"Indispensable for all discussions of jurisprudence, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832) is a model of rigorous and clear analysis which brought order to the disparate elements of a legal profession that up until John Austin's time was largely unsystematic. Although Austin (1790-1859) was greatly respected by such notables as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, his work received little attention.

It was only after his death that Austin's writings began to attract general notice, especially regarding the true nature of law and the definition of law as a form of command with implied sanctions." "Perhaps Austin's most significant contribution was to make a clear distinction between "positive law" (i.e., laws decreed by the sovereign or government) and moral principles (which he termed "the laws of God"). In so doing he defined the field of inquiry for later students.".

"Defining the sphere of ethics and law, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined came to revolutionize English views on the subject and was welcomed by American jurists such as J. C. Gray and Oliver Wendell Holmes."--BOOK JACKET.