In this study of Bernard Mandeville's A Modest Defence of Publick Stews , Irwin Primer breaks new ground by arguing that in addition to being an advocation for the establishment of state-regulated houses of prostitution, Mandeville's writing is also a highly polished work of literature.

Autorentext
IRWIN PRIMER is Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University, USA.

Inhalt
Acknowledgements Editor's Introduction PART I: TEXTS Mandeville's Fable of the Bees , Remark (H.), (1714) Fable of the Bees , from Remark (N.) (added, 1723) A Modest Defence of Publick Stews (1724B edition) The 'Answer' (from A Modest Defence ..., 1725) From A Collection of Chirurgical Tracts (1740) Regulated Stews, Recommended (1): An anonymous article from The Gentlemen's Magazine , col. 19 (July 1749), pp. 314-15 Regulated Stews, Recommended (2): Anonymous [from] Reflections Arising from the Immorality of the Present Age ...(London, Printed for M. Cooper...1756) PART II: COMMENTARIES Audience Anonymity and the Question of Authorship Early Critics of A Modest Defence Some Twentieth-Century Views on A Modest Defence Some Modern Translations Prostitution: The Modern Debate Mandeville's Language of Sexuality The "Low" in Society and Literature Economic Aspects of A Modest Defence Marriage Contexts of the Law A Note on the Apologia pro Lena by George Buchanan PART III: TEXT OF THE FIRST EDITION, 1724A Bibliography Index