], 2-266; [5], 2-268; [5], 2-292 pp. Contemporary full paneled calf with gold decorations to the turn-ins and gold borders to the boards, spines in six compartments with gold decorations and a brown and a red morocco label lettered in gold on each spine. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Volume one illustrated with a frontispiece and two plates, the other three volumes each with a frontispiece. Translated from the French by the translator of Eloisa (William Kenrick). ESTC T137131. Graesse 23. Lowndes 2134. First published in English in 1762, this is an early translation of Rousseau's revolutionary treatise on the education of young people. Published in France under the title of, Emile, or On Education, these volumes expound Rousseau's views of human nature, juvenile psychology, and what we ought to strive for in shaping the minds and lives of the young. The author implores teachers to examine their pupils, and to consider what they can learn from them, rather than the other way round. Rousseau's work proved controversial, as it recommended that young people receive no formal education until adolescence, and that young people find religion freely and through nature, rather than exposing them to a formal church setting. Rousseau's Emile would be censored and the author was forced to move around Switzerland until he fled to England to escape persecution from religious authorities. Rousseau's work also includes a section on education for women, a work which remains hotly debated by modern-day feminist scholars. The author here writes on the natural goodness of humanity, and provides a system for tutors to elevate the best of human nature in their pupils. The sets joints are heavily rubbed and the spines have a few chips to their leather. The leaves are clean and sharp.…