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diff --git a/42843-0.txt b/42843-0.txt index dc41e04..144bb44 100644 --- a/42843-0.txt +++ b/42843-0.txt @@ -1,38 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life and Correspondence of David Hume, -Volume I (of 2), by John Hill Burton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Life and Correspondence of David Hume, Volume I (of 2) - -Author: John Hill Burton - -Release Date: May 30, 2013 [EBook #42843] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID HUME, VOLUME I *** - - - - -Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42843 *** Transcriber's Notes: Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the original. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Life and Correspondence of David Hume, Volume I (of 2) - -Author: John Hill Burton - -Release Date: May 30, 2013 [EBook #42843] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID HUME, VOLUME I *** - - - - -Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been -left as in the original. Greek words have been transliterated and placed -between +plus signs+. Words in italics in the original are surrounded by -_underscores_. A row of asterisks represents a thought break. Letters -superscripted in the original are surrounded by {braces}. Ellipses match -the original. A complete list of corrections follows the text. - -The original has two different kinds of blockquotes: one uses a smaller -font than the main text, and the other has wider margins. In this text, -the blockquotes in a smaller font have wider margins, and the other -blockquotes have two blank lines before and after the quotation. An -explanation of the different kinds of quotations can be found at the end -of the "ADVERTISEMENT". - -The Index that was printed at the end of Volume II. of this series has -been included at the end of this Volume for reference purposes. - - - - - LIFE AND - - CORRESPONDENCE OF - - DAVID HUME. - - - [Illustration: Bust of David Hume] - - - - - LIFE - - AND - - CORRESPONDENCE - - OF - - DAVID HUME. - - FROM THE PAPERS BEQUEATHED BY HIS NEPHEW TO THE - ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH; AND OTHER - ORIGINAL SOURCES. - - - BY JOHN HILL BURTON, ESQ. - ADVOCATE. - - - VOLUME I. - - - EDINBURGH: - WILLIAM TAIT, 107, PRINCE'S STREET. - MDCCCXLVI. - - - - - EDINBURGH: - Printed by WILLIAM TAIT, 107, Prince's Street. - - - - - TO THE PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL - - OF - - THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH, - - THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED - - BY - - THEIR MOST OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, - - J. H. BURTON. - - - - -ADVERTISEMENT. - - -In this work, an attempt has been made to connect together a series of -original documents, by a narrative of events in the life of him to whom -they relate; an account of his literary labours; and a picture of his -character, according to the representations of it preserved by his -contemporaries. The scantiness of the resources at the command of -previous biographers, and the extent and variety of the new materials -now presented to the world, render unnecessary any other apology for the -present publication. How far these materials have been rightly used, -readers and critics must judge; but I may be perhaps excused for -offering a brief explanation of the spirit in which I desired to -undertake the task; and the responsibility I felt attached to the duty, -of ushering before the public, documents of so much importance to -literature. - -The critic or biographer, who writes from materials already before the -public, may be excused if he give way to his prepossessions and -partialities, and limit his task to the representation of all that -justifies and supports them. If he have any misgivings, that, in -following the direction of his prepossessions, he may not have taken the -straight line of truth, he may be assured, that if the cause be one of -any interest, an advocate, having the same resources at his command, -will speedily appear on the other side. But when original manuscripts -are for the first time to be used, it is due to truth, and to the desire -of mankind to satisfy themselves about the real characters of great men, -that they should be so presented as to afford the means of impartially -estimating those to whom they relate. We possess many brilliant -Eulogiums of the leaders of our race--many vivid pictures of their -virtues and their vices--their greatness or their weakness. But if a -humbler, it is perhaps a no less useful task, to represent these -men--their character, their conduct, and the circumstances of their -life, precisely as they were; rejecting nothing that truly exemplifies -them, because it is beneath the dignity of biography, or at variance -with received notions of their character and the tendency of their -public conduct. The desire to have a closer view of the fountain head -whence the outward manifestations of a great intellect have sprung, is -but one of the many examples of man's spirit of inquiry from effects to -their causes; and the desire will not be gratified by reproducing the -object of inquiry in all the pomp and state of his public intercourse -with the world, and keeping the veil still closed upon his inner nature. -It is difficult to write with mere descriptive impartiality, and without -exhibiting any bias of opinion, on matters which are, at the same time, -the most deeply interesting to mankind, and the objects of their -strongest partialities. Though the task that was before me was simply to -describe, and never to controvert, I do not profess to have avoided all -indications of opinion in the departments of the work which have the -character of original authorship. I have the satisfaction, however, of -reflecting, that the documents, which are the real elements of value in -this work, are impartially presented to the reader, and that nothing is -omitted which seemed to bear distinctly on the character and conduct of -David Hume. - -I now offer a few words in explanation of the nature of these original -documents. The late Baron Hume had collected together his uncle's -papers, consisting of the letters addressed to him, the few drafts or -copies he had left of letters written by himself, the letters addressed -_by_ him to his immediate relations, and apparently all the papers in -his handwriting, which had been left in the possession of the members of -his family. To these the Baron seems to have been enabled to add the -originals of many of the letters addressed by him to his intimate -friends, Adam Smith, Blair, Mure, and others. The design with which this -interesting collection was made, appears to have been that of preparing -a work of a similar description to the present; and it is a misfortune -to literature that this design was not accomplished. On the death of -Baron Hume, it was found that he had left this mass of papers at the -uncontrolled disposal of the Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. -This learned body, after having fully considered the course proper to be -adopted in these circumstances, determined that they would permit the -papers to be made use of by any person desirous to apply them to a -legitimate literary purpose, who might enjoy their confidence. Having -for some time indulged in a project of writing a life of Hume, postponed -from time to time, on account of the imperfect character of the -materials at my disposal, I applied to the Council of the Royal Society -for access to the Hume papers; and after having considered my -application with that deliberation which their duty to the public as -custodiers of these documents seemed to require, they acceded to my -request. The ordinary form of returning thanks for the privilege of -using papers in the possession of private parties, appears not to be -applicable to this occasion; and I look on the concession of the Council -as conferring on me an honour, which is felt to be all the greater, that -it was bestowed in the conscientious discharge of a public duty. - -The Hume papers, besides a manuscript of the "Dialogues on Natural -Religion," and of a portion of the History, fill seven quarto volumes of -various thickness, and two thin folios. In having so large a mass of -private and confidential correspondence committed to their charge, the -Council naturally felt that they would be neglecting their duty, if they -did not keep in view the possibility that there might be in the -collection, allusions to the domestic conduct or private affairs of -persons whose relations are still living; and that good taste, and a -kind consideration for private feelings should prevent the accidental -publication of such passages. On inspection, less of this description of -matter was found than so large a mass of private documents might be -supposed to contain. There is no passage which I have felt any -inclination to print, as being likely to afford interest to the reader, -of which the use has been denied me; and I can therefore say that I have -had in all respects full and unlimited access to this valuable -collection. Before leaving this matter, I take the opportunity of -returning my thanks for the kind and polite attention I have received -from those gentlemen of the Council, on whom the arrangements for my -getting access to these papers, imposed no little labour and sacrifice -of valuable time. - -A rumour has obtained currency regarding the contents of these papers, -which seems to demand notice on the present occasion. - -It is stated in _The Quarterly Review_,[xi:1] that "those who have -examined the Hume papers--which we know only by report--speak highly of -their interest, but add, that they furnish painful disclosures -concerning the opinions then prevailing amongst the clergy of the -northern metropolis: distinguished ministers of the gospel encouraging -the scoffs of their familiar friend, the author of 'the Essay upon -Miracles;' and echoing the blasphemies of their associate, the author of -the 'Essay upon Suicide!'" I have the pleasing task of removing the -painful feelings which, as this writer justly observes, must attend the -belief in such a rumour, by saying that I could not find it justified -by a single sentence in the letters of the Scottish clergy contained in -these papers, or in any other documents that have passed under my eye. I -make this statement as an act of simple justice to the memory of men to -whose character, being a member of a different church, I have no -partisan attachment: and I may add that, in the whole course of my -pretty extensive researches in connexion with Hume and his friends, I -found no reason for believing that letters containing evidence of any -such frightful duplicity ever existed. - -Among these papers, a variety of letters, chiefly from eminent -foreigners, though interesting in themselves, were entitled to no place -in the body of this work, as illustrative of the life and character of -Hume. These I had intended to print in an appendix, believing that, -though not directly connected with my own project, the lovers of -literature would not readily excuse me for neglecting the opportunity -afforded by my access to these papers, for adding to the stock of the -letters of celebrated men. But the work, according to its original scope -and design, continuing to increase under my hands, I found that if it -contained the documents specially referred to in the text, its bulk -would be sufficiently extended, and I have determined to let the other -papers here alluded to follow in a separate volume, which will contain -letters to Hume from D'Alembert, Turgot, Diderot, Helvétius, Franklin, -Walpole, and other distinguished persons. - -The reader will find that many original documents printed in this -collection have been obtained from other sources than the Hume papers. -My acknowledgments are particularly due to the Earl of Minto, for the -liberality with which he allowed me the uncontrolled use of the large -and valuable collection of correspondence between Hume and Sir Gilbert -Elliot. For the letters in the Kilravock collection I am indebted to -Cosmo Innes, Esq., sheriff of Morayshire; and I obtained access to those -addressed to Colonel Edmondstoune, through the polite intervention of -George Dundas, Esq., sheriff of Selkirkshire. I am obliged to the -kindness of Lord Murray for much assistance in obtaining materials and -information for this work; and to Robert Chambers, Esq., who has been -accustomed from time to time, to preserve such letters and other -documents connected with Scottish biography, as came under his notice, I -have to offer my thanks for the whole of his collections regarding Hume, -which he generously transferred to me. - -In the use of printed books, where the Advocates' Library, to which I -have professional access, has failed me, I have found the facilities for -consulting the select and well arranged collection of the Writers to the -Signet of great service. - -I owe acknowledgments to many friends for useful advice in the conduct -of the work. To one especially, who, after having long occupied a -distinguished place in the literature of his country, permits his -friends still to enjoy the social exercise of those intellectual -qualities that have delighted the world, I am indebted for such critical -counsel as no other could have given, and few would have had the -considerate kindness to bestow, were they able. - -Of the two portraits engraved for this work, that which will, probably, -most strikingly attract attention, is taken from a bust, of coarse and -unartistic workmanship, but bearing all the marks of a genuine likeness. -It was moulded by a country artist, at the desire of Hume's esteemed -friend, Professor Ferguson; and I am under obligations to his son, Sir -Adam, for the privilege of using it on this occasion, and to Sir George -Mackenzie, for having kindly mentioned its existence, and exerted -himself in its recovery, after it had been long lost sight of. The -medallion, from which the other portrait is taken, is in the possession -of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq., by whom I was presented with the -engraved plate, from which the fac simile of a letter, addressed by Hume -to his collateral ancestor, is printed. - -_Edinburgh, February, 1846._ - - *.* It may be right to explain, that the two sizes of type, - used in this work, were first adopted with the design of - presenting all letters addressed to Hume, all extracts, and - all letters from him with which the public is already - familiar, in the smaller type, in order that the reader coming - to a document with which he is already acquainted, might see - at once where it ends. This arrangement was accidentally - broken through, several letters having been printed in the - larger that should have appeared in the smaller type. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[xi:1] No. LXXIII. p. 555. - - - - -CONTENTS OF VOLUME FIRST. - - -ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I. - - Portrait of Hume from a Medallion, _Frontispiece_. - - Fac simile of a letter by Hume, Page 178 - - -CHAPTER I. - -1711-1734. ÆT. 0-23. - - Birth--Parentage--His own account of his Ancestors--Local - associations of Ninewells--Education--Studies--Early - Correspondence--The Ramsays--Specimen of his early Writings-- - Essay on Chivalry--Why he deserted the Law--Early ambition to - found a School of Philosophy--Letter to a Physician describing - his studies and habits--Criticism on the Letter--Supposition - that it was addressed to Dr. Cheyne--Hume goes to Bristol. 1 - - -CHAPTER II. - -1734-1739. ÆT. 23-27. - - Hume leaves Bristol for France--Paris--Miracles at the Tomb of - the Abbé Paris--Rheims--La Flêche--Associations with the Abbé - Pluche and Des Cartes--Observations on French Society and - Manners --Story of La Roche--Return to Britain--Correspondence - with Henry Home--Publication of the first and second volume of - the Treatise of Human Nature--Character of that Work--Its - influence on Mental Philosophy. 48 - - -CHAPTER III. - -1739-1741. ÆT. 27-29. - - Letters to his friends after the publication of the first and - second volume of the Treatise--Returns to Scotland--Reception - of his Book--Criticism in "The Works of the Learned"--Charge - against Hume of assaulting the publisher--Correspondence with - Francis Hutcheson--Seeks a situation--Connexion with Adam - Smith--Publication of the third volume of the Treatise-- - Account of it--Hume's notes of his reading--Extracts from his - Note-books. 105 - - -CHAPTER IV. - -1741-1745. ÆT. 30-34. - - Publication of the Essays, Moral and Political--Their - Character--Correspondence with Home and Hutcheson--Hume's - Remarks on Hutcheson's System--Education and Accomplishments - of the Scottish Gentry--Hume's Intercourse with Mure of - Caldwell and Oswald of Dunnikier--Opinions on a Sermon by Dr. - Leechman--Attempts to succeed Dr. Pringle in the Chair of Moral - Philosophy in Edinburgh. 136 - - -CHAPTER V. - -1745-1747. ÆT. 34-36. - - Hume's Residence with the Marquis of Annandale--His Predecessor - Colonel Forrester--Correspondence with Sir James Johnstone and - Mr. Sharp of Hoddam--Quarrel with Captain Vincent--Estimate of - his Conduct, and Inquiry into the Circumstances in which he was - placed--Appointed Secretary to General St. Clair--Accompanies - the expedition against the Court of France as Judge-Advocate-- - Gives an Account of the Attack on Port L'Orient--A tragic - Incident. 170 - - -CHAPTER VI. - -1746-1748. ÆT. 35-37. - - Hume returns to Ninewells--His domestic Position--His attempts - in Poetry--Inquiry as to his Sentimentalism--Takes an interest - in Politics--Appointed Secretary to General St. Clair on his - mission to Turin--His journal of his Tour--Arrival in Holland-- - Rotterdam--The Hague--Breda--The War--French Soldiers--Nimeguen - --Cologne--Bonn--The Rhine and its scenery--Coblentz--Wiesbaden - --Frankfurt--Battle of Dettingen--Wurzburg--Ratisbon--Descent - of the Danube--Observations on Germany--Vienna--The Emperor and - Empress Queen--Styria--Carinthia--The Tyrol--Mantua--Cremona-- - Turin. 225 - - -CHAPTER VII. - -1748-1751. ÆT. 37-40. - - Publication of the "Inquiry concerning Human Understanding"-- - Nature of that Work--Doctrine of Necessity--Observations on - Miracles--New Edition of the "Essays, Moral and Political"-- - Reception of the new Publications--Return Home--His Mother's - Death--Her Talents and Character--Correspondence with Dr. - Clephane--Earthquakes--Correspondence with Montesquieu-- - Practical jokes in connexion with the Westminster Election-- - John Home--The Bellman's Petition. 271 - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -1751-1752. ÆT. 40-41. - - Sir Gilbert Elliot--Hume's intimacy with him--Their Philosophical - Correspondence--Dialogues on Natural Religion--Residence in - Edinburgh--Jack's Land--Publication of the "Inquiry concerning - the Principles of Morals"--The Utilitarian Theory--Attempt to - obtain the Chair of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow--Competition - with Burke--Publication of the "Political Discourses"--The - foundation of Political Economy--French Translations. 319 - - -CHAPTER IX. - -1752-1755. ÆT. 41-44. - - Appointment as keeper of the Advocates' Library--His Duties-- - Commences the History of England--Correspondence with Adam - Smith and others on the History--Generosity to Blacklock - the Poet--Quarrel with the Faculty of Advocates--Publication of - the First Volume of the History--Its reception--Continues the - History--Controversial and Polemical attacks--Attempt to subject - him, along with Kames, to the Discipline of Ecclesiastical - Courts--The leader of the attack--Home's "Douglas"--The first - Edinburgh Review. 367 - - -APPENDIX. - - Fragments of a Paper in Hume's handwriting, describing the - Descent on the Coast of Brittany, in 1746, and the causes of - its failure. 441 - - Letters from Montesquieu to Hume, 456 - - ---- the Abbé le Blanc to Hume, 458 - - Documents relating to the Poems of Ossian, 462 - - Essay on the Genuineness of the Poems, 471 - - - - -THE LIFE - -OF - -DAVID HUME. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -1711-1734. ÆT. 0-23. - - Birth--Parentage--His own account of his Ancestors--Local - associations of Ninewells--Education--Studies--Early - Correspondence--The Ramsays--Specimen of his early Writings-- - Essay on Chivalry--Why he deserted the Law--Early ambition to - found a School of Philosophy--Letter to a Physician describing - his studies and habits--Criticism on the Letter--Supposition - that it was addressed to Dr. Cheyne--Hume goes to Bristol. - - -David Hume was born at Edinburgh, on the 26th of April,[1:1] 1711. He -was the second son of Joseph Hume, or Home, proprietor of the estate of -Ninewells, in the parish of Chirnside, in Berwickshire. His mother was a -daughter of Sir David Falconer of Newton, who filled the office of Lord -President of the Court of Session from 1682 to 1685, and is known to -lawyers as the collector of a series of decisions of the Court of -Session, published in 1701. His son, the brother of Hume's mother, -succeeded to the barony of Halkerton in 1727. Mr. Hume the elder, was a -member of the Faculty of Advocates.[1:2] He appears, however, if he -ever intended to follow the legal profession as a means of livelihood, -to have early given up that view, and to have lived, as his eldest son -John afterwards did, the life of a retired country gentleman. - -It is an established rule, that all biographical attempts of -considerable length, shall contain some genealogical inquiry regarding -the family of their subject. The present writer is relieved both of the -labour of such an investigation, and the responsibility of adjusting it -to the appropriate bounds, by being able to print a letter in which the -philosopher has himself exhibited the results of an inquiry into the -subject. - - -DAVID HUME _to_ ALEXANDER HOME _of Whitfield_. - -"_Edinburgh, 12th April, 1758._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I was told by Mrs. Home, when she was in town, that you -intended to make some researches into our family, in order to give them -to Mr. Douglas, who must insert them, or the substance of them, into his -account of the Scottish nobility.[2:1] I think that your purpose is very -laudable, and is very obliging to us all; and for this reason I shall -inform you of what I know of the matter. These hints will at least serve -to point out to you more authentic documents. - -"My brother has no very ancient charters: the oldest he has, are some -charters of the lands of Horndean. There he is designated Home, or Hume, -of Ninewells. The oldest charters of Ninewells are lost. It was always -a tradition in our family, that we were descended from Lord Home, in -this manner. Lord Home gave to his younger son the lands of Tinningham, -East Lothian. This gentleman proved a spendthrift and dissipated his -estate, upon which Lord Home provided his grandchild, or nephew, in the -lands of Ninewells as a patrimony. This, probably, is the reason why, in -all the books of heraldry, we are styled to be cadets of Tinningham; and -Tinningham was undoubtedly a cadet of Home. I was told by my grand-aunt, -Mrs. Sinclair of Hermiston, that Charles earl of Home told her, that he -had been looking over some old papers of the family, where the Lord Home -designs Home of Ninewells either his grandson or nephew, I do not -precisely remember which. - -"The late Sir James Home of Blackadder showed me a paper, which he -himself had copied a few days before from a gravestone in the churchyard -of Hutton: the words were these--'Here lies John Home of Bell, son of -John Home of Ninewells, son of John Home of Tinningham, son of John Lord -Home, founder of Dunglas.' - -"I find that this Lord Home, founder of Dunglas, was the very person -whom Godscroft says went over to France with the Douglas, and was father -to Tinningham: so thus the two stories tally exactly. He was killed -either in the battle of Crevant or Verneuil, gained by the Duke of -Bedford, the regent, against the French. Douglas fell in the same -battle. I think it was the battle of Verneuil. All the French and -English histories, as well as the Scotch, contain this fact. This Lord -Home was your ancestor, and ours, lived in the time of James the First -and Second of Scotland, Henrys the Fifth and Sixth of England. - -"I have asked old Bell the descent of his family. He said he was really -sprung from Ninewells, but that the lands fell to an heiress who married -a brother of Polwarth's. - -"By Godscroft's account, Tinningham was the third son of Home in the -same generation that Wedderburn was the second, so that the difference -of antiquity is nothing, or very inconsiderable. - -"The readiest way of vouching these facts would be for you to take a -jaunt to the churchyard of Hutton, and inquire for Bell's monument, and -see whether the inscription be not obliterated; for it is above -twenty-five years ago that I saw the paper in Sir James Home's hand, and -he told us, at that time, that the inscription was somewhat difficult to -be read. If it be still legible it would be very well done to take a -copy of it in some authentic manner, and transmit it to Mr. Douglas, to -be inserted in his volume. If it be utterly effaced, the next, but most -difficult task would be to search for the paper above-mentioned in the -family of Home: it must be some time about the year 1440 or 1450. If -both these means fail, we must rest upon the tradition. - -"I am not of the opinion of some, that these matters are altogether to -be slighted. Though we should pretend to be wiser than our ancestors, -yet it is arrogant to pretend that we are wiser than the other nations -of Europe, who, all of them, except perhaps the English, make great -account of their family descent. I doubt that our morals have not much -improved since we began to think riches the sole thing worth -regarding.[4:1] - -"If I were in the country I should be glad to attend you to Hutton, in -order to make the inquiry I propose. I doubt whether my brother will -think of doing it: he has such an extreme aversion to every thing that -savours of vanity, that he would not willingly expose himself to -censure; but this is a justice that one owes to their posterity, for we -are not certain that these matters will be always so little regarded. - -"I shall farther observe to you, that the Lord Home, founder of Dunglas, -married the heiress of that family, of the name of Pepdie, and from her -we always bear the Pepingos in our arms. - -"I find in Hall's Chronicle that the Earl of Surrey, in an inroad upon -the Merse, made during the reign of Henry the Eighth, after the battle -of Flouden, destroyed the castles of Hedderburn, West Nisgate, and -Blackadder, and the towers of East Nisgate, and Winwalls. The names, you -see, are somewhat disfigured; but I cannot doubt but he means Nisbet and -Ninewells: the situation of the places leads us to that conjecture. - -"I have reason to believe, notwithstanding the fact, as Ninewells lay -very near Berwick, our ancestors commonly paid contributions to the -governor of that place, and abstained from hostilities and were -prevented from ravages. There is, in Hayne's State Papers, a very -particular account of the ravages committed by an inroad of the English, -during the minority of Queen Mary.[6:1] Not a village, scarce a single -house in the Merse, but what is mentioned as burnt or overthrown, till -you come to Whitwater. East of the river, there was not one destroyed. -This reason will perhaps explain why, in none of the histories of that -time, even the more particular, there is any mention made of our -ancestors; while we meet with Wedderburn, Aiton, Manderston, -Cowdenknows, Sprot, and other cadets of Home. - -"I have learned from my mother, that my father, in a lawsuit with -Hilton, claimed an old apprizing upon the lands of Hutton-Hall, upon -which there had been no deed done for 140 years. Hilton thought that it -must necessarily be expired; but my father was able to prove that, -during that whole time there had not been forty years of majority in the -family. He died soon after, and left my mother very young; so that there -was near 160 years during which there was not forty years of -majority.[6:2] Now we are upon this subject, I shall just mention to -you a trifle, with regard to the spelling of our name. The practice of -spelling Hume is by far the most ancient and most general till about the -Restoration, when it became common to spell Home contrary to the -pronunciation. Our name is frequently mentioned in Rymer's Foedera, -and always spelt Hume. I find a subscription of Lord Hume in the memoirs -of the Sidney family, where it is spelt as I do at present. These are a -few of the numberless authorities on this head. - -"I wish the materials I give you were more numerous and more -satisfactory; but such as they are, I am glad to have communicated them -to you.--I am," &c.[7:1] - - -A competent authority in such matters gives the following partly -heraldic, partly topographical account of the Humes and their -territory:-- - -"Hume of Ninewells, the family of the great historian, bore 'Vert a lion -rampant, argent, within a bordure or, charged with _nine wells_, or -springs, barry-wavy and argent.' - -"The estate of Ninewells is so named from a cluster of springs of that -number. Their situation is picturesque. They burst forth from a gentle -declivity in front of the mansion, which has on each side a semicircular -rising bank, covered with fine timber, and fall, after a short time, -into the bed of the river Whitewater, which forms a boundary in the -front. These springs, as descriptive of their property, were assigned to -the Humes of this place, as a difference in arms from the chief of their -house."[8:1] - -The scenes amidst which Hume passed his boyhood, and many of the years -of his later life, have subsequently, in the light of a national -literature, become a classic land, visited by strangers, with the same -feeling with which Hume himself trod the soil of Mantua. In his own -days, the elements of this literature were no less in existence; but it -was not part of his mental character to find any pleasing associations -in spots, remarkable only for the warlike or adventurous achievements -they had witnessed. Intellect was the material on which his genius -worked: with it were all his associations and sympathies; and what had -not been adorned by the feats of the mind had no charm in his eye. Had -he been a stranger of another land, visiting at the present, or some -later day, the scenes of the Lay and of Marmion, they would, without -doubt, like the land of Virgil, have lit in his mind some sympathetic -glow; but the scenes illustrated solely by deeds of barbarous warfare, -and by a rude illiterate minstrelsy, had nothing in them to rouse a -mind, which was yet far from being destitute of its own peculiar -enthusiasm. He had often, in his history, to mention great historical -events that had taken place in the immediate vicinity of his paternal -residence, and in places to which he could hardly have escaped, if he -did not court occasional visits. About six miles from Ninewells, stands -Norham castle. Three or four miles farther off, are Twisel bridge, where -Surrey crossed the Till to engage the Scots, and the other localities -connected with the battle of Flodden. In the same neighbourhood is -Holiwell Haugh, where Edward I. met the Scottish nobility, when he -professed himself to be the arbiter of the disputes between Bruce and -Baliol. In his notices of these spots, in connexion with the historical -events which he describes, he betrays no symptom of having passed many -of his youthful days in their vicinity, but is as cold and general as -when he describes Agincourt or Marston Moor; and it may safely be said, -that in none of his historical or philosophical writings does any -expression used by him, unless in those cases where a Scoticism has -escaped his vigilance, betray either the district or the country of his -origin.[9:1] Hume tells us, in his short autobiography, "My family was -not rich, and being myself a younger brother, my patrimony, according to -the mode of my country, was of course very slender. My father, who -passed for a man of parts, died when I was an infant, leaving me, with -an elder brother and a sister, under the care of our mother, a woman of -singular merit, who, though young and handsome, devoted herself entirely -to the rearing and education of her children." He says no more of his -education, than that he "passed through the ordinary course of education -with success." In a document which will be immediately quoted at length, -we find him speaking of having received the usual college education of -Scotland, which terminates when the student is fourteen or fifteen years -old. It is probable that he studied at the University of Edinburgh, in -the matriculation book of which the name of "David Home" appears, as -intrant of the class of William Scott, Professor of Greek, on 27th -February, 1723. Holding the year to commence on 1st January, which was -then the practice in Scotland, though not in England, he would be at -that time nearly twelve years old. The name does not appear in any of -the subsequent matriculation lists: it was probably not then the -practice for the student to be entered more than once, at the -commencement of his curriculum; and neither the name of Hume, nor of -Home, occurs in the list of graduates. - -Of his method of studying, and of his habits of life, after he left the -university, as of his literary aspirations and projects, we fortunately -possess some curious notices in his correspondence. The earliest letter -written by Hume, known to be extant, is in a scroll which has been -apparently preserved by himself. It is addressed to Michael Ramsay, with -whom it will be seen, from the letters quoted in the course of this -work, that the friendship formed, when both were young, remained -uninterrupted and vigorous during their mature years. I have been unable -to discover any thing of the history of this Michael Ramsay, beyond what -may be gathered from the internal evidence supplied by the -correspondence. He must have been destined for the English Church, but -he appears not to have taken orders; as in a letter from Hume, which, -though undated, must have been written at an advanced period of both -their lives, he is addressed "Michael Ramsay, Esq." Writing on 5th June, -1764, he says to Hume, "I continue in the old wandering way in which I -have passed so much of my life, and in which it is likely I shall end -it." He appears to have had many connexions well to do in the world, and -to have died before the year 1779, leaving his papers in the possession -of a nephew having his own Christian name of Michael; which was also, it -may be observed, the name of the Chevalier Ramsay, of whom Hume's -correspondent was perhaps a relation.[12:1] - - -HUME _to_ MICHAEL RAMSAY. - -"_July 4, 1727._ - -"D{R} M.--I received all the books you writ of, and your Milton among -the rest. When I saw it, I perceived there was a difference betwixt -preaching and practising: you accuse me of niceness, and yet practise it -most egregiously yourself. What was the necessity of sending your -Milton, which I knew you were so fond of? Why, I lent your's and can't -get it. But would you not, in the same manner, have lent your own? Yes. -Then, why this ceremony and good breeding? I write all this to show you -how easily any action may be brought to bear the countenance of a fault. -You may justify yourself very well, by saying it was kindness; and I am -satisfied with it, and thank you for it. So, in the same manner, I may -justify myself from your reproofs. You say that I would not send in my -papers, because they were not polished nor brought to any form: which -you say is nicety. But was it not reasonable? Would you have me send in -my loose incorrect thoughts? Were such worth the transcribing? All the -progress that I made is but drawing the outlines, on loose bits of -paper: here a hint of a passion; there a phenomenon in the mind -accounted for: in another the alteration of these accounts; sometimes a -remark upon an author I have been reading; and none of them worth to any -body, and I believe scarce to myself. The only design I had of -mentioning any of them at all, was to see what you would have said of -your own, whether they were of the same kind, and if you would send any; -and I have got my end, for you have given a most satisfactory reason for -not communicating them, by promising they shall be told _vivâ voce_--a -much better way indeed, and in which I promise myself much satisfaction; -for the free conversation of a friend is what I would prefer to any -entertainment. Just now I am entirely confined to myself and library for -diversion since we parted. - - ----ea sola voluptus, - Solamenque mali--[14:1] - -And indeed to me they are not a small one: for I take no more of them -than I please; for I hate task-reading, and I diversify them at -pleasure--sometimes a philosopher, sometimes a poet--which change is not -unpleasant nor disserviceable neither; for what will more surely engrave -upon my mind a Tusculan disputation of Cicero's De Ægritudine Lenienda, -than an eclogue or georgick of Virgil's? The philosopher's wise man and -the poet's husbandman agree in peace of mind, in a liberty and -independency on fortune, and contempt of riches, power, and glory. Every -thing is placid and quiet in both: nothing perturbed or disordered. - - At secura quies, et nescia fallere vita---- - Speluncæ, vivique laci; at frigida Tempe, - Mugitusque boum, mollesque sub arbore somnos - Non absint.[14:2] - -"These lines will, in my opinion, come nothing short of the instruction -of the finest sentence in Cicero: and is more to me, as Virgil's life is -more the subject of my ambition, being what I can apprehend to be more -within my power. For the perfectly wise man, that outbraves fortune, is -surely greater than the husbandman who slips by her; and, indeed, this -pastoral and saturnian happiness I have in a great measure come at just -now. I live like a king, pretty much by myself, neither full of action -nor perturbation,--_molles somnos_. This state, however, I can foresee -is not to be relied on. My peace of mind is not sufficiently confirmed -by philosophy to withstand the blows of fortune. This greatness and -elevation of soul is to be found only in study and contemplation--this -can alone teach us to look down on human accidents. You must allow [me] -to talk thus, like a philosopher: 'tis a subject I think much on, and -could talk all day long of. But I know I must not trouble you. Wherefore -I wisely practise my rules, which prescribe to check our appetite; and, -for a mortification, shall descend from these superior regions to low -and ordinary life; and so far as to tell you, that John has bought a -horse: he thinks it neither cheap nor dear. It cost six guineas, but -will be sold cheaper against winter, which he is not resolved on as yet. -It has no fault, but bogles a little. It is tolerably well favoured, and -paces naturally. Mamma bids me tell you, that Sir John Home is not going -to town; but he saw Eccles in the country, who says he will do nothing -in that affair, for he is only taking off old adjudications, so it is -needless to let him see the papers. He desires you would trouble -yourself to inquire about the Earle's affairs, and advise us what to do -in this affair. - -"If it were not breaking the formal rule of connexions I have prescribed -myself in this letter--and it did not seem unnatural to raise myself -from so low affairs as horses and papers, to so high and elevate things -as books and study--I would tell you that I read some of Longinus -already, and that I am mightily delighted with him. I think he does -really answer the character of being the great sublime he describes. He -delivers his precepts with such force, as if he were enchanted with the -subject; and is himself an author that may be cited for an example to -his own rules, by any one who shall be so adventurous as to write upon -his subject."[16:1] - - -This is certainly a remarkable letter to have been written by a youth -little more than sixteen years old. If it had been written by one less -distinguished by the originality of his mature intellect, it might be -looked upon as one of those illustrations of the faculty of imitation, -for which some young persons display peculiar powers; but its grave and -high-toned philosophical feeling is evidently no echo of other people's -words, but the deeply felt sentiments of the writer. In some measure, -perhaps, he deceived himself in believing that he had attuned his mind -to pastoral simplicity, and had weeded it of all ambitious longings. If -he had a sympathy with Virgil, it was not, as he has represented, with -the poet's ideas of life, but with his realizations of it; not with the -quiet sphere of a retired and unnoticed existence, but with the lustre -of a well-earned fame. Through the whole, indeed, of the memorials of -Hume's early feelings, we find the traces of a bold and far-stretching -literary ambition; and though he believed that he had seared his mind to -ordinary human influences, it was because this one had become so -engrossing as to overwhelm all others. "I was seized very early," he -tells us, in his 'own life,' "with a passion for literature, which has -been the ruling passion of my life, and a great source of my -enjoyments." Joined to this impulse, we find a practical philosophy -partaking far more of the stoical than of that sceptical school with -which his metaphysical writings have identified him; a morality of -self-sacrifice and endurance, for the accomplishment of great ends. In -whatever light we may view his speculative opinions, we gather from the -habits of his life, and from the indications we possess of his passing -thoughts, that he devotedly acted up to the principle, that his genius -and power of application should be laid out with the greatest prospect -of permanent advantage to mankind. He was an economist of all his -talents from early youth: no memoir of a literary man presents a more -cautious and vigilant husbandry of the mental powers and acquirements. -There is no instance of a man of genius who has wasted less in idleness -or in unavailing pursuits. Money was not his object, nor was temporary -fame; though, of the means of independent livelihood, and a good repute -among men, he never lost sight: but his ruling object of ambition, -pursued in poverty and riches, in health and sickness, in laborious -obscurity and amidst the blaze of fame, was to establish a permanent -name, resting on the foundation of literary achievements, likely to live -as long as human thought endured, and mental philosophy was studied. - -There is among Hume's papers a fragment of "An Historical Essay on -Chivalry and Modern Honour." It is evidently a clean copy from a -corrected scrawl, written with great precision and neatness, and no -despicable specimen of caligraphy. From the pains that appear to have -been bestowed on the penmanship, and from many rhetorical defects and -blemishes which do not appear in any of his published works, it may be -inferred that this is a production of very early years, and properly -applicable to this period of his life; although its matured thought, and -clear systematic analysis, might, in other circumstances, have indicated -it as the fruit of a mind long and carefully cultivated. It is scarcely -necessary to frame an excuse for quoting such a document on the present -occasion. It could not be legitimately incorporated with his works; -because, whatever is given to the public in that shape, is presumed to -consist of those productions which the author himself, or those entitled -to represent him, have thought fit to lay before the public, as the -efforts by which the full stretch and compass of his intellectual powers -are to be tested. From such collections, the editor who performs his -functions with a kind and respectful consideration for the reputation of -the illustrious dead, will exclude whatever is characterized by the -crudeness of youth, or the feebleness of superannuation. To the -reputation of Hume it would be peculiarly unjust to publish among his -acknowledged and printed works, any productions of extreme youth; -because, from his earliest years to an advanced period of his life, his -mind was characterized by constant improvement, and he was every now and -then reaching a point from which he looked back with regret and -disapprobation at the efforts of earlier years. - -But in a biographical work, where the chief object is the tracing the -history of the author's mind, not the representation of its matured -efforts, these early specimens of budding genius have their legitimate -place, and receive that charitable consideration for the circumstances -in which they were written, which their author's reputation demands. - -The essay commences with a sketch of the decline of virtue, and the -prevalence of luxury among the Romans; and describes their possession of -the arts which they had learned in their better days, when not seconded -by bravery and enterprise, as furnishing, like the fine clothes of a -soldier, a temptation to hostile cupidity. He then represents the -conquerors adapting themselves, after the manner peculiar to their own -barbarous state, to the habits and ideas of the civilized people whom -they had subdued. He represents the conquered people as sunk in -indolence, but imperfectly preserving the arts and elegancies -transmitted to them by their ancestors; and the conquerors full of -energy and activity, as the sources of whatever impulse was thereafter -given to thought or action. They "came with freshness and alacrity to -the business; and being encouraged both by the novelty of these subjects -and by the success of their arms, would naturally ingraft some new kind -of fruit on the ancient stock." He then proceeds with the following -train of reflections:-- - - -"'Tis observable of the human mind, that when it is smit with any idea -of merit or perfection beyond what its faculties can attain, and in the -pursuit of which it uses not reason and experience for its guide, it -knows no mean, but as it gives the rein, and even adds the spur, to -every florid conceit or fancy, runs in a moment quite wide of nature. -Thus we find, when, without discretion, it indulges its devote terrors, -that working in such fairy-ground, it quickly buries itself in its own -whimsies and chimeras, and raises up to itself a new set of passions, -affections, desires, objects, and, in short, a perfectly new world of -its own, inhabited by different beings, and regulated by different laws -from this of ours. In this new world 'tis so possessed that it can -endure no interruption from the old; but as nature is apt still on every -occasion to recall it thither, it must undermine it by art, and retiring -altogether from the commerce of mankind, if it be so bent upon its -religious exercise, from the mystic, by an easy transition, degenerate -into the hermite. The same thing is observable in philosophy, which -though it cannot produce a different world in which we may wander, makes -us act in this as if we were different beings from the rest of mankind; -at least makes us frame to ourselves, though we cannot execute them, -rules of conduct different from those which are set to us by nature. No -engine can supply the place of wings, and make us fly, though the -imagination of such a one may make us stretch and strain and elevate -ourselves upon our tiptoes. And in this case of an imagined merit, the -farther our chimeras hurry us from nature, and the practice of the -world, the better pleased we are, as valuing ourselves upon the -singularity of our notions, and thinking we depart from the rest of -mankind only by flying above them. Where there is none we excel, we are -apt to think we have no excellency; and self-conceit makes us take every -singularity for an excellency. - -"When, therefore, these barbarians came first to the relish of some -degree of virtue and politeness beyond what they had ever before been -acquainted with, their minds would necessarily stretch themselves into -some vast conceptions of things, which, not being corrected by -sufficient judgment and experience, must be empty and unsolid. Those who -had first bred these conceptions in them could not assist them in their -birth, as the Grecians did the Romans; but being themselves scarce half -civilized, would be rather apt to entertain any extravagant misshapen -conceit of their conquerors, than able to lick it into any form. 'Twas -thus that that monster of romantic chivalry, or knight-errantry, by the -necessary operation of the principles of human nature, was brought into -the world; and it is remarkable that it descended from the Moors and -Arabians, who, learning somewhat of the Roman civility from the province -they conquered, and being themselves a southern people, which are -commonly observed to be more quick and inventive than the northern, were -the first who fell upon this vein of achievement. When it was once -broken upon it ran like wild-fire over all the nations of Europe, who, -being in the same situation with these nations, kindled with the least -spark. - -"What kind of monstrous birth this of chivalry must prove, we may learn -from considering the different revolutions in the arts, particularly in -architecture, and comparing the Gothic with the Grecian models of it. -The one are plain, simple, and regular, but withal majestic and -beautiful, which when these barbarians unskilfully imitated, they ran -into a wild profusion of ornaments, and by their rude embellishments -departed far from nature and a just simplicity. They were struck with -the beauties of the ancient buildings; but, ignorant how to preserve a -just mean, and giving an unbounded liberty to their fancy in heaping -ornament upon ornament, they made the whole a heap of confusion and -irregularity. For the same reason, when they would rear up a new scheme -of manners, or heroism, it must be strangely overcharged with ornaments, -and no part exempt from their unskilful refinements; and this we find to -have been actually the case, as may be proven by running over the -several parts of it." - - -He then inquires into the reason, why courage is the principal virtue of -barbarous nations, and why they esteem deeds of heroism, however useless -or mischievous, as far more meritorious than useful efforts of -government or internal organization. He contrasts the heroism of the -barbarous periods of the ancient world, with those of the dark ages of -modern Europe; and finding the former selfish and aggrandizing, while -the latter is characterized by the more generous features of chivalry, -he thus accounts for this characteristic. - - -"The method by which these courteous knights acquired this extreme -civility of theirs, was by mixing love with their courage. Love is a -very generous passion, and well fitted both to that humanity and -courage they would reconcile. The only one that can contest with it is -friendship, which, besides that it is too refined a passion for common -use, is not by many degrees so natural as love, to which almost every -one has a great propensity, and which it is impossible to see a -beautiful woman, without feeling some touches of. Besides, as love is a -capricious passion, it is the more susceptible of these fantastic forms, -which it must take when it mixes with chivalry. Friendship is a solid -and serious thing, and, like the love of their country in the Roman -heroes, would dispel and put to flight all the chimeras, inseparable -from this spirit of adventure. So that a mistress is as necessary to a -cavalier or knight-errant, as a god or saint to a devotee. Nor would he -stop here, or be contented with a submiss reverence and adoration to one -of the sex, but would extend in some degree the same civility to the -whole, and by a curious reversement of the order of nature, make them -the superior. This is no more than what is suitable to that infinite -generosity of which he makes profession. Every thing below him he treats -with submission, and every thing above him, with contumacy. Thus he -carries these double symptoms of generosity which Virgil makes mention -of into extravagance. - - Parcere subjectis et debellare superbos. - -Hence arises the knight-errant's strong and irreconcileable aversion to -all giants, with his most humble and respectful submission to all -damsels. These two affections of his, he unites in all his adventures, -which are always designed to relieve distressed damsels from the -captivity and violence of giants. - -"As a cavalier is composed of the greatest warmth of love, tempered with -the most humble submission and respect, his mistress's behaviour is in -every point the reverse of this; and what is conspicuous in her temper -is the utmost coldness along with the greatest haughtiness and disdain; -until at last, gratitude for the many deliverances she has met with, and -the giants and monsters without number that he has destroyed for her -sake, reduces her, though unwilling, to the necessity of commencing a -bride. Here the chastity of women, which, from the necessity of human -affairs, has been in all ages and countries an extravagant point of -honour with them, is run into still greater extravagance, that none of -the sexes may be exempt from this fantastic ornament. - -"Such were the notions of bravery in that age, and such the fictions by -which they formed models of it. The effects these had on their ordinary -life and conversation was, first, an extravagant gallantry and adoration -of the whole female sex, and romantic notions of extraordinary -constancy, fidelity, and refined passion for one mistress. Secondly, the -introduction of the practice of single combat. How naturally this sprung -up from chivalry may easily be understood. A knight-errant fights, not -like another man full of passion and resentment, but with the utmost -civility mixed with his undaunted courage. He salutes you before he cuts -your throat; and a plain man, who understood nothing of the mystery, -would take him for a treacherous ruffian, and think that, like Judas, he -was betraying with a kiss, while he is showing his generous calmness and -amicable courage. In consequence of this, every thing is performed with -the greatest ceremony and order; and whenever either chance or his -superior bravery make either of them victorious, he generously gives his -antagonist his life, and again embraces him as his friend. When these -fantastic practices have come in use, the amazed world, who, merely -because there is nothing real in all this, must certainly imagine there -is a great deal, could not but look upon such a courteous enmity as the -most heroic and sublime thing in nature; and instead of punishing any -murder that might ensue, as the law directs in such cases, would praise -and applaud the murderer."[25:1] - - -Perhaps the reader of these passages will have come to the conclusion -that the powers of reason displayed in them are as bold and original as -the imagination is meagre and servile. The reflections on Gothic -architecture are the commonplace opinions of the day, uttered by one who -was singularly destitute of sympathy with the human intellect, in its -early efforts to resolve itself into symmetry and elegance; whose mind -shrunk from the contemplation of any work of man that did not bear the -stamp of high intellectual culture. The same want of sympathy with man -in his rude and grand, though inharmonious efforts, here attends both -the chivalric manners and the solemn architecture of the dark ages. Of -the former, he has made a cold, clear, unsympathizing, perhaps accurate -estimate. The latter, unless a large proportion of the architectural -enthusiasts of the present day have raised the taste of the age upon -false foundations, he utterly misappreciated. - -It must have been about his seventeenth year that Hume commenced, and -abruptly relinquished the practical study of the law,--a curious episode -in his history, which he thus describes in his "own life:" "My studious -disposition, my sobriety, and my industry, gave my family a notion that -the law was a proper profession for me; but I found an insurmountable -aversion to every thing but the pursuits of philosophy and general -learning; and while they fancied I was poring upon Voet and Vinnius, -Cicero and Virgil were the authors which I was secretly devouring." - -But this by no means gives the reader a full and faithful impression of -his motives. The passage calls up the vision of a contemplative, gentle, -unambitious youth, shrinking from the arid labours that lead to wealth -and distinction, and content to dream away his life in obscurity with -the companionship of his favourite books. The document already referred -to, and immediately to be quoted, shows that far other thoughts were in -his mind; that he did not shrink from the professional labours of the -bar, to sink into studious ease, but rejected them to encounter higher -and more arduous toils--that he did not drop passively from the path of -ambition opened to him, but deserted it for a higher and more -adventurous course. He had indeed already before him the prospect of -being a discoverer in philosophy, and his mind, crowded with the images -of his new system, could see nothing else in life worthy of pursuit. - -Without this clue, Hume's aversion to the study of the law would have -been a problem not to be easily solved. Had he lived in the present day, -when the mass of statute and precedent that have accumulated even within -the narrow domain of Scottish law, have completely precluded those -luxurious digressions into the field of speculation and theory, which -characterized the legal practice of our ancestors, one might readily -comprehend the aversion of his fastidiously cultivated logical mind to -such hard and coarse materials. But a lawyer's library, in his days, -consisted of the classics, the philosophers of mind, and the civilians. -The advocate often commenced his pleadings with a quotation from the -young philosopher's favourite poet Virgil, and then digressed into a -speculative inquiry into the general principles of law and government: -the philosophical genius of Themis long soaring sublime, until at last, -folding her wings, she rested on some vulgar question about dry multures -or an irritancy of a tailzie, to the settlement of which the wide -principles so announced were applied. Surely that science, within the -boundaries of which the speculative spirit of Lord Kames had room for -its flights, could not have been rejected on the ground that it cramped -and restrained the faculty of generalizing.[28:1] Yet in a letter to -Smith, of 12th April, 1759, which shows that Hume retained his antipathy -to the study to an advanced period of his life, he says, "I am afraid of -Kames' Law Tracts. A man might as well think of making a fine sauce by a -mixture of wormwood and aloes, as an agreeable composition by joining -metaphysics and Scottish law. However, the book I believe has merit, -though few people will take the pains of inquiring into it." - -In truth there appear to have been in Hume all the elements of which a -good lawyer is made: clearness of judgment, power of rapidly acquiring -knowledge, untiring industry, and dialectic skill; and, if his mind had -not been preoccupied, he might have fallen into that gulf in which many -of the world's greatest geniuses lie buried--professional eminence, and -might have left behind him a reputation limited to the traditional -recollections of the Parliament House, or associated with important -decisions. He was through life an able, clear-headed man of business, -and I have seen several legal documents written in his own hand and -evidently drawn by himself. They stand the test of general professional -observation; and their writer, by preparing documents of such a -character on his own responsibility, showed that he had considerable -confidence in his ability to adhere to the forms adequate for the -occasion. He talks of it as "an ancient prejudice industriously -propagated by the dunces in all countries, that _a man of genius is -unfit for business_;"[29:1] and he showed, in his general conduct -through life, that he did not choose to come voluntarily under this -proscription. - -His writings, however, bear but slight traces of his juridical studies. -In analysing the foundations of our notions of property, he criticises -some of the subtleties of the early civilians, but shows no more -intimate acquaintance with their works than any well-informed scholar of -the day might be supposed to exhibit. He shows no pleasure in dwelling -on matters connected with this study, but rather appears disposed to -release himself and his reader from a subject so little congenial to his -taste. The particular law of Scotland is one of those subjects to which -he would be careful to avoid a reference, as carrying with it that tone -of provincial thought and education which he was always anxious to -avoid. It may be perhaps an unfortunate result of this early prejudice -against the study of jurisprudence, that in after life he failed to -acquire that knowledge of the progress of the law of England, which -would have made his history much less amenable than it has been to -censorious criticism. - -It is now time that the reader should be possessed of the document above -alluded to, as throwing much light on Hume's early studies and habits of -life; and it is here presented, without any introductory explanation, as -it first appeared to me in going through the papers in the possession of -the Royal Society. - - -_A Letter to a Physician._ - -"SIR,--Not being acquainted with this handwriting, you will probably -look to the bottom to find the subscription, and not finding any, will -certainly wonder at this strange method of addressing to you. I must -here in the beginning beg you to excuse it, and, to persuade you to read -what follows with some attention, must tell you, that this gives you an -opportunity to do a very good-natured action, which I believe is the -most powerful argument I can use. I need not tell you, that I am your -countryman, a Scotsman; for without any such tie, I dare rely upon your -humanity even to a perfect stranger, such as I am. The favour I beg of -you is your advice, and the reason why I address myself in particular to -you, need not be told,--as one must be a skilful physician, a man of -letters, of wit, of good sense, and of great humanity, to give me a -satisfying answer. I wish fame had pointed out to me more persons, in -whom these qualities are united, in order to have kept me some time in -suspense. This I say in the sincerity of my heart, and without any -intention of making a compliment; for though it may seem necessary, -that, in the beginning of so unusual a letter, I should say some fine -things, to bespeak your good opinion, and remove any prejudices you may -conceive at it, yet such an endeavour to be witty, would ill suit with -the present condition of my mind; which, I must confess, is not without -anxiety concerning the judgment you will form of me. Trusting, however, -to your candour and generosity, I shall, without further preface, -proceed to open up to you the present condition of my health, and to do -that the more effectually, shall give you a kind of history of my life, -after which you will easily learn why I keep my name a secret. - -"You must know then that, from my earliest infancy, I found always a -strong inclination to books and letters. As our college education in -Scotland, extending little further than the languages, ends commonly -when we are about fourteen or fifteen years of age, I was after that -left to my own choice in my reading, and found it incline me almost -equally to books of reasoning and philosophy, and to poetry and the -polite authors. Every one who is acquainted either with the philosophers -or critics, knows that there is nothing yet established in either of -these two sciences, and that they contain little more than endless -disputes, even in the most fundamental articles. Upon examination of -these, I found a certain boldness of temper growing in me, which was not -inclined to submit to any authority in these subjects, but led me to -seek out some new medium, by which truth might be established. After -much study and reflection on this, at last, when I was about eighteen -years of age, there seemed to be opened up to me a new scene of thought, -which transported me beyond measure, and made me, with an ardour natural -to young men, throw up every other pleasure or business to apply -entirely to it. The law, which was the business I designed to follow, -appeared nauseous to me, and I could think of no other way of pushing my -fortune in the world, but that of a scholar and philosopher. I was -infinitely happy in this course of life for some months; till at last, -about the beginning of September, 1729, all my ardour seemed in a moment -to be extinguished, and I could no longer raise my mind to that pitch, -which formerly gave me such excessive pleasure. I felt no uneasiness or -want of spirits, when I laid aside my book; and therefore never imagined -there was any bodily distemper in the case, but that my coldness -proceeded from a laziness of temper, which must be overcome by -redoubling my application. In this condition I remained for nine months, -very uneasy to myself, as you may well imagine, but without growing any -worse, which was a miracle. There was another particular, which -contributed, more than any thing, to waste my spirits and bring on me -this distemper, which was, that having read many books of morality, such -as Cicero, Seneca, and Plutarch, and being smit with their beautiful -representations of virtue and philosophy, I undertook the improvement of -my temper and will, along with my reason and understanding. I was -continually fortifying myself with reflections against death, and -poverty, and shame, and pain, and all the other calamities of life. -These no doubt are exceeding useful, when joined with an active life, -because the occasion being presented along with the reflection, works it -into the soul, and makes it take a deep impression; but in solitude they -serve to little other purpose, than to waste the spirits, the force of -the mind meeting with no resistance, but wasting itself in the air, like -our arm when it misses its aim. This, however, I did not learn but by -experience, and till I had already ruined my health, though I was not -sensible of it. Some scurvy spots broke out on my fingers the first -winter I fell ill, about which I consulted a very knowing physician, who -gave me some medicine that removed these symptoms, and at the same time -gave me a warning against the vapours, which, though I was labouring -under at that time, I fancied myself so far removed from, and indeed -from any other disease, except a slight scurvy, that I despised his -warning. At last, about April 1730, when I was nineteen years of age, a -symptom, which I had noticed a little from the beginning, increased -considerably; so that, though it was no uneasiness, the novelty of it -made me ask advice; it was what they call a ptyalism or wateryness in -the mouth. Upon my mentioning it to my physician, he laughed at me, and -told me I was now a brother, for that I had fairly got the disease of -the learned. Of this he found great difficulty to persuade me, finding -in myself nothing of that lowness of spirit, which those who labour -under that distemper so much complain of. However upon his advice I went -under a course of bitters, and anti-hysteric pills, drank an English -pint of claret wine every day, and rode eight or ten Scotch miles. This -I continued for about seven months after. - -"Though I was sorry to find myself engaged with so tedious a distemper, -yet the knowledge of it set me very much at ease, by satisfying me that -my former coldness proceeded not from any defect of temper or genius, -but from a disease to which any one may be subject. I now began to take -some indulgence to myself; studied moderately, and only when I found my -spirits at their highest pitch, leaving off before I was weary, and -trifling away the rest of my time in the best manner I could. In this -way, I lived with satisfaction enough; and on my return to town next -winter found my spirits very much recruited, so that, though they sank -under me in the higher flights of genius, yet I was able to make -considerable progress in my former designs. I was very regular in my -diet and way of life from the beginning, and all that winter made it a -constant rule to ride twice or thrice a-week, and walk every day. For -these reasons, I expected, when I returned to the country, and could -renew my exercise with less interruption, that I would perfectly -recover. But in this I was much mistaken; for next summer, about May -1731, there grew upon me a very ravenous appetite, and as quick a -digestion, which I at first took for a good symptom, and was very much -surprised to find it bring back a palpitation of heart, which I had felt -very little of before. This appetite, however, had an effect very -unusual, which was to nourish me extremely; so that in six weeks' time, -I passed from the one extreme to the other; and being before tall, lean, -and raw-boned, became on a sudden the most sturdy, robust, -healthful-like fellow you have seen, with a ruddy complexion and a -cheerful countenance. In excuse for my riding, and care of my health, I -always said that I was afraid of consumption, which was readily believed -from my looks, but now every body congratulated me upon my thorough -recovery. This unnatural appetite wore off by degrees, but left me as a -legacy the same palpitation of the heart in a small degree, and a good -deal of wind in my stomach, which comes away easily, and without any bad -_goût_, as is ordinary. However, these symptoms are little or no -uneasiness to me. I eat well; I sleep well; have no lowness of spirits, -at least never more than what one of the best health may feel from too -full a meal, from sitting too near a fire, and even that degree I feel -very seldom, and never almost in the morning or forenoon. Those who live -in the same family with me, and see me at all times, cannot observe the -least alteration in my humour, and rather think me a better companion -than I was before, as choosing to pass more of my time with them. This -gave me such hopes, that I scarce ever missed a day's riding, except in -the winter time; and last summer undertook a very laborious task, which -was to travel eight miles every morning, and as many in the forenoon, to -and from a mineral well of some reputation. I renewed the bitter and -anti-hysteric pills twice, along with anti-scorbutic juice, last -spring, but without any considerable effect, except abating the symptoms -for a little time. - -"Thus I have given you a full account of the condition of my body; and -without staying to ask pardon, as I ought to do, for so tedious a story, -shall explain to you how my mind stood all this time, which on every -occasion, especially in this distemper, have a very near connexion -together. Having now time and leisure to cool my inflamed imagination, I -began to consider seriously how I should proceed in my philosophical -inquiries. I found that the moral philosophy transmitted to us by -antiquity laboured under the same inconvenience that has been found in -their natural philosophy, of being entirely hypothetical, and depending -more upon invention than experience: every one consulted his fancy in -erecting schemes of virtue and of happiness, without regarding human -nature, upon which every moral conclusion must depend. This, therefore, -I resolved to make my principal study, and the source from which I would -derive every truth in criticism as well as morality. I believe it is a -certain fact, that most of the philosophers who have gone before us, -have been overthrown by the greatness of their genius, and that little -more is required to make a man succeed in this study, than to throw off -all prejudices either for his own opinions or for those of others. At -least this is all I have to depend on for the truth of my reasonings, -which I have multiplied to such a degree, that within these three years, -I find I have scribbled many a quire of paper, in which there is nothing -contained but my own inventions. This, with the reading most of the -celebrated books in Latin, French, and English, and acquiring the -Italian, you may think a sufficient business for one in perfect health, -and so it would had it been done to any purpose; but my disease was a -cruel encumbrance on me. I found that I was not able to follow out any -train of thought, by one continued stretch of view, but by repeated -interruptions, and by refreshing my eye from time to time upon other -objects. Yet with this inconvenience I have collected the rude materials -for many volumes; but in reducing these to words, when one must bring -the idea he comprehended in gross, nearer to him, so as to contemplate -its minutest parts, and keep it steadily in his eye, so as to copy these -parts in order,--this I found impracticable for me, nor were my spirits -equal to so severe an employment. Here lay my greatest calamity. I had -no hopes of delivering my opinions with such elegance and neatness, as -to draw to me the attention of the world, and I would rather live and -die in obscurity than produce them maimed and imperfect. - -"Such a miserable disappointment I scarce ever remember to have heard -of. The small distance betwixt me and perfect health makes me the more -uneasy in my present situation. It is a weakness rather than a lowness -of spirits which troubles me, and there seems to be as great a -difference betwixt my distemper and common vapours, as betwixt vapours -and madness. I have noticed in the writings of the French mystics, and -in those of our fanatics here, that when they give a history of the -situation of their souls, they mention a coldness and desertion of the -spirit, which frequently returns; and some of them, at the beginning, -have been tormented with it many years. As this kind of devotion depends -entirely on the force of passion, and consequently of the animal -spirits, I have often thought that their case and mine were pretty -parallel, and that their rapturous admirations might discompose the -fabric of the nerves and brain, as much as profound reflections, and -that warmth or enthusiasm which is inseparable from them. - -"However this may be, I have not come out of the cloud so well as they -commonly tell us they have done, or rather began to despair of ever -recovering. To keep myself from being melancholy on so dismal a -prospect, my only security was in peevish reflections on the vanity of -the world and of all human glory; which, however just sentiments they -may be esteemed, I have found can never be sincere, except in those who -are possessed of them. Being sensible that all my philosophy would never -make me contented in my present situation, I began to rouse up myself; -and being encouraged by instances of recovery from worse degrees of this -distemper, as well as by the assurances of my physicians, I began to -think of something more effectual than I had hitherto tried. I found, -that as there are two things very bad for this distemper, study and -idleness, so there are two things very good, business and diversion; and -that my whole time was spent betwixt the bad, with little or no share of -the good. For this reason I resolved to seek out a more active life, and -though I could not quit my pretensions in learning but with my last -breath, to lay them aside for some time, in order the more effectually -to resume them. Upon examination, I found my choice confined to two -kinds of life, that of a travelling governor, and that of a merchant. -The first, besides that it is in some respects an idle life, was, I -found, unfit for me; and that because from a sedentary and retired way -of living, from a bashful temper, and from a narrow fortune, I had been -little accustomed to general companies, and had not confidence and -knowledge enough of the world to push my fortune, or to be serviceable -in that way. I therefore fixed my choice upon a merchant; and having got -recommendation to a considerable trader in Bristol, I am just now -hastening thither, with a resolution to forget myself, and every thing -that is past, to engage myself, as far as is possible, in that course of -life, and to toss about the world, from the one pole to the other, till -I leave this distemper behind me. - -"As I am come to London in my way to Bristol, I have resolved, if -possible, to get your advice, though I should take this absurd method of -procuring it. All the physicians I have consulted, though very able, -could never enter into my distemper; because not being persons of great -learning beyond their own profession, they were unacquainted with these -motions of the mind. Your fame pointed you out as the properest person -to resolve my doubts, and I was determined to have somebody's opinion, -which I could rest upon in all the varieties of fears and hopes, -incident to so lingering a distemper. I hope I have been particular -enough in describing the symptoms to allow you to form a judgment; or -rather, perhaps, have been too particular. But you know it is a symptom -of this distemper, to delight in complaining and talking of itself. The -questions I would humbly propose to you are: Whether, among all those -scholars you have been acquainted with, you have ever known any affected -in this manner? Whether I can ever hope for a recovery? Whether I must -long wait for it? Whether my recovery will ever be perfect, and my -spirits regain their former spring and vigour, so as to endure the -fatigue of deep and abstruse thinking? Whether I have taken a right way -to recover? I believe all proper medicines have been used, and therefore -I need mention nothing of them." - -The history of this eventful period in the mental biography of Hume, is -very briefly narrated in his "own life." Alluding to his adoption of the -life of a student, he says, "My very slender fortune, however, being -unsuitable to this plan of life, and my health being a little broken by -my ardent application, I was tempted, or rather forced, to make a very -feeble trial for entering into a more active scene of life. In 1734, I -went to Bristol, with some recommendations to eminent merchants, but in -a few months found that scene totally unsuitable to me." - - -I am sure the reader will sympathize with me in esteeming it a high -privilege to be the humble instrument of ushering into the world so -curious a piece of literary autobiography as that which he has just -perused. We are here admitted into the confessional. So secret is the -communication of thought by the writer to the receiver, that the latter, -who was made acquainted with so much of the internal meditations of the -former, was not to be allowed to know with what outward man this mind of -which he obtained a description was connected. The individual mind was -fully and minutely described--to what individual man this mind belonged -was to be preserved a profound secret. The writer shrunk from the -admission of any man to a participation with him in his -self-conferences, and he planned that by keeping his name a secret, the -link which would connect this knowledge of the inner to an acquaintance -with the outer man should be broken. We have surely in this an argument -in favour of the candour and explicitness of his narrative. He felt that -to be known, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, by the person he -addressed, would be a restraint on the freedom of his revelations--he -threw off this restraint, and we are entitled to infer that his letter -is a piece of full and candid self-examination. Every word of it, as it -was originally written, is here printed, and it will perhaps be admitted -that there is not one word of it that does not do honour to its writer. -To Aristotle and others it is attributed that they taught esoteric -doctrines to a chosen few--doctrines not to be promulgated to the world -at large, because they were likely to have a dangerous influence on -minds not skilfully trained for their reception. For any vestiges of -these hidden doctrines the world searches, anticipating that in them -will be found a nearer approach to that which the philosopher believed -in his own mind, as distinct from that which he desired to inculcate on -others. In all ages there has been a natural and a praiseworthy -curiosity to know the hidden thoughts of great teachers. Mankind in -general admit, that truth is what is valuable in all philosophy, and if -a man entertained thoughts in his own mind in any way different from -those which he taught, it has been a conclusion certainly quite -legitimate, that truth is more likely to be found in the former than in -the latter. But certainly there can hardly be found any other instance -in which a document, so likely to be the honest impress of a -philosopher's own mind, has been laid before the world; and it is an -attestation of the sincerity with which the opinions then in the course -of formation in his mind were believed. - -But, independently of the philosophical value of the document, to be -thus admitted into the secrecy of the thoughts of a man ambitious of -high literary distinction, and who has attained his object, is a rare -privilege. The revelation, notwithstanding its foreboding tone, is -calculated to give far more pleasure than pain. The future, which seemed -to the desponding philosopher for a moment so dark, we know to have -brightened on him. Hume was of the happy few who lived to see their airy -castles substantially realized. Comparing what it reveals of the inner -man, with the subsequent history of his achievements, the picture -supplied by this fragment of autobiography is a happy one. We sympathize -with the aspiring dreams of the young man, without feeling that they -were afterwards doomed to disappointment. The immediate occasion of his -earnest appeal is undoubtedly one of despondency; but it was preceded by -hope, as we know it was followed by success; and notwithstanding this -passing cloud, it may fairly be pronounced, that though Hume enjoyed -through life more than the average portion of human happiness, he had no -moments of purer felicity than those in which, in the retirement of his -paternal home, he was sketching the airy outline of his subsequent -career. - -Perhaps the feature that will most forcibly strike the reader, is the -evidence of the deep-rooted ambition to found a philosophical -reputation, that seems to have filled the mind of the writer of this -document. The consciousness that the receiver of the paper must at once -perceive this circumstance, and the desire not to let a stranger -penetrate his aspiring thoughts, must have been the reasons of his -desire for secrecy: it was natural that one who had not entered the -lists to struggle for literary distinction, should wish to conceal how -strong and inextinguishable was his desire to obtain the prize. The -intensity of his anxiety on this subject seems to have made him, in -relation to his mind, what the ordinary hypochondriac is as to his -physical constitution. The desire to preserve the elements of -distinction was so intense, that it disturbed him with vain fears for -their disappearance. Feeling within him, at times, the consciousness of -possessing an original genius,--that it should depart from him, and that -his lot should be cast among that of ordinary mortals, with good -physical health and commonplace abilities, appeared to him the most -awful calamity which fate could have in store for him. Of the excellent -physical health which accompanied these unpleasant variations of his -mental capacity, he speaks with an almost sardonic scorn, as one who, in -the bitterness of being bereft of what is all in all to him, talks of -some paltry trifle which fortune in her sarcastic malice has chosen to -leave untouched. In short, the manner in which he speaks of the -departure of his cunning, must almost necessarily convey to the reader a -considerable portion of that ludicrous character which is always -presented by a scene in which a man appears to be dreadfully anxious -about the safety of that which either is of no importance, or is not in -danger. - -It may be a question whether this strange letter was ever sent to its -destination, as the version from which it is here printed is not a rough -draught, but a neatly written copy, such as might have been prepared for -transmission. But this does not afford so full a presumption in Hume's -case, as it would in that of the average of literary men, as he seems to -have felt a sort of enjoyment in his earlier years in having his papers -neatly written out. The first name that suggested itself as that of the -person to whom the paper was addressed was Arbuthnot, whose fine genius -was just then flickering in the socket. But a more full consideration -showed to my satisfaction that it must have been destined for Dr. George -Cheyne, and that it was suggested by that eminent physician's -publication, in the preceding year, of "The English Malady; or, a -Treatise of Nervous Diseases of all kinds, as Spleen, Vapours, Lowness -of Spirits, Hypochondriacal Distempers, &c." There is a certain unison -of tone between Hume's letter and this book, that, added to other -coincidences, strongly impresses on the mind their connexion with each -other; and though it is perhaps necessary, before this is fully seen, to -enter into the whole tenor and tone of Cheyne's book, the reader will -perhaps find the following passage sufficient to render the conjecture -probable:-- - -"It is a common observation, (and I think has great probability on its -side,) that fools, weak or stupid persons, heavy and dull souls, are -seldom much troubled with vapours or lowness of spirits. The -intellectual faculty, without all manner of doubt, has material and -animal organs, by which it mediately works, as well as the animal -functions. What they are, and how they operate, as I believe very few -know, so it is very little necessary to know them for my present -purpose. As a philosophical musician may understand proportions and -harmony, and yet never be in a condition to gratify a company with a -fine piece of music, without the benefit of sounds from proper organs, -so the intellectual operations (as long as the present union between -soul and body lasts) can never be performed in the best manner without -proper instruments. The works of imagination and memory, of study, -thinking, and reflecting, from whatever source the principle on which -they depend springs, must necessarily require bodily organs. Some have -these organs finer, quicker, more agile, and sensible, and perhaps more -numerous than others; brute animals have few or none, at least none that -belong to reflection; vegetables certainly none at all. There is no -account to be given how a disease, a fall, a blow, a debauch, poisons, -violent passions, astral and aerial influences, much application, and -the like, should possibly alter or destroy these intellectual operations -without this supposition. It is evident, that in nervous distempers, and -a great many other bodily diseases, these faculties and their operations -are impaired, nay, totally ruined and extinguished to all appearance; -and yet, by proper remedies, and after recovery of health, they are -restored and brought to their former state. Now, since this present age -has made efforts to go beyond former times, in all the arts of -ingenuity, invention, study, learning, and all the contemplative and -sedentary professions, (I speak only here of our own nation, our own -times, and of the better sort, whose chief employments and studies these -are,) the organs of these faculties being thereby worn and spoiled, must -affect and deaden the whole system, and lay a foundation for the -diseases of lowness and weakness. Add to this, that those who are -likeliest to excel and apply in this manner, are most capable and most -in hazard of following that way of life which I have mentioned, as the -likeliest to produce these diseases. Great wits are generally great -epicures, at least, men of taste. And the bodies and constitutions of -one generation are still more corrupt, infirm, and diseased, than those -of the former, as they advance in time and the use of the causes -assigned." - -Then there are the farther coincidences, that Cheyne was a Scotsman, -that he was an eminent man in his profession, and that he had bestowed -some attention on mental philosophy. "I passed my youth," he tells us, -"in close study, and almost constant application to the abstracted -sciences, wherein my chief pleasure consisted." "Having," he elsewhere -says, "had a liberal education, with the instruction and example of -pious parents, (who at first had designed me for the church,) I had -preserved a firm persuasion of the great and fundamental principles of -all virtue and morality: viz. the existence of a supreme and infinitely -perfect Being, the freedom of the will, the immortality of the spirits -of all intellectual beings, and the certainty of future rewards or -punishments. These doctrines I had examined carefully, and had been -confirmed in, from abstracted reasonings, as well as from the best -natural philosophy, and some clearer knowledge of the material system of -the world in general, and the wisdom, fitness, and beautiful contrivance -of particular things animated and inanimated; so that the truth and -necessity of these principles was so riveted in me, (which may be seen -by the first edition of my 'Philosophical Principles,' published some -years before that happened,[45:1]) as never after to be shaken in all my -wanderings and follies."[45:2] It may be mentioned also, as a -circumstance likely to bring Cheyne's work early under Hume's -observation, that it contains a long statement of the case of Dr. -William Cranstoun, an eminent medical man then residing at Jedburgh, in -the same district of country with Ninewells. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1:1] Old Style. - -[1:2] He is entered in the list of members on 23d June, 1705, as "Mr. -Joseph Hume of Ninewalls." It thus appears that the orthography of the -name adopted by his son, and which will be found to have been so much -the subject of dispute, was not a novelty to the family. - -[2:1] Both the "Peerage" and the "Baronage" of Scotland, by Robert -Douglas, are well known to Scottish genealogical antiquaries. The former -was published in 1764. The latter, in which there is a brief account of -the Ninewells' family, in 1798. - -[4:1] In connexion with this, it is not uninteresting to view Hume's -opinions on the philosophy of family pride. He says, in the Treatise of -Human Nature, Book ii. p. i. sect. 9.--"'Tis evident that, when any one -boasts of the antiquity of his family, the subjects of his vanity are -not merely the extent of time and number of ancestors, but also their -riches and credit, which are supposed to reflect a lustre on himself on -account of his relation to them. He first considers these objects; is -affected by them in an agreeable manner; and then returning back to -himself, through the relation of parent and child, is elevated with the -passion of pride, by means of the double relation of impressions and -ideas. Since, therefore, the passion depends on these relations, -whatever strengthens any of the relations must also increase the -passion, and whatever weakens the relations must diminish the passion. -Now 'tis certain the identity of the possession strengthens the relation -of ideas arising from blood and kindred, and conveys the fancy with -greater facility from one generation to another, from the remotest -ancestors to their posterity, who are both their heirs and their -descendants. By this facility the impression is transmitted more entire, -and excites a greater degree of pride and vanity." - -[6:1] The document is quoted in Book ii. of Robertson's History of -Scotland. - -[6:2] A tragic incident occurred in the year 1683, in which Hume of -Ninewells, and Johnston of Hilton, were victims to the revengeful -passions of a brother of the Earl of Home, vented under circumstances of -singular treachery and inhospitality. It is thus narrated in Law's -Memorials, p. 259. "December, 1683, about the close of that moneth, the -Earl himself being from home, the Lairds of Hilton and Nynhools came to -make a visit to the Earl of Home his house, and went to dice and cards -with Mr. William Home, the Earl's brother. Some sharp words fell amongst -them at their game, which were not noticed, as it seemed to them; yet, -when the two gentlemen were gone to their bed-chambers, the foresaid Mr. -William comes up with his sword and stabs Hilton with nine deadly -wounds, in his bed, that he dies immediately; and wounds Nynhools -mortally, so that it was thought he could not live, and immediately took -horse and fled into England--a treacherous and villanous act done to two -innocent gentlemen, the fruits of dicing and card gaming." - -"Joseph Johnstone of Hilton was stabbed by Mr. William, brother to -Charles earle of Hume. Hilton being of a lofty temper, had given Mr. -Hume bad words in his own house of Hilton, and a box on the ear. . . . -And William Hume made his escape to England, on Hilton's horse. He was -after killed himself in the wars abroad."--Lord Fountainhall's Diary, p. -33. - -The editor of Law, Mr. Kirkpatrick Sharpe, appends the following farther -notices of this incident:-- - -"Before his death he is said to have returned to Scotland, smitten with -remorse, and anxious to obtain pardon of a near male relation of -Johnstone's, then residing in Edinburgh. This gentleman, in the dusk of -the evening, was called forth to the outside stairs of the house, to -speak with a stranger muffled in a cloak. As he proceeded along the -passage, the door being open, he recognised the murderer; and -immediately drawing his sword, rushed towards him, on which the other -leapt nimbly down from the stairs into the street, and was never again -seen in Scotland." These events were made the subject of an amusing -sketch in _Chambers's Edinburgh Journal_, No. 569. - -[7:1] Copy MS. communicated by Dr. Vallange, Portobello. - -[8:1] Hist. and Allus. Arms, p. 400, where the information is derived -from Douglas's Baronage. - -[9:1] Unless such allusions as the following be held as an exception: -"The north of England abounds in the best horses of all kinds which are -perhaps in the world. In the neighbouring counties, north side of the -Tweed, no good horses of any kind are to be met with." Essay on National -Characters. But he speaks fully as distinctly and specifically of local -matters in France or Spain. - -The remarks in the text may probably be considered superfluous, being -applicable to by far the greater portion of literary men--as those who -have attempted to trace, from the internal evidence of their works, the -birthplaces of authors not commemorated by their contemporaries, can -testify. Thomson, also a borderer, and a poet of rural life, has -scarcely any allusion that bears a distinct reference to the scenery of -his childhood, and celebrates the heroism of almost every land but his -own. In that age, however, to be national in Scotland was to be -provincial in Britain; and unless an author chose to aim at the -restricted reputation of a Ramsay or a Pennecuik, he must carefully shun -allusions to his native country. But the very existence of this, as a -general characteristic, seems to render it worthy of notice in this -instance, which must certainly be held, like Thomson's, a peculiarly -marked illustration of this feature in literary history. Hume had -frequently to record events which had taken place close to his home; and -the whole of the surrounding district was full of traditional lore, -about the wild life of the borderers in the seventeenth century, which -would have afforded valuable materials for his history, and some of his -other works, had he been one of those who derive their knowledge from -men as well as from books. But these volumes will afford ample -opportunity for observing, that he required to place no great restraint -on his pen to keep it free of provincial allusions; and that, even in -his most familiar letters, though he often speaks of the friends of his -youth, he says nothing of the places in which he spent his early days. - -[12:1] Among the Hume Papers in the possession of the Royal Society of -Edinburgh, there is a letter from the chevalier, addressed to "Monsieur -de Ramsay, à l'Hôtel de Provence, Rue de Condé, Faubourg St. Germain," -dated 1st September, 1742. The receiver of this letter was probably the -correspondent of Hume, to whom it may have been sent, under the -impression that he was the person connected with the Vindication of the -Duchess of Marlborough, a book now well known to have been put into -shape by Hooke, the historian of Rome. The letter is in English; and it -shows that there are works of genius which the author of "The Travels of -Cyrus" had not taste to appreciate. He says:-- - -"I have read the first book of 'The History of Joseph Andrews,' but -don't believe I shall be able to finish the first volume. Dull burlesque -is still more insupportable than dull morality. Perhaps my not -understanding the language of low life in an English style is the reason -of my disgust; but I am afraid your Britannic wit is at as low an ebb as -the French. I hope to find some more amusement in my Lady Duchess of -Marlborough's adventures. They say a friend of ours has some hand in -them. I pity his misfortune, if he is obliged to stoop below his fine -genius and talents, to please an old rich dowager, that neither deserves -apology nor praise, and that would be too much honoured for her merit by -an ingenious fine satyr. I long to be in a condition to travel, that I -may see and embrace you, make acquaintance with your amiable young Lord, -and assure you both of the tender zeal, friendship, and attachment with -which I am your most humble and most obedient servant, - -"The Ch. RAMSAY." - -Perhaps the criticism on Fielding may not be thought inconsistent with -the man who pronounced Locke a shallow writer. - -[14:1] Virg. Æn. iii. 660. - -[14:2] - - At secura quies, et nescia fallere vita, - Dives opum variarum: at latis otia fundis, - Speluncæ, vivique lacus; at frigida Tempe, - Mugitusque boum, mollesque sub arbore somni - Non absunt. - - Virg. Georg. ii. 467 et seq. - -In the course of the correspondence which follows, there will be found -several quotations from the Latin classics. Hume's handwriting is so -distinct, that we can seldom have any doubt of the individual letters -written by him. At the same time, as he appears to have always quoted -from memory, there is sometimes a greater difference than even that -exhibited above, between the original and his version of it. I have -thought, that were I to attempt to correct his quotations, I would be -removing valuable data from which the reader may form an estimate of his -mental powers and his education. It will perhaps be allowed, that in -some instances he shows a fertile invention in substituting words for -those which his memory has failed to retain; while in others, as in the -above quotation, the fastidious critics of England will perhaps detect -traces of the more slovenly classical education of Scotland. In his -published works, Hume appears to have anxiously collated his quotations. -But in his letters he seems to have been always more anxious about the -judicious choice of his own expressions, than the accurate transcription -of the words of others. His letters appear to have been carefully -composed. He wrote in constant dread of falling into slovenly -colloquialisms of style, and was not ashamed to leave on his letters the -marks of this anxiety, in corrections and interlineations. This -peculiarity must be admitted to be at variance with the received canon -of the learned world, which excuses mistakes and clumsy expressions in -the vernacular language of a writer, but has no mercy for irregularities -in the use of the dead languages. - -[16:1] From a scroll in the MSS. bequeathed by Baron Hume to the Royal -Society of Edinburgh. - -An account of these MSS. will be found in the Preface. Henceforth, for -the sake of brevity, they will be referred to thus--MS. R.S.E. A part of -the above letter has been already printed in the _Literary Gazette_ for -1821, p. 762. - -[25:1] It may be interesting to compare these extracts with his method -of treating the same subject at a later period of his life. The -following is taken from his Essay on the Feudal and Anglo-Norman -Government and Manners, in the two volumes of his History, first -published in 1762. - -"The feudal institutions, by raising the military tenants to a kind of -sovereign dignity, by rendering personal strength and valour requisite, -and by making every knight and baron his own protector and avenger, -begat that martial pride and sense of honour, which, being cultivated -and embellished by the poets and romance writers of the age, ended in -chivalry. The virtuous knight fought not only in his own quarrel, but in -that of the innocent, of the helpless, and, above all, of the fair, whom -he supposed to be for ever under the guardianship of his valiant arm. -The uncourteous knight, who, from his castle, exercised robbery on -travellers, and committed violence on virgins, was the object of his -perpetual indignation; and he put him to death without scruple, or -trial, or appeal, whenever he met with him. The great independence of -men made personal honour and fidelity the chief tie among them, and -rendered it the capital virtue of every true knight, or genuine -professor of chivalry. The solemnities of single combat, as established -by law, banished the notion of every thing unfair or unequal in -rencounters, and maintained an appearance of courtesy between the -combatants till the moment of their engagement. The credulity of the age -grafted on this stock the notions of giants, enchanters, spells, and a -thousand wonders, which still multiplied during the time of the -crusades, when men, returning from so great a distance, used the liberty -of imposing every fiction on their believing audience. These ideas of -chivalry infected the writings, conversations, and behaviour of men -during some ages; and even after they were in a great measure banished -by the revival of learning, they left modern _gallantry_, and the _point -of honour_, which still maintain their influence, and are the genuine -offspring of those ancient affectations." - -[28:1] Perhaps few authors afford so many curious illustrations of the -substitution of fanciful analogy for the severe logic of a practical -lawyer, as Lord Kames--_e. g._ when, in his essays on British -antiquities, he identifies hereditary descent with the law of -gravitation, and the inclination of the mind to continue downwards in a -straight line, as a stone falls from a height; so that, "in tracing out -a family, the mind descends by degrees from the father, first to the -eldest son, and so downwards in the order of age:" pleasant enough -speculations, yet not likely to serve any good purpose in practical law. - -[29:1] Essay on Eloquence. - -[45:1] Philosophical Principles of Natural Religion, 1705, 8vo. - -[45:2] The English Malady, p. 330-331. I have run my eye over Cheyne's -"Natural Method of Curing Diseases of the Body and Mind," 1742, -8vo,--the only work I am aware of his having published subsequently to -the date of Hume's letter, but I have found in it no trace of a -reference to Hume's case. Cheyne's works are perhaps better known to the -public in general, than any medical books of the same period, and their -curious discursive contents amply repay perusal. Their science is of -course held to be completely superseded, but the unscientific reader -cannot help thinking that there is much sagacious good counsel in his -advice, notwithstanding the eccentric garrulity with which it is -uttered. His account of his own experiences, in experimenting on -himself, is the most interesting department of his medical observations. -He describes every thing with a sort of rude eloquence, infinitely more -pleasing to an ordinary reader than scientific precision; and the -recklessness with which he appears to have submitted his own carcass to -the most violent changes of regimen, inclines one to think that he had -applied towards it the _fiat experimentum in compore vili_. He tells us -that he was disposed to "corpulence by the whole race of one side" of -his family. In the quotation given above, he represents himself as -having been studious in his youth. He began to practise his profession -in London, of which he says--"The number of fires, sulphurous and -bituminous; the vast expense of tallow and foetid oil in candles and -lamps, under and above ground; the clouds of stinking breaths and -perspiration, not to mention the ordure of so many diseased, both -intelligent and unintelligent animals; the crowded churches, -churchyards, and burying places, with putrifying bodies, the sinks, -butcher houses, stables, dunghills, and the necessary stagnation, -fermentation, and mixture of all variety of all kinds of atoms, are more -than sufficient to putrify, poison, and infect the air, for twenty miles -round it." Having come from the fresh air of the country into so hopeful -an atmosphere, he seems to have resolved that his habit of living should -be an equally great contrast to his previous studious abstinence. "Upon -my coming to London, I all of a sudden changed my whole manner of -living. I found the bottle-companions, the younger gentry, and -free-livers, to be the most easy of access, and most quickly susceptible -of friendship and acquaintance,--nothing being necessary for that -purpose but to be able to eat lustily, and swallow down much liquor; and -being naturally of a large size, a cheerful temper, and tolerable lively -imagination; and having, in my country retirement, laid in store of -ideas and facts,--by these qualifications I soon became caressed by -them, and grew daily in bulk, and in friendship with these gay gentlemen -and their acquaintances. I was tempted to continue this course, no -doubt, from a liking, as well as to force a trade, which method I had -observed to succeed with some others: and thus constantly dining and -supping in taverns, and in the houses of my acquaintances of taste and -delicacy, my health was in a few years brought into great distress, by -so sudden and violent a change. I grew excessively fat, short-breathed, -lethargic, and listless." - -The consequences were "a constant, violent headach, giddiness, lowness, -anxiety, and terror," and he went about "like a malefactor condemned, or -one who expected every moment to be crushed by a ponderous instrument of -death hanging over his head." These evil symptoms prompted him to -abandon suppers and restrict himself to a small quantity of animal food -and of fermented liquors. He very naturally found that on this abrupt -change all his "bouncing, protesting, and undertaking companions" -forsook him, and "dropped off like autumnal leaves," leaving him to -vegetate in temperate dreariness, while they "retired to comfort -themselves with a cheer-up cup," so that he pathetically tells us, "I -was forced to retire into the country quite alone, being reduced to the -state of Cardinal Wolsey, when he said, that if he had served his Maker -as faithfully and warmly as he had his prince, he would not have -forsaken him in that extremity." - -It would be difficult to follow out the multitudinous course of remedies -he adopted, commencing with "volatiles, foetids, bitters, chalybeats, -and mineral waters," and how he took twenty grains of "what is called -the prince's powder," and "had certainly perished under the operation, -but for an over-dose of laudanum after it," having thus experienced -something like the good fortune of the man of Thessaly who leaped into a -quickset hedge. Under these circumstances he felt his body "melting away -like a snow-ball in summer." Having tried the Bath waters, he appears to -have somewhat revived, whereupon by increasing his quantity of "animal -food and strong liquors," he was "heated so," that he "apprehended a -hectic." His next change was to a milk diet, in which experiment he was -confirmed by a visit to Dr. Taylor of Croydon, its apostle, whom he -found "at home, at his full quart of cow's milk, which was all his -dinner." He found in consequence of this change, that he "increased in -spirits, strength, appetite and gaiety," until, the old Adam struggling -within him, he "began to find a craving and insufferable longing for -more solid and toothsome food, and for higher and stronger liquors." -Hereupon we have him getting more generous in his diet, but still, as he -counts it, "sober, moderate, and plain," in so far as he "drank not -above a quart or three pints at most of wine any day." Under this -regimen, he says, "I swelled to such an enormous size, that upon my last -weighing I exceeded thirty-two stones." Then came fits of various kinds, -and a dreary period of hypochondria, with recurrences to the low diet -system, and then such startling revulsions from it as the following: "I -resolved to change my half pint of port at dinner, into the same -quantity of Florence. I ate, at the same time, a good deal of more -butter with my vegetables, and plenty of old rich cheese; and likewise -nuts extremely--I procured from abroad and at home, great plenty of all -kinds, as filberts, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, &c., eating them in -great quantities after dinner by way of dessert," but in pity to the -digestive sympathies of the reader this subject must be dropped. Dr. -Cheyne is--not the martyr, but the hero of dyspepsia, and Mrs. Radcliffe -could not have drawn him through a longer series of horrors than his -inventive genius seems to have created for himself. