he has been, since the year 1858, Professor of Political Economy in the University of Pavia. During nearly a quarter of a century he has devoted himself entirely to the promotion and dissemination of economic science, and not a few of the rising economists of Italy owe their success to his instructions. Among his principal works may be mentioned the Primi Elementi di Economia Politica, first published at Milan in 1875, of which a fourth edition, considerably augmented, appeared in 1878. Spanish and German translations were printed in 1878 and 1879. His second work was the Primi Elementi di Scienza delle Finanze (1875), of which a third edition is about to appear. Various essays on economic subjects have been reprinted in a volume under the title Saggi di Economia Politica (Milan, 1878). The Guida allo Studio dell' Economia Politica, of which the following pages contain an English version, was originally published at Milan in 1876; a second revised and enlarged edition being issued in 1878. A Spanish translation was printed at Valladolid in 1878, and it is said that a German translation by Dr. Edward Moormeister is to appear during the course of the present year at Freiburg. The considerable use which is thus evidently being made of Professor Cossa's text-books will not surprise a reader who can appreciate the extraordinary extent and accuracy of Dr. Cossa's knowledge of the economic literature of almost all nations. This characteristic of his works may be partly explained by the fact that he was in early life a pupil of that most learned and eminent economist, Professor Wilhelm Roscher. In England we cannot hope to compete with the polyglot learning of a Roscher or a Cossa, but it is to be hoped that not a few English students of economics, who are seldom polyglots, will use this translated Guide in order to make themselves a little less insular than they would otherwise be. The work of translation has been carried out by a former lady student in one of the excellent classes of Political Economy, conducted under the superintendence of the Cambridge Society for the Extension of University Teaching. Acknowledgments are due to Professor Cossa for corrections and additions, which bring up the work to the present year. W. STANLEY JEVONS. PREFACE ΤΟ THE SECOND EDITION. IN publishing the Second Edition of my Guide, corrected and enlarged, more particularly in the later chapters, it is with much pleasure that I acknowledge the valuable suggestions and advice which have lightened my labours. Still more grateful am I for the services rendered by my excellent colleague, Professor Mariano Mariani, and by my distinguished pupil and friend, Dr. Feruccio Nicolini. The former took upon himself the task of correcting the manuscript and proofs, both of this and other works of mine, and the latter compiled the accurate Alphabetical Index of Authors, which makes the book much more useful to those who wish to study, side by side with the Historical Part, the original writings and sources of information pointed out in the text. PAVIA, December 2, 1877. L. C. |