his death, by an early and intimate friend of Mr. Malthus, thoroughly acquainted with his character and views, and, what is more, familiar with the rise and progress of those opinions which have so often brought his name before the world; and though many months have elapsed since this event, and calmer reflexion has succeeded to the excitement under which it was drawn up, there is nothing in it which the writer is disposed either to abandon or to change. On the contrary, the more he considers and reflects, the more he is convinced that all that is here personal to Mr. Malthus is simply just, and nothing else. Nor is there wanting to this conviction the testimony of others, less liable to suspicion than his own. Defective as the sketch may be, there has been no question respecting its fidelity and truth. The general form and character and the leading features of his mind are there: they have been recognized by his friends, and have not been disputed by his adversaries; and whatever difference of opinion may arise respecting the judgment here pronounced upon Mr. Malthus as an author, from which, however, his friend is by no means willing to recede, there is reason to hope that this statement may go forth as an undoubted and authentic testimony to his character as a man.
Thomas Robert Malthus was born in 1766, at the Rookery, in the county of Surrey, a small but beautiful estate at that time in the possession of his family, and now well known throughout the neighbourhood of Guildford and Dorking. His father was Daniel Malthus, a gentleman of good family and independent fortune, attached to a country life, but much occupied in classical and philosophic pursuits, and with a strong bias towards foreign literature. He was the friend and correspondent of Rousseau, and one of his execu-