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -1734-1739. ÆT. 23-27. - - Hume leaves Bristol for France--Paris--Miracles at the Tomb of - the Abbé Paris--Rheims--La Flêche--Associations with the Abbé - Pluche and Des Cartes--Observations on French Society and - Manners--Story of La Roche--Return to Britain.--Correspondence - with Henry Home--Publication of the first and second volume of - The Treatise of Human Nature--Character of that Work--Its - Influence on mental Philosophy. - - -We have no account of Hume's sojourn in Bristol, except his own very -brief statement, that "in a few months," he "found that scene totally -unsuitable" to him.[48:1] He must have proceeded to France about the -middle of the year 1734, and he thus describes in his "own life," his -motives and intentions. "I went over to France, with a view of -prosecuting my studies in a country retreat; and I there laid that plan -of life, which I have steadily and successfully pursued. I resolved to -make a very rigid frugality supply my deficiency of fortune, to -maintain unimpaired my independency, and to regard every object as -contemptible, except the improvement of my talents in literature." - -His subsequent letters show that he proceeded in the first instance to -Paris, where he remained for a short time. Not long before his arrival -there, some occurrences had taken place which were afterwards -prominently referred to in his philosophical writings. A Jansenist, -distinguished by his sanctity and the wide circle of his charities--the -Abbé Paris, having died, a tomb was erected over his remains in the -cemetery of St. Médard. Thither the poor, whom the good man had -succoured in life, repaired to bless his memory and pray for the state -of his soul. But it was discovered that this devotion was speedily -rewarded; for the sick were cured, the blind saw, all manner of miracles -were performed; and the evidence of their genuineness was considered so -satisfactory, that the Jesuits were never able to impugn them--an -instance which it might be well for every one to recall to mind who is -told of phenomena out of the ordinary course of nature being -authenticated by the testimony of respectable and enlightened people. At -length, this series of miracles became offensive to the -government--there was no saying how far the matter might proceed. It was -resolved that there should be no more miracles performed at the tomb of -the Abbé Paris: the gates of the cemetery were closed, and the miracles -necessarily came to an end. This occurred in the year 1732, just two -years before Hume's visit; and it will easily be imagined that the -references to these wonderful events which he would hear in -conversation, suggested many trains of thought to the young philosopher. -It was not long afterwards, and probably while all this was very fresh -in his memory, that the principal theory of his Essay on Miracles was -suggested to him. In that Essay he says: - -"Many of the miracles of Abbé Paris were proved immediately by witnesses -before the officialty or bishop's court at Paris, under the eye of -Cardinal Noailles, whose character for integrity and capacity was never -contested even by his enemies. - -"His successor in the archbishopric was an enemy to the Jansenists, and -for that reason promoted to the see by the court. Yet twenty-two rectors -or curés of Paris, with infinite earnestness, press him to examine those -miracles, which they assert to be known to the whole world, and -indisputably certain. But he wisely forbore." - -And farther on:-- - -"No less a man than the Duc de Chatillon, a duke and peer of France, of -the highest rank and family, gives evidence of a miraculous cure, -performed upon a servant of his, who had lived several years in his -house with a visible and palpable infirmity. - -"I shall conclude with observing, that no clergy are more celebrated for -strictness of life and manners than the secular clergy of France, -particularly the rectors or curés of Paris, who bear testimony to these -impostures." - -An illustration of his notice of what was passing around him in Paris, -occurs in the following passage in his "Natural History of Religion." - -"I lodged once at Paris in the same hotel with an ambassador from Tunis, -who, having passed some years at London, was returning home that way. -One day I observed his Moorish excellency diverting himself under the -porch, with surveying the splendid equipages that drove along; when -there chanced to pass that way some Capucin friars, who had never seen -a Turk, as he, on his part, though accustomed to the European dresses, -had never seen the grotesque figure of a Capucin: and there is no -expressing the mutual admiration with which they inspired each other. -Had the chaplain of the embassy entered into a dispute with these -Franciscans, their reciprocal surprise had been of the same nature. Thus -all mankind stand staring at one another; and there is no beating it -into their heads, that the turban of the African is not just as good or -as bad a fashion as the cowl of the European.--'He is a very honest -man,' said the Prince of Sallee, speaking of De Ruyter; 'it is a pity he -were a Christian.'" - -After leaving Paris, he resided at Rheims in the province of Champagne, -about eighty miles north-east of the metropolis. Thence he addressed to -his friend Michael Ramsay the following letter, full of observation and -thought. - - -HUME _to_ MICHAEL RAMSAY. - -"_Rheims, September 12, 1734._ - -"MY DEAR MICHAEL,--I suppose you have received two letters from me, -dated at Paris, in one of which was enclosed a letter to my Lord Stair. -I am now arrived at Rheims, which is to be the place of my abode for -some considerable time, and where I hope both to spend my time happily -for the present, and lay up a stock for the future. It is a large town, -containing about forty thousand inhabitants, and has in it about thirty -families that keep coaches, though, by the appearance of the houses, you -would not think there was one. I am recommended to two of the best -families in town, and particularly to a man, who they say is one of the -most learned in France.[52:1] He is just now in the country, so that I -have not yet seen him; though, if I had seen him, it would be some time -before I could contract a friendship with him, not being yet sufficient -master of the language to support a conversation; which is a great -vexation to me, but which I hope in a short time to get over. As I have -little more than this to say about business, I shall use the freedom to -entertain you with any idle thoughts that come into my head, hoping at -least you will excuse them, if not be pleased with them, because they -come from an absent friend. - -"When I parted from Paris, the Chevalier Ramsay gave me as his advice, -to observe carefully, and imitate as much as possible, the manners of -the French. For, says he, though the English, perhaps, have more of the -real politeness of the heart, yet the French certainly have the better -way of expressing it. This gave me occasion to reflect upon the matter, -and in my humble opinion it is just the contrary: viz., that the French -have more real politeness, and the English the better method of -expressing it. By real politeness I mean softness of temper, and a -sincere inclination to oblige and be serviceable, which is very -conspicuous in this nation, not only among the high but low; in so much -that the porters and coachmen here are civil, and that, not only to -gentlemen, but likewise among themselves; so that I have not yet seen -one quarrel in France, though they are every where to be met with in -England.[53:1] By the expressions of politeness, I mean those outward -deferences and ceremonies which custom has invented, to supply the -defect of real politeness or kindness, that is unavoidable towards -strangers, or indifferent persons, even in men of the best dispositions -in the world. These ceremonies ought to be so contrived, as that, though -they do not deceive nor pass for sincere, yet still they please by their -appearance, and lead the mind by its own consent and knowledge into an -agreeable delusion. One may err by running into either of the two -extremes; that of making them too like truth or too remote from it: -though we may observe, that the first is scarce possible, because -whenever any expression or action becomes customary, it can deceive -nobody. Thus, when the Quakers say, 'your friend,' they are as easily -understood, as another, that says, 'your humble servant.' The French err -in the contrary extreme, that of making their civilities too remote from -truth, which is a fault, though they are not designed to be believed; -just as it is a transgression of rules in a dramatic poet to mix any -improbabilities with his fable, though 'tis certain that, in the -representation, the scenes, lights, company, and a thousand other -circumstances, make it impossible he can ever deceive. - -"Another fault I find in the French manners, is that, like their clothes -and furniture, they are too glaring. An English fine gentleman -distinguishes himself from the rest of the world, by the whole tenor of -his conversation, more than by any particular part of it; so that though -you are sensible he excels, you are at a loss to tell in what, and have -no remarkable civilities and compliments to pitch on as a proof of his -politeness. These he so smooths over, that they pass for the common -actions of life, and never put you to[55:1] trouble of returning thanks -for them. The English politeness is always greatest where it appears -least. - -"After all, it must be confessed that the little niceties of French -behaviour, though troublesome and impertinent, yet serve to polish the -ordinary kind of people, and prevent rudeness and brutality. For in the -same manner as soldiers are found to become more courageous in learning -to hold their muskets within half an inch of a place appointed; and your -devotees feel their devotion increase by the observance of trivial -superstitions, as sprinkling, kneeling, crossing, &c.; so men insensibly -soften towards each other in the practice of these ceremonies. The mind -pleases itself by the progress it makes in such trifles, and while it is -so supported, makes an easy transition to something more material. And I -verily believe it is for this reason that you scarce ever meet with a -clown or an ill-bred man in France. - -"You may perhaps wonder that I, who have stayed so short time in France, -and who have confessed that I am not master of their language, should -decide so positively of their manner. But you will please to observe, -that it is with nations as with particular men, where one trifle -frequently serves more to discover the character, than a whole train of -considerable actions. Thus, when I compare our English phrase of 'humble -servant,' which likewise we omit upon the least intimacy, with the -French one of 'the honour of being your most humble servant,' which they -never forget,--this, compared with other circumstances, lets me clearly -see the different humours of the nations. This phrase, of the honour of -doing or saying such a thing to you, goes so far, that my washing-woman -to-day told me, that she hoped she would have the honour of serving me -while I staid at Rheims; and what is still more absurd, it is said by -people to those who are very much their inferiors. - -"Before I conclude my letter, I must tell you that I hope you will -excuse my rudeness, if I use the freedom (?)[56:1] to desire of you -that, the next time you do me the honour of writing to me, you will be -so good as to sit down a day before the post goes away; for I cannot -help being afraid that, in your haste, you have omitted many things, -which otherwise I would have had the honour and satisfaction of hearing -from you. When you are so good as to condescend to write, please to -direct so:--'A Monsieur--Monsieur David Hume, gentilhomme, Ecossois, -chez Monsieur Mesier, au Peroquet verd, proche la porte au Ferron, -Rheims.'"[56:2] - - -Hume states, in his "own life," that he passed "three years" very -agreeably in France. We find from a letter to Principal Campbell,[57:1] -that two of these years were spent at La Flêche, and that he had some -communication with the members of the Jesuits' College there. He says, -"It may perhaps amuse you to learn the first hint, which suggested to me -that argument which you have so strenuously attacked. I was walking in -the cloisters of the Jesuits' College of La Flêche, a town in which I -passed two years of my youth, and engaged in a conversation with a -Jesuit of some parts and learning, who was relating to me, and urging -some nonsensical miracle performed lately in their convent, when I was -tempted to dispute against him; and as my head was full of the topics of -my Treatise of Human Nature, which I was at that time composing, this -argument immediately occurred to me, and I thought it very much -gravelled my companion; but at last he observed to me, that it was -impossible for that argument to have any solidity, because it operated -equally against the Gospel as the Catholic miracles;--which observation -I thought proper to admit as a sufficient answer. I believe you will -allow, that the freedom at least of this reasoning makes it somewhat -extraordinary to have been the produce of a convent of Jesuits, though -perhaps you may think the sophistry of it savours plainly of the place -of its birth." - -This same Jesuits' College of La Flêche, is familiar to the -philosophical reader as the seminary in which Des Cartes was educated. -The place which Hume had just left, has been seen to be associated with -the birth and residence of a distinguished opponent of the Cartesian -theory. We now find him perfecting his work in that academic solitude, -where Des Cartes himself was educated, and where he formed his theory of -commencing with the doubt of previous dogmatic opinions, and framing for -himself a new fabric of belief. The coincidence is surely worthy of -reflective association, and it is perhaps not the least striking -instance of Hume's unimaginative nature, that in none of his works, -printed or manuscript, do we find an allusion to the circumstance, that -while framing his own theories, he trod the same pavement that had -upwards of a century earlier borne the weight of one whose fame and -influence on human thought was so much of the same character as he -himself panted to attain. - -It is to Hume's early sojourn in France that we must assign the time and -the scene of Mackenzie's pleasant fiction, called the "Story of La -Roche," published in the Mirror of 1779. It is generally admitted that -the writer's materials were merely the character and habits of the -philosopher, and that there was no groundwork for the narrative in any -incident that had actually occurred. But the story must be taken as the -observations of an acute perception, and a finely adjusted taste, upon -Hume's character; and our reliance on the accuracy of the picture is -enhanced by the circumstance that Smith, deceived by its air of reality, -expressed his wonder that Hume had never told him of the incident.[58:1] - -The opening description is in these words:-- - -"More than forty years ago, an English philosopher, whose works have -since been read and admired by all Europe, resided at a little town in -France. Some disappointments in his native country had first driven him -abroad, and he was afterwards induced to remain there, from having found -in this retreat, where the connexions even of nature and language were -avoided, a perfect seclusion and retirement, highly favourable to the -development of abstract subjects, in which he excelled all the writers -of his time. - -"Perhaps in the structure of such a mind as Mr. ----'s, the fine and -more delicate sensibilities are seldom known to have place; or, if -originally implanted there, are in a great measure extinguished by the -exertions of intense study and profound investigation. Hence the idea of -philosophy and unfeelingness being united, has become proverbial; and, -in common language, the former word is often used to express the latter. -Our philosopher had been censured by some, as deficient in warmth and -feeling: but the mildness of his manners has been allowed by all; and it -is certain, that if he was not easily melted into compassion, it was at -least not difficult to awaken his benevolence." - -The impression of the actions of a kind, charitable, and tolerant -disposition, conveyed by the circumstances of the narrative, cannot be -represented without incorporating it in full; and it will probably be -thought that one or two passing sketches of character, such as the -above, are all that should be taken into a work like the present, from a -book accessible to every reader. Thus, when the housekeeper comes with -the account of the distresses of the poor protestant clergyman and his -daughter: - -"Her master laid aside the volume in his hand, and broke off the chain -of ideas it had inspired. His night-gown was exchanged for a coat, and -he followed his gouvernante to the sick man's apartment." - -Again,-- - -"La Roche found a degree of simplicity and gentleness in his companion, -which is not always annexed to the character of a learned or a wise man. -His daughter, who was prepared to be afraid of him, was equally -undeceived. She found in him nothing of that self-importance which -superior parts, or great cultivation of them, is apt to confer. He -talked of every thing but philosophy or religion; he seemed to enjoy -every pleasure and amusement of ordinary life, and to be interested in -the most common topics of discourse: when his knowledge or learning at -any time appeared, it was delivered with the utmost plainness, and -without the least shadow of dogmatism." - -And not less distinctly are the following sentences the echo of -Mackenzie's own observations of the character and habits of the -philosopher, that they are put in the varied shape of dialogue and -narrative. - -"You regret, my friend," said [La Roche,] "when my daughter and I talk -of the exquisite pleasure derived from music, you regret your want of -musical powers and musical feelings; it is a department of soul, you -say, which nature has almost denied you, which, from the effects you see -it have on others, you are sure must be highly delightful. Why should -not the same thing be said of religion? Trust me, I feel it in the same -way, an energy, an inspiration, which I would not lose for all the -blessings of sense or enjoyments of the world. . . . . . And it would -have been inhuman in our philosopher to have clouded, even with a doubt, -the sunshine of this belief. - -"His discourse was very remote from metaphysical disquisition or -religious controversy. Of all men I ever knew, his ordinary conversation -was the least tinctured with pedantry or liable to dissertation. With La -Roche and his daughter it was perfectly familiar. The country round -them, the manners of the villagers, the comparison of both with those of -England, remarks on the works of favourite authors, or the sentiments -they conveyed, and the passions they excited, with many other topics in -which there was an equality, or alternate advantage among the speakers, -were the subjects they talked on." - -Nor can one, after having quoted so much, avoid giving the concluding -sentence, in which the philosopher contemplates the old clergyman's -grief for the loss of his daughter, and at the same time that he -perceives its bitterness and intensity, is made aware of the -consolations which the bereaved old man finds in religion, and "rejoices -that such consolation" is his. - -"Mr. ----'s heart was smitten; and I have heard him long after confess, -that there were moments when the remembrance overcame him even to -weakness; when, amidst all the pleasures of philosophical discovery, and -the pride of literary fame, he recalled to his mind the venerable figure -of the good La Roche, and wished that he had never doubted." - -The account of his sojourn in France is thus given in his "own -life:"--"During my retreat in France, first at Rheims, but chiefly at La -Flêche, in Anjou, I composed my 'Treatise of Human Nature.' After -passing three years very agreeably in that country, I came over to -London in 1737." - -We must now follow him to London, where we find him occupied in carrying -his "Treatise of Human Nature," through the press. One of his early -friends was his namesake Henry Home, afterwards Lord Kames, who -pursued, but with unequal step, the same path with himself. Home was -fifteen years the elder of the two, and had joined the bar in 1723. He -had already published some of his professional works; but it was at a -subsequent period of his life, and when he perhaps became emulous of the -fame of his friend, that he attempted works in ethics, metaphysics, and -criticism. During many years of continued intimacy, these two -distinguished men enjoyed each other's mutual respect; but, in their -early intercourse, when his senior had for some time occupied a -prominent position in the eye of the public, we naturally find Hume -writing about his great project in a tone of modest deference. - - -HUME _to_ HENRY HOME. - -"_London, December 2, 1737._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I am sorry I am not able to satisfy your curiosity by giving -you some general notion of the plan upon which I proceed. But my -opinions are so new, and even some terms I am obliged to make use of, -that I could not propose, by any abridgment, to give my system an air of -likelihood, or so much as make it intelligible. It is a thing I have in -vain attempted already, at a gentleman's request in this place, who -thought it would help him to comprehend and judge of my notions, if he -saw them all at once before him. I have had a greater desire of -communicating to you the plan of the whole, that I believe it will not -appear in public before the beginning of next winter. For, besides that -it would be difficult to have it printed before the rising of the -parliament, I must confess I am not ill pleased with a little delay, -that it may appear with as few imperfections as possible. I have been -here near three months, always within a week of agreeing with my -printers; and you may imagine I did not forget the work itself during -that time, where I began to feel some passages weaker for the style and -diction than I could have wished. The nearness and greatness of the -event roused up my attention, and made me more difficult to please, than -when I was alone in perfect tranquillity in France. But here I must tell -you one of my foibles. I have a great inclination to go down to Scotland -this spring to see my friends; and have your advice concerning my -philosophical discoveries; but cannot overcome a certain shamefacedness -I have to appear among you at my years, without having yet a settlement, -or so much as attempted any. How happens it that we philosophers cannot -as heartily despise the world as it despises us? I think in my -conscience the contempt were as well founded on our side as on the -other. - -"Having a franked letter, I was resolved to make use of it; and -accordingly enclose some '_Reasonings concerning Miracles_,'[63:1] which -I once thought of publishing with the rest, but which I am afraid will -give too much offence, even as the world is disposed at present. There -is something in the turn of thought, and a good deal in the turn of -expression, which will not perhaps appear so proper, for want of knowing -the context: but the force of the argument you'll be judge of, as it -stands. Tell me your thoughts of it. Is not the style too diffuse? -though, as that was a popular argument, I have spread it out much more -than the other parts of the work. I beg of you to show it to nobody, -except to Mr. Hamilton, if he pleases; and let me know at your leisure -that you have received it, read it, and burnt it. Your thoughts and mine -agree with respect to Dr. Butler, and I would be glad to be introduced -to him. I am at present castrating my work, that is, cutting off its -nobler parts; that is, endeavouring it shall give as little offence as -possible, before which, I could not pretend to put it into the Doctor's -hands. This is a piece of cowardice, for which I blame myself, though I -believe none of my friends will blame me. But I was resolved not to be -an enthusiast in philosophy, while I was blaming other enthusiasms. If -ever I indulge myself in any, 'twill be when I tell you that I am, dear -Sir, yours."[64:1] - - -Butler, to whom Hume is thus found desiring an introduction, had, in the -immediately preceding year, published "The Analogy of Religion, Natural -and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature;" and it appears -that Hume courted the attention of the author of that clear logical work -to those speculations of his own, which, in the opinion of the world in -general, have so opposite a tendency to that of the "Analogy." The -following letter, acknowledging an introduction from Home, and dated 4th -March, 1738, tells its own tale. - - -"I shall not trouble you with any formal compliments or thanks, which -would be but an ill return for the kindness you have done me in writing -in my behalf, to one you are so little acquainted with as Dr. Butler; -and, I am afraid, stretching the truth in favour of a friend. I have -called upon the Doctor, with a design of delivering him your letter, -but find he is at present in the country. I am a little anxious to have -the Doctor's opinion. My own I dare not trust to; both because it -concerns myself, and because it is so variable, that I know not how to -fix it. Sometimes it elevates me above the clouds; at other times, it -depresses me with doubts and fears; so that, whatever be my success, I -cannot be entirely disappointed. Somebody has told me that you might -perhaps be in London this spring. I should esteem this a very lucky -event; and notwithstanding all the pleasures of the town, I would -certainly engage you to pass some philosophical evenings with me, and -either correct my judgment, where you differ from me, or confirm it -where we agree. I believe I have some need of the one, as well as the -other; and though the propensity to diffidence be an error on the better -side, yet 'tis an error, and dangerous as well as disagreeable.--I am, -&c. - -"I lodge at present in the Rainbow Coffeehouse, Lancaster Court."[65:1] - - -The transactions between authors and booksellers are seldom accompanied -by any formidable array of legal formalities; but Hume and his -publishers seem to have thought it necessary to bind each other in the -most stringent manner, to the performance of their respective -obligations, by "articles of agreement, made, concluded, and agreed, -upon the 26th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand -seven hundred and thirty-eight, and in the twelfth year of the reign of -our sovereign lord King George the Second,--between David Hume of -Lancaster Court of the one part, and John Noone of Cheapside, London, -bookseller, of the other part." By this very precise document, it is -provided, that "the said David Hume shall and will permit and suffer the -said John Noone to have, hold, and enjoy, the sole property, benefit, -and advantage of printing and publishing the first edition of the said -book, not exceeding one thousand copies thereof." The author, in return, -receives £50, and twelve bound copies of the book.[66:1] The transaction -is on the whole creditable to the discernment and liberality of Mr. -Noone. It may be questioned, whether, in this age, when knowledge has -spread so much wider, and money is so much less valuable, it would be -easy to find a bookseller, who, on the ground of its internal merits, -would give £50 for an edition of a new metaphysical work, by an unknown -and young author, born and brought up in a remote part of the empire. -These articles refer to the first and second of the three volumes of the -"Treatise of Human Nature;" and they were accordingly published in -January, 1739. They include "Book I. Of the Understanding," and "Book -II. Of the Passions." - -It has been generally and justly remarked, that the Treatise is among -the least systematic of philosophical works--that it has neither a -definite and comprehensive plan, nor a logical arrangement. It was, -indeed, so utterly deficient in the former--there was so complete a want -of any projected scope of subject which the author was bound to exhaust -in what he wrote--that an attempt to divide and subdivide the matter -after it had been written, according to a logical arrangement, would -only, as a sort of _experimentum crucis_, have exposed the imperfect -character of the original plan. The author, therefore, very discreetly -allowed his matter to be arranged as the subjects of which he treated -had respectively suggested themselves, and bestowed on his work a title -rather general than comprehensive,--a title, of which all that can be -said of its aptness to the subject is, that no part of his book can be -said to be wholly without it, while he might have included an almost -incalculable multitude of other subjects within it. He called it simply -"A Treatise of Human Nature;" and by a subsidiary title, explanatory -rather of his method than definitive of his matter, he called it "an -attempt to introduce the experimental method of reasoning into moral -subjects." - -The purely metaphysical,[67:1] and, at the same time, the most original -portion of the work, and that which has most conspicuously rendered -itself a constituent part of the literature of intellectual philosophy, -is "Book I. Of the Understanding." "Book II. Of the Passions," contains -mixed metaphysics and ethics, with occasional notices of phenomena, -which, though Hume does not, other writers would be likely to connect -with physiological inquiries. The third book, "Of Virtue and Vice in -General," published a year later, is of an ethical character, being an -inquiry into the origin and proper system of morals, and an application -of the system to government and politics. - -The "Treatise of Human Nature" afforded materials for the criticism of -two very distinct classes of writers. The one consisted of men imbued -with a spirit of inquiry kindred to that of Hume, and a genius capable -of appreciating his services in the cause of truth; who, as the teachers -of systems of which they were themselves the architects, had to attack -or to defend the principles promulgated in the Treatise, according as -these differed from or corresponded with their own. It is in the -writings of these men that the true immortality of Hume as a philosopher -consists. Whether they find in him great truths to acknowledge, or -subtle and plausible errors to attack, they are the vital evidence of -the originality of his work, of the genius that inspired it, and of its -great influence on human thought and action. The other class of critics -are those who, in pamphlets, or works more ambitious but not rising in -real solidity above that fugitive class, or in occasional digressions -from other topics, have endeavoured to prejudice the minds of their -readers against the principles of the Treatise, by exaggeration, or by -the misapplication of their metaphysical doctrines to the proceedings of -every-day life,--a set of literary efforts of quick production and as -quick decay. - -To the former class of authors, it is of course not within the scope of -the present writer's ambition to belong, and he sees no occasion to -attempt to imitate the latter. In a work, however, which professes to -give a life of David Hume, it is necessary to say something about the -"Treatise of Human Nature;" and as a preliminary to such an attempt, it -may be well to mark the boundaries within which the writer conceives -that the duty he has assumed calls on him for a description of the work, -neither impugning nor defending any of the opinions it sets forth. - -It seems to be right that some attempt should be made to describe the -character and strength of the author's intellect, and the method of its -operations; and to give a view of the fundamental characteristic -principles by which he professes to distinguish his own philosophy from -that of other writers on metaphysical subjects. An attempt should also -be made to tell in what respect Hume has made incidental suggestions -which have either been admitted as new truths in metaphysics, or have, -as original but perhaps fallacious suggestions, afforded to other -thinkers the means of establishing truths. These being the general -objects to be kept in view, there is no intention to take them in any -precise order, or to exhaust them in remarks on this one work. To -attempt an analysis of the work would be out of place. There can be no -more repulsive matter for reading than condensed metaphysics; and -probably there is nothing less instructive than those abridgments, -which, necessarily suppressing the author's discursive arguments, appeal -almost entirely to the memory. To seize on and give a descriptive rather -than an analytical account of the prominent features of the system, will -be the chief aim of these remarks. Moreover, the Treatise bears on -subjects which are nearly all recalled in its author's subsequent works; -and while there are some things in the critical history of Hume's -opinions which may be appropriately viewed in connexion with his first -publication, there are others which it may be more expedient to examine -when he is found reconsidering the subjects in his later works; and -again, others which may be viewed in a general attempt to describe the -extent of his literary achievements. - -The Treatise has been already spoken of as embracing two great objects, -metaphysics and ethics; or three, if politics be considered as distinct -from ethics. The great leading principle of the metaphysical department, -and a principle which is never lost sight of in any part of the book, -is, that the materials on which intellect works are the _impressions_ -which represent immediate sensation, whether externally as by the -senses, or internally as by the passions, and _ideas_ which are the -faint reflections of these impressions. Thus to speak colloquially, when -I see a picture, or when I am angry with some one, there is an -_impression_; but when I think about this picture in its absence, or -call to recollection my subsided anger, what exists in either case is an -_idea_. Hume looked from words to that which they signified, and he -found that where they signified any thing, it must be found among the -things that either are or have been impressions. The whole varied and -complex system of intellectual machinery he found occupied in the -representation, the combination, or the arrangement of these raw -materials of intellectual matter. If I say I see an object, I give -expression to the fact, that a certain impression is made on the retina -of my eye. If I convey to the person I am speaking to an accurate notion -of what I mean, I awaken in his mind ideas left there by previous -impressions, brought thither by his sense of sight.[70:1] Thus, in the -particular case of the external senses, when they are considered as in -direct communication between the mind and any object, there are -impressions: when the senses are not said to be in communication with -the object, the operations of the mind in connexion with it, are from -vestiges which the impressions have left on the mind; and these vestiges -are called ideas, and are always more faint than the original -impressions themselves. And a material circumstance to be kept in view -at the very threshold of the system is, that there is no specific and -distinct line drawn between impressions and ideas. Their difference is -in degree merely--the former are stronger, the latter weaker. There is -no difference in kind; and there is sometimes doubt whether that which -is supposed to be an impression may not be a vivid idea, and that which -is supposed to be an idea a faint impression. - -When Hume examined, with more and more minuteness, the elements of the -materials on which the mind works, he could still find nothing but these -impressions and ideas. Looking at language as a machinery for giving -expression to thought, he thus established for himself a test of its -adaptation to its right use,--a test for discovering whether in any -given case it really served the purpose of language, or was a mere -unmeaning sound. As he found that there was nothing on which thought -could operate but the impressions received through sensation, or the -ideas left by them, he considered that a word which had not a meaning to -be found in either of these things, had no meaning at all. He looked -upon ideas as the goods with which the mind was stored; and on these -stores, as being of the character of impressions, while they were in the -state of coming into the mind. When any one, then, in reasoning, or any -other kind of literature, spoke of any thing as existing, the principle -of his theory was, that this storehouse of idealized impressions should -be searched for one corresponding to the term made use of. If such an -impression were not found, the word was, so far as our human faculties -were concerned, an unmeaning one. Whether there was any existence -corresponding to its meaning, no one could say: all that the sceptical -philosopher could decide was, that, so far as human intellect was put in -possession of materials for thought, it had nothing to warrant it in -saying, that this word represented any thing of which that intellect had -cognizance. - -This limitation of the material put at the disposal of the mind, was -largely illustrated in the course of the work; and the illustrations -assumed some such character as this:--Imaginative writers present us -with descriptions of things which never, within our own experience, have -existed,--of things which, we believe, never have had existence. Yet, -however fantastic and heterogeneous may be the representations thus -presented to our notice, there is no one part, of which we form a -conception, that is any thing more than a new arrangement of ideas that -have been left in the mind by impressions deposited there by sensation. -The most extravagant of eastern or classical fictions there find their -elements. If it be a three-headed dog, a winged horse, a fiery dragon, -or a golden palace, that is spoken of, the reader who forms a conception -of the narrative puts it together with the ideas left in his mind by -impressions conveyed through the external senses. If a spectre is said -to be raised, it may be spoken of as not denser than the atmosphere, yet -the attributes that bring a conception of it to the intellect are the -form and proportions of a human being,--expression, action, and -habiliments: all elements the ideas of which the mind has received -through the impressions of the senses. If words were used in a book of -fiction which did not admit of being thus realized by the mind putting -together a corresponding portion of the ideas stored up within -it--supplying, as it were, the described costume from this -wardrobe--then, according to Hume's philosophy, the word would be a -sound without meaning. He maintained a like rule as to books of -philosophy. If the authors used terms which were not thus represented in -the storehouse of the matter of thought and language, they were not -reasoning on what they knew; they were not using words as the signs of -things signified, but printing unmeaning collections of letters, or -uttering senseless sounds. - -The system, if it were to be classed under the old metaphysical -divisions, was one of nominalism. Such words as shape, colour, hardness, -roughness, &c. the author of the Treatise could only admit to have a -meaning in as far as they signified ideas in the mind; and these ideas -could only be there as the relics of impressions derived through the -senses. Thus, general terms, such as the categories of Aristotle, could -have no existence except in so far as they represented and called up -particulars. Of the abstract term colour, our notion is derived solely -from the ideas left in the mind by the actual impressions made through -the senses. Heat, cold, and largeness, so far as these words represent -what is really in the mind, have no other foundation. - -The application of this system to the mathematics, and to natural -philosophy, was so startling as to afford to some readers almost a -_reductio ad absurdum_. The infinite divisibility of matter was -arraigned by Hume as so far from being a truth, that it was not even -capable of being conceived by the mind, which had never yet received any -impressions through the senses corresponding to the expression. Every -man had seen matter divided--some into smaller fragments than others; -but where our ideas, derived from actual experiment, stopped in -minuteness of division, the conception of divisibility stopped also. The -truth of geometrical demonstration, as applicable to practice, he did -not deny; but he maintained, or rather seemed to maintain, for his -reasoning here is of a highly subtle order, that we have a conception of -these operations only in as far as they concur with really existing -things, or, more properly speaking, with the ideas in the mind conveyed -thither by the senses. Of the point, which has no breadth, depth, or -length; of the straight line, which is deficient in the first and -second, and not in the last of these qualities, he denied that we could -have an idea, unless that idea were just as much the representative of -an actual existence as any other idea is. - -Infinity of space was an expression to which he had an objection on -similar grounds; it had no idea corresponding to it lodged in the mind. -Of space finite in various quantities, the mind possessed ideas stored -up from repeated impressions, and by adding these ideas together, more -or less vastness in the conception of finite space was afforded. But any -thing beyond this definitive increase, attested as it was by the senses, -the mind had no means of conceiving. Whatever might be in another -intellectual world, there was no idea corresponding to infinity of space -in the mind of man. It thence followed, that space unoccupied was a -conception of which the mind was incapable, because the impressions -originally conveyed to the mind were the medium through which the -conception of space existed, and where there were no ideas of such -impressions, an aggregate idea of space was wanting. In the same manner -it was held, that it was in a succession of impressions, with ideas -corresponding, that the conception of time consisted, and that without -such a succession, time would be a thing unknown and unconceived. Our -ideas of numbers he found to be but the collected ideas of the -impressions of the units of which the senses have received distinct -impressions; and in confirmation of this he appealed to the distinctness -of our notion of small numbers, which our mind has been accustomed to -find represented by units, and our imperfect conception of those large -numbers, which we have never had presented to us in detail. How readily -we have a notion of six, but how imperfectly the mind receives the -conception of six millions; how clearly we perceive, in units, the -difference between six and twelve, but how imperfect is our notion of -the difference between six millions and twelve millions.[75:1] - -All human consciousness being of these two materials, impressions and -ideas, the answer to the question, What knowledge have we of an external -world, resolved itself into this, that there were certain impressions -and ideas which we supposed to relate to it--further we knew not. When -we turn, according to this theory, from the external world, and, looking -into ourselves, ask what certainty we have of separate self-existence, -we find but a string of impressions and ideas, and we have no means of -linking these together into any notion of a continuous existence. Such -is that boasted thing the human intellect, when its elements are -searched out by a rigid application of the sceptical philosophy of Hume. -Not a thing separate and self-existent, which was, and is, and shall -continue; but a succession of mere separate entities, called in one view -impressions, in another ideas.[76:1] - -It may make this brief sketch more clear, to notice a circumstance in -the history of philosophy, which, perhaps, serves better in an -incidental manner to mark the boundaries of the field of Hume's inquiry, -than many pages of discursive description. The transcendentalists took -him up as having examined the materials solely, on which pure reason -operates; not pure reason itself. They said that he had examined the -classes of matter which come before the judge, but had omitted to -describe the judge himself, the extent of his jurisdiction, and his -method of enforcing it. They maintained, that all these things, which -with Hume appeared to be the constituent elements of philosophy, were -nothing but the materials on which philosophy works,--that to presume -them to be of service presupposed a reason which could make use of -them,--that Hume himself, while thus speculating and telling us that his -mind consisted but of a string of ideas, left behind by certain -impressions, was himself making use of that pure reason which was in him -before the ideas or impressions existed, and was through that power -adapting the impressions and ideas to use. He characterized his system -as "an attempt to introduce the experimental method of reasoning into -moral subjects:" but they said that there was another and a preliminary -matter of inquiry--the faculty, to speak popularly, which suggested what -experiments should be made, and judged of their results. - -Hume may be found indirectly lamenting the fate of his own work on -metaphysics, in his remarks on other works of a kindred character; and -in these criticisms we have a clue to the expectations he had formed. In -his well-known rapid criticism on the literature of the epoch of the -civil wars, he says of Hobbes: "No author in that age was more -celebrated both abroad and at home than Hobbes. In our times, he is much -neglected: a lively instance how precarious all reputations founded on -reasoning and philosophy! A pleasant comedy which paints the manners of -the age, and exposes a faithful picture of nature, is a durable work, -and is transmitted to the latest posterity. But a system, whether -physical or metaphysical, owes commonly its success to its novelty; and -is no sooner canvassed with impartiality, than its weakness is -discovered." - -Like the majority of literary prophecies dictated by feeling and not by -impartial criticism, this one, whether as it refers to "The Leviathan," -of which it is ostensibly uttered, or to the "Treatise of Human Nature," -the fate of which doubtless suggested it, has proved untrue. The -influence of Hobbes has revived, as that of the Treatise remained -undiminished from the time when it was first fully appreciated. And in -both cases their influence has arisen from that element which seems -alone to be capable of giving permanent value to metaphysical thought. -It is not that in either case the fundamental theory of the author is -adopted, as the disciples of old imbibed the system of their masters, -but that each has started some novelties in thought, and, either by -themselves sweeping away prevailing fallacies, or suggesting to others -the means of doing so, have cleared the path of philosophy. As a general -system, the philosophy of Hobbes has been perhaps most completely -rejected at those times when its incidental discoveries and suggestions -made it most serviceable to philosophy, and were the cause of its being -most highly esteemed. "Harm I can do none," says Hobbes, when speaking -of the metaphysicians who preceded him, "though I err not less than -they, for I leave men but as they are, in doubt and dispute." There is -indeed nothing in the later history of metaphysical writing to show that -the triumphs in that department of thought are to stretch beyond the -establishment of incidental truths, the removal of fallacies, and the -suggestion of theories that may teach men to think. The field is a -republic: incidental merit has its praise, and is allowed its -pre-eminence; but no one mind, it may safely be pronounced, holds in it -that monarchical sway which Adam Smith retains over the empire of -political economy. The ancient systems anterior to Christianity allowed -of such empire. The pupil did not follow his master merely in this and -that incidental truth developed, but adopted the system in all its -details and proportions as his system and his creed. In later times it -would probably be found that the most devoted admirers of great writers -on metaphysics do not adopt their opinions in the mass; and it seems -that men must now go elsewhere than to the produce of human reason, for -the grand leading principles of the philosophy of belief and disbelief. - -To those who hold that the writings of the great metaphysicians are thus -to be esteemed on account, not of their fundamental principles, but of -the truths they bring out in detail, a new theory is like a new road -through an unfrequented country, valuable, not for itself, but for the -scenery which it opens up to the traveller's eye. The thinker who adopts -this view, often wonders at the small beginnings of philosophical -systems--wonders, perhaps, at the circumstance of Kant having believed -that his own system started into life at one moment as he was reading -Hume's views of Cause and Effect. But the solution is ready at hand. We -feel that the philosopher of Königsberg had in his mind the impulses -that would have driven him into a new path had no Hume preceded him. We -owe it to the Essay on Cause and Effect that it was the starting-point -at which he left the beaten track; but, had it not attracted his -attention, his path would have been as original, though not, perhaps, in -the same direction. And so of Hume himself. If the main outline of his -theory had never occurred to him, he would still have been a great -philosopher; for in some form or other he would have found his way to -those incidental and subsidiary discoveries, which are admitted to have -reality in them by many who repudiate his general theory. - -Of all the secondary applications of the leading principle of the -Treatise, none has perhaps exercised so extensive an influence on -philosophy, as this same doctrine of cause and effect. Looking to those -separate phenomena, of which in common language we call the one the -cause of the other, and the other the effect of that cause, he could see -no other connexion between them than that the latter immediately -followed the former. He found that the mind, proceeding on the inductive -system, when it repeatedly saw two phenomena thus conjoined, expected, -when that which had been in use to precede the other made its -appearance, that the other would follow; and he found that by repeated -experiment this expectation might be so far strengthened, that people -were ready to stake their most important temporal interests on the -occurrence of the phenomenon called the effect, when that called the -cause had taken place. But if there were any thing else but this -conjunction, of which a knowledge was demanded--if the unsatisfied -investigator sought for some power in the one phenomenon which enabled -it to be the fabricator of the other--the sceptical reasoner would -answer, that for all he could say to the contrary such a thing might be, -but he had no clue to that knowledge--no impression of any such quality -passed into his intellect through sensation--his mind had no material -committed to it by which the existence or non-existence of any such -thing could be argued. - -The vulgar notion of this theory was, that it destroyed all our notions -of regularity and system in the order of nature; that it made no -provision for unseen causes, and contemplated only the application of -the doctrines of cause and effect to things which were palpably seen -following each other. But the inventor of the theory never questioned -the regularity of the operations of nature as established by the -inductive philosophy; he only endeavoured to show how far and within -what limits we could acquire a cognizance of the machinery of that -regularity. He denied not that when the spark was applied, the gunpowder -would ignite, or that when the ball was dropped, it would proceed to the -earth with the accelerated motion of gravitation; but he denied that we -could see any other connexion between the cause and effect in either -case, than that of uniform sequence. When it was scientifically adopted, -the theory was found to be productive of the most important results. The -view that when any effect was observed, that phenomenon which was most -uniform in its precedence was the one entitled to be termed the cause, -was a salutary incentive to close and patient investigation, by laying -before the philosopher the simple, numerical question--what was that -phenomenon which, by the uniformity of its precedence, was entitled to -be termed the cause?[81:1] The test became of the simplest kind; and, if -the experimentalist had at a particular time considered some phenomenon -as a cause,--if the farther progress of patient and unprejudiced inquiry -showed that another, by the occurrence of instances in which it -preceded the effect while the former did not, had a preferable title to -be termed the cause, the mind in its unbiassed estimate of numbers at -once admitted the claim. But when, according to the antagonist -system,[82:1] it became settled that any given phenomenon had in it the -power of bringing into existence another, that power was viewed as a -quality of the object. When things are admitted to have qualities, it is -not easy for the mind at once to assent to their non-existence and to -admit that others have the proper title to these qualities. Analogy, the -great source of fallacies, comes to increase the difficulty, by a -confusion of what are termed the qualities of bodies, and those -endowments with which we invest our fellow-creatures. In this respect -Hume's theory of cause and effect has been of great service to inductive -philosophy. - -It was an objection to it that it made no allowance for unseen causes; -but it was part of its author's system, that the uniformity which our -observation teaches us, proceeds unseen in those cases to which our -observation cannot penetrate. It was part of the theory, that where -there is a want of the absolute uniformity in the sequence of two -phenomena, they are not respectively cause and effect. This principle is -of vital importance in physical science. It is a notion with the vulgar, -and one that sometimes perhaps lurks unseen in scientific operations, -that the cause sometimes does not produce its effect by reason of some -failure in the operating power. It is from a vague amplification of this -heresy, that the popular notion of chance is derived. Hume's theory -nips the bud of such a fallacy by denying, whenever there is a break in -the sequence, that the phenomena which have in other instances followed -each other, really are cause and effect. It is perhaps in the -unscientific application of therapeutics, that the popular fallacy is -most widely and most dangerously exemplified. The whole of the -complexity of that wondrous science consists in the immediate causes and -effects being unseen--in the phenomena immediately conjoined not being -ascertained, but in attempts being made to estimate them through the -connexion between those external causes to which the internal causes may -have had the relation of effects, and those external effects of which -these internal effects may have been the causes. The character of unseen -causes was aptly illustrated by Hume himself, from the throwing of a -die. The vulgar mind can see no cause and effect in the operation, -because there is a series of causes and effects, which are hidden from -the sight, in the interior of the box; but the philosopher knows not the -less, that those laws of motion, which induction has established to him -as truths, are taking place; and that there is no turn made by the die, -which is not as much the effect of some cause, as the turning of the -hands of a watch, or the parallel motion in a steam engine. - -It is one of the peculiar features of the history of mental philosophy, -that there is scarcely ever a new principle, associated with the name of -a great author, but it is shown that it has been anticipated, in some -oracular sentence, probably by an obscure writer. Joseph Glanvill is -pretty well known as the author of "Saducismus Triumphatus," a -vindication of the belief in witches and apparitions, which must have -been perused by all the curious in this species of lore. Glanvill was -the author of various tracts on biblical subjects, but it was not -generally known that he wrote a book on sceptical philosophy, called -"Scepsis Scientifica, or, Confest Ignorance the Way to Science," until -it was unearthed by the persevering inquiries of Mr. Hallam. In that -book there is the passage, "all knowledge of causes is _deductive_, for -we know none by simple intuition, but through the medium of their -effects; so that we cannot conclude any thing to be the cause of another -but from its continual accompanying it, for the causality itself is -_insensible_."[84:1] This is an addition to the many instances where -writers have almost, as it were by chance, laid down principles, of -which they show, by neglecting to follow them to their legitimate -conclusions, that they have not understood their full meaning; if it do -not rather illustrate the view already noticed, that in metaphysics our -assent is secured, not to general propositions as such, but to their -particular applications; and that it is not in the laying down of first -principles that important truths are exhibited to the world, but in -those subsidiary expositions by which the discoverer endeavours to show -their application. - -The subsequent history of Hume's theory of Cause and Effect, is a marked -illustration of the danger of bringing forward as an argument against -theories purely metaphysical, the statement that they are dangerous to -religion. It is difficult to see where there is a difference between -adducing that argument in the sphere of natural philosophy, from which -it has been long scouted by common consent, and bringing it forward as -an answer to the theories of the metaphysician. In either case it is a -threat, which, in the days of Galileo, bore the terror of corporal -punishment, and in the present day carries the threat of unpopularity, -to the person against whom it is used.[86:1] If any one should suppose -that he finds lurking in the speculations of some metaphysical writer, -opinions from which it may be inferred that he is not possessed of the -hopes and consolations of the Christian, humanity to the unhappy author -should suggest that he ought rather to be pitied than condemned, and -respect for the religious feelings of others should teach that there is -no occasion to endeavour, by a laborious pleading, to demonstrate that a -man who has said nothing against religion is in reality an enemy to -Christianity. They are surely no enlightened friends to religion, who -maintain that the suppression of inquiry as to the material or the -immaterial world, is favourable to the cause of revealed truth. The -blasphemer who raises his voice offensively and contentiously against -what his fellow citizens hold sacred, invokes the public wrath, and is -no just object of sympathy. The extent of his punishment is regretted -only when, by its vindictive excess, it is liable to excite retaliatory -attacks from the same quarter. But the speculative philosopher, who does -not directly interfere with the religion of his neighbours, should be -left to the peaceful pursuit of his inquiries; and those who, instead of -meeting him by fair argument, cry out irreligion, and call in the mob to -their aid, should reflect first, whether it is absolutely certain that -they are right in their conclusion, that his inquiries, if carried out, -would be inimical to religion--whether some mind more acute and -philosophical than their own, may not either finally confute the -sceptical philosopher's argument, or prove that it is not inimical to -religion; and secondly, whether they are not likely to be themselves the -greatest foes to religion, by holding that it requires such defence, and -the practical blasphemers, by proclaiming that religion is in danger? - -Kant, the most illustrious opponent of Hume, in allusion to those who -have appealed against him to our religious feelings, asks, what the man -is doing that we should meddle with him; says he is but trying the -strength of human reason, and bids us leave him to combat with those who -are giving him specimens of the fabric on which to try his skill--tells -us to wait and see who will produce one too strong to be broken to -pieces--and not cry treason, and appeal to the angry multitude, who are -strangers to these refined reasonings, to rush in. Shall we ask reason -to give us lights, and prescribe beforehand what they are to show -us?[88:1] "The observation of human blindness and weakness," says Hume -himself, "is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, -in spite of our endeavours to elude or avoid it." A solemn saying, and -characteristic of one who has done more than any other man to show the -feebleness of poor human reason, and to teach man that he is not all -sufficient to himself. - -Those revelations in astronomy and geology, the first glimmerings of -which made the timid if not doubting friends of their cause tremble, -have enlarged year by year in rapid progression; but revealed religion -is not less firm on her throne; and many of those who held that Hume's -theory of Cause and Effect was inimical to revelation, lived to see how -startlingly that argument could be turned against themselves. It has -been well observed by Dugald Stewart, that this theory is the most -effectual confutation of the gloomy materialism of Spinoza, "as it lays -the axe to the very root from which Spinozism springs." "The cardinal -principle," he says, "on which the whole of that system turns is, that -all events, physical and moral, are _necessarily_ linked together as -causes and effects; from which principle all the most alarming -conclusions adopted by Spinoza follow as unavoidable and manifest -corollaries. But if it be true, as Mr. Hume contends, and as most -philosophers now admit, that physical causes and effects are known to us -merely as _antecedents_ and _consequents_; still more if it be true that -the word _necessity_, as employed in this discussion, is altogether -unmeaning and insignificant, the whole system of Spinoza is nothing -better than a rope of sand, and the very proposition which it professes -to demonstrate is incomprehensible by our faculties."[89:1] - -It will be remembered how signally, in the question in the General -Assembly of the Church of Scotland, as to Sir John Leslie's -professorship, the argument of irreligion was retaliated; and it was -shown that, in the theory of an existing machinery in nature enabling -the universe to proceed in its regular course, the cause having within -it the adequate power for producing its effect, the omnipresence of a -Deity was dispensed with, and there was substituted for the -all-pervading influence of a superior wisdom, a mere material machine, -having within itself the elements of its own regular motion. Thus, in -instances where writers have claimed credit for having aided the cause -of religion by carrying out the principles of natural theology, this -merit has in many cases, and among certain classes of devout religious -thinkers, been sternly denied them; and it has been said that their -labours are rather adverse than favourable to revealed religion, -because, through their tendency to make people believe in an established -order in nature, by which causes produce their effects according to a -fixed system, they have the effect of making mankind forget the -existence of a revealed, omnipresent Deity, whose all-competent -superintendence regulates the world, and they supply a religion -independent of the religion of revelation. - -Perhaps in this little history we may find an illustration of the view, -that the greatest service which the Treatise has done to philosophy is -that purely incidental one of teaching human reason its own weakness--of -showing how easily the noblest fabric of human thought may be -undermined, by a destroying agency of power not greater than that of the -constructive genius which has raised it. In this respect it has done to -philosophy the invaluable service of teaching philosophers their own -fallibility. In all the departments of thought, and not only in the -world of thought but in that of action, the spirit of human -infallibility is the greatest obstacle to truth and goodness. Whether it -appear to protect a system which the thinker has framed for himself, or -assume the more modest shape of maintaining, that among conflicting -systems he has made choice of that which is absolutely and certainly -right, while all others which in any way differ from it are as -absolutely and certainly wrong; this offspring of the pride of human -intellect is an equally dangerous enemy of human improvement; and to -have contributed to its downfal is of itself no small achievement for -one mind. - -Such are a few remarks on the matter of the first part of the "Treatise -of Human Nature"--given not by any means as an analysis of the doctrines -there taught, but merely as an attempt to characterize them by their -prominent features. It will naturally be expected that a similar attempt -should be made to characterize the form in which these doctrines were -promulgated. As to the style of the Treatise, it possesses the -clearness, flexibility, and simplicity that distinguish the maturity of -its author's literary career, though not quite in all the perfection in -which they afterwards attended his pen. There are occasional -Scoticisms--a defect which he took infinite pains to cure, but of which -he was never entirely rid. He uses a few obsolete and now harsh sounding -forms of expression, from which he afterwards abstained: such as the -elliptical combination 'tis, for it is. Here, and in the first editions -of his History, he frequently neglects the increment on the perfect -tense, as by saying, "I have forgot," instead of, I have forgotten; "I -have wrote," instead of I have written. - -The Treatise has that happy equality of flight, which distinguishes the -author's maturer productions. There is no attempt to soar, and none of -those ambitious inequalities which often deform the works of young -authors. His imagination and language seem indeed to have been kept -permanently chained down by the character of his inquiries. His constant -aim is to make his meaning clear; and in the subtleties of a new and -intricate system of metaphysics, he seems to have felt that there lay -upon him so heavy a responsibility to make use on all occasions of the -clearest and simplest words, that any flight of imagination or eloquence -would be a dangerous experiment. - -There is a corresponding absence of pedantic ornament. A young writer -who has read much, is generally more anxious to show his learning and -information than his own power of thought. With many the defect lasts -through maturer years, and they write as if to find a good thing in some -unknown author, were more meritorious than to have invented it. -Montesquieu, whom Hume has been accused of imitating, carried this -defect to a vice, and often distorted the order of his reasoning, that -he might introduce an allusion to something discovered in the course of -his peculiar learning. That Hume had read much in philosophy before he -undertook his great work, cannot be doubted, but he does not drag his -readers through the minutiæ of his studies, and is content with giving -them results. In many respects, indeed, one would have desired to know -more of his appreciation of his predecessors. The name of Aristotle is, -it is believed, not once mentioned in the work, and there are only some -indirect allusions to him, and these not very respectful, in casual -remarks on the opinions of the Peripatetics. One would have expected -from Hume a kindred sympathy with the great master of intellectual -philosophy, and a respectful appreciation of one whose inquiries were -conducted with a like acute severity, but whose mind took so much more -wide and comprehensive a grasp of the sources of human knowledge. - -It has been often observed, that a person so original in his opinions as -Hume, ought to have made a new nomenclature for the new things which he -taught. But he has no philosophical nomenclature; he appears indeed to -have despised that useful instrument of method, and means of -communicating clear ideas to learners. This want has prevented his -system from being clearly and fully learned by the student, while it has -at the same time probably made his works less repulsive to the general -reader. He seems indeed hardly to have been conscious of the advantage -to all philosophy, of uniformity of expression. Using the words "force," -"vivacity," "solidity," "firmness," and "steadiness," all with the same -meaning, he speaks of this usage as a "variety of terms which may seem -so unphilosophical;" and then observes, more in the style of one who is -tired of philosophical precision than of a philosopher, "Provided we -agree about the thing, 'tis needless to dispute about the terms." - -This is a kindred defect to that absence of method which has been -already taken notice of. A fixed nomenclature is a beacon against -repetition and discursiveness. But the Treatise has no pretension to be -a work of which he who omits paying attention to any part, thereby drops -a link in a chain, the loss of which will make the whole appear broken -and inconsistent. There are, it is true, places where the essential -parts of the author's philosophy are developed, the omission of which -would render that which follows hard to be understood, but in general -each department of the work is intelligible in itself. Its author -appears to have composed it in separate fragments; holding in view, -while he was writing each part, the general principle of his theory, but -not taking it for granted that the reader is so far master of that -principle, as not to require it to be generally explained in connexion -with the particular matter under consideration. He seems indeed rather -desirous to dwell on it, as something that the reader may have seen in -the earlier part of the work, but may have neglected to keep in his mind -while he reads the other parts. Perhaps the true model of every -philosophical work is to be found in the usual systems of geometry, -where, whatever is once proposed and proved, is held a fixed part of -knowledge, and is never repeated; but as far as psychological reasoning -is from the certainty of geometrical, so distant perhaps, will ever be -the precision of its method from that of geometry. - -It may safely be pronounced, that no book of its age presents itself to -us at this day, more completely free from exploded opinions in the -physical sciences. With the exception perhaps of occasional allusions to -"animal spirits," as a moving influence in the human body, the author's -careful sifting sceptical mind seems, without having practically tested -them, to have turned away from whatever doctrines were afterwards -destined to fall before the test of experiment and induction. It was not -that he was so much of a natural philosopher himself as to be able to -test their truth or falsehood, but that with a wholesome jealousy, -characteristic of the mind in which the Disquisition on Miracles was -working itself into shape, he avoided them as things neither coming -within the scope of his own analysis, nor bearing the marks of having -been satisfactorily established by those whose more peculiar province it -was to investigate their claims to be believed. At a later date, his -friend D'Alembert admitted judicial astrology and alchemy as branches of -natural philosophy in his "Systême Figuré des Connoissances Humaines." -Cudworth, and even the scrutinizing Locke, dealt gravely with matters -doomed afterwards to be ranked among popular superstitions, and Sir -Thomas Browne, in some respects a sceptic, eloquently defended more -"vulgar errors" than he exposed. Hobbes was, in the midst of the darkest -scepticism, a practical believer in the actual presence of the spirits -of the air; and Johnson, whose name, however, it may scarcely be fair to -class in this list, as he did not profess, except for conversational -triumph, to be a reducer and demolisher of unfounded beliefs, along -with his partial admission of the existence of spectres, has left behind -him many dogmatic announcements of physical doctrines, which the -progress of science has now long buried under its newer systems. - -It is by no means maintained that Hume was beyond his age--or even on a -par with its scientific ornaments, in physical knowledge; but merely -that he showed a judicious caution in distinguishing, in his published -work, those parts of physical philosophy which had been admitted within -the bounds of true and permanent science, from those which were still in -a state of mere hypothesis. His knowledge of physical science was -probably not very extensive. A small portion of a collection of his -notes on subjects that attracted his attention bear on this subject. The -collection from which they are taken will be noticed in the next -chapter; but as those which are set apart from the others, and are -headed "Natural Philosophy," seem to have been written at an earlier -period than the rest of the collection, and are appropriate to the -present subject, they are here given. It is not expected that they will -awaken in the natural philosopher any great respect for the extent of -Hume's inquiries in this department of knowledge. - - -NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. - -"A ship sails always swiftest when her sides yield a little. - -"Two pieces of timber, resting upon one another, will bear as much as -both of them laid across at the distance of their opening. - -"Calcined antimony more heavy than before.[95:1] - -"A proof that natural philosophy has no truth in it, is, that it has -only succeeded in things remote, as the heavenly bodies; or minute, as -light. - -"'Tis probable that mineral waters are not formed by running over beds -of minerals, but by imbibing the vapours which form these minerals, -since we cannot make mineral waters with all the same qualities. - -"Hot mineral waters come not a-boiling sooner than cold water. - -"Hot iron put into cold water soon cools, but becomes hot again. - -"There falls usually at Paris, in June, July, and August, as much rain -as in the other nine months. - -"This seems to be a strong presumption against medicines, that they are -mostly disagreeable, and out of the common use of life. For the weak and -uncertain operation of the common food, &c. is well known by experience. -These others are the better objects of quackery." - - -The system of philosophy to which the foregoing remarks apply, was -published when its author was twenty-six years old, and he completed it -in voluntary exile, and in that isolation from the counsel and sympathy -of early friends, which is implied by a residence in an obscure spot in -a foreign country. While he was framing his metaphysical theory, Hume -appears to have permitted no confidential adviser to have access to the -workings of his inventive genius; and as little did he take for granted -any of the reasonings and opinions of the illustrious dead, as seek -counsel of the living. Nowhere is there a work of genius more completely -authenticated, as the produce of the solitary labour of one mind; and -when we reflect on the boldness and greatness of the undertaking, we -have a picture of self-reliance calculated to inspire both awe and -respect. The system seems to be characteristic of a lonely mind--of one -which, though it had no enmity with its fellows, had yet little sympathy -with them. It has few of the features that characterize a partaker in -the ordinary hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows, of humanity; little -to give impulse to the excitement of the enthusiast; nothing to dry the -tear of the mourner. It exposes to poor human reason her own weakness -and nakedness, and supplies her with no extrinsic support or protection. -Such a work, coming from a man at the time of life when our sympathies -with the world are strongest, and our anticipations brightest, would -seem to indicate a mind rendered callous by hardship and disappointment. -But it was not so with Hume. His coldness and isolation were in his -theories alone; as a man he was frank, warm, and friendly. But the same -impulses which gave him resolution to adopt so bold a step, seem at the -same time to have armed him with a hard contempt for the opinions of the -rest of mankind. Hence, though his philosophy is sceptical, his manner -is frequently dogmatical, even to intolerance; and while illustrating -the feebleness of all human reasoning, he seems as if he felt an innate -infallibility in his own. He afterwards regretted this peculiarity; and -in a letter, written apparently at an advanced period of life, we find -him deprecating not only the tone of the Inquiry, but many of its -opinions. He says:-- - - -"Allow me to tell you, that I never asserted so absurd a proposition as -_that any thing might arise without a cause_. I only maintained that our -certainty of the falsehood of that proposition proceeded neither from -intuition nor demonstration, but from another source. _That Cæsar -existed_, that there is such an island as Sicily,--for these -propositions, I affirm, we have no demonstration nor intuitive -proof,--would you infer that I deny their _truth_, or even their -certainty? There are many different kinds of certainty; and some of them -as satisfactory to the mind, though perhaps not so regular as the -demonstrative kind. - -"Where a man of sense mistakes my meaning, I own I am angry; but it is -only with myself, for having expressed my meaning so ill, as to have -given occasion to the mistake. - -"That you may see I would no way scruple of owning my mistakes in -argument, I shall acknowledge (what is infinitely more material) a very -great mistake in conduct, viz. my publishing at all the 'Treatise of -Human Nature,' a book which pretended to innovate in all the sublimest -paths of philosophy, and which I composed before I was five-and-twenty; -above all, the positive air which prevails in that book, and which may -be imputed to the ardour of youth, so much displeases me, that I have -not patience to review it. But what success the same doctrines, better -illustrated and expressed, may meet with, _adhuc sub judice lis est_. -The arguments have been laid before the world, and by some philosophical -minds have been attended to. I am willing to be instructed by the -public; though human life is so short, that I despair of ever seeing the -decision. I wish I had always confined myself to the more easy parts of -erudition; but you will excuse me from submitting to a proverbial -decision, let it even be in Greek."[98:1] - - -The reader, who passes from the first book of the Treatise, on "the -Understanding," to the second, on "the Passions," will, in many -instances, feel like one who is awakened from a dream, or as if, after -penetrating in solitude and darkness into the unseen world of thought, -he had come forth to the cheerful company of mankind, and were holding -converse with a shrewd and penetrating observer of the passing world. As -Hume was never totally insensible to the elements of social enjoyment, -but had indeed an ample sympathy with the joys and sorrows of his fellow -men, he appears occasionally, in the midst of his most subtle -speculations, to experience a desire to burst from the dark prison of -solitude, into which he had voluntarily immured himself, and bask in the -sunshine of the world. "Man," he says, in his Treatise, "is the creature -of the universe who has the most ardent desire of society, and is fitted -for it by the most advantages. We can form no wish which has not a -reference to society. A perfect solitude is, perhaps, the greatest -punishment we can suffer. Every pleasure languishes when enjoyed apart -from company, and every pain becomes more cruel and intolerable." In a -remarkable passage, in which, after having long proceeded in enthusiasm -with his solitary labours, he seems to have stopped for a moment, and -recalling within himself the feelings and sympathies of an ordinary man, -to have reflected on the scope and tendency of the system in which he -was involving himself, he thus expresses himself, regarding its gloomy -tendency, and the effect it has in destroying, in the mind of its -fabricator, those stays of satisfactory belief in which it is so -comfortable for the wearied intellect to find a resting-place:-- - - Before I launch out into those immense depths of philosophy - which lie before me, I find myself inclined to stop a moment - in my present station, and to ponder that voyage which I have - undertaken, and which undoubtedly requires the utmost art and - industry to be brought to a happy conclusion. Methinks I am - like a man, who, having struck on many shoals, and having - narrowly escaped shipwreck in passing a small frith, has yet - the temerity to put out to sea in the same leaky - weather-beaten vessel, and even carries his ambition so far as - to think of compassing the globe under these disadvantageous - circumstances. My memory of past errors and perplexities makes - me diffident for the future. The wretched condition, weakness, - and disorder of the faculties, I must employ in my inquiries, - increase my apprehensions. And the impossibility of amending - or correcting these faculties, reduces me almost to despair, - and makes me resolve to perish on the barren rock, on which I - am at present, rather than venture myself upon that boundless - ocean which runs out into immensity. This sudden view of my - danger strikes me with melancholy; and, as 'tis usual for that - passion, above all others, to indulge itself, I cannot forbear - feeding my despair with all those desponding reflections which - the present subject furnishes me with in such abundance. - - I am first affrighted and confounded with that forlorn - solitude in which I am placed in my philosophy, and fancy - myself some strange uncouth monster, who, not being able to - mingle and unite in society, has been expelled all human - commerce, and left utterly abandoned and disconsolate. Fain - would I run into the crowd for shelter and warmth, but cannot - prevail with myself to mix with such deformity. I call upon - others to join me, in order to make a company apart, but no - one will hearken to me. Every one keeps at a distance, and - dreads that storm which beats upon me from every side. I have - exposed myself to the enmity of all metaphysicians, logicians, - mathematicians, and even theologians; and can I wonder at the - insults I must suffer? I have declared my disapprobation of - their systems; and can I be surprised if they should express a - hatred of mine and of my person? When I look abroad, I foresee - on every side dispute, contradiction, anger, calumny, and - detraction. When I turn my eye inward, I find nothing but - doubt and ignorance. All the world conspires to oppose and - contradict me; though such is my weakness, that I feel all my - opinions loosen and fall of themselves, when unsupported by - the approbation of others. Every step I take is with - hesitation, and every new reflection makes me dread an error - and absurdity in my reasoning. - - For with what confidence can I venture upon such bold - enterprises, when, beside those numberless infirmities - peculiar to myself, I find so many which are common to human - nature? Can I be sure that, in leaving all established - opinions, I am following truth? and by what criterion shall I - distinguish her, even if fortune should at last guide me on - her footsteps? After the most accurate and exact of my - reasonings, I can give no reason why I should assent to it, - and feel nothing but a _strong_ propensity to consider objects - _strongly_ in that view under which they appear to me.[101:1] - -Occasionally, seduced by some impulse of playful candour, we find him -giving us admission as it were into the chamber of his thoughts, and -desiring that some one would drag him into the common circle of the -world. When there, he consents for a short time to comport himself as a -man, is social and sympathetic with his kind, and pleased with what is -passing around; when anon the ambition which had prompted his solitary -musings stirs his soul, tells him that in active life and the world at -large, the sphere of his true greatness is not placed, and prompts him -to reimprison himself, and pursue the great aim of his existence. - - But what have I here said, that reflections very refined and - metaphysical have little or no influence upon us? This opinion - I can scarce forbear retracting, and condemning from my - present feeling and experience. The _intense_ view of these - manifold contradictions and imperfections in human reason has - so wrought upon me, and heated my brain, that I am ready to - reject all belief and reasoning, and can look upon no opinion - even as more probable or likely than another. Where am I, or - what? From what causes do I derive my existence, and to what - condition shall I return? Whose favour shall I court, and - whose anger must I dread? What beings surround me? and on whom - have I any influence, or who have any influence on me? I am - confounded with all these questions, and begin to fancy myself - in the most deplorable condition imaginable, environed with - the deepest darkness, and utterly deprived of the use of every - member and faculty. - - Most fortunately it happens, that since Reason is incapable of - dispelling these clouds, Nature herself suffices to that - purpose, and cures me of this philosophical melancholy and - delirium, either by relaxing this bent of mind, or by some - avocation, and lively impression of my senses, which - obliterate all these chimeras. I dine, I play a game of - backgammon, I converse, and am merry with my friends; and - when, after three or four hours' amusement, I would return to - these speculations, they appear so cold, and strained, and - ridiculous, that I cannot find in my heart to enter into them - any farther. - - Here, then, I find myself absolutely and necessarily - determined to live, and talk, and act like other people in the - common affairs of life. But notwithstanding that my natural - propensity, and the course of my animal spirits and passions - reduce me to this indolent belief in the general maxims of the - world, I still feel such remains of my former disposition, - that I am ready to throw all my books and papers into the - fire, and resolve never more to renounce the pleasures of life - for the sake of reasoning and philosophy. For those are my - sentiments in that splenetic humour which governs me at - present. I may, nay I must yield to the current of nature, in - submitting to my senses and understanding; and in this blind - submission I show most perfectly my sceptical disposition and - principles. But does it follow that I must strive against the - current of nature, which leads me to indolence and pleasure; - that I must seclude myself, in some measure, from the commerce - and society of men, which is so agreeable; and that I must - torture my brain with subtilties and sophistries, at the very - time that I cannot satisfy myself concerning the - reasonableness of so painful an application, nor have any - tolerable prospect of arriving by its means at truth and - certainty? Under what obligation do I lie of making such an - abuse of time? And to what end can it serve, either for the - service of mankind, or for my own private interest? No: if I - must be a fool, as all those who reason or believe any thing - _certainly_ are, my follies shall at least be natural and - agreeable. Where I strive against my inclination, I shall have - a good reason for my resistance; and will no more be led - a-wandering into such dreary solitudes, and rough passages, as - I have hitherto met with. - - These are the sentiments of my spleen and indolence; and - indeed I must confess, that philosophy has nothing to oppose - to them, and expects a victory more from the returns of a - serious good-humoured disposition, than from the force of - reason and conviction. In all the incidents of life, we ought - still to preserve our scepticism. If we believe that fire - warms, or water refreshes, 'tis only because it costs us too - much pains to think otherwise. Nay, if we are philosophers, it - ought only to be upon sceptical principles, and from an - inclination which we feel to the employing ourselves after - that manner. Where reason is lively, and mixes itself with - some propensity, it ought to be assented to. Where it does - not, it never can have any title to operate upon us. - - At the time, therefore, that I am tired with amusement and - company, and have indulged a _reverie_ in my chamber, or in a - solitary walk by a river side, I feel my mind all collected - within itself, and am naturally _inclined_ to carry my view - into all those subjects, about which I have met with so many - disputes in the course of my reading and conversation. I - cannot forbear having a curiosity to be acquainted with the - principles of moral good and evil, the nature and foundation - of government, and the cause of those several passions and - inclinations which actuate and govern me. I am uneasy to think - I approve of one object, and disapprove of another; call one - thing beautiful, and another deformed; decide concerning truth - and falsehood, reason and folly, without knowing upon what - principles I proceed. I am concerned for the condition of the - learned world, which lies under such a deplorable ignorance in - all these particulars. I feel an ambition to arise in me of - contributing to the instruction of mankind, and of acquiring a - name by my inventions and discoveries. These sentiments spring - up naturally in my present disposition; and should I - endeavour to banish them, by attaching myself to any other - business or diversion, I _feel_ I should be a loser in point - of pleasure; and this is the origin of my philosophy.[104:1] - -The acuteness which the solitary metaphysician brought to his aid when -he chose to contemplate mankind, is not the least interesting feature in -his book. That he could have seen much of men, since his life had been -but brief and his converse with books great, is not probable; yet -Chesterfield and Rochefoucauld did not observe men more clearly and -truly, though they may have done so more extensively. The following -sketch of the mental features of a vain man, would not have been -unworthy of Theophrastus. - - Every thing belonging to a vain man is the best that is any - where to be found. His houses, equipage, furniture, clothes, - horses, hounds, excel all others in his conceit; and 'tis easy - to observe, that from the least advantage in any of these, he - draws a new subject of pride and vanity. His wine, if you'll - believe him, has a finer flavour than any other; his cookery - is more exquisite; his table more orderly; his servant more - expert; the air in which he lives more healthful; the soil he - cultivates more fertile; his fruits ripen earlier, and to - greater perfection; such a thing is remarkable for its - novelty; such another for its antiquity: this is the - workmanship of a famous artist; that belonged to such a prince - or great man; all objects, in a word, that are useful, - beautiful, or surprising, or are related to such, may, by - means of property, give rise to this passion. These agree in - giving pleasure, and agree in nothing else. This alone is - common to them, and therefore must be the quality that - produces the passion, which is their common effect.[104:2] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[48:1] A literary friend suggests that Hume has a quiet allusion to the -intellectual faculties of the people of Bristol, in the description of -James Naylor's attempts to personify our Saviour, where it is said, "he -entered Bristol mounted on a horse--I suppose from the difficulty in -that place of finding an ass." Retrospect of manners &c., at the end of -the History of the Commonwealth. - -[52:1] It is not improbable that the person here alluded to is the Abbé -Pluche, a native of Rheims, the greatest literary ornament of that city, -and one who filled no small place in the lettered aristocracy of France, -where he held in many respects the position which Paley occupied in -England. He filled successively the chairs of Humanity and Rhetoric, in -the University of Rheims. His promotion in the Church was checked by his -partiality for Jansenism. He had the rare merit of uniting to a firm -belief in the great truths of Christianity a wide and full toleration -for the conscientious opinions of others; and he enjoyed, what is no -less rarely possessed by those who meddle in theological disputes, the -good opinion of his opponents. He was a great scholar, and wrote some -works on etymological and archæological subjects; but he is chiefly -known for his writings on natural theology, celebrated for their clear -and animated enunciation of the harmonies of nature, and not only -popular in their own country, but translated into most of the European -languages. His "Spectacle de la Nature," written in a series of -dialogues, was sketched while he acted as instructor to the son of Lord -Stafford; and the master and pupil, with the father and mother of the -latter, are the interlocutors. One of its main objects is, by tracing -effects in the operations of nature to their causes, to prove and -illustrate the beneficence and wisdom of the Deity. This work has been a -treasure to many an English schoolboy, in its well-known translation, -with the title, "Nature Displayed." An answer by Pluche to some _esprits -forts_, who wondered why a philosopher could believe so much, has been -preserved by his contemporaries: "It is more reasonable," he said, "to -believe in the dictates of the Supreme Being than to follow the feeble -lights of a reason bounded in its operations and subject to error." - -It must be granted that what Hume calls the association of contrariety -has in some measure caused this digression, and that the Abbé Pluche -would not have been so amply discussed as the possible learned man that -Hume had an introduction to, had there not been so much that is common -in the subjects treated of by both, and so much that is contrasted in -the mode of treatment. Pluche was an opponent of Des Cartes, and thus a -name far greater than his, and as many will hold greater than Hume's, is -introduced into the circle of these local associations. - -[53:1] The following passage in a recent work, Mrs. Shelley's "Rambles -in Germany and Italy," seems appropriate to this observation:-- - -"By this time I became aware of a truth which had dawned on me before, -that the French common people have lost much of that grace of manner -which once distinguished them above all other people. More courteous -than the Italians they could not be; but, while their manners were more -artificial, they were more playful and winning. All this has changed. I -did not remark the alteration so much with regard to myself, as in their -mode of speaking to one another. The 'Madame,' and 'Monsieur,' with -which stable boys, and old beggar women, used to address each other with -the deference of courtiers, has vanished. No trace of it is to be found -in France; a shadow faintly exists among the Parisian shopkeepers when -speaking to their customers, but only there is the traditional -phraseology still used: The courteous accent, the soft manner, erst so -charming, exists no longer. I speak of a thing known and acknowledged by -the French themselves. . . . . . Their phraseology, once so delicately -and even to us more straightforward people, amusingly deferential (not -to superiors only, but toward one another,) is become blunt, and almost -rude. The French allege several causes for this change, which they date -from the Revolution of 1830: some say it arises from every citizen -turning out as one of the national guard in his turn, so that they all -get a _ton de garnison_: others attribute it to their imitation of the -English. Of course, in the times of the _ancien regime_, the courtly -tone found an echo and reflexion, from the royal anti-chambers down to -the very ends of the kingdom. This has faded by degrees, till the -Revolution of 1830 gave it the _coup-de-grâce_." - -[55:1] Sic in MS. - -[56:1] This word is nearly obliterated. The passage appears to be a sort -of caricatured pompous politeness. - -[56:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[57:1] Dated 7th January, 1762, and written in relation to a copy of -Campbell's "Dissertation on Miracles," sent to him by Dr. Blair. - -[58:1] It may be said, that, as Mackenzie's description of Hume's -character, this subject belongs to a later period of his life--the time -when Mackenzie was acquainted with him. But Mackenzie intended it to be -a true view of Hume's character as a young man; and it appears that it -properly belongs to that chronological period to which its author -assigned it. - -[63:1] See above, p. 50. These reasonings appeared probably in a shape -more consonant with the author's later views in the "Philosophical -Essays," 1748. - -[64:1] Tytler, Life of Kames, i. 84. - -[65:1] Tytler, Life of Kames, i. 88. - -[66:1] Original MS. R.S.E. - -[67:1] According to some acceptations of the word metaphysical, which -seem to make it synonymous with transcendental, and referable solely to -the operations of pure reason, to the rejection of whatever is founded -on experiment, none of Hume's works are properly metaphysical; and by -the very foundation he has given to his philosophy, he has made it -empirical and consequently not metaphysical. The word metaphysical is, -however, here used in its ordinary, and, as it may be termed, popular -acceptation, and as applicable to any attempt to analyze mind or -describe its elements,--a subject in relation to which the word ontology -is also sometimes used. - -[70:1] The term "ideas," in the philosophical nomenclature of Hume, is -thus used in a sense quite distinct from its previous current -acceptations, and as different from its vernacular use by Plato, in -reference to the archetypes of all the empirical objects of thought, as -from its employment by Locke, who used it to express "whatsoever is the -object of the understanding when a man thinks." - -[75:1] "If we take as the utmost bounds of this system the orbit Uranus, -we shall find that it occupies a portion of space not less than three -thousand six hundred millions of miles in extent. The mind fails to form -an exact notion of a portion of space so immense; but some faint idea of -it may be obtained from the fact, that, if the swiftest race-horse ever -known, had begun to traverse it at full speed, at the time of the birth -of Moses, he could only as yet have accomplished half his -journey."--Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, pp. 1-2. Here an -attempt is made to give a conception of abstract numbers, by calling up -in the mind the ideas deposited there from actual impressions. Hume had, -in the application of his theory to mathematics, to struggle with the -fact that no truths had a clearer and more distinct existence in the -mind than the abstract truths of the exact sciences; and feeling the -difficulty he thus had to encounter, he did not recur in his subsequent -works to this part of the sceptical theory. Kant seems to have filled up -the blank for him, by treating those truths as synthetical intuitions -anterior to experience in their abstract existence, though depending on -experience in the knowledge of their concrete application; but it may be -observed, that at the beginning of sect. 4. of his Inquiry, Hume seems -to have nearly anticipated some such principle. - -[76:1] "If any impression gives rise to the idea of self, that -impression must continue invariably the same, through the whole course -of our lives: since self is supposed to exist after that manner. But -there is no impression constant and invariable. Pain and pleasure, grief -and joy, passions and sensations, succeed each other, and never all -exist at the same time. It cannot, therefore, be from any of these -impressions, or from any other, that the idea of self is derived; -and consequently there is no such idea. . . . . For my part, when -I enter most intimately into what I call _myself_, I always stumble -on some perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love -or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch _myself_ at any time -without a perception, and never can observe any thing but the -perception."--Treatise, B. i. p. iv. sect. 6. - -[81:1] One cannot escape a feeling of astonishment on finding so great a -philosopher as Reid saying, (Active Powers, ch. ix.) that on this theory -day and night might be called mutually the cause and effect of each -other, on account of their mutual sequence: as if the observation of -those who have gone so far in civilisation as just to have seen ignited -bodies, had not data for concluding that that phenomenon which most -uniformly preceded the ramification of rays of light, was the appearance -of a luminous body. - -[82:1] This refers to the notion, which may now be termed obsolete, at -least in philosophy, of an inherent power in the cause to produce the -effect--not to Kant's theory, which does not appear to be inconsistent -with the scientific application of Hume's. - -[84:1] "Scepsis Scientifica; or, Confest Ignorance the Way to Science, -in an essay of the vanity of dogmatizing and confident opinion." By -Joseph Glanvill, M.A. 1665, 4to, p. 142. See this coincidence commented -on in the _Penny Cyclopædia_, art. Scepticism. The style of Glanvill's -work, in its rich variety of logical imagery and its powerful use of -antithesis, is formed on that of Sir Thomas Browne, whose "Vulgar -Errors" had been first published fifteen years earlier. That one who -wrote a book so full of wisdom--so bold, original, and firm in its -attacks on received fallacies, should also have been the champion of -belief in witchcraft, in which his prototype, Sir Thomas Browne, was -also a believer, is one of those inconsistencies in poor human nature, -which elicit much wonder, but no explanation. The following passages -from this curious and rare book are offered for the reader's -amusement:-- - -"We conclude many things impossibilities, which yet are easie -_feasables_. For by an unadvised transiliency, leaping from the effect -to its remotest cause, we observe not the connexion through the -interposal of more immediate causalities, which yet at last bring the -extremes together without a miracle. And hereupon we hastily conclude -that _impossible_ which we see not in the proximate capacity of its -_efficient_."--pp. 83-84. - -"From this last-noted head ariseth that other of _joyning causes with -irrelevant effects_, which either refer not at all unto them, or in a -remoter capacity. Hence the Indian conceived so grossly of the _letter_ -that discovered his theft; and that other who thought the watch an -_animal_. From hence grew the impostures of _charmes_ and _amulets_, and -other insignificant ceremonies; which to this day impose upon common -belief, as they did of old upon the _barbarism_ of the uncultivate -_heathen_. Thus effects unusual, whose causes run under ground, and are -more remote from ordinary discernment, are noted in the book of _vulgar -opinion_ with _digitus Deî_, or _Dæmonis_; though they owe no other -dependence to the _first_ than what is common to the whole _syntax_ of -beings, nor yet any more to the _second_ than what is given it by the -imagination of those unqualified judges. Thus, every unwonted _meteor_ -is portentous; and the appearance of any unobserved _star_, some divine -_prognostick_. Antiquity thought _thunder_ the immediate voyce of -_Jupiter_, and impleaded them of impiety that referred it to natural -causalities. Neither can there happen a _storm_ at this remove from -_antique_ ignorance, but the multitude will have the _Devil_ in -it."--pp. 84-85. - - -_On the Influence of Education._ - -"We judge all things by our _anticipations_; and condemn or applaud -them, as they agree or differ from our _first receptions_. One country -laughs at the _laws_, _customs_, and _opinions_ of another as absurd and -ridiculous; and the other is as charitable to them in its conceit of -theirs."--pp. 93-94. - -"Thus, like the hermite, we think the sun shines nowhere but in our -cell, and all the world to be darkness but ourselves. We judge truth to -be circumscribed by the confines of our belief, and the doctrines we -were brought up in; and, with as ill manners as those of _China_, repute -all the rest of the world _monoculous_. So that, what some astrologers -say of our _fortunes_ and the passages of our lives, may, by the -allowance of a metaphor, be said of our _opinions_--that they are -written in our _stars_, being to the most as fatal as those involuntary -occurrences, and as little in their power as the _placits_ of _destiny_. -We are bound to our country's _opinions_ as to its _laws_; and an -accustomed assent is tantamount to an infallible conclusion. He that -offers to dissent shall be an _outlaw_ in reputation; and the fears of -guilty Cain shall be fulfilled on him--whoever meets him _shall slay -him_."