Edward O'Brien (December 6, 1806-May 19, 1840), a lawyer and writer, was the third son of Sir Edward O'Brien (1773-1837), 4th baronet and MP for County Clare, 1802-26.
His book "The Lawyer, His Character and Rule of Holy Life: After The Manner of George Herbert's Country Parson" was posthumously published in England in 1842. An American edition was published the following year.
Bridget Hourican describes the book in "The Dictionary of Irish Biography" (online):
"This book was distributed by Woronzow Greig and extravagantly well reviewed. It took the position that a lawyer's goal was the attainment of justice for the good of his fellow men. Through a series of scenes illustrating the moral dilemmas of a lawyer's life, it showed the various temptations he was prey to, such as avarice, dishonesty, and cunning, and how these could be overcome by cultivating a strong, inflexible conscience. The book's graceful style was much admired by Sir Aubrey de Vere (qv) and the Dublin University Magazine. The idealised lawyer depicted was supposed by his friends to be a self-portrait. O'Brien was everywhere eulogised as conscientious, cautious, Christian, and charitable. As a young man he had undergone a religious crisis, which strengthened his faith."
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