INTRODUCTION

The following four sermons were written at various times between 1798 and 1832. They are the only sermons by Malthus known to have survived. As far as we are aware, no mention of their existence has ever appeared in the secondary literature on Malthus.

On the first three sermons Malthus added a number of dates – presumably the dates on which he delivered them – although it is not impossible that he repeated them on other occasions without noting the dates – and alongside some of the dates he wrote place names, presumably the places where they were delivered. No dates or places are added to the fourth sermon, and the manuscript is incomplete, ending in mid-sentence. This suggests either that part of the sermon has been lost, or that the sermon was never completed and never delivered. The large number of insertions and deletions in the fourth sermon suggests an unfinished draft.

Another feature of the sermons is a number of diagonal marks inserted in the manuscripts. If, as seems likely, their purpose was to indicate pauses, they showed that Malthus took as much care with the delivery as with the content.

Another feature of the sermons is a number of diagonal marks inserted in the manuscripts. If, as seems likely, their purpose was to indicate pauses, they showed that Malthus took as much care with the delivery as with the content.