--pp. 95-96. - -"We look with superstitious reverence upon the accounts of preterlapsed -ages, and with a supercilious severity on the more deserving products of -our own--a vanity which hath possessed all times as well as ours; and -the _golden age_ was never present. . . . We reverence gray-headed -doctrines, though feeble, decrepit, and within a step of dust: and on -this account maintain opinions which have nothing but our _charity_ to -uphold them."--p. 102. - -[86:1] "Had I done but half as much as he [Hume] in labouring to subvert -principles which ought ever to be held sacred, I know not whether the -friends of truth would have granted me any indulgence, I am sure they -ought not. Let me be treated with the lenity due to a good citizen no -longer than I act as becomes one."--Beattie's Essay on the Nature and -Immutability of Truth, &c. p. 20. - -On this Priestley says, "Certainly the obvious construction of this -passage is, that Mr. Hume ought not to be treated with the indulgence -and lenity due to a good citizen, but ought to be punished as a bad one. -And what is this but what a Bonner and a Gardiner might have put into -the preamble of an order for his execution. . . I for my part am truly -pleased with such publications as those of Mr. Hume, and I do not think -it requires any great sagacity or strength of mind, to see that such -writings must be of great service to religion, natural and revealed. -They have actually occasioned the subject to be more thoroughly -canvassed, and consequently to be better understood than ever it was -before, and thus _vice cotis funguntur_."[86:A] - - [86:A] Examination of Dr. Reid's Inquiry, &c. Dr. Beattie's - Essay, &c. and Dr. Oswald's Appeal, &c. 1774, pp. 191-193. - -[88:1] Critik der reinen Vernunft, (Methodenlehre,) 7th ed. p. 571. - -[89:1] Preliminary Dissertation to the _Encyclopædia Britannica_, 210. - -[95:1] A scientific friend observes, that this is the germ of the theory -of oxidation. - -[98:1] I have been favoured by Mr. Chambers with an old copy of this -letter, in which it is titled as a letter to Gilbert Stuart. The -original is among the MSS. R.S.E. where there is a note in Baron Hume's -handwriting, with a supposition that it was addressed to Dr. Traill. - -[101:1] B. i. part iv. sect. 7. - -[104:1] B. i. part iv. sect. 7. - -[104:2] B. ii. part i. sect. 10. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -1739-1741. ÆT. 27-29. - - Letters to his friends after the publication of the first and - second volume of the Treatise--Returns to Scotland--Reception - of his Book--Criticism in "The Works of the Learned"--Charge - against Hume of assaulting the publisher--Correspondence with - Francis Hutcheson--Seeks a situation--Connexion with Adam - Smith--Publication of the third volume of the Treatise--Account - of it--Hume's notes of his reading--Extracts from his Note - books. - - -Immediately after the publication of his work we find Hume thus writing -to Henry Home:-- - - -"_London, February 13, 1739._ - -"SIR,--I thought to have wrote this from a place nearer you than London, -but have been detained here by contrary winds, which have kept all -Berwick ships from sailing. 'Tis now a fortnight since my book was -published; and, besides many other considerations, I thought it would -contribute very much to my tranquillity, and might spare me many -mortifications, to be in the country while the success of the work was -doubtful. I am afraid 'twill remain so very long. Those who are -accustomed to reflect on such abstract subjects, are commonly full of -prejudices; and those who are unprejudiced are unacquainted with -metaphysical reasonings. My principles are also so remote from all the -vulgar sentiments on the subject, that were they to take place, they -would produce almost a total alteration in philosophy; and you know, -revolutions of this kind are not easily brought about. I am young enough -to see what will become of the matter; but am apprehensive lest the -chief reward I shall have for some time will be the pleasure of studying -on such important subjects, and the approbation of a few judges. Among -the rest, you may believe I aspire to your approbation; and next to -that, to your free censure and criticism. I shall present you with a -copy as soon as I come to Scotland; and hope your curiosity, as well as -friendship, will make you take the pains of perusing it. - -"If you know any body that is a judge, you would do me a sensible -pleasure in engaging him to a serious perusal of the book. 'Tis so rare -to meet with one that will take pains on a book, that does not come -recommended by some great name or authority, that I must confess I am as -fond of meeting with such a one as if I were sure of his approbation. I -am, however, so doubtful in that particular, that I have endeavoured all -I could to conceal my name; though I believe I have not been so cautious -in this respect as I ought to have been. - -"I have sent the Bishop of Bristol[106:1] a copy, but could not wait on -him with your letter after he had arrived at that dignity. At least I -thought it would be to no purpose after I began the printing. You'll -excuse the frailty of an author in writing so long a letter about -nothing but his own performances. Authors have this privilege in common -with lovers; and founded on the same reason, that they are both besotted -with a blind fondness of their object. I have been upon my guard against -this frailty; but perhaps this has rather turned to my prejudice. The -reflection on our caution is apt to give us a more implicit confidence -afterwards, when we come to form a judgment. I am," &c.[107:1] - - -To the same year we must attribute a letter from Hume to Michael Ramsay, -bearing no more precise date than 27th February. He says:--"As to -myself, no alteration has happened to my fortune: nor have I taken the -least step towards it. I hope things will be riper next winter; and I -would not aim at any thing till I could judge of my success in my grand -undertaking, and see upon what footing I shall stand in the world. I am -afraid, however, that I shall not have any great success of a sudden. -Such performances make their way very heavily at first, when they are -not recommended by any great name or authority." - -In the same letter he speaks of Ramsay as being then a tutor in the -Marchmont family, and offers him this sage and business-like -advice:--"Should a living fall to the gift of the Duchess of -Marlborough, or any other of your friends and patrons, 'twould have but -an ill air to say that the gentleman was in the South of France, and -that he should be informed of the matter. Besides, you know how -necessary a man's presence is to quicken his friends, to make them unite -their interests, and to save them the trouble of contriving and thinking -about his affairs. Many a one may endeavour to serve you when you point -out the service you desire of them, who would not take the pains to find -it out themselves."[107:2] - -Early in the year 1739, desiring apparently to await in retirement the -effect of his work on the mind of the public, he proceeded to Scotland, -and took up his residence at Ninewells, whence we find him writing to -Henry Home on 1st June. - - -"DEAR SIR,--You see I am better than my word, having sent you two papers -instead of one. I have hints for two or three more, which I shall -execute at my leisure. I am not much in the humour of such compositions -at present, having received news from London of the success of my -Philosophy, which is but indifferent, if I may judge by the sale of the -book, and if I may believe my bookseller. I am now out of humour with -myself; but doubt not, in a little time, to be only out of humour with -the world, like other unsuccessful authors. After all, I am sensible of -my folly in entertaining any discontent, much more despair, upon this -account, since I could not expect any better from such abstract -reasoning; nor, indeed, did I promise myself much better. My fondness -for what I imagined new discoveries, made me overlook all common rules -of prudence; and, having enjoyed the usual satisfaction of projectors, -'tis but just I should meet with their disappointments. However, as 'tis -observed with such sort of people, one project generally succeeds -another, I doubt not but in a day or two I shall be as easy as ever, in -hopes that truth will prevail at last over the indifference and -opposition of the world. - -"You see I might at present subscribe myself your most _humble_ servant -with great propriety: but, notwithstanding, shall presume to call myself -your most affectionate friend as well as humble servant."[108:1] - - -His account of the success of his work in his "own life," is contained -in these well-known sentences: "Never literary attempt was more -unfortunate than my 'Treatise of Human Nature.' It fell _dead born from -the press_, without reaching such distinction as even to excite a murmur -among the zealots." But he was never easily satisfied with the success -of his works; and we know that this one was not so entirely unnoticed by -the periodical press, such as it then was, but that it called forth a -long review in the number for November, 1739, of _The History of the -Works of the Learned_, a periodical which may be said to have set the -example in England, of systematic reviews of new books. This review is -written with considerable spirit, and has a few pretty powerful strokes -of sarcasm--as where, in relation to Hume's sceptical examination of the -results of the demonstrations of the geometricians, the writer says, "I -will have nothing to do in the quarrel; if they cannot maintain their -demonstrations against his attacks, they may even perish." The paper is -of considerable length, and it has throughout a tone of clamorous -jeering and vulgar raillery that forcibly reminds one of the writings of -Warburton. But it is the work of one who respects the adversary he has -taken arms against; and, before leaving the subject, the writer makes a -manly atonement for his wrath, saying of the Treatise,--"It bears, -indeed, incontestable marks of a great capacity, of a soaring genius, -but young and not yet thoroughly practised. The subject is vast and -noble as any that can exercise the understanding; but it requires a very -mature judgment to handle it as becomes its dignity and importance: the -utmost prudence, tenderness, and delicacy are requisite to this -desirable issue. Time and use may ripen these qualities in our author; -and we shall probably have reason to consider this, compared with his -later productions, in the same light as we view the juvenile works of -Milton, or the first manner of a Raphael or other celebrated painter." - -Immediately after Hume's death, there appeared in _The London Review_, -the following account of the manner in which he had acknowledged the -article in _The Works of the Learned_: "It does not appear our author -had acquired, at this period of his life, that command over his passions -of which he afterwards makes his boast. His disappointment at the public -reception of his 'Essay on Human Nature,' had, indeed, a violent effect -on his passions in a particular instance; it not having dropped so dead -born from the press but that it was severely handled by the reviewers of -those times, in a publication entitled _The Works of the Learned_. A -circumstance this which so highly provoked our young philosopher, that -he flew in a violent rage to demand satisfaction of Jacob Robinson, the -publisher, whom he kept, during the paroxysm of his anger, at his -sword's point, trembling behind the counter lest a period should be put -to the life of a sober critic by a raving philosopher."[110:1] - -This statement is in a note to a Review of Hume's "own life," and it has -after it the letters "Rev." which serve to give it the attestation of -William Shakespeare Kenrick, the editor of _The London Review_, and a -man whose sole title to literary remembrance rests on the hardy -effrontery and deadly spite of his falsehoods. There is nothing in the -story to make it in itself incredible--for Hume was far from being that -docile mass of imperturbability, which so large a portion of the world -have taken him for. But the anecdote requires authentication; and has it -not. Moreover, there are circumstances strongly against its truth. Hume -was in Scotland at the time when the criticism on his work was -published: he did not visit London for some years afterwards; and, to -believe the story, we must look upon it not as a momentary ebullition of -passion, but as a manifestation of long-treasured resentment,--a -circumstance inconsistent with his character, inconsistent with human -nature in general, and not in keeping with the modified tone of -dissatisfaction with the criticism, evinced in his correspondence. - -While Hume was preparing for the press the third part of his "Treatise -of Human Nature,"--on the subject of Morals, Francis Hutcheson, then -professor of moral philosophy in the university of Glasgow, was enjoying -a reputation in the philosophical world scarcely inferior to that of -either of his great contemporaries, Berkeley and Wolff. From the -following correspondence it will be seen that Hume submitted the -manuscript of his forthcoming volume to Hutcheson's inspection; and he -shows more inclination to receive with deference the suggestions of that -distinguished man, than to allow himself to be influenced from any other -quarter. But still, it will be observed that it is only in details that -he receives instruction, and that he vigorously supports the fundamental -principles of his system. The correspondence illustrates the method in -which he held himself as working with human nature--not as an artist, -but an anatomist, whose minute critical examinations might be injured by -any bursts of feeling or eloquence.[111:1] The letters show how far he -saw into the depths of the utilitarian system; and prove that it was -more completely formed in his mind than it appeared in his book. -Notions of prudence appear to have restrained him, at that time, from -issuing so full a development of the system as that which he afterwards -published; but he soon discovered that it was not in that department of -his works that he stood on the most dangerous ground. - - -HUME _to_ FRANCIS HUTCHESON. - -"_Ninewells, 17th Sept. 1739._ - -"SIR,--I am much obliged to you for your reflections on my papers. I -have perused them with care, and find they will be of use to me. You -have mistaken my meaning in some passages, which, upon examination, I -have found to proceed from some ambiguity or defect in my expression. - -"What affected me most in your remarks, is your observing that there -wants a certain warmth in the cause of virtue, which you think all good -men would relish, and could not displease amidst abstract inquiries. I -must own this has not happened by chance, but is the effect of a -reasoning either good or bad. There are different ways of examining the -mind, as well as the body. One may consider it either as an anatomist or -as a painter: either to discover its most secret springs and principles, -or to describe the grace and beauty of its actions. I imagine it -impossible to conjoin these two views. Where you pull off the skin, and -display all the minute parts, there appears something trivial, even in -the noblest attitudes and most vigorous actions; nor can you ever render -the object graceful or engaging, but by clothing the parts again with -skin and flesh, and presenting only their bare outside. An anatomist, -however, can give very good advice to a painter or statuary. And, in -like manner, I am persuaded that a metaphysician may be very helpful to -a moralist, though I cannot easily conceive these two characters united -in the same work. Any warm sentiment of morals, I am afraid, would have -the air of declamation amidst abstract reasonings, and would be esteemed -contrary to good taste. And though I am much more ambitious of being -esteemed a friend to virtue than a writer of taste, yet I must always -carry the latter in my eye, otherwise I must despair of ever being -serviceable to virtue. I hope these reasons will satisfy you; though at -the same time I intend to make a new trial, if it be possible to make -the moralist and metaphysician agree a little better. - -"I cannot agree to your sense of _natural_. 'Tis founded on final -causes, which is a consideration that appears to me pretty uncertain and -unphilosophical. For, pray, what is the end of man? Is he created for -happiness, or for virtue? for this life, or for the next? for himself, -or for his Maker? Your definition of _natural_ depends upon solving -these questions, which are endless, and quite wide of my purpose. I have -never called justice unnatural, but only artificial. '_Atque ipsa -utilitas, justi prope mater et æqui_,'[113:1] says one of the best -moralists of antiquity. Grotius and Puffendorf, to be consistent, must -assert the same. - -"Whether natural abilities be virtue, is a dispute of words. I think I -follow the common use of language; _virtus_ signified chiefly courage -among the Romans. I was just now reading this character of Alexander VI. -in Guicciardin. 'In Alessandro sesto fu solertia et sagacità singulare: -consiglio eccellente, efficacia a persuadere maravigliosa, et a tutte -le faccende gravi, sollicitudine, et destrezza incredibile. Ma erano -queste virtù avanzate di grande intervallo da vitii.'[114:1] Were -benevolence the only virtue, no characters could be mixed, but would -depend entirely on their degrees of benevolence. Upon the whole, I -desire to take my catalogue of virtues from 'Cicero's Offices,' not from -'The Whole Duty of Man.' I had indeed the former book in my eye in all -my reasonings. - -"I have many other reflections to communicate to you; but it would be -troublesome. I shall therefore conclude with telling you, that I intend -to follow your advice in altering most of those passages you have -remarked as defective in point of prudence; though, I must own, I think -you a little too delicate. Except a man be in orders, or be immediately -concerned in the instruction of youth, I do not think his character -depends upon his philosophical speculations, as the world is now -modelled; and a little liberty seems requisite to bring into the public -notice a book that is calculated for few readers. I hope you will allow -me the freedom of consulting you when I am in any difficulty, and -believe me," &c. - -"P.S.--I cannot forbear recommending another thing to your -consideration. Actions are not virtuous nor vicious, but only so far as -they are proofs of certain qualities or durable principles in the mind. -This is a point I should have established more expressly than I have -done. Now, I desire you to consider if there be any quality that is -virtuous, without having a tendency either to the public good or to the -good of the person who possesses it. If there be none without these -tendencies, we may conclude that their merit is derived from sympathy. I -desire you would only consider the _tendencies_ of qualities, not their -actual operations, which depend on chance. _Brutus_ riveted the chains -of _Rome_ faster by his opposition; but the natural tendency of his -noble dispositions--his public spirit and magnanimity--was to establish -her liberty. - -"You are a great admirer of _Cicero_ as well as I am. Please to review -the fourth book _De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum_: where you find him -prove against the _Stoics_, that if there be no other goods but virtue, -'tis impossible there can be any virtue, because the mind would then -want all motives to begin its actions upon; and 'tis on the goodness or -badness of the motives that the virtue of the action depends. This -proves, that to every virtuous action there must be a motive or -impelling passion distinct from the virtue, and that virtue can never be -the sole motive to any action. You do not assent to this: though I think -there is no proposition more certain or important. I must own my proofs -were not distinct enough and must be altered. You see with what -reluctance I part with you, though I believe it is time I should ask -your pardon for so much trouble." - - -In the mean time we find Hume anxious to be employed in the capacity of -a travelling governor or tutor, and writing to Mr. George Carre of -Nisbet, intimating his readiness to officiate to that gentleman's -cousins, Lord Haddington and Mr. Baillie, if there are no favoured -candidates for the situation. There is nothing in the letter to excite -much interest.[116:1] He says, he hears the young gentlemen are -proposing to travel; observes that he has the honour to be their -relation, "which gives a governor a better air in attending his pupils," -and that he has some leisure time. In his letter to a physician, in the -preceding chapter, we find him mentioning this office as one of the few -to which his prospects were limited, and, at the same time, as one for -which his knowledge of the world scarcely fitted him. His six years' -farther experience of life had perhaps in his own opinion provided him -with opportunities of better qualifying himself for the duties of this -office. It was held by many able and accomplished men at that time, and -appears to have been the profession of his friend Michael Ramsay. There -are no traces of the manner in which his application was received. - -From such matters as these, one readily turns with interest to the most -trifling notices connected with his literary history. On 4th March, -1740, we find him thus writing to Hutcheson. - -"My bookseller has sent to Mr. Smith a copy of my book, which I hope he -has received, as well as your letter. I have not yet heard what he has -done with the abstract; perhaps you have. I have got it printed in -London, but not in _The Works of the Learned_, there having been an -article with regard to my book, somewhat abusive, printed in that work, -before I sent up the abstract."[116:2] - -The "Smith" here mentioned as receiving a copy of the Treatise, we may -fairly conclude, notwithstanding the universality of the name, to be -Adam Smith, who was then a student in the university of Glasgow, and -not quite seventeen years old.[117:1] It may be inferred from Hume's -letter, that Hutcheson had mentioned Smith as a person on whom it would -serve some good purpose to bestow a copy of the Treatise: and we have -here, evidently, the first introduction to each other's notice, of two -friends, of whom it can be said, that there was no third person writing -the English language during the same period, who has had so much -influence upon the opinions of mankind as either of these two men. - -The correspondence with Hutcheson is continued as follows: - - -HUME _to_ FRANCIS HUTCHESON. - -"_16th March,1740._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I must trouble you to write that letter you was so kind as -to offer to Longman the bookseller. I concluded somewhat of a hasty -bargain with my bookseller, from indolence and an aversion to -bargaining: as also because I was told that few or no bookseller would -engage for one edition with a new author. I was also determined to keep -my name a secret for some time, though I find I have failed in that -point. I sold one edition of these two volumes for fifty guineas, and -also engaged myself heedlessly in a clause, which may prove troublesome, -viz. that upon printing a second edition I shall take all the copies -remaining upon hand at the bookseller's price at the time. 'Tis in order -to have some check upon my bookseller, that I would willingly engage -with another: and I doubt not but your recommendation would be very -serviceable to me, even though you be not personally acquainted with -him. - -"I wait with some impatience for a second edition, principally on -account of alterations I intend to make in my performance. This is an -advantage that we authors possess since the invention of printing, and -renders the _nonum prematur in annum_ not so necessary to us as to the -ancients. Without it I should have been guilty of a very great temerity, -to publish at my years so many novelties in so delicate a part of -philosophy; and at any rate, I am afraid that I must plead as my excuse -that very circumstance of youth which may be urged against me. I assure -you, that without running any of the heights of scepticism, I am apt in -a cool hour to suspect, in general, that most of my reasonings will be -more useful by furnishing hints and exciting people's curiosity, than as -containing any principles that will augment the stock of knowledge, that -must pass to future ages.[118:1] I wish I could discover more fully the -particulars wherein I have failed. I admire so much the candour I have -observed in Mr. Locke, yourself, and a very few more, that I would be -extremely ambitious of imitating it, by frankly confessing my errors. If -I do not imitate it, it must proceed neither from my being free from -errors nor want of inclination, but from my real unaffected ignorance. I -shall consider more carefully all the particulars you mention to me: -though with regard to _abstract ideas_, 'tis with difficulty I can -entertain a doubt on that head, notwithstanding your authority. Our -conversation together has furnished me a hint, with which I shall -augment the second edition. 'Tis this--the word _simple idea_ is an -abstract term, comprehending different individuals that are similar. Yet -the point of their similarity, from the very nature of such ideas, is -not distinct nor separable from the rest. Is not this a proof, among -many others, that there may be a similarity without any possible -separation even in thought. - -"I must consult you in a point of prudence. I have concluded a reasoning -with these two sentences: 'When you pronounce any action or character to -be vicious, you mean nothing but that, from the particular constitution -of your nature, you have a feeling or sentiment of blame from the -contemplation of it. Vice and virtue, therefore, may be compared to -sounds, colours, heat, and cold, which, according to modern philosophy, -are not qualities in objects, but perceptions in the mind. And this -discovery in morals, like that other in physics, is to be regarded as a -mighty advancement of the speculative sciences, though like that too it -has little or no influence on practice.'[119:1] - -"Is not this laid a little too strong? I desire your opinion of it, -though I cannot entirely promise to conform myself to it. I wish from my -heart I could avoid concluding, that since morality, according to your -opinion, as well as mine, is determined merely by sentiment, it regards -only human nature and human life. This has been often urged against you, -and the consequences are very momentous. If you make any alterations in -your performances, I can assure you, there are many who desire you would -more fully consider this point, if you think that the truth lies on the -popular side. Otherwise common prudence, your character, and situation, -forbid you [to] touch upon it. If morality were determined by reason, -that is the same to all rational beings; but nothing but experience can -assure us that the sentiments are the same. What experience have we with -regard to superior beings? How can we ascribe to them any sentiments at -all? They have implanted those sentiments in us for the conduct of life -like our bodily sensations, which they possess not themselves. I expect -no answer to these difficulties in the compass of a letter. 'Tis enough -if you have patience to read so long a letter as this.--I am." &c. - - -The third volume of the "Treatise of Human Nature" being the part -relating to morals, was published by Thomas Longman in 1740. It is not -so original as the metaphysical part of the work, nor are its principles -so clearly and decidedly laid down. Its author's metaphysical theories -were rather modified than confirmed in his subsequent works. But his -opinions on ethical subjects, only indistinctly shadowed forth in his -early work, were afterwards reduced to a more compact system, and were -more clearly and fully set forth. - -The metaphysical department of the Treatise is a system with a great -leading principle throughout, of which its author intended that all the -details should be but the individual applications. If his reasoning in -that department of his work be accurate, he sweeps away all other -systems of the foundation of knowledge, and substitutes another in their -stead. But the third book, "on Morals," like the second, on "the -Passions," has no such pretension. The leading principles of the -metaphysical department are certainly kept in view, but the details are -not necessarily parts of it. They have a separate existence of their -own: they are an analysis of phenomena which we witness in our daily -life; and the reader assents or dissents as the several opinions -expressed correspond with or diverge from his own observation of what he -sees passing in the world around him, without, in that mental operation, -either receiving or rejecting any general theory. In short, it is to a -considerable extent a series of observations of human conduct and -character; and as such they are admitted or denied, are sympathized with -or contemned, according to the previous feelings and opinions of the -reader. Among the prominent features of the theoretical part of this -book, is the admission of a moral sense,[121:1] but the negation of an -abstract code of morality, separately existing, and independent of the -position of the persons who are applying this sense. The work in some -measure foreshadows the systems which have been respectively called the -utilitarian and the selfish; the former applying as the scale of moral -excellence the extent to which an action is beneficial or hurtful to the -human race; the latter referring the actions of mankind, whether good or -bad, interested or disinterested, to self, and to impulses which are -always connected with the individual in whom they act, and his passions -or desires. - -In this respect it had its influence, when joined to other hints thrown -out by philosophers, in supplying the texts on which Helvetius, -Beccaria, and Bentham discoursed at greater length and with a clearer -application to definite systems. The utilitarian principle Hume -afterwards extended and rendered systematic, in pursuance of the views -announced in his correspondence with Hutcheson. In connexion with what -is called the "selfish system" of morals, he went no farther than to -point out that the source of every impulse must have its relation to the -individual person on whom that impulse acts. If it be the sordid impulse -of the miser, it must be because the man who feels it loves gold; if it -be the profuse impulse of the spendthrift, it must be because the -individual who spends has a corresponding desire within himself; if it -be the charitable impulse of the person who feeds the poor, it must be -because that person is under the influence of inducements which incline -him rather to do so than not do so. If the principle be applied to a -martyr suffering for conscience sake, or to a soldier who prefers death -to submission, it is still because the person who acts fulfils impulses -acting on himself. But this is a subject from which Hume appears to have -shrunk in his subsequent works. He seems to have disliked the character -of being connected with "the selfish school;" and he thus failed to -revert to a subject on which his rigid and clear examination would have -been a matter of greater interest, than his merely arguing against -self-interest being the proper rule of action--an argument that with him -amounts to nothing more than a protest against that vulgarization of the -system, which charges it with such a doctrine for the purpose of -rendering it odious. We shall afterwards find that he had a -correspondence on this subject with Helvetius, who wished to bring him -over to the admission of his own opinions. - -In this department of the Treatise there are some inquiries into the -first principles of law and government. Here, if any where, he shows the -influence over his mind of his reading in the works of the civilians. -His own utilitarian principle, when carried out on these subjects, shows -that the best government is that which is most conducive to the welfare -of the community. But he occasionally mixes up this principle with -elements totally heterogeneous to it--as in those instances where he -considers the privilege of governing as held by the same tenure with the -right of property, and views the question whether any particular -government is good or bad, in its effect upon the persons governed, as -secondary to the question whether it is or is not held by a good tenure -when it is considered as if it were a matter of private property. But, -notwithstanding these inconsistencies, which he afterwards amended when -he had more fully investigated the principles of politics, the general -aim of his observations on the sources of government is to show that -they are to be found in reason, and to dispel the various irrational and -superstitious notions of political authority, which are comprehended in -the use of the term Divine Right. Indeed, the observations which he -makes with a practical application to governments, are a partial -anticipation of the clear good sense which distinguished his subsequent -political essays. In connexion with the motives of that insurrection -which occurred within eight years after the publication of the Treatise, -and with the partiality for high monarchical principles with which -Hume's name is so much associated, the following remarks are interesting -and instructive. - - Whoever considers the history of the several nations of the - world, their revolutions, conquests, increase and diminution, - the manner in which their particular governments are - established, and the successive right transmitted from one - person to another, will soon learn to treat very lightly all - disputes concerning the rights of princes, and will be - convinced that a strict adherence to any general rules, and - the rigid loyalty to particular persons and families, on - which some people set so high a value, are virtues that hold - less of reason than of bigotry and superstition. In this - particular, the study of history confirms the reasonings of - true philosophy, which, showing us the original qualities of - human nature, teaches us to regard the controversies in - politics as incapable of any decision in most cases, and as - entirely subordinate to the interests of peace and liberty. - Where the public good does not evidently demand a change, 'tis - certain that the concurrence of all those titles, _original - contract_, _long possession_, _present possession_, - _succession_, and _positive laws_, forms the strongest title - to sovereignty, and is justly regarded as sacred and - inviolable. But when these titles are mingled and opposed in - different degrees, they often occasion perplexity, and are - less capable of solution from the arguments of lawyers and - philosophers, than from the swords of the soldiery. Who shall - tell me, for instance, whether Germanicus or Drusus ought to - have succeeded Tiberius, had he died while they were both - alive, without naming any of them for his successor? Ought the - right of adoption to be received as equivalent to that of - blood, in a nation where it had the same effect in private - families, and had already, in two instances, taken place in - the public? Ought Germanicus to be esteemed the eldest son, - because he was born before Drusus; or the younger, because he - was adopted after the birth of his brother? Ought the right of - the elder to be regarded in a nation, where the eldest brother - had no advantage in the succession to private families? Ought - the Roman empire at that time to be esteemed hereditary, - because of two examples; or ought it, even so early, to be - regarded as belonging to the stronger, or the present - possessor, as being founded on so recent an usurpation? Upon - whatever principles we may pretend to answer these and - such-like questions, I am afraid we shall never be able to - satisfy an impartial inquirer, who adopts no party in - political controversies, and will be satisfied with nothing - but sound reason and philosophy.[124:1] - -Some of Hume's notes, of matters which have occurred to him in the -course of his reading as worthy of observation, or of remarkable -thoughts passing through his mind, have been preserved.[125:1] They -appear to be merely a few stray leaves, which have accidentally survived -the loss of many others, as the number of subjects to which they refer -is limited in comparison with the wide compass of knowledge embraced in -Hume's various works. The specimens so preserved, appear generally to -have been written at this period of his life, with the exception, -perhaps, of those which are printed above, and which have reference to -physical science.[125:2] They are set down with clearness and precision, -as if by one who knew both the step in a series of reasoning to which -each of them belongs, and the form in which it should be expressed. They -are written on long sheets of paper; and unless the few that appear -under the head "Natural Philosophy," and some which have the general -heading "Philosophy," they appear to have been subjected to no system of -pre-arrangement, such as that which Locke suggested, but to have been -set down according as the fruits of the annotator's reading or thought -presented themselves to him. A few specimens are here given: they will -be found to have been chiefly made use of in the "Natural History of -Religion," and in the "Essay on the Populousness of Ancient Nations," -while a few of them--as for instance that relating to Gustavus -Vasa--make their appearance in the little volume of "Essays, Moral and -Political," published in 1741.[125:3] A considerable proportion of them -have not been made use of in Hume's printed works, and some of them -contain information which is embodied in Smith's "Wealth of Nations." -It is an occurrence quite characteristic of the friendship of these two -great men, that either of them should have supplied the other with facts -or ideas applicable to the subjects on which he might be engaged. - - -EXTRACTS FROM A COLLECTION OF MEMORANDUMS. - -Perhaps the custom of allowing parents to murder their infant children, -though barbarous, tends to render a state more populous, as in China. -Many marry by that inducement; and such is the force of natural -affection, that none make use of that privilege but in extreme -necessity. - -A pound of steel, when manufactured, may become of £10,000 value. - -No hospitals in Holland have any land or settled revenue, and yet the -poor better provided for than any where else in the world. - -The Romans had two ways chiefly of levying their taxes,--by public -lands, which were all dissipated by popular tribunes about the end of -the republic; or by customs upon importation, which were different in -different places; in some the fortieth part of the value; in Sicily the -twentieth. - -They had also a kind of excise, which began with the emperors, and was -the two-hundredth or one-hundredth part of the value of all goods sold, -the fiftieth of slaves. - -Beside this, they had pretty early, even in the time of the republic, -duties upon mines and salt; and in order to levy the former more easily, -they forbid all mines in Italy. Their mines near Carthagena yielded -them 25,000 drachms a-day. _Burman de Vict. Rom._ - -In the time of the monarchy, the kings had the sole power of imposing -taxes. In the time of the republic, 'tis strange to see this power -belonging sometimes to the magistrates, sometimes to the senate, or to -the people. We learn from Livy, in the second Punic War, that the senate -could contract debt alone. Polybius says, that all money matters -belonged to the senate. The censors levied all the taxes, and farmed -them out to the Roman knights. The Romans could be no great politicians; -since the senate could not gain the sovereignty, nor the censors the -supreme magistracy, notwithstanding these advantages. - -All French projectors take it for granted that 'tis equally dangerous to -make the people too easy as to oppress them too much. _Comte de -Boulainvilliers._ - -The charter governments in America, almost entirely independent of -England. - -Those north of Virginia interfere most with us in manufactures, which -proceeds from the resemblance of soil and climate. - -Gustavus Vasa is perhaps the only instance of a prince who humbled the -clergy while he aspired to arbitrary power. - -From 1729 to 1730, imported of corn into Ireland to the value of -£274,000,--ascribed to the want of a drawback by the Irish House of -Commons. - -The exchange to Holland always against us. _Craftsman._ Not true. - -Our exports no rule to judge of our trade: masters enter more than they -export, to persuade others that their ship is near full. - -The East India Company have offered to pay all the duties upon tea, -provided it may be sold duty free. The interest the crown has in -seizures thought to be the cause why they were refused.--Never asked; -because afterwards they cannot expect the execution of the laws against -foreign tea. - -The government of England perhaps the only one, except Holland, wherein -the legislature has not force enough to execute the laws without the -good-will of the people. This is an irregular kind of check upon the -legislature. - -Men have much oftener erred from too great respect to government than -from too little. - -The French sugar colonies supplied entirely with provisions from our -northern colonies. - -15000-20000 Hogsheads of tobacco exported to France at £20 a hogshead; -at £5. - -The gross produce of the English customs £3,000,000 a-year; the neat -produce £1,800,000. - -In all the British Leeward Islands, the muster-roll exceeded not two -thousand five hundred men a few years ago, and yet there are twenty -thousand blacks in Antigua alone. - -The French fish on the coasts of Newfoundland in the winter, which gives -them an advantage above us. - -Our bustle about the Ostend company, the cause of the great progress of -the French company. - -The East India Company have desired to have China raw silk put upon the -same footing as to duty with the Italian, but have been refused. - -The reason why the court has a greater superiority among the Lords than -Commons, beside the bishops, is that the court gives places to the -Lords, chiefly for their interest among the Commons. - -Eighteen hundred children put upon the parishes at Dublin in five years, -of which, upon inquiry, there remained only twenty-eight. - -Ninety-five thousand seamen computed to be in France; only sixty -thousand in England. - -Ships formerly lasted twenty-seven years in the English navy; now only -thirteen. - -Within the last two thousand years, almost all the despotic governments -of the world have been improving, and the free ones degenerating; so -that now they are pretty near a par. - -There must be a balance in all governments; and the inconvenience of -allowing a single person to have any share is, that what may be too -little for a balance in one hand will be too much in another. - -The fiars of wheat, in 1400, were fixed at Edinburgh, 6 sh. 7 p. Scots -money. - -Banks first invented in Sweden on account of their copper money. - -There is not a word of trade in all Machiavel, which is strange, -considering that Florence rose only by trade. - -About twenty thousand tun of wine imported into England about the time -of the first Dutch war.--_Sir Josiah Child._ - -One per cent. in interest, worse than two per cent. in customs; because -ships pay the interest, not the customs. - -Eight hundred thousand Jews chased from Spain by Ferdinand the -Catholic.--_Geddes._[129:1] - -About 100,000 Moors condemned for apostacy, by the Inquisition, in forty -years. 4000 burned.--_Id._ - -Near a million of Moors expelled Spain.--_Id._ - -The Commons of Castile, in taking arms against Charles the Fifth, among -other things petition, that no sheep nor wool shall be allowed to go out -of the kingdom.--_Id._ - -The interest in Rome reduced to six per cent. under Tiberius.--_Tacit._ - -The laws of Arragon required a public trial for the subjects: but -allowed the king a kind of despotic power over his servants and -ministers, in order to render the great men less fond of court -preferment.--_Geddes._ - -'Twould be more easy for the English liberties to recover themselves -than the Roman, because of the mixed government. The transition is not -so violent. - -The farms were large among the ancients. The Leontine farms in Sicily -contained 130,000 acres, and were farmed to eighty-three -farmers.--_Cicero in Verrem._ - -After the conquest of Egypt by Augustus, the prices of every thing -doubled in Rome. - -The Roman colonies, in the time of Augustus, voted in their colonies, -and sent their votes to Rome. - -The Romans very exact in their book-keeping; in so much, that a crime, -such as bribery or poisoning, could be proved or refuted from their -books.--_Cic. pro Cluentio._ - -They also kept commentaries or ephemerides, wherein every action or word -was wrote down; at least Augustus practised this with his daughters and -nieces.--_Sueton._ - -In Nero's time, 30,000 buried in one autumn, while there was a plague. - -Machiavel makes it a question, whether absolute power is best founded on -the nobility or the people. In my opinion, a subject who usurps upon a -free state, cannot trust the nobles, and must caress the people. This -was the case with the Roman emperors. But an established monarchy is -better founded on the nobles. - -When the Lex Licinia was promulgated, the senate voted that it should be -binding from that moment, as if it had been voted by the people. - -In 1721, the English and Dutch drew more money from Spain than France -did.--_Dict. de Com._ - -There is computed to be 3000 tun of gold in the bank of Amsterdam, at -100,000 florins a tun.--_Id._ - -A ship of 50 or 60 tun has commonly seven hands, and increases a man -every 10 tun.--_Id._ - -The French commerce sunk much about the middle of the seventeenth -century, by reason of their infidelity in their goods.--_Id._ - -There seems to have been a very bad police in Rome; for Cicero says, -that if Milo had waylaid Clodius, he would have waited for him in the -neighbourhood, where his death might have been attributed to robbers, by -reason of the commonness of the accident; and yet Clodius had above -sixty servants with him, all armed. - -Thirty-eight holidays in the year in France.--_Vauban._ One hundred and -eighty working days at a medium.--_Id._ - -The people commonly live poorest in countries which have the richest -natural soil. - -600 slaves, working in the silver mines of Athens, yielded a mina a-day -to their master Xenophon. He computes that 10,000 slaves would produce a -revenue of 100 talents a-year. - -The holidays in Athens made two months in the year.--_Salmasius._ - -The public in Athens paid 20 per cent. for money.--_Xenophon._ - -Many of the chief officers of the army were named by the people in old -Rome.--_Liv._ lib. ix. and lib. vii. - -The Roman senate were obliged by law to give their authority to the -Comitia Centuriata before the suffrages were called.--_Id._ lib. viii. -cap. 12. - -The Pontifices of old Rome suppressed the records of their religion on -purpose, as well as those of new Rome.--_Id._ lib. ix. - -Every part of the office of the senate could be brought before the -people; even the distribution of provinces. An evident part of the -executive.--_Id._ lib. x. cap. 24. - -£60,000 sterling amassed beforehand for building the Capitol.--_Id._ -lib. i. - -Plays, a part of religious service for a pestilence.--_Id._ lib. vii. - -The senators were forbid trade among the Romans.--_Id._ lib. viii. cap. -63. - -In the Roman government, there was a great restraint on liberty, since a -man could not leave his colony, or live where he pleased.--_Id._ lib. -xxxix. cap. 3. - -External superstition punished by the Romans.--_Id._ lib. xxxix. cap. -16. - -They were very jealous of the established religion.--_Id._ lib. xl. cap. -29. - -Robbers established in legal companies in Egypt; and such captains as -Jonathan Wyld established.--_Diodorus Siculus._ - -Whoever consecrated the tenth of their goods to Hercules, was esteemed -sure of happiness by the Romans.--_Id._ - -Jupiter, according to the Cretan tradition, was a pious worshipper of -the gods; a clear proof that those people had a preceding -religion.--_Id._ lib. v. - -Gradenigo's change of the Venetian republic was made in 1280.--_St. -Didier._ - -The clergy are chosen by a popular call.--_Id._ - -Vossius says he saw in Rome, that, digging forty foot underground, they -found the tops of columns buried. - -Horses were very rare among the ancients, (before the Romans,) and not -employed in any thing but war. 1st, In the retreat of the ten thousand, -'twould have been easy to have mounted the whole army, if horses had -been as common as at present. 2d, They had about fifty horses, which, -instead of increasing, diminished during the road, though very useful. -3d, In the spoils of villages, Xenophon frequently mentions sheep and -oxen; never horses. 4th, Cleombrotus' army, in lib. v. Hist. made use of -asses for the carriages. - -Demosthenes tells the Athenians, that a very honest man of Macedonia, -who would not lie, told him such and such things of Philip's situation: -a kind of style that marks but bad intelligence, and little -communication among the different states.--_Olynth._ 2. - -The 30 tyrants killed about 1500 citizens untried.--_Æschines._ - -Thrasybulus restoring the people, and Cæsar's conquest, the only -instances in ancient history of revolutions without barbarous cruelty. - -There seems to be a natural course of things which brings on the -destruction of great empires. They push their conquests till they come -to barbarous nations, which stop their progress by the difficulty of -subsisting great armies. After that, the nobility and considerable men -of the conquering nation and best provinces withdraw gradually from the -frontier army, by reason of its distance from the capital, and barbarity -of the country in which they quarter. They forget the use of war. Their -barbarous soldiers become their masters. These have no law but their -sword, both from their bad education, and from their distance from the -sovereign to whom they bear no affection. Hence disorder, violence, -anarchy, tyranny, and a dissolution of empire. - -Perseus's ambassadors to the Rhodians spoke a style like the modern, -with regard to the balance of power, but are condemned by Livy.--Lib. -xlii. cap. 46. - -Herodotus makes a scruple of so much as delivering an account of the -difference of religion among foreigners, lest he should give -offence.--Lib. ii. - -The Egyptians more careful of preserving their cats than their houses in -time of fire.--_Id._ - -Plutarch says, that the effect of the naval power of Athens, established -by Themistocles, was to render their government more popular: and that -husbandmen and labourers are more friends to nobility than merchants and -seamen are.--_In Vita Themist._ - -Solon is the first person mentioned in history to have raised the value -of money, which, says Plutarch, was a benefit to the poor in paying -their debts, and no loss to the rich.--_In Vita Solon._ - - -PHILOSOPHY. - -Men love pleasure more than they hate pain.--_Bayle._ - -Men are vicious, but hate a religion that authorizes vice.--_Id._ - -The accounts we have of the sentiments of the ancient philosophers not -very distinct nor consistent. Cicero contradicts himself in two -sentences: in saying that Thales allowed the ordering of the world by a -mind, and in saying that Anaxagoras was the first. - -Strato's atheism the most dangerous of the ancient--holding the origin -of the world from nature, or a matter endued with activity. Bayle thinks -there are none but the Cartesians can refute this atheism. - -A Stratonician could retort the arguments of all the sects of -philosophy. Of the Stoics, who maintained their God to be fiery and -compound; and of the Platonicians, who asserted the ideas to be distinct -from the Deity. The same question,--Why the parts or ideas of God had -that particular arrangement?--is as difficult as why the world had. - -Some pretend that there can be no necessity, according to the system of -atheism, "because even matter cannot be determined without something -superior to determine it."--_Fenelon._ - -Three proofs of the existence of a God: 1st, Some thing necessarily -existent, and what is so is infinitely perfect. 2d, The idea of infinite -must come from an infinite being. 3d, The idea of infinite perfection -implies that of actual existence. - -There is a remarkable story to confirm the Cartesian philosophy of the -brain. A man hurt by the fall of a horse, forgot about twenty years of -his life, and remembered what went before in a much more lively manner -than usual. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[106:1] Dr. Butler was consecrated bishop, 3d December, 1739, and was -afterwards translated to the see of Durham, 16th October, 1750. He died -16th June, 1752, in the 60th year of his age. - -[107:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 90. - -[107:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[108:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 93. - -[110:1] London Review, v. 200. - -[111:1] See above, p. 91. - -[113:1] Horat. Lib. i. Sat. iii. l. 98. - -[114:1] Edit. 1636, p. 5. "Alexander the Sixth was endowed with -wonderful cunning and extraordinary sagacity; had a surprising genius in -suggesting expedients in the cabinet, and uncommon efficacy in -persuading; and in all matters of consequence an incredible earnestness -and dexterity."--Goddard's Translation. - -[116:1] Dated, 12th November, 1739. MS. R.S.E. - -[116:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[117:1] He was born on 5th June, 1723. - -[118:1] See above, p. 78. - -[119:1] See this passage in the "Treatise of Human Nature," Book iii. -part i. sect. 1. where it appears with no other variation than the -substitution of the word "considerable," for mighty. It thus appears -that whatever remarks Hutcheson made on the passage, they were not such -as to induce the author materially to alter it. - -[121:1] It may be questioned if any reader of Hume's works has been able -to reconcile this admission of the existence of a moral sense, which, -according to his own account of it is an intuition, with his -metaphysical theory of impressions and ideas, notwithstanding his -ingenuity in ranking it among the impressions. - -[124:1] Book iii. part ii. sect. 10. - -[125:1] In the MSS. R.S.E. - -[125:2] See p. 95. - -[125:3] This circumstance, showing that a portion of the manuscript has -been written before the publication of these essays, points to the -present as the period to which a collection of extracts from the notes -will most aptly apply, although some of them may have been made at a -later date. - -[129:1] Miscellaneous Tracts, by Michael Geddes. 1730. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -1741-1745. ÆT. 30-34. - - Publication of the Essays, Moral and Political--Their - Character--Correspondence with Home and Hutcheson--Hume's - Remarks on Hutcheson's System--Education and Accomplishments - of the Scottish Gentry--Hume's Intercourse with Mure of - Caldwell and Oswald of Dunnikier--Opinions on a Sermon by Dr. - Leechman--Attempts to succeed Dr. Pringle in the Chair of - Moral Philosophy in Edinburgh. - - -A small duodecimo volume, the first of the "Essays Moral and Political," -was published at Edinburgh in 1741, and the second was published in -1742. The publication was anonymous; and it is remarkable that, although -thus shielded, Hume appears to have, at that early period, been so -anxious to disconnect himself with the authorship of the Treatise, that, -in the advertisement, he addresses his readers as if he were then -appearing as an author for the first time. "Most of these essays," he -says, "were wrote with a view of being published as weekly papers, and -were intended to comprehend the designs both of the Spectators and -Craftsmen. But, having dropt that undertaking, partly from laziness, -partly from want of leisure, and being willing to make trial of my -talents for writing before I ventured upon any more serious -compositions, I was induced to commit these trifles to the judgment of -the public. Like most new authors, I must confess I feel some anxiety -concerning the success of my work; but one thing makes me more -secure,--that the reader may condemn my abilities, but must approve of -my moderation and impartiality in my method of handling political -subjects; and, as long as my moral character is in safety, I can, with -less anxiety, abandon my learning and capacity to the most severe -censure and examination." - -Some of the subjects of these essays were not less untrodden at the time -when they appeared, than they are hackneyed in the present day. Of these -may be cited, "The Liberty of the Press;" "The Parties of Great -Britain;" "The Independency of Parliament." When they are compared with -the _Craftsman_, with _Mist's Journal_, and with the other periodicals -of the day, which had set the example of discussing such subjects, these -essays as little resemble their precursors, as De Lolme's "Remarks on -the British Constitution" do the articles in a daily London party paper. -Whatever he afterwards became, Hume was at that time no party -politician. He retained the Stoic severity of thought with which we have -found that he had sixteen years previously invested himself; and would -allow the excitements or rewards of no party in the state to drag him -out of the even middle path of philosophical observation. There is -consequently a wonderful impartiality in these essays, and an acuteness -of observation, which to the reader, who keeps in view how little the -true workings of the constitution were noticed in that day, is not less -remarkable. How completely, for instance, has the wisdom of the -following observations in the essay on "The Liberty of the Press," been -justified by the experience of a century. - - We need not dread from this liberty any such ill consequences - as followed from the harangues of the popular demagogues of - Athens and tribunes of Rome. A man reads a book or pamphlet - alone and coolly. There is none present from whom he can catch - the passion by contagion. He is not hurried away by the force - and energy of action. And should he be wrought up to never so - seditious a humour, there is no violent resolution presented - to him by which he can immediately vent his passion. The - liberty of the press, therefore, however abused, can scarce - ever excite popular tumults or rebellion. And as to those - murmurs or secret discontents it may occasion, 'tis better - they should get vent in words, that they may come to the - knowledge of the magistrate before it be too late, in order to - his providing a remedy against them. Mankind, 'tis true, have - always a greater propension to believe what is said to the - disadvantage of their governors than the contrary; but this - inclination is inseparable from them whether they have liberty - or not. A whisper may fly as quick, and be as pernicious as a - pamphlet. Nay, it will be more pernicious, where men are not - accustomed to think freely, or distinguish betwixt truth and - falsehood. - - It has also been found, as the experience of mankind - increases, that the _people_ are no such dangerous monster as - they have been represented, and that 'tis in every respect - better to guide them like rational creatures, than to lead or - drive them like brute beasts. Before the United Provinces set - the example, toleration was deemed incompatible with good - government; and 'twas thought impossible that a number of - religious sects could live together in harmony and peace, and - have all of them an equal affection to their common country - and to each other. England has set a like example of civil - liberty; and though this liberty seems to occasion some small - ferment at present, it has not as yet produced any pernicious - effects; and it is to be hoped that men, being every day more - accustomed to the free discussion of public affairs, will - improve in their judgment of them, and be with greater - difficulty seduced by every idle rumour and popular clamour. - - 'Tis a very comfortable reflection to the lovers of liberty, - that this peculiar privilege of Britain is of a kind that - cannot easily be wrested from us, and must last as long as our - government remains in any degree free and independent. 'Tis - seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. Slavery - has so frightful an aspect to men accustomed to freedom, that - it must steal in upon them by decrees, and must disguise - itself in a thousand shapes in order to be received. But if - the liberty of the press ever be lost, it must be lost at - once. The general laws against sedition and libelling are at - present as strong as they possibly can be made. Nothing can - impose a farther restraint but either the clapping an - imprimatur upon the press, or the giving very large - discretionary powers to the court to punish whatever - displeases them. But these concessions would be such a - barefaced violation of liberty, that they will probably be the - last efforts of a despotic government. We may conclude that - the liberty of Britain is gone for ever when these attempts - shall succeed. - -The opinion generally acceded to at the present day, that ministerial -and judicial functions should be intrusted to responsible individuals, -and not to bodies of men who may individually escape from a joint -responsibility, is anticipated in the following passage:--"Honour -is a great check upon mankind; but where a considerable body of -men act together, this check is in a great measure removed, since -a man is sure to be approved of by his own party for what promotes -the common interest, and he soon learns to despise the clamour of -adversaries."[139:1] The Grenville Act, and the subsequent measures for -reducing the number of the judges on controverted elections, are a -practical commentary on the truth of this remark. - -It has often been observed, that foreigners have been the first to -remark the leading peculiarities of the British constitution, and of the -administration of justice in this country, in a manner rational and -unimpassioned, yet so as to give them greater prominence, and a more -full descriptive development than they obtain from our own impassioned -party writers--an observation attested by the character which the works -of Montesquieu and De Lolme held in the preceding century, and those of -Thierry, Cottu, Meyer, and Raumer, have obtained in the present. -The reason of this superiority is to be sought in the circumstance that -the acuteness of these foreign observers was not obscured, or their -feelings excited, by any connexion with the workings of the systems they -have described; and the isolation from active life in which Hume was -placed, appears to have in some measure given him like qualifications -for the examination of our political institutions. He expresses a -general partiality for the monarchical government of Britain, but it is -a partiality of a calm utilitarian character, which would not be -inconsistent with an equally great esteem for a well-ordered republic. -On his philosophical appreciation of its merits, the monarchy has no -stronger claims than these--that to have an individual at the head of -the government who is merely the name through which other persons act, -and who is not amenable to any laws, while the real actors are -personally responsible for what they do in his name, is an expedient -arrangement. That it is very convenient to have some fixed criterion -such as the hereditary principle, which shall obviate the trouble and -danger of a competition for this elevated station. But that these are -all recommendations on the ground of expediency, which may be outweighed -by others, and the misconduct of a weak or tyrannical prince will -justify an alteration in that arrangement, which convenience only, and -the avoidance of occasions for turbulence and anarchy, have sanctioned. - -It may be observed, that in the edition of these essays which he -directed to be published after his death, many of those passages which -bear a democratic tendency are suppressed. Such was the fate of the -passage in "The Liberty of the Press" quoted above, and of the remarks -put within brackets in the quotation which follows, from the essay on -"The Parties of Great Britain." - - Some who will not venture to assert, that the real difference - between Whig and Tory, was lost at the Revolution, seem - inclined to think that the difference is now abolished, and - that affairs are so far returned to their natural state, that - there are at present no other parties amongst us but court and - country; that is, men who, by interest or principle, are - attached either to monarchy or to liberty. It must indeed be - confessed, that the Tory party has of late decayed much in - their numbers, still more in their zeal, and I may venture to - say, still more in their credit and authority. [There is no - man of knowledge or learning, who would not be ashamed to be - thought of that party; and in almost all companies, the name - of _Old Whig_ is mentioned as an incontestible appellation of - honour and dignity. Accordingly, the enemies of the ministry, - as a reproach, call the courtiers the true _Tories_; and, as - an honour, denominate the gentlemen in the _Opposition_ the - true _Whigs_.] The Tories have been so long obliged to talk in - the republican style, that they seem to have made converts of - themselves by their hypocrisy, and to have embraced the - sentiments as well as language of their adversaries. There - are, however, very considerable remains of that party in - England, with all their old prejudices; and a proof that court - and country are not our only parties, is, that almost all our - dissenters side with the court, and the lower clergy, at least - of the Church of England, with the opposition. This may - convince us that some bias still hangs upon our constitution, - some extrinsic weight which turns it from its natural course, - and causes a confusion in our parties.[141:1] - -Perhaps the most ambitious of the essays, and those on which the author -bestowed most of his skill and attention, are "The Epicurean," "The -Stoic," "The Sceptic," and "The Platonist." These are productions of the -imagination, suggested apparently by the style and method of _The -Spectator_. There is no attempt either to support or to attack the -systems represented by the names of the essays, nor is there a -description or definition of them; but on each occasion a member of one -of these celebrated schools speaks in his own person, and describes the -nature of the satisfaction that he finds in his own code of philosophy, -as a solution of the great difficulty of the right rule of thought and -action. "The Epicurean" takes a flight of imagination beyond that of -Hume's other works. It departs from the cold atmosphere of philosophy, -and desires to fascinate as well as enlighten. But though it possesses -all the marks of a fine intellect, the reader is apt to feel how far -more sweetly and gracefully the subject would have been handled by -Addison, to whose department of literature it seems rightly to belong. -The follower of Epicurus is not represented, as indulging in that gross -licentiousness, as wallowing in that disgusting "stye" which the -representations of Diogenes Laertius, and others, have impressed on the -vulgar associations with the name of that master. On the other hand, the -picture is far from embodying what many maintain to be the fundamental -precept of Epicurus, that happiness being the great end sought by man, -the proper method of reaching it is by the just regulation of the -passions and propensities; a precept embodied in the - - "Sperne voluptates. Nocet empta dolere voluptas." - -Hume, who was not correcting errors, or instructing his readers in the -true meaning of terms, or appreciation of characters, draws in "The -Epicurean" a picture of one who is not gross or grovelling in his -pleasures, and who restrains himself lest he should outrun enjoyment; -but whose ruling principle is still that of the voluptuary. - -The reader expects to find an attempt to draw his own picture in "The -Sceptic;" but it is not to be found there. The sceptic of the essays is -not a man analyzing the principles of knowledge, to find wherein they -consist, but one who is dissatisfied with rules of morality, and who, -examining the current codes one after another, tosses them aside as -unsatisfactory. It is into "The Stoic" that the writer has thrown most -of his heart and sympathy; and it is in that sketch that, though -probably without intention, some of the features of his own character -are portrayed. There are passages which have considerable unison of tone -with those autobiographical documents already quoted, in which he -describes himself as having laboured to subdue the rebellious passions, -to reduce the mind to a regulated system, to drive from it the influence -of petty impressions,--to hold one great object of life in view, and to -sacrifice before that object whatever stood in the way of his firmly -settled purpose. - -Of the success of these essays, and the method in which he occupied -himself after their publication, he thus speaks in his "own life:"--"The -work was favourably received, and soon made me entirely forget my former -disappointment. I continued with my mother and brother in the country, -and in that time recovered the knowledge of the Greek language, which I -had too much neglected in my early youth." On 13th June, 1742, he says -to Henry Home:--"The _Essays_ are all sold in London, as I am informed -by two letters from English gentlemen of my acquaintance. There is a -demand for them; and, as one of them tells me, Innys, the great -bookseller in Paul's Churchyard, wonders there is not a new edition, for -that he cannot find copies for his customers. I am also told that Dr. -Butler has every where recommended them; so that I hope they will have -some success. They may prove like dung with marl, and bring forward the -rest of my Philosophy, which is of a more durable, though of a harder -and more stubborn nature. You see I can talk to you in your own style." -In consequence of this favourable reception, a second edition appeared -in 1742. - -The communication of which the above is a part, contains the following -short essay on the Orations of Cicero:-- - - I agree with you, that Cicero's reasonings in his "Orations" - are very often loose, and what we should think to be wandering - from the point; insomuch, that now-a-days a lawyer, who should - give himself such liberties, would be in danger of meeting - with a reprimand from the judge, or at least of being - admonished of the point in question. His Orations against - Verres, however, are an exception; though that plunderer was - so impudent and open in his robberies, that there is the less - merit in his conviction and condemnation. However, these - orations have all a very great merit. The Oration for Milo is - commonly esteemed Cicero's masterpiece, and indeed is, in many - respects, very beautiful; but there are some points in the - reasoning of it that surprise me. The true story of the death - of Clodius, as we learn from the Roman historians, was - this:--It was only a casual rencontre betwixt Milo and him; - and the squabble was begun by their servants, as they passed - each other on the road. Many of Clodius's servants were - killed, the rest dispersed, and himself wounded, and obliged - to hide himself in some neighbouring shops; from whence he was - dragged out by Milo's orders, and killed in the street. These - circumstances must have been largely insisted on by the - prosecutors, and must have been proved too, since they have - been received as truth by all antiquity. But not a word of - them in Cicero, whose oration only labours to prove two - points, that Milo did not waylay Clodius, and that Clodius was - a bad citizen, and it was meritorious to kill him. If you read - his oration, you'll agree with me. I believe that he has - scarce spoke any thing to the question, as it would now be - conceived, by a court of judicature. - - The Orations for Marcellus and Ligarius, as also that for - Archias, are very fine, and chiefly because the subjects do - not require or admit of close reasoning. - - 'Tis worth your while to read the conclusion of the Oration - for Plancius, where I think the passions are very well - touched. There are many noble passages in the Oration for - Muræna, though 'tis certain that the prosecutors (who, - however, were Servius Sulpicius, and Cato,) must either have - said nothing to the purpose, or Cicero has said nothing. There - is some of that oration lost. - - 'Twould be a pleasure to read and compare the two first - philippics, that you may judge of the manners of those times, - compared to modern manners. When Cicero spoke the first - philippic, Antony and he had not broke all measures with each - other, but there were still some remains of a very great - intimacy and friendship betwixt them; and besides, Cicero - lived in close correspondence with all the rest of Cæsar's - captains; Dolabella had been his son-in-law; Hirtius and Pansa - were his pupils; Trebasius was entirely his creature. For this - reason, prudence laid him under great restraints at that time - in his declamations against Antony; there is great elegance - and delicacy in them; and many of the thoughts are very fine, - particularly where he mentions his meeting Brutus, who had - been obliged to leave Rome. "I was ashamed," says he, "that I - durst return to Rome after Brutus had left it, and that I - could be in safety where he could not." In short, the whole - oration is of such a strain, that the Duke of Argyle might - have spoke it in the House of Peers against my Lord Orford; - and decency would not allow the greatest enemies to go - farther. But this oration is not much admired by the ancients. - The _Divine Philippic_, as Juvenal calls it, is the second, - where he gives a full loose to his scurrility; and without - having any point to gain by it, except vilifying his - antagonist, and without supporting any fact by witnesses (for - there was no trial or accusation) he rakes into all the filth - of Antony's character; reproaches him with drunkenness and - vomiting, and cowardice, and every sort of debauchery and - villany. There is great genius and wit in many passages of - this oration; but I think the whole turn of it would not now - be generally admired.[145:1] - -In 1742, Hutcheson published his celebrated outline of a system of -ethics, "Philosophiæ Moralis Institutio Compendiaria." The following -letter contains Hume's remarks on the work; and to render them more -intelligible, the passages he had particularly in view are printed in -notes. It is not, however, as pieces of detached criticism, so much as -in the character of an elucidation of those features of his own system -in which it differs from that of Hutcheson, that the letter is valuable. -It is an argument for the utilitarian system of morality--an argument -that there is no _summum bonum_ which should be the object of moral -conduct, apart from the good of the human species. - - -HUME _to_ FRANCIS HUTCHESON. - -"DEAR SIR,--I received your very agreeable present, for which I esteem -myself much obliged to you. I think it needless to express to you my -esteem of the performance, because both the solidity of your judgment, -and the general approbation your writings meet with, instruct you -sufficiently what opinion you ought to form of them. Though your good -nature might prompt you to encourage me by some praises, the same reason -has not place with me, however justice might require them of me. Will -not this prove that justice and good nature are not the same? I am -surprised you should have been so diffident about your Latin. I have not -wrote any in that language these many years, and cannot pretend to judge -of particular words and phrases. But the turn of the whole seems to me -very pure, and even easy and elegant. - -"I have subjoined a few reflections, which occurred to me in reading -over the book. By these I pretend only to show you how much I thought -myself obliged to you for the pains you took with me in a like case, and -how willing I am to be grateful. - -"P. 9, l. _ult. et quæ seq._[147:1] These instincts you mention seem not -always to be violent and impetuous, more than self-love or benevolence. -There is a calm ambition, a calm anger or hatred, which, though calm, -may likewise be very strong, and have the absolute command over the -mind. The more absolute they are, we find them to be commonly the -calmer. As these instincts may be calm without being weak, so self-love -may likewise become impetuous and disturbed, especially where any great -pain or pleasure approaches. - -"P. 21. l. 11.[147:2] In opposition to this, I shall cite a fine -writer,--not for the sake of his authority, but for the fact, which you -may have observed. 'Les hommes comptent presque pour rien toutes les -vertus du coeur, et idolâtrent les talens du corps et de l'esprit: -celui qui dit froidement de soi, et sans croire blesser la modestie, -qu'il est bon, qu'il est constant, fidèle, sincère, équitable, -reconnoissant, n'ose dire qu'il est vif, qu'il a les dents belles et la -peau douce: cela est trop fort.'--_La Bruyere._[148:1] - -"I fancy, however, this author stretches the matter too far. It seems -arrogant to pretend to genius or magnanimity, which are the most shining -qualities a man can possess. It seems foppish and frivolous to pretend -to bodily accomplishments. The qualities of the heart lie in a medium; -and are neither so shining as the one, nor so little valued as the -other. I suppose the reason why good nature is not more valued, is its -commonness, which has a vast effect on all our sentiments. Cruelty and -hardness of heart is the most detested of all vices. I always thought -you limited too much your ideas of virtue; and I find I have this -opinion in common with several that have a very high esteem for your -philosophy. - -"P. 30, l. _antepen. et quæ seq._[148:2] You seem here to embrace Dr. -Butler's opinion in his "Sermons on Human Nature," that our moral sense -has an authority distinct from its force and durableness; and that -because we always think it _ought_ to prevail. But this is nothing but -an instinct or principle, which approves of itself upon reflection, and -that is common to all of them. I am not sure that I have not mistaken -your sense, since you do not prosecute this thought. - -"P. 52. l. 1. I fancy you employ the epithet _ærumnosam_[149:1] more -from custom than your settled opinion. - -"P. 129, _et quæ seq._[149:2] You sometimes, in my opinion, ascribe the -original of property and justice to public benevolence, and sometimes to -private benevolence towards the possessors of the goods; neither of -which seem to me satisfactory. You know my opinion on this head. It -mortifies me much to see a person who possesses more candour and -penetration than any almost I know, condemn reasonings of which I -imagine I see so strongly the evidence. I was going to blot out this -after having wrote it, but hope you will consider it only as a piece of -folly, as indeed it is. - -"P. 244, l. 7.[149:3] You are so much afraid to derive any thing of -virtue from artifice or human conventions, that you have neglected what -seems to me the most satisfactory reason, viz. lest near relations, -having so many opportunities in their youth, might debauch each other, -if the least encouragement or hope was given to these desires, or if -they were not easily repressed by an artificial horror inspired against -them. - -"P. 263, l. 14. As the phrase is true Latin, and very common, it seemed -not to need an apology, as when necessity obliges one to employ modern -words.[150:1] - -"P. 266, l. 18, _et quæ seq._[150:2] You imply a condemnation of Locke's -opinion, which, being the received one, I could have wished the -condemnation had been more express. - -"These are the most material things that occurred to me upon a perusal -of your ethics. I must own I am pleased to see such just philosophy, and -such instructive morals to have once set their foot in the schools. I -hope they will next get into the world, and then into the churches. - - Nil desperandum, Teucro duce et auspice Teucro. - -"_Edinb. Jan. 10, 1743._" - - -Among the Scottish gentry of Hume's day, there were many men of high -education and accomplishments; and the glimpses we occasionally obtain -into the society which he frequented, show us a circle possessing a much -less provincial tone than later times would probably have exhibited in -the same class. The notion that a university was a seat of learning, -where the scholarship of all the world should meet, and not a provincial -school, still lingered in our country, and prompted the gentry to -educate their sons abroad. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, -the registers of the universities of Paris, Bourgès, Bologna, and -Leyden, were crowded with familiar Scottish names, whom we find holding -as great a proportion among the teachers as among the learners; and thus -a Wilson, a Barclay, a Bellenden, a Jack, and many others, whose fame -hardly reached their native country, are conspicuous among the literary -ornaments of the foreign universities. It is perhaps in a great measure -to the lingering continuance of this practice through part of the -eighteenth century, that we may attribute the learning and -accomplishments of the society in Scotland during that period.[151:1] - -"Many are poets who have never penned their inspiration, and perchance -the best." Many also are philosophers who have never either penned their -philosophy, or put it into shape in their own minds. The two operations -of induction and analysis proceed in every human mind with more or less -success; but it is only when literary ambition, or pecuniary necessity, -or the desire to head a system, prompts a man to collect and put into -shape their results, that they are given to the world. Instances have -occurred in which they have appeared very nearly in their raw unwrought -form. Thus, Tucker's "Light of Nature" is nothing more than the -reflections of an English country gentleman, collected and strung -together. Paley and Reid used them as if they had themselves gone -through the operation, and put the results into shape; while the late -William Hazlitt was at the pains of writing an abridgment of the book. -It was fortunate for philosophy that these disconnected observations and -thoughts were collected and preserved. And the reflection leads to the -recollection of the quantity of valuable thoughts that any man, who -notices the course of conversation around him, hears produced and -dropped. In after-dinner social intercourse, in general verbal criticism -of books or men, how much of the gold of true philosophy is scattered -away with the dross; lost almost at the moment it is uttered, and -forgotten both by hearer and speaker. - -It is interesting to have so much of this valuable matter, as may have -found its way into epistolary correspondence, preserved. The -conversation of Hume's friends we have unfortunately lost, for there was -no Boswell at his elbow. But their letters show how much of scholarship, -and elegant literature, and philosophy slumbered in the minds of the -Scottish gentry of that age; and assure us that in his intercourse with -an Elliot, a Mure, an Edmonstone, an Elibank, a Macdonald, an Oswald, -Hume was exchanging ideas with men not unworthy of literary fellowship -with a mind even so highly cultivated as his own. - -William Mure of Caldwell, who was in 1761 made a Baron of the Exchequer -in Scotland, was among those who seem to have earliest secured and -longest retained Hume's esteem. The letters which passed between them -are not often dated, but the circumstances under which many of them are -written are attested by internal evidence. The following is one of the -few which do not admit of being thus tested, but its merit is in a vein -of quiet, easy, epistolary humour, rather than in its connexion with the -events of the writer's life. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"_September 10._ - -"I made a pen, dipt it in ink, and set myself down in a posture of -writing, before I had thought of any subject, or made provision of one -single thought, by which I might entertain you. I trusted to my better -genius that he would supply me in a case of such urgent necessity; but -having thrice scratched my head, and thrice bit my nails, nothing -presented itself, and I threw away my pen in great indignation. 'O! thou -instrument of dulness,' says I, 'doest thou desert me in my greatest -necessity? and, being thyself so false a friend, hast thou a secret -repugnance at expressing my friendship to the faithful Mure, who knows -thee too well ever to trust to thy caprices, and who never takes thee in -his hand without reluctance. While I, miserable wretch that I am, have -put my chief confidence in thee; and, relinquishing the sword, the gown, -the cassock, and the toilette, have trusted to thee alone for my fortune -and my fame. Begone! avaunt! Return to the goose from whence thou -camest. With her thou wast of some use, while thou conveyedst her -through the etherial regions. And why, alas! when plucked from her wing, -and put into my hand, doest thou not recognise some similitude betwixt -it and thy native soil, and render me the same service, in aiding the -flights of my heavy imagination?' - -"Thus accused, the pen erected itself upon its point, placed itself -betwixt my fingers and my thumb, and moved itself to and fro upon this -paper, to inform you of the story, complain to you of my injustice, and -desire your good offices to the reconciling such ancient friends. But -not to speak nonsense any longer, (by which, however, I am glad I have -already filled a page of paper,) I arrived here about three weeks ago, -am in good health, and very deeply immersed in books and study. Tell -your sister, Miss Betty, (after having made her my compliments,) that I -am as grave as she imagines a philosopher should be,--laugh only once a -fortnight, sigh tenderly once a week, but look sullen every moment. In -short, none of Ovid's metamorphoses ever showed so absolute a change -from a human creature into a beast; I mean, from a gallant into a -philosopher. - -"I doubt not but you see my Lord Glasgow very often, and therefore I -shall suppose, when I write to one, I pay my respects to both. At least, -I hope he will so far indulge my laziness. _Hanc veniam petimusque -damusque vicissim._ - -"Did you receive my letter from Glasgow? I hope it did not displease -you. What are your resolutions with regard to that affair? - -"Remember me to your sister, Miss Nancy, to Miss Dunlop, and to Mr. -Leechman. Tell your mother, or sisters, or whoever is most concerned -about the matter, that their cousin, John Steuart, is in England, and, -as 'tis believed, will return with a great fortune. - -"I say not a word of Mr. Hutcheson, for fear you should think I intend -to run the whole circle of my West-country acquaintance, and to make you -a bearer of a great many formal compliments. But I remember you all -very kindly, and desire to be remembered by you, and to be spoke of -sometimes, and to be wrote to."[155:1] - - -The following letter is in reference to Mr. Mure having been chosen -member of Parliament for Renfrewshire as successor to Alexander -Cunningham, on whose death a new writ was moved on 22d November, 1742. -The advice which this letter offers to a young statesman, seems to be -both sagacious and honest. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"I have wrote to Mr. Oswald[155:2] by this post, in order to promote an -intimacy and friendship betwixt you. I exhort you to persevere in your -intention of cultivating a friendship with him. You cannot possibly find -a man of more worth, of a gentler disposition, or better understanding. -There are infinite advantages attending an intimacy with such persons; -among which this is not the least, as far as I can judge by my own -experience, that I always derive from it an additional motive to -preserve my character for honour and integrity; because I know that -nothing else can preserve their friendship. Should I give you an -exhortation of this kind, you might think me very impertinent; though -really you ought to ascribe it more to my friendship, than my -diffidence. 'Tis impossible ever to think ourselves secure enough, where -our concern is extremely great; and, though I dare be confident of your -good conduct, as of my own, yet you must also allow me to be diffident -of it, as I should be of my own. When I consider your disposition to -virtue, cultivated by letters, together with your moderation, I cannot -doubt of your steadiness. The delicacy of the times does not diminish -this assurance, but only dashes it with a few fears, which rise in me -without my approbation, and against my judgment. Let a strict frugality -be the guardian of your virtue; and preserve your frugality by a close -application to business and study. Nothing would so effectually throw -you into the lumber and refuse of the house as your departure from your -engagements at this time; as a contrary behaviour will secure your own -good opinion, and that of all mankind. These advantages are not too -dearly purchased even by the loss of fortune, but it belongs to your -prudence and frugality to procure them, without paying so dear a -purchase for them. I say no more; and hope you will ascribe what I have -said, not to the pedagogue, or even to the philosopher, but to the -friend. I make profession of being such with regard to you; and desire -you to consider me as such no longer than I shall appear to be a man of -honour. Yours." - -_January 26._[156:1] - - -Among Hume's friends in early life, we find James Oswald of Dunnikier, -who is mentioned in the foregoing letter--a name pretty well known in -the political history of Scotland. He was elected member for the -Kirkaldy district of burghs in 1741. He filled successively the -situations of Commissioner of the Navy, Member of the Board of Trade, -Lord of the Treasury, and Treasurer of Ireland. He was well read in the -sources of literary information, and brought to his official duties a -sagacious, practical understanding, which made him infinitely -serviceable to the speculative labours of his two illustrious friends, -Hume and Smith. "I know," says Hume, "you are the most industrious and -the most indolent man of my acquaintance; the former in business, the -latter in ceremony."[157:1] We have occasional glimpses of philosophical -rambles, not unmixed with a little conviviality, in which Oswald -sometimes embarked with his speculative friends. "You will remember," he -says, writing to Henry Home in 1742, "how your friend David Hume and -you, used to laugh at a most sublime declamation I one night made, after -a drunken expedition to Cupar, on the impotency of corruption in certain -circumstances; how I maintained, that on certain occasions, men felt, or -seemed to feel, a certain dignity in themselves, which made them disdain -to act on sordid motives: and how I imagined it to be extremely -possible, in such situations, that even the lowest of men might become -superior to the highest temptations."[157:2] The political course which -he afterwards adopted, however, was not precisely of this soaring cast, -but savoured more of the school of practical expedients founded by Sir -Robert Walpole. We shall afterwards have occasion to see his intercourse -with Hume illustrated at greater length. - -The following letter to Mure, contains a pretty sagacious division of -the prominent political movements of the day, into those which a -supporter of the court party would advocate, and those which he would -oppose. Hume seems to have had some dread lest the spirit of what was -then termed patriotism, might sway an inexperienced, young, and aspiring -politician into devious paths, inconsistent with the straight road of -duty and devotion to an adopted party. But Mure seems to have been a -sagacious steady-minded man, not likely to be seduced out of the path he -had chosen. He was subsequently much relied on by Lord Bute, and rose -to eminence and distinction as a Tory politician. The letter exhibits a -playful practice of talking of his correspondents as his pupils, which -Hume adopted sometimes with those who had least sympathy with his -principles, unless they were clergymen, or otherwise likely to take the -familiarity in bad part. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"I am surprised you should find fault with my letter. For my part, I -esteem it the best I ever wrote. There is neither barbarism, solecism, -equivoque, redundancy, nor transgression of one single rule of grammar -or rhetoric, through the whole. The words were chosen with an exact -propriety to the sense, and the sense was full of masculine strength and -energy. In short, it comes up fully to the Duke of Buckingham's -description of fine writing,--_Exact propriety of words and thought_. -This is more than what can be said of most compositions. But I shall not -be redundant in the praise of brevity, though much might be said on that -subject. To conclude all, I shall venture to affirm, that my last letter -will be equal in bulk to all the orations you shall deliver, during the -two first sessions of parliament. For, let all the letters of my epistle -be regularly divided, they will be found equivalent to a dozen of _No's_ -and as many _Ay's_. There will be found a _No_ for the triennial bill, -for the pension bill, for the bill about regulating elections, for the -bill of pains and penalties against Lord Orford, &c. There will also be -found an Ay for the standing army,[158:1] for votes of credit, for the -approbation of treaties, &c. As to the last _No_ I mentioned, with -regard to Lord Orford, I beg it of you as a particular favour. For, -having published to all Britain my sentiments on that affair, it will be -thought by all Britain that I have no influence on you, if your -sentiments be not conformable to mine. Besides, as you are my disciple -in religion and morals, why should you not be so in politics? I entreat -you to get the bill about witches repealed, and to move for some new -bill to secure the Christian religion, by burning Deists, Socinians, -Moralists, and Hutchinsonians. - -"I shall be in town about Christmas, where, if I find not Lord Glasgow, -I shall come down early in the spring to the borders of the Atlantic -Ocean, and rejoice the Tritons and sea-gods with the prospect of -Kelburn[159:1] in a blaze. For I find, that is the only way to unnestle -his lordship. But I intend to use the freedom to write to himself on -this subject, if you will tell me how to direct to him. In the meantime -do you make use of all your eloquence and argument to that purpose. - -"Make my humble compliments to the ladies, and tell them, I should -endeavour to satisfy them, if they would name the subject of the essay -they desire. For my part, I know not a better subject than themselves; -if it were not, that being accused of being unintelligible in some of my -writings, I should be extremely in danger of falling into that fault, -when I should treat of a subject so little to be understood as women. I -would, therefore, rather have them assign me the deiform fund of the -soul, the passive unions of nothing with nothing, or any other of those -mystical points, which I would endeavour to clear up, and render -perspicuous to the meanest readers. - -"Allow not Miss Dunlop to forget, that she has a humble servant, who -has the misfortune to be divided from her, by the whole breadth of this -island. I know she never forgets her friends; but, as I dare not pretend -to that relation, upon so short an acquaintance, I must be beholden to -your good offices for preserving me in her memory; because I suspect -mightily that she is apt to forget and overlook those who can aspire no -higher than the relation I first mentioned. - -"This, I think, is enough in all conscience. I see you are tired with my -long letter, and begin to yawn. What! can nothing satisfy you, and must -you grumble at every thing? I hope this is a good prognostic of your -being a patriot."[160:1] - -"_Nov. 14th._" - - -In the course of these Memoirs there will be many occasions for -exhibiting Hume's acquaintance with some of the most distinguished -clergymen of his time, and the mutual esteem which he and they -entertained towards each other. Among those members of the Presbyterian -church, with whom he appears to have had the most early intercourse, we -find the name of Dr. Leechman, who was his senior by about five years. -They probably got acquainted with each other in the family of the Mures -of Caldwell, where Leechman had been tutor to Hume's friend and -correspondent. Whatever other jealousies or distastes may have occurred -between them, it would be no drawback to their subsequent intimacy, that -Leechman was by his marriage with Miss Balfour, the brother-in-law of -one of Hume's most zealous controversial opponents, Mr. Balfour of -Pilrig. Dr. Leechman was for many years professor of divinity in the -university of Glasgow, of which he afterwards became principal. -His sermons, now little known, stood at one time in formidable rivalry -with those of Blair. He appears to have been a man who united settled -religious principles with a calm conscientious inquiring mind; and the -account which his biographer, the Rev. James Wodrow, gives of his -lectures, is characteristic of one who had too much respect for truth to -hate or contemn any man engaged in purely metaphysical inquiries, -whatever might be the opinions to which they led him. We are told, that -"no dictatorial opinion, no infallible or decisive judgment on any great -controverted point, was ever delivered from that theological chair. -After the point had undergone a full discussion, none of the students -yet knew the particular opinion of this venerable professor, in any -other way than by the superior weight of the arguments which he had -brought under their view; so delicately scrupulous was he to throw any -bias at all upon ingenuous minds, in their inquiries after sacred -truth."[161:1] - -There is a letter by Hume to Baron Mure, containing a criticism on the -composition and substance of a sermon by Dr. Leechman. From the general -tenor of the letter, it would appear that the sermon was placed in -Hume's hands that the author might have the advantage of his suggestions -in preparing a second edition for the press. The criticisms on style and -collocation are careful and minute, but they all indicate blemishes -peculiar to the piece of composition before the critic, and suggest -corresponding improvements; and none of them appear so far to illustrate -any canon of criticism as to be intelligible to a reader who has not -the sermon in his hands, in the same state as that in which it was -inspected by Hume. These corrective annotations precede the following -general remarks on the sermon and its subject. There may be seen in -these remarks a desire, which haunts the whole of Hume's writings on -kindred subjects; a desire to call forth argument and evidence in -support of that side from which he himself feels inclined to dissent; -like the unsatisfied feeling of one who would rather find refuge in the -argumentative fortress of some other person, than remain a sceptical -wanderer at his own free will. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"These are all the minute faults I could observe in the sermon. Mr. -Leechman has a very clear and manly expression; but, in my humble -opinion, he does not consult his ear enough, nor aim at a style which -may be smooth and harmonious, which, next to perspicuity, is the chief -ornament of style; _vide_ Cicero, Quinctilian, Longinus, &c. &c. &c. If -this sermon were not a popular discourse, I should also think it might -be made more concise. - -"As to the argument, I could wish Mr. Leechman would, in the second -edition, answer this objection both to devotion and prayer, and indeed -to every thing we commonly call religion, except the practice of -morality, and the assent of the understanding to the proposition _that -God exists_. - -"It must be acknowledged, that nature has given us a strong passion of -admiration for whatever is excellent, and of love and gratitude for -whatever is benevolent and beneficial; and that the Deity possesses -these attributes in the highest perfection: and yet I assert, he is not -the natural object of any passion or affection. He is no object either -of the senses or imagination, and very little of the understanding, -without which it is impossible to excite any affection. A remote -ancestor, who has left us estates and honours acquired with virtue, is a -great benefactor; and yet 'tis impossible to bear him any affection, -because unknown to us: though in general we know him to be a man or a -human creature, which brings him vastly nearer our comprehension than an -invisible, infinite spirit. A man, therefore, may have his heart -perfectly well disposed towards every proper and natural object of -affection--friends, benefactors, country, children, &c.--and yet, from -this circumstance of the invisibility and incomprehensibility of the -Deity, may feel no affection towards him. And, indeed, I am afraid that -all enthusiasts mightily deceive themselves. Hope and fear perhaps -agitate their breast when they think of the Deity; or they degrade him -into a resemblance with themselves, and by that means render him more -comprehensible. Or they exult with vanity in esteeming themselves his -peculiar favourites; or at best they are actuated by a forced and -strained affection, which moves by starts and bounds, and with a very -irregular, disorderly pace. Such an affection cannot be required of any -man as his duty. Please to observe, that I not only exclude the -turbulent passions, but the calm affections. Neither of them can operate -without the assistance of the senses and imagination; or at least a more -complete knowledge of the object than we have of the Deity. In most men -this is the case; and a natural infirmity can never be a crime. But, -secondly, were devotion never so much admitted, prayer must still be -excluded. First, the addressing of our virtuous wishes and desires to -the Deity, since the address has no influence on him, is only a kind of -rhetorical figure, in order to render these wishes more ardent and -passionate. This is Mr. Leechman's doctrine. Now, the use of any figure -of speech can never be a duty. Secondly, this figure, like most figures -of rhetoric, has an evident impropriety in it; for we can make use of no -expression, or even thought, in prayers and entreaties, which does not -imply that these prayers have an influence. Thirdly, this figure is very -dangerous, and leads directly, and even unavoidably, to impiety and -blasphemy. 'Tis a natural infirmity of men to imagine that their prayers -have a direct influence; and this infirmity must be extremely fostered -and encouraged by the constant use of prayer. Thus, all wise men have -excluded the use of images and pictures in prayer, though they certainly -enliven devotion; because 'tis found by experience, that with the vulgar -these visible representations draw too much towards them, and become the -only objects of devotion."[164:1] - - -The literary history of this sermon is curious and instructive. When its -author received his appointment of professor of divinity in 1744, a -party in the church opposed his being admitted in the usual manner as a -member of the presbytery of Glasgow; and one of their methods of attack -was to charge him with heretical opinions, promulgated in this sermon, -of which the first edition had been then published. It is singular -enough, in comparing their charge with Hume's criticism, to find the two -attacks brought against the same point, though with different weapons. -"The purport of the whole went to charge Mr. Leechman with having laid -too little stress on the merit of the satisfaction and intercession of -our blessed Saviour, as the sole ground of our acceptance with God in -prayer, and with teaching Christians to look for pardon and acceptance -on other grounds than this."[165:1] - -At this time, we find Hume making an effort to obtain a professorship in -Edinburgh. Dr. Pringle, subsequently Sir John Pringle, and President of -the Royal Society of London,-- - - "Who sat in Newton's chair, - And wonder'd how the devil he got there,"-- - -held the chair of "ethics and pneumatic philosophy"[165:2] in the -university of Edinburgh. In 1742, he was appointed physician to the Earl -of Stair, commander of the British troops in the Low Countries; and -through this circumstance it will be seen, from the following letter, -that Hume contemplated a vacancy, and that he was employing the usual -means for securing his own appointment to the chair. