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xliv understanding; such as the measure of value, the excess of commodities, &c. In this field Mr. Malthus will be always classed with the most distinguished of his fellow-labourers; and we may venture to add, that his "Theory of Rent," a discovery of the greatest importance, and always spoken of in the highest terms by Mr. Ricardo, is of itself sufficient to place him in the foremost rank. It is not, however, upon his success in this department, in which he shares the palm with many, but upon his "Essay on Population," that his reputation ought to rest. In this work he stands alone as the expounder and illustrator of a branch of knowledge, heretofore little thought of or cultivated in any country, but now, by his labours, raised to a degree of eminence in men's minds, corresponding with its vast importance, and brought with great efficacy to bear upon the morals and welfare of mankind. To inquire, as many have done, whether he were really the discoverer of the principle of population, on which the Essay rests, is something worse than idle, especially as the author himself never laid claim to such a title: undoubtedly many scattered notices of it may be found in other works, particularly in the "Travels of Mr. Townshend in Spain," which Mr. Malthus was ever ready to acknowledge; but the practical use, and the full developement and application of the principle, are entirely his own. Of the time in which this work first appeared, and of the circumstances which led to it, an account has been already given, but it is well worthy of observation, that the system then came from him in so complete and perfect a form, so guarded on every side, so clearly explained, and so correctly and carefully exhibited under all its aspects and in all its consequences, as to require little or no alteration afterwards, either from himself or any other person. It went rapidly through a great number of