FIRST RUSSIAN TRANSLATION OF "THE THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS"

SMITH, ADAM.

Teoriia nravstvennykh chuvstv [...] S pis'mami M. Kondorse k Kabanisu o simpatii. [i.e. Russian "Theory of Moral Sentiments"].

St Petersburg, I. I. Glazunov, 1868.

8vo. In contemporary half calf with with embossed boards. Three raised bands and gilt lettering to spine. Spine with wear. Small label pasted on to top left corner of pasted down front free end-paper. Removed stamp to half-title and title-page with stamp and a a few number written to top of title-page. A few light occassional underlining in pencil, otherwise internally fine and clean. (1)-515, (1), IV pp.

Rare first Russian translation of Adam Smith's 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments'.
The translator, Pavel Bibikov (1831-1875), also translated the 'Wealth of Nations' in 1866, both being part of his series the Library of Classical European Writers. Bibikov regarded the two works as complementing each other, as he remarks in his preface to this translation, "the works reinforce each other. That is why, having published in Russian Adam Smith's great work of political economy, I decided to translate and publish his other work, which is no less remarkable, and yet known even less to Russian society than the first" (p. 5). "Bibikov's translation, probably done via French, remained the only Russian version available until 1997". (National Library of Scotland).

Adam Smith developed a comprehensive and unusual version of moral sentimentalism in his Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759, TMS). He did not expressly lay out a political philosophy in similar detail, but a distinctive set of views on politics can be extrapolated from elements of both TMS and his Wealth of Nations. Although these economic doctrines had not been unheard of in Russia prior to the rise of Anglophile feelings at the beginning of the nineteenth century, "it was not until interest and admiration for things British was firmly rooted that classical economics could secure its ground in Russia" (Tanaka, The Controversies Concerning Russian Capitalism - An Analysis of the Views of Plekhanov and Lenin), this processes coincided with the present publication which became important in the spreading of Adam Smith's economic principles in Russia.

OCLC only locates three copies.

Order-nr.: 56148