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"DEAR WILL,--I shall tell you how my affair stands. Dr. Pringle has been -absent two years by allowance, and about six weeks ago wrote a letter to -the provost, in which he seemed in a manner to have resigned his office; -and desired the council, if they thought the university any way a -sufferer by his absence, to send him over a resignation in form, which -he would sign, and then they might proceed to the choice of a successor. -Mr. Couts,[165:3] upon receiving this, mentioned me to several of the -council, and desired me to mention myself as a candidate to all my -friends; not with a view of soliciting or making interest, but in order -to get the public voice on my side, that he might with the more -assurance employ his interest in my behalf. I accordingly did so; and -being allowed to make use of the provost's name, I found presently that -I should have the whole council on my side, and that, indeed, I should -have no antagonist. But when the provost produced the doctor's letter to -the council, he discovered that he had in secret wrote differently to -some of his friends, who still insisted that the town should give him -allowance to be absent another year. The whole council, however, except -two or three, exclaimed against this proposal, and it appeared -evidently, that if the matter had been put to a vote, there would have -been a majority of ten to one against the doctor. But Mr. Couts, though -his authority be quite absolute in the town, yet makes it a rule to -govern them with the utmost gentleness and moderation: and this good -maxim he sometimes pushes even to an extreme. For the sake of unanimity, -therefore, he agrees to an expedient, started by one of the doctor's -friends, which he thought would be a compliment to the doctor, and yet -would serve the same purpose as the immediate declaration of a vacancy -in the office. This expedient was to require either the doctor's -resignation, or a declaration upon honour, that whether it were peace or -war, or in any event, he would against November, 1745, return to his -office, and resign his commission of physician to the army, or any other -employment incompatible with his attendance in this place. This last -condition, Mr. Couts thinks it impossible he will comply with, because -he has a guinea a-day at present, as physician to the army, along with a -good deal of business and half-pay during life. And there seems at -present to be small chance for a peace before the term here assigned. I -find, however, that some are of a contrary opinion; and particularly -several of the doctor's friends say that he will sign the obligation -above-mentioned. We shall receive his answer in a fortnight, upon which -my success seems entirely to depend. - -"In the mean time, I have received another offer, which I shall tell you -as a friend, but desire you may not mention to any body. My Lord -Garlees[167:1] received a commission from Mr. Murray of Broughton[167:2] -to look out for a travelling tutor to his son, who is at present at -Glasgow. My lord inclines to give me the preference, but I could not -positively accept, till I had seen the end of this affair, which is so -near a crisis. Please to inform me of any particulars that you know with -regard to the young man, his family, &c., that in case the former -project fail, I may deliberate upon the other. The accusation of heresy, -deism, scepticism, atheism, &c. &c. &c., was started against me; but -never took, being bore down by the contrary authority of all the good -company in town. But what surprised me extremely, was to find that this -accusation was supported by the pretended authority of Mr. Hutcheson and -even Mr. Leechman, who, 'tis said, agreed that I was a very unfit person -for such an office. This appears to me absolutely incredible, especially -with regard to the latter gentleman. For, as to Mr. Hutcheson, all my -friends think that he has been rendering me bad offices to the utmost -of his power. And I know that Mr. Couts, to whom I said rashly that I -thought I could depend upon Mr. Hutcheson's friendship and -recommendation,--I say, Mr. Couts now speaks of that professor rather as -my enemy than as my friend. What can be the meaning of this conduct in -that celebrated and benevolent moralist, I cannot imagine. I shall be -glad to find, for the honour of philosophy, that I am mistaken: and, -indeed, I hope so too; and beg of you to inquire a little into the -matter, but very cautiously, lest I make him my open and professed -enemy, which I would willingly avoid. Here then it behoves you to be -very discreet. - -"'Tis probable Mr. Murray of Broughton may consult Mr. Hutcheson and the -other professors of Glasgow, before he fix absolutely on a tutor for his -son. We shall then see whether he really entertains a bad opinion of my -orthodoxy, or is only unwilling that I should be Professor of Ethics in -Edinburgh; lest that town, being in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, should -spread its contagion all around it, and even infect the students of the -latter university. - -"I have passed a week with Mr. Oswald at Kirkcaldy. He makes his -compliments to you. He has shown me the whole economy of the navy, the -source of the navy debt, with many other branches of public business. He -seems to have a great genius for these affairs, and I fancy will go far -in that way if he perseveres." - -"_Edinburgh, August 4, 1744._"[168:1] - - -It may easily be imagined that both Mr. Hutcheson and Dr. Leechman would -be opposed to the appointment of David Hume as a teacher of moral -philosophy in one of the universities; and that they might entertain -this opinion along with an honest admiration of his character, and an -appreciation of the value of his talents when exercised in another -sphere. It is at all events gratifying to find, that whatever opposition -Hutcheson may have made, he was influenced by no sordid motive, as he -was offered the chair, and refused it. On 27th March, 1745, a letter in -which Dr. Pringle resigned the chair, was read to the Town Council. On -3d April, a nomination to the chair was transmitted to Hutcheson.[169:1] -He declined the honour, in a rather verbose letter, in which he speaks -in the tone of one whose tenure of life cannot be expected to be strong -enough to fit him for new labours: yet he was then only fifty years old. -His death occurred two years later, and he probably felt that his long -series of intellectual labours had exhausted too much of the stamina of -life to leave him the prospect of a successful career in a new sphere of -duty. On Hutcheson's letter being read to the council, on 10th April, -1745, the minutes bear, that "several other persons having been named as -proper candidates, it was thereupon moved in council, whether to proceed -to take the ministers' avisamentum betwixt and next council day, in -order to facilitate their choice, or to delay the same for a month or -six weeks, so that the members of council might with the greater leisure -deliberate thereanent; and the rolls having thereupon been called, and -the vote marked, it carried delay for said space." - -It is probable that the "ministers' avisamentum," whatever may be -precisely designed by that phrase, was not such a recommendation as -would turn the minds of the members of council in favour of Hume. His -name is not mentioned in the council records in connexion with the -proceedings, and the vacancy was filled up on 5th June, 1745, by the -appointment of William Cleghorn, who had acted for Dr. Pringle in his -absence. - -The date of these transactions, brings us into the middle of a very -curious episode in Hume's history, which must now be examined. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[139:1] Essay on the Independency of Parliament. - -[141:1] This concluding sentence was added in the third Edition, (1748,) -in which also the passage within brackets was modified. - -[145:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 98, et seq. - -[147:1] Ab his animi motibus purioribus, et tranquillo stabilique suae -beatitudinis appetitione, quae ratione utitur duce, diversi plane sunt -motus quidam vehementiores et perturbati, quibus, secundum naturae suae -legem, saepe agitatur mens, ubi certa species ipsi obversatur, atque -bruto quodam impetu, fertur ad quaedam agenda, prosequenda, aut -fugienda, quamvis nondum, adhibita in consilium ratione, secum statuerat -haec ad vitam facere vel beatam vel miseram. Hos motus quisque -intelliget, qui, in se descendens, in memoriam revocaverit quali animi -impetu fuerat abreptus, quae passus, quum libidine, ambitione, ira, -odio, invidia, amore, laetitia, aut metu, agitabatur; etiam ubi nihil de -earum rerum, quae mentem commoverant, cursu ad vitam beatam aut miseram -serio cogitarat. Quid quod saepe in partes contrarias distineantur et -distrahantur homines, cum aliud cupido, mens vero, ejusque appetitus -tranquillus, aliud suadeat. - -[147:2] Diximus ex virtutis comprobatione ardentiorem efflorescere -amorem, in eos qui virtute videntur praediti. Quumque in omnes suas -vires, affectiones, sensus, vota, appetitiones, reflectere possit mens, -eaque contemplari; ille ipse decori et honesti sensus acrior, ardentior -virtutis appetitio, et honestiorum omnium amor et caritas, omnino -comprobabitur; neque ulla animi affectio magis, quam optimi cujusque -dilectiones et caritates. - -[148:1] See _Caractéres_ _Ch._ 11. De L'homme. - -[148:2] Qui multiplicem sensuum horum perspexerit varietatem, quibus res -adeo dispares hominibus commendantur appetendae; animique propensiones -pariter multiplices, et mutabiles; et inter se saepe pugnantes -appetitus, et desideria, quibus suam quisque insequitur utilitatem, -eamque variam, aut non minus variam voluptatem; eam etiam ingenii -humanitatem, affectionesque benignas multiplices; humana huic natura -prima specie videbitur, chaos quoddam, rudisque rerum non bene junctarum -moles, nisi altius repetendo, nexum quendam, et ordinem a natura -constitutum, et principatum deprehenderit, aut +hêgêmonikon+ aliquod, ad -modum caeteris ponendum idoneum. Philosophiae munus et hoc investigare, -atque monstrare qua demum ratione haec sint ordinanda; miro enim -artificio - - Hanc Deus, et melior litem natura diremit. - -[149:1] Hanc vitam caducam et aerumnosam. - -[149:2] The chapter _De Dominii acquirendi Rationibus_. - -[149:3] De nuptiis consanguineorum in linea transversa, quas adferunt -rationes viri docti, vix quiquam affirmant. Quia vero apud plurimas -gentes legis Judaicae ignaras, ejusmodi nuptiae habebantur impurae et -nefariae, credibile est et eas in prima mundi aetate lege aliqua -positiva, cujus diu manserunt vestigia, fuisse a Deo vetitas. Ea autem -lex hoc praecipue spectasse videtur, ut plures familiae gentesque ea -devinciantur caritate et benevolentia, quae ex affinitate et sanguinis -conjunctione oriri solet. Alia forte commoda hominibus nascituris -prospexit Deus, ex eo quod gentes variae, conjugiis inter se misceantur. - -[150:1] This is in reference to the word _despotica_ being put in -italics as a modern barbarism. - -[150:2] Civium quisque non sibi solum, verum et liberis, a civitate -defensionem stipulatur, et omnia vitae civilis commoda. Liberis gestum -est negotium utilissimum; unde citra suum consensum, ad ea omnia pro -ipsorum viribus, facienda praestanda adstringuntur, quae ob istiusmodi -commoda ab adultis jure flagitari poterant. Nihil autem aequius quam ut -singuli, pro virili parte, eam tueantur civitatem, neque ab ea -intempestive discedant, cujus beneficio diu protecti, innumeris potiti -fuerant vitae excultae commodis; utque haec a majoribus accepta ad -posteros transmittant. - -[151:1] The practice of sending young men to the continental -universities, seems to have continued for a longer time in the north -than in the south. Within these few years it was not uncommon north of -the Grampians, to meet with elderly country gentlemen, recalling to each -other the memorable events of their student life at Leyden. The practice -appears to be reviving in a favour for the German universities; but -perhaps it is now more frequently followed by the commercial classes -than by the country gentlemen. - -[155:1] MS. R.S.E. This letter is printed in the _Literary Gazette_ for -1822, p. 635. - -[155:2] Mr. Oswald of Dunnikier. - -[156:1] MS. R.S.E. _Literary Gazette_, 1822, p. 635. - -[157:1] Memorials of James Oswald, p. 82. - -[157:2] Ib. p. 19-20. - -[158:1] This refers to the taking Hanoverian troops into British pay, -warmly debated in the House of Commons on 10th December, 1742. - -[159:1] The Earl of Glasgow's house, on the coast of Ayrshire. - -[160:1] MS. R.S.E. _Literary Gazette_, 1822, p. 636. - -[161:1] Sermons by William Leechman, D.D. to which is prefixed some -account of the author's life, and his character, by James Wodrow, D.D. -1789, i. 34. - -[164:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[165:1] Memoir, _ut supra_, p. 23. - -[165:2] Pneumatic Philosophy must here be taken in its old sense, as -meaning Psychology. - -[165:3] John Couts or Coutts, a native of Dundee, at that time Lord -Provost of Edinburgh. He was the father of Thomas Coutts, the celebrated -banker. - -[167:1] The title of courtesy of the eldest son of the Earl of Galloway. - -[167:2] There were two Murrays of Broughton. The one had a small piece -of property in Tweeddale, between Noblehouse and Moffat; and soon after -the date of this letter acquired an infamous celebrity by giving -evidence against the rebels, after having acted as secretary to the -Pretender. The other, who was probably the person Hume had in view, had -a considerable estate in Galloway. - -[168:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[169:1] Town Council Records, where he is called George Hutcheson, -instead of Francis. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -1745-1747. ÆT. 34-36. - - Hume's Residence with the Marquis of Annandale--His - Predecessor Colonel Forrester--Correspondence with Sir James - Johnstone and Mr. Sharp of Hoddam--Quarrel with Captain - Vincent--Estimate of his Conduct, and Inquiry into the - Circumstances in which he was placed--Appointed Secretary to - General St. Clair--Accompanies the expedition against the - Court of France as Judge-Advocate--Gives an Account of the - Attack on Port L'Orient--A tragic Incident. - - -Hume's history of his residence with the Marquis of Annandale, is given -in the following brief terms, in his "own life." "In 1745, I received a -letter from the Marquis of Annandale, inviting me to come and live with -him in England: I found, also, that the friends and family of that young -nobleman were desirous of putting him under my care and direction, for -the state of his mind and health required it. I lived with him a -twelvemonth. My appointments during that time made a considerable -accession to my small fortune." - -It might have been favourable perhaps to the dignity of his position in -the world of letters, that this episode in his history had never been -more fully narrated; for a philosopher conducting a litigation for £75 -of arrears of salary, is apt to experience that diminution of respect in -the eyes of the public, which the prince of Condé discovered that a hero -suffered in those of his valet. Since, however, many statements have -been given to the world, connected with that part of Hume's life, and -many charges and countercharges among the persons connected with it are -preserved, it is necessary to give such a brief view of the whole -affair, as may enable the reader to estimate the respective merits of -the parties in the dispute. A collection of documents on the subject was -lately published by a gentleman to whom the literary history of Scotland -is indebted for many other services;[171:1] and from his book the -following statement is compiled. - -The person with whom David Hume was thus connected was the last Marquis -of Annandale, on whose death that title became dormant. On the 5th of -March, 1748, he was found, on an inquest from the Court of Chancery in -England, to be a lunatic, incapable of governing himself and managing -his own affairs, and to have been so since 12th December, 1744, a few -months anterior to Hume's engagement with him. The correspondence does -not give the reader the notion of one reduced to so abject a mental -state, but rather that of a man nervously timid and reserved; -distrustful of himself and his ability to transact business with other -people, but not quite incapable of managing his affairs, though -exciteable, and liable to be driven into fits of passion by causes not -susceptible of being anticipated. A party to the correspondence, talking -of him as in an improved condition, says: "My Lord walked out with me -lately two or three miles, received and returned the compliments of the -hat of those we met, and without any shyness or reserve: and bears to -stand by, and hear me talk with any farmer or countryman. This is a vast -change for the better, and the greatest appearance that it will -continue."[172:1] He appears to have been haunted by a spirit of -literary ambition. Hume says in a letter to Lord Elibank, "I have copied -out half a dozen of epigrams, which I hope will give you entertainment. -The thought in them is indeed little inferior to that in the celebrated -Epigrams of Rousseau; though the versification be not so correct. What a -pity! I say this on account both of the author and myself; for I am -afraid I must leave him." And on another occasion he alludes at length -to a far more extensive literary achievement, a novel, which the -excited Marquis had written, and which those about him had found it -necessary to print, circulating a few copies, and advertising it in one -newspaper to allay any suspicions in the author's mind that a thousand -copies had not been printed. Hume says: - -"You would certainly be a little surprised and vexed on receiving a -printed copy of the novel, which was in hands when you left London. If I -did not explain the mystery to you, I believe I told you, that I hoped -that affair was entirely over, by my employing Lord Marchmont and Lord -Bolingbroke's authority against publishing that novel; though you will -readily suppose that neither of these two noble Lords ever perused it. -This machine operated for six weeks; but the vanity of the author -returned with redoubled force, fortified by suspicions, and increased by -the delay. 'Pardie,' dit il, 'je crois que ces messieurs veulent être -les seules Seigneurs d'Angleterre qui eussent de l'esprit. Mais je leur -montrerai ce que le petit A---- peut faire aussi.' In short, we were -obliged to print off thirty copies, to make him believe that we had -printed a thousand, and that they were to be dispersed all over the -kingdom. - -"My Lady Marchioness will also receive a copy, and I am afraid it may -give her a good deal of uneasiness, by reason of the story alluded to in -the novel, and which she may imagine my Lord is resolved to bring to -execution. Be so good, therefore, as to inform her, that I hope this -affair is all over. I discovered, about a fortnight ago, that one of the -papers sent to that damsel had been sent back by her under cover to his -rival, Mr. M'----, and that she had plainly, by that step, sacrificed -him to her other lover. This was real matter of fact, and I had the -good fortune to convince him of it; so that his pride seems to have got -the better of his passion, and he never talks of her at present." - -The "novel" appears to have referred to some little event in its -author's private history. If there be a copy of it now any where -existing, it is to be feared that it wastes its fragrance on the desert -air, as the existence of so choice a flower of literature, were it in -the possession of any collector, could not fail to have been rumoured -through the bibliographical world. - -The Marquis had previously been attended by a succession of hired -companions, of whom one was a man of considerable distinction, Colonel -James Forrester,[174:1] a person who, in the Scottish society of the -age, seems to have united some of the qualities of a Chesterfield to a -like proportion of those of a Beau Fielding. He was the author of "The -Polite Philosopher;" a lively little essay, sometimes published along -with Chesterfield's "Advice," in which the author is so much at ease -with his reader, that he discourses in prose or poetry as his own humour -dictates. Johnson said, with reference to the man and the book, that "he -was himself the great polite he drew;" and if it did not happen that his -coxcombry excited the poor invalid's irritable nerves to distraction, he -was probably an infinitely more suitable man for the office of companion -to the Marquis of Annandale, than David Hume. - -The overtures to Hume were made by the Marquis himself; who was, -according to an expression used by Sir James Johnstone, when writing to -Hume, "charmed with something contained in his Essays." The place of -residence of the Marquis was Weldhall, near St. Alban's, in -Hertfordshire. Hume had to go to London to make the anticipatory -arrangements, and he commenced his companionship on 1st April, 1745. The -insurrection, headed by Prince Charles Edward in Scotland, commenced -four months afterwards; and there is perhaps nothing more curious in -the whole dispute than the indifference with which this matter, fraught -with so much importance to his countrymen, is spoken of by Hume; while -there could not probably be a better answer to those who afterwards -insinuated that he was a Jacobite, than an account of the manner in -which his thoughts were occupied during that struggle. He occasionally -complains that he is prevented from personally discussing, with the -individuals interested, the matters he is writing about, on account of -"the present unhappy troubles;" and the following portion of a letter to -Sir James Johnstone of Westerhall, the brother of the Marquis's -stepfather, written immediately after he had left his attendance on the -Marquis, is the only occasion in which he appears to show the least -sympathy in the conflict or its results. - - -"_Portsmouth, June 6, 1746._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I have always sympathized very cordially with you, whenever -I met with any of the names, wherein you was interested, in any of the -public papers; but I hope that one of the persons is now safe by his -escape, and the other protected by her sex and innocence.[176:1] We live -not now in a time, when public crimes are supposed to cancel all private -ties, or when the duties of relation, even though executed beyond the -usual bounds, will render the persons criminal. I am willing, -therefore, to flatter myself, that your anxiety must now be in a great -measure over, and that a more happy conclusion of so calamitous an -affair could not be expected, either for private individuals or for the -public. Some little time ago, we had here a conversation with regard to -L----, and other persons in her condition, when General St. Clair said, -that he heard, from some of the ministers, that the intentions of the -menaces, or even of the intended prosecutions (if they went so far,) -were not to proceed to execution; but only to teach our countrywomen -(many of whom had gone beyond all bounds) that their sex was no absolute -protection to them, and that they were equally exposed to the law with -the other sex. However, I doubt not but your friend has no occasion for -their clemency, whatever may be the case with the other ladies in the -same situation, who had particularly valued themselves upon their -activity and courage." - - -It is now necessary to enter on a subject, which one feels a natural -inclination to postpone, as long as the order of events will afford any -excuse for looking at other things: the treatment Hume experienced in -this his self-adopted slavery. He had to deal with a capricious -unreasonable employer; to that he would, in the circumstances, -philosophically reconcile himself. He states in one of his letters, that -he lived with him "in a more equal way of complaisance and good humour -than could well have been expected. Some little disgusts and humours -could not be prevented, and never were proposed to be of any -consequence." But he had another and a far more unpleasant person to -deal with, in a certain Philip Vincent, a captain in the navy,[178:1] a -relation of the Dowager-marchioness of Annandale. For some months -matters appear to have gone smoothly with all concerned. The following -letter to one of his esteemed friends, shows that Hume was consoling -himself for the probable dissipation of his hopes of a professorship, by -reflecting on his good fortune in being connected with so amiable and -excellent a man as Captain Vincent:-- - -[Illustration: handwritten letter, text of which follows] - - -HUME _to_ MATTHEW SHARP _of Hoddam_.[178:2] - -"MY DEAR SIR,--I am informed that such a popular clamour has been raised -against me in Edinburgh, on account of scepticism, heterodoxy, and other -hard names, which confound the ignorant, that my friends find some -difficulty, in working out the point of my professorship, which once -appeared so easy. Did I need a testimonial for my orthodoxy, I should -certainly appeal to you; for you know that I always imitated Job's -friends, and defended the cause of Providence when [you] attacked it, on -account of the headachs you felt after a deba[uch.] But, as a more -particular explication of that particular seems superfluous, I shall -only apply to you for a renewal of your good offices with your -nephew, Lord Tinwal,[179:1] whose interest with Yetts and Allan may be -of service to me. There is no time to lose; so that I must beg you to be -speedy in writing to him, or speaking to him on that head. A word to the -wise. Even that is not necessary to a friend, such as I have always -esteemed and found you to be. - -"I live here very comfortably with the Marquis of Annandale, who, I -suppose you have heard, sent me a letter of invitation, along with a -bill of one hundred pounds, about two months ago. Every thing is much -better than I expected, from the accounts I heard after I came to -London; for the secrecy with which I stole away from Edinburgh, and -which I thought necessary for preserving my interest there, kept me -entirely ignorant of his situation. - -"My lord never was in so good a way [before.] He has a regular family, -honest servants, and every thing is managed genteelly and with economy. -He has intrusted all his English affairs to a mighty honest friendly -man, Captain Vincent, who is cousin-german to the Marchioness. And as my -lord has now taken so strong a turn to solitude and repose, as he -formerly had to company and agitation, 'tis to be hoped that his good -parts and excellent dispositions may at last, being accompanied with -more health and tranquillity, render him a comfort to his friends, if -not an ornament to his country. As you live in the neighbourhood of the -Marchioness, it may give her a pleasure to hear these particulars. I -am,[180:1] &c. - -"_Weldehall, near St. Albans_, - -"_April 25, 1745._" - - -On the other hand, we find Captain Vincent, when he speaks of Hume, -saying, "I think it very happy that he is with my lord, and still more -so if he is constantly to remain with him, which I do not foresee but -that he may; and I must do him the justice to say, that after having had -time enough to weigh the temper, situation, and circumstances of the -person he has to deal with, he very candidly owned that it was what he -could cheerfully abide with." And again in August, "Mr. Hume is almost -wholly taken up with our friend personally, so that he can scarce have -the resource of amusement, or even of business, which is somewhat hard -upon a man of erudition and letters, whom indeed I think very deserving -and good natured; and whilst he can be his companion, there could not be -a better made choice of." The captain, in other letters, speaks of Hume -as "a very worthy and knowing man," and as "My friend Mr. Hume;" and -seems at one time to have wished that an annuity of £100 a-year should -be settled upon him, without reference to his continuance in his office, -and in addition to the salary he might receive while he did so. But the -dawn was soon afterwards overcast. - -Hume, in the first place, disliked some of Captain Vincent's proposed -arrangements, as to the disposal of the person of the Marquis, and -seems to have soon suspected him of wishing to carry through designs -which would materially affect the interest of some of the Marquis's -relations. It is probable that a feeling of friendliness, or of duty, -may have prompted him to interfere. It may be so, and he may in reality -have done good; but the impression produced by the correspondence is, -regret that Hume did not at once retire in lofty scorn from the scene of -these paltry cabals. - -Captain Vincent held a commission from the Marquis to "hire and dismiss -servants," and perform other like functions. It was in virtue of this -authority that he dealt with Hume; and he seems at first to have -thought, that in the person of the philosopher he had met with a sort of -superior and valuable member of the fraternity of upper-servants. Though -Hume had then written the works on which a large portion of his European -reputation was afterwards built, this man seems to have regarded his -literary abilities as merely an enhancement of the qualities which -suited him for his servile office. Looking upon himself as a member of -the family, he appears to have had much the same disposition to admit -that Hume's literary distinction put them on a par with each other, as -he might have had to admit that the display of an unexpected degree of -musical talent in the servants' hall would qualify one of its -frequenters to be hail-fellow well met with him in the dining-room. -Whether Hume was right or wrong in the suspicions he entertained of -Vincent, the conduct of Vincent to Hume was brutal, and that on his own -showing. - -One of Hume's views, as to the proper treatment of the Marquis, was, -that the isolation of Weldhall was unsuitable to his condition: that he -should be in a a more cheerful residence, and one in other respects -more suitable; and the dispute appears to have been for some time -suspended on this peg. On the 31st October, Hume writes:-- - -"What is the mighty matter in dispute? Only about hiring a few carts to -remove the family to another house, in order to quit this; which, for -very good reasons, is infinitely disagreeable to your friend, very -dangerous, will be uninhabitable for cold during the winter season, and -costs £300 to £400 a-year, at least, to the family, more than is -requisite." And afterwards he says of Vincent:--"He said, when he was -here, that we shall live in this house till the lease was out, in spite -of all opposition." - -In the letter from which the preceding passage is taken, he says to Sir -James Johnstone,-- - - -"I must begin by complaining of you for having yoked me here with a man -of the Captain's character, without giving me the least hint concerning -it, if it was known to you, as, indeed, it is no secret to the world. -You seemed satisfied with his conduct, and even praised him to me; which -I am fully persuaded was the effect of your caution, not your -conviction. However, I, who was altogether a stranger, entered into the -family with so gross a prepossession. I found a man who took an infinite -deal of pains for another, with the utmost professions both of -disinterestedness and friendship to him and me; and I readily concluded -that such a one must be either one of the best, or one of the worst of -men. I can easily excuse myself for having judged at first on the -favourable side; and must confess that, when light first began to break -in upon me, I resisted it as I would a temptation of the devil. I -thought it, however, proper to keep my eyes open for farther -observation; till the strangest and most palpable facts, which I shall -inform you of at meeting, put the matter out of all doubt to me. - -"There is nothing he would be fonder of than to sow dissension betwixt -my Lady and you, whom he hates and fears. He flatters, and caresses, and -praises, and hates me also; and would be glad to chase me away, as doing -me the honour, and, I hope, the justice of thinking me a person very -unfit for his purposes. As he wants all manner of pretext from my -conduct and behaviour, he has broken his word." - - -That these statements are not those of a secret foe emitting calumnies -in the dark, is made clear by the concluding terms of the letter, in -which the writer, instead of asking his correspondent to keep its -contents secret--a very common clause when people, thrown much in each -other's way, write about each other's conduct to third parties--says, "I -wish you would bring this letter south with you, that, if you will allow -it, I may show it to him,"--that is, to Vincent. - -The excitement communicated to Hume's nerves on this occasion, is shown -by the following short letter to Sir James, so much at variance with the -usual character of his writings:-- - - -"God forgive you, dear Sir, God forgive you, for neither coming to us, -nor writing to us. The unaccountable, and, I may say, the inhuman -treatment we meet with here, throws your friend into rage and fury, and -me into the greatest melancholy. My only comfort is when I think of your -arrival; but still I know not when I can propose to myself that -satisfaction. I flatter myself you have received two short letters I -wrote within this month; though the uncertainty of the post gives me -apprehension. I must again entreat you to favour me with a short line, -to let me know the time you can propose to be with us; for, if it be -near, I shall wait with patience and with pleasure; if distant, I shall -write you at length, that you and my Lady Marchioness may judge of our -circumstances and situation.--I am, Dear Sir, yours, with great -sincerity, D. H." - - -Unfortunately, the precise objects which the parties respectively -desired to accomplish cannot be distinctly ascertained, as the letters -generally refer to explanations which it will be necessary for the -parties to make when they meet, because the troubled character of the -times made private letters liable to be opened and inspected. Hume at -the same time, being in the midst of a considerable retinue of servants -under the control and management of his enemy, was in dread that spies -were set on his motions. Thus he says to Sir James Johnstone,-- - -"I did write you the very first occasion after I came out thither. But I -find my letters have great difficulty to reach you; for which reason I -shall put this into the post-house myself, to prevent such practices as -I suspect are used in this family. I have some reason also to think that -spies are placed upon my most indifferent actions. I told you that I had -had more conversation with one of the servants than was natural, and for -what reason. Perhaps this fellow had the same privilege granted him as -other spies, to rail against his employer, in order to draw in an -unguarded man to be still more unguarded. But such practices, if real, -(for I am not altogether certain,) can only turn to the confusion of -those who use them. Where there is no arbitrary power, innocence must -be safe; and if there be arbitrary power in this family, 'tis long since -I knew I could not remain in it. What a scene is this for a man -nourished in philosophy and polite letters to enter into, all of a -sudden, and unprepared! But I can laugh, whatever happens; and the -newness of such practices rather diverts me. At first they caused -indignation and hatred; and even (though I am ashamed to confess it) -melancholy and sorrow." - -What a scene indeed! - -The chief incidental light that can be thrown on the nature of the -suspicions which Hume entertained of Vincent, is derived from the -position of the person to whom the greater part of these letters were -addressed--Sir James Johnstone, who has already been alluded to as a -connexion of the Annandale family. His brother, Colonel John Johnstone, -had married the Marchioness-dowager, the mother of the Marquis, and by -her had three children. She was an heiress; and though the Scottish -estates, following an entail, were destined to pass to another family, -her own property would be inherited by the children of her second -marriage, on the death of the Marquis. The accumulated rents of his -estates, being movable property, would also be the subject of -succession, different from that of the entail; and therefore the -management of this property, during his imbecility, was a matter of much -moment to some of his connexions. The public had ample opportunity of -knowing the extent of these accumulated funds. They rose to the sum of -£415,000, and were the subject of long litigation both in England and -Scotland. The "Annandale cases" had a material effect in settling in -Britain the important principle which had been previously adopted over -the greater part of Europe, that the movable or personal estate of a -deceased person must be distributed according to the law of the country -where he had his domicile or permanent residence at the time of his -death. - -It is pretty evident that Vincent had certain family projects in view in -connexion with the management of the estate, and that Hume wished to -defeat them. Before the outbreak of the quarrel, the latter had written -to Sir James: - -"I shall endeavour to give you my opinion, which I am certain would be -yours, were you to pass a day amongst us. I am sorry, therefore, to -inform you, that nothing now remains but to take care of your friend's -person, in the most decent and convenient manner; and, with regard to -his fortune, to be attentive that the great superplus, which will remain -after providing for these purposes, should be employed by my Lady and -your nephews, as the true proprietors, for their honour and advantage." - -Having written a civil letter to Vincent, stating that he desired the -intervention of Sir James Johnstone, and that he believed, in the mean -time, that the Marquis was satisfied with the engagement, and did not -wish him to be dismissed, he thus hints to Sir James his suspicions of -Vincent's views. - -"I must own it was with excessive reluctance I wrote so softening and -obliging a letter to this man; but as I knew that such a method of -proceeding was conformable to your intentions, I thought it my duty to -comply. However, I easily saw it would all be vain, and would only -fortify him in his arrogance. Do you think that _the absolute possession -of so ample a fortune_, to which this is the first requisite step, is a -prize to be resigned for a few fair words or flattering professions? He -deals too much in that bait himself ever to be caught with it by others. - -"I think this is the last opportunity that will ever offer of retrieving -the family and yourself (as far as you are concerned with the family,) -from falling into absolute slavery to so odious a master. If, in the -beginning, and while he is watched by jealous eyes, he can attempt such -things, what will he not do when he has fixed his authority, and has no -longer any inspector over him? - -"'Tis lucky, therefore, that this, as it seems the last, is so good an -opportunity. Nothing was ever so barefaced as his conduct. To quarrel -with me, merely because I civilly supported a most reasonable project; -to threaten me with his vengeance, if I opened my lips to you concerning -your friend's affairs; to execute that threat, without a pretext, or -without consulting you; these steps give us such advantages over him as -must not be neglected. - -"I hope you will not take it amiss, if I say, that your conduct, with -regard to your friend, and to those who have at different times been -about him, has all along been too gentle and cautious. I had -considerably shaken the authority of this man (though I had no authority -myself,) merely by my firmness and resolution. He now assumes more, when -he observes your precautions. - -"But, as I do not believe that, though your firmness may daunt him, it -will ever engage him to loose hold of so fine a prize, it will be -requisite to think of more effectual remedies. Happily there is time -enough both to contrive and to execute. For, though he makes me the -offer of present payment, (which I hope you observed,) in order to -engage me to leave you presently, he shall not get rid of me so easily." - -Hume appears, with a marvellous degree of self-restraint--marvellous in -a man of independent spirit--to have felt that it was his duty not to be -driven from his post by the insults of Vincent. He says to Sir James -Johnstone, when apparently wearied out, "I fancy he must prevail at -last; and I shall take care not to be a bone of contention betwixt you, -unless you think I am the most advantageous piece of ground on which you -can resist him." His opinion, that the interests of the other relations -were concerned in his resisting Vincent's designs, is confirmed by the -following letter, also addressed to Sir James Johnstone:-- - -"He [Vincent] desired you should intermeddle as little as possible in -these affairs; adding, that he intended, by keeping my Lord's person and -his English affairs in his own hands, to free my Lady from all slavery -to you. - -"Ever since, no entreaties, no threatenings have been spared to make me -keep silence to you; to which my constant answer was, that I thought not -that consistent with my duty. I told him freely, that I would lay all -the foregoing reasons before you, when you came to London, and hoped you -would prevail with him to alter his opinion. If not, we should all -write, if you thought proper, to my Lady Marchioness, in order to have -her determination. The endeavouring, then, to make me keep silence to -you, was also to keep my Lady in the dark about such material points, -since I could not have access to let her know the situation of our -affairs, by any other means. - -"He offered to let me leave your friend in the beginning of winter, if I -pleased, provided I would make no opposition to his plan,--that is, -would not inform you; for I was not capable of making any other -opposition. He added, he would allow me my salary for the whole year, -and that he would himself supply my place, leave his house in London, -and live with your friend. Can all this pains be taken, merely for the -difference betwixt one house and another? - -"An evening or two before his departure from Weldehall, he offered me -the continuance of the same friendship, which had always subsisted -betwixt us, if I would promise not to open my lips to you about this -matter. - -"The morning of his departure, he burst out all of a sudden, when the -subject was not talked of, into threatenings, and told me, that, if I -ever entered upon this subject with you, I should repent it. He went out -of the house presently, and these were almost his last words." - -The circumstance of these "threatenings" is amply confirmed by a letter -of Vincent himself, addressed to the Marchioness; an admirable specimen -of the outpouring of a vulgar and insolent mind:-- - - -"I will venture to say I have the knack of parrying and managing him, -but that Mr. Hume, who is so extraordinarily well paid, only for his -company, and lodged and lives, that, if it was at his own expense, he -could not do it for £200 a-year, should be gloomy and inconsolable for -want of society, and show, for this good while past, little or no sign -of content or gratitude to me for all I have done, and the best -intentions to serve him, and principally promoted his being in this -station, and repeatedly offered to come out frequently during the winter -and stay two or three days at a time, whilst he should be in town. I -shall do so, but nowise in consideration to him, but out of tenderness -and regard to our friend. Mr. Hume is a scholar, and I believe an honest -man; but one of his best friends at Edinburgh at first wrote me, he had -conversed more with books than the world, or any of the elegant part of -it, chiefly owing to the narrowness of his fortune. He does not in this -case seem to know his own interest, though I have long perceived it is -what he mostly has a peculiar eye to. Hereafter I shall consider him no -more than if I had never known him. Our friend in reality does not -desire he should stay with him. I don't see his policy in offering to -oppose my pleasure, and think it very wrong in him to mention his -appealing to Sir James Johnstone. I dare say your ladyship thinks as I -do, that it is unbecoming for me to be in a subservient state, in such a -case, to any body. I am very zealously disposed to be accountable to -you; both regard, civility, justice, long friendship and acquaintance, -as well as near relationship, are all the motives in the world for it; -and I hoped my being concerned would produce all possible good effects -in your having constant, true, and satisfactory accounts, as well as -that, in due time, those advantages in your own affairs might be -accruing, which you are so justly entitled to, and which I have before -declared to be one of the main ends to be accomplished, and which I -believe you think I could effect better than another. It is not one of -the most pleasing circumstances that, in the situation of our friend, it -is an inlet to strangers, taken in by accident, to be too much -acquainted with private family affairs. I certainly desire that Sir -James and I should be in good correspondence, and I believe he is -satisfied of that; but this man, taking it into his head to thwart my -methods, and all to gratify his own desire of being near town in the -winter forsooth, after the offer I have made of giving him relief -sometimes, and as nothing will satisfy some dispositions, I shall, at -the end of the year, close all accounts, in which there will be done -what was never done before, a complete state of the receipt and the -expense, and then very willingly desire to be excused from having any -farther concern. Most certainly I would do every thing in my power to -serve and oblige you; but if you desire the continuance of my care, -please to write to Sir James to signify occasionally to Mr. Hume that -the management is left to me, and not to a stranger, who, if he is not -satisfied, is at his liberty to remove from such attendance." - - -This illustration of character would be incomplete without a passage in -a subsequent letter, in which, after Hume had ceased to attend on the -Marquis, Vincent characterizes the sort of person who would be a -desirable successor. - -"If any proper person is about him again whilst I am concerned, terms -for their behaviour must be specified, and as they wax fat and are -encouraged, they must be discreet enough and reasonable in their nature, -so as not to kick. Such deportment would engage any good offices of -mine, in favour of a worthy man, fit for the purpose, which, I confess, -is very hard to find, and possibly my Lord will not care to have any -body put upon him by way of terms of continuance." - -That the iron of this bondage entered into his soul, is apparent in many -passages of Hume's letters. He regretted that he had left independence -in a humble home, for dependence in a lordly mansion: he regretted that -he had been led to meddle with intrigues, in which a vulgar selfish man, -who knew the world, was far more than a match for a profound -philosopher. How wise it had been for him had he never deserted the -humble prospects of an independent life, the following complaints, -addressed to Lord Elibank, testify:-- - - -"Meanwhile, I own to you, that my heart rebels against this unworthy -treatment; and nothing but the prospect of depending entirely on you, -and being independent of him, could make me submit to it. I have fifty -resolutions about it. My loss, in ever hearkening to his treacherous -professions, has been very great; but, as it is now irreparable, I must -make the best of a bad bargain. I am proud to say that, as I am no -plotter myself, I never suspect others to be such, till it be too late; -and, having always lived independent, and in such a manner as that it -never was any one's interest to profess false friendship to me, I am not -sufficiently on my guard in this particular. . . . . My way of living is -more melancholy than ever was submitted to by any human creature, who -ever had any hopes or pretensions to any thing better; and if to -confinement, solitude, and bad company, be also added these marks of -disregard, . . . . I shall say nothing, but only that books, study, -leisure, frugality, and independence, are a great deal better." - - -The filling up of the cup of his slights and injuries, and the -termination of his servitude, is thus described by Hume; and one reads -it with a feeling of relief, as an event long protracted, and for the -occurrence of which the reader of the narrative is impatient. He says, -writing to Sir James Johnstone, on 17th April, 1746,-- - -"You'll be surprised, perhaps, that I date my letters no longer from -Weldehall; this happened from an accident, if our inconstancies and -uncertainties can be called such. - -"You may remember in what humour you saw your friend a day or two before -you left us. He became gay and good-humoured afterwards, but more -moderately than usual. After that, he returned to his former -disposition. These revolutions, we have observed, are like the hot and -cold fits of an ague: and, like them too, in proportion as the one is -gentle, the other is violent. But the misfortune is, that this prejudice -continued even after he seemed, in other respects, entirely recovered. -So that, having tried all ways to bring him to good humour, by talking -with him, absenting myself for some days, &c., I have at last been -obliged yesterday to leave him. He is determined, he says, to live -altogether alone; and I fancy, indeed, it must come to that. As far as I -can judge, this caprice came from nobody, and no cause, except physical -ones. The wonder only is, that it was so long a-coming." - -There is a stroke of generosity in his thus attributing the impulse to -physical causes, and not only abstaining from an accusation of his -enemy, but expressly exempting him from all blame. The readers of the -correspondence have not probably all seconded the charitable exemption; -and the exulting tones in which Vincent speaks of the dismissal, foster -the suspicion that he had paved the way for it. He says, on the 19th -April,-- - - -"This day was a fortnight, my Lord told Mr. Hume to be gone, and that in -terms which I shall not repeat; the Monday following, the same -directions were renewed in a very peremptory manner, attended with such -expressions of resentment, that I advised Hume to go away the next day, -which he did, the 8th; and on the 15th I went out thither, and had told -my Lord before, that, if he could be reconciled to have him return, I -was very willing to contribute towards it, which proposal was not in -the least agreed to. . . . . Hume has not for many months stomached -depending in any respect upon my decision, who was originally the cause -of his being received at all, and had very great difficulty, long since -and at different times, to get my Lord to bear him. He has mistaken the -point; for there is nothing irritates his Lordship so much, as the -thought of any one showing some tokens of authority, and looking on what -he says as caprice, and of no consequence; and I really believe it is -some such notion as this, which has produced so thorough an aversion." - - -There are two different views that may be taken of Hume's motives for -not having at once resigned his appointment, at the very commencement of -the train of indignities to which he was subjected. Whoever anticipates -that a man who had tutored his mind by the rules of philosophy, and who -lived an upright and independent life, may be actuated by some better -views than those of mere pecuniary aggrandizement, will give him credit -for having believed it to be his duty to watch over certain interests of -the Annandale family at the sacrifice of his own feelings. Those who, -strongly disapproving of his opinions as a philosopher, believe them to -be therefore the dictate of a corrupted mind, will probably search for -base and selfish motives; and will have little difficulty in identifying -them with a pure love of gain, sufficiently strong to absorb all -gentlemanly feeling and all spirit of independence. The favourable and -charitable view admits of no direct demonstration on which an opponent -could not be able to throw doubt; and, the circumstances being stated, -each reader is left to form his own opinion. - -There is one thing that Hume never attempts to conceal--his feeling that -the situation was in a pecuniary point of view advantageous to him, and -his consequent desire to preserve it for his own sake, so long as he -could do so with honour. That it should be so is one of those -inconsistencies often exhibited in fine geniuses, which ordinary men of -the world find it difficult to appreciate. It frequently proceeds from -this circumstance, that, not being acquainted with the ordinary beaten -tracks towards wealth and independence, which other men so easily find; -yet desiring the latter, although perhaps they care not for the former -endowment, they lay hold with avidity on any guide that is likely to -lead them, by however devious and unpleasant a path, to the desired -object. Men whose minds are much occupied with abstract subjects, if -they be poor and desire to be free of unpleasant obligations, are thus -apt to grasp at trifling rights with a pertinacity which has the air of -selfishness. They feel a timidness of their own ability to make way in a -bustling active world; and, conscious that it would be vain to compete -with hard-headed acute men of business in the enlargement of their -fortune, treat with an undue importance any comparatively trifling -claims and advantages; while the sagacious world, which sees before it -so many more advantageous paths to the objects of men's secondary -ambition, ridicules their much ado about nothing. It was Hume's first -and chief desire to be independent. That if he had enjoyed a choice of -means, to be the hired companion of the Marquis of Annandale would have -been among the last on which he would have fixed, will easily be -believed. But this occupation was the only method of gaining a -livelihood that offered itself at the time; it was an honest one, and -the disagreeable circumstances attending the means were overlooked in -the desirableness of the end. - -It is necessary, also, along with the account of Hume's efforts to gain -a humble livelihood, to keep in mind the state of society in Scotland at -that time. The union with England had introduced new habits of living, -which made the means of the smaller aristocracy insufficient for the -support of their younger children. On the other hand, England was -jealous of Scottish rivalry in foreign trade: neither agriculture nor -manufactures had made any considerable progress in Scotland; while -Indian enterprise was in its infancy, and Scottish adventurers in the -East had not yet found a Pactolus in the Ganges. At that period the -gentleman-merchant, manufacturer, or money dealer; the civil engineer, -architect, editor, or artist, were nearly unknown in Scotland. The only -form in which a man poor and well born could retain the rank of a -gentleman, if he did not follow one of the learned professions, was by -obtaining a commission in the army, or a government civil -appointment.[196:1] - -Here ended the channels to subsistence along with gentility, and he who -had none of these paths open to him, and had resolved to make an -independent livelihood by his own talents or labour, had at once, as the -German nobles frequently do in the present day, to abandon his rank, and -become a shopkeeper or small farmer, probably with the intention of -returning to the bosom of his former social circle when he had realized -an independence, but more commonly ending his days with the -consciousness that he was, in the words of Henry Hunt, "the first of a -race of gentlemen who had become a tradesman." Any lawyer who pays -attention to the statistics of the Scottish decisions in mercantile -cases, during the earlier part of the eighteenth century, will have -noticed how frequently it occurs that the younger sons of some good -family are mentioned as fulfilling the humblest duties of village -tradesmen.[197:1] The practice is now comparatively unknown. The well -educated gentleman's son, if he be brought up to commerce, connects -himself with those more liberal departments of it, in which he may reap -the advantage of his education and training. To the practice which -distinguished the period of depression above alluded to, aided perhaps -by the spirit of clanship, we may owe the existence of so many -aristocratic names among the humbler tradesmen in Scotland. In England -the nomenclature of a city directory will as surely indicate the court -and the tradesmen end of the town, as the Norman name used to indicate -nobility and the Saxon vassalage. We do not find Edward Plantagenet -keeping an oyster shop, or Henry Seymour cobbling shoes; but it would -not be difficult to exemplify these humble occupations, in the regal -names of a Robert Bruce or a James Stuart. In his essay on "The Parties -of Great Britain," published in 1741, Hume alludes to the absence of a -middle class in Scotland, where he says there are only "two ranks of -men," "gentlemen who have some fortune and education, and the meanest -starving poor: without any considerable number of the middling rank of -men, which abounds more in England, both in cities and in the country, -than in any other quarter of the world."[198:1] - -The history of the miserable quarrels and intrigues connected with -Hume's residence in the Annandale family, is a sad picture, not only of -the position of the individual, but of his class,--the poor scholars, -the servile drudges for bread. The modern literary labourer--or hack, as -he is called by those who deem the word labourer too respectable to be -employed on such an occasion--may look from the narrow bounds of his own -independent home, with a feeling of sincere though not boastful -superiority on David Hume, living in the splendid bondage of a peer's -mansion. But in drawing the comparison on which the reflection rests, -let him keep in view the state of literature and of society at that -period, and ask where lay the hopes of the literary labourer? If he -remained in the less conspicuous walks of learned industry, and became a -divine or a teacher, there was before him the career of Parson Adams, -taking his pot and pipe with the upper servants; or that of the -threadbare tutor, subjected to the caprice and insolence of young men, -who, if they do not happen to be endowed with a high tone of sentiment, -must imbibe from all around them this feeling, that they are as far -beyond the parallel of rank of their instructor, as the Brahmin is -beyond that of the Pariah; or, thirdly, he might be the hired victim of -a semi-maniac, whose few rays of remaining reason are but sufficient to -indicate his own immeasurable superiority to the bought attendant of his -humours. These were the resources of the man who distrusted the power of -his own genius to soar into the higher flights of original literature; -the man, who might perhaps be too conscientious, not to say also too -timid, to throw the chance of his being able to meet his obligations to -society and to perform his social duties, on the chance of his -succeeding in the race for literary distinction. - -But suppose the race run and gained, and the laurels on the victor's -brow,--for what, then, has all been risked, all encountered? True, Hume -himself became one of the distinguished few who gained both fame and -fortune; but in the ordinary case, if the former were achieved, the -latter did not follow; and in seeking the types of literary distinction -in his age, Fielding, Goldsmith, and Johnson are the names that rise -before us. Was the garden in which these flowers bloomed so genial that -we would have others transplanted thither? - -Let not, then, the considerate and charitable reader overlook all these -palliations of the motives which may have induced a great man to humble -himself and bear so much contumely. Let us suppose that he who reads -this narrative is an editor of a newspaper, with a salary of say two or -three hundred a-year; or that he writes articles for the periodicals, -and neither in name nor in reality bound to any one, gets the fair price -of his independent labour; or that he is a teacher in an active -commercial academy, who, after the harassing labours of the day, can -retire to the bosom of his own family, without fearing the frown or -desiring the smile of any great man,--let him, if such should be his -lot, indulge, in all its luxury, the consciousness of his superior -independence and happier fate; but in looking from its elevation to -David Hume, a bondman in the house of an insane lord, let compassion -rather than contempt tinge his estimate of the illustrious victim's -motives, and let him thank the better times, that with all the drudgery -of his lot, its disappointed aspirations, and the bitterness of -unavailing efforts to raise it to a higher and more justly-respected -position in the eye of the world, have yet enabled him to quaff the -sweet cup of independence. - -Before entirely leaving the subject of Hume's connexion with the Marquis -of Annandale, it is necessary to take a view of his conduct regarding a -pecuniary dispute which arose out of the transaction. The terms of the -agreement were very distinctly set forth by Captain Vincent in the -following letter:-- - -"SIR,--You desire to have a letter from me, expressing all the -conditions of the agreement concluded betwixt us, with regard to your -living with the Marquis of Annandale. In compliance with so reasonable a -request, I hereby acknowledge that, by virtue of powers committed to me -by the said Marquis, and with the approbation and consent of his -Lordship and Sir James Johnstone, I engaged that my Lord should pay you -three hundred pounds sterling a-year, so long as you continued to live -with him, beginning from the first of April, one thousand seven hundred -and forty-five: also that the said Marquis, or his heirs, should be -engaged to pay you, or your heirs, the sum of three hundred pounds, as -one year's salary, even though the Marquis should happen to die any time -in the first year of your attendance, or should embrace any new scheme -or plan of life, which should make him choose that you should not -continue to live out the first year with him. Another condition was, -that, if you should, on your part, choose to leave the Marquis any time -in the first or subsequent years, you should be free to do it; and that -the Marquis should be bound to pay you your salary for the time you had -attended him, and also the salary for that quarter in which you should -leave him, in the same manner as if that quarter should be fully -expired. - -"These were the conditions of our agreement about the end of February -last, on your first coming up to London for the purposes here mentioned, -and which I have committed to writing for your satisfaction and -security, this first day of September, at Weldehall, four miles south of -St. Alban's, in the county of Hertford, and in the year one thousand -seven hundred and forty-five." - -Vincent, in continuation, and for Hume's information, gives him a copy -of the agreement, under which one of his predecessors in office, by name -Peter Young, had been engaged; an agreement, containing terms rather -more favourable to the stipendiary than those of which Hume had -consented to accept. And he concludes,-- - -"You see the latter part of Mr. Young's agreement are more advantageous -terms than the latter part of yours; but I have done as much as I -thought reasonable and proper for me, and as much as you desired. I make -no doubt but, in any contingency, all the Marquis's friends and -relations, would be far from reducing your conditions less than that of -others in the same case, as, in my opinion, and I dare believe in -theirs, your character and conduct would rather entitle you to a -preference." - -Hume had in the mean time received a present of £100 from the Marquis of -Annandale, no reference to which is made in the agreement, and which he -considered as a gratuity to induce him to leave Scotland, and enter on -those negotiations with Lord Annandale and his friends, which ended in -his being engaged, but might have ended otherwise; as an indemnity, in -short, for the time wasted and the trouble taken in the preliminary -arrangements. Indeed, it will have been noticed in his letter to Mr. -Sharp, quoted above,[202:1] that this gratuity was sent by the Marquis -along with the invitation to Hume to repair to London and hold a -conference on the subject. Hume, then, was engaged at £300 a-year, with -the condition that for any broken quarter a full quarter's salary should -be paid. His engagement commenced on 1st April, 1745. It terminated on -the 15th April, 1746. He thus considered himself entitled to £300 as a -year's salary, and to £75 as the salary of the quarter, of which fifteen -days had run. In the mean time, however, just after the expiry of the -first year, it had occurred to the magnanimous Vincent, that though -better terms than those given to Hume, had been obtained by the Peter -Youngs and others, Hume's salary was twice as much as it should be, and -ought to be reduced by a half. Hume, as if he had been subdued in -spirit, by the life he had been leading--feeling as if his lot were -cast, and his fate fixed--oblivious of the glorious dreams of ambition -that had dawned on him ten years earlier in life and were yet to be -realized, seems to have calmly contemplated this pecuniary reduction, -and to have been inclined to agree to it if it should form the prelude -to a permanent engagement. He thus wrote to the mother of the Marquis. - -"I had the honour of a letter from my Lord Marquis last spring, inviting -me to London, which I accordingly obeyed. He made me proposals of living -with him; and Mr. Vincent, in concert with Sir James Johnstone, -mentioned at first the yearly salary of £300 as an allowance which they -thought reasonable; because my Lord had always paid so much to all the -other gentlemen that attended him, even when his way of living, in other -particulars, was much more expensive than at present. Since that, Mr. -Vincent thinks this allowance too much, and proposes to reduce it from -£300 to £150. My answer was, that whatever your Ladyship and my Lord -should think my attendance merited, that I would very willingly accept -of. As he still insisted on the reasonableness of his opinion, I have -used the freedom to apply to your Ladyship, to whose sentiments every -one, that has the honour of being connected with the family of -Annandale, owe so entire a deference. I shall not insist on any -circumstances in my own favour. Your Ladyship's penetration will easily -be able to discover those, as well as what may be urged in favour of Mr. -Vincent's opinion. And your determination shall be entirely submitted to -by me." - -At the same time he appears to have submitted his grievances to the -consideration of his kind friend Henry Home, who, in a letter to Sir -James Johnstone, expresses views which will probably meet with more -sympathy than those announced by Hume himself. - - -"_Kames, 14th April, 1746._ - -"SIR,--I have a letter from Mr. David Hume lately, which surprised me -not a little, as if there were a plot formed against him to diminish his -salary. For my part, I was never hearty in his present situation; as I -did not consider the terms offered as any sufficient temptation for him -to relinquish his studies, which, in all probability, would redound more -to his advantage some time or other. For this reason, though I had a -good deal of indignation at the dishonourable behaviour of the author of -this motion, yet underhand I was not displeased with any occasion, not -blameable on my friend's part, to disengage him. I thought instantly of -writing him a letter not to stay upon any terms after such an affront; -but, reflecting upon your interest in this matter, I found such an -advice would be inconsistent with the duty I owe you, and therefore -stopped short till I should hear from you. I'm well apprized of the -great tenderness you have for your poor chief; and it is certainly of -some consequence that he should have about him at least one person of -integrity; and it should have given me pain to be the author of an -advice that might affect you, though but indirectly. At the same time, I -cannot think of sacrificing my friend, even upon your account, to make -him submit to dishonourable terms; and, therefore, if you esteem his -attendance of any use to the Marquis, I beg you'll interpose that no -more attempts of this kind be made. For I must be so free to declare -that, should he himself yield to accept of lower terms, which I trust he -will not be so mean-spirited to do, he shall never have my consent, and -I know he will not act without it." - - -The Marchioness declined to interfere, and thus the award by which Hume -agreed to abide was not made. He had thus began the first quarter of a -new year under the old agreement, and he had not consented either to -abandon the terms of that agreement for the time that was running, or -even to make new terms applicable to any subsequent period, though he -had shown a disposition to accept, under certain circumstances, of these -new terms. His abrupt dismissal, however, put an end to the negotiation; -and, as the terms of his agreement entitled him to the £75 if he had -chosen to throw up his appointment, he thought he was not the less -entitled to the money that he had been dismissed, and that the -ignominious and insulting treatment connected with his dismissal should -not be any inducement to him to abandon his claim. He could not lose -sight, moreover, of the circumstance, that to place the parties more at -their ease in dealing with him, he had abandoned his claims on the -professorship in Edinburgh. It is true that he had small chance of -obtaining it, but that chance, such as it was, he was desired by the -friends of the Marquis to abandon, and he did so. The question with him -then was, how much injury he should allow to be added to the insults he -had received. The £300, for his year's services, were paid. The payment -of the £75, for the subsequent quarter, was resisted. - -On the 9th June, 1746, Henry Home wrote a sensible and kind letter on -the subject to Sir James Johnstone, in which he laid down the law of the -case, that Hume's claim of salary for the broken quarter must be on the -old agreement, and could not be "upon the footing of a proposal or -offer, which never came the length of a covenant, and which, therefore, -never had any effect;" and he says,--"The question then is, whether he -is entitled to £75, for the broken quarter, or only to £37, 10s. The -thing is a mere trifle to the Marquis of Annandale, but of some -importance to a young gentleman who has not a large stock; and supposing -the claim to be doubtful, I have great confidence in your generosity, -that for a trifle you would not choose to leave a grudge in the young -gentleman's mind, of a hardship done to him. - -"But to deal with you after that plain manner which I know you love, I -will speak out my mind to you, that in strict justice, and in the direct -words of the agreement, Mr. Hume is entitled to £75." - -Hume never entirely abandoned this claim. He was not in a position to -urge it forward immediately after his dismissal, as another and more -agreeable official appointment called him abroad. So late as 1760 and -during the next ensuing year, we find him urging his demand, and -allusion is made to an action having been raised in the Court of -Session. "The case," says Dr. Murray, "must have been settled -extrajudicially or by reference; for, after a careful search in the -minute book of the Court of Session, we do not find that it was ever -enrolled." - -There has been a general tendency to consider this pertinacious -adherence to a pecuniary claim, as a proceeding unworthy of a -philosopher. In any ordinary man, whether wise or foolish after the -wisdom of the world, such conduct would have appeared but just and -natural; but a philosopher is presumed to have no more respect for money -and its value, than the generous and sympathizing gentleman on the -stage, who on the impulse of the moment, always tosses a heavy purse to -somebody, without having any more distinct notion of its contents than -the admiring audience can have. Hume's notions of these matters were -different. "Am I," he said, "in a condition to make the Marquis of -Annandale a present of £75, that of right belongs to me." It is true -that in the interval between the debt being incurred, and his insisting -on its payment, he had by frugality and industry made himself -independent. In 1747, he tells us that he was possessed of £1000, and in -1760, his fortune had probably considerably increased, though the -sources of emolument which made him subsequently worth £1000 a-year, had -not been then opened up. The surplus of the Marquis of Annandale's -estate had in the mean time accumulated in the manner that has been -already mentioned, and Hume probably thought it was an action more truly -worthy of a philosopher, to make over his salary of librarian to the -poor blind poet Blacklock, than to abandon a claim of £75, justly due -by an estate which had developed a surplus of £400,000. - - * * * * * - -Early in the year 1746, Hume received an invitation from General St. -Clair, "to attend him as a secretary to his expedition, which was at -first meant against Canada, but ended in an incursion on the coast of -France."[208:1] Before his departure, and while he expected to have to -cross the Atlantic, he wrote the following letter, addressed to "Mr. -Alexander Home, Advocate, His Majesty's Solicitor for Scotland, at -Edinburgh." The concluding remarks evidently relate to the state -prosecutions following on the insurrection in Scotland. - - -"_Portsmouth, May 23, 1746._ - -"DEAR SOLICITOR,--A letter you have good reason to expect from me, -before my departure for America; but a long one you cannot look for, if -you consider that I knew not a word of this matter till Sunday last at -night, that we shall begin to embark from hence in two or three days, -and that I had very ingeniously stripped myself of every thing, by -sending down my whole baggage for Scotland on Sunday morning. Such a -romantic adventure, and such a hurry I have not heard of before. The -office is very genteel--10s. a day, perquisites, and no expenses. -Remember me kindly to your brothers. Tell Frank I ask him ten thousand -pardons. Let Mr. Dysart, and Mrs. Dysart know of my good wishes. Be -assured yourself of my friendship. I cannot leave Europe without giving -you one instance of it, and so much the greater that with regard to any -other person but you, it would be a dangerous one. In short, I have -been told, that the zeal of party has been apt sometimes to carry you -too far in your expressions, and that fools are afraid of your violence -in your new office. Seek the praise, my dear Sandy, of humanity and -moderation. 'Tis the most durable, the most agreeable, and in the end -the most profitable. - -"I am, dear Sandy, yours most sincerely. - -"For God's sake, think of _Willy Hamilton_."[209:1] - - -At the same time we find him writing to Henry Home, and speculating on -the possibility of himself joining the military service. - -"As to myself, my way of life is agreeable; and though it may not be so -profitable as I am told, yet so large an army as will be under the -general's command in America, must certainly render my perquisites very -considerable. I have been asked, whether I would incline to enter into -the service? My answer was, that at my years I could not decently accept -of a lower commission than a company. The only prospect of working this -point would be, to procure at first a company in an American regiment, -by the choice of the colonies. But this I build not on, nor indeed am I -very fond of it.[209:2] D. H." - -The person to whom we thus find Hume acting in the capacity of -secretary, was the Honourable James St. Clair, one of those commanders -whose fortune it is to have passed through a long life of active -military service, without having one opportunity of performing a -distinguished action; for though, on the present occasion, the path to -honour appeared to be at last opened to him, it was closed by the -mismanagement of others. He was the second son of Henry Lord St. Clair. -His elder brother being engaged in the rebellion of 1715, was attainted -by act of Parliament. The father left the family estates to General St. -Clair, who, with a generous devotion to the hereditary principle, -conveyed them to his elder brother, on that gentleman obtaining a pardon -and a statutory removal of the disabilities of the attainder. He -obtained the rank of colonel on 26th July, 1722, of major-general on -15th August, 1741, and of lieutenant-general on 4th June, 1745. During -the last named year he was quarter-master general of the British forces -in Flanders. He was for many years a member of Parliament, having been -elected for the Dysart burghs in 1722, and subsequently for the counties -of Sutherland and Fife. He died at Dysart on 30th November, 1762.[210:1] - -The marine force connected with the proposed expedition was commanded by -Admiral Richard Lestock, a man whose professional fate was in some -respects of a like character with that of his military colleague. The -intended object of the armament was an attack on the French possessions -in Canada, and steps had been taken to second its efforts on the other -side of the Atlantic, by bringing together a British American force. But -the indolence or negligence of the authorities at home, delayed the -departure of the fleet until it was too late to attempt such an -enterprise; and then, as if to furnish a vivid illustration of weak and -blundering counsels, that all these preparations might not be thrown -away, the force prepared for operations in America was sent to attempt a -descent on the coast of France. - -The naval force, consisting of sixteen ships of the line, eight -frigates, and two bomb-ketches, accompanied by five thousand eight -hundred land troops, including matrosses and bombardiers, set sail from -Plymouth on 14th September.[211:1] Its destination was the town of Port -L'Orient, then a flourishing port, as the depot of the French East India -Company, which has since fallen to decay in common with the great -establishment with which it was connected. The history and fate of the -expedition will be best described in Hume's own words. It afforded no -harvest of military glory to either country; and while it is but -slightly described by our own historians, it is scarcely ever mentioned -by those of France. National partiality will hardly make any lover of -the true glory of his country regret that such an attempt was a failure. -The method of conducting war by descents upon an enemy's coast, is a -relic of barbarism which it is to be hoped the progress of humanity and -civilisation will not permit either false enthusiasm or the auspices of -a great name to revive among the nations of Europe. It is precisely the -warlike tactic of the scalping knife--the wreaking against the weak that -vengeance which cannot reach the strong. The rules of civilized war are -to strike such blows as will annihilate the power of an enemy's -government, with the least injury to the peaceful inhabitants of the -country. Descents on a coast do much injury to individuals--they do -little harm to the enemy's government. It is a system by which the vital -parts are not attacked until they suffer by exhaustion from the injuries -done to the extremities. Such expeditions do a grievous injury to our -enemies, to accomplish a very small good to ourselves. But if they -cannot be avoided, the next step of mercy is to make them effectual by -energetic and well-organized measures which render resistance hopeless, -and subject the places attacked only to the modified license of a -well-disciplined army. The blunders that made the present attempt as -contemptible as it was cruel, are amply recorded by Hume, and may be a -lesson of the responsibility incurred by those who fit out warlike -expeditions. - -In this expedition Hume not only acted as secretary to the general, but -was appointed by him judge advocate of all the forces under his command, -by a commission "given on board his majesty's ship Superb, the third day -of August, 1746,"[212:1] in virtue of the power which the commander of -an army possesses to fill up a vacancy in that office. The mixed -ministerial and judicial duties of a judge advocate require a general -knowledge of the great principles of law and justice, with a freedom -from that technical thraldom of the practical lawyer which would be -unsuitable to the rapidity of military operations; and there can be -little doubt that these delicate and important functions were in this -instance committed to one in every way capable of performing them in a -satisfactory manner. - -Some of Hume's permanent friendships appear to have been formed during -this expedition. General Abercromby, with whom we will afterwards find -him corresponding, was quarter-master general, Harry Erskine was deputy -quarter-master, and Edmonstoune of Newton was a captain in the Royal -Scottish regiment. Of the operations of the expedition, and some other -incidents of deep interest connected with it, he sent the following -narrative to his brother, John Hume, or Home, of Ninewells. - - -HUME _to his Brother_. - -"Our first warlike attempt has been unsuccessful, though without any -loss or dishonour. The public rumour must certainly have informed you -that, being detained in the Channel, till it was too late to go to -America, the ministry, who were willing to make some advantage of so -considerable a sea and land armament, sent us to seek adventures on the -coast of France. Though both the general and admiral were totally -unacquainted with every part of the coast, without pilots, guides, or -intelligence of any kind, and even without the common maps of the -country; yet, being assured there were no regular troops near this whole -coast, they hoped it was not possible but something might be -successfully undertaken. They bent their course to Port L'Orient, a fine -town on the coast of Britanny, the seat of the French East India trade, -and which about twenty years ago was but a mean, contemptible village. -The force of this town, the strength of its garrison, the nature of the -coast and country, they professed themselves entirely ignorant of, -except from such hearsay information as they had casually picked up at -Plymouth. However, we made a happy voyage of three days, landed in the -face of about 3000 armed militia on the 20th of September, marched up -next day to the gates of L'Orient, and surveyed it. - -"It lies at the bottom of a fine bay two leagues long, the mouth of -which is commanded by the town and citadel of Port Louis, or Blavet, a -place of great strength, and situated on a peninsula. The town of -L'Orient itself has no great strength, though surrounded by a new wall -of about 30 foot high, fortified with half moons, and guarded with some -cannon. They were in prodigious alarm at so unexpected an attack by -numbers which their fears magnified, and immediately offered to -capitulate, though upon terms which would have made their conquest of no -significancy to us. They made some advances a few hours after, to abate -of their demands; but the general positively refused to accept of the -town on any other condition than that of surrendering at discretion. He -had very good reason for this seeming rigour and haughtiness. It has -long been the misfortune of English armies to be very ill-served in -engineers; and surely there never was on any occasion such an assemblage -of ignorant blockheads as those which at this time attended us. They -positively affirmed it was easily in their power, by the assistance of a -mortar and two twelve pounders, in ten hours' time, either to lay the -town and East India magazine in ashes, or make a breach by which the -forces might easily enter. This being laid before the general and -admiral, they concluded themselves already masters of the -town,and[214:1] needed grant no terms. They were besides afraid that had -they taken the town upon terms, and redeemed it for a considerable sum -of money, the good people of England, who love mischief, would not be -satisfied, but would still entertain a suspicion that the success of his -majesty's arms had been secretly sold by his commanders. Besides, -nothing could be a greater blow to the French trade than the destruction -of this town; nor what[214:2] could imprint a stronger terror of the -English naval power, and more effectually reduce the French to a -necessity of guarding their coast with regular forces, which must -produce a great diversion from their ambitious projects on the -frontiers. But when the engineers came to execution, it was found they -could do nothing of what they had promised. Not one of their carkasses -or red hot balls took effect. As the town could not be invested either -by sea or land, they got a garrison of irregulars and regulars, which -was above double our number, and played 35 pieces of cannon upon us -while we could bring only four against them. Excessive rains fell, which -brought sickness amongst our men that had been stowed in transports -during the whole summer. We were ten miles from the fleet, the roads -entirely spoilt, every thing was drawn by men, the whole horses in the -country being driven away. So much fatigue and duty quite overcame our -little army. The fleet anchored in a very unsafe place in Quimperlay -Bay. For these and other reasons it was unanimously determined to raise -the siege on the 27th of September; and to this measure there was not -one contradictory opinion either in the fleet or army. We have not lost -above ten men by the enemy in the whole expedition, and were not in the -least molested either in our retreat or re-embarkation. We met with a -violent storm on the 1st of October, while we were yet very near the -coast, and have now got into Quiberon Bay south of Belle-Isle, where we -wait for a reinforcement of three battalions from England. There are -five or six of our transports amissing. After our French projects are -over, which must be very soon because of the late season, we sail to -Cork and Kingsale. - -"While we lay at Ploemeur, a village about a league from L'Orient, -there happened in our family one of the most tragical stories ever I -heard of, and than which nothing ever gave me more concern. I know not -if ever you heard of Major Forbes, a brother of Sir Arthur's. He was, -and was esteemed, a man of the greatest sense, honour, modesty, -mildness, and equality of temper, in the world. His learning was very -great for a man of any profession; but a prodigy for a soldier. His -bravery had been tried, and was unquestioned. He had exhausted himself -with fatigue and hunger for two days, so that he was obliged to leave -the camp and come to our quarters, where I took the utmost care of him, -as there was a great friendship betwixt us. He expressed vast anxiety -that he should be obliged to leave his duty, and fear lest his honour -should suffer by it. I endeavoured to quiet his mind as much as -possible, and thought I had left him tolerably composed at night; but, -returning to his room early next morning, I found him, with small -remains of life, wallowing in his own blood, with the arteries of his -arm cut asunder. I immediately sent for a surgeon, got a bandage tied to -his arm, and recovered him entirely to his senses and understanding. He -lived above four-and-twenty hours after, and I had several conversations -with him. Never a man expressed a more steady contempt of life, nor more -determined philosophical principles, suitable to his exit. He begged of -me to unloosen his bandage, and hasten his death, as the last act of -friendship I could show him: but, alas! we live not in Greek or Roman -times. He told me that he knew he could not live a few days: but if he -did, as soon as he became his own master, he would take a more -expeditious method, which none of his friends could prevent. 'I die,' -says he, 'from a jealousy of honour, perhaps too delicate; and do you -think, if it were possible for me to live, I would now consent to it, -to be a gazing-stock to the foolish world. I am too far advanced to -return. And if life was odious to me before, it must be doubly so at -present.' He became delirious a few hours before he died. He had wrote a -short letter to his brother, above ten hours before he cut his arteries. -This we found on the table." - -"_Quiberon Bay in Britanny, Oct. 4, 1746._" - -"P.S.--The general has not sent off his despatches till to-day, so that -I have an opportunity of saying a few words more. Our army disembarked -on the 4th of October, and took possession of the peninsula of Quiberon, -without opposition. We lay there, without molestation, for eight days, -though the enemy had formed a powerful, at least a numerous, army of -militia on the continent. The separation of so many of our transports, -and the reinforcements not coming, determined us to reimbark, and return -home, with some small hopes that our expedition has answered the chief -part of its intended purpose, by making a diversion from the French army -in Flanders. The French pretend to have gained a great victory; but with -what truth we know not. The admiral landed some sailors, and took -possession of the two islands of Houat and Hedie, which were secured by -small forts. The governor of one of them, when he surrendered his fort, -delivered up his purse to the sea officer, and begged him to take care -of it, and secure it from the pillage of the sailors. The officer took -charge of it, and, finding afterwards a proper opportunity to examine -it, found it contained the important sum of ten sous, which is less than -sixpence of our money."[217:1] - -"_October 17._" - - -As Niebuhr was an eye-witness of the battle of Copenhagen, so Hume also -had thus an opportunity of observing some practical warlike operations, -though they were on a much smaller scale, and were witnessed in much -less exciting circumstances than those which attended the position of -the citizen of Copenhagen. Thus, although not themselves soldiers, these -two great historians swell the list, previously containing the names of -Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Guicciardini, Davila, and Rapin, of -those historians of warfare who have witnessed its practical operation. -Voltaire, when the accuracy of his description of a battle was -questioned by one who had been engaged in it, bid the soldier keep to -his profession of fighting, and not interfere with another man's, which -was that of writing; but there is little doubt, that the person who -would accurately describe military manoeuvres, will have his task -facilitated by having actually witnessed some warlike operations, on -however small a scale, and however unlike in character to those which he -has to describe. Scott considered that he had derived much of his -facility as a narrative historian from his services in the Mid-Lothian -yeomanry; and Gibbon found that to be an active officer in the Hampshire -militia was not without its use to the historian of the latter days of -Rome. - -It is pretty clear that Hume looked upon these operations, not only as -events likely to furnish him with some critical knowledge of warlike -affairs, but with the inquiring eye of one who might have an opportunity -of afterwards narrating them in some historical work. In the appendix -there will be found a pretty minute account by Hume, of the causes which -led to the failure of the expedition, in a paper apparently drawn up as -a vindication of the conduct of General St. Clair. It does not appear -to have been printed, although it seems to have been designed for the -press. It contains the following passage: "A certain foreign writer, -more anxious to tell his stories in an entertaining manner than to -assure himself of their reality, has endeavoured to put this expedition -in a ridiculous light; but as there is not one circumstance in his -narration that has truth in it, or even the least appearance of truth, -it would be needless to lose time in refuting it." - -The following passage in a letter to Sir Harry Erskine, dated 20th -January, 1756,[219:1] shows that he here alludes to Voltaire: "I have -been set upon by several to write something, though it were only to be -inserted in the Magazines, in opposition to this account which Voltaire -has given of our expedition. But my answer still is, that it is not -worth while, and that he is so totally mistaken in every circumstance of -that affair, and indeed of every affair, that I presume nobody will pay -attention to him. I hope you are of the same opinion." But if Voltaire -ever wrote on this subject, it must have been in one of those works of -which he took the liberty of determinedly denying the authorship, for -there appears to be nothing bearing on the subject in the usual editions -of his published and acknowledged works, and in his "Précis du Siecle de -Louis XV.," he passes over the expedition with the briefest possible -allusion. - -We find Hume, on the return of the expedition, writing the following -letter to Henry Home. It contains some curious notices of its writer's -views and intentions, and betrays a sort of irresolution as to his -subsequent projects, which seems to have haunted him through life. It is -here that we find the first allusion to his historical studies. The -extracts from his notes, or adversaria, printed above, show that he had -read much in history, but chiefly in that of the ancient nations. It -does not appear that he had yet paid any marked attention to British -history. - - -HUME _to_ HENRY HOME. - -"DEAR SIR,--I am ashamed of being so long in writing to you. If I should -plead laziness, you would say I am much altered; if multiplicity of -business, you would scarce believe me; if forgetfulness of you and our -friendship, I should tell a gross untruth. I can therefore plead nothing -but idleness, and a gay, pleasurable life, which steals away hour after -hour, and day after day, and leaves no time for such occupations as -one's sober reason may approve most of. This is our case while on shore, -and even while on board, as far as one can have much enjoyment in that -situation. - -"I wrote my brother from the coast of Britanny; giving him some account -of our expedition, and of the causes of our disappointment. I suppose he -received it after you had left the country, but I doubt not he has -informed you of it. We were very near a great success, the taking of -L'Orient, perhaps Port Louis, which would have been a prodigious blow to -France; and, having an open communication with the sea, might have made -a great diversion of their forces, and done great service to the common -cause. I suppose you are become a great general, by the misfortune of -the seat of war being so long in your neighbourhood. I shall be able -when we meet to give you the just cause of our failure. Our expedition -to North America is now at an end; we are recalled to England, the -convoy is arrived, and we re-embark in a few days. I have an invitation -to go over to Flanders with the general, and an offer of table, tent, -horses, &c. I must own I have a great curiosity to see a real campaign, -but I am deterred by the view of the expense, and am afraid, that living -in a camp, without any character, and without any thing to do, would -appear ridiculous. Had I any fortune which would give me a prospect of -leisure and opportunity to prosecute my _historical projects_, nothing -could be more useful to me, and I should pick up more literary knowledge -in one campaign, by living in the general's family, and being introduced -frequently to the duke's, than most officers could do after many years' -service. But to what can all this serve? I am a philosopher, and so, I -suppose, must continue. - -"I am very uncertain of getting half pay, from several strange and -unexpected accidents, which it would be too tedious to mention; and if I -get it not, shall neither be gainer nor loser by the expedition. I -believe, if I would have begun the world again, I might have returned an -officer, gratis; and am certain, might have been made chaplain to a -regiment gratis; but[221:1] . . . . . . . I need say no more. I shall -stay a little time in London, to see if any thing new will present -itself. If not, I shall return very cheerfully to books, leisure, and -solitude, in the country. An elegant table has not spoiled my relish for -sobriety; nor gaiety for study; and frequent disappointments have taught -me that nothing need be despaired of, as well as that nothing can be -depended on. You give yourself violent airs of wisdom; you will say, -_Odi hominem ignavâ operâ, philosophicâ sententiâ_. But you will not -say so when you see me again with my Xenophon or Polybius in my hand; -which, however, I shall willingly throw aside to be cheerful with you, -as usual. My kind compliments to Mrs. Home, who, I am sorry to hear, has -not yet got entirely the better of her illness. I am," &c.[222:1] - - -We find Hume corresponding also with Oswald and Colonel Abercromby, as -to his claim of half-pay for his services as Judge Advocate in the -expedition; and this subject we find him occasionally resuming down to -so late a period as 1763, when he speaks of "insurmountable -difficulties," and fears he must "despair of success."[222:2] It must be -admitted that when he thought fit to make a pecuniary claim he did not -easily resign it. His correspondent, Colonel Abercromby of Glassauch, -has already been mentioned as having held a command in the expedition. -He was afterwards one of Hume's intimate friends. Besides his rank in -the army, he held the two discordant offices of king's painter in -Scotland, and deputy-governor of Stirling castle. He was elected member -of parliament for the shire of Banff in 1735,[222:3] and Hume's letters -contain congratulations on his re-election in 1747, along with some -incidents in his own journey towards Scotland. - - -"_Ninewells. 7th August, 1747._ - -"DEAR COL{L}.--I have many subjects to congratulate you upon. The honour -you acquired at Sandberg, your safety, and your success in your -elections. You are equally eminent in the arts of peace and war. The -cabinet is no less a scene of glory to you than the field. You are a -hero even in your sports and amusements; and discover a superior genius -in whist, as well as in a state intrigue or in a battle. - -"I hope you recover well of your wound, and I beg of you to inform me. I -should be glad to know what became of Forster, and whether Bob Horne got -the majority. I write to you upon the supposition of your being at -London; because Dr. Clephane wrote me some time ago, that you was just -setting out for it. If that be the case please make my most humble -compliments to Mrs. Abercromby. - -"If the Colonel be still detained abroad by any accident, I must beg it -of you, Mrs. Abercromby, to take these compliments to yourself, and to -keep this letter till the Colonel comes over, for it is not worth while -to pay postage for it. I suppose, madam, that Lady Abercromby informed -you of our happy voyage together, and safe arrival in Newcastle: your -young cousin was a little noisy and obstreperous; our ship was dirty; -our accommodation bad; our company sick. There were four spies, two -informers, and three evidences, who sailed in the same ship with us. Yet -notwithstanding all these circumstances, we were very well pleased with -our voyage, chiefly on account of its shortness, which indeed is almost -the only agreeable circumstance that can be in a voyage. I am, &c." - -"To the royal in Bergen-op-zoom?[223:1] Have they lost any officers? I -hope Guidelianus[223:2] is safe? I hope Fraser is converted?" - - -In his correspondence with Oswald on the same matter of his half-pay, -his remarks on public affairs are very desponding. He says,-- - -"I know not whether I ought to congratulate you upon the success of -your election,[224:1] where you prevailed so unexpectedly. I think the -present times are so calamitous, and our future prospect so dismal, that -it is a misfortune to have any concern in public affairs, which one -cannot redress, and where it is difficult to arrive at a proper degree -of insensibility or philosophy, as long as one is in the scene. You know -my sentiments were always a little gloomy on that head; and I am sorry -to observe, that all accidents (besides the natural course of events) -turn out against us. What a surprising misfortune is this -Bergen-op-zoom, which is almost unparalleled in modern history! I hear -the Dutch troops, besides their common cowardice, and ill-discipline, -are seized with an universal panic. This winter may perhaps decide the -fate of Holland, and then where are we? I shall not be much disappointed -if this prove the last parliament, worthy the name, we shall ever have -in Britain. I cannot therefore congratulate you upon your having a seat -in it: I can only congratulate you upon the universal joy and -satisfaction it gave to every body."[224:2] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[171:1] Letters of David Hume, and extracts from letters referring to -him, edited by Thomas Murray, LL.D., author of "The Literary History of -Galloway." Edinburgh, 1841, 8vo, pp. 80. Dr. Murray says of these -letters: "The originals are supposed to have been deposited, about -eighty years ago, in the hands of a legal gentleman in Edinburgh, as -documents for a law-suit, to which the latter portion of them refers. -Since his death, they have, we believe, passed through several hands -without having attracted any particular attention, or, perhaps, without -having ever been read. They ultimately came into the possession of a -gentleman who appreciated their value, and who, several years ago, did -me the honour of presenting them unconditionally to me." - -[172:1] The Marquis is said to have afforded the first example of his -state of mind, in the manner in which he gave a ball at Dumfries. He had -the floor covered with confections, as a garden walk is laid with -gravel. A lady who was alive a few years ago, remembered having seen him -walking about at Highgate, near London; when he was probably in a more -confirmed state of insanity than even his intercourse with Hume -exhibits: a keeper walked before him, and a footman behind. The latter -would occasionally tap his Lordship on the shoulder, and hand him a -snuff-box, whence he would take a pinch. He was a very handsome man. He -had a sister, who exercised so much influence over him, that in her -presence a keeper could be dispensed with. - -[174:1] The following, discovered by a friend in an old newspaper, is so -amusing, and so descriptive of the man who was Hume's predecessor in -office, that I cannot resist inserting it:-- - - -_On_ CAPTAIN (BEAU) FORRESTER'S _travelling to the Highlands of Scotland -in winter, anno 1727, incog._ - - O'er Caledonia's ruder Alps - While Forrester pursu'd his way, - The mountains veil'd their rugged scalps, - And wrapt in snow and wonder lay! - - Each sylvan god, each rural power, - Peep'd out to see the raree-show; - And all confess'd, that, till that hour, - They ne'er had seen so bright a beau. - - Nay yet, and more I dare advance, - The story true as aught in print, - All nature round, in complaisance, - And imitation, took the hint. - - The fields that whilome only bore - Wild heath, or clad at best with oats, - Despis'd these humble weeds, and wore - Rich spangled doublets, and lac'd coats. - - The hills were periwigg'd with snow; - Pig-tails of ice hung on each tree; - The winds turn'd powder-puffs; and, lo, - On every shrub a sharp toupee! - - With silver clocks the river gods - Appear'd; and some will take their oath, - Or lay at least a thousand odds, - The clouds saliving spit white froth. - - The youth abash'd thus to survey - So rude a scene himself outdo, - His sprightly genius to display, - Resolv'd on something odd and new: - - All things he found were grown genteel, - Which made him deem it a-propos, - To be alone in dishabile, - A Forrester, and not a beau. - - _Edinburgh Courant_, Oct. 3, 1781. - -[176:1] The baronet's daughter, Margaret, had married the Earl of -Airley's eldest son, Lord Ogilvy, who, having engaged in the rebellion, -had fled to the continent after the battle of Culloden. His wife, -however, was among the prisoners; and in June 1746, she was committed to -Edinburgh Castle. In the ensuing November she escaped; and having joined -her husband in France, she died there, in 1757, at the age of -thirty-three. _Douglas's Peerage of Scotland_, vol. i. p. 35. - -[178:1] He had obtained this rank in 1729. Beatson's Political Index. - -[178:2] Matthew Sharp, born 18th Feb. 1693, was the second son of John -Sharp of Hoddam, by his wife Susan, daughter of John Muir of -Cassencarrie, ancestor of Sir John Muir Mackenzie of Delvin, Bart. Mr. -Sharp joined the Jacobite insurgents in the year 1715, and made his -escape to Scotland, after the rout at Preston, in the disguise of a -pig-driver. He then repaired to France, where he finally took up his -residence at Boulogne. In the year 1740 his elder brother George died, -and Mr. Sharp succeeded to the estate of Hoddam. He returned to his -native country, and died, unmarried, at Hoddam castle, in the year 1769. - -[179:1] Charles Erskine of Tinwald, third son of Sir Charles Erskine of -Alva, Bart., a Lord of Session, with the style of Lord Tinwald. His -first wife was Grizel, daughter of John Grierson of Barjarg, by -Catherine, eldest sister of Matthew Sharp of Hoddam. Lord Tinwald's -third daughter Jane, married to William Kirkpatrick, second son of Sir -Thomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburne, Bart. was mother of Charles -Kirkpatrick, to whom Matthew Sharp bequeathed his estate of Hoddam. - -[180:1] Original in the possession of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq. -This letter is printed in _The Edinburgh Annual Register_ for 1809, p. -552. - -[196:1] So much had it been considered a legitimate object of the -education of a young gentleman to bring him up to the expectation of a -government office, that in the "Institute of the Law of Scotland," the -posthumous work of John Erskine, who had been appointed professor of -Scots law in the university of Edinburgh in 1737, it is mentioned as one -of the duties of the guardian of a young man of good family with a small -patrimony, to "advance a yearly sum, far beyond the interest of his -patrimony, that he may appear suitably to his quality, while he is -unprovided of any office under the government by which he can live -decently." B. i. Tit. 7. § 25. - -[197:1] Walpole gives a curious illustration of the poverty of the -Scottish nobility, before "the forty-five," saying of Lord Kilmarnock, -"I don't know whether I told you that the man at the tennis court -protests that he has known him dine with the man that sells pamphlets at -Storey's gate, and says he would have often been glad if I would have -taken him home to dinner. He was certainly so poor that in one of his -wife's intercepted letters, she tells him she has plagued their steward -for a fortnight for money, and can only get three shillings. Can any one -help pitying such distress?" Walpole's Letters, ii. 144. - -Goldsmith found the holder of a Scottish Peerage keeping a glove shop, -and in the case of Lord Mordington, who had been arrested for debt, and -claimed his privilege in the Common Pleas, "the bailiff made affidavit, -that when he arrested the said lord, he was so mean in his apparel, as -having a worn out suit of clothes and a dirty shirt on, and but sixpence -in his pocket, he could not suppose him to be a peer of Great Britain, -and of inadvertency arrested him." Fortescue's Reports, 165. This family -was peculiarly celebrated, Lady Mordington having raised the question, -whether a Scottish peeress who kept a tavern was protected by privilege -of peerage from being amenable to the laws against keeping disorderly -houses. - -[198:1] He had an example connected with his own neighbourhood, if not -with his own family, of the practice of the gentry following handicraft -trades. George Hume, son of the minister of his native parish, -Chirnside, who was connected with his own family, followed the humble -occupation of a baker in the Canongate, and rose to the dignity of -deacon of his trade. Ill-natured tradition says, that the philosopher -disliked the vicinity to himself of this living illustration of the -depression of the Scottish aristocracy, and occasionally put himself to -some trouble to avoid meeting him on the street; but this tradition is -not consistent with Hume's manly character. - -[202:1] P. 179. - -[208:1] My own Life. - -[209:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[209:2] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 123. - -[210:1] Douglas's Peerage, ii. 501-502. - -[211:1] Campbell's Naval History, iv. 324. Appendix, A. It appears that -Rodney commanded one of the ships, the Eagle. - -[212:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[214:1] Sic in MS. - -[214:2] Ibid. - -[217:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[219:1] In the possession of Cosmo Innes, Esq. - -[221:1] Mr. Tytler says, "The blank is in the manuscript, the reader -will be at no loss to supply it." - -[222:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, 125. - -[222:2] Memorials, &c. 76. - -[222:3] Beatson, Parliamentary Register. - -[223:1] In allusion to the Royal Scottish Regiment--Bergen-op-zoom had -been taken by storm on 16th Sept. - -[223:2] This name--probably latinised from some joke known only to the -parties, applies to Col. Edmonstoune of Newton. - -[224:1] For Fifeshire. - -[224:2] Memorials, &c. p. 54. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -1746-1748. ÆT. 35-37. - - Hume returns to Ninewells--His domestic Position--His attempts - in Poetry--Inquiry as to his Sentimentalism--Takes an interest - in Politics--Appointed Secretary to General St. Clair on his - mission to Turin--His journal of his Tour--Arrival in Holland - --Rotterdam--The Hague--Breda--The War--French Soldiers-- - Nimeguen--Cologne--Bonn--The Rhine and its scenery--Coblentz-- - Wiesbaden--Frankfurt--Battle of Dettingen--Wurzburg--Ratisbon - --Descent of the Danube--Observations on Germany--Vienna--The - Emperor and Empress Queen--Styria--Carinthia--The Tyrol-- - Mantua--Cremona--Turin. - - -We now find Hume restored, though but for a brief period, to the -tranquil retirement of Ninewells; and undisturbed by public events, -civil or warlike, sitting down quietly among his books in the midst of -his family circle, consisting of his mother, his elder brother, and his -sister. It would be interesting to obtain a glimpse of this circle and -its habits; but the lapse of nearly a century has thrown it too far into -the shade of time, to permit of these minute objects being -distinguished. Perhaps the following scrap from the papers preserved by -Hume himself,[225:1] may represent the evening diversions of Ninewells. -It is written by another hand, but is touched and corrected here and -there by Hume. Whether or not it is intended to have any reference to -himself, is a matter on which I shall not attempt to forestall the -reader's judgment. - - -_Character of ----, written by himself._ - -1. A very good man, the constant purpose of whose life is to do -mischief. - -2. Fancies he is disinterested, because he substitutes vanity in place -of all other passions. - -3. Very industrious, without serving either himself or others. - -4. Licentious in his pen, cautious in his words, still more so in his -actions. - -5. Would have had no enemies, had he not courted them; seems desirous of -being hated by the public, but has only attained the being railed at. - -6. Has never been hurt by his enemies, because he never hated any one of -them. - -7. Exempt from vulgar prejudices--full of his own. - -8. Very bashful, somewhat modest, no way humble. - -9. A fool, capable of performances which few wise men can execute. - -10. A wise man, guilty of indiscretions which the greatest simpletons -can perceive. - -11. Sociable, though he lives in solitude. - -12.[226:1] - -13. An enthusiast, without religion; a philosopher, who despairs to -attain truth. - -A moralist, who prefers instinct to reason. - -A gallant, who gives no offence to husbands and mothers. - -A scholar, without the ostentation of learning. - - -Sir Walter Scott says:--"We visited Corby castle on our return to -Scotland, which remains, in point of situation, as beautiful as when its -walks were celebrated by David Hume, in the only rhymes he was ever -known to be guilty of. Here they are from a pane of glass in an inn at -Carlisle,-- - - Here chicks in eggs for breakfast sprawl, - Here godless boys God's glories squall, - Here Scotchmen's heads do guard the wall, - But Corby's walks atone for all."[227:1] - -In the face, both of this assurance of the limited extent of Hume's -poetical efforts, and of the circumstance that he was occasionally in -the practice of copying such verses as pleased his ear,[227:2] or fancy, -I venture to offer the following specimens of his versification, -admitting the possibility but not the probability that some minute -investigator might be able to identify them as the production of a less -distinguished bard. The censorious critic will probably admit their -genuineness, on the plea that no one but their author would commit such -verses to writing. But apart from their internal evidence, there is -every reason to presume that these efforts are by Hume. The first piece -is dated in the writer's hand, as if to mark the day when it was -composed. With the exception of the third in order, they all contain, -in corrections and otherwise, decided marks of being composed by the -person in whose handwriting they are; and they are in the handwriting of -David Hume.[228:1] - -_4th Nov. 1747._ - - Go, plaintive sounds, and to the fair - My secret wounds impart, - Tell all I hope, tell all I fear, - Each motion in my heart. - - But she, methinks, is listening now - To some amusing strain, - The smile that triumphs o'er her brow, - Seems not to heed my pain. - - Yet, plaintive sounds--yet, yet delay, - Howe'er my love repine, - Let this gay minute pass away, - The next, perhaps, is mine. - - Yes, plaintive sounds, no longer crost, - Your griefs shall soon be o'er; - Her cheek, undimpled now, has lost - The smile it lately wore. - - Yes, plaintive sounds, she now is yours, - 'Tis now your turn to move: - Essay to soften all her powers, - And be that softness love. - - Cease plaintive sounds, your task is done, - That serious tender air - Proves o'er her heart the conquest won, - I see you melting there. - - Return, ye smiles,--return again, - Bring back each sprightly grace: - I yield up to your charming reign - That sweet enchanting face. - - I take no outward shows amiss; - Rove where you will, her eyes: - Still let her smiles each shepherd bless, - So that she hear my sighs. - -If this piece be deficient in fire or polish, it has at least the merit -of simplicity, and of not being a slavish adaptation to the formal -taste of the age. The following pieces will scarcely perhaps be thought -worthy of the like qualified praise. - - Tell me, Clarinda, why this scorn, - Why hatred give for love? - Why for a gentler purpose born, - Wouldst thou a tyrant prove? - - Why draw a cloud upon that face, - Made to enslave mankind? - Why through your lips does thunder pass, - Those lips for love design'd. - - Kindness, conjoin'd with meaner charms, - Will from you conquests gain; - We fly into _extended_ arms, - In _close-embraced_ remain. - - Thus when the angry heavens transform - To frowns their cheerful smiles, - When the dread thunder's voice a storm - To trembling swains foretells, - - If but a humble cottage nigh - Presents its peaceful shade, - We scorn the furies of the sky, - And court its friendly aid. - - -TO A LADY, - -_Suspecting that the friendship of men to her sex always concealed a -more dangerous passion._ - - Hang, my lyre, upon the willow, - Sigh to winds thy notes forlorn, - Or along the foaming billow, - Float the wrecking tempest's scorn. - - Airs no more thy warbling raises, - Such as Laura deigns approve; - Laura scorns her poet's praises, - Artless friendship calls it love. - - Impious love, that, spurning duty, - Spurning nature's chastest ties, - Mocks thy tears, dejected beauty, - Sports with fallen virtue's sighs. - - Call it love no more, profaning - Truth with dark suspicion's wound; - Or, if still the term retaining, - Change the sense, preserve the sound. - - Yes, 'tis love, that name is given, - Angels, to your purest flames; - Such a love as merits Heaven, - Heaven's divinest image claims. - - -LAURA'S ANSWER. - - Soon be thy lyre to winds consign'd. - Or hurl'd beneath the raging deep; - For while such strains seduce my mind, - How shall my heart its purpose keep. - - Thy artless lays, which artless seem, - With too much fondness I approve; - Oh write no more in such a theme, - Or Laura's friendship ends in love. - -The question, whether the man concerning whom a biographical work is -written was ever in love, is an important feature in his history, if any -light can be thrown upon it. Perhaps some readers will hold, that the -tameness of these verses show that, at all events, when he wrote _them_, -Hume was under the impulse of no passion. Very little more light can be -brought to bear on this subject; and what can be obtained, is of a like -faint and negative cast. He tells us in his "own life," "As I took a -particular pleasure in the company of modest women, I had no reason to -be displeased with the reception I met with from them." In his essays he -frequently discusses the passion of love, dividing it into its elements -about as systematically as if he had subjected it to a chemical -analysis, and laying down rules regarding it as distinctly and -specifically as if it were a system of logic. Nor do the references in -his correspondence to any individuals of the other sex, show any -perceptible warmth of sentiment. In a letter to Henry Home, of which the -other portions are printed above,[232:1] he speaks with perhaps as much -appearance of sentiment as any where else, when he says,-- - -"I thank Mrs. Home for her intelligence, and have much employed my brain -to find out the person she means. It could not be the widow: for she -toasts always the Duke of Argyle or Lord Stair, and never would name a -young man whom she may reasonably enough suppose to be in love with her. -I shall therefore flatter myself it was Miss Dalrymple. It is now -Exchequer term: she is among the few _very fine ladies_ of Mrs. Home's -acquaintance, whom I have the happiness of knowing. In short, many -circumstances, besides my earnest wishes, concur to make me believe it -was she who did me that honour. I will persevere in that opinion; unless -you think it proper to disabuse me, for fear of my being too much puft -up with vanity by such a conceit." - -His friend Jardine, writing to him when he was secretary of legation in -France, says, evidently in ironical reference to his notorious want of -sensibility in this respect, "An inordinate love of the fair sex, as I -have often told you, is one of those sins, that always, even from your -earliest years, did most easily beset you." - -Nor does the following passage in a letter from Mr. Crawford,[233:1] -dated, London, 9th December, 1766, seem to convey any more serious -charge:-- - -"What keeps you in Scotland? Lord Ossory says, it can be nothing but the -young beauty for whom you had formerly some passion. But we are both of -opinion, that she must now be old and ugly, and cannot be worthy to -detain you in so vile a country. Neither love nor wit can flourish -there, otherwise you would not have cracked such bad jokes upon -philosophers, the best subject in the world for joking upon. Then, - - --fuge nate Deâ--_sterili teque abstrahe terrâ_. - -Come up here, and I know not but what I may be able to introduce you to -a young beauty, such as your imagination never figured to itself. With -charms and accomplishments possessed by no other woman, she has an -understanding equal to that of Madame du Deffand.--Would to God she were -blind like her too, that I might dare to avow my passion for her." - -If there be any thing in these passages tending to show a slight degree -of interest in the sex, their tendency will perhaps be fully neutralized -by Hume's exultation on the fortunate nature of his own happy -indifference, in a letter to Oswald, which will be found a few pages -farther on. It must be confessed, indeed, that, according to all -appearance, the appellation, more expressive than classical, frequently -used on such occasions, is applicable to Hume, and that he was a "sad -indifferent dog." - -To return to the verses.--The following is a specimen of a totally -different cast; and, if less ambitious in its pretensions, it will -probably be thought to have more successfully accomplished what it aims -at. It is called "An Epistle to Mr. John Medina," a son of Sir John -Medina, the celebrated painter, to whom, probably from the habits hinted -at in the verses, he was a far inferior artist. He is believed to have -been the painter of a large portion of the very numerous extant -portraits of Queen Mary. It would be difficult at this day to discover -the individual whom he is here called upon to portray, with attributes -about as grotesque as those of his inexplicable countryman, Aiken Drum. -As several names of persons who were active supporters of the measures -of social economy, and the agricultural improvements alluded to in the -verses, might be adduced, but no one can be named to whom they appear -distinctly and exclusively to apply, it may be less invidious to present -them in the form of a purely imaginative picture, than to associate them -with any name. - - -AN EPISTLE TO MR. JOHN MEDINA. - - Now, dear Medina, honest John, - Since all your former friends are gone, - And even Macgibbon 's turn'd a saint,[234:1] - You now perhaps have time to paint. - For you, and for your pencil fit, - The subject shall be full of wit. - - Draw me a little lively knight, - And place the figure full in sight. - With mien erect, and sprightly air, - To win the great, and catch the fair. - Make him a wreath of turnip tops, - With madder interwove, and hops; - Lucerne, and St. Foin, here and there, - Amid the foliage must appear; - Then add potatoes, white and red, - A garland for our hero's head. - - His coat be of election laws, - Lined with the patriot's good old cause. - His waistcoat of the linen bill, - Lapelled with flint and lined with tull. - The turnpike act must serve for breeches; - With hose of rape tied up with fetches, - Furrows, new horse-hoed, hide his shoes, - As earnest cross the fields he goes. - - Draw Pallas offering him a spool, - The Lemnian god a miner's tool. - Ceres three stalks of blighted corn, - Dangling from an inverted horn; - And Plutus every scheme inspiring - With proffer'd gold, but still retiring: - Alike to each important call, - Attentive, let him grasp at all. - - Finish, my friend, this grand design, - And immortality be thine. - No more obliged, for twenty groats, - To draw the Duke, or Queen of Scots, - Your name shall rise, prophetic fame says, - Above your Mercis[235:1] or your Ramsays. - Even I, in literary story, - Perhaps shall have my share of glory. - -Hume was again called away from the studious retirement of Ninewells, by -being appointed secretary to the mission of his friend General St. -Clair, to the court of Turin. The real object of the mission, in -whatever aspect it might have been openly represented, certainly was to -satisfy the British court on the question, whether Sardinia, and perhaps -some of the other stipendiary states, had furnished their respective -quotas of men to the war. The following letter by Hume to his friend -Oswald, details many of his feelings on assuming this new duty. It will -be found to be as different in tone from his previous letters, as the -life he was entering on was different from his hermit retirement at -Ninewells, or his slavery at Weldhall. This letter, indeed, appears to -mark an epoch in his correspondence. It is the first in which he -mentions miscellaneous public events, with the feeling of one who takes -an interest in the living politics of his time; and shows that the brief -episode of active practical life, in which he had just borne a share, -and the prospect of a renewal of such scenes, had opened his mind to the -reception of external impressions. - - -HUME _to_ JAMES OSWALD. - -"I have little more to say to you than to bid you adieu before I leave -this country. I got an invitation from General St. Clair, to attend him -in his new employment at the court of Turin, which I hope will prove an -agreeable, if not a profitable jaunt for me. I shall have an opportunity -of seeing courts and camps; and if I can afterwards be so happy as to -attain leisure and other opportunities, this knowledge may even turn to -account to me, as a man of letters, which, I confess, has always been -the sole object of my ambition. I have long had an intention, in my -riper years, of composing some history; and I question not but some -greater experience in the operations of the field, and the intrigues of -the cabinet, will be requisite, in order to enable me to speak with -judgment upon these subjects. But, notwithstanding of these flattering -ideas of futurity, as well as the present charms of variety, I must -confess that I left home with infinite regret, where I had treasured up -stores of study and plans of thinking for many years. I am sure I shall -not be so happy as I should have been had I prosecuted these. But, in -certain situations, a man dares not follow his own judgment or refuse -such offers as these. - -"The subscriptions for the stocks were filled up with wonderful -quickness this year; but, as the ministry had made no private bargains -with stock-jobbers, but opened books for every body, these money-dealers -have clogged the wheels a little, and the subscribers find themselves -losers on the disposal of their stock, to their great surprise. - -"There was a controverted election, that has made some noise, betwixt -John Pitt and Mr. Drax of the Prince's family, when Mr. Pelham, finding -himself under a necessity of disobliging the heir-apparent, resolved to -have others as deep in the scrape as himself; and accordingly obliged -Fox, Pitt, Lyttelton, and Hume Campbell, all to speak on the same side. -They say their speeches were very diverting. An ass could not mumble a -thistle more ridiculously than they handled this subject. Particularly -our countryman, not being prepared, was not able to speak a word to the -subject, but spent half an hour in protestations of his own integrity, -disinterestedness, and regard to every man's right and property. - -"His brother, Lord Marchmont, has had the most extraordinary adventure -in the world. About three weeks ago he was at the play, where he espied -in one of the boxes a fair virgin, whose looks, air, and manner, made -such a powerful and wonderful effect upon him as was visible to every -bystander. His raptures were so undisguised, his looks so expressive of -passion, his inquiries so earnest, that every body took notice of it. He -soon was told that her name was Crompton, a linen-draper's daughter, -that had been bankrupt last year, and had not been able to pay above -five shillings in the pound. The fair nymph herself was about sixteen or -seventeen, and being supported by some relations, appeared in every -public place, and had fatigued every eye but that of his Lordship, -which, being entirely employed in the severer studies, had never till -that fatal moment opened upon her charms. Such and so powerful was their -effect, as to be able to justify all the Pharamonds and Cyruses in their -utmost extravagancies. He wrote next morning to her father, desiring -leave to visit his daughter on honourable terms; and in a few days she -will be Countess of Marchmont.[238:1] All this is certainly true. They -say many small fevers prevent a great one. Heaven be praised that I have -always liked the persons and company of the fair sex! for by that means -I hope to escape such ridiculous passions. But could you ever suspect -the ambitious, the severe, the bustling, the impetuous, the violent -Marchmont, of becoming so tender and gentle a swain--an Artamenes, an -Oroondates? - -"The officers, (I suppose from effeminacy,) are generally much disgusted -at the service. They speak of no less than three hundred, high and low, -who have desired leave to sell out. I am," &c.[238:2] - -"_London, January 29, 1748._" - - -On the same occasion he writes the following short letter to Henry Home. - - -"_London, Feb. 9. 1748._ - -"DEAR SIR,--The doubt and ambiguity with which I came hither was soon -removed. General St. Clair positively refused to accept of a secretary -from the ministry; and I go along with him in the same station as -before. Every body congratulates me upon the pleasure I am to reap from -this jaunt: and really I have little to oppose to this prepossession, -except an inward reluctance to leave my books, and leisure and retreat. -However, I am glad to find this passion still so fresh and entire; and -am sure, by its means, to pass my latter days happily and cheerfully, -whatever fortune may attend me. - -"I leave here two works going on: a new edition of my Essays, all of -which you have seen, except one, 'Of the Protestant Succession,' where I -treat that subject as coolly and indifferently as I would the dispute -between Cæsar and Pompey. The conclusion shows me a Whig, but a very -sceptical one. Some people would frighten me with the consequences that -may attend this candour, considering my present station; but I own I -cannot apprehend any thing. - -"The other work is the 'Philosophical Essays,' which you dissuaded me -from printing. I won't justify the prudence of this step, any other way -than by expressing my indifference about all the consequences that may -follow. I will expect to hear from you; as you may from me. Remember me -to Mrs. Home, and believe me to be yours most sincerely. - -"P.S.--We set out on Friday next for Harwich."[239:1] - - -Of his second appointment under General St. Clair, on the duties of -which he entered at the beginning of the year 1748, Hume thus speaks in -his "own life," after having mentioned the descent on the coast of -France,-- - - -"Next year, to wit, 1747, I received an invitation from the General to -attend him in the same station in his military embassy to the courts of -Vienna and Turin. I then wore the uniform of an officer, and was -introduced at these courts as aid-de-camp to the General, along with Sir -Harry Erskine and Captain Grant, now General Grant. These two years were -almost the only interruptions which my studies have received during the -course of my life. I passed them agreeably, and in good company; and my -appointments, with my frugality, had made me reach a fortune, which I -called independent, though most of my friends were inclined to smile -when I said so: in short, I was now master of near a thousand pounds." - - -We fortunately possess a more detailed account of his adventures and -observations on this occasion, in a pretty minute journal which he -transmitted to his brother, for the amusement of his family at -home.[240:1] It requires no farther introduction, and is as follows:-- - - -"_Hague, 3d March, 1748, N. S._ - -"DEAR BROTHER,--I have taken a fancy, for your amusement, to write a -sort of journal of our travels, and to send you the whole from Turin, by -a messenger whom we are to despatch from thence. I shall endeavour to -find little snatches of leisure in the several towns through which we -shall pass, and shall give you an account of the appearances of things, -more than of our own adventures. The former may be some entertainment, -but the other will in all probability contain little diversity, at least -for some time. - -"We set out from Harwich the day I wrote you last, and in twenty-four -hours arrived at Helvoet-Sluys. I had the misfortune to be excessively -sick, but the consolation to see an admiral as sick as myself. 'Twas -Admiral Forbes, the most agreeable, sensible sea officer in England. -Harwich and Helvoet are the general images in abridgment of all the -towns in the two countries; both of them small sea-port towns, without -much trade, or any support but passengers; yet the industry, economy, -and cleanliness of the Dutch, have made the latter the much prettier -town. The day of our arrival we lay at Rotterdam, and passed through the -Brill and Maeslan-Sluys. Yesterday we lay at this place. Holland has the -beauties of novelty to a stranger, as being so much different from all -the other parts of the world; but not those of diversity, for every part -of it is like another. 'Tis an unbounded plain, divided by canals, and -ditches, and rivers. The sea higher than the country, the towns higher -than the sea, and the ramparts higher than the towns. The country is in -general pretty open, except a few willow trees, and the avenues of elm, -which lead to their towns, and shade the ramparts. But the country is at -present covered with snow, so that it is difficult to judge of it. Were -the season favourable, the way of travelling would be very pleasant, -being along the dykes, which gives you a perfect prospect of the whole -country. I need not describe the beauty and elegance of the Dutch towns, -particularly of the Hague, which nothing can exceed. Rotterdam is also a -handsome town. The mixture of houses, trees, and ships, has a fine -effect, and unites town, country, and sea, in one prospect. Every person -and every house has the appearance of plenty and sobriety, of industry -and ease. I own, however, that the outside of their houses are the best; -they are too slight, full of bad windows, and not very well contrived." - - -"_Hague, 10th March._ - -"The General intended to have left this place to-day, but was detained -by the arrival of his Royal Highness,[242:1] which will retard him a day -or two longer. We go first to Breda, where the General's two battalions -lie, out of which he will endeavour to form one good healthy battalion -to remain here. The other returns to Scotland. We go in a day or two. -The Prince of Orange's authority seems firmly established, and for the -present is as absolute as that of any king in Europe; the favour of the -people is the foundation of it.[242:2] He is certainly a man of great -humanity and moderation, but his courage and capacity is perhaps a -little more doubtful. The present emergencies have given him an -opportunity of establishing his authority on a firmer bottom than -popular favour; viz. on foreign and mercenary forces. The Dutch troops -have behaved so ill, that the people themselves are willing to see them -disgraced, and discredited, and broke; so that the prince has been able -to make great distinctions in favour of foreigners, with the good will -of the people, who see the necessity of it. - -"He has broke all the Dutch troops that were prisoners in France, but -keeps up the foreigners that were in the same condition; and the latter -are chiefly encouraged in every thing. Great and universal joy appeared -on the birth of the young prince while we were there, though all the -arrangements were taken to have the young princess succeed, and -particularly, she was named colonel of a regiment of guards. - -"This is a place of little or no amusement, nor has the court made much -difference in this respect. No balls, no comedy, no opera. The prince -gives great application to business, which, however, they pretend does -not advance very much. But this we may venture to say, that Holland was -undoubtedly ruined by its liberty, and has now a chance of being saved -by its prince. Let republicans make the best of this example they can. - -"'Tis here regarded as a point indisputable, that the old governors were -in concert with the French, and were resolved, by delivering up town -after town, and army after army, to have peace, though at the price of -slavery and dependence. 'Tis a pity that the scrupulous and -conscientious character of the prince has not allowed him to make some -examples of these rascals, against whom, 'tis said, there could have -been legal proofs. It was not the mob, properly speaking, that made the -revolution, but the middling and substantial tradesmen. At Rotterdam -particularly, these sent a regular deputation to the magistrates, -requiring the establishment of the Prince of Orange, telling them, at -the same time, that if their request was refused, they could no longer -answer for the mob. This hint was sufficiently understood, and gave an -example to all the other towns in the province. - -"The only violence offered, was that of throwing into the canals whoever -wore not Orange ribbons. Every yellow rag, woollen, silk, and linen, -were employed; and when these were exhausted, the flowers were made use -of; and happily the revolution began in the spring, when the primroses -and daffodillys could serve as Orange cockades. To this day, every -boor, and tradesman, and schoolboy, wears the ensigns of the prince; and -every street in every village, as well as in every town, has triumphal -arches with emblematical figures and Latin inscriptions, such as, -'Tandem justitia triumphat,' 'Novus ab integro sæclorum nascitur ordo,' -'Vox populi, vox Dei.' I shall only say, if this last motto be true, the -Prince of Orange is the only _Jure divino_ monarch in the universe. I -believe, since the time of Germanicus, deservedly the darling of the -Romans, never was a people so fond of one man; surely there entered not -the smallest intrigue of his own into his election. There is something -of innocence and simplicity in his character, which promotes more his -popularity than the greatest capacity. But, - - Non tali auxilio, nec defensoribus istis - Tempus eget. - - -"_Breda, 16th March._ - -"We arrived here the day before yesterday, in three days from the Hague, -and as the snows were then melted, after the most violent frost in the -world, we discovered Holland in all its native deformity. Nothing can be -more disagreeable than that heap of dirt, and mud, and ditches, and -reeds, which they here call a country, except the silly collection of -shells and clipped evergreens which they call a garden. It gave us a -sensible pleasure, as we came near Breda, to find ourselves on a dry -barren heath, and to see something like a human habitation. I have heard -that a man, from the aspect of Holland, would imagine that land and -water, after many struggles which should be master of it, had at last -agreed to share it betwixt them. If so, the land has come by much the -worst bargain, and has much the smallest share of the possession. I am -told, however, that Holland is a pleasant enough habitation in the -summer: though even that beauty lasts a very short time; for, during the -latter end of summer and during the harvest, the canals send forth so -disagreeable and unwholesome a smell, that there is no enduring of it. - -"We passed over the Maese at Gorcum, where it is above half a mile -broad; and as the ice had been softened by a thaw of three or four days, -we were obliged to make use of an ice boat. The operation is after this -manner: you place yourself on your ice boat, which is like an ordinary -boat, except only that it runs upon two keels, shod with iron. Three or -four men push you along in this boat, very cleverly, as long as the ice -will bear you: but whenever that fails, plump down you go into the water -of a sudden. You are very heartily frightened. The men are wet, up to -the neck sometimes; but, keeping hold of the boat, leap in, row you -through the water, till they come to ice which can bear. There they pull -you up, run along with you, till you sink again; and so they renew the -same operation. - -"At Gorcum we met with Drumlanrig's regiment, which does no great honour -to their country by their looks and appearances. There has been a mutiny -amongst them, out of discontent to the country. We met with some -Highlanders, who regretted extremely their native hills. - -"The night we came to Breda we supped with Lord Albemarle, who told us, -in entering, that we might soon expect to hear of a battle in the -neighbourhood; and accordingly, in about an hour, a messenger came in -with the news, which is the best we have had in the Low Countries during -the whole war. You have no doubt heard of it. It was the attack of a -convoy to Bergen-op-Zoom, escorted by about 5000 French, where 400 were -killed, and about 1000 taken prisoners.[246:1] Next day, the prisoners -were led through the town. They were the piquets of several old -regiments, and some companies of grenadiers; but such pitiful-looking -fellows never man set eye on. France is surely much exhausted of men, -when she can fill her armies with such poor wretches. We all said, when -they passed along, are these the people that have beat us so often? - -"I stood behind Lord Albemarle, who was looking over a low window to see -them. One of the ragged scarecrows, seeing his lordship's star and -ribbon, turned about to him, and said very briskly, 'Aujourd'hui pour -vous, Monsieur, demain pour le roi.' If they have all this spirit, no -wonder they beat us. However, when one compares to the French the -figures of men that are in this town, British, Hessians, and Austrians, -they seem almost of a different species. Their officers expect they will -all do much better after having had leisure to see their enemy. Breda is -a strong town, though not near so strong as Bergen-op-zoom. It is almost -surrounded by water, and inaccessible except in one place, by which it -will be taken, if the 206,000 men, whom we are to have in the field this -year, in the Low Countries, cannot save it. 'Tis certain so many men are -stipulated by the several powers,--the greatest army that ever was -assembled together in the world, since the Xerxeses and Artaxerxeses; if -these could be called armies. God prosper his royal highness, and give -him what he only wants; I mean good fortune, to second his prudence and -conduct. - -"The French certainly have laid their account to give up Flanders by -the peace; they squeeze, and oppress, and tax and abuse the Flemings so -much, that 'tis evident they consider them not as subjects. They are -also said to be pretty heartily tired of the war, notwithstanding of -their great successes. I suppose the loss of their trade pinches them; -so that there are some hopes of a peace, which may not be altogether -intolerable. By the conversation I have had with several judicious -officers, I find that Mareschal Saxe and Lowendahl, though sensible men -and of great experience, are not regarded as such mighty generals as we -are apt to imagine them at a distance, from their victories and -conquests. Their blunders last campaign were many and obvious, and -particularly that of besieging Bergen-op-zoom. 'Twas a thousand to one -they got it, and it serves them to no purpose when they have it: It is -not by that quarter they can penetrate into the Provinces." - - -"_Nimeguen, 20th March._ - -"We have come from Breda in two days, and lay last night at Bois-le-duc, -which is situated in the midst of a lake, and is absolutely impregnable. -That part of Brabant, through which we travelled, is not very fertile, -and is full of sandy heaths. Nimeguen is in the Gueldre, the pleasantest -province of the seven, perhaps of the seventeen. The land is beautifully -divided into heights and plains, and is cut by the branches of the -Rhine. Nimeguen has a very commanding prospect, and the country below it -is particularly remarkable at present because of the innundation of the -Wahal, a branch of the Rhine, which covers the whole fields for several -leagues; and you see nothing but the tops of trees standing up amidst -the waters, which recalls the idea of Egypt during the inundations of -the Nile. Nimeguen is a well-built town, not very strong, though -surrounded with a great many works. Here we met our machines, which came -hither by a shorter road from the Hague. They are a berline for the -general and his company, and a chaise for the servants. We set out -to-morrow, and pass by Cologne, Frankfort, and Ratisbon, till we meet -with the Danube, and then we sail down that river for two hundred and -fifty miles to Vienna. - - -"_Cologne, 23d March._ - -"We came hither last night, and have travelled through an extreme -pleasant country along the banks of the Rhine. Particularly Cleves, -which belongs to the King of Prussia, is very agreeable, because of the -beauty of the roads, which are avenues bordered with fine trees. The -land in that province is not fertile, but is well cultivated. The -bishoprick of Cologne is more fertile and adorned with fine woods as -well as Cleves. The country is all very populous, the houses good, and -the inhabitants well clothed and well fed. This is one of the largest -cities in Europe, being near a league in diameter. The houses are all -high; and there is no interval of gardens or fields. So that you would -expect it must be very populous. But it is not so. It is extremely -decayed, and is even falling to ruin. Nothing can strike one with more -melancholy than its appearance, where there are marks of past opulence -and grandeur, but such present waste and decay, as if it had lately -escaped a pestilence or famine. We are told, that it was formerly the -centre of all the trade of the Rhine, which has been since removed to -Holland, Liege, Frankfort, &c. Here we see the Rhine in its natural -state; being only a little higher (but no broader) on account of the -melting of the snows. I think it is as broad as from the foot of your -house to the opposite banks of the river." - - -"_Bonne, 24th March._ - -"This is about six leagues from Cologne, a pleasant well-built little -town, upon the banks of the Rhine, and is the seat of the archbishop. We -have bestowed half a day in visiting his palace, which is an extensive -magnificent building; and he is certainly the best lodged prince in -Europe except the King of France. For, besides this palace, and a sort -of Maison de Plaisance near it, (the most elegant thing in the world,) -he has also two country houses very magnificent. He is the late -emperor's brother; and is, as they say, a very fine gentleman;--a man of -pleasure, very gallant and gay; he has always at his court a company of -French comedians and Italian singers. And as he always keeps out of -wars, being protected by the sacredness of his character, he has nothing -to hope and nothing to fear; and seems to be the happiest prince in -Europe. However, we could wish he took a little more care of his -high-ways, even though his furniture, pictures, and building were a -little less elegant. We are got into a country where we have no fires -but stoves; and no covering but feather beds; neither of which I like, -both of them are too warm and suffocating." - - -"_Coblentz, 26th March._ - -"We have made the pleasantest journey in the world in two days from -Bonne to this town. We travel all along the banks of the Rhine; -sometimes in open, beautiful, well-cultivated plains; at another time -sunk betwixt high mountains, which are only divided by the Rhine, the -finest river in the world. One of these mountains is always covered with -wood to the top; the other with vines; and the mountain is so steep that -they are obliged to support the earth by walls, which rise one above -another like terraces to the length of forty or fifty stories. Every -quarter of a mile, (indeed as often as there is any flat bottom for a -foundation,) you meet with a handsome village, situated in the most -romantic manner in the world. Surely there never was such an assemblage -of the wild and cultivated beauties in one scene. There are also several -magnificent convents and palaces to embellish the prospects. - -"This is a very thriving well-built town, situated at the confluence of -the Moselle and the Rhine, and consequently very finely situated. Over -the former river there is a handsome stone bridge; over the latter a -flying bridge, which is a boat fixed by a chain: this chain is fixed by -an anchor to the bottom of the middle of the river far above, and is -supported by seven little boats placed at intervals that keep it along -the surface of the water. By means of the rudder, they turn the head of -the large boat to the opposite bank, and the current of the river -carries it over of itself. It goes over in about four minutes, and will -carry four or five hundred people. It stays about five or six minutes -and then returns. Two men are sufficient to guide it, and it is -certainly a very pretty machine. There is the like at Cologne. This town -is the common residence of the Archbishop of Treves, who has here a -pretty magnificent palace. We have now travelled along a great part of -that country, through which the Duke of Marlborough marched up his army, -when he led them into Bavaria. 'Tis of this country Mr. Addison speaks -when he calls the people-- - - Nations of slaves by Tyranny debased, - Their Maker's image more than half-defaced. - -And he adds that the soldiers were-- - - Hourly instructed as they urge their toil, - To prize their Queen and love their native soil. - -"If any foot soldier could have more ridiculous national prejudices than -the poet, I should be much surprised. Be assured there is not a finer -country in the world; nor are there any signs of poverty among the -people. But John Bull's prejudices are ridiculous, as his insolence is -intolerable." - - -"_Frankfort, 28th March._ - -"Our road from Coblentz to this passes through a great many princes' -territories; Nassau's, Hesse's, Baden's, Mentz, and this Republic, &c. -and there is as great a diversity in the nature of the country. The -first part of the road from Coblentz to Weis-Baden is very mountainous -and woody, but populous and well-cultivated. In many places the snow is -lying very thick. The road is disagreeable for a coach; sometimes you go -along the side of a hill with a precipice below you, and have not an -inch to spare; and the road hanging all the way towards the precipice, -so that one had need to have a good head to look out of the windows. -Nassau, the prince of Orange's capital, is but a village, and one of the -most indifferent I have seen in Germany. Betwixt Weis-Baden and -Frankfort we travel along the banks of the Maine, and see one of the -finest plains in the world. I never saw such rich soil nor better -cultivated; all in corn and sown grass. For we have not met with any -natural grass in Germany. - -"Frankfort is a very large town, well-built and of great riches and -commerce. Around it there are several little country houses of the -citizens, the first of that kind we have seen in Germany; for every -body, except the farmers, live in towns, and these dwell all in -villages. Whether this be for company or protection, or devotion, I -cannot tell. But it has certainly its inconveniences. Princes have also -seats in the country, and monks have their convents; but no private -gentleman ever dwells there. To-morrow we pass over the field of -Dettingen. We saw Heighst [Höchst] to-day, where Lord Stair past the -Maine, and was recalled. The post he took seems not so good as we have -heard it represented. We saw General Mordaunt at Cologne, who was at the -battle of Dettingen, and gave us an exact description of the whole, -which we are to-morrow to compare with the field. Frankfort is a -Protestant town." - - -"_Wurtzburg, 30th March._ - -"The first town we come to after leaving Frankfort is Hanau, which -belongs to the Landgrave of Hesse, and where there is a palace, that may -lodge any king in Europe, though the Landgrave never almost lives there. -Hanau is a very beautiful, well-built, but not large town, on the banks -of the Maine. All the houses almost in Germany are of plaster, either -upon brick or wood, but very neatly done, and many of them painted over, -which makes them look very gay. Their peasants' houses are sometimes -plaster, sometimes clay upon wood, two stories high, and look very well. - -"Next post beyond Hanau is the village of Dettingen, where we walked out -and surveyed the field of battle,[252:1] accompanied with the -postmaster, who saw the battle from his windows. Good God, what an -escape we made there! The Maine is a large river not fordable; this lay -on our left hand. On our right, high mountains covered with thick wood, -for several leagues. The plain is not half a mile broad. The French were -posted by Noailles with their right supported by the river and the -village of Dettingen; their left by the mountains; on their front a -little rivulet, which formed some marshes and meadows altogether -impassable for the cavalry, and passable with difficulty by the -infantry. Add to this, that their cannon, played in safety on the other -side of the Maine, raked the whole plain before Dettingen, and took our -army in flank. Noailles had past the bridge of Aschaffenbourg which was -not broke down, and came up upon our rear; and our army was starving for -want of provisions. - -"Such an arrangement of circumstances, as it were contrived to ruin an -army, a king and kingdom, never was before found in the world; and yet -there we gained a victory, by the folly of Grammont, who past that -rivulet, and met us in the open plain, before Noailles had come up. We -were travelling in great security, notwithstanding two repeated -informations that the French had past the Maine; the baggage of the army -was betwixt the two lines; and when the first cannons were fired, -Neuperg and Stair both agreed that it could be nothing but the French -signal guns. But when they were certain that the affair was more in -earnest, Stair said, 'Go to the king; I take nothing upon me.' Clayton -said, 'I will take it upon me, to remove the baggage.' And it was he -that made the little disposition that was made that day. The English -behaved ill: the French worse, which gave us the victory. But this -victory so unexpectedly gained, we pushed not as we ought, by the -counsel of Neuperg. What Lord Stair's whim was to advance to -Aschaffenbourg, where he was twenty-five miles from Frankfort, the place -of all his magazines, 'tis impossible to imagine. Surely he could -advance no farther, as he must have been convinced had he reconnoitred -the road. It runs over high mountains, and for twenty-five miles through -the thickest woods in the world. - -"There is a pass three or four miles beyond Aschaffenbourg, where no -army could go with cannon and baggage. When we[254:1] came to the foot -of it a trumpeter met us, who played a tune for joy of our safe arrival; -and the like on our ascending the opposite hill. The woods beyond are -the finest I ever saw. Wurtzburg is a very well-built town, situated in -a fine valley on the Maine. The banks of the river are very high, and -covered with vines. The river runs through the town, and is passed on a -very handsome bridge. But what renders this town chiefly remarkable, is -a building which surprised us all, because we had never before heard of -it, and did not there expect to meet with such a thing. 'Tis a -prodigious magnificent palace of the bishop who is the sovereign. 'Tis -all of hewn stone and of the richest architecture. I do think the king -of France has not such a house. If it be less than Versailles, 'tis more -complete and finished. What a surprising thing it is, that these petty -princes can build such palaces: but it has been fifty years a rearing; -and 'tis the chief expense of ecclesiastics. The bishop of Wurtzburg is -chosen from amongst the canons, who have a very good artifice to -exclude princes. 'Tis a rule, that every one at entering shall receive a -very hearty drubbing from the rest: the brother of the elector of -Bavaria offered a million of florins, to be exempted from the ceremony, -and could not prevail." - - -"_Ratisbon, 2d April._ - -"We were all very much taken with the town of Nuremberg, where we lay -two nights ago; the houses, though old-fashioned, and of a grotesque -figure, (having sometimes five or six stories of garrets,) yet are they -solid, well built, complete, and cleanly. The people are handsome, well -clothed, and well fed; an air of industry and contentment, without -splendour, prevails through the whole. 'Tis a Protestant republic on the -banks of a river, (whose name I have forgot,[255:1]) that runs into the -Maine, and is navigable for boats. The town is of a large extent. On -leaving Nuremberg we entered into the elector of Bavaria's country, -where the contrast appeared very strong with the inhabitants of the -former republic. There was a great air of poverty in every face; the -first poverty indeed we had seen in Germany. We travelled also through -part of the elector Palatine's country, and then returned to Bavaria; -but though the country be good and well cultivated, and populous, the -inhabitants are not at their ease. The late miserable wars have no doubt -hurt them much. Ratisbon is a catholic republic situated on the banks of -the Danube. The houses and buildings, and aspect of the people, are well -enough, though not comparable to those of Nuremberg. 'Tis pretended that -the difference is always sensible betwixt a Protestant and Catholic -country, throughout all Germany; and perhaps there may be something in -this observation, though it is not every where sensible. - -"We descend the Danube from this to Vienna; we go in a large boat about -eighty foot long, where we have three rooms, one for ourselves, a second -for the servants, and a third for our kitchen. 'Tis made entirely of fir -boards, and is pulled to pieces at Vienna, the wood sold, and the -watermen return to Ratisbon a-foot. We lie on shore every night. We are -all glad of this variety, being a little tired of our berline." - - -"_The Danube, 7th of April._ - -"We have really made a very pleasant journey, or rather voyage, with -good weather, sitting at our ease, and having a variety of scenes -continually presented to us, and immediately shifted, as it were in an -opera. The banks of the Danube are very wild and savage, and have a very -different beauty from those of the Rhine; being commonly high scraggy -precipices, covered all with firs. The water is sometimes so straitened -betwixt these mountains, that this immense river is often not sixty foot -broad. We have lain in and seen several very good towns in Bavaria and -Austria, such as Strauburg, Passau, Lintz; but what is most remarkable -is the great magnificence of some convents, particularly Moelk, where a -set of lazy rascals of monks live in the most splendid misery of the -world; for, generally speaking, their lives are as little to be envied -as their persons are to be esteemed. - -"We enter Vienna in a few hours, and the country is here extremely -agreeable; the fine plains of the Danube began about thirty miles above, -and continued down, through Austria, Hungary, &c. till it falls into -the Black Sea. The river is very magnificent. Thus we have finished a -very agreeable journey of 860 miles (for so far is Vienna from the -Hague,) have past through many a prince's territories, and have had more -masters than many of these princes have subjects. Germany is undoubtedly -a very fine country, full of industrious honest people; and were it -united, it would be the greatest power that ever was in the world. The -common people are here, almost every where, much better treated, and -more at their ease, than in France; and are not very much inferior to -the English, notwithstanding all the airs the latter give themselves. -There are great advantages in travelling, and nothing serves more to -remove prejudices; for I confess I had entertained no such advantageous -idea of Germany; and it gives a man of humanity pleasure to see that so -considerable a part of mankind as the Germans are in so tolerable a -condition." - - -"_Vienna, 15th April._ - -"The last week was Easter week, and every body was at their devotions, -so that we saw not the court nor the emperor and empress, till -yesterday, when we were all introduced by Sir Thomas Robinson.[257:1] -They are a well-looked couple, the emperor has a great air of goodness, -and his royal consort of spirit. Her voice, and manner, and address are -the most agreeable that can be, and she made us several compliments on -our nation. She is not a beauty; but, being a sovereign, and a woman of -sense and spirit, no wonder she has met such extraordinary support from -her subjects, as well as from some other nations of Europe. However, the -English gallantry towards her is a little relaxed; and the King of -Sardinia is their present favourite. She begged of the general not to be -so much her enemy as his predecessor, General Wentworth, had been. He -replied, that a perfect impartiality was recommended him by the king, -his master; and that he was resolved to preserve it, though he confessed -that was difficult for a person who had had the honour of having had -access to her imperial majesty. - -"We were introduced to-day to the archdukes and archduchesses (who are -fine children) and to the empress-dowager. She had seen no company for -two months; but, hearing that Englishmen desired to be introduced to -her, she immediately received us. You must know that you neither bow -nor kneel to emperors and empresses, but curtsy; so that, after we had -had a little conversation with her imperial majesty, we were to walk -backwards through a very long room, curtsying all the way, and there was -very great danger of our falling foul of each other, as well as of -tumbling topsy-turvy. She saw the difficulty we were in; and immediately -called to us: 'Allez, allez, Messieurs, sans cérémonie; vous n'êtes pas -accoutumés a ce mouvement, et le plancher est glissant.' We esteemed -ourselves very much obliged to her for this attention, especially my -companions, who were desperately afraid of my falling on them and -crushing them. - -"This court is fine, without being gay; and the company is very -accessible, without being very sociable. When we were to be introduced -to the emperor and empress, Sir Thomas Robinson gathered us all together -into a window, that he might be able to carry us to them at once, when -the time should be proper. A lady came up to him, and asked him if these -were not his chickens he was gathering under his wings, after which she -joined conversation with us; and in a little time asked us, if we had -any acquaintance of the ladies of the court, and if we should not be -glad to know their names. We replied that she could not do us a greater -favour. 'Why, then,' says she, 'I shall tell you, beginning with myself; -I am the Countess'--she added her name, which I am sorry to have forgot. -We have met with several instances of these agreeable liberties. The -women here are many of them handsome; if you ever want toasts, please to -name, upon my authority, Mademoiselle Staremberg, or the Countess Palfì. - -"The men are ugly and awkward. We have seen all those fierce heroes, -whom we have so often read of in gazettes, the Lichtensteins, the -Esterhasis, the Colloredos; most of them have red heels to their shoes, -and wear very well-dressed toupees. - -"I have heard Maly Johnston say she was told that she was very like the -empress-queen. Please tell her it is not so. The empress, though not -very well shaped, is better than Maly; but she has not so good a face. -She looks also as if she were prouder and worse tempered. Apropos, to -our friends of Hutton hall, inform them that they have a very near -relation at this court, who is a prodigious fine gentleman, and a great -fool. His name is Sir James Caldwell.[260:1] He told me his grandmother -was a Hume, and that he expected soon to inherit a very fine estate by -her, which he was to share with the Johnstones in Scotland. But he says -it is only Wynne that has the half, not the ladies, who have no share; -so that you'll please tell Sophy that I am off; and give her her -liberty, notwithstanding all vows and promises that may have past -betwixt us." - - -"_Vienna, 25th April._ - -"We set out to-morrow, but go not by the way of Venice, as we at first -proposed. This is some mortification to us. We shall go, however, by -Milan. This town is very little for a capital, but excessively populous. -The houses are very high, the streets very narrow and crooked, so that -the many handsome buildings that are here, make not any figure. The -suburbs are spacious and open; but, on the whole, I can never believe -what they tell us, that there are two hundred thousand inhabitants in -it. It is composed entirely of nobility and of lackeys, of soldiers and -of priests. Now, I believe you'll allow, that in a town inhabited only -by these four sets of people above-mentioned, the empress-queen could -not have undertaken a more difficult task, than that which she has -magnanimously entered upon, viz. the producing an absolute chastity -amongst them. A court of chastity is lately erected here, who send all -loose women to the frontiers of Hungary, where they can only debauch -Turks and Infidels. I hope you will not pay your taxes with greater -grudge, because you hear that her imperial majesty, in whose service -they are to be spent, is so great a prude. - -"There has been great noise made with us on account of the queen's new -palace at Schönbrunn. It is, indeed, a handsome house, but not very -great nor richly furnished. She said to the general last night, that not -a single soldier had gone to the building, whatever might be said in -England, but that she liked better to be tolerably lodged than to have -useless diamonds by her; and that she had sold all her crown jewels to -enable her to be at that expense. I think, for a sovereign, she is none -of the worst in Europe, and one cannot forbear liking her for the spirit -with which she looks, and speaks, and acts. But 'tis a pity her -ministers have so little sense. - -"Prince Eugene's palace in the suburbs is an expensive stately building, -but of a very barbarous Gothic taste. He was _more skilled in battering -walls than building_, as was said of his friend, the Duke of -Marlborough. There is a room in it, where all Prince Eugene's battles -were painted: upon which the Portuguese ambassador told him, that the -whole house was indeed richly furnished, but that all the kings in -Europe could not furnish such a room as that. I have been pretty busy -since I came here, and have regretted it the less that there is no very -great amusement in this place. No Italian opera; no French comedy; no -dancing. I have, however, heard Monticelli, who is the next wonder of -the world to Farinelli." - - -"_Knittelfeldt in Styria, 28th April._ - -"This is about a hundred and twenty miles from Vienna. The first forty -is a fine well-cultivated plain, after which we enter the mountains; -and, as we are told, we have three hundred miles more of them before we -reach the plains of Lombardy. The way of travelling through a -mountainous country is generally very agreeable. We are obliged to trace -the course of the rivers, and are always in a pretty valley surrounded -by high hills; and have a constant and very quick succession of wild -agreeable prospects every quarter of a mile. Through Styria nothing can -be more curious than the scenes. In the valleys, which are fertile and -finely cultivated, there is at present a full bloom of spring. The hills -to a certain height are covered with firs and larch trees, the tops are -all shining with snow. You may see a tree white with blossom, and, fifty -fathom farther up, the ground white with snow. These hills, as you may -imagine, give a great command of water to the valleys, which the -industrious inhabitants distribute into every field, and render the -whole very fertile. There are many iron mines in the country, and the -valleys are upon that account extremely populous. But as much as the -country is agreeable in its wildness, as much are the inhabitants -savage, and deformed, and monstrous in their appearance. Very many of -them have ugly swelled throats; idiots and deaf people swarm in every -village; and the general aspect of the people is the most shocking I -ever saw. One would think, that as this was the great road, through -which all the barbarous nations made their irruptions into the Roman -empire, they always left here the refuse of their armies before they -entered into the enemy's country, and that from thence the present -inhabitants are descended. Their dress is scarce European, as their -figure is scarce human. - -"There happened, however, a thing to-day, which surprised us all. The -empress-queen, regarding this country as a little barbarous, has sent -some missionaries of Jesuits to instruct them. They had sermons to-day -in the street, under our windows, attended with psalms; and believe me, -nothing could be more harmonious, better tuned, or more agreeable than -the voices of these savages; and the chorus of a French opera does not -sing in better time. You may infer from thence, if you please, that -Orpheus did not civilize the savage nations by his music. I know not -what progress the Jesuits have made by their eloquence; but it appears -to me that religion is not the point in which the Styrians are -defective, at least if we may judge by the number of their churches, -crucifixes, &c. We shall be detained here some days by Sir Harry -Erskine's illness, who is seized with an ague." - - -"_Clagenfurt in Carinthia, May 4._ - -"This is a mighty pretty little town, near the Drave. It is the capital -of the province, and stands in a tolerable large plain, surrounded with -very high hills; and on the other side the Drave we see the savage -Mountains of Carniola. You know the Alps join with the Pyrenees, these -with the Alps,[264:1] and run all along the north of Turkey in Europe to -the Black Sea, and form the longest chain of mountains in the universe. - -"The figure of the Carinthians is not much better than that of the -Styrians." - - -"_Trent, 8th of May._ - -"We are still amongst mountains, and follow the tract of rivers in order -to find our way. But the aspect of the people is wonderfully changed on -entering the Tyrol. The inhabitants are there as remarkably beautiful as -the Styrians are ugly. An air of humanity, and spirit, and health, and -plenty, is seen in every face. Yet their country is wilder than Styria, -the hills higher, and the valleys narrower and more barren. They are -both Germans, subject to the house of Austria; so that it would puzzle a -naturalist or politician to find the reason of so great and remarkable a -difference. We traced up the Drave to its source: (that river, you know, -falls into the Danube, and into the Black Sea.) It ended in a small -rivulet, and that in a ditch, and then in a little bog. On the top of -the hill (though there was there a well cultivated plain) there was no -more appearance of spring than at Christmas. In about half a mile after -we had seen the Drave extinguish, we observed a little stripe of water -to move. This was the beginning of the Adige, and the rivers that run -into the Adriatic. We were now turning toward the south part of the -hill, and descended with great rapidity. Our little brook in three or -four miles became a considerable river, and every hour's travelling -showed us a new aspect of spring; so that in one day we passed through -all the gradations of that beautiful season, as we descended lower into -the valleys, from its first faint dawn till its full bloom and glory. We -are here in Italy; at least the common language of the people is -Italian. This town is not remarkable neither for size nor beauty. 'Tis -only famous for that wise assembly of philosophers and divines, who -established such rational tenets for the belief of mankind." - - -"_Mantua, 11th of May._ - -"We are now in classic ground; and I have kissed the earth that produced -Virgil, and have admired those fertile plains that he has so finely -celebrated. - - Perdidit aut quales felices Mantua campos.[265:1] - -"You are tired, and so am I, with the descriptions of countries; and -therefore shall only say, that nothing can be more singularly beautiful -than the plains of Lombardy, nor more beggarly and miserable than this -town." - - -"_Cremona, 12th of May._ - -"Alas, poor Italy! - - Impius haec tam culta novalia miles habebit; - Barbarus has segetes? - - The poor inhabitant - Starves, in the midst of Nature's plenty curst; - And in the loaded vineyard dies for thirst. - -"The taxes are here exorbitant beyond all bounds. We lie to-morrow at -Milan." - - -"_Turin, June 16th, 1748._ - -"I wrote you about three weeks ago. This is brought into England by Mr. -Bathurst, a nephew of Lord Bathurst, who intended to serve a campaign in -our family. We know nothing as yet of the time of our return. But I -believe we shall make the tour of Italy and France before we come home. -'Tis thought the general will be sent as public minister to settle Don -Philip; so that we shall have seen a great variety of Dutch, German, -Italian, Spanish, and French courts in this jaunt. - - Qui mores hominum multorum vidit, et urbes. - -"I say nothing of Milan, or Turin, or Piedmont: because I shall have -time enough to entertain you with accounts of all these. Though you may -be little diverted with this long epistle, you ought at least to thank -me for the pains I have taken in composing it. I have not yet got my -baggage." - -Far different was the pomp and circumstance in which the writer of this -narrative performed his journey, from the condition in which Goldsmith, -four years afterwards, pursued nearly the same route to-- - - ----where the rude Carinthian boor - Against the houseless stranger shuts the door. - -And Hume's motions seem to have partaken of the pomp and regularity of -his official station; for, even in these familiar letters to his -brother, he is all along the secretary of legation; or when he descends -from that height, it is but to mount the chair of the scholar and -philosopher. There are no escapades. We never hear that he has taken it -in his head to diverge from the regular route to see an old castle or a -waterfall. Yet he went with an eye for scenery. The Alpine passes -excited his admiration, and his description of the banks of the Rhine -will be recognised at this day as very accurate--with one material -exception. He says nothing of the feudal fortresses perched like the -nests of birds of prey, to which their moral resemblance was at least as -close as their physical; and thus one of the greatest historians of his -age, passes through a country without appearing to have noticed in their -true character, this series of prominent marks of a remarkable chapter -in the history of Europe. He speaks of them simply as "palaces"--a word -not designative of the character of the buildings, or in any way -evincing that their historical position had occurred to his mind. But it -must be admitted, that later tourists on the Rhine have amply made up -for his silence on these matters. - -He does not condescend to mention any one of the fine specimens of -Gothic architecture which he must have seen--not even that vast and -beautiful fragment the cathedral of Cologne. One wonders whether or not -he was at the trouble of inquiring, what was that huge mass which he -must have seen towering over the city; and if, straying within its -gates, and looking on Albert Durer's painted windows, he had curiosity -enough to inspect the reliquary of the tomb of the three kings, -containing gems so ancient, that they are conjectured to be older than -Christianity, and to have been the ornaments of some Pagan shrine, -transferred to and historically associated with the pure creed which -displaced the barbarous rites of Paganism. This might have at least -formed a curious topic for his Natural History of Religion. But on this -as on many other subjects, he would sympathize with La Bruyere when he -speaks of "L'ordre Gothique, que la barbarie avoit introduit pour les -palais et pour les temples;" and his thorough neglect of both the -baronial and ecclesiastical architecture of the middle ages, is -characteristic of a mind which could find nothing worthy of admiration, -in the time which elapsed between the extinction of ancient classical -literature, and the rise of the arts and sciences in modern Europe. - -But upon scarcely any subject does Hume converse as a brother travelling -into foreign lands might be supposed to address a brother residing at -home, and cultivating his ancestral acres. We should expect to find him -observing that this river is like the Tweed, or unlike it--larger or -smaller; or comparing some range of hills with the Cheviots: but he is -general and undomestic in all his remarks, save the one observation that -the Rhine is as broad as from his brother's house to the opposite side -of the river. - -Until he comes to the land of Virgil, where he shows real enthusiasm, -the chief object of his interest and observation appears to have been -the warlike operations in the midst of which he found himself. The -mission must have been attended with the ordinary dangers of a military -enterprise. It was undertaken at a time when all Europe was at war, and -though decisive battles were not taking place, petty conflicts and -surprises were of perpetual occurrence until the treaty of -Aix-la-Chapelle, a few months afterwards, restored repose to the -exhausted nations. Yet we find no symptoms of anxiety in the mind of the -philosophical actor of the military character. His tone is generally -that of a private traveller in a peaceful country, rather than that of a -member of an expedition armed for defence, and likely to be called on to -defend itself. When he mentions warlike operations, he adopts the tone -of a historical critic, and never that of a person who may find his -personal safety or comfort compromised by them. - -Though he seems to have set out with the too general notion that -military affairs are the main object of attention to the man who is -desirous of distinction in historical literature, we find already -dawning on him the historian's nobler duty as a delineator of the state -of society, and an inquirer into the causes of the happiness or misery -of the people. And his observations are made with a wide and generous -benevolence, strikingly at contrast with those prevailing doctrines of -his day, which sought, in the success and happiness of one country, the -elements of the misery of another, and made the good fortune of our -neighbours a source of lamentation, as indicating calamity to ourselves. -His unaffected declaration of pleasure, in finding the Germans so happy -and comfortable a people, marks a heart full of genuine kindness and -benevolence, and will more than atone for the want of a disposition to -range through alpine scenery, or a taste to appreciate the beauties of -Gothic architecture. - -It will be seen that Hume had intended to continue his journal, but no -farther trace of it has been found. The results of the mission have not -been generally noticed by historians. Its objects were of a subordinate -nature, and the occasion for attending to them was obviated by the -completion of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle on 7th October. - -Meanwhile, of Hume's residence in Turin, we have some notices by an able -observer, Lord Charlemont, the celebrated Irish political leader, who, -then in his twentieth year, was following the practice of the higher -aristocracy of his age, and endeavouring to enlarge his mind by foreign -travel. In the following probably exaggerated description it will be -seen that he was far mistaken in his estimate of Hume's age. - -"With this extraordinary man I was intimately acquainted. He had kindly -distinguished me from among a number of young men, who were then at the -academy, and appeared so warmly attached to me, that it was apparent he -not only intended to honour me with his friendship, but to bestow on me -what was, in his opinion, the first of all favours and benefits, by -making me his convert and disciple. - -"Nature, I believe, never formed any man more unlike his real character -than David Hume. The powers of physiognomy were baffled by his -countenance; neither could the most skilful in that science, pretend to -discover the smallest trace of the faculties of his mind, in the -unmeaning features of his visage. His face was broad and fat, his mouth -wide, and without any other expression than that of imbecility. His eyes -vacant and spiritless, and the corpulence of his whole person, was far -better fitted to communicate the idea of a turtle-eating alderman, than -of a refined philosopher. His speech in English was rendered ridiculous -by the broadest Scotch accent, and his French was, if possible, still -more laughable; so that wisdom most certainly never disguised herself -before in so uncouth a garb. Though now near fifty years old, he was -healthy and strong; but his health and strength, far from being -advantageous to his figure, instead of manly comeliness, had only the -appearance of rusticity. His wearing an uniform added greatly to his -natural awkwardness, for he wore it like a grocer of the trained bands. -Sinclair was a lieutenant-general, and was sent to the courts of Vienna -and Turin, as a military envoy, to see that their quota of troops was -furnished by the Austrians and Piedmontese. It was therefore thought -necessary that his secretary should appear to be an officer, and Hume -was accordingly disguised in scarlet."[271:1] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[225:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[226:1] Obliterated. - -[227:1] Letter to Mr. Morritt, dated Abbotsford, 2d October, 1815. -Lockhart's Life. The letter continues: "Would it not be a good quiz to -advertise _The Poetical Works of David Hume_, with notes, critical, -historical, and so forth, with a historical inquiry into the use of eggs -for breakfast; a physical discussion on the causes of their being -addled; a history of the English Church music, and of the choir of -Carlisle in particular; a full account of the affair of 1745, with the -trials, last speeches, and so forth, of the poor _plaids_ who were -strapped up at Carlisle; and lastly, a full and particular description -of Corby, with the genealogy of every family who ever possessed it? I -think, even without more than the usual waste of margin, the poems of -David would make a decent twelve shilling touch." - -[227:2] For instance, there is preserved in his handwriting a very neat -transcript of the sweet and sad "Ode to Indifference," by Mrs. Greville, -copied, probably at a time when something in its tone of plaintive -imagination was attuned to his own feelings, and called up in him a -response to the complaint. - - Nor ease nor peace that heart can know, - That, like the needle true, - Turns at the touch of joy or wo, - But turning trembles too. - -And a desire to join in that prayer that the senses may be steeped in -indifference, in which the poet says, - - The tears which pity taught to flow, - My eyes shall then disown, - The heart, that throbb'd at others' wo, - Shall then scarce feel its own. - - The wounds that now each moment bleed, - Each moment then shall close, - And tranquil days shall still succeed, - To nights of soft repose. - - Oh fairy elf, but grant me this-- - This one kind comfort send; - And so may never-fading bliss - Thy flowery paths attend. - - So may the glow-worm's glimmering light - Thy fairy footsteps lead - To some new region of delight, - Unknown to mortal tread. - - And be thy acorn goblet fill'd - With heaven's ambrosial dew; - Sweetest, freshest flowers distill'd, - That shed fresh sweets for you. - - And what of life remains for me, - I'll pass in sober ease-- - Half-pleased, contented will I be, - Content--but half to please. - -[228:1] MSS. R.S.E. The third piece _appears_ to be in Hume's hand; but -it is written with so much schoolboy stiffness, that one cannot feel -sure of its being so: perhaps it may be a production of very early life. - -[232:1] See p. 144. - -[233:1] MS. R.S.E. Probably James Crawford of Auchinames. - -[234:1] Macgibbon was the name of a dissipated musical composer. - -[235:1] Probably Philip Mercier, portrait painter, who died 1760. - -[238:1] The marriage took place accordingly on the day following the -date of the letter, viz. 30th January. She was the second wife of Lord -Marchmont; his first countess, whose name was Western, having died on -9th May of the previous year. - -[238:2] Memorials of the Right Hon. James Oswald, p. 59. - -[239:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 128. - -[240:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[242:1] The Duke of Cumberland. - -[242:2] The revolution by which the Stadtholdership was re-established -in the Prince of Orange, had taken place during the previous year. - -[246:1] The French, under Lowendahl, had taken Bergen by storm on the -5th September, 1747. - -[252:1] This celebrated battle took place nearly five years before -Hume's visit to the field. It was fought on 26th June, 1743. - -[254:1] The "we," must now be held no more to apply to our army, as it -has heretofore done, in reference to the battle, but to General St. -Clair's party. - -[255:1] The Pegnitz. - -[257:1] Sir Thomas Robinson, whose name has dropped out of recollection -in the ordinary biographical dictionaries, but is still familiar to the -readers of the history of the period, was for some time ambassador at -Vienna, and was plenipotentiary from Britain at the treaty of Aix La -Chapelle in 1748. In 1754 he became secretary of state for a few months. -In 1761 he was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Grantham. -"Sir Thomas," says Walpole, "had been bred in German courts, and was -rather restored than naturalized to the genius of that country; he had -German honour, loved German politics, and could explain himself as -little as if he spoke only German."--Memoires of George III. 337. -According to the same authority, he was subjected, on account of his -name, to an identification with Robinson Crusoe, something like that -with which Madame Talleyrand honoured Denon, owing to the accident of -his being a great traveller whose name ended in "on." - -Sir T. Robinson was a tall uncouth man, and his stature was often -rendered still more remarkable by his hunting dress, a postilion's cap, -a tight green jacket, and buckskin breeches. He was liable to sudden -whims; and once set off on a sudden, in his hunting suit, to visit his -sister, who was married and settled at Paris. He arrived while there was -a large company at dinner. The servant announced Mr. Robinson, and he -came in, to the great amazement of the guests. Among others a French -abbé thrice lifted his fork to his mouth, and thrice laid it down, with -an eager stare of surprise. Unable to restrain his curiosity any longer, -he burst out with, "Excuse me, sir; are you the famous Robinson Crusoe -so remarkable in history."--Walpoliana. - -[260:1] An Irish baronet, grandson of Sir James Caldwell who was created -a baronet in 1683, and distinguished himself in the service of William -III. during the Irish revolutionary wars. The person commemorated in so -flattering a manner by Hume, rose to considerable rank in the service of -the empress, and was enabled to introduce to that service a brother, who -obtained in it far more distinction, and who, in connexion with the -relationship mentioned above, was called Hume Caldwell. He seems to have -been strongly endowed with the mercurial disposition of his countrymen. -On his first introduction to the service, he "took expensive lodgings, -kept a chariot, a running footman, and a hussar, and was admitted into -the highest circles;" the natural result of which was, that, on -preparing to join his regiment, when he paid his debts, he found that he -had just two gold ducats left; whereupon, as his biographer pathetically -narrates, "the companion of princes, the friend of Count Conigsegg, the -possessor of a splendid hotel and a gilt chariot, who had kept a hussar -and an opera girl, figured at court, and had an audience of the empress, -and was possessed of a letter of credit for £1000, set out from Vienna -alone, on foot, in a mean habit, and with an empty pocket, for that army -in which he was to rise by his merit to a distinguished command." His -subsequent history is a little romance. Mr. Hume Caldwell, being lost -sight of by the great world, is searched for hither and thither, and at -length an Irish private soldier being questioned about the matter, turns -out to be Caldwell himself, who is immediately restored to his proper -station.--Ryan's Worthies of Ireland. - -[264:1] Sic in MS. Perhaps he meant to allude to the junction with the -Carpathians through the Bohemian ranges. - -[265:1] Et qualem infelix amisit Mantua campum. Georg. ii. 198? - -[271:1] Memoirs of the Political and Private Life of James Caulfield, -Earl of Charlemont, by Francis Hardy, p. 8. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -1748-1751. ÆT. 37-40. - - Publication of the "Inquiry concerning Human Understanding"-- - Nature of that Work--Doctrine of Necessity--Observations on - Miracles--New Edition of the "Essays, Moral and Political"-- - Reception of the new Publications--Return Home--His Mother's - Death--Her Talents and Character--Correspondence with Dr. - Clephane--Earthquakes--Correspondence with Montesquieu-- - Practical jokes in connexion with the Westminster Election-- - John Home--The Bellman's Petition. - - -Early in the year 1748, and while he was on his way to Turin, Hume's -"Philosophical Essays concerning Human Understanding,"[272:1] which he -afterwards styled "Inquiry concerning Human Understanding," were -published anonymously in London. The preparation of this work had -probably afforded him a much larger share of genuine pleasure, than -either the excitement of travelling, or the observation of the natural -scenery, the works of art, and the men and manners among which he moved. -In the tone of a true philosophical enthusiast, he says in the first -section of the work, "Were there no advantage to be reaped from these -studies beyond the gratification of an innocent curiosity, yet ought not -even this to be despised, as being an accession to those few safe and -harmless pleasures which are bestowed on the human race. The sweetest -and most inoffensive path of life leads through the avenues of science -and learning; and whoever can either remove any obstructions in this -way, or open up any new prospect, ought so far to be esteemed a -benefactor to mankind. And though these researches may appear painful -and fatiguing, it is with some minds as with some bodies, which being -endowed with vigorous and florid health, require severe exercise, and -reap a pleasure from what, to the generality of mankind, may seem -burdensome and laborious." - -On the publication of this work, he says in his "own life,"--"I had -always entertained a notion, that my want of success in publishing the -'Treatise of Human Nature,' had proceeded more from the manner than the -matter, and that I had been guilty of a very usual indiscretion, in -going to the press too early. I, therefore, cast the first part of that -work anew in the 'Inquiry concerning Human Understanding,' which was -published while I was at Turin. But this piece was at first little more -successful than the 'Treatise of Human Nature.' On my return from Italy, -I had the mortification to find all England in a ferment, on account of -Dr. Middleton's 'Free Inquiry,'[273:1] while my performance was entirely -overlooked and neglected." - -He now desired that the "Treatise of Human Nature" should be treated as -a work blotted out of literature, and that the "Inquiry" should be -substituted in its place. In the subsequent editions of the latter work, -he complained that this had not been complied with; that the world still -looked at those forbidden volumes of which he had dictated the -suppression. "Henceforth," he says, "the author desires that the -following pieces may alone be regarded as containing his philosophical -principles and sentiments;" and he became eloquent on the uncandidness -of bringing before the world as the sentiments of any author, a work -written almost in boyhood, and printed at the threshold of manhood. But -it was all in vain: he had to learn that the world takes possession of -all that has passed through the gates of the printing press, and that -neither the command of despotic authority, nor the solicitations of -repentant authorship can reclaim it, if it be matter of sterling value. -The bold and original speculations of the "Treatise" have been, and to -all appearance ever will be, part of the intellectual property of man; -great theories have been built upon them, which must be thrown down -before we can raze the foundation. That he repented of having published -the work, and desired to retract its extreme doctrines, is part of the -mental biography of Hume; but it is impossible, at his command, to -detach this book from general literature, or to read it without -remembering who was its author. - -But, indeed, there were pretty cogent reasons why the philosophical -world, and Hume's opponents in particular, should not lose sight of his -early work. In the Inquiry, he did not revoke the fundamental doctrines -of his first work. The elements of all thought and knowledge he still -found to be in impressions and ideas. But he did not on this occasion -carry out his principles with the same reckless hardihood that had -distinguished the Treatise; and thus he neither on the one side gave so -distinct and striking a view of his system, nor on the other afforded so -strong a hold to his adversaries. This hold they were resolved not to -lose; and therefore they retained the original bond, and would not -accept of the offered substitute. - -Of those views which are more fully developed in the Inquiry than in the -early work, one of the most important is the attempt to establish the -doctrine of necessity, and to refute that of free will in relation to -the springs of human action. To those who adopted the vulgar notion of -Hume's theory of cause and effect, that it left the phenomena of nature -without a ruling principle, the attempt to show that the human mind was -bound by necessary laws appeared to be a startling inconsistency--a sort -of reversal of the poet's idea, - - And binding nature fast in fate, - Left free the human will. - -It appeared to remove the chains of necessity from inanimate nature, and -rivet them on the will. - -But there is a decided principle of connexion between the two doctrines: -whether or not it be a principle that will bear scrutiny, is another -question. The two systems are identified with each other, simply by the -annihilation of the notion of power both in the material and in the -immaterial world. As we cannot find in physical causes any power to -produce their effect, so when a man moves his arm to strike, or his -tongue to reprimand, we have no notion of any _power_ being exercised; -but we have an impression that certain impulses are followed, and we can -no more suppose that it was at the choice of the individual whether, -when these impulses or motives existed, they should or should not be -obeyed, than that when the phenomenon called in the material world the -cause, made its appearance, there could be any doubt of its being -followed by the effect. The inference from this was, that human actions -are as much the objects of inductive philosophy as the operations of -nature; that they are equally regular, effect following cause as much in -the operations of the passions as in those of the elements. Of the -application of the theory to his historical observation of events, the -following passage is a vivid enunciation:-- - - -"It is universally acknowledged, that there is a great uniformity among -the actions of men, in all nations and ages, and that human nature -remains still the same in its principles and operations. The same -motives always produce the same actions; the same events follow from the -same causes. Ambition, avarice, self-love, vanity, friendship, -generosity, public spirit; these passions, mixed in various degrees, and -distributed through society, have been, from the beginning of the world, -and still are, the source of all the actions and enterprises which have -ever been observed among mankind. Would you know the sentiments, -inclinations, and course of life of the Greeks and Romans? study well -the temper and actions of the French and English: you cannot be much -mistaken in transferring to the former _most_ of the observations which -you have made with regard to the latter. Mankind are so much the same, -in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or -strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the -constant and universal principles of human nature, by showing men in all -varieties of circumstances and situations, and furnishing us with -materials from which we may form our observations, and become acquainted -with the regular springs of human action and behaviour. These records of -wars, intrigues, factions, and revolutions, are so many collections of -experiments, by which the politician or moral philosopher fixes the -principles of his science, in the same manner as the physician or -natural philosopher becomes acquainted with the nature of plants, -minerals, and other external objects, by the experiments which he forms -concerning them. Nor are the earth, water, and other elements, examined -by Aristotle and Hippocrates, more like to those which at present lie -under our observation, than the men described by Polybius and Tacitus -are to those who now govern the world. - -"Should a traveller, returning from a far country, bring us an account -of men wholly different from any with whom we were ever acquainted, men -who were entirely divested of avarice, ambition, or revenge, who knew no -pleasure but friendship, generosity, and public spirit, we should -immediately, from these circumstances, detect the falsehood, and prove -him a liar, with the same certainty as if he had stuffed his narration -with stories of centaurs and dragons, miracles and prodigies. And if we -would explode any forgery in history, we cannot make use of a more -convincing argument than to prove, that the actions ascribed to any -person are directly contrary to the course of nature, and that no human -motives, in such circumstances, could ever induce him to such a conduct. -The veracity of Quintus Curtius is as much to be suspected, when he -describes the supernatural courage of Alexander, by which he was hurried -on singly to attack multitudes, as when he describes his supernatural -force and activity, by which he was able to resist them. So readily and -universally do we acknowledge a uniformity in human motives and actions, -as well as in the operations of body. - -"Hence, likewise, the benefit of that experience, acquired by long life -and a variety of business and company, in order to instruct us in the -principles of human nature, and regulate our future conduct, as well as -speculation. By means of this guide we mount up to the knowledge of -men's inclinations and motives, from their actions, expressions, and -even gestures; and again descend to the interpretation of their -actions, from our knowledge of their motives and inclinations. The -general observations, treasured up by a course of experience, give us -the clue of human nature, and teach us to unravel all its intricacies. -Pretexts and appearances no longer deceive us. Public declarations pass -for the specious colouring of a cause. And though virtue and honour be -allowed their proper weight and authority, that perfect -disinterestedness, so often pretended to, is never expected in -multitudes and parties, seldom in their leaders, and scarcely even in -individuals of any rank or station. But were there no uniformity in -human actions, and were every experiment, which we could form of this -kind, irregular and anomalous, it were impossible to collect any general -observations concerning mankind; and no experience, however accurately -digested by reflection, would ever serve to any purpose. Why is the aged -husbandman more skilful in his calling than the young beginner, but -because there is a certain uniformity in the operation of the sun, rain, -and earth, towards the production of vegetables; and experience teaches -the old practitioner the rules by which this operation is governed and -directed?"[278:1] - - -How very clearly we find these principles practically illustrated in his -History! A disinclination to believe in the narratives of great and -remarkable deeds proceeding from peculiar impulses: a propensity, when -the evidence adduced in their favour cannot be rebutted, to treat these -peculiarities rather as diseases of the mind, than as the operation of -noble aspirations: a levelling disposition to find all men pretty much -upon a par, and none in a marked manner better or worse than their -neighbours: an inclination to doubt all authorities which tended to -prove that the British people had any fundamental liberties not -possessed by the French and other European nations. Such are the -practical fruits of this necessitarian philosophy. - -It was on this occasion that Hume promulgated those opinions upon -miracles, which we have found him afraid to make public even in that -work of which he afterwards regretted the bold and rash character. No -part of his writings gave more offence to serious and devout thinkers; -but the offence was in the manner of the promulgation, not the matter of -the opinions. To understand how this occurred, let us cast a glance for -a moment at two opposite classes of religious thinkers, into which a -large portion of the Christian world is divided, and find with which, if -with either, Hume's opinions coincide. - -If we suppose a man, impressed with a feeling of devotion and reverence -for a Superior Being, who, seeing in the order of the world and all its -movements, the omnipotent, all-wise, and all-merciful guidance of a -divine Providence, believes that the Great Being will give to his -creatures no revelation that is not in accordance with the merciful -harmony of all his ways; and thus devoutly and submissively receives the -word of God as promulgated in the Bible; attempts to make it the rule of -his actions and opinions; receives with deference the views of those -whom the same power that authorized it, has permitted to be the human -instruments of its promulgation and explanation; tries to understand -what it is within the power of his limited faculties to comprehend; but, -implicitly believing that in the shadows of those mysteries which he is -unable to penetrate, there lie operations as completely part of one -great regular plan, as merciful, as beneficent, and as wise as the -outward and comprehensible acts of Providence; who thus never for one -moment allows his mind to doubt, where it is unable to comprehend or -explain--such a man finds none of his sentiments in the writings of -Hume, for he is at once told there that reason and revelation are two -disconnected things, that each must act alone, and that the one derives -no aid from the other. - -But take one who believes that religion is too sacred to be in any way -allied with so poor and miserable a thing as erring human reason; who -feels that it is not in himself to merit any of the boundless mercies of -the atonement; and that to endeavour by his actions, or the direction of -his thoughts, to be made a participator in them, is but setting blind -reason to lead the blind appetites and desires; who feels that by no act -of his own, the true light of the Christian religion has been lighted -within him as by a miracle; who has been adopted by a sudden change in -his spiritual nature into the family of the faithful--then there is -nothing in all Hume's philosophy to militate against the religion of -such a man, but rather many arguments in its favour, both implied and -expressed. - -Since this is the case, it may be asked, why, if one party in religion -attacked the opinions of Hume, another did not defend them? why, if -Beattie and Warburton couched the lance, Whitefield and John Erskine did -not come forward as his champions? In the first place, it was only those -who united reason and revelation as going hand in hand and aiding each -other, that looked at books of philosophy with an eye to their influence -on religion, and such works formed a department of literature in which -the advocates of "eternal decrees" would not expect to find much to suit -their purpose. But, in the second place, this class of religious -thinkers are all, except the few who are hypocrites, devout and serious -people, and Hume's method of treating these subjects was not such as -they could feel a sympathy with. A want of proper deference for -devotional feeling, is a defect that runs through all his works--a -constitutional organic defect it might be termed. There is no ribaldry, -but at the same time there are no expressions of decent reverence; while -this religious party knew from the manner in which their predecessors in -the same doctrines were historically treated by Hume, that if there were -any coincidence in abstract opinions, there was very little in common -between their sympathies and his. - -In this same section on miracles, there are repeated protests against -the reader assuming that the writer is arguing against the Christian -faith. Against some Catholic miracles, which were asserted to be proved -by testimony as strong as that which attested the miracles of our -Saviour, he says, "As if the testimony of man could ever be put in the -balance with that of God himself, who conducted the pen of the inspired -writers!" and again, "Our most holy religion is founded on _faith_, not -on reason; and it is a sure method of exposing it to put it to such a -trial as it is by no means fitted to endure." These protests however -were made briefly and coldly, and in such a manner as made people feel, -that if Hume believed in the doctrines they announced, he certainly had -not his heart in them. Hence, although, since the origin of rationalism, -evangelical Christians have frequently had recourse to the arguments of -Hume, there was long in that quarter a not unnatural reluctance to -appeal to them. - -It is perhaps one of the most remarkable warnings against hasty -judgments on the effects of efforts of subtle reasoning, that, according -to later scientific discoveries, no two things are in more perfect -unison than Hume's theory of belief in miracles, and the belief that -miracles, according to the common acceptation of the term, have actually -taken place. The leading principle of this theory is, in conformity with -its author's law of cause and effect, that where our experience has -taught us that two things follow each other as cause and effect by an -unvarying sequence, if we hear of an instance in which this has not been -the case, we ought to doubt the truth of the narrative. In other words, -if we are told of some circumstance having taken place out of the usual -order of nature, we ought not to believe it; because the circumstance of -the narrator having been deceived, or of his designedly telling a -falsehood, is more probable than an event contradictory to all previous -authenticated experience. It is a rule for marking the boundary and -proper application of the inductive system, and one that is highly -serviceable to science. But, in applying it to use, we must not be led -away by the narrow application, in common conversation, of the word -experience. There is the experience of the common workman, and there is -the experience of the philosopher. There is that observation of -phenomena which makes a ditcher know that the difficulty of pulling out -a loosened stone with a mattock indicates it to be so many inches thick; -and that observation, fully as sure, which shows the geologist that the -stratum of the Pennsylvanian grauwacke is upwards of a hundred miles -thick. The experience and observation of the husbandman teach him, that -when the opposite hill is distinct to his view, the intervening -atmosphere is not charged with vapour; but observation, not less -satisfactory, shows the astronomer that Jupiter and the Moon have around -them no atmosphere such as that by which our planet is enveloped. Now -there is nothing more fully founded on experimental observation than the -fact, that there was a time when the present order of the world was not -in existence. That there have been convulsions, such as, did we now hear -of their contemporary occurrence, instead of attesting their past -existence through the sure course of observation and induction, we would -at once maintain to be impossible. To this then, and this only, comes -the theory of miracles, that at the present day, and for a great many -years back, the accounts that are given of circumstances having taken -place out of the general order of nature, are to be discredited, because -between the two things to be believed, the falsehood of the narrative is -more likely than the truth of the occurrence. But the very means by -which we arrive at this conclusion bring us to another, that there was a -time to which the rules taken from present observation of the course of -nature did not apply.[283:1] - -That in history, in science, in the conduct of every-day life, and -particularly in the formation of the minds of the young, this rule of -belief is of the highest practical utility, few will doubt. The parish -clergyman, who assists in throwing discredit on all the superstitious -stories of spectres, witchcrafts, and demoniacal possessions with which -his neighbourhood may be afflicted, is but an active promulgator of the -doctrine. It was a narrow view that Campbell adopted when he said, that -if we heard of a ferry boat, which had long crossed the stream in -safety, having sunk, we would give credit to the testimony concerning -it.[284:1] Our experience teaches us that ferry boats are made of -perishable materials, liable to be submerged; and thus, in this case, -there is no balance of incredibility against the narrator. To have tried -Campbell's practical faith in Hume's theory, he should have had before -him a person professing to have become aware of the sinking of the boat, -by some unprecedented means of perception, called a magnetic influence, -in the absence of a more distinct name; while it is shown that the same -person had an opportunity of being informed, through the organs of -hearing, of the circumstance which had taken place. It would then be -seen, whether that sagacious philosopher would have given the sanction -of his belief to a phenomenon contrary to all previous experience--the -ascertainment of an external event, without the aid of the senses; or -would have acceded to the too commonly illustrated phenomenon, that -human beings are capable of falsehood and folly. - -It is much to be regretted that Hume employed the word miracles in the -title of this inquiry. He thus employed a term which had been applied to -sacred subjects, and raised a natural prejudice against reasonings, -applicable to contemporary events, and to the rules of ordinary -historical belief. He might have found some other title--such as, "The -Principles of Belief in Human Testimony," which would have more -satisfactorily explained the nature of the inquiry. - -But it is not improbable that the odium thus occasioned first introduced -Hume's philosophical works to controversial notoriety. Though -disappointed by the silence of the public immediately on his arrival -from abroad, he has soon to tell us in his "own life,"--"Meanwhile, my -bookseller, A. Millar, informed me, that my former publications (all but -the unfortunate Treatise) were beginning to be the subject of -conversation; that the sale of them was gradually increasing, and that -new editions were demanded. Answers by reverends and right reverends -came out two and three in a year;[285:1] and I found, by Warburton's -railing, that the books were beginning to be esteemed in good -company."[285:2] - -It was in the "Inquiry concerning the Human Understanding," that Hume -promulgated the theory of association, which called forth so much -admiration of its simplicity, beauty, and truth. "To me," he says, -"there appear to be only three principles of connexion among ideas, -namely, _Resemblance_, _Contiguity_ in time or place, and _Cause_ or -_Effect_. - -"That these principles serve to connect ideas, will not, I believe, be -much doubted. A picture naturally leads our thoughts to the original -[Resemblance.] The mention of one apartment in a building, naturally -introduces an inquiry or discourse concerning the others [Contiguity:] -and if we think on a wound, we can scarcely forbear reflecting on the -pain which follows it [Cause and Effect.]"[286:1] - -In connexion with this theory a curious charge has been brought forward -by Coleridge, who says, "In consulting the excellent commentary of St. -Thomas Aquinas, on the Parva Naturalia of Aristotle, I was struck at -once with its close resemblance to Hume's essay on association. The main -thoughts were the same in both. The _order_ of the thoughts was the -same, and even the illustrations differed only by Hume's occasional -substitution of more modern examples. I mentioned the circumstance to -several of my literary acquaintances, who admitted the closeness of the -resemblance, and that it seemed too great to be explained by mere -coincidence; but they thought it improbable that Hume should have held -the pages of the angelic doctor worth turning over. But some time after, -Mr. Payne of the King's Mews, showed Sir James Mackintosh some odd -volumes of St. Thomas Aquinas, partly perhaps from having heard that Sir -James, (then Mr. Mackintosh,) had in his lectures passed a high encomium -on this canonized philosopher, but chiefly from the fact that the -volumes had belonged to Mr. Hume, and had here and there marginal marks -and notes of reference in his own handwriting. Among these volumes was -that which contains the Parva Naturalia, in the old Latin version, -swathed and swaddled in the commentary aforementioned." - -On this, Sir James Macintosh says, that "the manuscript of a part of -Aquinas, which I bought many years ago, (on the faith of a bookseller's -catalogue,) as being written by Mr. Hume, was not a copy of the -commentary on the _Parva Naturalia_, but of Aquinas's own _Secunda -Secundæ_; and that, on examination, it proves not to be the handwriting -of Mr. Hume, and to contain nothing written by him."[287:1] So much for -the external evidence of plagiarism. - -With regard to the internal evidence, the passage of Aquinas -particularly referred to, which will be found below,[287:2] refers to -memory not imagination; to the recall of images in the relation to each -other in which they have once had a place in the mind, not to the -formation of new associations, or aggregates of ideas there; nor will it -bring the theories to an identity, that, according to Hume's doctrine, -nothing can be recalled in the mind unless its elements have already -been deposited there in the form of ideas, because the observations of -Aquinas apply altogether to the _reminiscence_ of aggregate objects. But -the classification is different: for Hume's embodies cause and effect, -but not contrariety; while that of Aquinas has contrariety, but not -cause and effect. In a division into three elements, this discrepancy is -material; and, without entering on any lengthened reasoning, it may -simply be observed, that the merit of Hume's classification is, that it -is exhaustive, and neither contains any superfluous element, nor omits -any principle under which an act of association can be classed. - -But it is remarkable that Coleridge should have failed to keep in view, -in his zeal to discover some curious thing to reward him for his -researches among the fathers, that the classification is not that of -Aquinas, but of Aristotle, and is contained in the very work on which -the passage in Aquinas is one of the many commentaries.[288:1] - - * * * * * - -The "Essays Moral and Political," had, though it is not mentioned by -Hume in his "own life," been so well received, that a second edition -appeared in 1742, the same year in which the second volume of the -original edition was published. A third edition was published in London -in 1748,[289:1] of which Hume, comparing them with his neglected -contemporaneous publication of the Inquiry, says that they "met not with -a much better reception." - -Two essays, which had appeared in the previous editions, were omitted in -the third. One of these, "Of Essay Writing," was evidently written at -the time when the author had the design of publishing his work -periodically,[289:2] and was meant as a prospectus or announcement to -the readers, of the method in which he proposed to address them in his -periodical papers. The other was a "Character of Sir Robert Walpole;" a -curious attempt to take an impartial estimate of a man who, at the time -of the first publication, had been longer in office, and was surrounded -by a more numerous and powerful band of enemies, than any previous -British statesman. But between the two publications the enemies had -triumphed; and the statesman of forty years had been driven into -retirement, where death speedily relieved him from a scene of inaction, -which might have been repose to others, but was to him an insupportable -solitude. Party rage had consequently changed its direction, and that -air of solemn deliberation which, while the statesman was moving between -the admiration of his friends and the hatred of his enemies, had an -appearance of resolute stoical impartiality, might have appeared -strained and affected, if the essay had been republished in 1748. - -To this third edition three essays were added, "Of National Characters," -"Of the Original Contract," and "Of Passive Obedience." The first of -these contains some very curious incidental notices of ancient morals -and habits, so adapted to modern colloquial language and habits, as to -make the descriptions as clear to the unlearned as to the learned; as, -for example, the following notices of the drinking practices of the -ancients:-- - -"The ancient Greeks, though born in a warm climate, seem to have been -much addicted to the bottle; nor were their parties of pleasure any -thing but matches of drinking among men, who passed their time -altogether apart from the fair. Yet when Alexander led the Greeks into -Persia, a still more southern climate, they multiplied their debauches -of this kind, in imitation of the Persian manners.[290:1] So honourable -was the character of a drunkard among the Persians, that Cyrus the -younger, soliciting the sober Lacedemonians for succour against his -brother Artaxerxes, claims it chiefly on account of his superior -endowments, as more valorous, more bountiful, and a better -drinker.[290:2] Darius Hystaspes made it be inscribed on his tomb-stone, -among his other virtues and princely qualities, that no one could bear a -greater quantity of liquor." - -The other two essays, though bearing on subjects which have now almost -dropped out of political discussion, "The Original Contract," and -"Passive Obedience," trod close on the heels of the long conflict in -which Milton, Salmasius, Hobbes, Sidney, Locke, and Filmer, had been -partakers; and while the din of arms was far from being exhausted, they -professed to hold the balance equally between the combatants, or, more -properly speaking, to examine philosophically the merits of the theory -of each party, without taking up the angry arguments of either. They -are, in truth, but a farther adaptation to politics of those utilitarian -theories which Hume had previously applied both to private morals and to -government. And the principle they promulgate is, that the citizen's -allegiance to the laws and constitution of his country, has its proper -foundation neither in an acknowledgment of the divine right of any -governor, nor in a contract with him by which both parties are bound, -but in the moral duty of respecting internal peace and order, and of -avoiding outbreaks which may plunge the people into anarchy and misery, -to gratify the pride or baser passions of turbulent individuals. - -It must have been on his return on this occasion, that Hume rejoined the -family circle at Ninewells, bereaved of the parent whose devotion to his -training and education he has so affectionately commemorated. "I went -down," he says, "in 1749, and lived two years with my brother at his -country house, for my mother was now dead."[291:1] In a letter, which -will have to be afterwards referred to, by Dr. Black, to Adam Smith, -written when Hume was on his death-bed, and in relation to his final -illness, there is the remark, "His mother," he says, "had precisely the -same constitution with himself, and died of this very disorder." - -On this subject, the American traveller, Silliman, gave currency to a -foolish and improbable story, which he puts in the following shape:-- - -"It seems that Hume received a religious education from his mother, and -early in life was the subject of strong and hopeful religious -impressions; but, as he approached manhood, they were effaced, and -confirmed infidelity succeeded. Maternal partiality, however alarmed at -first, came at length to look with less and less pain upon this -declension, and filial love and reverence seem to have been absorbed in -the pride of philosophical scepticism; for Hume now applied himself with -unwearied, and unhappily with successful efforts, to sap the foundation -of his mother's faith. Having succeeded in this dreadful work, he went -abroad into foreign countries; and as he was returning, an express met -him in London, with a letter from his mother, informing him that she was -in a deep decline, and could not long survive: she said, she found -herself without any support in her distress; that he had taken away that -source of comfort, upon which, in all cases of affliction, she used to -rely, and that now she found her mind sinking into despair. She did not -doubt but her son would afford her some substitute for her religion; and -she conjured him to hasten to her, or at least to send her a letter, -containing such consolations as philosophy can afford to a dying mortal. -Hume was overwhelmed with anguish on receiving this letter, and hastened -to Scotland, travelling day and night; but before he arrived his mother -expired. No permanent impression seems, however, to have been made on -his mind by this most trying event; and whatever remorse he might have -felt at the moment, he soon relapsed into his wonted obduracy of heart." - -This story, probably told after dinner, and invented on the spot,--the -American narrator's unfortunate name perhaps rendering him peculiarly -liable to the machinations of the mischievous,--is totally at variance -with Hume's character. He was no propagandist; and, indeed, seems ever -to have felt, that a firm faith in Christianity, unshaken by any doubts, -was an invaluable privilege, of which it would be as much more cruel to -deprive a fellow-creature than to rob him of his purse, as the one -possession is more valuable than the other. Hence we shall find, that -his conversation was acceptable to women and to clergymen, who never -feared in his presence to encounter any sentiment that might shock their -feelings; and what is more to the point, parents were never afraid of -trusting their children to his care and social attentions, and indeed -thought it a high privilege to obtain them. - -The appearance of the above passage in a notice of "Silliman's Travels" -in _The Quarterly Review_, called forth a remonstrance from Baron Hume, -which elicited the following statement from the editor:--[293:1] - -"That anecdote he has shown to be false by unquestionable dates, and by -a circumstance related in the manuscript memoirs of the late Dr. -Carlyle, an eminent clergyman of the Scottish Church, and friend of the -historian. The circumstance, interesting in itself, and decisive on the -subject, we transcribe, in the words of the manuscript, from the letter -before us:-- - -"David and he (the Hon. Mr. Boyle, brother of the Earl of Glasgow) were -both in London at the period when David's mother died. Mr. Boyle, -hearing of it, soon after went into his apartment, for they lodged in -the same house, where he found him in the deepest affliction, and in a -flood of tears. After the usual topics of condolence, Mr. Boyle said to -him, 'My friend, you owe this uncommon grief to having thrown off the -principles of religion; for if you had not, you would have been consoled -with the firm belief that the good lady, who was not only the best of -mothers but the most pious of Christians, was completely happy in the -realms of the just.' To which David replied, 'Though I throw out my -speculations to entertain the learned and metaphysical world, yet, in -other things, I do not think so differently from the rest of the world -as you imagine.'"[294:1] - -One of Hume's most intimate friends was Dr. Clephane, a physician in -considerable practice in London. They appear to have become acquainted -with each other during the expedition to Port L'Orient, in which -Clephane was probably a medical officer, as Hume, in his letters about -his own half-pay, speaks of him as in the same position with himself. -The correspondence is characterized by the thorough ease and polite -familiarity of the camp, and none of Hume's letters are fuller of his -playful spirit than those addressed to his brother officer. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"+Iêtros gar anêr pollôn antaxios allôn.+[296:1] - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I have here received a great many thanks from an honest -man, who tells me that he and all his family have been extremely obliged -to me. This is my brother's gardener, who showed me a letter from his -son, wherein he acknowledges that he owes his life to your care; that -you placed him in an hospital, and attended him with as much assiduity -as if he had been the best nobleman in the land; that all he shall ever -be worth will never be able to repay you: and that therefore he must -content himself with being grateful: at the same time desiring his -father to give me thanks, by whose means he was recommended to you. - -"These thanks I received with great gravity, and replied, that one must -always endeavour to do good when it is in one's power. In short, I took -upon me your part, and gave myself as many airs as if I had really shown -the same beneficent dispositions. I considered that you have good deeds -to spare, and are possessed of greater store of merits and works of -supererogation, than any church, Pagan, Mahometan, or Catholic, ever was -entitled to, and that, therefore, to rob you a little was no great -crime:-- - - ----cui plura supersunt, - Et fallunt dominum, et prosunt furibus.[297:1] - -"I hope, dear Doctor, you find virtue its own reward--that, methinks, is -but just--considering it is the only reward it is ever likely to meet -with--in this world I mean; at least you may take your own reward -yourself for me. I shall never trouble my head about the matter, and you -need not expect that I shall even like or esteem you the better for this -instance of your charity and humanity. You fancy, I suppose, that I -already liked and esteemed you so much, that this makes no sensible -addition. You may fancy what you please: I shall not so much as speak -another word upon this subject, but proceed to a better. You shall see. - -"You would perhaps ask, how I employ my time in this leisure and -solitude, and what are my occupations? Pray, do you expect I should -convey to you an encyclopedia, in the compass of a letter? The last -thing I took my hand from was a very learned, elaborate discourse, -concerning the populousness of antiquity; not altogether in opposition -to _Vossius_ and _Montesquieu_, who exaggerate that affair infinitely; -but, starting some doubts, and scruples, and difficulties, sufficient -to make us suspend our judgment on that head. Amongst other topics, it -fell in my way to consider the greatness of ancient _Rome_; and in -looking over the discourse, I find the following period. 'If we may -judge by the younger Pliny's account of his house, and by the plans of -ancient buildings in Dr. Mead's collection, the men of quality had very -spacious palaces, and their buildings were like the Chinese houses, -where each apartment is separate from the rest, and rises no higher than -a single story.'[298:1] Pray, on what authority are those plans founded? -If I remember right, I was told they were discovered on the walls of the -baths, and other subterraneous buildings. Is this the proper method of -citing them? If you have occasion to communicate this to Dr. Mead, I beg -that my sincere respects may be joined. - -"I think the parsons have lately used the physicians very ill, for, in -all the common terrors of mankind, you used commonly both to come in for -a share of the profit: but in this new fear of earthquakes, they have -left you out entirely, and have pretended alone to give prescriptions to -the multitude.[298:2] I remember, indeed, Mr. Addison talks of a quack -that advertised pills for an earthquake, at a time when people lay under -such terrors as they do at present. But I know not if any of the faculty -have imitated him at this time. I see only a Pastoral Letter of the -Bishop of London, where, indeed, he recommends certain pills, such as -fasting, prayer, repentance, mortification, and other drugs, which are -entirely to come from his own shop. And I think this is very unfair in -him, and you have great reason to be offended; for why might he not have -added, that medicinal powders and potions would also have done service? -The worst is, that you dare not revenge yourself in kind, by advising -your patients to have nothing to do with the parson; for you are sure he -has a faster hold of them than you, and you may yourself be discharged -on such an advice.[299:1] - -"You'll scarcely believe what I am going to tell you; but it is -literally true. Millar had printed off, some months ago, a new edition -of certain philosophical essays, but he tells me very gravely that he -has delayed publishing because of the earthquakes.[300:1] I wish you may -not also be a loser by the same common calamity; for I am told the -ladies were so frightened, they took the rattling of every coach for an -earthquake; and therefore would employ no physicians but from amongst -the infantry: insomuch that some of you charioteers had not gained -enough to pay the expenses of your vehicle. But this may only be waggery -and banter, which I abhor. Please remember to give my respects to the -General, and Sir Harry, and Captain Grant, who I hope are all in good -health: indeed, as to the Captain, I do not know what to hope, or wish; -for if he recover his health, he loses his shape, and must always remain -in that perplexing dilemma.--Remember me also to Suncey -Glassaugh,[300:2] and remember me yourself. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, April 18, 1750._ - -"P.S.--Pray, did Guidelianus[300:3] get his money, allowed him by the -Pay-office? I suppose he is in Ireland, poor devil! so I give you no -commission with regard to him. - -"Pray, tell Glassaugh that I hope he has not suppressed the paper I -sent him about the new year.[301:1] If he has, pray ask for a sight of -it, for it is very witty. I contrived it one night that I could not -sleep for the tortures of rheumatism; and you have heard of a great -lady, who always put on blisters, when she wanted to be witty. 'Tis a -receipt I recommend to you."[301:2] - - -The following letter to Oswald shows us that Hume was, at the time it -was written, earnestly engaged in the preparation of the "Essays on -Political Economy," which he published in 1752. - - -HUME _to_ JAMES OSWALD _of Dunnikier_. - -"DEAR SIR,--I confess I was a little displeased with you for neglecting -me so long; but you have made ample compensation. This commerce, I find, -is of advantage to both of us; to me, by the new lights you communicate, -and to you, by giving you occasion to examine these subjects more -accurately. I shall here deliver my opinion of your reasonings with the -freedom which you desire. - -"I never meant to say that money, in all countries which communicate, -must necessarily be on a level, but on a level proportioned to their -people, industry, and commodities. That is, where there is double -people, &c. there will be double money, and so on; and that the only way -of keeping or increasing money is, by keeping and increasing the people -and industry; not by prohibitions of exporting money, or by taxes on -commodities, the methods commonly thought of. I believe we differ -little on this head. You allow, that if all the money in England were -increased fourfold in one night, there would be a sudden rise of prices; -but then, say you, the importation of foreign commodities would soon -lower the prices. Here, then, is the flowing out of the money already -begun. But, say you, a small part of this stock of money would suffice -to buy foreign commodities, and lower the prices. I grant it would for -one year, till the imported commodities be consumed. But must not the -same thing be renewed next year? No, say you; the additional stock of -money may, in this interval, so increase the people and industry, as to -enable them to retain their money. Here I am extremely pleased with your -reasoning. I agree with you, that the increase of money, if not too -sudden, naturally increases people and industry, and by that means may -retain itself; but if it do not produce such an increase, nothing will -retain it except hoarding. Suppose twenty millions brought into -Scotland; suppose that, by some fatality, we take no advantage of this -to augment our industry or people, how much would remain in the quarter -of a century? not a shilling more than we have at present. My expression -in the Essay needs correction, which has occasioned you to mistake it. - -"Your enumeration of the advantages of rich countries above poor, in -point of trade, is very just and curious; but I cannot agree with you -that, barring ill policy or accidents, the former might proceed gaining -upon the latter for ever. The growth of every thing, both in art and -nature, at last checks itself. The rich country would acquire and retain -all the manufactures that require great stock or great skill; but the -poor country would gain from it all the simpler and more laborious. The -manufactures of London, you know, are steel, lace, silk, books, coaches, -watches, furniture, fashions; but the outlying provinces have the linen -and woollen trade. - -"The distance of China is a physical impediment to the communication, by -reducing our commerce to a few commodities; and by heightening the price -of these commodities, on account of the long voyage, the monopolies, and -the taxes. A Chinese works for three-halfpence a-day, and is very -industrious; were he as near us as France or Spain, every thing we used -would be Chinese, till money and prices came to a level; that is, to -such a level as is proportioned to the numbers of people, industry, and -commodities of both countries. - -"A part of our public funds serve in place of money; for our merchants, -but still more our bankers, keep less cash by them when they have stock, -because they can dispose of that upon any sudden demand. This is not the -case with the French funds. The _rentes_ of the Hotel de Ville are not -transferable, but are most of them entailed in the families. At least, I -know there is a great difference in this respect betwixt them and the -_actions_ of the Indian Company. - -"That the industry and people of Spain, after the discovery of the West -Indies, at first increased more than is commonly imagined, is a very -curious fact; and I doubt not but you say so upon good authority, though -I have not met with that observation in any author. - -"Beside the bad effects of the paper credit in our colonies, as it was a -cheat, it must also be allowed that it banished gold and silver, by -supplying their place. On the whole, my intention in the Essay was to -remove people's terrors, who are apt, from chimerical calculations, to -imagine they are losing their specie, though they can show in no -instance that either their people or industry diminish; and also to -expose the absurdity of guarding money otherwise than by watching over -the people and their industry, and preserving or increasing them. To -prohibit the exportation of money, or the importation of commodities, is -mistaken policy; and I have the pleasure of seeing you agree with me. - -"I have no more to say, but compliments; and therefore shall conclude. I -am," &c.[304:1] - -"_Ninewells, 1st November, 1750._" - - -In 1750 there was published in Edinburgh, an edition of Montesquieu's -"Esprit des Loix; avec les dernieres corrections et illustrations de -l'Auteur."[304:2] That Hume was instrumental to this publication, is -shown by the letters addressed to him by Montesquieu between the years -1749 and 1753, printed in the appendix. It appears, that, as he there -intimates, the author sent over a copy of his corrections and -illustrations; but the work must have been partly printed before their -arrival, for, in the advertisement to the reader, it is stated that a -few of the earliest sheets, where the more important amendments -occurred, had to be reprinted, while some minor alterations are -supplied by a list of corrections. - -Montesquieu's appreciation of some of Hume's ethical works will be read -with interest. Hume appears to have made the first advances towards an -intimacy; and the great Frenchman, then in his sixtieth year, seems to -have hailed with satisfaction the appearance of a kindred spirit, and to -have received his proffers with warm cordiality. This is the -commencement of that intercourse with his eminent contemporaries in -France, which we shall hereafter find to occupy a prominent feature in -Hume's literary and social history. - -At this period we find Hume taking much interest in the conduct of a -certain James Fraser, in connexion with the Westminster election of -1749--one of the marked epochs in the parliamentary history of that -renowned constituency. The candidates were Lord Trentham the eldest son -of Earl Gower, and Sir George Vandeput, of whom the former was returned -by the high bailiff. Sir George Vandeput was the "independent" -candidate, representing the "English interest." Lord Trentham was a -placeman, and was accused of a partiality for French interests. Though -the Jacobites were ranged on the Vandeput side, Lord Trentham was by -implication accused of having favoured the exiled family; as by one of -the election placards issued on the occasion, the voters are desired to -"ask Lord Trentham, who had his foot in the stirrup in the year 1715?" -He was charged with having sacrificed his country or Jacobite principles -for a place, and with being that most abhorred of all political -characters, an ex-patriot, who has ratted to obtain office. Shortly -before the election, a riotous attack had been made on a small French -theatre, which had become peculiarly unpopular by obtaining a licence, -when some English establishments had been suppressed under Walpole's -act. It appears that Lord Trentham had, with some others, endeavoured to -preserve the friendless foreigners from the fury of the mob. So -un-English an act, as this harbouring and protecting of foreign -vagabonds, against the just indignation of true born Britons, was very -successfully displayed as an overt act in favour of Popery, Jacobitism, -and French ascendency; and the skilful manner in which it was improved, -in the hand-bills, and pasquinades of the Vandeput party, shows that -this department of the electioneering art was not then far from its -present state of maturity.[306:1] - -A pretty minute investigation has not enabled me to discover what -precise conduct in connexion with this affair was important enough to -elicit from Hume the elaborate joke against Fraser embodied in the -following papers. He was evidently a medical man, but he does not appear -in the list of those who attested Mr. Murray's health, or were appointed -to visit him. He certainly acted on the Vandeput side, yet his name is -nowhere mentioned, in connexion with it, in a pretty large collection of -documents relating to this election, which I have had an opportunity of -consulting.[307:1] - -Fraser was evidently, like Clephane, one of the medical officers in -General St. Clair's expedition, for, in a previous letter to Colonel -Abercromby, Hume mentions him as an officer in the royal -regiment.[307:2] He appears to have been a thorough Jacobite, for, in -another letter, Hume speaks of him as one of the extreme persons whom -his history will displease by its too great partiality to the Whigs. A -very pleasing and natural description of his character is given by Hume, -in a letter to Clephane, a little farther on.[308:1] - -The following document was sent to Colonel Abercromby, along with the -explanatory letters which immediately follow it. - - - To the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Justice Reason, and the - Honourable the Judges Discretion, Prudence, Reserve, and - Deliberation, the Petition of the Patients of Westminster, - against James Fraser, Apothecary. - -Most humbly showeth, - -That your petitioners had put themselves and families under the -direction and care of the said James Fraser, and had so continued for -several years, to their great mutual benefit and emolument. - -That many of your petitioners had, under his management, recovered from -the most desperate and deplorable maladies, such as megrims, toothaches, -cramps, stitches, vapours, crosses in love, &c. which wonderful success, -after the blessing of God, they can ascribe to nothing but his -consummate skill and capacity, since many of their neighbours, labouring -under the same distresses, died every day, by the mistakes of less -learned apothecaries. - -That there are many disconsolate widows among your petitioners, who -believed themselves, and were believed by all their neighbours, to be -dying of grief; but as soon as the said James Fraser applied lenitives, -and proper topical medicines, they were observed to recover wonderfully. - -That in all hypochondriacal cases he was sovereign, in so much that his -very presence dispelled the malady, cheering the sight, exciting a -gentle agitation of the muscles of the lungs and thorax, and thereby -promoting expectoration, exhilaration, circulation, and digestion. - -That your petitioners verily believe, that not many more have died from -amongst them, under the administration of the said James Fraser, than -actually die by the course of nature in places where physic is not at -all known or practised; which will scarcely be credited in this -sceptical and unbelieving age. - -That all this harmony and good agreement betwixt your petitioners and -the said James Fraser had lately been disturbed, to the great detriment -of your petitioners and their once numerous families. - -That the said James Fraser, associating himself with ---- Carey, -surgeon, and William Guthrey, Esq. and other evil intentioned persons, -not having the fear of God before their eyes, had given himself entirely -up to the care of Dame PUBLIC, and had utterly neglected your -petitioners. - -That the lady above mentioned was of a most admirable CONSTITUTION, -envied by all who had ever seen her or heard of her; and was only -afflicted sometimes with vapours, and sometimes with a looseness or -flux, which not being of the bloody kind, those about her were rather -pleased with it. - -That notwithstanding this, the said James Fraser uses all diligence and -art to persuade the said lady that she is in the most desperate case -imaginable, and that nothing will recover her but a medicine he has -prepared, being a composition of _pulvis pyrius_,[310:1] along with a -decoction of northern steel, and an infusion of southern _aqua sacra_ or -holy water. - -That the medicine, or rather poison, was at first wrapt up under a wafer -marked Patriotism, but had since been attempted to be administrated -without any cover or disguise. - -That a dose of it had secretly been poured down the throat of the said -Dame Public, while she was asleep, and had been attended with the most -dismal symptoms, visibly heightening her vapours, and increasing her -flux, and even producing some symptoms of the bloody kind; and had she -not thrown it up with great violence, it had certainly proved fatal to -her. - -That the said James Fraser and his associates, now finding that the -_Catholicon_ does not agree with the constitution of the said Dame, -prescribed to her large doses of _Phillipiacum_, _Cottontium_,[310:2] -and _Vandeputiana_,[310:3] in order to alter her constitution, and -prepare her body for the reception of the said Catholicon. - -That he had even been pleased to see Lovitium[310:4] applied to her, -though known to be a virulent caustic, and really no better than a -_lapis infernalis_. - -That while the medicines Goveriacum and Trentuntium[311:1] were very -violent, resembling sublimate of _high flown_ mercury, he also much -approved of them, but since they were mollified by late operations, and -made as innocent as mercurius dulcis, they were become his utter -aversion. - -That the said James Fraser, through his whole practice on the said Dame -Public, entirely rejected all lenitives, soporifics, palliatives, &c. -though approved of by the regular and graduate physicians, as Dr. -Pelham, Dr. Fox, Dr. Pitt; and that he prescribed nothing but chemical -salts and stimulating medicines, in which regimen none but quacks and -empirics who had never taken their degrees will agree with him. - -That your petitioners remember the story of an Irish servant to a -physician, which seems fitted to the present purpose. The doctor bid -Teague carry a potion to a patient, and tell him it was the most -innocent in the world, and if it did him no good, could do him no harm. -The footman obeys, but unluckily transposing a word, said, that if it -did him no harm it could do him no good. And your petitioners are much -afraid that the catholicon above mentioned is much of the same nature. - - May it therefore please your worships to discharge the said - James Fraser from any farther attendance on the said Dame - Public, and to order him to return to the care and inspection - of your petitioners and their families. - - -The following is entitled, "True letter to Colonel Abercromby, to be -first read." - - -"DEAR COLONEL,--Endeavour to make Fraser believe I am in earnest. If -the thing takes, you may easily find somebody to personate Mr. Cockburn; -and you may swear to the truth of the whole. To make it more probable, -you may say that you suspect too much study has made me crazy; otherwise -I had never thought of so foolish a thing. - -"If there be any probability of succeeding, an advertisement, like that -which is on the following page, may be put into any of the public -papers--that is, if you think _que le jeu vaut la chandelle_. - -"My compliments to Mrs. Abercromby. I hope some day to regain her good -opinion. It shall be the great object of my ambition. - -"Tell the Doctor I shall answer him sooner than he did me. He will -assist you very well in any cheat or roguery: but do not attempt it, -unless you think you can all be masters of your countenance. This is a -note, not a letter. Yours sincerely. - -"P.S. Read Fraser the letter, but do not put it into his hands; he will -tear it. Show him first my other letter to you." - - * * * * * - -"ADVERTISEMENT.--Speedily will be published, price 1s. A letter to a -certain turbulent Patriot in Westminster, from a friend in the country. - - ----_Et_ spargere voces - In vulgum ambiguas, et quærere conscius arma.--_Virgil._" - - -The following is the letter which, in pursuance of the arrangements for -completing this complicated joke, Colonel Abercromby was to read to -Fraser. Its tone of mock heroic will at once be detected, and indeed, -when the spilling of the last drop of blood, "or of ink," is with so -much simplicity made an alternative, it may be presumed that James -Fraser was a very obtuse being, if he believed these protestations to -be serious. - - -"DEAR SIR,--This will be delivered you by Mr. William Cockburn, a friend -of mine, who travels to London for the first time. I have taken the -opportunity to send up by him a manuscript, which I intend to have -printed. I have ordered him first to read it to you; but not to trust it -out of his hands. You can scarce be surprised that I treat Mr. Fraser so -roughly in it. No man, who loves his country, can be a friend to that -gentleman, considering his late as well as former behaviour. For if I be -rightly informed, his conduct shows no more the spirit of submission and -tranquillity than that of prudence and discretion; and if he goes on at -this rate, you yourself will be obliged to renounce all connexion and -friendship with him. - -"I have been ill of late; and am very low at present from the loss of -blood which they have drawn from me. My friends would hinder me from -reading; but my books and my pen are my only comfort and occupation; and -while I am master of a drop of blood or of ink, I will joyfully spill it -in the cause of my country. I am, Dear Sir, - -"Your most obedient humble servant." - -"_Ninewells, Feb. 16th, 1751._" - - -In the following letter to Dr. Clephane, we find that the practical joke -on James Fraser, which seems to have given a good deal of employment to -the wits of a great philosopher, a learned physician, and a gallant -colonel, is still a matter which Hume has very much at heart; while at -the same time he seems to have been amusing himself with some other -jocular effusions. The letter presents us with his first commemoration -of the poetical genius of his friend, John Home, though it gives no -forecast of the zeal with which he subsequently advocated his -countryman's claims to originality and high genius. The dramatic critic -will probably feel an interest in the light thrown on Hume's -appreciation of Shakspere by the manner in which his name is connected -with that of Racine. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, 18th February, 1751._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I will not pay you so bad a compliment as to say I was -not angry with you for neglecting me so long; that would be to suppose I -was indifferent whether I had any share in your memory or friendship. -However, since there is nothing in it but the old vice of indolence, - - Non ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco. - -Ed io anche sóno Pittore, as Correggio said; I am therefore resolved to -forgive you, and to keep myself in a proper disposition for saying the -Lord's prayer, whenever I shall find space enough for it. - -"I must own I could not but think you excusable, even before you -disarmed me by your submission and penitence; 'tis so common an artifice -for provincials to hook on a correspondence with a Londoner, under -pretext of friendship and regard, that a jealousy on that head is very -pardonable in the latter. But I ought not to lie under that general -suspicion; for the fashionable songs I cannot sing; the present or the -expectant ministers I have no interest in; the old good books I have not -yet all read or pondered sufficiently; and the current stories and _bon -mots_, I would not repeat if I knew them. You see, therefore, that if I -were not concerned about Dr. Clephane, I never should desire to hear -from him, and consequently that a line of his would be equally -acceptable whether it comes from London or Crookhaven. - -"I have executed your desire and the Colonel's as well as I could, but -have not, I believe, succeeded so well as last year: the subject, -indeed, was exhausted, and the patient may justly, I fear, be esteemed -incurable. I leave you to manage the matter as you best can: but I beg -of you to conduct it, so as not to make a quarrel betwixt Fraser and me; -he is an honest, good-humoured, friendly, pleasant fellow, (though, it -must be confessed, a little turbulent and impetuous,) and I should be -sorry to disoblige him. The Colonel would be heartily bit, if by this or -any other means Fraser should be cured of his politics and patriotism; -all his friends would lose a great deal of diversion, and certainly -would not like him near so well, if he were more cool and reasonable, -and moderate, and prudent. But these are vices he is in no manner of -danger of. Is it likely that reason will prevail against nature, habit, -company, education, and prejudice? I leave you to judge. - -"But since I am in the humour of displaying my wit, I must tell you that -lately, at an idle hour, I wrote a sheet called the Bellman's Petition: -wherein (if I be not partial, which I certainly am,) there was some good -pleasantry and satire. The Printers in Edinburgh refused to print it, (a -good sign, you'll say, of _my_ prudence and discretion.) Mr. Mure, the -member, has a copy of it; ask it of him if you meet with him, or bid the -Colonel, who sees him every day at the house, ask it, and if you like it -read it to the General, and then return it. I will not boast, for I have -no manner of vanity; but when I think of the present dulness of London, -I cannot forbear exclaiming, - - Rome n'est pas dans Rome, - C'est par tout où je suis. - -A namesake of mine has wrote a Tragedy, which he expects to come on this -winter.[316:1] I have not seen it, but some people commend it much. 'Tis -very likely to meet with success, and not to deserve it, for the author -tells me, he is a great admirer of Shakspere, and never read Racine. - -"When I take a second perusal of your letter, I find you resemble the -Papists, who deal much in penitence, but neglect extremely _les bonnes -oeuvres_. I asked you a question with regard to the plans of ancient -buildings in Dr. Mead's collection.[316:2] Pray, are they authentic -enough to be cited in a discourse of erudition and reasoning? have they -never been published in any collection? and what are the proper terms in -which I ought to cite them? I know you are a great proficient in the -_virtu_, and consequently can resolve my doubts. This word I suppose you -pretend to speak with an (e), which I own is an improvement: but -admitting your orthography, you must naturally have a desire of doing a -good-natured action, and instructing the ignorant. - -"It appears to me that apothecaries bear the same relation to -physicians, that priests do to philosophers; the ignorance of the former -makes them positive, and dogmatical, and assuming, and enterprising, and -pretending, and consequently much more taking with the people. Follow my -example--let us not trouble ourselves about the matter; let the one -stuff the beasts' guts with antimony, and the other their heads with -divinity, what is that to us? according to the Greek proverb, they are -no more, but as +es tên amida enourountes+. - -"You may tell me, indeed, that I mistake the matter quite; that it is -not your kindness for the people, which makes you concerned, but -something else. In short, that if self-interest were not in the case, -they might take clysters, and physic, and ipecacuanha, till they were -tired of them. Now, dear Doctor, this mercenary way of thinking I never -could have suspected you of, and am heartily ashamed to find you of such -a temper. - -"If you answer this any time within the twelve months 'tis sufficient, -and I promise not to answer you next at less than six months' interval; -and so, as the Germans say, je me recomante a fos ponnes craces. Yours, -&c." - - -The "Bellman's Petition," more than once alluded to in Hume's letters, -is a little jeu d'esprit, to which he seems to have attributed far more -than its due importance. The clergy and schoolmasters of Scotland were -then appealing to the legislature for an increase of their incomes; and -in this production, Hume, in a sort of parody on the representation of -these reverend and learned bodies, shows that bell-ringers have the -same, or even greater claims on the liberality of the public. It is -perhaps a little too like the original, of which it professes to be a -parody; and though it has some wit, is deficient in the bitter ridicule, -which Swift would have thrown into such an effort. The following are -some passages:-- - -"That as your petitioners serve in the quality of grave-diggers, the -great use and necessity of their order, in every well regulated -commonwealth, has never yet been called in question by any reasoner; an -advantage they possess above their brethren the reverend clergy. - -"That their usefulness is as extensive as it is great, for even those -who neglect religion or despise learning, must yet, some time or other, -stand in need of the good offices of this grave and venerable order. - -"That it seems impossible the landed gentry can oppose the interest of -your petitioners; since, by securing so perfectly as they have hitherto -done, the persons of the fathers and elder brothers of the foresaid -gentry, your petitioners, next after the physicians, are the persons in -the world, to whom the present proprietors of land are the most -beholden. - -"That, as your petitioners are but half ecclesiastics, it may be -expected they will not be altogether unreasonable nor exorbitant in -their demands. - -"That the present poverty of your petitioners in this kingdom is a -scandal to all religion; it being easy to prove, that a modern bellman -is not more richly endowed than a primitive apostle, and consequently -possesseth not the twentieth part of the revenues belonging to a -presbyterian clergyman. - -"That whatever freedom the profane scoffers, and free thinkers of the -age, may use with our reverend brethren the clergy, the boldest of them -tremble when they think of us; and that a simple reflection on us has -reformed more lives than all the sermons in the world. - -"That the instrumental music allotted to your petitioners, being the -only music of that kind left in our truly reformed churches, is a -necessary prelude to the vocal music of the schoolmaster and minister, -and is by many esteemed equally significant and melodious. - -"That your petitioners trust the honourable house will not despise them -on account of the present meanness of their condition; for, having heard -a learned man say that the cardinals, who are now princes, were once -nothing but the parish curates of Rome, your petitioners, observing the -same laudable measures to be now prosecuted, despair not of being, one -day, on a level with the nobility and gentry of these realms." - -The petition of which this is a specimen, is accompanied by a letter, -signed "Zerubabel Macgilchrist, Bellman of Buckhaven;" who kindly says -to the members of parliament he addresses, that the brother to whom is -allotted "the comfortable task of doing you the last service in our -power, shall do it so carefully, that you never shall find reason to -complain of him."[319:1] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[272:1] "By the author of The Essays Moral and Political," 8vo. Printed -for Andrew Millar. Hume's complaints about the obscurity of all his -books anterior to the "Political Discourses" and the History, seem to be -confirmed by the absence of this Edition in places where such books are -expected to be found. It is not in The Advocates' or The Signet -libraries in Edinburgh, nor is it to be found in the catalogues of the -British Museum or Bodleyan. Did I not possess the book, I might have -found it difficult to obtain an authenticated copy of the title-page. It -is not mentioned in Watt's Bibliotheca; but it will be found correctly -set forth in a German bibliographical work, infinitely superior to any -we possess in this country, but unfortunately not completed. Adelung's -Supplement to Jöchers Allgemeines Gelehrten Lexicon. It appears in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_, list of books for April. - -[273:1] "A Free Inquiry into the miraculous powers, which are supposed -to have subsisted in the Christian Church, from the earliest ages -through several successive centuries," by Conyers Middleton, D.D. -London, 1748-1749, 4to. - -It was encountered by a perfect hurricane of controversial tracts, which -fill all the book lists of the time. - -[278:1] Inquiry concerning Human Understanding, sect. viii. - -[283:1] This matter seems on another occasion to have passed under his -own view. In the "Dialogues concerning Natural Religion" he makes Philo -say, "Strong and almost incontestable proofs may be traced over the -whole earth, that every part of this globe has continued for many ages -entirely covered with water. And though order were supposed inseparable -from matter, and inherent in it, yet may matter be susceptible of many -and great revolutions through the endless periods of eternal duration." -That even Hume's argument makes allowance for miracles having some time -or other existed, and that it can only be urged against this or that -individual statement of an unnatural occurrence, is the weapon which -Campbell wields with chief effect in his admirable dissertation. - -[284:1] "Let us try how his manner of argument on this point can be -applied to a particular instance. For this purpose I make the following -supposition. I have lived for some years near a ferry. It consists with -my knowledge that the passage boat has a thousand times crossed the -river, and as many times returned safe. An unknown man, whom I have just -now met, tells me in a serious manner that it is lost; and affirms, that -he himself, standing on the bank, was a spectator of the scene; that he -saw the passengers carried down the stream and the boat overwhelmed. No -person, who is influenced in his judgment of things, not by -philosophical subtleties, but by common sense, a much surer guide, will -hesitate to declare, that in such a testimony I have probable evidence -of the fact asserted."--Dissertation on Miracles, 46-47. - -[285:1] Perhaps the earliest in date of these is, "An Essay on Mr. -Hume's Essay on Miracles," by William Adams, M.A. chaplain to the Bishop -of Llandaff, 1751. - -[285:2] Warburton says to Hurd, on 28th September, 1749,--"I am strongly -tempted to have a stroke at Hume in passing. He is the author of a -little book called 'Philosophical Essays;' in one part of which he -argues against the being of a God, and in another (very needlessly you -will say,) against the possibility of miracles. He has crowned the -liberty of the press: and yet he has a considerable post under the -government. I have a great mind to do justice on his arguments against -miracles, which I think might be done in a few words. But does he -deserve notice? Is he known among you? Pray answer these questions. For -if his own weight keeps him down, I should be sorry to contribute to his -advancement to any place but the pillory." Letters from a late Rev. -prelate to one of his friends, 1808, p. 11. - -[286:1] Sect. iii. - -[287:1] Preliminary Dissertation, Note T. - -[287:2] "Quandoque remeniscitur aliquis incipiens ab aliqua re, cujus -memoratur, a quâ procedit ad alium triplici ratione. Quandoque quidem -ratione similitudinis, sicut quando aliquis memoratur de Socrate, et per -hoc, occurrit ei Plato, qui est similis ei in sapientia; quandoque vero -ratione contrarietatis, sicut si aliquis memoretur Hectoris, et per hoc -occurrit ei Achilles. Quandoque vero ratione propinquitatis cujuscunque, -sicut cum aliquis memor est patris, et per hoc occurrit ei filius. Et -eadem ratio est de quacunque alia propinquitate, vel societatis, vel -loci, vel temporis, et propter hoc fit reminiscentia quia motus horum se -invicem consequuntur."--_Aquinatis Comment. in Aristot. de Memoria et -Remeniscentia_; _edit. Paris_, 1660, p. 64. The scope of Aquinas' -remarks have more reference to mnemonics or artificial memory than to -association. They explain how a man, remembering what he did yesterday, -may pass to the remembrance of what he did the day before, &c. - -[288:1] See Dr. Brown's commentary on the history of theories of -association, in his thirty-fourth Lecture. Sir William Hamilton, the -highest living authority on these subjects, while he thinks that -Aristotle has not got justice for the extent to which he has anticipated -Hume and others in relation to this matter, does not think there is the -slightest ground for the charge of plagiarism, and observes to me that -Coleridge's own remarks on association are merely an adaptation from the -German of Maas. - -[289:1] 8vo, printed for A. Millar. It is in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ -list for November. - -[289:2] See p. 136. - -[290:1] _Babylonii maxime in vinum, et quæ ebrietatem sequuntur, effusi -sunt._ Quint. Cur. lib. v. cap. 1. - -[290:2] Plut. Symp. lib. i. quæst. 4. - -[291:1] From the circumstances to be immediately stated regarding this -event, it seems to have taken place while Hume was on his way back from -Turin. In a search in _The Scots Magazine_, and other quarters where one -might expect to find mention of the decease of a person in the rank of -the lady of Ninewells, I have not been able to ascertain the precise -date. - -[293:1] Quarterly Review, xvi. 279. - -[294:1] There is a traditional anecdote, to the effect that Mrs. Hume, -expressing her opinion of her son David and his accomplishments, said, -"Our Davie's a fine good-natured crater, but uncommon wake-minded." I -have heard this adduced as a proof of the philosopher's gentle, passive -nature, and the effect it had in stamping an impression of his character -on one not capable of appreciating his genius. But the anecdote is not -characteristic of either party, and arises out of the common mistake -that Hume was all his life tame, phlegmatic, and unimpassioned. However -much he had tutored himself to stoicism, and had succeeded in conquering -the outward demonstrations of strong feelings, it will be seen in -various documents quoted in these volumes, and in the incidents -narrated, that he was a man of strong impulses, full of blood and nerve, -and that, as in a high-mettled horse, his energies were regulated, not -extinguished. No one who had the training of his youth could have -escaped observing in him the workings of strong aspirations, and of a -hardy resolute temper. - -But Mrs. Hume was evidently an accomplished woman, worthy of the -sympathy and respect of her distinguished son, and could not have failed -to see and to appreciate from its earliest dawnings the originality and -power of his intellect. Her portrait, which I have seen, represents a -thin but pleasing countenance, expressive of great intellectual -acuteness. Some verses, which a lady, who is her direct descendant, -authenticates as being in her handwriting, are in the curious collection -of autographs and illustrated portraits, in the possession of Mr. W. F. -Watson, Prince's Street, Edinburgh. It has been supposed that they are -the composition of David Hume himself; but the use of the Scottish -language almost amounts to evidence against that supposition: he would -as readily have walked the streets of Edinburgh in a kilt. The lines are -called "Song.--Air, Mary's Dream," and begin-- - - What now avails the flowery dream, - That animates my youthful mind, - My Mary's vows are all a whim, - Her plighted troth as light as wind. - - O Mary, dearer than the day - That cheers the nighted wanderer's ee, - Through ance-loved scenes I lonely stray, - But lovely Mary's far frae me. - - What now avails the beachen grove, - Or willow in its cloak o' gray, - Those scenes 'twas sacred ance to love, - Now fills my heart in grief and wae. - - O Mary, &c. - -Perhaps this may be as good an opportunity as any other for the -insertion of some lines, carefully preserved in the MSS. R.S.E., which -are at least so far to the present purpose, that they give a pleasing -idea of the social circle at Ninewells. They are addressed to a lady who -had lived to see her grandchildren; which does not appear to have been -the case with the mother of the historian, as her eldest son was not -married till 1751. A dowager of an elder generation may have lived for -some time at Ninewells during David Hume's youth, though he does not -mention her: or there may have been some collateral member of the -family, to whom the lines may have been addressed; for, in a series of -extracts which I have obtained from the Kirk Session Records of -Chirnside, I find that a David Home _in_ Ninewells, who cannot have been -a lineal ancestor of the philosopher, had a numerous family baptized -between 1691 and 1701. The lines are entitled "Miss A. B. to Mrs. H. by -her Black Boy;" and however the genealogical questions, we have just -been considering, may stand, their intrinsic merit, as embodying a -beautiful and humane sentiment, entitle them to notice.--Query, is it to -this alone, or to some extrinsic interest attached to Miss A. B. that we -are to attribute the careful preservation of the lines by Hume? - - Condemn'd in infancy a slave to roam, - Far far from India's shore, my native home, - To serve a Caledonian maid I come-- - In me no father does his darling mourn-- - No mother weeps me from her bosom torn-- - Both grew to dust, they say to earth below; - But who those were, alas, I ne'er shall know. - Lady, to thee her love my mistress sends, - And bids thy grandsons be Ferdnando's friends. - Bids thee suppose, on Afric's distant coast, - One of those lily-coloured favourites lost; - Doom'd in the train of some proud dame to wait, - A slave, as she should will, for use or state. - If to the boy you'd wish her to be kind, - Such grace from you let Ferdinando find. - -[296:1] Hom. Il. +l.+ 515. A medical man is equal in value to many other -men. Or, as Pope has it, - - A wise physician, skill'd our wounds to heal, - Is more than armies to the public weal. - -[297:1] - - ----ubi non et multa supersunt, - Et dominum fallunt, et prosunt furibus. - - Hor. epist. i. 6, 45. - -[298:1] See this passage nearly verbatim in the "Essay on the -Populousness of Ancient Nations," (Works, edit. 1826, p. 483.) Much -light has of course been subsequently thrown on this matter by the -investigations in Pompeii, and other places. - -[298:2] London was kept in much excitement, during the year 1750, by -repeated shocks of earthquake. Horace Walpole says, on 11th March, "In -the night between Wednesday and Thursday last, (exactly a month since -the first shock,) the earth had a shivering fit between one and two; but -so slight that, if no more had followed, I don't believe it would have -been noticed. I had been awake, and had scarce dosed again. On a sudden -I felt my bolster lift up my head: I thought somebody was getting from -under my bed, but soon found it was a strong earthquake, that lasted -near half a minute, with a violent vibration and great roaring. I rang -my bell; my servant came in, frightened out of his senses. In an instant -we heard all the windows in the neighbourhood flung up. I got up, and -found people running into the streets; but saw no mischief done. There -has been some: two old houses flung down, several chimneys, and much -china ware."--Letters to Sir H. Man, ii. 349. - -"Dick Leveson and Mr. Rigby, who had supped and staid late at Bedford -House, the other night, knocked at several doors, and in a watchman's -voice cried, 'Past four o'clock, and a dreadful earthquake.'"--Ib. 354. - -[299:1] "There has been a shower of sermons and exhortations. Secker, -the jesuitical Bishop of Oxford, begun the mode. He heard the women were -all going out of town to avoid the next shock: and so, for fear of -losing his Easter offerings, he set himself to advise them to wait God's -good pleasure, in fear and trembling. But, what is more astonishing, -Sherlock, [Bishop of London,] who has much better sense, and much less -of the popish confessor, has been running a race with him for the old -ladies, and has written a Pastoral Letter, of which ten thousand were -sold in two days, and fifty thousand have been subscribed for since the -two first editions."--Ib. 353. - -[300:1] A second edition of the "Essays concerning Human Understanding," -was published by Millar in 1751, with the author's name. One of these -essays, which, in the first edition, had the title, "Of the Practical -Consequences of Natural Religion," but, in the second, received a much -less appropriate title, and one likely to make its tenor, as applicable -to the reasonings of philosophers anterior to Christianity, be -misunderstood. It was called, "Of a Particular Providence, and Future -State." - -[300:2] Colonel Abercromby. See above, p. 222. - -[300:3] Colonel Edmonstoune. - -[301:1] Probably "The Bellman's Petition," mentioned p. 317. - -[301:2] From the original at Kilravock. - -[304:1] Memorials of Oswald, p. 65. - -[304:2] Two vols. 8vo, Hamilton and Balfour. The productions of the -Scottish press, in the middle period of last century, deserve to be -looked back upon with respect; and the excellence of its matter at that -time, will go far to balance its present fertility. It was not only as a -vehicle of native genius, that it was respectable. Besides the eminent -editions of the classics by the Ruddimans and the Foulises, it supplied -handsome editions of celebrated foreign works; a sure indication that it -was surrounded by a large class of well educated readers. - -[306:1] The following placard is, in the circumstances, a master-stroke -in its simplicity and ingenuity. - - -"AUX ELECTEURS TRÈS DIGNES DE WESTMINSTER. - - "MESSIEURS,--Vos suffrages et interêts sont desirés pour Le - Très Hon. mi Lord TRENTHAM, un VÉRITABLE Anglois. - - "N. B.--L'on prie ses Amis de ses rendre a l'hôtel François - dans le Marché au Foin." - -The following acrostic is a specimen of the poetic lucubrations of the -Vandeput party:-- - - "T ruant to thy promis'd trust; - R ebel daring where thou durst, - E ager to promote French strollers, - N one but poltroons are thy pollers. - - T ribes of nose-led clerks and placemen, - H ackney voters, (bribes disgrace men,) - A ll forswear, through thick and thin, - M eanness theirs, but thine the sin." - -This election gave birth to some incidents apparently trifling, which -yet make a material figure in British history, from their connexion -with the vindication of the privileges of the House of Commons. The -Honourable Alexander Murray, brother of Lord Elibank, a gentleman who -will probably be again called up in a future part of these pages, was -charged along with Mr. Crowle, an attorney, and another person, with the -use of "threatening and affronting expressions," by the high bailiff. -They were brought before the bar of the House, and after some discussion -and inquiry, Crowle confessed, was submissive, received the usual -reprimand on his knees, and wiped them when he rose, saying, it was "the -dirtiest house he had ever been in." Murray denied the charge, and -resisted the House, "smiled," as Walpole says, "when he was taxed with -having called Lord Trentham and the high bailiff, rascals," and, -finally, refused to kneel, saying, "Sir, I beg to be excused, I never -kneel but to God." Then followed imprisonment, and embarrassing -questions about the prisoner's health, which, sinking under his -self-inflicted imprisonment, reproached those who could not turn back on -the course they had taken; the whole being rendered more complex by the -difficulty of finding a guiding rule in the precedents of the House, -until parliament was adjourned; and he left Newgate in a triumphant -procession, proclaiming the device of "Murray and Liberty." - -[307:1] Viz. in a volume of broadsides and other documents, in the -possession of James Maidment, Esq. of which the pieces in the preceding -note are specimens. To show how such inquiries are beset by tantalizing -coincidences, there are two James Frasers mentioned on the Trentham -side, one of them having after his name on a printed list of voters, the -significant MS. notandum, "Don't pay." - -[307:2] P. 223. - -[308:1] A gentleman of the same name connected with the Lovat family, -was for some time an apothecary in London, where he lived "the life of a -genuine London bachelor;" he was a keen Jacobite, and died about 1760. -_Note communicated by Captain Fraser, Knockie_, who also mentions -another James Fraser, who was commissioner of the navy during the -revolutionary war, and settled in London in 1781; but this appears to -have been a person of a later generation than Hume's friend. - -[310:1] Gunpowder. - -[310:2] In allusion, probably, to Sir John Hynd Cotton. - -[310:3] In allusion to Sir George Vandeput. - -[310:4] In allusion, probably, to Fraser's own family. - -[311:1] Earl Gower, and his son Lord Trentham. - -[316:1] Probably "Agis," which appears to have been written before -"Douglas." - -[316:2] See above, p. 298. - -[319:1] Printed sheet in the possession of James Maidment, Esq. "The -Bellman's Petition," has been reprinted in a curious collection of -scraps, called "A Scots Haggis," the editor of which does not however -appear to have known that Hume was the author of this piece. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -1751-1752. ÆT. 40-41. - - Sir Gilbert Elliot--Hume's intimacy with him--Their - Philosophical Correspondence--Dialogues on Natural Religion-- - Residence in Edinburgh--Jack's Land--Publication of the - "Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals"--The Utilitarian - Theory--Attempt to obtain the Chair of Moral Philosophy in - Glasgow--Competition with Burke--Publication of the "Political - Discourses"--The foundation of Political Economy--French - Translations. - - -Foremost in that body of accomplished gentlemen, whose friendship and -companionship afforded to Hume so much pleasure and instruction, was -Mr. afterwards Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto. A small portion of the -letters, of which their correspondence consists, has already been -embodied in philosophical literature;[320:1] and I have now, through the -favour of the noble descendant of the person to whom they were -addressed, an opportunity of presenting the reader with all those -portions of Hume's letters to Sir Gilbert Elliot, now existing, which -have any claim on public attention, whether as containing valuable -philosophical speculations, or throwing light on the social habits and -intercourse of the two distinguished correspondents.[320:2] - -Sir Gilbert Elliot was the third baronet of the family of Minto, who -bore the same Christian name.[320:3] He joined the Scottish bar, though -he does not seem to have sought professional practice. - -He was, for a considerable period, a member of Parliament, and among -other offices held that of treasurer of the navy.[321:1] In lighter -literature he is known as the author of some pretty pieces of poetry, -among which, the popular song of "My Sheep I neglected," is well -esteemed by the admirers of pastoral lyrics. His acquirements as a -scholar and philosopher are amply attested by his correspondence with -Hume. - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, 10th February, 1751._ - -"DEAR SIR,--About six weeks ago, I gave our friend, Jack Stuart, the -trouble of delivering you a letter, and some papers enclosed, which I -was desirous to submit to your criticism and examination. I say not this -by way of compliment and ceremonial, but seriously and in good earnest: -it is pretty usual for people to be pleased with their own performance, -especially in the heat of composition; but I have scarcely wrote any -thing more whimsical, or whose merit I am more diffident of. - -"But, in sending in these papers, I am afraid that I have not taken the -best step towards conveying them to your hand. I should also have wrote -you to ask for them, otherwise, perhaps, our friend may wear them out in -his pocket, and forget the delivery of them: be so good, therefore, as -to desire them from him, and having read them at your leisure, return -them to him in a packet, and he will send them to me by the carrier. You -would easily observe what I mentioned to you, that they had a reference -to some other work, and were not complete in themselves: but, with this -allowance, are they tolerable?"[322:1] - - -The paper to which the following letter refers, was published as an -appendix to the "Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals," to be -shortly noticed, and was simply termed, "A Dialogue." It is, perhaps, -more imaginative than any other of Hume's works, "The Epicurean" not -excepted. It draws startling contrasts, by taking from ancient and -modern times, two communities of men strikingly opposed to each other in -habits, and describing those of the one in the social language of the -other. In this manner, it gives an account of the vices of the Greeks, -in the manner in which they would be described by a modern fashionable -Englishman, seeking pleasure and companionship in Greece, as it was in -the days of Alcibiades. This method of exhibiting national manners -through the magnifying glass of national prejudices, has, in later -times, been frequently adopted,[322:2] and, perhaps, owes its popularity -to the success with which it was exhibited in Montesquieu's "Lettres -Persanes," and Goldsmith's "Citizen of the World." - - -GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto, to_ HUME. - - _February, 1751._ - - DEAR SIR,--I have read over your Dialogue, with all the - application I am master of. Though I have never looked into - any thing of your writing, which did not either entertain or - instruct me; yet, I must freely own to you, that I have - received from this last piece an additional satisfaction, and - what indeed I have a thousand times wished for in some of your - other performances. In the first part of this work, you have - given full scope to the native bent of your genius. The - ancients and moderns, how opposite soever in other respects, - equally combine in favour of the most unbounded scepticism. - Principles, customs, and manners, the most contradictory, all - seemingly lead to the same end; and agreeably to your laudable - practice, the poor reader is left in the most disconsolate - state of doubt and uncertainty. When I had got thus far, what - do you think were my sentiments? I will not be so candid as to - tell you; but how agreeable was my surprise, when I found you - had led me into this maze, with no other view, than to point - out to me more clearly the direct road. Why can't you always - write in this manner? Indulge yourself as much as you will in - starting difficulties, and perplexing received opinions: but - let us be convinced at length, that you have not less ability - to establish true principles, than subtlety to detect false - ones. This unphilosophical, or, if you will, this lazy - disposition of mine, you are at liberty to treat as you think - proper; yet am I no enemy to free inquiry, and I would gladly - flatter myself, no slave to prejudice or authority. I admit - also that there is no writing or talking of any subject that - is of importance enough to become the object of reasoning, - without having recourse to some degree of subtlety or - refinement. The only question is, where to stop,--how far we - can go, and why no farther. To this question I should be - extremely happy to receive a satisfactory answer. I can't tell - if I shall rightly express what I have just now in my mind: - but I often imagine to myself, that I perceive within me a - certain instinctive feeling, which shoves away at once all - subtle refinements, and tells me with authority, that these - air-built notions are inconsistent with life and experience, - and, by consequence cannot be true or solid. From this I am - led to think, that the speculative principles of our nature - ought to go hand in hand with the practical ones; and, for my - own part, when the former are so far pushed, as to leave the - latter quite out of sight, I am always apt to suspect that we - have transgressed our limits. If it should be asked--how far - will these practical principles go? I can only answer, that - the former difficulty will recur, unless it be found that - there is something in the intellectual part of our nature, - resembling the moral sentiment in the moral part of our - nature, which determines this, as it were, instinctively. Very - possibly I have wrote nonsense. However, this notion first - occurred to me at London, in conversation with a man of some - depth of thinking; and talking of it since to your friend H. - Home, he seems to entertain some notions nearly of the same - kind, and to have pushed them much farther. - - This is but an idle digression, so I return to the Dialogue. - - With regard to the composition in general, I have nothing to - observe, as it appears to me to be conducted with the greatest - propriety, and the artifice in the beginning occasions, I - think, a very agreeable surprise. I don't know, if, in the - account of the modern manners, you [had] an eye to Bruyere's - introduction to his translation of Theophrastes.[324:1] If you - had not, as he has a thought handled pretty much in that - manner, perhaps looking into it might furnish some farther - hints to embellish that part of your work.[324:2] - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -"_Ninewells, 19th February, 1751._ - -"DEAR SIR,--Your notion of correcting subtlety of sentiment, is -certainly very just with regard to morals, which depend upon sentiment; -and in politics and natural philosophy, whatever conclusion is contrary -to certain matters of fact, must certainly be wrong, and there must -some error lie somewhere in the argument, whether we be able to show it -or not. But in metaphysics or theology, I cannot see how either of these -plain and obvious standards of truth can have place. Nothing there can -correct bad reasoning but good reasoning, and sophistry must be opposed -by syllogisms. About seventy or eighty years ago, I observe, a principle -like that which you advance prevailed very much in France among some -philosophers and _beaux esprits_. The occasion of it was this: The -famous Mons. Nicole of the Port Royal, in his _Perpétuité de la -Foi_,[325:1] pushed the Protestants very hard upon the impossibility of -the people's reaching a conviction of their religion by the way of -private judgment; which required so many disquisitions, reasonings, -researches, eruditions, impartiality, and penetration, as not one in a -hundred even among men of education, is capable of. Mons. Claude and the -Protestants answered him, not by solving his difficulties, (which seems -impossible,) but by retorting them, (which is very easy.) They showed -that to reach the way of authority which the Catholics insist on, as -long a train of acute reasoning, and as great erudition, was requisite, -as would be sufficient for a Protestant. We must first prove all the -truths of natural religion, the foundation of morals, the divine -authority of the Scripture, the deference which it commands to the -church, the tradition of the church, &c. The comparison of these -controversial writings begot an idea in some, that it was neither by -reasoning nor authority we learn our religion, but by sentiment: and -certainly this were a very convenient way, and what a philosopher would -be very well pleased to comply with, if he could distinguish sentiment -from education. But to all appearance the sentiment of Stockholm, -Geneva, Rome ancient and modern, Athens and Memphis, have the same -characters; and no sensible man can implicitly assent to any of them, -but from the general principle, that as the truth in these subjects is -beyond human capacity, and that as for one's own ease he must adopt some -tenets, there is most satisfaction and convenience in holding to the -Catholicism we have been first taught. Now this I have nothing to say -against. I have only to observe, that such a conduct is founded on the -most universal and determined scepticism, joined to a little indolence; -for more curiosity and research gives a direct opposite turn from the -same principles. - -"I have amused myself lately with an essay or dissertation on the -populousness of antiquity, which led me into many disquisitions -concerning both the public and domestic life of the ancients. Having -read over almost all the classics both Greek and Latin, since I formed -that plan, I have extracted what served most to my purpose. But I have -not a Strabo, and know not where to get one in this neighbourhood. He is -an author I never read. I know your library--I mean the Advocates'--is -scrupulous of lending classics; but perhaps that difficulty may be got -over. I should be much obliged to you, if you could procure me the loan -of a copy, either in the original language or even in a good -translation. - -"The Greeks had military dances, particularly the Pyrrhicha; but these -were not practised in their festivals nor amidst their jollity. Their -way of dancing was very good for an indolent fellow; for commonly they -rose not from their seats, but moved their arms and head in cadence. -'Tis difficult to imagine there could be much grace in that kind of -dancing. - -"I send you enclosed a little endeavour at drollery, against some people -who care not much to be joked upon.[327:1] I have frequently had it in -my intentions to write a supplement to Gulliver, containing the ridicule -of priests. 'Twas certainly a pity that Swift was a parson; had he been -a lawyer or physician, we had nevertheless been entertained at the -expense of these professions: but priests are so jealous, that they -cannot bear to be touched on that head, and for a plain reason, because -they are conscious they are really ridiculous. That part of the Doctor's -subject is so fertile, that a much inferior genius I am confident might -succeed in it. - -"Tell Jack Stuart, as soon as you see him, that I have sent you the -copy, if he can make any thing of it. I intended to have had it printed, -but I know not how--I find it will not do. If you like the thing, I wish -you would contrive together some way of getting over the difficulties -that have arisen, the most strangely in the world. I am, &c."[327:2] - - -Among the papers submitted to the inspection of Mr. Elliot, were the -"Dialogues concerning Natural Religion," which were not published until -after their author's death, but which the following letter shows to have -been written before the year 1751. The manuscript of this work[328:1] is -full of emendations and corrections; and while the sentiments appear to -be substantially the same as when they were first set down, the -alterations in the method of announcing them are a register of the -improvements in their author's style, for a period apparently of -twenty-seven years. Here at least he could not plead the excuse of youth -and indiscretion. The work, penned in the full vigour of his faculties, -comes to us with the sanction of his mature years, and his approval when -he was within sight of the grave. Whatever sentiments, therefore, in -this work, may be justly found to excite censure, carry with them a -reproach from which their author's name cannot escape. - -The Dialogues are written with a solemn simplicity of tone worthy of the -character of the subject. The structure is in a great measure that of -Cicero, though there appears not, as there generally does in the -conversations professed to be recorded by the Roman moralist, any one -mind completely predominating over the others. Of the interlocutors, -Philo presents himself, at first as a materialist of the Spinoza school, -who finds that the material world has within itself the principles of -its own motion and development--the operating causes that produce its -phenomena; while he denies that these phenomena exhibit an all perfect -structure. He is not, however, a man of settled opinions, but rather a -sceptical demolisher of other people's views; and we find him saying, "I -must confess that I am less cautious on the subject of natural religion -than on any other; both because I know that I can never, on that head, -corrupt the principles of any man of common sense; and because no one, I -am confident, in whose eyes I appear a man of common sense, will ever -mistake my intentions. You in particular, Cleanthes, with whom I live in -unreserved intimacy, you are sensible, that notwithstanding the freedom -of my conversation, and my love of singular arguments, no one has a -deeper sense of religion impressed on his mind, or pays more profound -adoration to the Divine Being, as he discovers himself to reason, in the -inexplicable contrivance and artifice of nature." - -Cleanthes, another speaker, has created a natural religion of his own--a -system of Theism, in which, by induction from the beautiful order and -mechanism of the world, he has reasoned himself into the belief of an -all-wise and all-powerful Supreme Being. He holds, that "the most -agreeable reflection which it is possible for human imagination to -suggest, is that of genuine Theism, which represents us as the -workmanship of a being perfectly good, wise, and powerful, who created -us for happiness; and who, having implanted in us immeasurable desires -of good, will prolong our existence to all eternity, and will transfer -us into an infinite variety of scenes, in order to satisfy those -desires, and render our felicity complete and durable." And, strangely -enough, it is with this one that the author shows most sympathy, very -nearly professing that the doctrine announced by Cleanthes is his own; -while it will be found in his correspondence, that he admits his having -designedly endeavoured to make the argument of that speaker the most -attractive. This is another illustration of the inapplicability of -perfectly abstract metaphysical disquisitions to religious faith; for, -if there is any system of religion that is incompatible with Hume's -metaphysical opinions on ideas and impressions, it is a system that is, -like this of Cleanthes, the workmanship of human reason. The third -speaker, Demea, is a devoutly religious man, who, not venturing to -create a system of belief for himself, sees in the order of the world -such a merciful and wise dispensation of Divine Providence, as induces -him to receive the whole revealed scheme of religion without questioning -those parts of it which are beyond his comprehension, any more than he -questions those of which the wisdom and goodness are immediately -apparent. - -The general scope and purport of the Dialogues are not unlike those of -Voltaire's Jenni. In both, the argument on natural theology, -illustrating the existence of a ruling mind from the general order and -harmony of created things, is adduced, and is measured with its -counterpart, the argument from the imperfection of earthly things, and -the calamities and unhappiness of the beings standing at the head of the -whole social order, mankind. But in the mere similarity of the argument -the resemblance stops; no two performances can be more unlike each other -in tone and spirit than the English sceptic's honest search after truth, -and the French infidel's ribald sport with all that men love and revere. -The contrast may be found not only in these individual men, but in the -two classes of thinkers at the head of which they respectively stood. -Hume represented the cautious conscientious inquiry, which has -established many truths and gradually ameliorated social evils; the -Frenchman directed that scornful, careless, and cruel sport with -whatever is dear and important to humanity, which one day bowed to -absolute despotism, and the next destroyed the whole fabric of social -order.[331:1] - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, March 10, 1751._ - -"DEAR SIR,--You would perceive by the sample I have given you, that I -make Cleanthes the hero of the dialogue: whatever you can think of, to -strengthen that side of the argument, will be most acceptable to me. -Any propensity you imagine I have to the other side, crept in upon me -against my will; and 'tis not long ago that I burned an old manuscript -book, wrote before I was twenty, which contained, page after page, the -gradual progress of my thoughts on that head. It began with an anxious -search after arguments, to confirm the common opinion; doubts stole in, -dissipated, returned; were again dissipated, returned again; and it was -a perpetual struggle of a restless imagination against inclination, -perhaps against reason. - -"I have often thought, that the best way of composing a dialogue, would -be for two persons that are of different opinions about any question of -importance, to write alternately the different parts of the discourse, -and reply to each other: by this means, that vulgar error would be -avoided, of putting nothing but nonsense into the mouth of the -adversary; and at the same time, a variety of character and genius being -upheld, would make the whole look more natural and unaffected. Had it -been my good fortune to live near you, I should have taken on me the -character of Philo, in the dialogue, which you'll own I could have -supported naturally enough; and you would not have been averse to that -of Cleanthes. I believe, too, we could both of us have kept our tempers -very well; only, you have not reached an absolute philosophical -indifference on these points. What danger can ever come from ingenious -reasoning and inquiry? The worst speculative sceptic ever I knew, was a -much better man than the best superstitious devotee and bigot. I must -inform you, too, that this was the way of thinking of the ancients on -this subject. If a man made a profession of philosophy, whatever his -sect was, they always expected to find more regularity in his life and -manners, than in those of the ignorant and illiterate. There is a -remarkable passage of Appian to this purpose. That historian observes, -that notwithstanding the established prepossession in favour of -learning, yet some philosophers, who have been trusted with absolute -power, have very much abused it; and he instances Critias, the most -violent of the thirty, and Ariston, who governed Athens in the time of -Sylla: but I find, upon inquiry, that Critias was a professed Atheist, -and Ariston an Epicurean, which is little or nothing different. And yet -Appian wonders at their corruption, as much as if they had been Stoics -or Platonists. A modern zealot would have thought that corruption -unavoidable. - -"I could wish Cleanthes' argument could be so analyzed, as to be -rendered quite formal and regular. The propensity of the mind towards -it,--unless that propensity were as strong and universal as that to -believe in our senses and experience,--will still, I am afraid, be -esteemed a suspicious foundation. 'Tis here I wish for your assistance; -we must endeavour to prove that this propensity is somewhat different -from our inclination to find our own figures in the clouds, our faces in -the moon, our passions and sentiments even in inanimate matter. Such an -inclination may, and ought to be controlled, and can never be a -legitimate ground of assent. - -"The instances I have chosen for Cleanthes are, I hope, tolerably happy, -and the confusion in which I represent the sceptic seems natural, -but--si quid novisti rectius, &c. - -"You ask me, '_If the idea of cause and effect is nothing but -vicinity_,' (you should have said constant vicinity, or, regular -conjunction,) I should be glad to know _whence is that farther idea of -causation against which you argue_? This question is pertinent, but I -hope I have answered it; we feel, after the constant conjunction, an -easy transition from one idea to the other, or a connexion in the -imagination; and as it is usual for us to transfer our own feelings to -the objects on which they are dependent, we attach the internal -sentiment to the external objects. If no single instances of cause and -effect appear to have any connexion, but only repeated similar ones, you -will find yourself obliged to have recourse to this theory. - -"I am sorry our correspondence should lead us into these abstract -speculations. I have thought, and read, and composed very little on such -questions of late. Morals, Politics, and Literature have employed all my -time; but still the other topics I must think more curious, important, -entertaining, and useful, than any geometry that is deeper than Euclid. -If in order to answer the doubts started, new principles of philosophy -must be laid, are not these doubts themselves very useful? Are they not -preferable to blind, and ignorant assent? I hope I can answer my own -doubts; but if I could not, is it to be wondered at? To give myself -airs, and speak magnificently, might I not observe, that Columbus did -not conquer empires and plant colonies? - -"If I have not unravelled the knot so well, in those last papers I sent -you, as perhaps I did in the former, it has not, I assure you, proceeded -from want of good will; but some subjects are easier than others: at -some times one is happier in his researches and inquiries than at -others. Still I have recourse to the _si quid novisti rectius_; not in -order to pay you a compliment, but from a real philosophical doubt and -curiosity.[334:1] - -"I do not pay compliments, because I do not desire them. For this -reason, I am very well pleased you speak so coldly of my petition. I -had, however, given orders to have it printed, which perhaps may be -executed, though I believe I had better have let it alone; not because -it will give you offence, but because it will give no entertainment; not -because it may be called profane, but because it may perhaps be -deservedly called dull. To tell the truth, I was always so indifferent -about fortune, and especially now, that I am more advanced in life, and -am a little more at my ease, suited to my extreme frugality, that I -neither fear nor hope any thing from man; and am very indifferent either -about offence or favour. Not only, I would not sacrifice truth and -reason to political views, but scarce even a jest. You may tell me, I -ought to have reversed the order of these points, and put the jest -first: as it is usual for people to be the fondest of their performances -on subjects on which they are least made to excel, and that, -consequently, I would give more to be thought a good droll, than to have -the praises of erudition, and subtilty, and invention.--This malicious -insinuation, I will give no answer to, but proceed with my subject. - -"I find, however, I have no more to say on it, but to thank you for -_Strabo_. If the carrier who will deliver this to you do not find you at -home, you will please send the book to his quarters; his name is Thomas -Henderson, the Berwick carrier; he leaves town on the Thursdays, about -the middle of the day; he puts up at James Henderson, stabler, betwixt -the foot of Cant's Close and Blackfriar's Wynd. After you have done with -these papers, please return them by the same carrier; but there is no -hurry; on the contrary the longer you keep them, I shall still believe -you are thinking the more seriously to execute what I desire of you. I -am, dear Sir, - -"Yours most sincerely." - -"P.S.--If you'll be persuaded to assist me with Cleanthes, I fancy you -need not take matters any higher than part 3d. He allows, indeed, in -part 2d, that all our inference is founded on the similitude of the -works of nature to the usual effects of mind, otherwise they must appear -a mere chaos. The only difficulty is, why the other assimilations do not -weaken the argument; and indeed it would seem from experience and -feeling, that they do not weaken it so much as we might naturally -expect. A theory to solve this would be very acceptable."[336:1] - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -1751. - -"DEAR SIR,--I am sorry your keeping these papers has proceeded from -business and avocations, and not from your endeavours to clear up so -difficult an argument. I despair not, however, of getting some -assistance from you; the subject is surely of the greatest importance, -and the views of it so new as to challenge some attention. - -"I believe the Philosophical Essays contain every thing of consequence -relating to the understanding, which you would meet with in the -Treatise; and I give you my advice against reading the latter. By -shortening and simplifying the questions, I really render them much more -complete. _Addo dum minuo._ The philosophical principles are the same in -both; but I was carried away by the heat of youth and invention to -publish too precipitately.--So vast an undertaking, planned before I was -one-and-twenty, and composed before twenty-five, must necessarily be -very defective. I have repented my haste a hundred, and a hundred times. - -"I return Strabo, whom I have found very judicious and useful. I give -you a great many thanks for your trouble. I am," &c. - - -Hume's elder brother, John, the laird of Ninewells, was married in 1751; -and the following letter, enlivened by touches of light and even elegant -raillery, scarcely excelled in the writings of Addison, evidently refers -to that event. The plan of life which he sets forth was afterwards -altered, at least in so far as he had then in view a place of residence. - - -HUME _to_ MRS. DYSART.[337:1] - -"_Ninewells, March 19th, 1751._ - -"DEAR MADAM,--Our friend at last plucked up a resolution, and has -ventured on that dangerous encounter. He went off on Monday morning; and -this is the first action of his life wherein he has engaged himself, -without being able to compute exactly the consequences. But what -arithmetic will serve to fix the proportion between good and bad wives, -and rate the different classes of each? Sir Isaac Newton himself, who -could measure the course of the planets, and weigh the earth as in a -pair of scales,--even he had not algebra enough to reduce that amiable -part of our species to a just equation; and they are the only heavenly -bodies whose orbits are as yet uncertain. - -"If you think yourself too grave a matron to have this florid part of -the speech addressed to you, pray lend it to the Collector, and he will -send it to Miss Nancy. - -"Since my brother's departure, Katty and I have been computing in our -turn, and the result of our deliberation is, that we are to take up -house in Berwick; where, if arithmetic and frugality don't deceive us, -(and they are pretty certain arts) we shall be able, after providing for -hunger, warmth, and cleanliness, to keep a stock in reserve, which we -may afterwards turn either to the purposes of hoarding, luxury, or -charity. But I have declared beforehand against the first; I can easily -guess which of the other two you and Mr. Dysart will be most favourable -to. But we reject your judgment; for nothing blinds one so much as -inveterate habits. - -"My compliments to his Solicitorship.[338:1] Unfortunately I have not a -horse at present to carry my fat carcass, to pay its respects to his -superior obesity. But if he finds travelling requisite either for his -health or the captain's, we shall be glad to entertain him here, as long -as we can do it at another's expense; in hopes we shall soon be able to -do it at our own. - -"Pray tell the Solicitor that I have been reading lately, in an old -author called _Strabo_, that in some cities of ancient Gaul, there was a -fixed legal standard established for corpulency; and that the senate -kept a measure, beyond which, if any belly presumed to increase, the -proprietor of that belly was obliged to pay a fine to the public, -proportionable to its rotundity. Ill would it fare with his worship and -I,[339:1] if such a law should pass our parliament; for I am afraid we -are already got beyond the statute. - -"I wonder, indeed, no harpy of the treasury has ever thought of this -method of raising money. Taxes on luxury are always most approved of; -and no one will say, that the carrying about a portly belly is of any -use or necessity. 'Tis a mere superfluous ornament; and is a proof, too, -that its proprietor enjoys greater plenty than he puts to a good use; -and, therefore, 'tis fit to reduce him to a level with his -fellow-subjects, by taxes and impositions. - -"As the lean people are the most active, unquiet, and ambitious, they -every where govern the world, and may certainly oppress their -antagonists whenever they please. Heaven forbid that Whig and Tory -should ever be abolished; for then the nation might be split into fat -and lean; and our faction, I am afraid, would be in piteous taking. The -only comfort is, if they oppressed us very much, we should at last -change sides with them. - -"Besides, who knows if a tax were imposed on fatness, but some jealous -divine might pretend that the church was in danger. - -"I cannot but bless the memory of Julius Cæsar, for the great esteem he -expressed for fat men, and his aversion to lean ones. All the world -allows, that that emperor was the greatest genius that ever was, and -the greatest judge of mankind. - -"But I should ask your pardon, dear madam, for this long dissertation on -fatness and leanness, in which you are no way concerned; for you are -neither fat nor lean, and may indeed be denominated an arrant trimmer. -But this letter may all be read to the Solicitor; for it contains -nothing that need be a secret to him. On the contrary, I hope he will -profit by the example; and, were I near him, I should endeavour to prove -as good an encourager as in this other instance. What can the man be -afraid of? The Mayor of London had more courage, who defied the -hare.[340:1] - -"But I am resolved some time to conclude, by putting a grave epilogue to -a farce, and telling you a real serious truth, that I am, with great -esteem, dear madam, your most obedient humble servant.[340:2] - -"P.S. Pray let the Solicitor tell Frank, that he is a bad -correspondent--the only way in which he can be a bad one, by his -silence." - - -We find, through the whole of his acts and written thoughts before his -return from the embassy to Turin, the indications of an earnest wish to -possess the means of independent livelihood, suitable to one belonging -to the middle classes of life. Great wealth or ornamental rank he seems -never to have desired: but the circumstance of his having, in the year -1748, achieved the means of independence through his official -emoluments, seems to have taken so strong a hold of his mind, that -nearly thirty years afterwards, in writing his autobiography, he speaks -with exultation of his having been then in possession of £1000. The -position of the man in comfortable circumstances, equally removed from -the dread of want, and the uneasy pressure of superfluous wealth, -appears always to have presented itself as the most desirable fate -which, in mere pecuniary matters, fortune could have in store for him; -and no commentary on the sacred text has perhaps better illustrated its -application to the conduct and feelings of mankind, than his adaptation -of Agur's prayer to the middle station in life, at a time when he was -far from having realized that happy mediocrity of fortune, of which he -gives so pleasing a picture. - - Agur's prayer is sufficiently noted--"Two things have I - required of thee; deny me them not before I die: remove far - from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; - feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny - thee, and say, who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, - and take the name of my God in vain."--The middle station is - here justly recommended, as affording the fullest security for - virtue; and I may also add, that it gives opportunity for the - most ample exercise of it, and furnishes employment for every - good quality which we can possibly be possessed of. Those who - are placed among the lower ranks of men, have little - opportunity of exerting any other virtue besides those of - patience, resignation, industry, and integrity. Those who are - advanced into the higher stations, have full employment for - their generosity, humanity, affability, and charity. When a - man lies betwixt these two extremes, he can exert the former - virtues towards his superiors, and the latter towards his - inferiors. Every moral quality which the human soul is - susceptible of, may have its turn, and be called up to action; - and a man may, after this manner, be much more certain of his - progress in virtue, than where his good qualities lie dormant, - and without employment.[341:1] - -The following letter, of a somewhat later date, gives a view of his -definitive intentions. - - -HUME _to_ MICHAEL RAMSAY. - -"_Ninewells, 22d June, 1751._ - -"DEAR MICHAEL,--I cannot sufficiently express my sense of your kind -letter. The concern you take in your friends is so warm, even after so -long absence, and such frequent interruptions as our commerce has -unhappily met with of late years, that the most recent familiarity of -others can seldom equal it. I might perhaps pretend, as well as others, -to complain of fortune; but I do not, and should condemn myself as -unreasonable if I did. While interest remains as at present, I have £50 -a-year, a hundred pounds worth of books, great store of linens and fine -clothes, and near £100 in my pocket; along with order, frugality, a -strong spirit of independency, good health, a contented humour, and an -unabating love of study. In these circumstances I must esteem myself one -of the happy and fortunate; and so far from being willing to draw my -ticket over again in the lottery of life, there are very few prizes with -which I would make an exchange. After some deliberation, I am resolved -to settle in Edinburgh, and hope I shall be able with these revenues to -say with Horace-- - - Est bona librorum et provisae frugis in annum - Copia. - -Besides other reasons which determine me to this resolution, I would not -go too far away from my sister, who thinks she will soon follow me; and -in that case, we shall probably take up house either in Edinburgh, or -the neighbourhood. Our sister-in-law behaves well, and seems very -desirous we should both stay. . . . . . . And as she (my sister) can -join £30 a-year to my stock, and brings an equal love of order and -frugality, we doubt not to make our revenues answer. Dr. Clephane, who -has taken up house, is so kind as to offer me a room in it; and two -friends in Edinburgh have made me the same offer. But having nothing to -ask or solicit at London, I would not remove to so expensive a place; -and am resolved to keep clear of all obligations and dependencies, even -on those I love the most."[343:1] - - -In fulfilment of the design thus announced, he tells us, in his "own -life," "In 1751, I removed from the country to the town, the true scene -for a man of letters." We find, from the dating of his letters, that -Hume's residence in Edinburgh was for a year or two in "Riddell's Land," -and that it was afterwards in "Jack's Land." Since the plan of numbering -the houses in each street extended to the Scottish capital, these names -have no longer been in general use; but I find that the former applied -to an edifice in the Lawnmarket, near the head of the West Bow, and that -the latter was a tenement in the Canongate, right opposite to a house in -which Smollet occasionally resided with his sister. The term "Land" -applied to one of those edifices--some of them ten or twelve stories -high,--in which the citizens of Edinburgh, pressed upwards as it were by -the increase of the population within a narrow circuit of walls, made -stair-cases supply the place of streets, and erected perpendicular -thoroughfares. A single floor of one of these edifices was, a century -ago, sufficient to accommodate the family of a Scottish nobleman; and -we may be certain, that a very small "Flat" would suit the economical -establishment of Hume. - -In 1751, appeared the "Inquiry concerning the Principles of -Morals,"[344:1] the full development, so far as it was made by Hume, of -the utilitarian system. The leading principle kept in view throughout -this work, is, that its tendency to be useful to mankind at large, is -the proper criterion of the propriety of any action, or the justness of -any ethical opinion. In this spirit he examines many of the social -virtues, and shows that it is their usefulness to mankind that gives -them a claim to sympathy, and a title to be included in the list of -virtues. The defects of this exposition of the utilitarian system, are -marked by the manner in which it was critically attacked. In 1753 a -controversial examination of it was made, with temper and ability, by -James Balfour of Pilrig,[344:2] who in 1754 succeeded to the chair, in -the university of Edinburgh, which Hume had been desirous of -filling.[345:1] Mr. Balfour's great argument is the universality of the -admission by mankind, in some shape or other, of the leading cardinal -virtues, and the unhesitating adoption and practice of them by men on -whom the utilitarian theory never dawned, and who are unconscious that -their isolated acts are the fulfilment of any general or uniform law. -Mr. Balfour argued that we must thus look to something else than -utility, as the criterion of moral right and wrong. But a supporter of -the utilitarian system, as it has been more fully developed in later -days, would probably only take from Mr. Balfour's argument a hint to -enlarge the scope of Hume's investigations. To the inquiry, how far -utility is the proper end of human conduct, he would add the inquiry, -how far the theory has been practically adopted by mankind at large. -Though Bacon first laid down the broad rule of unvarying induction from -experiment, many experiments were made, and many inductions derived from -them, before he saw the light; and so before the utilitarian theory was -first formally suggested--as it appears to have been by Aristotle in his -Nicomachean Ethics--utility may frequently have been a rule of action. - -It does not necessarily follow, that because a practice is universal, -because it is adopted "by saint, by savage, and by sage," it is -therefore not the dictate of utility, provided it be admitted that -utility was an influencing motive with men before the days of Hume. The -followers of established customs may often be blind; but if we hunt back -a practice to its first institution, we may find that the leaders were -quick-sighted, and kept utility in view, so far as the state of things -they had to deal with permitted. A minute inquiry into national -prejudices and customs frequently surprises the speculative philosopher, -by developing these practices and opinions of the vulgar and illiterate, -as the fruit of great knowledge and forethought. Exhibiting, in their -full extravagance, the contrasts between different codes of morality, -was one of Hume's literary recreations; and it might have been worth his -while to have inquired, had it occurred to him, how much of his own -favourite utilitarian principle is common to all, or at least to many, -of the systems he has thus contrasted with each other. - -It was a consequence, perhaps, of the limited extent to which he had -carried the utilitarian theory, that Hume was charged with having left -no distinct line between talent and virtue. By making it seem as if he -held that each man was virtuous according as he did good to mankind at -large, and vicious in as far as he failed in accomplishing this end, he -made way for the argument, that no man can rise high in virtue, unless -he also rise high in intellectual gifts; since, without possessing the -latter, he is not capable of deciding what actions are, and what are -not, conducive to the good of the human race. Many sentiments expressed -in the Inquiry appeared to justify this charge.[347:1] There was thus no -merit assigned to what is called good intention; and no ground for -extending the just approbation of mankind to those who have never -attempted to frame a code of morality to themselves, but who, following -the track of established opinions, or the rules laid down by some of the -many leaders of the human race, believe that, by a steadfast and -disinterested pursuit of their adopted course, they are doing that which -is right in the eye of God and man. It is certain, however, that in this -way many a man may be pursuing a line of conduct conducive to the good -of his fellow-creatures, without knowing that his actions have that -ultimate end. While he follows the rules that have been laid down for -him, his code of morality may be as far superior to that of his clever -and aspiring neighbour, who has fabricated a system for himself, as the -intelligence of the leader, followed by the one, is greater than the -self-sufficient wisdom of the other. Hence multitudes in the humblest -classes of society, in any well regulated community of modern Europe, -will be found, almost blindly, following a code of morality as much -above what the genius either of Socrates or Cicero could devise, as the -order of the universe is superior to the greatest efforts of man's -artificial skill. - - "Yon cottager, who weaves at her own door, - Pillow and bobbins all her little store;-- - Content though mean, and cheerful if not gay, - Shuffling her threads about the livelong day, - Just earns a scanty pittance; and at night - Lies down secure,--her heart and pocket light. - - She, for her humble sphere by nature fit, - Has little understanding, and no wit; - Receives no praise--but, though her lot be such, - Toilsome and indigent, she renders much; - Just knows, and knows no more, her Bible true-- - A truth the brilliant Frenchman never knew; - And in that charter reads, with sparkling eyes, - Her title to a treasure in the skies. - - Oh, happy peasant! oh, unhappy bard! - His the mere tinsel, hers the rich reward; - He, praised, perhaps, for ages yet to come; - She never heard of half a mile from home; - He, lost in errors his vain heart prefers, - _She, safe in the simplicity of hers_." - -It was, perhaps, from a like want of inquiry into the full extent of the -system, that his theory of utility encountered the charge of being a -mere system of "expediency," which estimated actions according as they -accomplished what appeared at the moment to be good or evil, without any -regard to their ultimate consequences. He certainly left for Bentham the -task of making a material addition to the utilitarian theory, by -applying it to the secondary effects of actions. Thus, according to -Bentham's view, when a successful highway robbery is committed, the -direct evil done to the victim is but a part of the mischief -accomplished. The secondary effects have an operation, if not so deep, -yet very widely spread, in creating terror, anxiety, and distrust on the -part of honest people, and emboldening the wicked to the perpetration of -crimes. On the same principle a good measure must not be carried through -the legislature by corrupt means; because the example so set, will, in -the end, though not perhaps till the generation benefited by the measure -has passed away, produce more bad measures than good, by lowering the -tone of political morality. Had Hume kept in view these secondary -effects, he never would have vindicated suicide, thought sudden death an -occurrence rather fortunate than otherwise, or used expressions from -which an opponent could with any plausibility infer, that, under any -circumstances, he held strict female chastity in light esteem. But he -was always careless about the offensive application of his principles; -forgetting that if there be any thing in a set of opinions calculated -deeply and permanently to outrage the feelings of mankind, the -probability at least is, that they have something about them -unsound,--that the mass of the public are right, and the solitary -philosopher wrong. - -Hume's account, in his "own life," of this period of his literary -history, is contained in the following paragraph, in which, as in some -other instances, it will be seen that his memory has not accurately -retained the chronological sequence of his works. - -"In 1752, were published at Edinburgh, where I then lived, my 'Political -Discourses,' the only work of mine that was successful on the first -publication. It was well received abroad and at home. In the same year -was published at London, my 'Inquiry concerning the Principles of -Morals;' which, in my own opinion, (who ought not to judge on that -subject,) is of all my writings, historical, philosophical, or literary, -incomparably the best. It came unnoticed and unobserved into the world." - -Before noticing the "Political Discourses," it is necessary to state, -that during this winter of 1751, we find Hume again attempting to obtain -an academic chair, and again disappointed. Adam Smith, having been -Professor of Logic in the university of Glasgow, succeeded to the chair -of Moral Philosophy in November 1751, on the death of Professor Craigie, -its former occupant. That Hume used considerable exertions to be -appointed Smith's successor, is attested by some incidental passages in -his correspondence, and particularly by the following letter to Dr. -Cullen. - - -"_Edinburgh, 21st January, 1752._ - -"SIR,--The part which you have acted in the late project for my election -into your college, gave me so much pleasure, that I would do myself the -greatest violence did I not take every opportunity of expressing my most -lively sense of it. We have failed, and are thereby deprived of great -opportunities of cultivating that friendship, which had so happily -commenced by your zeal for my interests. But I hope other opportunities -will offer; and I assure you, that nothing will give me greater pleasure -than an intimacy with a person of your merit. You must even allow me to -count upon the same privilege of friendship, as if I had enjoyed the -happiness of a longer correspondence and familiarity with you; for as it -is a common observation, that the conferring favours on another is the -surest method of attaching us to him, I must, by this rule, consider you -as a person to whom my interests can never be altogether indifferent. -Whatever the reverend gentlemen may say of my religion, I hope I have as -much morality as to retain a grateful sentiment of your favours, and as -much sense as to know whose friendship will give greatest honour and -advantage to me. I am," &c. - - -The distinguished scientific man, in the course of whose researches this -curious literary incident was divulged, informs us that Burke was also a -candidate for this chair,[351:1] and that the successful competitor was -a Mr. Clow. Concerning this fortunate person literary history is silent; -but he has acquired a curious title to fame, from the greatness of the -man to whom he succeeded, and of those over whom he was triumphant. - -It is not, perhaps, to be regretted, that Hume failed in both his -attempts to obtain a professor's chair. He was not of the stuff that -satisfactory teachers of youth are made of. Although he was beyond all -doubt an able man of business, in matters sufficiently important to -command his earnest attention, yet it is pretty clear that he had -acquired the outward manner of an absent, good-natured man, unconscious -of much that was going on around him; and that he would have thus -afforded a butt to the mischief and raillery of his pupils, from which -all the lustre of his philosophical reputation would not have protected -him. - -Discoverers do not make, in ordinary circumstances, the best instructors -of youth, because their minds are often too full of the fermentation of -their own original ideas and partly developed systems, to possess the -coolness and clearness necessary for conveying a distinct view of the -laws and elements of an established system. But if this may be an -incidental inconvenience in one whose discoveries are but extensions of -admitted doctrines, the revolutionist who is endeavouring to pull to -pieces what has been taught for ages within the same walls, and to erect -a new system in its stead, can scarcely ever be a satisfactory -instructor of any considerable number of young men. The teacher of the -moral department of science especially must be, to a certain extent, a -conformist; if he be not, what is taught in the class-room will be -forgotten or contradicted in the closet. The teachers of youth are -themselves not less irascible and sometimes not less prejudiced than -other mortals. They have their hatreds and partisanships, often -productive of acrimonious controversy; but when there is something like -a unity of opinion in the systems of those who teach the same, or like -subjects, these superficial discussions produce no evil fruit. Hume -would have been at peace with all who would have let his unobtrusive -spirit alone; but he would probably have quietly proceeded to inculcate -doctrines to which most of his fellow-labourers were strongly averse; -and that, perhaps, without knowing or feeling that he was in any way -departing from the simple routine of duties which the public expected of -him. And thus he would probably have created in the midst of the rising -youth of the day, an isolated circle of disciples, taught to despise the -acquirements and opinions of their contemporaries, as these -contemporaries held theirs in abhorrence.[353:1] - -This was an important epoch in Hume's literary history; in 1751, he -produced the work which he himself considered the most meritorious of -all his efforts; in 1752, he published that which obtained the largest -amount of contemporary popularity, the "Political Discourses."[354:1] -After a series of literary disappointments, borne with the spirit of one -who felt within him the real powers of an original thinker and an -agreeable writer, and the assurance that the world would some day -acknowledge the sterling greatness of his qualifications, he now at last -presented them in a form, in which they received the ready homage of the -public. These Discourses are in truth the cradle of political economy; -and, much as that science has been investigated and expounded in later -times, these earliest, shortest, and simplest developments of its -principles are still read with delight even by those who are masters of -all the literature of this great subject.[354:2] But they possess a -quality which more elaborate economists have striven after in vain, in -being a pleasing object of study not only to the initiated but to the -ordinary popular reader, and of being admitted as just and true by many -who cannot or who will not understand the views of later writers on -political economy.[355:1] They have thus the rarely conjoined merit, -that, as they were the first to direct the way to the true sources of -this department of knowledge, those who have gone farther, instead of -superseding them, have in the general case confirmed their accuracy. - -Political economy is a science of which the advanced extremities are the -subject of debate and doubt, while the older doctrines are admitted by -all as firm and established truths. It may be slippery ground, but it is -not a tread-mill, and no step taken has ever to be entirely retraced. It -is owing to this characteristic of the science that those who oppose the -doctrines of modern economists do not think of denying those of David -Hume; and thus, while in these essays the economist finds some of the -most important doctrines of his peculiar subject set forth with a -clearness and elegance with which he dare not attempt to compete, the -ordinary reader, who has a distaste of new doctrines and innovating -theories, awards them the respect due to old established opinion. - -That they should have been, with all their innovation on received -opinions, and their startling novelty, so popular in their own age, is -also a matter which has its peculiar explanation. The dread of -innovation, simply as change, and without reference to the interests it -may affect, sprung up in later times, a child of the French revolution. -Before that event some men were republican or constitutional in their -views, and declared war against all changes which tended to throw power -into the hands of the monarch. Others were monarchical, and opposed to -the extension of popular rights. But if an alteration were suggested -which did not affect these fundamental principles and opinions, it was -welcomed with liberal courtesy, examined, and adopted or rejected on its -own merits. Hence both Hume and Smith, writing in bold denunciation of -all the old cherished prejudices in matters of commerce, instead of -being met with a storm of reproach, as any one who should publish so -many original views in the present day would be, at once received a fair -hearing and a just appreciation.[356:1] - -Thus there was a period during which innovations, however bold or -extensive, received a favourable hearing, and in which the literature -both of England and of France was daily giving publicity to new theories -embodying sweeping alterations of social systems. In this work the two -countries presented their national characteristics. The English writers -kept always in view the question how far there would be a vital -principle remaining in society after the diseased part was removed; how -far there was reason to suppose that the small quantity of good done to -the public by any irrational system, which at the same time did much -evil, might be accomplished after its abolition. The French were -indiscriminate in their war against old received opinions, and offered -nothing to fill their place when they were gone; and hence in some -measure followed results which have made change and innovation words of -dread throughout a great part of society. - -Of the inquiries through which Hume brought together the materials for -these essays, the reader will have found a specimen in the notes, or -_adversaria_ quoted above.[357:1] A comparison of these fragments of the -raw material, with the finished result, develops this marked feature in -Hume's method of working, that in the way to a short proposition, he has -often read and thought at great length. The simplicity and unity of his -writings were of more importance to him than the appearance of -elaboration; and where others would be scattering multitudinous -statements and authorities, he is content with the simple embodiment of -results, conscious that inquiry will confirm in the reader's mind the -justness of what he lays down. In some respects we can watch the -progress of Hume's mind in connexion with these subjects; for in his -allusions to commercial matters in his earlier works, he uses the common -phraseology, such as "balance of trade," in a manner indicating an -adherence to those ordinary fallacies of the day, which, when he came to -examine them in his essays on "commerce," "money," "interest," "the -balance of trade," "taxes," and "public credit," he extensively -repudiated. His examination of the nature and value of money as a medium -of exchange, is probably the best and simplest that, even down to this -day, can be found. His theory, so far as it goes, has hardly ever been -questioned; and indeed at present it may be said, that beyond it we know -little with certainty, and that its author had at once discovered the -limits at which full and satisfactory knowledge was, for nearly a -century, to rest.[358:1] He shows that money is not in itself property -or value; that it is a mere representative, which, if cheap or dear in -its material, is just, in the same ratio, a cheap or a dear method of -accomplishing a purpose. That if a community could conduct its -transactions with a small quantity of money as well as with a large, it -would, so far from being poorer, be the richer by so much as the -superabundant money had cost. He examines those simple laws which, when -there is no disturbing influence, have a tendency to equalize the -distribution of the precious metals, through the cheapness of labour and -commodities where they are scarce, the nominal enhancement where they -are abundant. He notices with great clearness and precision the -respective effects upon the community of a state of increase, and of a -state of diminution of the available currency of a country. But he -enters on few of those intricate monetary questions which are now so -frequently the subject of discussion. Of inquiries into the causes which -affect the quantity of money in a country, the moving influences from -which arise gluts, drains, stagnations, and all the mysteries of -finance, he shows us that he felt diffident; and on these matters, how -little is the quantity of full satisfactory undisputed knowledge which -we yet possess! - -Indeed, one of the great merits of Hume's Essays on Political Economy -is, that he knows when he is getting out of his depth, and does not -conceal his position. With many writers on this subject, the point where -clear and satisfactory inquiry ends, is that where dogmatism begins; but -Hume stops at that point, sees and admits the difficulty, and -acknowledges that he can go no farther with safety. - -Among these essays there is one which, like the Oceana of Harrington, -though on a smaller scale, is an attempt to construct a system of -polity. It is called "Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth." The system so put -together is liable to practical objections at every step, and is utterly -destitute of that sagacious applicability to the transactions of real -business, for which the efforts in hypothetical legislation by Bentham -are distinguished.[361:1] - -Another essay of a different character is conspicuous for the vast -extent of the learning and research which must have been expended in -bringing together its crowd of apt illustrations,--that on "The -Populousness of Ancient Nations." To afford a choice of so many -applicable facts, directly bearing on the point, how wide must have been -the research, how extensive the rejection of such fruit of that -research, as did not answer his purpose! In the perusal of this essay -one is inclined to regret that Hume afterwards made a portion of modern -Europe the object of his historical labours, instead of taking up some -department of the history of classical antiquity. The full blown lustre -of Greek and Roman greatness had far more of his sympathy than the -history of his own countrymen, and their slow progress from barbarism to -civilisation. The materials were nearly all confined to the great -spirits of antiquity, with whom he delighted to hold converse, instead -of involving that heap of documentary matter with which the historian of -Britain must grapple; acts of parliament, journals, writs, legal -documents, &c.--all things which his soul abhorred. In such a field he -might have escaped the imputation of not being a full and fair -investigator; and he would, at all events, have avoided the reproach -thrown on him by the prying antiquary, who, by the light of newly -discovered documents, could charge him with having neglected that of -which he did not, and could not, know the existence.[364:1] - -In a letter to Henry Home in 1748, we find Hume mentioning an essay on -the Protestant Succession, as one which he was to include in the edition -of his "Essays Moral and Political," then preparing for the -press.[365:1] He speaks of people having endeavoured to divert him from -this publication, as one likely to be injurious to him as an official -man. Perhaps he was prevailed on to adopt the view of his prudent -friends, for this essay is not among the "Essays Moral and Political," -but forms one of the volume of Discourses, among which it is somewhat -inharmoniously placed, as it is the only one which bears a reference to -the current internal party politics of the day. - -The "Political Discourses" introduced Hume to the literature of the -continent. The works of Quesnay, Rivière, Mirabeau, Raynal, and Turgot, -had not yet appeared, but the public mind of France had been opened for -novel doctrines by the bold appeal of Vauban,[365:2] and by the curious -and original inquiries of Montesquieu. The Discourses appear to have -been first translated by Eléazer Mauvillon, a native of Provence, and -private secretary to Frederic Augustus, King of Poland, who published -his translation in 1753.[365:3] Another, and better known translation, -by the Abbé Le Blanc, was published in 1754.[365:4] This Abbé had spent -some time in England, and wrote a work on his experiences in Britain, -called "Lettres sur les Anglois." He was the author also of a tragedy -called Aben Säid, which seems to have now lost any fame it ever -acquired. His translations from Hume were, however, highly popular, that -of the Discourses passing through several editions; and we shall find -that they obtained the approbation of Hume himself. The Abbé, in a -letter to the author, gives an account of the reception of the -translation,[366:1] the colour of which he may be supposed to have -enriched, as regarding a matter in which he felt himself to be _pars -magna_. He prophesies that it will produce a like sensation to that -caused by the Esprit des Loix, and he finds his prophecy fulfilled. He -states, that it is not only read with avidity, but that it has given -rise to a multitude of other works. There can be no doubt, indeed, that -as no Frenchman had previously approached the subject of political -economy with a philosophical pen, this little book was a main -instrument, either by causing assent or provoking controversy, in -producing the host of French works on political economy, published -between the time of its translation, and the publication of Smith's -"Wealth of Nations," in 1776.[366:2] The work of the elder Mirabeau in -particular--L'Ami des Hommes, was in a great measure a controversial -examination of Hume's opinions on population. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[320:1] Stewart's Philosophy of the Human Mind, and Preliminary -Dissertation to the Encyclopædia Britannica. - -[320:2] In the following pages these papers will be cited as the Minto -MSS. - -[320:3] His grandfather distinguished himself by his resolute and -skilful defence of William Veitch, one of the nonconforming clergy, who -suffered in the persecutions of the reign of Charles II. Elliot acting -as the persecuted man's agent, made an appeal to the feelings of the -English statesmen, on the barbarity of the measures of their Scots -colleagues; and was so far successful, that the sentence of death -pronounced against Veitch, was commuted to banishment. He thenceforth -became, of course, a marked man, and an act of forfeiture passed against -him in 1685, as an accessory in Argyle's rising. He afterwards obtained -a remission of his sentence, and on 22d November, 1688, he was received -as a member of the faculty of advocates. He was created a baronet in -1700, and on 25th July, 1705, was raised to the bench. (_Brunton and -Haig's account of the Senators of the College of Justice._) In Dr. -M'Crie's curious "Memoirs of Mr. William Veitch," (p. 99) it is stated, -that when the evil days were passed, and the condemned nonconformist was -parish minister of Dumfries, he was occasionally visited by the judge, -when the following conversation passed between them,--"Ah Willie, -Willie, had it no' been for me, the pyets had been pyken your pate on -the Nether-bow Port;" to which the retort was, "Ah Gibbie, Gibbie, had -it no' been for me, ye would ha'e been yet writing papers for a plack -the page." - -This Sir Gilbert's son, and the father of Hume's correspondent, was -raised to the bench on 4th June, 1726, and became Lord Justice Clerk on -3d May, 1703. He died on 16th April, 1766. - -[321:1] He was chosen member for the county of Selkirk in 1754, and -1762, and for Roxburghshire in 1765, 1768, and 1774. He succeeded to the -baronetcy on his father's death in 1766. He was made a lord of the -admiralty in 1756, treasurer of the chamber in 1762, keeper of the -signet in Scotland in 1767, and treasurer of the navy in 1770. He died -in 1777. _Collins' Peerage. Beatson's Parliamentary Register._ - -[322:1] Minto MS. - -[322:2] See as instances, Washington Irving's "Salmagundi," and Morier's -"Hajji Baba." - -[324:1] Discours sur Théophraste, where there are some bitter and just -remarks on the Parisian manners of La Bruyere's day, as an appropriate -introduction to the exhibition of the follies of the Athenians. - -[324:2] Scroll, Minto MSS. - -[325:1] "La Perpétuité de la Foi, de l'Eglise Catholique touchant -L'Eucharistie," 3 vols. 4to, 1669-1676. A smaller work published by the -same author in 1664, was called "La Petite Perpétuité." Its author, -Pierre Nicole, one of the illustrious recluses of the Port Royal, was -more efficient as a polemical supporter of the principles of his church, -than as a practical administrator of its authority. An amusing story is -told of his unguarded habits and absence of mind. A lady had brought -under his notice, as her spiritual adviser, a matter of extreme -delicacy, with which he felt it difficult to deal. Seeing approach at -the moment Father Fouquet, whom he knew to have much judgment and -experience in such matters, he cried out--"Ah, here comes a man who can -solve the difficulty," and, running to meet him, told the whole case, -loudly and energetically. The feelings of the fair penitent may be -imagined. - -[327:1] Probably "The Bellman's Petition," mentioned above. - -[327:2] Minto MSS. - -[328:1] In the MSS. R.S.E. - -[331:1] The late Rev. Dr. Morehead of St. Paul's Chapel in Edinburgh, -who was revered as a minister, and respected as a scholar and -philosopher, published in 1830, "Dialogues on Natural and Revealed -Religion," a pleasing continuation of the work we have just been -considering, in which the speakers are made to approach a conclusion -nearer to the reverend author's own opinions, than he found them to be -when he had read to the end of Hume's little book. From a note by Dr. -Morehead, I am tempted to extract the following passage: "Mr. Hume was -conscious of his own power, probably while his countrymen were making -him a theme of their uncouth derision; and he seems to have had a -prescience that he had not yet gathered all his fame. . . . . . . I am -much mistaken if the name of this profound thinker does not yet receive -the encomiastic epithets of a _grateful_ posterity; and if, when his -errors have passed away, he does not yet come to be regarded as the -philosopher who has made the most penetrating and successful researches -in the intricate science of human nature. He is a cool anatomist, who -has dissected it throughout every fibre and nerve; and he may be partly -pardoned, perhaps, if, in this sort of remorseless operation, he has too -much lost sight of the principle of its moral and intellectual life." -The Dialogues on Natural Religion seem to have taken a firm hold of Dr. -Morehead's mind. He left behind him a farther continuation, called -"Philosophical Dialogues," in which he beautifully represented the Philo -of the original, revising his old opinions amidst such a serene old age, -as the writer was then himself enjoying. This little work was published -after its author's death, by a distinguished surviving friend, who has -probably done more towards the propagation of Christian philosophy, than -any other living writer of the English language. - -[334:1] Down to this point, the letter is printed in Dugald Stewart's -Preliminary Dissertation to The Encyclopædia Britannica, Note ccc. - -[336:1] Minto MSS. In this collection there is a scroll of a letter -written by Mr. Elliot to Hume, returning the manuscripts to which the -correspondence refers. It has been published in the notes (ccc,) to -Dugald Stewart's Preliminary Dissertation. It is not only a criticism of -the Dialogues on Natural Religion, but an examination of Hume's general -theory of impressions and ideas, worthy of the perusal of all who take -interest in these inquiries. It is of considerable length, and the -temptation to print it along with Hume's letter, was only overcome by -the circumstance that it is to be found in a work widely circulated, and -that the disposable space in this book may be more economically devoted -to some letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot which are not to be found -elsewhere. - -[337:1] Mrs. Dysart of Eccles, "a much valued relation of Hume," -according to Mackenzie's Account of the Life of Home, p. 104. - -[338:1] Alexander Home, Solicitor-general for Scotland.--_Mackenzie._ - -[339:1] Sic. - -[340:1] In allusion to that mayor who, on his first introduction to -field sports, hearing a cry that the hare was coming, exclaimed, in a -fit of magnanimous courage, "Let him come, in God's name; I fear him -not!" - -[340:2] Mackenzie's Home, p. 104. The original is in the MSS. R.S.E. - -[341:1] Essays Moral and Political, published in 1741. - -[343:1] From a copy transmitted by Ramsay's nephew to Baron Hume, in the -MSS. R.S.E. The blank denoted above is in the copy. - -[344:1] London: 8vo, printed for A. Millar. It is in the book list of -the _Gentleman's Magazine_, for December. - -[344:2] "A Delineation of the Nature and Obligation of Morality, with -Reflections upon Mr. Hume's book, entitled an 'Inquiry concerning the -Principles of Morals.'" - -On the publication of this book, Hume wrote the following letter, -addressed "To the Author of the Delineation of the Nature and -Obligations of Morality," and left it with the bookseller. - -"SIR,--When I write you, I know not to whom I am addressing myself: I -only know he is one who has done me a great deal of honour, and to whose -civilities I am obliged. If we be strangers, I beg we may be acquainted, -as soon as you think proper to discover yourself: if we be acquainted -already, I beg we may be friends: if friends, I beg we may be more so. -Our connexion with each other as men of letters, is greater than our -difference as adhering to different sects or systems. Let us revive the -happy times, when Atticus and Cassius the epicureans, Cicero the -academic, and Brutus the stoic, could all of them live in unreserved -friendship together, and were insensible to all those distinctions, -except so far as they furnished agreeable matter to discourse and -conversation. Perhaps you are a young man, and being full of those -sublime ideas, which you have so well expressed, think there can be no -virtue upon a more confined system. I am not an old one; but, being of a -cool temperament, have always found, that more simple views were -sufficient to make me act in a reasonable manner; +nêthe, kai memnêso -apistein+; in this faith have I lived, and hope to die. - -"Your civilities to me so much overbalance your severities, that I -should be ungrateful to take notice of some expressions which, in the -heat of composition, have dropped from your pen. I must only complain of -you a little for ascribing to me the sentiments, which I have put into -the mouth of the Sceptic in the "Dialogue." I have surely endeavoured to -refute the sceptic, with all the force of which I am master; and my -refutation must be allowed sincere, because drawn from the capital -principles of my system. But you impute to me both the sentiments of the -sceptic, and the sentiments of his antagonist, which I can never admit -of. In every dialogue no more than one person can be supposed to -represent the author. - -"Your severity on one head, that of chastity, is so great, and I am so -little conscious of having given any just occasion to it, that it has -afforded me a hint to form a conjecture, perhaps ill-grounded, -concerning your person. - -"I hope to steal a little leisure from my other occupations, in order to -defend my philosophy against your attacks. If I have occasion to give a -new edition of the work, which you have honoured with an answer, I shall -make great advantage of your remarks, and hope to obviate some of your -criticisms. - -"Your style is elegant, and full of agreeable imagery. In some few -places it does not fully come up to my ideas of purity and correctness. -I suppose mine falls still further short of your ideas. In this respect, -we may certainly be of use to each other. With regard to our -philosophical systems, I suppose we are both so fixed, that there is no -hope of any conversions betwixt us; and for my part, I doubt not but we -shall both do as well to remain as we are. - -"I am, &c. - -"_Edinburgh, March 15, 1753._" - -[345:1] It is stated in Ritchie's "Account of the Life and Writings of -Hume," from which the above letter is taken, and in some works of -reference, which appear to have depended on the authority of that book, -that Hume was a competitor with Balfour for the chair. This statement -has probably arisen out of some misapprehension as to his previous -competition for the chair. - -[347:1] See the dawning of this view in his correspondence with -Hutcheson, _supra_, p. 112. An essay, entitled "Of some Verbal -Disputes," published in the later editions of the work now under -consideration, contains some curious elucidations of it. - -[351:1] Thomson--Life of Cullen, 72-73--where the above letter is first -printed. Dr. Thomson tells me, that the evidence of Burke having been a -candidate is merely traditional, but that it was enough to satisfy his -own mind. In the "Outlines of Philosophical Education," by Professor -Jardine, who afterwards filled the same chair, there is this passage, -(p. 21:) "Burke, whose genius led him afterwards to shine in a more -exalted sphere, was thought of by some of the electors as a proper -person to fill it. He did not, however, actually come forward as a -candidate." - -[353:1] Dr. Thomson says, "It might afford curious matter of speculation -to conjecture what effect the appointment of Mr. Hume, or of Mr. Burke, -to the chair of logic in Glasgow, would have had upon the character of -that university, or upon the metaphysical, moral, and political -inquiries of the age in which they lived; and what consequences were -likely to have resulted from the influence which the peculiar genius and -talents of either of these great men, had they been exerted in that -sphere, must necessarily have had in forming the minds of such of their -pupils as were to be afterwards employed in the pursuits of science, or -the conduct and regulation of human affairs. It seems difficult to -conceive how, as instructors of youth, they could either of them, -without a considerable modification of their opinions, have taught -philosophy upon the sceptical or the Berkeleian systems which they had -respectively adopted; while the strict purity of their moral characters, -and the great reverence which they both entertained for established -institutions, give the fullest assurance, that, had either of them been -appointed to the chair of logic, their academical duties would have been -executed with an unceasing regard to the improvement of their pupils, -and to the reputation of the society into which they had been admitted." -Life of Cullen, p. 73. - -Smith, in a letter to Dr. Cullen, says, "I should prefer David Hume to -any man for a colleague; but I am afraid the public would not be of my -opinion; and the interest of the society will oblige us to have some -regard to the opinion of the public. If the event, however, we are -afraid of should happen, we can see how the public receives it. From the -particular knowledge I have of Mr. Elliot's sentiments, I am pretty -certain Mr. Lindsay must have proposed it to him, not he to Mr. -Lindsay." Ib. p. 606. - -[354:1] Edinburgh, 1752, 8vo. Printed for Kincaid and Donaldson. It is -in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ list of books for February. - -[354:2] Lord Brougham says, "Of the 'Political Discourses' it would be -difficult to speak in terms of too great commendation. They combine -almost every excellence which can belong to such a performance. The -reasoning is clear, and unencumbered with more words or more -illustrations than are necessary for bringing out the doctrine. The -learning is extensive, accurate, and profound, not only as to systems of -philosophy, but as to history, whether modern or ancient. The subjects -are most happily chosen; the language is elegant, precise, and vigorous; -and so admirably are the topics selected, that there is as little of -dryness in these fine essays as if the subject were not scientific; and -we rise from their perusal scarce able to believe that it is a work of -philosophy we have been reading, having all the while thought it a book -of curiosity and entertainment. The great merit, however, of these -Discourses, is their originality, and the new system of politics and -political economy which they unfold. Mr. Hume is, beyond all doubt, the -author of the modern doctrines which now rule the world of science, -which are to a great extent the guide of practical statesmen, and are -only prevented from being applied in their fullest extent to the affairs -of nations, by the clashing interests and the ignorant prejudices of -certain powerful classes." Lives of Men of Letters, p. 204. - -[355:1] Perhaps a portion of the pleasure with which these essays are -read by those who are not partial to the study of political economy, may -be attributed to their having been written before that science was in -possession of a nomenclature, and thus appearing clothed in the ordinary -language of literature. - -[356:1] It was in the most aristocratic quarters that these innovating -doctrines were best received; for in them was the greatest amount of -education, and its influence was not at that time paralyzed by general -prejudices against innovation. They were more in favour with the Tories -than with the Whigs. Indeed, Archdeacon Tucker, one of the boldest -speculators on the economy of trade, was in state politics one of the -most uncompromising Tories of his age. Fox, on the other hand, said of -the "Wealth of Nations," that "there was something in all these subjects -which passed his comprehension, something so wide that he could never -embrace them himself, or find any one who did." But in the French -treaty, and in other measures regarding trade, Pitt was in the fair way -of putting them into legislative practice, when, being arrested by the -French revolution, he entertained thenceforward a bitter enmity of -innovation; an enmity to which, in the department of political economy, -his party became the heirs, preserving the succession down nearly to the -present day, when, at least by their leader, old prejudices have been -already in a great measure, and are likely soon to be altogether -repudiated. - -[357:1] P. 126. - -[358:1] It is not intended to be maintained that Hume's Political -Economy is immaculate, but merely that in the majority of instances he -has fixed certain truths which later inquiries have not shaken. The -following passage, along with much that is received as true doctrine, -contains some observations, such as those on the tax on German linen, -and on brandy, which modern economists would pronounce to be heterodox. -The question of a gold or a paper currency was one which Hume did not -profess to decide. He described with considerable impartiality the -advantages and the disadvantages of both mediums of exchange. - -"From these principles we may learn what judgment we ought to form of -those numberless bars, obstructions, and imposts, which all nations of -Europe, and none more than England, have put upon trade, from an -exorbitant desire of amassing money, which never will heap up beyond its -level, while it circulates; or from an ill-grounded apprehension of -losing their specie, which never will sink below it. Could any thing -scatter our riches, it would be such impolitic contrivances. But this -general ill effect, however, results from them, that they deprive -neighbouring nations of that free communication and exchange which the -Author of the world has intended, by giving them soils, climates, and -geniuses, so different from each other. - -"Our modern politics embrace the only method of banishing money, the -using of paper credit; they reject the only method of amassing it, the -practice of hoarding; and they adopt a hundred contrivances, which serve -to no purpose but to check industry, and rob ourselves and our -neighbours of the common benefits of art and nature. - -"All taxes, however, upon foreign commodities, are not to be regarded as -prejudicial or useless, but those only which are founded on the jealousy -above mentioned. A tax on German linen encourages home manufactures, and -thereby multiplies our people and industry. A tax on brandy increases -the sale of rum, and supports our southern colonies. And as it is -necessary that imposts should be levied for the support of government, -it may be thought more convenient to lay them on foreign commodities, -which can easily be intercepted at the port, and subjected to the -impost. We ought, however, always to remember the maxim of Dr. Swift, -that, in the arithmetic of the customs, two and two make not four, but -often make only one. It can scarcely be doubted, but if the duties on -wine were lowered to a third, they would yield much more to the -government than at present: our people might thereby afford to drink -commonly a better and more wholesome liquor; and no prejudice would -ensue to the balance of trade, of which we are so jealous. The -manufacture of ale beyond the agriculture is but inconsiderable, and -gives employment to few hands. The transport of wine and corn would not -be much inferior." - -The following account of a banking practice still in lively operation in -Scotland, affords a specimen of Hume's capacity to grapple with -practical details. - -"There was an invention which was fallen upon some years ago by the -banks of Edinburgh, and which, as it was one of the most ingenious ideas -that has been executed in commerce, has also been thought advantageous -to Scotland. It is there called a Bank-Credit, and is of this nature:--A -man goes to the bank, and finds surety to the amount, we shall suppose, -of a thousand pounds. This money, or any part of it, he has the liberty -of drawing out whenever he pleases, and he pays only the ordinary -interest for it while it is in his hands. He may, when he pleases, repay -any sum so small as twenty pounds, and the interest is discounted from -the very day of the repayment. The advantages resulting from this -contrivance are manifold. As a man may find surety nearly to the amount -of his substance, and his bank-credit is equivalent to ready money, a -merchant does hereby in a manner coin his houses, his household -furniture, the goods in his warehouse, the foreign debts due to him, his -ships at sea; and can, upon occasion, employ them in all payments, as if -they were the current money of the country. If a man borrow a thousand -pounds from a private hand, besides that it is not always to be found -when required, he pays interest for it whether he be using it or not: -his bank-credit costs him nothing except during the very moment in which -it is of service to him: and this circumstance is of equal advantage as -if he had borrowed money at much lower interest. Merchants likewise, -from this invention, acquire a great facility in supporting each other's -credit, which is a considerable security against bankruptcies. A man, -when his own bank-credit is exhausted, goes to any of his neighbours who -is not in the same condition, and he gets the money, which he replaces -at his convenience." - -[361:1] Indeed, in all respects, Hume's political economy is rather -analytical of the effect of existing institutions and establishments, -than suggestive of any views on the practicability of any great -amelioration of mankind by positive regulations founded on principles of -political economy. Adam Smith pursued the same method. The mission of -that school was indeed rather to break down than to build up--to find -out and eradicate the mischief that had been done by empiric -legislation; not to attempt new arrangements. While so much mischievous -matter remained to be got rid of, the field was not clear for any -attempts to try the effect of plans of social organization. It is -perhaps only now when the doctrines of the political economists, after -having stood out against neglect and hostility, have been nearly brought -into practice by the successive abolition of the regulations most -objectionable in their eyes, that room has been made for the suggestion -of plans of internal social organization, founded on inquiries both -extensive and minute. In the present position of measures for the -physical and moral purification, and the social organization of this -densely peopled empire,--in the approach to an adjustment of the poor -law,--the reform of the criminal code,--the prison discipline, and the -sanatory suggestions; and still more, in these not being the mere dreams -of utopian theorists, but receiving the countenance and support of -practical statesmen, we appear to have witnessed the dawn of a new era -in political economy. - -Hume seems so far from having himself contemplated the application of -philosophical skill to the organization of large masses of human beings, -that we frequently find in his writings and in his letters, remarks on -the growth of cities, sometimes speaking of certain limits which they -cannot pass, at other times noticing, in a tone of despondency, the -rapid progress of London, as if it were exceeding those bounds within -which mankind can be kept under the dominion of law and order. In the -essay on the Populousness of Ancient Nations, he says, "London, by -uniting extensive commerce and middling empire, has perhaps arrived at a -greatness, which no city will perhaps be able to exceed;" and he fixes -this number at 700,000 inhabitants,--saying farther, "from the -experience of past and present ages, one might conjecture that there is -a kind of impossibility that any city could ever rise much beyond this -proportion." London must then have been considerably under the -population he thus assigns to it, and it had not probably reached that -number of inhabitants twenty-four years later, when we find him, -oppressed by the disease of which he died, saying in a letter to Smith, -"should London fall as much in its size as I have done, it will be the -better. It is nothing but a hulk of bad and unclean humours." - -During Hume's lifetime, the metropolis had been frequently outraged and -intimidated--on some occasions almost desolated, by mobs of city -savages; beings far more formidable and brutal than the savages of the -wilderness. At the time when he published his Political Discourses, it -contained bands of robbers, who followed their trade as openly as the -brigands of the Abruzzi, committing robberies and murders in the middle -of the city, in open day. Those who saw the city increasing in size, -while it retained these evil characteristics, naturally looked upon it -as a cancer, near the most vital part of the empire, and lamented -accordingly its waxing prosperity and bulk. But its size was not the -cause of the evil. It is now three times as populous as when Hume wrote, -yet, with much poverty, much vice, and much ignorance, it is not the -same diseased and dangerous mass it then was. The comparative sober -quietness of the streets,--the well ordered police,--the facilities for -discovering persons who are sought after, without their being subjected -in their movements to any control, inconsistent with British -liberty,--are all, when practised on so large a scale, indications that -human genius has great capacities for organization; and they may be, for -aught that can be seen to the contrary, only the initial movements, -which future generations will carry to far more wonderful results. - -[364:1] Dr. Robert Wallace, a distinguished clergyman of the Church of -Scotland, had prepared for the Philosophical Society, of which he was a -member, an essay, which he enlarged and published in 1752, with the -title, "Dissertations on the Numbers of Mankind in Ancient and Modern -Times;" adding a supplement, in which he examined Hume's discourse on -the Populousness of Ancient Nations. Malthus admitted that Dr. Wallace -was the first to point distinctly to the rule, that to find the limits -of the populousness of any given community, we must look at the quantity -of food at its disposal. But he was not successful in the controversial -application of his principle. Hume's method of inquiry is a double -comparison. The statements of numbers in ancient authors being compared -with the numbers in existing communities, the relative organization for -the supply of food in the two cases is examined, and the author finds -reason to believe that the statements of numbers are greatly exaggerated -by ancient authors, as the state of commerce and transit, and the amount -of stock or capital available for the concentration and distribution of -food, are not such as would enable such multitudes to be supported. Dr. -Wallace, laying down, that where there is the most food there will be -the greatest number of inhabitants, maintains, that as a much greater -proportion of the people were employed in agriculture among the ancients -than the moderns, there must have been more food and consequently more -human beings. It is almost needless, after so much has been written on -this matter, to explain at length the fallacy of this reasoning. The -richest and most populous states are those of which the smallest -proportion of the people are employed in agriculture. A decrease of the -comparative number employed in procuring the necessaries of life is the -mark of increase in wealth and abundance of all things, and is -necessarily accompanied either by a proportionally improved agriculture, -or the purchase of food from poorer communities. - -In the subsequent editions of the "Discourses," Hume acknowledges the -merit of Wallace's book, saying, "So learned a refutation would have -made the author suspect that his reasonings were entirely overthrown, -had he not used the precaution, from the beginning, to keep himself on -the sceptical side; and, having taken this advantage of the ground, he -was enabled, though with much inferior forces, to preserve himself from -a total defeat." - -[365:1] See above, p. 239. - -[365:2] Projet d'un Dime Royale, 4to, 1707--a project for abolishing the -feudal imposts and exemptions, tithes, and internal transit duties, and -levying a general revenue. "Projet," says the Dictionnaire Historique, -"digne d'un bon patriote, mais dont l'exécution est très-difficile." In -Hume's notes of his early reading, we find him referring to Vauban, see -p. 131. - -[365:3] Discours Politiques traduits de L'Anglais, par M. D' M*** -Amsterdam, 1753. Querard--_La France Litteraire_. - -[365:4] With the same title as the above. It was reprinted at Berlin in -1775. - -[366:1] See the letter in the Appendix. - -[366:2] There is evidence of the lasting hold which the Discourses had -taken on the minds of the French, in the appearance of a new translation -so late as 1766, with the title, "Essais sur le Commerce; le Luxe; -l'argent; l'intérêt de l'argent; les impots; le crédit public, et la -balance du commerce; par M. David Hume," published at Amsterdam in 1766, -and Paris in 1767. Querard attributes this translation to a Mademoiselle -de la Chaux. So far as we are entitled to judge of a translation into a -foreign language, this one seems to be very spirited, speaking through -French idioms and ideas, and ingeniously overcoming the very few -conventionalisms which could not have been avoided by a native of -Britain, speaking of British trade and finance. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -1752-1755. Æt. 41-44. - - Appointment as keeper of the Advocates' Library--His Duties-- - Commences the History of England--Correspondence with Adam - Smith and others on the History--Generosity to Blacklock the - Poet--Quarrel with the Faculty of Advocates--Publication of - the First Volume of the History--Its reception--Continues - the History--Controversial and Polemical attacks--Attempt - to subject him, along with Kames, to the Discipline of - Ecclesiastical Courts--The Leader of the attack--Home's - "Douglas"--The first Edinburgh Review. - - -"In 1752," says Hume in his "own life," "the Faculty of Advocates chose -me their librarian, an office from which I received little or no -emolument, but which gave me the command of a large library."[367:1] We -have a very glowing account of the contest for this appointment from -his own pen in the following letter: - - -HUME TO DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, February 4th, 1752._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I have been ready to burst with vanity and self-conceit -this week past; and being obliged from decorum to keep a strict watch -over myself, and check all eruptions of that kind, I really begin to -find my health impaired by it, and perceive that there is an absolute -necessity for breathing a vein, and giving a loose to my inclination. -You shall therefore be my physician, "Dum podagricus fit pugil et -medicum urget." You must sustain the overflowings of my pride; and I -expect, too, that by a little flattery you are to help nature in her -discharge, and draw forth a still greater flux of the peccant matter. -'Tis not on my account alone you are to take part in this great event; -philosophy, letters, science, virtue, triumph along with me, and have -now in this one singular instance, brought over even the people from the -side of bigotry and superstition. - -"This is a very pompous exordium, you see; but what will you say when I -tell you that all this is occasioned by my obtaining a petty office of -forty or fifty guineas a-year. Since Caligula of lunatic memory, who -triumphed on account of the cockle shells which he gathered on the sea -shore, no one has ever erected a trophy for so small an advantage. But -judge not by appearances! perhaps you will think, when you know all the -circumstances, that this success is both as extraordinary in itself, and -as advantageous to me, as any thing which could possibly have happened. - -"You have probably heard that my friends in Glasgow, contrary to my -opinion and advice, undertook to get me elected into that college; and -they had succeeded, in spite of the violent and solemn remonstrances of -the clergy, if the Duke of Argyle had had courage to give me the least -countenance. Immediately upon the back of this failure, which should -have blasted for some time all my pretensions, the office of library -keeper to the Faculty of Advocates fell vacant, a genteel office, though -of small revenue; and as this happened suddenly, my name was immediately -set up by my friends without my knowledge. The President, and the Dean -of Faculty his son, who used to rule absolutely in this body of -advocates, formed an aversion to the project, because it had not come -from them; and they secretly engaged the whole party called squadroney -against me. The bigots joined them, and both together set up a gentleman -of character, and an advocate, and who had great favour on both these -accounts. The violent cry of deism, atheism, and scepticism, was raised -against me; and 'twas represented that my election would be giving the -sanction of the greatest and most learned body of men in this country -to my profane and irreligious principles. But what was more dangerous, -my opponents entered into a regular concert and cabal against me; while -my friends were contented to speak well of their project in general, -without having once formed a regular list of the electors, or considered -of the proper methods of engaging them. Things went on in this negligent -manner till within six days of the election, when they met together and -found themselves in some danger of being outnumbered; immediately upon -which they raised the cry of indignation against the opposite party; and -the public joined them so heartily, that our antagonists durst show -their heads in no companies nor assemblies: expresses were despatched to -the country, assistance flocked to us from all quarters, and I carried -the election by a considerable majority, to the great joy of all -bystanders. When faction and party enter into a cause, the smallest -trifle becomes important. Nothing since the rebellion has ever so much -engaged the attention of this town, except Provost Stewart's trial; and -there scarce is a man whose friendship or acquaintance I would desire, -who has not given me undoubted proofs of his concern and regard. - -"What is more extraordinary, the cry of religion could not hinder the -ladies from being violently my partisans, and I owe my success in a -great measure to their solicitations. One has broke off all commerce -with her lover, because he voted against me! and W. Lockhart, in a -speech to the Faculty, said that there was no walking the streets, nor -even enjoying one's own fireside, on account of their importunate zeal. -The town says, that even his bed was not safe for him, though his wife -was cousin-german to my antagonist. - -"'Twas vulgarly given out, that the contest was betwixt Deists and -Christians; and when the news of my success came to the Play-house, the -whisper ran that the Christians were defeated. Are you not surprised -that we could keep our popularity, notwithstanding this imputation, -which my friends could not deny to be well founded? - -"The whole body of cadies bought flambeux, and made illuminations to -mark their pleasure at my success; and next morning I had the drums and -town music at my door, to express their joy, as they said, of my being -made a great man. They could not imagine, that so great a fray could be -raised about so mere a trifle. - -"About a fortnight before, I had published a Discourse of the Protestant -Succession, wherein I had very liberally abused both Whigs and Tories; -yet I enjoyed the favour of both parties. - -"Such, dear Doctor, is the triumph of your friend; yet, amidst all this -greatness and glory, even though master of 30,000 volumes, and -possessing the smiles of a hundred fair ones, in this very pinnacle of -human grandeur and felicity, I cast a favourable regard on you, and -earnestly desire your friendship and good-will: a little flattery too, -from so eminent a hand, would be very acceptable to me. You know you are -somewhat in my debt, in that particular. The present I made you of my -Inquiry, was calculated both as a mark of my regard, and as a snare to -catch a little incense from you. Why do you put me to the necessity of -giving it to myself? - -"Please tell General St. Clair, that W. St. Clair, the Advocate, voted -for me on his account; but his nephew, Sir David, was so excessively -holy, that nothing could bring him over from the opposite party, for -which he is looked down upon a little by the fashionable company in -town. But he is a very pretty fellow, and will soon regain the little -ground he has lost. - -"I am, dear Doctor, yours sincerely." - - -This letter is evidently but half serious. That there was a good deal of -contest and caballing is pretty clear; and it is equally clear that Hume -took a deep interest in the result: but he appears to have been inclined -to laugh a little at his own fervour, and to hide the full extent of his -feelings under a cloud of playful exaggeration. - -The Advocates' Library, which is now probably next in extent in Britain -after the Bodleian, cannot then have borne any great proportion to its -present size. It had, however, existed for upwards of seventy years, and -was undoubtedly the largest collection of books in Scotland. It was -rich, perhaps unrivalled, in the works of the civilians and canonists, -and possessed, what was more valuable to Hume, a considerable body of -British historical literature, printed and MS.[373:1] Hume's duties must -have involved some attention, not only to the classification and custody -of the books, but to the arrangements for making them accessible to the -members of the Faculty, as numerous entries in his hand are to be found -in the receipt book for borrowed books.[373:2] - -Hume informs us, that the stores thus put at his command enabled him to -put his historical designs in practice, by commencing the "History of -England." We shall now find a great part of his correspondence devoted -to the "History of the House of Stuart," which appears to have been -commenced early in 1752. The following is the earliest extant letter to -Smith: - - -HUME _to_ ADAM SMITH. - -"_24th Sept. 1752._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I confess I was once of the same opinion with you, and -thought that the best period to begin an English history was about Henry -the Seventh. But you will please to observe, that the change which then -happened in public affairs, was very insensible, and did not display its -influence till many years afterwards. 'Twas under James that the House -of Commons began first to raise their head, and then the quarrel betwixt -privilege and prerogative commenced. The government, no longer oppressed -by the enormous authority of the crown, displayed its genius; and the -factions which then arose, having an influence on our present affairs, -form the most curious, interesting, and instructive part of our history. -The preceding events, or causes, may easily be shown, in a reflection or -review, which may be artfully inserted in the body of the work; and the -whole, by that means, be rendered more compact and uniform. I confess, -that the subject appears to me very fine; and I enter upon it with great -ardour and pleasure. You need not doubt of my perseverance. - -"I am just now diverted for a moment, by correcting my 'Essays Moral and -Political,' for a new edition. If any thing occur to you to be inserted -or retrenched, I shall be obliged to you for the hint. In case you -should not have the last edition by you, I shall send you a copy of it. -In that edition I was engaged to act contrary to my judgment, in -retaining the sixth and seventh Essays,[375:1] which I had resolved to -throw out, as too frivolous for the rest, and not very agreeable -neither, even in that trifling manner: but Millar, my bookseller, made -such protestations against it, and told me how much he had heard them -praised by the best judges, that the bowels of a parent melted, and I -preserved them alive. - -"All the rest of Bolingbroke's works went to the press last week, as -Millar informs me. I confess my curiosity is not much raised. - -"I had almost lost your letter by its being wrong directed. I received -it late, which was the reason why you got not sooner a copy of Joannes -Magnus. Direct to me in Riddal's Land, Lawnmarket. I am, dear Sir, yours -sincerely."[376:1] - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -_1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I need not inform you, that in certain polite countries, -a custom prevails, of writing _lettres de la nouvelle année_, and that -many advantages result from this practice, which may seem merely -ceremonious and formal. Acquaintance is thereby kept up, friendship -revived, quarrels extinguished, negligence atoned for, and -correspondences renewed. A man who has been so long conscious of his -sins, that he knows not how to return into the way of salvation, taking -advantage of this great jubilee, wipes off all past offences, and -obtains plenary indulgence; instances are not wanting of such reclaimed -sinners, who have afterwards proved the greatest saints, and have even -heaped up many works of supererogation. Will you allow me, therefore, -dear Doctor, in consideration of my present penitence, and hopes of my -future amendment, to address myself to you, and to wish you many and -happy new years, _multos et felices_. May pleasures spiritual -(_spirituels_) multiply upon you without a decay of the carnal. May -riches increase without an augmentation of desires. May your chariot -still roll along without a failure of your limbs. May your tongue in due -time acquire the _social sweet garrulity_ of age, without your teeth -losing the sharpness and keenness of youth. May ---- but you yourself -will best supply the last prayer, whether it should be for the recovery -or continuance of the blessing which I hint at. In either case, may your -prayer be granted, even though it should extend to the resurrection of -the dead. - -"I must now set you an example, and speak of myself. By this I mean that -you are to speak to me of yourself. I shall exult and triumph to you a -little, that I have now at last--being turned of forty, to my own -honour, to that of learning, and to that of the present age--arrived at -the dignity of being a householder. About seven months ago, I got a -house of my own, and completed a regular family; consisting of a head, -viz. myself, and two inferior members, a maid and a cat. My sister has -since joined me, and keeps me company. With frugality I can reach, I -find, cleanliness, warmth, light, plenty, and contentment. What would -you have more? Independence? I have it in a supreme degree. Honour? that -is not altogether wanting. Grace? that will come in time. A wife? that -is none of the indispensable requisites of life. Books? that _is_ one of -them; and I have more than I can use. In short, I cannot find any -blessing of consequence which I am not possessed of, in a greater or -less degree; and without any great effort of philosophy, I may be easy -and satisfied. - -"As there is no happiness without occupation, I have begun a work which -will employ me several years, and which yields me much satisfaction. -'Tis a History of Britain, from the Union of the Crowns to the present -time. I have already finished the reign of King James. My friends -flatter me (by this I mean that they don't flatter me) that I have -succeeded. You know that there is no post of honour in the English -Parnassus more vacant than that of history. Style, judgment, -impartiality, care--every thing is wanting to our historians; and even -Rapin, during this latter period, is extremely deficient. I make my work -very concise, after the manner of the ancients. It divides into three -very moderate volumes: one to end with the death of Charles the First; -the second at the Revolution; the third at the Accession,[378:1] for I -dare come no nearer the present times. The work will neither please the -Duke of Bedford nor James Fraser; but I hope it will please you and -posterity. +Ktêma eis aei.+ - -"So, dear Doctor, after having mended my pen, and bit my nails, I return -to the narration of parliamentary factions, or court intrigues, or civil -wars, and bid you heartily adieu. - -"_Edinburgh, Riddal's Land, 5th January, 1753._ - -"P.S.--When I say that I dare come no nearer the present time than the -Accession, you are not to imagine that I am afraid either of danger or -offence; I hope, in many instances, that I have shown myself to be above -all laws of prudence and discretion. I only mean, that I should be -afraid of committing mistakes, in writing of so recent a period, by -reason of the want of materials."[379:1] - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, 6th March, 1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--This is delivered to you by my friend Mr. -Wedderburn,[379:2] who makes a jaunt to London, partly with a view to -study, partly to entertainment. I thought I could not do him a better -office, nor more suitable to both these purposes, than to recommend him -to the friendship and acquaintance of a man of learning and -conversation. He is young: - - 'Mais dans les ames bien nées - La vertue n'attend point le nombre des années.' - -It will be a great obligation, both to him and me, if you give him -encouragement to see you frequently; and, after that, I doubt not you -will think that you owe me an obligation-- - - 'La in giovenile corpo senile senno.' - -"But I will say no more of him, lest my letter fall into the same fault -which may be remarked in his behaviour and conduct in life; the only -fault which has been remarked in them, that of promising so much that it -will be difficult for him to support it. You will allow that he must -have been guilty of some error of this kind, when I tell you that the -man, with whose friendship and company I have thought myself very much -favoured, and whom I recommend to you as a friend and companion, is just -twenty. I am, dear Doctor, your affectionate friend and servant."[379:3] - - -HUME _to_ JAMES OSWALD. - -"_Jack's Land, 28th June, 1753._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I am to give you great and very hearty thanks for your care -in providing for my cousin, at my desire. The quickness in doing it, and -the many obliging circumstances attending that good office, I shall not -readily forget. What is usual, they say, makes little impression; but -that this rule admits of exceptions, I feel upon every instance of your -friendship. - -"Mr. Mure told me that you had undertaken to get satisfaction with -regard to the old English _subsidies_. I cannot satisfy myself on that -head; but I find that all historians and antiquarians are as much at a -loss. The nobility, I observe, paid according to their rank and quality, -not their estates. The counties were subjected to no valuation; but it -was in the power of the commissioners to sink the sums demanded upon -every individual, without raising it upon others; and they practised -this art when discontented with the court, as Charles complains of with -regard to the subsidies voted by his third parliament: yet it seems -certain that there must have been some rule of estimation. What was it? -Why was it so variable? Lord Strafford raised an Irish subsidy from -£12,000 to £40,000, by changing the rule of valuation; but the Irish -Parliament, after his impeachment, brought it down again: if Mr. Harding -undertakes the solution of this matter, it will be requisite to have -these difficulties in his eye. I am glad to hear that we are to have -your company here this summer, and that I shall have an opportunity of -talking over this, and many other subjects, where I want your advice and -opinion. The more I advance in my work, the more I am convinced that the -history of England has never yet been written; not only for style, -which is notorious to all the world, but also for matter; such is the -ignorance and partiality of all our historians. Rapin, whom I had an -esteem for, is totally despicable. I may be liable to the reproach of -ignorance, but I am certain of escaping that of partiality: the truth -is, there is so much reason to blame, and praise, alternately, king and -parliament, that I am afraid the mixture of both, in my composition, -being so equal, may pass sometimes for an affectation, and not the -result of judgment and evidence. Of this you shall be judge; for I am -resolved to encroach on your leisure and patience; - - Quem vero arripuit, tenet occiditque legendo. - -Let me hear of you as you pass through the town, that we may concert -measures for my catching you idle, and without company, at Kirkcaldy. I -am," &c.[381:1] - - -The rapidity with which the first volume of the "History of England" was -composed and printed, has been the object both of surprise and censure. -Hume's labours at this time must have been intense; and during the whole -of the period in which he was engaged in the different departments of -this great work--from 1752 to 1763--his correspondence is more scanty -than at other periods of his history. Four months elapse between the -letter last printed, and the next in order which has been preserved; and -in the latter, we find him very wittily alluding to those great labours -which he finds absorbing the petty duties of social intercourse. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_28th October, 1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I know not if you remember the giant in Rabelais, who -swallowed every morning a windmill to breakfast, and at last was choked -upon a pound of melted butter, hot from an oven. I am going to compare -myself to that giant. I think nothing of despatching a quarto in fifteen -or eighteen months, but am not able to compose a letter once in two -years; and am very industrious to keep up a correspondence with -posterity, whom I know nothing about, and who, probably, will concern -themselves very little about me, while I allow myself to be forgot by my -friends, whom I value and regard. However, it is some satisfaction that -I can give you an account of my silence, with which I own I reproach -myself. I have now brought down my History to the death of Charles the -First: and here I intend to pause for some time; to read, and think, and -correct; to look forward and backward; and to adopt the most moderate -and most reasonable sentiments on all subjects. I am sensible that the -history of the two first Stuarts will be most agreeable to the Tories; -that of the two last to the Whigs; but we must endeavour to be above any -regard either to Whigs or Tories. - -"Having thus satisfied your curiosity--for I will take it for granted -that your curiosity extends towards me--I must now gratify my own. I was -very anxious to hear that you had been molested with some disorders this -summer. I was told that you expected they would settle into a fit of the -gout. It is lucky where that distemper overtakes a man in his chariot: -we foot-walkers make but an awkward figure with it. I hope nobody has -the impertinence to say to you, Physician, cure thyself. All the world -allows that privilege to the gout, that it is not to be cured: it is -itself a physician; and, of course, sometimes cures and sometimes kills. -I fancy one fit of the gout would much increase your stock of -interjections, and render that part of speech, which in common grammars -is usually the most barren, with you more copious than either nouns or -verbs. - -"I must tell you good news of our friend Sir Harry. I am informed that -his talent for eloquence will not rust for want of employment: he bids -fair for another seat of the house; and what is the charming part of the -story, it is General Anstruther's seat which he is to obtain. He has -made an attack on the General's boroughs, and, by the assistance of his -uncle's interest and purse, is likely to prevail. Is not this delicious -revenge? It brings to my mind the story of the Italian, who reading that -passage of Scripture, 'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,' burst forth, -'Ay, to be sure; it is too sweet for any mortal.' I own I envy Sir -Harry: I never can hope to hate any body so perfectly as he does that -renowned commander; and no victory, triumph, vengeance, success, can be -more complete. Are not you pleased too? Pray, anatomize your own mind, -and tell me how many grains of your satisfaction is owing to malice, and -how many ounces to friendship. I leave the rest of this paper to be -filled up by Edmonstone. I am, &c. - -"P.S.--After keeping this by me eight days, I have never been able to -meet with Edmonstone. I must, therefore, send off my own part of a -letter which we projected in common. I shall only tell you, that I have -since seen Mr. Oswald, who assures me that Anstruther's defeat is -infallible."[383:1] - - -The following letter to the same friend is a curious instance of Hume's -diligent efforts to attain a correct English style:-- - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, 8th Dec. 1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I am at present reduced to the utmost straits and -difficulties. I know people are commonly ashamed to own such distresses. -But to whom can one have recourse in his misfortunes, but to his -friends? and who can I account my friend, if not Dr. Clephane? not a -friend only in the sunshine of fortune, but also in the shade of -adversity: not a security only in a calm; but in a storm a sheet-anchor. -But, to cut short all prefaces,--though, commonly, beggars and authors -abound with them, and I unite both these qualities,--the occasion of my -distress is as follows: - -"You know that the word _enough_, or _enuff_, as it is pronounced by the -English, we commonly, in Scotland, when it is applied to number, -pronounce enow. Thus we would say: such a one has books enow for study, -but not leisure enuff. Now I want to know, whether the English make the -same distinction. I observed the distinction already in Lord -Shaftesbury; 'Though there be doors enow,' says he, 'to get out of -life;' and thinking that this distinction of spelling words, that had -both different letters, and different pronunciation, was an improvement, -I followed it in my learned productions, though I knew it was not usual. -But there has lately arisen in me a doubt, that this is a mere -Scotticism; and that the English always pronounce the word, as if it -were wrote enuff, whether it be applied to numbers or to quantity. To -you, therefore, I apply in this doubt and perplexity. Though I make no -question that your ear is well purged from all native impurities, yet -trust not entirely to it, but ask any of your English friends, that -frequent good company, and let me know their opinion. - -"It is a rule of Vaugelas always to consult the ladies, rather than men, -in all doubts of language; and he asserts, that they have a more -delicate sense of the propriety of expressions. The same author advises -us, if we desire any one's opinion in any grammatical difficulty, not to -ask him directly; for that confounds his memory, and makes him forget -the use, which is the true standard of language. The best way, says he, -is to engage him as it were by accident, to employ the expression about -which we are in doubt. Now, if you are provided of any expedient, for -making the ladies pronounce the word enough, applied both to quantity -and number, I beg you to employ it, and to observe carefully and -attentively, whether they make any difference in the pronunciation. I -am, &c. - -"P.S.--I am quite in earnest in desiring a solution of my grammatical -doubt."[385:1] - - -The gentle sensitive character, and hard fate of poor blind Thomas -Blacklock, the poet, operated strongly on Hume's kindly feelings. He -busied himself with many schemes for enabling his unfortunate friend to -gain a subsistence which might make him enjoy "the glorious privilege of -being independent:" but with small success. This appears to be the only -pursuit which he permitted to divert his attention, at this time, from -his great work. We find him writing the following letter to a person -whose position in society might enable him to do some substantial -service to Blacklock. - - -HUME _to_ MATTHEW SHARP _of Hoddam_. - -"_Edinburgh, 25th February, 1754._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I have enclosed this letter under one to my friend Mr. -Blacklock, who has retired to Dumfries, and proposes to reside there for -some time. His character and situation are no doubt known to you, and -challenge the greatest regard from every one who has either good taste -or sentiments of humanity. He has printed a collection of poems, which -his friends are endeavouring to turn to the best account for him. Had he -published them in the common way, their merit would have recommended -them sufficiently to common sale; but, in that case, the greatest part -of the profit, it is well known, would have redounded to the -booksellers. His friends, therefore, take copies from him, and -distribute them among their acquaintances. The poems, if I have the -smallest judgment, are, many of them, extremely beautiful, and all of -them remarkable for correctness and propriety. Every man of taste, from -the merit of the performance, would be inclined to purchase them: every -benevolent man, from the situation of the author, would wish to -encourage him; and, as for those who have neither taste nor benevolence, -they should be forced, by importunity, to do good against their will. I -must, therefore, recommend it to you to send for a cargo of these poems, -which the author's great modesty will prevent him from offering to you, -and to engage your acquaintance to purchase them. But, dear sir, I would -fain go farther: I would fain presume upon our friendship, (which now -begins to be ancient between us,) and recommend to your civilities a man -who does honour to his country by his talents, and disgraces it by the -little encouragement he has hitherto met with. He is a man of very -extensive knowledge and of singular good dispositions; and his -poetical, though very much to be admired, is the least part of his -merit. He is very well qualified to instruct youth, by his acquaintance -both with the languages and sciences; and possesses so many arts of -supplying the want of sight, that that imperfection would be no -hinderance. Perhaps he may entertain some such project in Dumfries; and -be assured you could not do your friends a more real service than by -recommending them to him. Whatever scheme he may choose to embrace, I -was desirous you should be prepossessed in his favour, and be willing to -lend him your countenance and protection, which I am sensible would be -of great advantage to him. - -"Since I saw you, I have not been idle. I have endeavoured to make some -use of the library which was intrusted to me, and have employed myself -in a composition of British History, beginning with the union of the two -crowns. I have finished the reigns of James and Charles, and will soon -send them to the press. I have the impudence to pretend that I am of no -party, and have no bias. Lord Elibank says, that I am a moderate Whig, -and Mr. Wallace that I am a candid Tory. I was extremely sorry that I -could not recommend your friend to Director Hume,[387:1] as Mr. Cummin -desired me. I have never exchanged a word with that gentleman since I -carried Jemmy Kirkpatrick to him; and our acquaintance has entirely -dropt. I am," &c.[387:2] - - -Another letter by Hume, longer and fuller of detail, though it has -already appeared in a work well known and much read,[387:3] seems to -demand insertion here. It is addressed to the author of Polymetis and -friend of Pope. - - -HUME _to_ JOSEPH SPENCE. - - _Edinburgh, Oct. 15, 1754._ - - SIR,--The agreeable productions, with which you have - entertained the public, have long given me a desire of being - known to you: but this desire has been much increased by my - finding you engage so warmly in protecting a man of merit, so - helpless as Mr. Blacklock. I hope you will indulge me in the - liberty I have taken of writing to you. I shall very willingly - communicate all the particulars I know of him; though others, - by their longer acquaintance with him, are better qualified - for this undertaking. - - The first time I had ever seen or heard of Mr. Blacklock was - about twelve years ago, when I met him in a visit to two young - ladies. They informed me of his case, as far as they could in - a conversation carried on in his presence. I soon found him to - possess a very delicate taste, along with a passionate love of - learning. Dr. Stevenson had, at that time, taken him under his - protection; and he was perfecting himself in the Latin tongue. - I repeated to him Mr. Pope's elegy to the memory of an - unfortunate lady, which I happened to have by heart: and - though I be a very bad reciter, I saw it affected him - extremely. His eyes, indeed, the great index of the mind, - could express no passion: but his whole body was thrown into - agitation. That poem was equally qualified to touch the - delicacy of his taste, and the tenderness of his feelings. I - left the town a few days after; and being long absent from - Scotland, I neither saw nor heard of him for several years. At - last an acquaintance of mine told me of him, and said that he - would have waited on me, if his excessive modesty had not - prevented him. He soon appeared what I have ever since found - him, a very elegant genius, of a most affectionate grateful - disposition, a modest backward temper, accompanied with that - delicate pride, which so naturally attends virtue in distress. - His great moderation and frugality, along with the generosity - of a few persons, particularly Dr. Stevenson and Provost - Alexander, had hitherto enabled him to subsist. All his good - qualities are diminished, or rather perhaps embellished, by a - great want of knowledge of the world. Men of very benevolent - or very malignant dispositions are apt to fall into this - error; because they think all mankind like themselves: but I - am sorry to say that the former are apt to be most egregiously - mistaken. - - I have asked him whether he retained any idea of light or - colours. He assured me that there remained not the least - traces of them. I found, however, that all the poets, even the - most descriptive ones, such as Milton and Thomson, were read - by him with pleasure. Thomson is one of his favourites. I - remembered a story in Locke of a blind man, who said that he - knew very well what scarlet was: it was like the sound of a - trumpet. I therefore asked him, whether he had not formed - associations of that kind, and whether he did not connect - colour and sound together. He answered, that as he met so - often, both in books and conversation, with the terms - expressing colours, he had formed some false associations, - which supported him when he read, wrote, or talked of colours: - but that the associations were of the intellectual kind. The - illumination of the sun, for instance, he supposed to resemble - the presence of a friend; the cheerful colour of green, to be - like an amiable sympathy, &c. It was not altogether easy for - me to understand him: though I believe, in much of our own - thinking, there will be found some species of association. - 'Tis certain we always think in some language, viz. in that - which is most familiar to us; and 'tis but too frequent to - substitute words instead of ideas. - - If you was acquainted with any mystic, I fancy you would think - Mr. Blacklock's case less paradoxical. The mystics certainly - have associations by which their discourse, which seems jargon - to us, becomes intelligible to themselves. I believe they - commonly substitute the feelings of a common amour, in the - place of their heavenly sympathies: and if they be not belied, - the type is very apt to engross their hearts, and exclude the - thing typified. - - Apropos to this passion, I once said to my friend, Mr. - Blacklock, that I was sure he did not treat love as he did - colours; he did not speak of it without feeling it. There - appeared too much reality in all his expressions to allow that - to be suspected. "Alas!" said he, with a sigh, "I could never - bring my heart to a proper tranquillity on that head." Your - passion, replied I, will always be better founded than ours, - who have sight: we are so foolish as to allow ourselves to be - captivated by exterior beauty: nothing but the beauty of the - mind can affect you. "Not altogether neither," said he: "the - sweetness of the voice has a mighty effect upon me: the - symptoms of youth too, which the touch discovers, have great - influence. And though such familiar approaches would be - ill-bred in others, the girls of my acquaintance indulge me, - on account of my blindness, with the liberty of running over - them with my hand. And I can by that means judge entirely of - their shape. However, no doubt, humour, and temper, and sense, - and other beauties of the mind, have an influence upon me as - upon others." - - You may see from this conversation how difficult it is even - for a blind man to be a perfect Platonic. But though Mr. - Blacklock never wants his Evanthe, who is the real object of - his poetical addresses, I am well assured that all his - passions have been perfectly consistent with the purest virtue - and innocence. His life indeed has been in all respects - perfectly irreproachable. - - He had got some rudiments of Latin in his youth, but could not - easily read a Latin author till he was near twenty, when Dr. - Stevenson put him to a grammar school in Edinburgh. He got a - boy to lead him, whom he found very docible; and he taught him - Latin. This boy accompanied him to the Greek class in the - College, and they both learned Greek. Mr. Blacklock - understands that language perfectly, and has read with a very - lively pleasure all the Greek authors of taste. Mr. William - Alexander, second son to our late provost, and present member, - was so good as to teach him French; and he is quite master of - that language. He has a very tenacious memory and a quick - apprehension. The young students of the College were very - desirous of his company, and he reaped the advantage of their - eyes, and they of his instructions. He is a very good - philosopher, and in general possesses all branches of - erudition, except the mathematical. The lad who first attended - him having left him, he has got another boy, whom he is - beginning to instruct; and he writes me that he is extremely - pleased with his docility. The boy's parents, who are people - of substance, have put him into Mr. Blacklock's service, - chiefly on account of the virtuous and learned education which - they know he gives his pupils. - - As you are so generous to interest yourself in this poor man's - case, who is so much an object both of admiration and - compassion, I must inform you entirely of his situation. He - has gained about one hundred guineas by this last edition of - his poems, and this is the whole stock he has in the world. He - has also a bursary, about six pounds a-year. I begun a - subscription for supporting him during five years; and I made - out twelve guineas a-year among my acquaintance. That is a - most terrible undertaking; and some unexpected refusals I met - with, damped me, though they have not quite discouraged me - from proceeding. We have the prospect of another bursary of - ten pounds a-year in the gift of the exchequer; but to the - shame of human nature, we met with difficulties. Noblemen - interpose with their valet-de-chambres or nurses' sons, who - they think would be burdens on themselves. Could we ensure but - thirty pounds a-year to this fine genius and man of virtue, he - would be easy and happy: for his wants are none but those - which Nature has given him, though she has unhappily loaded - him with more than other men. - - His want of knowledge of the world, and the great delicacy of - his temper, render him unfit for managing boys or teaching a - school: he would retain no authority. Had it not been for this - defect, he could have been made professor of Greek in the - University of Aberdeen. - - Your scheme of publishing his poems by subscription, I hope - will turn to account. I think it impossible he could want, - were his case more generally known. I hope it will be so by - your means. Sir George Lyttleton, who has so fine a taste, and - so much benevolence of temper, would certainly, were the case - laid before him in a just light, lend his assistance, or - rather indeed quite overcome all difficulties. I know not, - whether you have the happiness of that gentleman's - acquaintance. - - As you are a lover of letters, I shall inform you of a piece - of news, which will be agreeable to you: we may hope to see - good tragedies in the English language. A young man called - Hume, a clergyman of this country, discovers a very fine - genius for that species of composition. Some years ago, he - wrote a tragedy called Agis, which some of the best judges, - such as the Duke of Argyle, Sir George Lyttleton, Mr. Pitt, - very much approved of. I own, though I could perceive fine - strokes in that tragedy, I never could in general bring myself - to like it: the author, I thought, had corrupted his taste by - the imitation of Shakspere, whom he ought only to have - admired. But the same author has composed a new tragedy on a - subject of invention; and here he appears a true disciple of - Sophocles and Racine. I hope in time he will vindicate the - English stage from the reproach of barbarism. - - I shall be very glad if the employing my name in your account - of Mr. Blacklock can be of any service. I am, Sir, with great - regard, &c. - - P.S.--Mr. Blacklock is very docible, and glad to receive - corrections. I am only afraid he is too apt to have a - deference for other people's judgment. I did not see the last - edition till it was printed; but I have sent him some - objections to passages, for which he was very thankful. I also - desired him to retrench some poems entirely; such as the Ode - on Fortitude, and some others, which seemed to me inferior to - the rest of the collection. You will very much oblige him, if - you use the same freedom. I remarked to him some Scotticisms; - but you are better qualified for doing him that service. I - have not seen any of his essays; and am afraid his prose is - inferior to his poetry. He will soon be in town, when I shall - be enabled to write you further particulars. - -In 1756, Spence published his edition of Blacklock's poems, with a long -introduction, in which all allusion to Hume's letter, and his services -to Blacklock, is carefully avoided. Blacklock was subsequently -alienated from Hume, and was accused by some of ingratitude; while -others threw the odium of the dispute on Hume, who, they said, was -mortified because Spence's edition of Blacklock's Poems was not -dedicated to him. Whoever may have been in the wrong, the latter -supposition is erroneous, as we shall find Hume at a much later period -conferring services on Blacklock, who in his turn gratefully -acknowledges them. The zeal of Spence to blot from the work any mark -that might connect it with the name of Hume, is alluded to with -good-natured sarcasm, in a letter to Dr. Clephane, farther on. - -The following letter, connected with another curious circumstance, -describes an incident in Hume's conduct to Blacklock. - - -HUME _to_ ADAM SMITH. - -"_Edinburgh, 17th December, 1754._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I told you that I intended to apply to the Faculty for -redress; and, if refused, to throw up the library. I was assured that -two of the curators intended before the Faculty to declare their -willingness to redress me, after which there could be no difficulty to -gain a victory over the other two. But before the day came, the Dean -prevailed on them to change their resolution, and joined them himself -with all his interest. I saw it then impossible to succeed, and -accordingly retracted my application. But being equally unwilling to -lose the use of the books, and to bear an indignity, I retain the -office, but have given Blacklock, our blind poet, a bond of annuity for -the salary. I have now put it out of these malicious fellows' power to -offer me any indignity, while my motive for remaining in this office is -so apparent. I should be glad that you approve of my conduct. I own I -am satisfied with myself."[394:1] - - -The following minute or memorandum, in Hume's handwriting,[394:2] -explains the ground of his disgust. One of the "malicious fellows" -appears to have been Lord Monboddo; another, Sir David Dalrymple, -afterwards Lord Hailes, with whom he never was on very cordial terms. - - -"_Edinburgh, 27th June, 1754._ - -"This day Mr. James Burnet, [Mr. Thomas Millar,] and Sir David -Dalrymple, curators of the library, (then follow some arrangement as to -meetings,) having gone through some accounts of books, lately bought for -the library, and finding therein the three following French books, Les -Contes de La Fontaine, L'Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules, and L'Écumoire, -they ordain that the said books be struck out of the catalogue of the -library, and removed from the shelves as indecent books, and unworthy of -a place in a learned library. - -"And to prevent the like abuses in time to come, they appoint that after -this no books shall be bought for the library, without the authority of -a meeting of the curators in time of session, and of two of them in time -of vacation." - - -It involves no approval of the licentious features of French literature, -to pronounce this resolution of the curators pre-eminently absurd. A -public library, purged of every book of which any portion might offend -the taste of a well-regulated mind of the present day, would -unfortunately be very barren in the most brilliant departments of the -literature of other days and other languages. It would be wrong in the -guardians of a public library to advance to the dignity of its shelves, -those loathsome books written for the promotion of vice, of which, -though they be published by no eminent bookseller, exhibited on no -respectable counter, advertised in no newspaper, too many have found -their way, by secret avenues, into the heart of society, where they -corrupt its life-blood. But if Greece, Rome, and France,--if our own -ancestors, had a freer tone in their imaginative literature than we -have, we must yet admit their works to our libraries, if we would have -these institutions depositaries of the genius of all times and all -places. The Faculty of Advocates are probably not less virtuous at this -moment than they were in 1754, yet they have now on their shelves the -brilliant edition of all La Fontaine's works, published at Amsterdam in -1762,--so that the expurgatory zeal of the three curators, had only put -their constituents to the expense of replacing the condemned -book.[396:1] L'Écumoire may also still be found in the Advocates' -library, along with the other still more censurable works of its author, -Crebillon the younger, who was certainly a free writer, but scarcely -deserved the very opprobrious name which he obtained, of the French -Petronius. Hume was afterwards the acquaintance and correspondent of -this author, who was anxious to hear that his works were well received -in Britain. Would Hume tell him that it was considered in Edinburgh an -offence against decency, to admit one of them to a national library? The -other condemned work, which is generally attributed to Bussy Rabutin, is -not now to be found in the catalogues of the Advocates' library.[396:2] - -Amidst such unpleasant interruptions he brought the first volume of his -History to a conclusion; and thus announces the fact to a friend, while -in the midst of his satisfaction he does not forget poor Blacklock. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Sept. 1, 1754._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I desire you to give me joy. _Jamque opus exegi, &c._ -This day I received from the press the last sheet of the volume of -history which I intended to publish; and I am already well advanced in -composing the second volume. It was impossible for the booksellers to -refuse to several the sight of the sheets as we went on; and Whig and -Tory, and Tory and Whig, (for I will alternately give them the -precedence,) combine as I am told in approving of my politics. A few -Christians only (and but a few) think I speak like a Libertine in -religion: be assured I am tolerably reserved on this head. Elliot tells -me that you had entertained apprehensions of my discretion: what I had -done to forfeit with you the character of prudence, I cannot tell, but -you will see little or no occasion for any such imputation in this work. -I composed it _ad populum_, as well as _ad clerum_, and thought, that -scepticism was not in its place in an historical production. I shall -take care to convey a copy to you by the first opportunity, and shall be -very proud of your approbation, and no less pleased with your -reprehensions. - -"Our friend Aber is again to enjoy the privilege of franking after a -_hiatus valde deflendus_. Edmonstone is at Peterhead drinking the waters -for his health. Sir Harry lives among his boroughs, but not so assiduous -in his civilities as formerly; an instance of ingratitude which one -would not expect in a man of such nice honour. I was lately told, that -one day last winter he went to pay a visit to a deacon's wife, who -happened in that very instant to be gutting fish. He came up to her with -open arms, and said he hoped madam was well, and that the young ladies -her daughters were in good health. 'Oh, come not near me,' cried she, -'Sir Harry; I am in a sad pickle, as nasty as a beast.'--'Not at all, -madam,' replied he, 'you are in a very agreeable négligé.' 'Well,' said -she, 'I shall never be able to understand your fine English.'--'I mean, -madam,' returned he, 'that you are drest in a very genteel -_deshabillé_.' - -"There is a young man of this country, Mr. Thomas Blacklock, who has -discovered a very fine genius for poetry, and under very extraordinary -circumstances. He is the son of a poor tradesman, and was born blind; -yet, notwithstanding these disadvantages, he has been able to acquire a -great knowledge of Greek, Latin, and French, and to be well acquainted -with all the classics in these languages, as well as in our own. He -published last winter a volume of Miscellanies, which all men of taste -admired extremely for their purity, elegance, and correctness; nor were -they devoid of force and invention. I sent up half-a-dozen to Dodsley, -desiring him to keep one, and to distribute the rest among men of taste -of his acquaintance. I find they have been much approved of, and that -Mr. Spence, in particular, has entertained thoughts of printing a new -edition by subscription, for the benefit of the author. You are an -acquaintance of Mr. Spence: encourage, I beseech you, so benevolent a -thought, and promote it every where by your recommendation. The young -man has a great deal of modesty, virtue, and goodness, as well as of -genius, and notwithstanding very strict frugality, is in great -necessities; but curst, or blest, with that honest pride of nature, -which makes him uneasy under obligations, and disdain all applications. -I need say no more to you. Dear Doctor, believe me, with great honesty -and affection, your friend and servant."[399:1] - - -Before the year 1754 came to an end, there was published, in a quarto -volume of four hundred and seventy-three pages, "The History of Great -Britain. Volume I. Containing the reigns of James I. and Charles I. By -David Hume, Esq."[399:2] He had now laid the foundation of a title to -that which all the genius and originality of his philosophical works -would never have procured for him--the reputation of a popular author. -His other works might exhibit a wider and a more original grasp of -thought: but the readers of metaphysics and ethics are a small number; -while the readers of history, and especially of the history of their own -country, are a community nearly as great as the number of those who can -read their own language. In this large market he produced his ware; and -after some hesitation on the part of those ordinary readers, who had -never known his genius as a philosopher, and of those who knew his -previous writings, but did not esteem them, it took the place of a -permanent marketable commodity--a sort of necessary of literary life. -The general reader found in it a distinct and animated narrative, -announced in a style easy, strong, and elegant. The philosopher and -statesman found in it profound and original views, such as the author of -the "Treatise of Human Nature" could not wield the pen without -occasionally dropping on his page. It was a work at once great in its -excellencies and beauties, and great in its defects; yet even the -latter circumstance swelled its fame, by producing a host of -controversial attacks, conducted by no mean champions. No author or -speaker could launch into a defence of monarchical prerogative without -triumphantly citing the opinion of Hume;--no friend of any popular -cause, from Chatham downwards, could appeal to history without -condemning his plausible perversions. No season of a debating society -has ever ended without the vexed questions he has started being -discussed in conjunction with his name. Every newspaper has recorded the -editor's opinion of the tendency of Hume's History. In reviews and -magazines, and political pamphlets, the references, laudatory or -condemnatory, are still, notwithstanding all that has been done for -British history in later times, unceasing; and some books, of no small -bulk, have been written, solely against the History, as one pamphlet is -written against another. - -Of a book which is so universally known, and has been subjected to so -thorough a critical examination, both in its narrative and its -reflective parts, a detailed criticism in a work like the present would -be superfluous and unwelcome. But the great extent of the controversial -writings on the subject, the quantity of able criticism which the -controversy has produced, the new light it has frequently been the means -of throwing on portions of British history, and the variety of -contending opinions it has elicited, do, in some measure, enable one who -is partial to that kind of reading, to note slightly and fugitively the -leading opinions which this controversy has developed; and thus, looking -back through the whole vista of debate and inquiry, to describe, in -general terms, the estimate which those who have since Hume's time -studied British history to best effect, have formed of his great work. -Perhaps, for casting a glance at the general principles he has announced -as to the progress of the constitution and public opinion in Britain, as -well as the general scope and extent of his historical labours, his work -may be divided into two leading departments; the history from the -accession of the house of Tudor downwards, which he completed in 1759; -and the history anterior to that epoch, which was published at a later -period of his life. In this arrangement, the general observations will -find their place in a subsequent portion of this work; while, in the -meantime, the opinions entertained of the narrative department of the -volume, published in 1754, may be noticed. - -The chief charge brought against it has been, that in describing the -great conflict which ended in the protectorate, the author has shown a -partiality to the side of the monarch, and particularly to Charles I. -and his followers; and has endeavoured to make the opposite -side--Independents, Presbyterians, Republicans, or under whatever name -they raised the banner of opposition to the court--odious and -ridiculous. - -Before Hume's day, every historian of those times took his side from the -beginning of the narrative, and proclaimed himself either the champion -or the opponent of the monarchical party. Salmon, Echard, and -Carte[401:1] wrote histories, in which, if they had spoken with decency -or temper of Oliver Cromwell, the Long Parliament, the Presbyterians, or -the Independents, they would have felt that they had as much neglected -their duty, as an advocate who, seeing some irregularity in the case of -the opposite party, fails to take advantage of it. The title-page of -Salmon announced his project: it promised "Remarks on Rapin, Burnet, and -other Republican writers, vindicating the just right of the Established -Church, and the prerogatives of the crown, against the wild schemes of -enthusiasts and levellers, no less active and diligent in promoting the -subversion of this beautiful frame of government, than their artful -predecessors in hypocrisy," &c. But Hume professed to approach the -subject as a philosopher, and to hold the balance even between Salmon -and Echard on the one side, and Oldmixon and Rapin on the other. Hence, -when it was believed that, under this air of impartiality, he masked a -battery well loaded and skilfully pointed against the principles of the -constitution, and the efforts of those who had fought for freedom, a -louder cry of indignation was raised against him than had ever assailed -the avowed retainers of the anti-popular cause. - -The tendency of the History was unexpected and inexplicable. In his -philosophical examination of the principles of government, written in -times of hot party feeling, he had discarded the theories of arbitrary -prerogative and divine right with bold and calm disdain. His utilitarian -theory represented the good of the people, not the will or advantage of -any one man, or small class of men, as the right object of government. -Harrison, Milton, and Sidney, had not expressed opinions more thoroughly -democratic than his. "Few things," says a critic, well accustomed to -trace literary anomalies to their causes in the minds of their authors, -"are more unaccountable, and, indeed, absurd, than that Hume should have -taken part with high church and high monarchy men. The persecutions -which he suffered in his youth from the Presbyterians, may, perhaps, -have influenced his ecclesiastical partialities.[403:1] But that he -should have sided with the Tudors and the Stuarts against the people, -seems quite inconsistent with all the great traits of his character. His -unrivalled sagacity must have looked with contempt on the preposterous -arguments by which the _jus divinum_ was maintained. His natural -benevolence must have suggested the cruelty of subjecting the enjoyments -of thousands to the caprice of one unfeeling individual; and his own -practical independence in private life, might have taught him the value -of those feelings which he has so mischievously derided."[403:2] - -In truth, it does not appear that Hume had begun his work with the -intention of adopting a side in the politics of the time; and that -sympathy, rather than rational conviction or political prejudice, -dictated his partisanship. His misapprehensions regarding the state of -the constitution, and the early foundation of British liberties, may be -attributed to another cause; but in his treatment of the question -between Charles I. and his opponents, he appears to have set out with -the design of preserving a rigid neutrality; to have gradually felt his -sympathies wavering,--to have at first restrained them, then let them -sway him slightly from the even middle path, and finally allowed them to -take possession of his opinions; opinions which, in their form of -expression, still preserved that tone of calm impartiality with which -he had set out. In the work of Clarendon--a scholar, a gentleman, a -dignified and elegant writer, a man of high-toned and manly feeling--he -found an attractive guide. In looking at the structure of Hume's -narrative, we can see that Clarendon was the author, whose account of -the great conflict was chiefly present to his mind; and dwelling on his -words and ideas, he must have in some measure felt the influence of that -plausible writer. As he went on with his narrative, he found on the one -side refinement and heroism, an elevated and learned priesthood, a -chivalrous aristocracy, a refined court,--all "the divinity" that "doth -hedge a king," followed by all the sad solemnity of fallen -greatness,--an adverse contest, borne with steady courage, and -humiliation and death endured with patient magnanimity. On the other -side appeared plebeian thoughts, rude uncivil speech, barbarous and -ludicrous fanaticism, and success consummated by ungenerous triumphs. -His philosophical indifference gave way before such temptations, and he -went the way of his sympathies. Yet he never permitted himself boldly -and distinctly to profess partisanship: he still bore the badge of -neutrality; and perhaps believed that he was swerving neither to the -right hand nor to the left. An eloquent writer has thus vividly -described the tone of his History: - - Hume, without positively asserting more than he can prove, - gives prominence to all the circumstances which can support - his case. He glides lightly over those which are unfavourable - to it. His own witnesses are applauded and encouraged; the - statements which seem to throw discredit on them are - controverted; the contradictions into which they fall are - explained away; a clear and connected abstract of their - evidence is given. Every thing that is offered on the other - side is scrutinized with the utmost severity; every suspicious - circumstance is a ground for comment and invective; what - cannot be denied is extenuated, or passed by without notice. - Concessions even are sometimes made; but this insidious - candour only increases the effect of this vast mass of - sophistry.[405:1] - -Yet when there was any thing of a grand and solemn character in the -proceedings of the Republican party,--when they were not connected with -the rude guards, and their insults to the fallen majesty of England; -with the long psalms, long sermons, and long faces of the Puritans; with -Trouble-world Lilburne, Praise-God Barebones, or eccentric, stubborn, -impracticable William Prynne,--he could employ the easy majesty of his -language in surrounding them with a suiting dignity of tone; and he did -so with apparent pleasure. Witness his description of the meeting of the -Long Parliament, and of the preparations for the king's trial before the -High Court of Justice. - -He seems to have felt, not unfrequently, the inconsistencies that must -be perceptible between the tone of his historical, and the political -doctrines of his philosophical works; and his attempts to reconcile them -with each other, sometimes only serve to make the difference more -conspicuous. Speaking of the act of holding judgment on Charles I., he -says, "If ever, on any occasion, it were laudable to conceal truth from -the populace, it must be confessed that the doctrine of resistance -affords such an example; and that all speculative reasoners ought to -observe, with regard to this principle, the same cautious silence which -the laws, in every species of government, have ever prescribed to -themselves." One could imagine a congress of crowned heads, or a -conclave of cardinals, adopting such a view; and resolving, at the same -moment, that it should be kept as secret as the grave. But that a man -should speak of the right of resistance as existing, and say the -knowledge of it ought not to be promulgated, and print and publish this -in a book in his own vernacular language, is surely as remarkable an -anomaly, as the history of practical contradictions can exhibit. - -Owing to his opinion of the manner in which the Abbé Le Blanc had -rendered his "Political Discourses" into French, he expressed a wish, in -the following courteous letter, that the History should have the benefit -of being translated by the same hand. - - -HUME _to the_ ABBÉ LE BLANC. - -"_Edinburgh, 15th October, 1754._ - -"SIR,--You will receive, along with this, a copy of the first volume of -my 'History of Great Britain,' which will be published next winter in -London. The honour which you did me in translating my 'Political -Discourses,' inspires me with an ambition of desiring to have this work -translated by the same excellent hand. The great curiosity of the events -related in this volume, embellished by your elegant pen, might challenge -the attention of the public. If you do not undertake this translation, I -despair of ever seeing it done in a satisfactory manner. Many -intricacies in the English government,--many customs peculiar to this -island, require explication; and it will be necessary to accompany the -translation with some notes, however short, in order to render it -intelligible to foreigners. None but a person as well acquainted as you -with England and the English constitution, can pretend to clear up -obscurities, or explain the difficulties which occur. If, at any time, -you find yourself at a loss, be so good as to inform me. I shall spare -no pains to solve all doubts; and convey all the lights which, by my -long and assiduous study of the subject, I may have acquired. The -distance betwixt us need be no impediment to this correspondence. If you -favour me frequently with your letters, I shall be able to render you -the same service as if I had the happiness of living next door to you, -and was able to inspect the whole translation. In this attempt, the -knowledge of the two languages is but one circumstance to qualify a man -for a translator. Though your attainments, in this respect, be known to -all the world, I own that I trust more to the spirit of reflection and -reasoning which you discover; and I thence expect that my performance -will not only have justice done it, but will even receive considerable -improvements as it passes through your hands. I am, with great regard, -Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant."[407:1] - - -The Abbé received the proposal with rapture: he offered to translate -with the zeal not only of the illustrious author's admirer, but of his -friend. He desired Hume to postpone the publication for a while in -London, and to send him the sheets with the utmost rapidity, lest he -might be forestalled by some of that numerous host of rapid penmen, who -are ready, in obedience to the commands of the booksellers, to translate -such works, without knowing English, or even French. Holland was at that -period a great book mart, and there the Abbé found rivals still more -expeditious; for he was obliged to write to Hume, at a time when he -seems to have made little or no progress with his work, stating that he -is disheartened by the prospect of the immediate appearance of a -translation in Holland, where they employ, in the rendering of excellent -books into French, people who are only fit to manufacture paper. In the -end, having encountered a host of interruptions, he intimates that he -has placed the work in the hands of another person.[408:1] - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Oct. 18th, 1754._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I received your kind letter, for which I thank you. Poor -Aber[408:2] is disappointed by a train of Norland finesse, alas--what -you will. I have given orders to deliver to you a copy of my History, -as soon as it arrives in London, and before it be published. Lend it not -till it be published. It contains no paradoxes, and very little -profaneness,--as little as could be expected. The Abbé Le Blanc, who has -translated some other of my pieces, intends to translate it, and the -enclosed is part of a copy I send him: excuse the freedom--you may -perhaps receive some other packets of the same kind, which you will -please to send carefully to the post-house. The General and Sir Henry -are in town, who remember you. Edmonstone is well, and I just now left -him a-bed. I may perhaps be in London for good and all in a year or two. -Show me that frugality could make £120 a-year do, and I am with you: a -man of letters ought always to live in a capital, says Bayle. I believe -I have no more to say. You'll own that my style has not become more -verbose, on account of my writing quartos. Yours affectionately," -&c.[409:1] - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"DEAR MURE,--I had sent to Sharpe a copy of my History, of which I hope -you will tell me your opinion with freedom; - - Finding, like a friend, - Something to blame, and something to commend. - -"The first quality of an historian, is to be true and impartial. The -next to be interesting. If you do not say that I have done both parties -justice, and if Mrs. Mure be not sorry for poor King Charles, I shall -burn all my papers and return to philosophy. - -"I shall send a copy to Paris to L'Abbé Le Blanc, who has translated -some other of my pieces; and therefore your corrections and amendments -may still be of use, and prevent me from misleading or tiring the French -nation. We shall also make a Dublin edition; and it were a pity to put -the Irish farther wrong than they are already. I shall also be so -sanguine as to hope for a second edition, when I may correct all errors. -You know my docility."[410:1] - - -HUME _to_ MRS. DYSART _of Eccles_. - -"_9th October._ - -"DEAR MADAM,--As I send you a long book, you will allow me to write a -short letter, with this fruit of near two years' very constant -application, my youngest and dearest child. You should have read it -sooner; but, during the fine weather, I foresaw that it would produce -some inconvenience: either you would attach yourself so much to the -perusal of me, as to neglect walking, riding, and field diversions, -which are much more beneficial than any history; or if this beautiful -season tempted you, I must lie in a corner, neglected and forgotten. I -assure you I would take the pet if so treated. Now that the weather has -at last broke, and long nights are joined to wind and rain, and that a -fireside has become the most agreeable object, a new book, especially if -wrote by a friend, may not be unwelcome. In expectation, then, that you -are to peruse me first with pleasure, then with ease, I expect to hear -your remarks, and Mr. Dysart's, and the Solicitor's. Whether am I Whig -or Tory? Protestant or Papist? Scotch or English? I hope you do not all -agree on this head, and that there are disputes among you about my -principles. We never see you in town, and I can never get to the -country; but I hope I preserve a place in your memory. I am, &c. - -"P.S.--I have seen John Hume's new unbaptized play,[411:1] and it is a -very fine thing. He now discovers a great genius for the theatre." - -[Written at the top.] "I must beg of you not to lend the book out of -your house, on any account, till the middle of November; any body may -read it in the house."[411:2] - - -In a continuation of the letter, of which the part relating to Blacklock -was cited above, he thus desires Adam Smith's opinion of the History:-- - - -"Pray tell me, and tell me ingenuously, what success has my History met -with among the judges with you. I mean Dr. Cullen, Mr. Betham, Mrs. -Betham, Mr. Leichman, Mr. Muirhead, Mr. Crawford, &c. Dare I presume -that it has been thought worthy of examination, and that its beauties -are found to overbalance its defects? I am very desirous to know my -errors; and I dare swear you think me tolerably docile to be so veteran -an author. I cannot, indeed, hope soon to have an opportunity of -correcting my errors; this impression is so very numerous. The sale, -indeed, has been very great in Edinburgh; but how it goes on in London, -we have not been precisely informed. In all cases I am desirous of -storing up instruction; and as you are now idle, (I mean, have nothing -but your class to teach, which to you is comparative idleness,) I will -insist upon hearing from you. - -"_Edinburgh, 17th Dec. 1754._" - - -The following letter, still on the same subject, introduces the name of -a new correspondent. - - -HUME _to the_ EARL _of_ BALCARRES. - -"_Edinburgh, 17th December, 1754._ - -"MY LORD,--I did really intend to have paid my respects to your lordship -this harvest; but I have got into such a recluse, studious habit, that I -believe myself only fit to converse with books; and, however I may -pretend to be acquainted with dead kings, shall become quite unsuitable -for my friends and cotemporaries. Besides, the great gulf that is fixed -between us terrifies me. I am not only very sick at sea, but often can -scarce get over the sickness for some days. - -"I am very proud that my History, even upon second thoughts, appears to -have something tolerable in your lordship's eyes. It has been very much -canvassed and read here in town, as I am told; and it has full as many -inveterate enemies as partial defenders. The misfortune of a book, says -Boileau, is not the being ill spoke of, but the not being spoken of at -all. The sale has been very considerable here, about four hundred and -fifty copies in five weeks. How it has succeeded in London, I cannot -precisely tell; only I observe that some of the weekly papers have been -busy with me.--I am as great an Atheist as Bolingbroke; as great a -Jacobite as Carte; I cannot write English, &c. I do, indeed, observe -that the book is in general rather more agreeable to those they call -Tories; and I believe, chiefly for this reason, that, having no places -to bestow, they are naturally more moderate in their expectations from a -writer. A Whig, who can give hundreds a-year, will not be contented with -small sacrifices of truth; and most authors are willing to purchase -favour at so reasonable a price. - -"I wish it were in my power to pass this Christmas at Balcarres. I -should be glad to accompany your lordship in your rural improvements, -and return thence to relish with pleasure the comforts of your fireside. -You enjoy peace and contentment, my lord, which all the power and wealth -of the nation cannot give to our rulers. The whole ministry, they say, -is by the ears. This quarrel, I hope, they will fight out among -themselves, and not expect to draw us in as formerly, by pretending it -is for our good. We will not be the dupes twice in our life. - -"I have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedient and -most humble servant."[413:1] - - -The literary success that would satisfy Hume required to be of no small -amount. Though neither, in any sense, a vain man, nor a caterer for -ephemeral applause, he was greedy of fame; and what would have been to -others pre-eminent success, appears to have, in his eyes, scarcely risen -above failure. His expressions about the reception of his History, have -a tinge of morbidness. In John Home's memorandum of his latest -conversations, it is said that "he recurred to a subject not unfrequent -with him, that is, the design to ruin him as an author, by the people -that were ministers at the first publication of his History."[414:1] In -his "own life," written at the same time, the only passage truly bitter -in its tone, gives fuller expression to a like feeling:--"I was, I own, -sanguine in my expectations of the success of this work. I thought that -I was the only historian that had at once neglected present power, -interest, and authority, and the cry of popular prejudices; and as the -subject was suited to every capacity, I expected proportional applause. -But miserable was my disappointment: I was assailed by one cry of -reproach, disapprobation, and even detestation; English, Scotch, and -Irish, Whig and Tory, Churchman and Sectary, Freethinker and -Religionist, Patriot and Courtier, united in their rage against the man -who had presumed to shed a generous tear for the fate of Charles I. and -the Earl of Strafford; and after the first ebullitions of their fury -were over, what was still more mortifying, the book seemed to sink into -oblivion. Mr. Millar told me, that in a twelvemonth he sold only -forty-five copies of it. I scarcely, indeed, heard of one man in the -three kingdoms, considerable for rank or letters, that could endure the -book. I must only except the primate of England, Dr. Herring, and the -primate of Ireland, Dr. Stone, which seem two odd exceptions. These -dignified prelates separately sent me messages not to be discouraged. - -"I was however, I confess, discouraged; and had not the war been, at -that time, breaking out between France and England, I had certainly -retired to some provincial town of the former kingdom, have changed my -name, and never more have returned to my native country. But as this -scheme was not now practicable, and the subsequent volume was -considerably advanced, I resolved to pick up courage, and to persevere." - -Andrew Millar, a countryman of Hume, had, about this time, formed an -extensive publishing connexion in London. An arrangement was made, by -which he should take the History under his protection,--publish the -subsequent volumes, and push the sale of the first. The arrangement is -said to have been recommended by Hume's Edinburgh publishers; and it -shows how much, in that age, as probably also in this, even a great work -may depend on the publisher's exertions, for giving it a hold on the -public mind. Hume had a pretty extensive correspondence with Millar. -Many of the letters are purely on business, and sometimes on business -not very important; but others, such as the following, have some -literary interest. Hume appears to have contemplated a translation of -Plutarch, and Millar seems to have wished to make him editor of a London -newspaper. - - -HUME _to_ ANDREW MILLAR. - -"_12th April, 1755._ - -"The second volume of my History I can easily find a way of conveying -to you when finished and corrected, and fairly copied. Perhaps I may be -in London myself about that time. I have always said, to all my -acquaintance, that if the first volume bore a little of a Tory aspect, -the second would probably be as grateful to the opposite party. The two -first princes of the house of Stuart were certainly more excusable than -the two second. The constitution was, in their time, very ambiguous and -undetermined; and their parliaments were, in many respects, refractory -and obstinate. But Charles the Second knew that he had succeeded to a -very limited monarchy. His long parliament was indulgent to him, and -even consisted almost entirely of royalists. Yet he could not be quiet, -nor contented with a legal authority. I need not mention the oppressions -in Scotland, nor the absurd conduct of King James the Second. These are -obvious and glaring points. Upon the whole, I wish the two volumes had -been published together. Neither one party nor the other would, in that -case, have had the least pretext of reproaching me with partiality. - -"I shall give no farther umbrage to the godly, though I am far from -thinking, that my liberties on that head have been the real cause of -checking the sale of the first volume. They might afford a pretext for -decrying it to those who were resolved on other accounts to lay hold of -pretexts. - -"Pray tell Dr. Birch, if you have occasion to see him, that his story of -the warrant for Lord Loudon's execution, though at first I thought it -highly improbable, appears to me at present a great deal more -likely.[416:1] I find the same story in "Scotstarvet's Staggering -State,"[417:1] which was published here a few months ago. The same -story, coming from different canals, without any dependence on each -other, bears a strong air of probability. I have spoke to Duke Hamilton, -who says, that I shall be very welcome to peruse all his papers. I shall -take the first opportunity of going to the bottom of that affair; and if -I find any confirmation of the suspicion, will be sure to inform Dr. -Birch. I own it is the strongest instance of any which history affords, -of King Charles's arbitrary principles. - -"I have made a trial of Plutarch, and find that I take pleasure in it; -but cannot yet form so just a notion of the time and pains which it will -require, as to tell you what sum of money I would think an equivalent. -But I shall be sure to inform you as soon as I come to a resolution. The -notes requisite will not be numerous,--not so many as in the former -edition. I think so bulky a book ought to be swelled as little as -possible; and nothing added but what is absolutely requisite. The little -trial I have made, convinces me that the undertaking will require time. -My manner of composing is slow, and I have great difficulty to satisfy -myself."[417:2] - - -HUME _to_ ADAM SMITH. - -"_Edinburgh, 9th January, 1755._ - - "DEAR SIR,--I beg you to make my compliments to the Society,[417:3] -and to take the fault on yourself, if I have not executed my duty, and -sent them, this time, my anniversary paper. Had I got a week's warning I -should have been able to have supplied them. I should willingly have -sent some sheets of the history of the Commonwealth, or Protectorship; -but they are all of them out of my hand at present, and I have not been -able to recall them. - -"I think you are extremely in the right, that the Parliament's bigotry -has nothing in common with Hiero's generosity. They were, themselves, -violent persecutors at home, to the utmost of their power. Besides, the -Hugunots in France were not persecuted; they were really seditious, -turbulent people, whom their king was not able to reduce to obedience. -The French persecutions did not begin till sixty years after. - -"Your objection to the Irish massacre is just, but falls not on the -execution, but the subject. Had I been to describe the massacre of -Paris, I should not have fallen into that fault. But, in the Irish -massacre, no single eminent man fell, or by a remarkable death.[418:1] -If the elocution of the whole chapter be blamable, it is because my -conception laboured with too great an idea of my subject, which is there -the most important. But that misfortune is not unusual. I am," -&c.[418:2] - - -We shall have farther occasion to notice the deep interest which Hume -took in John Home's tragedy of Douglas. The following letter, which is -without date, was, probably, written at the beginning of the year 1755, -and before Home made his unsuccessful journey to London, to submit his -effort to the judgment of Garrick. - - -HUME _to_ JOHN HOME. - -"DEAR SIR,--With great pleasure I have more than once perused your -tragedy. It is interesting, affecting, pathetic. The story is simple and -natural; but what chiefly delights me, is to find the language so pure, -correct, and moderate. For God's sake read Shakspere, but get Racine and -Sophocles by heart. It is reserved to you, and you alone, to redeem our -stage from the reproach of barbarism. - -"I have not forgot your request to find fault; but as you had neither -numbered the pages nor the lines in your copy, I cannot point out -particular expressions. I have marked the margin, and shall tell you my -opinion when I have the pleasure of seeing you. The more considerable -objections seem to be these: _Glenalvon's_ character is too abandoned. -Such a man is scarce in nature; at least it is inartificial in a poet to -suppose such a one, as if he could not conduct his fable by the ordinary -passions, infirmities, and vices of human nature. _Lord Barnet's_[419:1] -character is not enough decided; he hovers betwixt vice and virtue; -which, though it be not unnatural, is not sufficiently theatrical nor -tragic. After _Anna_ had lived eighteen years with _Lady Barnet_, and -yet had been kept out of the secret, there seems to be no sufficient -reason why, at that very time, she should have been let into it. The -spectator is apt to suspect that it was in order to instruct him; a very -good end, indeed, but which might have been attained by a careful and -artificial conduct of the dialogue. - -"There seem to be too many casual rencounters. _Young Forman_[420:1] -passing by chance, saves _Lord Barnet_; _Old Forman_, passing that way, -by chance, is arrested. Why might not _Young Forman_ be supposed to be -coming to the castle, in order to serve under _Lord Barnet_, and _Old -Forman_, having had some hint of his intention, to have followed him -that way? - - [Some lines torn off and lost.] - -Might not _Anna_ be supposed to have returned to her mistress after long -absence? This might account for a greater flow of confidence."[420:2] - - -HUME _to_ ANDREW MILLAR. - -"_Edinburgh, 12th June, 1755._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I give you a great many thanks for thinking of me in your -project of a weekly paper. I approve very much of the design, as you -explain it to me; and there is nobody I would more willingly engage -with. But, as I have another work in hand, which requires great labour -and care to finish, I cannot think of entering on a new undertaking, -till I have brought this to a conclusion. Your scheme would require me -immediately to remove to London; and I live here, at present, in great -tranquillity, with all my books around me; and I cannot think of -changing while I have so great a work in hand as the finishing of my -History. - -"There are four short Dissertations, which I have kept some years by me, -in order to polish them as much as possible. One of them is that which -Allan Ramsay mentioned to you. Another, of the Passions; a third, of -Tragedy; a fourth, some Considerations previous to Geometry and Natural -Philosophy.[421:1] The whole, I think, would make a volume, a fourth -less than my Inquiry, as nearly as I can calculate; but it would be -proper to print it in a larger type, in order to bring it to the same -size and price. I would have it published about the new year; and I -offer you the property for fifty guineas, payable at the publication. -You may judge, by my being so moderate in my demands, that I do not -propose to make any words about the bargain. It would be more convenient -for me to print here, especially one of the Dissertations, where there -is a good deal of literature; but, as the manuscript is distinct and -accurate, it would not be impossible for me to correct it, though -printed at London. I leave it to your choice; though I believe that it -might be as cheaply and conveniently and safely executed here. However, -the matter is pretty near indifferent to me. I would fain prognosticate -better than you say with regard to my History; that you expect little -sale till the publication of the second volume. I hope the prejudices -will dissipate sooner. I am," &c.[422:1] - - -In 1755, an effort was made to establish a periodical Review in -Scotland, characterized by a higher literary spirit, and a more original -tone of thinking, than the other periodical literature of the day could -boast. It assumed the name, so famous in later times, of _The Edinburgh -Review_. With such contributors as Smith, Robertson, Blair, and Jardine, -it could not fail to achieve its object, so far as its own merit was -concerned; but the public did not appreciate its excellence, and it died -after two half-yearly numbers, which may now be found on the shelves of -the curious. On this matter, Mackenzie says, - - David Hume was not among the number of the writers of the - _Review_, though we should have thought he would have been the - first person whose co-operation they would have sought. But I - think I have heard that they were afraid both of his extreme - good nature, and his extreme artlessness; that, from the one, - their criticisms would have been weakened or suppressed; and, - from the other, their secret discovered. The merits of the - work strongly attracted his attention, and he expressed his - surprise, to some of the gentlemen concerned in it, with whom - he was daily in the habit of meeting, at the excellence of a - performance written, as he presumed, from his ignorance on the - subject, by some persons out of their own literary circle. It - was agreed to communicate the secret to him at a dinner, which - was shortly after given by one of their number. At that dinner - he repeated his wonder on the subject of _The Edinburgh - Review_. One of the company said he knew the authors, and - would tell them to Mr. Hume upon his giving an oath of - secrecy. "How is the oath to be taken," said David, with his - usual pleasantry, "of a man accused of so much scepticism as I - am? You would not trust my Bible oath; but I will swear by the - +to kalon+ and the +to prepon+ never to reveal your secret." - He was then told the names of the authors and the plan of the - work; but it was not continued long enough to allow of his - contributing any articles.[423:1] - -It was a strong judgment to pass on a man who filled the office of -secretary of legation, and under-secretary of state, that a secret was -not safe in his keeping. Perhaps Hume had acquired absent habits about -trifles. But he could transact important business with ability, and keep -important secrets with strictness. There is a general propensity to -find, in the nature and habits of abstruse thinkers, an innocent -simplicity about the passing affairs of the world, which is often -dispelled by a nearer view of their characters. Hume was careless about -small matters; but in the serious transactions of life, he was -sagacious, prompt, and energetic. Though he did not contribute to it, -he owed some substantial services to this periodical, in the conflict in -the ecclesiastical courts, which, in the course of events, comes now to -be considered.[424:1] - -Hume was not one of those who, when they find that the opinions they -have formed are at variance with those of the rest of mankind, blaze the -unpopular portions forth in the light of day, or fling them in the face -of their adversaries. Among his intimate friends, he could pass sly -jests about his opinions; using, in regard to them, those strong -expressions which he knew his adversaries would apply to them. But he -disliked ostentation of any kind. He particularly disliked the -ostentation of singularity; and so little was he aware that he was -outraging any of the world's opinions, in promulgating the fruits of his -metaphysical speculations, that he appears to have been much astonished -that any one should find in them any ground for serious objection, and -to have marvelled greatly that clergymen and others should deem him an -unfit person to be a professor of moral philosophy, or a teacher of -youth. "Rara temporum felicitas, ubi sentire quæ velis, et quæ sentias -dicere, licet," was the motto of his first work; and he seems to have -thought that he lived in an age when speculation might soar with -unclipped wings, and when his opinions would be questioned only before -the tribunal of reason. - -In all this, however, he now found that he was mistaken, and that there -were persons who, professing to have charge of these matters, and to -know the final judgment concerning them, thought right to execute it on -earth, by punishing the man whose opinions were different from their -own. The soul of this crusade was a certain Reverend George Anderson, a -restless, fiery, persevering being, probably of great polemical note in -his day, the observed of all observers as he passed through the city, a -Boanerges in church courts; but now only known through the eminence of -those against whom the fury of his zeal was directed. Hume was not the -only object of pursuit. Other game was started at the same time in the -person of his friend, Lord Kames. It is somewhat remarkable, that it was -against the latter that the pursuit was most persevering and bitter. He -was certainly not a man likely to have provoked such attacks. It is true -that he meddled with dangerous subjects, but he did so with great -caution and skill. Bred to the practice of the bar, at a time when the -advocate often felt a temptation to insinuate doctrines which could not -be proclaimed without risk, he became like a chemist who is expert in -the safe manipulation of detonating materials. Yet he made a narrow -escape; for as he had been raised to the bench in 1752, any proceeding -by a church court, professing to subject him to punishment, temporal or -eternal, however lightly it might have fallen on a philosopher, might -have tended materially to injure the usefulness of a judge. - -Kames' work, which was published in 1751, and entitled "Essays on the -Principles of Morality and Natural Religion," bears evident marks of -having been written in opposition to the opinions laid down by Hume, -although the author probably did not wish to expose the works of his -kind friend to odium, by making a particular reference to them. It is -clear that he considered his own opinions likely to be so very popular -among the orthodox, that it would be doing an evil turn to his friend, -to mention him as the promulgator of views on the other side. In his -advertisement, he said, the object of his book was "to prepare the way -for a proof of the existence of the Deity," and the Essays end with a -prayer. Their leading principle is, that according to the doctrine of -predestination, there can be no liberty to human beings, in the ordinary -acceptation of the term, while the Deity has nevertheless, for wise -purposes, which we cannot fathom, implanted in our race the feeling that -we are free. Some have held that, while the scheme of predestination was -exhibited by Hume as a mere metaphysical theory, Kames united it to -vital religion. He had the misfortune, however, to write in a -philosophical tone; and those who constituted themselves judges of the -matter, seem to have taken example from the stern father, who, when -there is a quarrel in the nursery, punishes both sides, because -quarrelling is a thing not allowed in the house. In a letter to Michael -Ramsay, Hume says, in continuation of a passage printed above,[427:1] -"Have you seen our friend Harry's Essays? They are well wrote, and are -an unusual instance of an obliging method of answering a book. -Philosophers must judge of the question; but the clergy have already -decided it, and say he is as bad as me! Nay, some affirm him to be -worse,--as much as a treacherous friend is worse than an open enemy." -Dr. Blair is believed to have been the champion of Kames; and the -following notice of his connexion with the controversy, given by -Mackenzie, is valuable and instructive. - - It is a singular enough coincidence with some church - proceedings, about fifty years after,[427:2] that Dr. Blair, - in defence of his friend's Essays, expressly states, that one - purpose of those Essays was to controvert what appeared to him - to be a very dangerous doctrine, held by the author of certain - other _Essays_, then recently published, (by Mr. David Hume,) - that, by no principle in human nature, can we discover any - real connexion between _cause_ and _effect_. According to Dr. - Blair, the object of one of Lord Kames' Essays is to show, - that though such connexion is not discoverable by _reason_, - and by a process of argumentative induction, there is, - nevertheless, a real and obvious connexion, which every one - intuitively perceives between an _effect_ and its _cause_. We - feel and acknowledge, that every effect implies a cause; that - nothing can begin to exist without a cause of its existence. - "We are not left," says the author of the Vindication, "to - gather our belief of a _Deity_, from inferences and - conclusions deduced through intermediate steps, many or few. - How unhappy would it be, for the great bulk of mankind, if - this were necessary!" - -The first attack was made in a pamphlet, called "An Estimate of the -Profit and Loss of Religion, personally and publicly stated: illustrated -with reference to 'Essays on Morality and Natural Religion,'" published -at Edinburgh, in 1753; the work of Anderson himself, and endowed with -all the marks of its author. This was levelled against Kames alone; but -it was followed in 1755 by a pamphlet, in which, under the name of -Sopho, he was coupled with Hume, thus: "An Analysis of the Moral and -Religious Sentiments contained in the Writings of Sopho and David Hume, -Esq., addressed to the consideration of the reverend and honourable -members of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland." "My design," -says the author, "is to analyze the works of these celebrated authors, -giving their own expressions under the different heads to which they -seem to belong. This method, I imagine, will not only give the clearest -view of the sentiments of these gentlemen, but is such as they -themselves must allow to be the most fair and candid; because if, in -stating the proposition, I should happen to mistake their meaning, their -own words, subjoined, must immediately do them justice." With this -preamble, the writer ranges his quotations under such heads as, "All -distinction betwixt virtue and vice is merely imaginary;" "Adultery is -very lawful, but sometimes not expedient," &c. - -A counter pamphlet was published, called "Observations upon a pamphlet, -entitled 'An Analysis of the Moral and Religious Sentiments contained in -the Writings of Sopho and David Hume, Esq.'"[428:1] In reference to his -opponents' boasted series of accurate quotations, the writer of this -answer says, "If there should be found passages which are neither the -words nor the meaning of the author, the falsehood cannot be palliated -nor excused." And then, after giving a specimen of these "accurate" -quotations, he says,-- - - "In all that page there is no such sentence, neither is there - any such sentiment to be found. The passage from the beginning - is as follows," &c. and he continues: "To glean disunited - sentences, to patch them together arbitrarily, to omit the - limitations or remarks with which a proposition is delivered; - can this be styled exhibiting the sentiments of an author? I - hope I shall not be thought to deviate into any thing - ludicrous, when I refer the reader to a well-known treatise of - the Dean of St. Patrick's, in which the inquisitorial method - of interpretation in the Church of Rome is by so just and so - severe raillery rendered detestable. _Si non totidem - sententiis, ast totidem verbis; si non totidem verbis, ast - totidem syllabis; si non totidem syllabis ast totidem - literis._ This is the genuine logic of persecution."[429:1] - -The matter was brought before the immediately ensuing General Assembly, -that of 1755; by which a general resolution was passed, expressive of -the Church's "utmost abhorrence" of "impious and infidel principles," -and of "the deepest concern on account of the prevalence of infidelity -and immorality, the principles whereof have been, to the disgrace of -our age and nation, so openly avowed in several books published of late -in this country, and which are but too well known amongst us." But this -general anathema was not sufficient to satisfy the pious zeal of Mr. -Anderson, who, in anticipation of the meeting of the Assembly in 1756, -wrote another pamphlet, called "Infidelity a proper object of censure." - -The initiatory step in the legislative business of the General Assembly, -is the bringing before it an overture, which has previously obtained the -sanction, either of one of the inferior church courts, or of a committee -of the Assembly for preparing overtures. In such a committee, it was -moved on 28th May, 1756, that the following overture should be -transmitted to the Assembly. - - "The General Assembly, judging it their duty to do all in - their power to check the growth and progress of infidelity; - and considering, that as infidel writings have begun of late - years to be published in this nation, against which they have - hitherto only testified in general, so there is one person - styling himself David Hume, Esq. who hath arrived at such a - degree of boldness as publicly to avow himself the author of - books containing the most rude and open attacks upon the - glorious gospel of Christ, and principles evidently subversive - even of natural religion, and the foundations of morality, if - not establishing direct atheism: therefore the Assembly - appoint the following persons . . . . . as a committee to - inquire into the writings of this author, to call him before - them, and prepare the matter for the next General Assembly." - -The matter was discussed with the usual keenness of such debates in such -bodies. But toleration was triumphant, and the overture was rejected by -fifty votes to seventeen.[430:1] - -Still the indefatigable Anderson returned to the charge, though he -brought it against humbler persons in a less conspicuous arena. As he -found the authors above his reach, he resolved to proceed against the -booksellers; and he brought before the Presbytery of Edinburgh a -"Petition and Complaint" against Alexander Kincaid and Alexander -Donaldson, the publishers of "Kames' Essays," praying, "that the said -printer and booksellers may be summoned to the next meeting of the -Presbytery, and there and then to declare and give up the author of the -said book; and that he and they may be censured, according to the law of -the gospel, and the practice of this and all other well-governed -churches." Anderson indeed would seem to have imbibed the spirit of the -great Anthony Arnauld: who, when Nicole spoke of some rest from the -endless war of polemical controversy, exclaimed, "Rest! will you not -have enough of rest hereafter, through all eternity?" Before the -Presbytery could meet he accordingly published another pamphlet, called -"the Complaint of George Anderson, minister of the gospel, verified by -passages in the book libelled." He died in the 19th October,[432:1] just -ten days before the meeting of the presbytery, for which he had made -such active preparation. He fell in harness, and the departure of the -restless spirit of the champion from its tenement of clay, was death to -the cause. After the perusal of written pleadings, and a formal debate, -the complaint was dismissed. - -This matter appears to have given Hume very little disturbance. He does -not mention it in his "own life." He laboured uninterruptedly at the -second volume of his History; and his correspondence, which we may now -resume, will be found to pursue its even tenor, taking no farther notice -of the proceedings of his opponents, than the simple question put to -Smith, whether it will be a matter of much consequence if he should be -excommunicated? - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, 20th April, 1756._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--There is certainly nothing so unaccountable as my long -silence with you; that is, with a man whose friendship I desire most to -preserve of any I know, and whose conversation I would be the most -covetous to enjoy, were I in the same place with him. But to tell the -truth, we people in the country, (for such you Londoners esteem our -city,) are apt to be troublesome to you people in town; we are vastly -glad to receive letters which convey intelligence to us of things which -we should otherwise have been ignorant of, and can pay them back with -nothing but provincial stories, which are no way interesting. It was -perhaps an apprehension of this kind which held my pen: but really, I -believe, the truth is, when I was idle, I was lazy--when I was busy, I -was so extremely busy, that I had no leisure to think of any thing else. -For, dear Doctor, what have we to do with news on either side, unless it -be literary news, which I hope will always interest us? and of these, -London seems to me as barren as Edinburgh; or rather more so, since I -can tell you that our friend Hume's 'Douglas,' is altered and finished, -and will be brought out on the stage next winter, and is a singular, as -well as fine performance, [----[433:1]] of the spirit of the English -theatre, not devoid of Attic and French elegance. You have sent us -nothing worth reading this winter; even your vein of wretched novels is -dried up, though not that of scurrilous partial politics. We hear of Sir -George Lyttleton's History, from which the populace expect a great deal: -but I hear it is to be three quarto volumes. 'O, magnum horribilem et -sacrum Libellum.'--This last epithet of _sacrum_ will probably be -applicable to it in more senses than one. However, it cannot well fail -to be readable, which is a great deal for an English book now-a-days. - -"But, dear Doctor, even places more hyperborean than this, more -provincial, more uncultivated, and more barbarous, may furnish articles -for a literary correspondence. Have you seen the second volume of -Blackwell's 'Court of Augustus?' I had it some days lying on my table, -and, on turning it over, met with passages very singular for their -ridicule and absurdity. He says that Mark Antony, travelling from Rome -in a post-chaise, lay the first night at Redstones: I own I did not -think this a very classical name; but, on recollection, I found, by the -Philippics, that he lay at Saxa Rubra. He talks also of Mark Antony's -favourite poet, Mr. Gosling, meaning Anser, who, methinks, should rather -be called Mr. Goose. He also takes notice of Virgil's distinguishing -himself, in his youth, by his epigram on Crossbow the robber! Look your -Virgil, you'll find that, like other robbers, this man bore various -names. Crossbow is the name he took at Aberdeen, but Balista at Rome. -The book has many other flowers[434:1] of a like nature, which made me -exclaim, with regard to the author, - - Nec _certe_[435:1] apparet . . . utrum - Minxerit in patrios cineres, an triste bidental - Moverit incestus. Certe furit. - -But other people, who have read through the volume, say that, -notwithstanding these absurdities, it does not want merit; and, if it be -so, I own the case is still more singular. What would you think of a man -who should speak of the mayorality of Mr. Veitch; meaning the consulship -of Cicero?--Is not this a fine way of avoiding the imputation of -pedantry? Perhaps Cicero, to modernize him entirely, should be called -Sir Mark Veitch, because his father was a Roman knight. - -"I do not find your name among the subscribers of my friend Blacklock's -poems, you have forgot; buy a copy of them and read them, they are many -of them very elegant, and merit esteem, if they came from any one, but -are admirable from him. [----[435:2]] Spence's industry in so good a -work, but there is a circumstance of his conduct that will entertain -you. In the Edinburgh edition there was a stanza to this effect: - - The wise in every age conclude, - What Pyrrho taught and Hume renewed, - That Dogmatists are fools. - -"Mr. Spence would not undertake to promote a London subscription, unless -my name, as well as Lord Shaftesbury's, (who was mentioned in another -place,) were erased: the author frankly gave up Shaftesbury, but said -that he would forfeit all the profit he might expect from a -subscription, rather than relinquish the small tribute of praise which -he had paid to a man whom he was more indebted to than to all the world -beside. I heard by chance of this controversy, and wrote to Mr. Spence, -that, without farther consulting the author, I, who was chiefly -concerned, would take upon me to empower him to alter the stanza where I -was mentioned. He did so, and farther, having prefixed the life of the -author, he took occasion to mention some people to whom he had been -obliged, but is careful not to name me; judging rightly that such good -deeds were only _splendida peccata_, and that till they were sanctified -by the grace of God they would be of no benefit to salvation.[436:1] - -"I have seen (but, I thank God, was not bound to read) Dr. [Birch's] -'History of the Royal Society.' Pray make my compliments to him, and -tell him, that I am his most obliged humble servant. I hope you -understand that the last clause was spoken ironically. You would have -surprised _him_ very much had you executed the compliment. I shall -conclude this article of literature by mentioning myself. I have -finished the second volume of my History, and have maintained the same -unbounded liberty in my politics which gave so much offence: religion -lay more out of my way; and there will not be . . .[436:2] in this -particular: I think reason, and even some eloquence, are on my side, and -. . . will, I am confident, get the better of faction and folly, which -are the . . .[436:2] least they never continue long in the same shape. I -am sorry, however, that you speak nothing on this head in your -postscript to me. - -"It gives me great affliction, dear Doctor, when you speak of gouts and -old age. Alas! you are going down hill, and I am tumbling fast after -you. I have, however, very entire health, notwithstanding my studious -sedentary life. I only grow fat more than I could wish. When shall I see -you? God knows. I am settled here; have no pretensions, nor hopes, nor -desires, to carry me to court the great. I live frugally on a small -fortune, which I care not to dissipate by jaunts of pleasure. All these -circumstances give me little prospect of seeing London. Were I to change -my habitation, I would retire to some provincial town in France, to -trifle out my old age, near a warm sun in a good climate, a pleasant -country, and amidst a sociable people. My stock would then maintain me -in some opulence; for I have the satisfaction to tell you, dear Doctor, -that on reviewing my affairs, I find that I am worth £1600 sterling, -which, at five per cent, makes near 1800 livres a-year--that is, the pay -of two French captains. - -"Edmonstone left this town for Ireland. I wish he were out of the way: -he has no prospect of advancement suitable to his merit. Sir Harry, I -hope, has only run backwards to make a better jump. Pray imitate not my -example--delay not to write; or, if you do, I will imitate yours, and -write again without waiting for an answer. Ever most sincerely."[437:1] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[367:1] The appointment is thus recorded in the minutes of the Faculty -of Advocates. - -"_28th January, 1752._ - -"The Faculty proceeded to the choice of a keeper of their library, in -place of the said Mr. Thomas Ruddiman; and some members proposed that a -dignified member of their own body, viz. Mr. Kenneth Mackenzie, -Advocate, Professor of the Civil Law in the University of Edinburgh, -should be named to that office, and others inclining that Mr. David Hume -should be elected, it was agreed that the matter should be put to a -vote. And the rolls being called, and votes distinctly marked and taken -down and numbered, it was found that the majority had declared for the -latter; upon which, the Dean and Faculty declared the said Mr. David -Hume duly elected keeper of their library, and appointed that the usual -salary of forty pounds sterling should be paid to him yearly on that -account. And in regard that he was to have their minutes, acts, and -records, under his custody, they appointed him also clerk to the -Faculty, which office had been lately resigned by Mr. David Falconer, -with power to the said Mr. Hume to officiate therein by a depute. - -"Mr. Gilbert Elliot, senior, curator of the library, here proposed, that -in consideration that there would be a good deal of labour and trouble -in delivering over the library to Mr. Hume, and his receiving the same, -and doing several other things requisite and necessary relating thereto, -that the Faculty should name a certain salary to some person as under -keeper for some time till that business may be accomplished. The Dean -and Faculty resolved, that they would name no person, nor no salary, but -leave Mr. Hume, their library keeper, himself the nomination and choice -of his own depute, as he was to be answerable and accountable to the -Faculty for his whole charge and intromissions; but that, against the -next anniversary meeting, they would take under their consideration what -extraordinary work should be then accomplished, and do therein as should -be found reasonable. - -"Lastly, the Dean and Faculty appointed Mr. George Brown to intimate to -Mr. David Hume their election of him for their library keeper, and that -he should be present at their next meeting to have the oath _de fideli_ -administered to him." - -In this office, Hume succeeded the celebrated Thomas Ruddiman. The life -of this distinguished critic and philologist was written in an 8vo -volume by George Chalmers, (1794.) This book is valuable as containing -some of the finest specimens of mixed bombast and bathos in the English -language. Chalmers was a distinguished antiquary, and his high fame in -that department of research was well earned; but this did not content -his ambition, and like an eminent Anglo-Saxon antiquary of the present -day, he must needs mount a cap and bells on his head, by aping the style -of the fine writers of his age. Gibbon and Johnson seem to have been -honoured with an equal share in the elements of his style. He can say -nothing without a due pomp and state; when he tells us how John Love was -the son of a bookseller in Dumbarton, he must put it thus: "He was born -in July, 1695, at Dunbarton, the Dunbriton of the British, the _arx -Britonum_ of the Romans, the Dunclidon of Ravennas, the Alcluyd of Bede, -and he was the son of John Love, a bookseller, who, like greater dealers -in greater towns, supplied his customers with such books as their taste -required, and, like the father of Johnson, occasionally exhibited his -books at the neighbouring fairs." We are then of course provided with a -list of what these books sold by Love's father might or might not -probably be, which has this reference to the life of Ruddiman, that -_young_ Love quarrelled with him. We then find such solemn announcements -as the following: "Love had scarcely animadverted on Trotter, when he -was carried before the judicatories of the kirk by Mr. Sydserf, the -minister of Dumbarton, who accused him of _brewing on a Sunday_; and -who, after a juridical trial, was obliged to make a public apology for -having maliciously accused calumniated innocence." A printer publishing -books calculated for an extensive sale is thus described:--"To these -other qualities of prudence, of industry, and of attention, Ruddiman -added judgment. He did not print splendid editions of books for the -public good; he did not publish volumes for the perusal of the few; but -he chiefly employed his press in supplying Scotland with books, which, -from their daily use, had a general sale; and he was by this motive -induced to furnish country shopkeepers with school-books at the lowest -rate." - -[373:1] The state of the library in Hume's time may be guessed at by -consulting the first volume of the catalogue, printed under Ruddiman's -auspices in 1742, folio. It is a singular circumstance that this library -has always been very deficient in the early editions of Hume's -works--those which were published before his librarianship. Another set -of works, which one misses in the early catalogues, consists in the -controversial books, written by Logan _against_ its previous librarian, -Ruddiman. - -[373:2] The assistant, whose remuneration was to be at the pleasure of -the Faculty, according to the above minute, was Walter Goodall, an -unfortunate scholar, whom Hume's predecessor in office, the celebrated -Thomas Ruddiman, had attached to the library as a hanger-on and -miscellaneous drudge. The extent of his emoluments may be appreciated -from a minute of Faculty, (7th Jan. 1758,) which, in consideration of -his long services, awards him a salary of "£5 a-year, over and above -what he may receive from the keeper of the library." Goodall's character -and fate are summed up in the sententious remark of Lord Hailes, that -"Walter was seldom sober." Yet he did not a little for historical -literature. He was a violent Jacobite and champion of the innocence of -Queen Mary; and in 1754 he published, in two volumes 8vo, his -"Examination of the Letters said to be written by Mary, Queen of Scots, -to James, Earl of Bothwell, showing by intrinsick and extrinsick -evidence that they are forgeries." In 1759 he edited the best edition of -Fordun's Scotichronicon, in two volumes folio. - -The following traditional anecdote has been preserved, of the keeper and -his assistant. "One day, while Goodall was composing his treatise -concerning Queen Mary, he became drowsy, and laying down his head upon -his MSS. in that posture fell asleep. Hume entering the library, and -finding the controversialist in that position, stepped softly up to him, -and laying his mouth to Watty's ear, roared out with the voice of a -stentor, that Queen Mary was a whore and had murdered her husband. -Watty, not knowing whether it was a dream or a real adventure, or -whether the voice proceeded from a ghost or a living creature, started -up, and before he was awake or his eyes well opened, he sprang upon -Hume, and seizing him by the throat, pushed him to the farther end of -the library, exclaiming all the while that he was some base Presbyterian -parson, who was come to murder the character of Queen Mary, as his -predecessors had contributed to murder her person. Hume used to tell -this story with much glee, and Watty acknowledged the truth of it with -much frankness." Chambers's Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, -_voce_ GOODALL. - -[375:1] "Of Love and Marriage," and "Of the Study of History." - -[376:1] _Literary Gazette_, 1821, p. 745. The original is in the MSS. -R.S.E. - -[378:1] Thus it appears that it was his original intention to continue -the history down to 1714, before he went back to the earlier periods. - -[379:1] From the original at Kilravock. - -[379:2] Probably Alexander Wedderburn, afterwards Lord Chancellor -Loughborough, who was then twenty years of age. - -[379:3] From the original at Kilravock. - -[381:1] Memorials of James Oswald, p. 72. - -[383:1] _Scots Mag._ 1802, p. 794. Collated with original at Kilravock. - -[385:1] _Scots Magazine_, 1802, p. 902. - -[387:1] Alexander Hume, a director of the East India Company. - -[387:2] _Edinburgh Annual Register_ for 1809, p. 553. - -[387:3] Singer's edition of Spence's Anecdotes of Books and Men, p. 448. - -[394:1] It is out of some vague rumour as to this transaction, that Lord -Charlemont must have constructed the following romantic story of Hume. -"He was tender-hearted, friendly, and charitable in the extreme, as will -appear from a fact, which I have from good authority. When a member of -the University of Edinburgh, and in great want of money, having little -or no paternal fortune, and the collegiate stipend being very -inconsiderable, he had procured, through the interest of some friend, an -office in the university, which was worth about £40 a-year. On the day -when he had received this good news, and just when he had got into his -possession the patent or grant entitling him to his office, he was -visited by his friend Blacklock, the poet, who is much better known by -his poverty and blindness than by his genius. This poor man began a long -descant on his misery, bewailing his want of sight, his large family of -children, and his utter inability to provide for them, or even procure -them the necessaries of life. Hume, unable to bear his complaints, and -destitute of money to assist him, ran instantly to his desk, took out -the grant, and presented it to his miserable friend, who received it -with exultation, and whose name was soon after, by Hume's interest, -inserted instead of his own."--_Hardy's Memoirs of Charlemont_, p. 9. -This story is constructed after the received model of the current -anecdotes of Fielding, Goldsmith, and others, and is perhaps as close to -the truth as many of them would be found to be, if they were minutely -investigated. It is pretty clear that Hume's generosity,--for generosity -he certainly had, to a very large extent, by the testimony of all who -knew him,--was not so much the creature of impulse, as that of the -authors who have been mentioned above: but such an instance as that just -given, is a warning to distrust those anecdotes of the inconsiderate -generosity of men of genius, that are put into a very dramatic shape. - -[394:2] It is along with the letter to Smith in the MSS. R.S.E. - -[396:1] The fastidious Gray's appreciation of La Fontaine, is thus -recorded. "The sly, delicate, and exquisitely elegant pleasantry of La -Fontaine he thought inimitable, whose muse, however licentious, is never -gross; not perhaps on that account the less dangerous."--Nicholls' -Reminiscences. Gray's Works, v. 45. - -[396:2] In 1756, some disputes appear to have arisen between the Faculty -and their curators, owing to the arbitrary disposal of the books by the -latter. On 6th January it was represented by Mr. William Johnstone, that -the curators had ordered certain books to be sold, and that the practice -was a very questionable one, "seeing as one curator succeeded another -yearly, and different men had different tastes, the library might by -that means happen to suffer considerably." It was declared that the -curators had no right to dispose of books. - -[399:1] From the original at Kilravock. - -[399:2] Edinburgh: published by Hamilton, Balfour, and Neill. It is -entered in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ list for October. - -[401:1] Carte's last volume was posthumously published in the year after -Hume's first. - -[403:1] He does not appear to have suffered any _persecutions_ before he -wrote the first volume of the History of the Stuarts, unless the -opposition to his appointment as a professor deserves that name. The -tone of the History itself was indeed one of the grounds on which he was -attacked in the ecclesiastical courts. - -[403:2] Article by Lord Jeffrey in _The Edinburgh Review_, xii. 276. - -[405:1] Article on History by Mr. Macaulay. _Edinburgh Review_, xlvii. -p. 359. - -[407:1] Printed in the Appendix of Voltaire et Rousseau, par Henry Lord -Brougham, p. 340. - -[408:1] See the letters in Appendix. The French bibliographical works -of reference, which are in general very full, do not mention any -translation of the History of the Stuarts earlier than 1760, when -Querard and Brunet give the following: - - Histoire de la Maison de Stuart sur le trône d'Angleterre, - jusqu'au détrônement de Jacques II. traduite de l'Anglois de - David Hume, (par L'Abbé Prévost.) Londres (Paris) 1760. 3 - vols. in 4to. - -The edition about to appear in Holland, which threw Le Blanc into -despair, seems to have been overlooked. This Prévost, or Prévôt, is the -well-known author of the "Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon -Lescaut," which still holds its place in French popular literature, -though it bears but a small proportion to the bulk of his other -voluminous works which are forgotten. The authors of the Dictionnaire -Historique, say they find in his translation of Hume, "un air étranger, -un style souvent embarrassé, sémé d'Anglicismes, d'expressions peu -Françoises, de tours durs, de phrases louches et mal construites." This -abbé led an irregular life, being a sort of disgraced ecclesiastic, and -his death was singularly tragical. He had fallen by the side of a wood -in a fit of apoplexy. Being found insensible, he was removed as a dead -body to the residence of a magistrate, where a surgeon was to open the -body to discover the cause of death. At the first insertion of the -knife, a scream from the victim terrified all present: but it was too -late; the instrument had entered a vital part. - -[408:2] Colonel Abercrombie. - -[409:1] From the original at Kilravock. - -[410:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[411:1] "I presume this was 'Douglas;' and the expression, 'he now -discovers a great genius for the theatre,' I suppose was meant to imply -Mr. D. Hume's opinion of its being better fitted for the stage than -_Agis_."--_Mackenzie._ - -[411:2] Mackenzie's Account of Home, p. 102. The original in the MS. -R.S.E. - -[413:1] "Lives of the Lindsays, or a Memoir of the Houses of Crawford -and Balcarres, by Lord Lindsay." Hume's correspondent was James, the -fifth earl. He had had the misfortune to be "out in the fifteen," and -though a zealous and hardy soldier, he in vain attempted to rise in the -army; and at last retiring in disgust, he betook himself to learned -leisure. In the pleasing work above referred to, he is thus -picturesquely described: "Though his aspect was noble, and his air and -deportment showed him at once a man of rank, yet there was no denying -that a degree of singularity attended his appearance. To his large -brigadier wig, which hung down with three tails, he generally added a -few curls of his own application, which I suspect would not have been -considered quite orthodox by the trade. His shoe, which resembled -nothing so much as a little boat with a cabin at the end of it, was -slashed with his pen-knife, for the benefit of giving ease to his honest -toes; here--there--he slashed it where he chose to slash, without an -idea that the world or its fashions had the smallest right to smile at -his shoe; had they smiled, he would have smiled too, and probably said, -'Odsfish! I believe it is not like other people's; but as to that, look, -d' ye see? what matters it whether so old a fellow as myself wears a -shoe or a slipper.'" - -[414:1] Mackenzie's Account of Home, p. 175. - -[416:1] He does not, however, mention it in any of the subsequent -editions of his History. - -[417:1] Scott of Scotstarvet's Staggering State of Scots Statesmen.--A -collection of contemporary characters, drawn by a shrewd but bitter and -unscrupulous observer. - -[417:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[417:3] Evidently the Philosophical Society. It was instituted in 1731, -chiefly as a medical society; but, in 1739, its plan was so far -enlarged, as to admit of the above comprehensive denomination. - -[418:1] Sic in MS. - -[418:2] _Lit. Gazette_, 1822, p. 745. The original is in the MSS. R.S.E. - -[419:1] This name changed to _Randolph_, after the first -representation.--_Mackenzie._ - -[420:1] Changed to _Norval_, before the tragedy was brought on the -stage.--_Mackenzie._ - -[420:2] Mackenzie's Account of Home, p. 100. - -The following paper made its first appearance in _The Edinburgh Weekly -Chronicle_, a few years ago, when it was edited by Mr. Hislop, a -gentleman said to be well acquainted with theatrical matters. It is here -repeated, not as being believed, but because having excited some -attention when it first appeared, it found its way into some books -connected with Scottish literature. - -"It may not be generally known, that the first rehearsal took place in -the lodgings in the Canongate, occupied by Mrs. Sarah Warde, one of -Digges's company; and that it was rehearsed by, and in presence of the -most distinguished literary characters Scotland ever could boast of. The -following was the cast of the piece on the occasion:-- - -DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. - - Lord Randolph, Dr. Robertson, Principal, Edinburgh. - Glenalvon, David Hume, Historian. - Old Norval, Dr. Carlyle, Minister of Musselburgh. - Douglas, John Home, the Author. - Lady Randolph, Dr. Ferguson, Professor. - Anna, (the Maid,) Dr. Blair, Minister, High Church. - -"The audience that day, besides Mr. Digges, and Mrs. Warde, were, the -Right Honourable Patrick Lord Elibank, Lord Milton, Lord Kames, Lord -Monboddo, (the two last were then only lawyers,) the Rev. John Steele -and William Home, ministers. The company, all but Mrs. Warde, dined -afterwards in the Erskine Club, in the Abbey." - -The reader must take this statement at its own value, which he will -probably not consider high. The "cast," has no pretensions to be a -transcript of any contemporary document; for Dr. Robertson was not then -Principal of the University, but minister of the country parish of -Gladsmuir; and Ferguson was not a Professor, but an army chaplain, with -leave of absence, spending his time chiefly in Perthshire. Lord Kames, -spoken of as "only" a lawyer, had been raised to the bench in 1752. - -[421:1] This last appears to have been suppressed. The publication of -the others is mentioned further on. - -[422:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[423:1] Account of John Home, p. 24. - -[424:1] There is an amusing traditional anecdote, with which this -periodical has some connexion. Dr. Walter Anderson, minister of -Chirnside, having caught the fire of literary ambition, made the remark -to Hume, one afternoon when they had been enjoying the hospitalities of -Ninewells: "Mr. David, I daresay other people might write books too; but -you clever fellows have taken up all the good subjects. When I look -about me, I cannot find one unoccupied."--"What would you think, Mr. -Anderson," said Hume, in reply, "of a History of Croesus, king of Lydia? -This has never yet been written." Dr. Anderson was a man who understood -no jesting, and held no words as uttered in vain; so away he goes, pulls -down his Herodotus, and translates all the passages in the first book -relating to Croesus, with all the consultations of the oracles, and all -the dreams; only interweaving with them, from his own particular genius, -some very sage and lengthy remarks on the extent to which there was real -truth in the prophetic revelations of the Pythoness. This book, which is -now a great rarity, was reviewed with much gravity and kindness in _The -Edinburgh Review_. It was more severely treated in _The Critical -Review_, edited by Smollett, where it is said, "There is still a race of -soothsayers in the Highlands, derived, if we may believe some curious -antiquaries, from the Druids and Bards that were set apart for the -worship of Apollo. The author of the History before us may, for aught we -know, be one of these venerable seers, though we rather take him to be a -Presbyterian teacher, who has been used to expound apothegms that need -no explanation." - -[427:1] Page 342. MS. R.S.E. - -[427:2] The case of Sir John Leslie, see above, p. 89. - -[428:1] Attributed to Dr. Blair by Tytler, (Life of Kames, i. 142,) as -well as by Mackenzie; as on the preceding page. - -[429:1] Besides those mentioned above, the occasion seems to have called -forth some blasts of the trumpet, still better suited to split the ears -of the groundlings--such as "The Deist stretched on a Death-bed, or a -lively Portraiture of a Dying Infidel." The contemporary _Edinburgh -Review_, which carried on a guerilla warfare on the side of the -threatened philosophers, thus commences a notice of this production. -"This is a most extraordinary performance. The hero of it is an infidel, -'a humorous youth,' as the author describes him, 'a youth whose life was -one successive scene of pleasantry and humour: who laughed at -revelation, and called religion _priestcraft_ and _grimace_: a gay and -sprightly free-thinker. But yesterday,' says he 'this gay and sprightly -free-thinker _revelled_ his usual _round_ of gallantry and applause, -till, satiated at length, he staggered to bed devoid of sense and -reason.' We suppose, (continues the reviewer,) the author's meaning is, -that he went to bed very drunk.'" - -[430:1] _Scots Magazine_, 1756, pp. 248, 280, where those who are -partial to such reading, will find a pretty clear abstract of the -debate. The General Assembly had its hands at that time pretty full. A -deadly dispute had arisen between the partisans of the old and new -church music, which is thus described in Ritchie's Life of Hume, p. 57: - -"At this time the Scottish church was thrown into a general ferment by -an attempt to introduce the reformed music. In accomplishing this, the -most indecent scenes were exhibited. It was not uncommon for a -congregation to divide themselves into two parties, one of which, in -chaunting the psalms, followed the old, and the other the new mode of -musical execution; while the infidel, who was not in the habit of -frequenting the temple, now resorted to it, not for the laudable purpose -of repentance and edification, but from the ungodly motive of being a -spectator of the contest. . . . . - -"During the present dispute, it was customary for the partisans of the -different kinds of music to convene apart, in numerous bodies, for the -purpose of practising, and to muster their whole strength on the -Sabbath. The moment the psalm was read from the pulpit, each side, in -general chorus, commenced their operations; and as the pastor and clerk, -or precentor, often differed in their sentiments, the church was -immediately in an uproar. Blows and bruises were interchanged by the -impassioned songsters, and, in many parts of the country, the most -serious disturbances took place." - -They had, at the same time, to conduct the war against the tragedy of -Douglas, and the frequenters of the theatre. Home himself, as is well -known, escaped the odium of ecclesiastical punishment, by resigning his -ministerial charge. Order was then taken with those clergy who could not -resist being present on so memorable an occasion as the performance of a -great national tragedy, written by a member of their own body. Among -these the Rev. Mr. White of Libberton was subjected to the modified -punishment of a month's suspension from office, because 'he had attended -the representation only once, when he endeavoured to conceal himself in -a corner, to avoid giving offence.' _Scots Mag._ for 1757, p. 47. - -[432:1] Ritchie says, (p. 79,) that he was in his eightieth year. One is -tempted to say with Lady Macbeth, "Who would have thought the old man -had so much blood in him." Besides these conflicts in Scotland, he was -conducting a war in England against Mallet, for the publication of -Bolingbroke's works. - -[433:1] Word illegible. - -[434:1] That such flowers were not confined to Aberdeen, may be seen in -the following passage of the "Carpentariana." - -"Si l'on vouloit traduire les noms Grecs et Romains en François, on les -rendroit souvent ridicules. J'ai vu une traduction des épitres de -Cicéron à Atticus, imprimée chez Thiboust, en 1666, pag. 217, où -l'auteur est tombé dans cette faute ridicule, en traduisant cet endroit: -_Pridie autem apud me Crassipes fuerat_, Le jour précédent Gros-pied fut -chez moi. Véritablement _Crassipes_, veut dire Gros-pied, mais il est -ridicule de la traduire ainsi: et il ne faut jamais toucher aux noms -propres, soit qu'ils fassent un bon ou mauvais effet, rendus dans notre -langue. Un autre traducteur des épitres de Cicéron, lui fait dire, -Mademoiselle votre fille, Madame votre femme; et je me souviens d'un -auteur qui appelloit Brutus et Collatinus, les Bourgmestres de la ville -de Rome." - -[435:1] Satis. - -[435:2] Words obliterated. - -[436:1] See above p. 393. - -[436:2] Words obliterated by decay of the MS. - -[437:1] Original at Kilravock. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX A. - -FRAGMENTS OF A PAPER IN HUME'S HANDWRITING, DESCRIBING THE DESCENT ON -THE COAST OF BRITTANY, IN 1746, AND THE CAUSES OF ITS FAILURE.[441:1] - - - The forces under Lieutenant General St. Clair consisted of - five battalions, viz. the first battalion of the 1st Royal, - the 5th Highlanders, 3d Brag's, 4th Richbell's, 2d Harrison's, - together with part of Frampton's, and some companies of - Marines, making in all about 4500 men. The fleet consisted of - __________. Though this army and fleet had been at first - fitted out for entering upon action in summer 1746, and making - conquest of Canada, it was found, after several vain efforts - to get out of the Channel, first under Commodore Cotes, then - under Admiral Listock, that so much time had been unavoidably - lost, from contrary winds and contrary orders, as to render it - dangerous for so large a body of ships to proceed thither. The - middle of May was the last day of rendezvous appointed at - Spithead; and in the latter end of August, the fleet had yet - got no farther than St. Helen's, about a league below it. It - is an observation, that in the latter end of autumn, or - beginning of winter, the north-west winds blow so furiously on - the coast of North America, as to render it always difficult, - and often impossible, for ships that set out late to reach any - harbour in those parts. Instances have been found of vessels - that have been obliged to take shelter from these storms, even - in the Leeward Islands. It was therefore become necessary to - abandon all thoughts of proceeding to America that season; and - as the transports were fitted out and fleet equipped at great - expense, an attempt was hastily made to turn them to some - account in Europe, during the small remainder of the summer. - The distress of the allies in Flanders demanded the more - immediate attention of the English nation and ministry, and - required, if possible, some speedy remedy. 'Twas too late to - think of sending the six battalions under General St. Clair, - to reinforce Prince Charles of Lorraine, who commanded the - armies of the allies; and their number was, besides, too - inconsiderable to hope for any great advantages from that - expedient. 'Twas more to be expected, that falling on the - parts of France, supposed to be defenceless and disarmed, they - might make a diversion, and occasion the sending a - considerable detachment from the enemy's army in Flanders. But - as time pressed, and allowed not leisure to concert and - prepare this measure, the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of - State, hoped to find that General St. Clair had already - planned and projected some enterprise of this nature. He - formed this presumption on a hint which had been started very - casually, and which had been immediately dropped by the - General. - - In the spring, when the obstructions and delays thrown in the - way of the American enterprise were partly felt and partly - foreseen, the Secretary, lamenting the great and, he feared, - useless expense to which the nation had been put by that - undertaking, gave occasion to the General to throw out a - thought, which would naturally occur in such a situation. He - said, "Why may you not send the squadron and troops to some - part of the coast of France, and at least frighten and alarm - them as they have done us; and, as all their troops are on the - Flanders and German frontiers, 'tis most probable that such an - alarm may make them recall some of them?" The subject was then - no farther prosecuted; but the King, being informed of this - casual hint of the General's, asked him if he had formed any - plan or project by which the service above-mentioned might be - effectuated. He assured his majesty that he had never so much - as thought of it; but that, if it was his pleasure, he would - confer with Sir John Ligonier, and endeavour to find other - people in London who could let him into some knowledge of the - coast of France. To this the King replied, "No, no; you need - not give yourself any trouble about it." And accordingly the - General never more thought of it, farther than to inform the - Duke of Newcastle of this conference with his majesty. - However, the Duke being willing that the person who was to - execute the undertaking should also be the projector of it, by - which means both greater success might be hoped from it, and - every body else be screened from reflection in case of its - miscarriage, desired, in his letter of the 22d of August, that - both the Admiral and General should give their opinion of such - an invasion; and particularly the General, who, having, he - said, formed some time ago a project of this nature, might be - the better prepared to give his thoughts with regard to it. - They both jointly replied, that their utter ignorance made - them incapable of delivering their sentiments on so delicate a - subject; and the General, in a separate letter, recalled to - the Duke's memory the circumstances of the story, as above - related. - - Though they declined proposing a project, they both cheerfully - offered, that if his majesty would honour them with any plan - of operation for a descent, they would do their best to carry - it into execution. They hoped that the Secretary of State, - who, by his office, is led to turn his eyes every where, and - who lives at London, the centre of commerce and intelligence, - could better form and digest such a plan, than they who were - cooped up in their ships, in a remote sea-port town, without - any former acquaintance with the coast of France, and without - any possibility of acquiring new knowledge. They at least - hoped, that so difficult a task would not be required of them - as either to give their sentiments without any materials - afforded them to judge upon, or to collect materials, while - the most inviolable secrecy was strictly enjoined on them. It - is remarkable, that the Duke of Newcastle, among other - advantages proposed by this expedition, mentions the giving - assistance to such Protestants as are already in arms, or may - be disposed to rise on the appearance of the English, as if we - were living in the time of the League, or during the confusion - of Francis the Second's minority. - - Full of these reflections, they sailed from St. Helens on the - 23d of August, and arrived at Plymouth on the 29th, in - obedience to their orders, which required them to put into - that harbour for farther instructions. They there found - positive orders to sail immediately, with the first fair wind, - to the coast of France, and make an attempt on L'Orient, or - Rochefort, or Rochelle, or sail up the river of Bourdeaux; or, - if they judged any of these enterprises impracticable, to sail - to whatever other place on the western coast they should think - proper. Such unbounded discretionary powers could not but be - agreeable to commanders, had it been accompanied with better, - or indeed with any intelligence. As the wind was then - contrary, they had leisure to reply in their letters of the - 29th and 30th. They jointly represented the difficulties, or - rather impossibilities, of any attempt on L'Orient, Rochefort, - and Rochelle, by reason of the real strength of these places, - so far as their imperfect information could reach; or, if that - were erroneous, by reason of their own absolute want of - intelligence, guides, and pilots, which are the soul of all - military operations. - - The General, in a separate letter, enforced the same topics, - and added many other reflections of moment. He said, that of - all the places mentioned in his orders, Bourdeaux, if - accessible, appeared to him the properest to be attempted; - both as it is one of the towns of greatest commerce and riches - in France, and as it is the farthest situated from their - Flanders' army, and on these accounts an attack on it would - most probably produce the wished-for alarm and diversion. He - added, that he himself knew the town to be of no strength, and - that the only place there capable of making any defence, is - Chateau Trompette, which serves it as a citadel, and was - intended, as almost all citadels are, more as a curb, than a - defence, on the inhabitants. But though these circumstances - promised some success, he observed that there were many other - difficulties to struggle with, which threw a mighty damp on - these promising expectations. In the first place, he much - questioned if there was in the fleet any one person who had - been ashore on the western coast of France, except himself, - who was once at Bourdeaux; and he, too, was a stranger to all - the country betwixt the town and the sea. He had no single map - of any part of France on board with him; and what intelligence - he may be able to force from the people of the country can be - but little to be depended on, as it must be their interest to - mislead him. And if money prove necessary, either for - obtaining intelligence, carrying on of works, or even - subsisting the officers, he must raise it in the country; for, - except a few chests of Mexican dollars, consigned to other - uses, he carried no money with him. If he advanced any where - into the country, he must be at a very great loss for want of - horses to draw the artillery; as the inhabitants will - undoubtedly carry off as many of them as they could, and he - had neither hussars nor dragoons to force them back again. And - as to the preserving any conquests he might make, (of which - the Duke had dropped some hints,) he observed that every place - which was not impregnable to him, with such small force, must - be untenable by him. On the whole, he engaged for nothing but - obedience; he promised no success; he professed absolute - ignorance with regard to every circumstance of the - undertaking; he even could not fix on any particular - undertaking; and yet he lay under positive orders to sail with - the first fair wind, to approach the unknown coast, march - through the unknown country, and attack the unknown cities of - the most potent nation of the universe. - - Meanwhile, Admiral Anson, who had put into Plymouth, and had - been detained there by the same contrary winds, which still - prevailed, had a conversation with the General and Admiral on - the subject of their enterprise. He told them, that he - remembered to have once casually heard from Mr. Hume, member - for Southwark, that he had been at L'Orient, and that, though - it be very strong by sea, it is not so by land. Though Mr. - Hume, the gentleman mentioned, be bred to a mercantile - profession, not to war, and though the intelligence received - from him was only casual, imperfect, and by second-hand, yet - it gave pleasure to the Admiral and General, as it afforded - them a faint glimmering ray in their present obscurity and - ignorance; and they accordingly resolved to follow it. They - wrote to the Duke of Newcastle, September the 3d, that 'twas - to L'Orient they intended to bend their course, as soon as the - wind offered. To remedy the ignorance of the coast and want of - pilots, as far as possible, Commodore Cotes in the Ruby, - together with Captain Stewart in the Hastings, and a sloop and - tender, was immediately despatched by the Admiral to view Port - L'Orient and all the places near it, so far as might regard - the safe approach and anchorage of the ships. The ignorance of - the country, and want of guides, was a desperate evil, for - which the General could provide no remedy. But as the wind - still continued contrary to the fleet and transports, though - single ships of war might work their way against it, the - General had occasion to see farther alterations made by the - ministry in their project of an invasion. - - The Duke of Newcastle, who had before informed the General - that, if he could establish himself on any part of the coast - of France, two battalions of the Guards, and General Huske's - regiment, should be despatched after him, now says, (Sept. 3,) - that these three battalions have got immediate orders to - follow him. He farther adds, that if the General finds it - impracticable to make any descent on the coast of Brittany, or - higher up in the Bay of Biscay, he would probably find, on his - return, some intelligence sent him, by the reinforcement, with - regard to the coast of Normandy. Next day the Duke changes his - mind, and sends immediately this intelligence with regard to - the coast of Normandy, and a plan for annoying the French on - that quarter, proposed by Major Macdonald; and to this plan he - seems entirely to give the preference to the other, of making - an attempt on the western coast of France, to which he had - before confined the Admiral and General. They considered the - plan, and conversed with Major Macdonald, who came down to - Plymouth a few days after. They found that this plan had been - given in some years before, and was not in the least - calculated for the present expedition, but required a body of - cavalry as an essential point towards its execution; an - advantage of which the General was entirely destitute. They - found that Major Macdonald had had so few opportunities of - improving himself in the art of war, that it would be - dangerous, without farther information, to follow his plan in - any military operations. They found that he pretended only to - know the strength of the town, and nature of the country, in - that province, but had never acquainted himself with the - sea-coast, or pitched upon any proper place for - disembarkation. They considered that a very considerable step - had been already taken towards the execution of the other - project on the coast of Brittany, viz. the sending Commodore - Cotes to inspect and sound the coast; and that the same step - must now be taken anew, in so late a season, with regard to - the coast of Normandy. They thought that, if their whole - operations were to begin, an attempt on the western coast was - preferable, chiefly because of its remoteness from the - Flanders' army, which must increase and spread the alarm, if - the country were really so defenceless as was believed. They - represented all those reasons to the Secretary; but at the - same time expressed their intentions of remaining at Plymouth - till they should receive his majesty's positive orders with - regard to the enterprise on which they were to engage. - - The Duke immediately despatched a messenger, with full powers - to them to go whithersoever they pleased. During this - interval, the General was obliged, to his great regret, to - remain in a manner wholly inactive. Plymouth was so remote a - place, that it was not to be expected he could there get any - proper intelligence. He was bound up by his orders to such - inviolable secrecy, that he could not make any inquiries for - it, or scarce receive it, if offered. The Secretary had sent - Major Macdonald, and one Cooke, captain of a privateer, who, - 'twas found, could be of no manner of service in this - undertaking. These, he said, were the only persons he could - find in London that pretended to know any thing of the coast - of France, as if the question had been with regard to the - coast of Japan or of California. The General desired to have - maps of France, chiefly of Gascony and Brittany. He receives - only a map of Gascony, together with one of Normandy. No map - of Brittany; none of France; he is obliged to set out on so - important an enterprise without intelligence, without pilots, - without guides, without any map of the country to which he was - bound, except a common map, on a small scale, of the kingdom - of France, which his Aid-de-camp had been able to pick up in a - shop at Plymouth. He represented all these difficulties to the - ministry; he begged them not to flatter themselves with any - success from a General who had such obstacles to surmount, and - who must leave his conduct to the government of chance more - than prudence. He was answered, that nothing was expected of - him, but to land any where he pleased in France, to produce an - alarm, and to return safe, with the fleet and transports, to - the British dominions. Though he was sensible that more would - be expected by the people, yet he cheerfully despised their - rash judgments, while he acted in obedience to orders, and in - the prosecution of his duty. The fleet sailed from Plymouth on - the 15th of September, and, after a short voyage of three - days, arrived, in the evening of the 18th, off the island of - Groa, where they found Commodore Cotes and Captain Stuart, who - gave them an account of the success which they had met with in - the survey of the coast near L'Orient. The place they had - pitched on for landing, was ten miles from that town, at the - mouth of the river of Quimperlay. They represented it as a - flat open shore, with deep water: on these accounts a good - landing-place for the troops, but a dangerous place for the - ships to ride in, on account of the rocks with which it was - every where surrounded, and the high swell which was thrown - in, from the Bay of Biscay, by the west and south-west winds. - - It was then about eight in the evening, a full moon and a - clear sky, with a gentle breeze blowing in shore. The question - was, whether to sail directly to the landing-place, or hold - off till morning. The two officers who had surveyed the coast - were divided in opinion: one recommended the former measure, - the other suggested some scruples, by representing the - dangerous rocks that lay on every side of them, and the - ignorance of all the pilots with regard to their number and - situation. The Admiral was determined, by these reasons, to - agree to this opinion. The question seemed little important, - as it regarded only a short delay; but really was of the - utmost consequence, and was, indeed, the spring whence all the - ill success in this expedition flowed. - - The great age of Admiral Listock, as it increased his - experience, should make us cautious of censuring his opinion - in sea affairs, where he was allowed to have such consummate - knowledge. But at the same time, it may beget a suspicion, - that being now in the decline of life, he was thence naturally - inclined rather to the prudent counsels which suit a concerted - enterprise, than to the bold temerity which belongs to such - hasty and blind undertakings. The unhappy consequences of this - over-cautious measure immediately appeared. The Admiral had - laid his account, that by a delay, which procured a greater - safety to the fleet and transports, only four or five hours - would be lost; but the wind changing in the morning, and - blowing fresh off shore, all next day, and part of next night, - was spent before the ships could reach the landing-place. Some - of them were not able to reach it till two days after. - - During this time, the fleet lay full in view of the coast, - and preparations were making in Port Louis, L'Orient, and - over the whole country, for the reception of an enemy, who - threatened them with so unexpected an invasion. - - The force of France, either for offence or defence, consists - chiefly in three different bodies of men: first, in a numerous - veteran army, which was then entirely employed in Italy and on - their frontiers, except some shattered regiments, which were - dispersed about the country, for the advantage of recruiting, - and of which there were two regiments of dragoons at that time - in Brittany; secondly, in a regular and disciplined militia, - with which all the fortified cities along the sea-coast were - garrisoned, and many of the frontier towns, that seemed not to - be threatened with any immediate attack. Some bodies of this - militia had also been employed in the field with the regular - troops, and had acquired honour, which gave spirits and - courage to the rest: thirdly, in a numerous body of coast - militia, or gardes-du-cote, amounting to near 200,000, ill - armed and ill disciplined, formidable alone by their numbers; - and in Brittany, by the ferocity of the inhabitants, esteemed - of old and at present, the most warlike and least civilized of - all the French peasants. Regular signals were concerted for - the assembling of these forces, by alarm guns, flags, and - fires; and in the morning of the 20th of September, by break - of day, a considerable body of all these different kinds of - troops, but chiefly of the last, amounting to above 3000 men, - were seen upon the sea-shore to oppose the disembarkation of - the British forces. A disposition, therefore, of ships and - boats must be made for the regular landing of the army; and as - the weather was then very blustering, and the wind blew almost - off shore, this could not be effected till afternoon. - - There appeared, in view of the fleet, three places which - seemed proper for a disembarkation, and which were separated - from each other either by a rising ground, or by a small arm - of the sea. The French militia had posted themselves in the - two places which lay nearest to L'Orient; and finding that - they were not numerous enough to cover the whole, they left - the third, which lay to the windward, almost wholly - defenceless. The General ordered the boats to rendezvous - opposite to this beach; and he saw the French troops march off - from the next contiguous landing-place, and take post opposite - to him. They placed themselves behind some sandbanks, in such - a manner as to be entirely sheltered from the cannon of those - English ships which covered the landing, while at the same - time they could rush in upon the troops, as soon as their - approach to the shore had obliged the ships to leave off - firing. - - The General remarked their plan of defence, and was - determined to disappoint them. He observed, that the next - landing-place to the leeward was now empty; and that, though - the troops which had been posted on the more distant beach had - quitted their station, and were making a circuit round an arm - of the sea, in order to occupy the place deserted by the - others, they had not as yet reached it. He immediately seized - the opportunity. He ordered his boats to row directly forward, - as if he intended to land on the beach opposite to him; but - while the enemy were expecting him to advance, he ordered the - boats to turn, at a signal; and, making all the speed that - both oars and sails could give them, to steer directly to the - place deserted by the enemy. In order to render the - disembarkation more safe, he had previously ordered two - tenders to attack a battery, which had been placed on a mount - towards the right, and which was well situated for annoying - the boats on their approach. The tenders succeeded in chasing - the French from their guns; the boats reached the shore before - any of the French could be opposite to them. The soldiers - landed, to the number of about six hundred men, and formed in - an instant; immediately upon which the whole militia dispersed - and fled up into the country. The English followed them - regularly and in good order; prognosticating success to the - enterprise from such a fortunate beginning. - - There was a creek, or arm of the sea, dry at low water, which - lay on the right hand of the landing-place, and through which - ran the nearest road to L'Orient, and the only one fit for the - march of troops, or the draught of cannon and heavy carriages. - As it was then high water, the French runaways were obliged, - by this creek, to make a circuit of some miles; and they - thereby misled the general, who, justly concluding they would - take shelter in that town, and having no other guides to - conduct him, thought that, by following their footsteps, he - would be led the readiest and shortest way to L'Orient. He - detached, therefore, in pursuit of the flying militia, about a - thousand men, under the command of Brigadier O'Farrel; who, - after being harassed by some firing from the hedges, (by which - Lieut.-Col. Erskine, Quarter-Master General, was dangerously - wounded,) arrived that evening at Guidel, a village about a - league distant from the landing-place. The general himself lay - near the sea-shore, to wait for the landing of the rest of the - forces. By break of day he led them up to join the brigadier - at Guidel. He there learned from some peasants, taken - prisoners, and who spoke the French language, (which few of - the common people in Brittany are able to do,) that the road - into which he had been led, by the reasons above specified, - was the longest by four or five miles. He was also informed, - what he had partly seen, that the road was very dangerous and - difficult, running through narrow lanes and defiles, betwixt - high hedges, faced with stone walls, and bordered in many - places with thick woods and brushes, where a very few - disciplined and brave troops might stop a whole army; and - where even a few, without discipline or bravery, might, by - firing suddenly upon the forces, throw them into confusion. - - In order to acquire a more thorough knowledge of the country, - of which he and the whole army were utterly ignorant, he here - divided the troops into two equal bodies, and marched them up - to L'Orient, by two different roads, which were pointed out to - him. The one part, which he himself conducted, passed without - much molestation. The other, under Brigadier O'Farrel, was not - so fortunate. Two battalions of that detachment, Richbell's - and Frampton's, partly from their want of experience, and - partly from the terror naturally inspired into soldiers by - finding themselves in a difficult country unknown both to - themselves and leaders, and partly, perhaps, from accident, to - which the courage of men is extremely liable, fell into - confusion, before a handful of French peasants who fired at - them from behind the hedges. Notwithstanding all the - endeavours of the Brigadier, many of them threw down their - arms, and ran away; others fired in confusion, and wounded - each other; and if any regular forces had been present to take - advantage of this disorder, the most fatal consequences might - have ensued. And though they were at last led on, and joined - the general that evening before L'Orient, the panic still - remained in these two battalions afterwards, and communicated - itself to others; kept the whole army in anxiety, even when - they were not in danger, and threw a mighty damp on the - expectations of success, conceived from this undertaking. - L'Orient, lately a small village, now a considerable town, on - the coast of Brittany, lies in the extremity of a fine bay, - the mouth of which is very narrow, and guarded by the strong - citadel of Port Louis. This town has become the centre of the - French East India trade, the seat of the company established - for that commerce, and the magazine whence they distribute the - East India commodities. The great prizes made upon them by the - English, during the course of the war, had given a check to - this growing commerce; yet still the town was esteemed a - valuable acquisition, were it only on account of the wealth it - contained, and the store-houses of the company, a range of - stately buildings, erected at public charge, both for use and - ornament. The town itself is far from being strong. Two sides - of it, which are not protected with water, are defended only - with a plain wall, near thirty feet high, of no great - thickness, and without any fosse or parapet. But the water - which covers the other two sides, rendered it impossible to - be invested, and gave an opportunity for multitudes of people - to throw themselves into it from every corner of that populous - country. And though these, for want of discipline, could not - be trusted in the field against regular forces, yet became - they of great use in a defence behind walls, by throwing up - works, erecting batteries, and digging trenches, to secure - (what was sufficient) for a few days, a weak town against a - small and ill-provided army. The East India Company had - numbers of cannon in their magazines, and had there erected a - school of engineers, for the service of their ships and - settlements; the vessels in the harbour supplied them with - more cannon, and with seamen accustomed to their management - and use; and whatever was wanting, either in artillery or - warlike stores, could easily be brought by water from Port - Louis, with which the town of L'Orient kept always an open - communication. - - But as these advantages, though great, require both a - sufficient presence of mind, and some time, to be employed - against an enemy, 'tis not improbable, that if the admiral had - been supplied with proper pilots, and the general with proper - guides, which could have led the English immediately upon the - coast, and to the town, the very terror of so unexpected an - invasion would have rendered the inhabitants incapable of - resistance, and made them surrender at discretion. The want of - these advantages had already lost two days; and more time must - yet be consumed, before they could so much as make the - appearance of an attack. Cannon was wanting, and the road by - which the army had marched, was absolutely unfit for the - conveyance of them. The general, therefore, having first - despatched an officer and a party to reconnoitre the country, - and find a nearer and better road, September 22d, went himself - next day to the sea-shore, for the same purpose, and also in - order to concert with the admiral the proper method of - bringing up cannon; as almost all the horses in the country, - which are extremely weak and of a diminutive size, had been - driven away by the peasants. Accordingly, a road was found, - much nearer, though still ten miles of length; and much - better, though easily rendered impassable by rainy weather, as - was afterwards experienced. - - A council of war was held on board the Princessa, consisting - of the admiral and general, Brigadier O'Farrel and Commodore - Cotes. The engineers, Director-General Armstrong, and Captain - Watson, who had surveyed the town of L'Orient, being called - in, were asked their opinion with regard to the practicability - of an attempt on it, together with the time, and artillery, - and ammunition, requisite for that purpose. Their answer was, - that with two twelve pounders, and a ten inch mortar, planted - on the spot which they had pitched on for erecting a battery, - they engaged either to make a practicable breach in the walls, - or with cartridges, bombs, and red-hot balls, destroy the - town, by laying it in ashes in twenty-four hours. Captain - Chalmers, the captain of the artillery, who had not then seen - the town, was of the same opinion, from their description of - it, provided the battery was within the proper distance. Had - the king's orders been less positive for making an attempt on - some part of the coast of France, yet such flattering views - offered by men who promised what lay within the sphere of - their own profession, must have engaged the attention of the - admiral and general, and induced them to venture on a much - more hazardous and difficult undertaking. 'Twas accordingly - agreed that four twelve pounders, and a ten inch mortar, - together with three field-pieces, should be drawn up to the - camp by sailors, in order to make, with still greater - assurance, the attempt, whose success seemed so certain to the - engineers. These pieces of artillery, with the stores - demanded, notwithstanding all difficulties, were drawn to the - camp in two days, except two twelve pounders, which arrived - not till the day afterwards. A third part of the sailors of - the whole fleet, together with all the marines, were employed - in this drudgery; the admiral gave all assistance in his power - to the general; and the public, in one instance, saw that it - was not impossible for land and sea officers to live in - harmony together, and concur in promoting the success of an - enterprise. - - The general, on his arrival in the camp, found the officer - returned whom he had sent to summon the town of L'Orient. By - his information, it appeared that the inhabitants were so much - alarmed by the suddenness of this incursion, and the terror of - a force, which their fears magnified, as to think of - surrendering, though upon conditions, which would have - rendered the conquest of no avail to their enemies. The - inhabitants insisted upon an absolute security to their houses - and goods; the East India Company to their magazines and - store-houses; and the garrison, consisting of about seven - hundred regular militia and troops, besides a great number of - irregulars, demanded a liberty of marching out with all the - honours of war. A weak town that opened its gates on such - conditions was not worth the entering; since it must - immediately be abandoned, leaving only to its conquerors the - shame of their own folly, and perhaps the reproach of - treachery. The general, therefore, partly trusting to the - promise of the engineers, and partly desirous of improving the - advantages gained by the present danger, when the deputies - arrived next day, September 23d, from the governor, from the - town, and from the East India Company, refused to receive any - articles but those from the governor, who commanded in the - name of his most Christian majesty. He even refused liberty to - the garrison to march out; well knowing that, as the town was - not invested, they could take that liberty whenever they - pleased. - - Meanwhile, every accident concurred to render the enterprise - of the English abortive. Some deserters got into the town, who - informed the garrison of the true force of the English, which, - conjecturing from the greatness and number of the ships, they - had much magnified. Even this small body diminished daily, - from the fatigue of excessive duty, and from the great rains - that began to fall. Scarce three thousand were left to do - duty, which still augmented the fatigue to the few that - remained; especially when joined to the frequent alarms, that - the unaccountable panic they were struck with made but too - frequent. Rains had so spoilt the roads as to render it - impracticable to bring up any heavier cannon, or more of the - same calibre, so long a way, by the mere force of seamen. But - what, above all things, made the enterprise appear desperate, - was the discovery of the ignorance of the engineers, chiefly - of the director-general, who in the whole course of his - proceedings appeared neither to have skill in contrivance, nor - order and diligence in execution. His own want of capacity and - experience, made his projects of no use; his blind obstinacy - rendered him incapable of making use of the capacity of - others. Though the general offered to place and support the - battery wherever the engineer thought proper, he chose to set - it above six hundred yards from the wall, where such small - cannon could do no manner of execution. He planted it at so - oblique an angle to the wall that the ball thrown from the - largest cannon must have recoiled, without making any - impression. He trusted much to the red-hot balls, with which - he promised to lay the town in ashes in twenty-four hours; - yet, by his negligence, or that of others, the furnace with - which these balls were to be heated, was forgot. After the - furnace was brought, he found that the bellows, and other - implements necessary for the execution of that work, were also - left on board the store-ships. With great difficulty, and - infinite pains, ammunition and artillery stores were drawn up - from the sea-shore in tumbrels. He was totally ignorant, till - some days after, that he had along with him ammunition wagons, - which would have much facilitated this labour. His orders to - the officers of the train were so confused, or so ill obeyed, - that no ammunition came regularly up to the camp, to serve the - few cannon and the mortars that played upon the town. Not only - fascines, piquets, and every thing necessary for the battery, - were supplied him beyond his demand; but even workmen, - notwithstanding the great fatigue and small numbers of the - army. These workmen found no addition to their fatigue in - obeying his orders. He left them often unemployed, for want of - knowing in what business he should occupy them. - - Meanwhile the French garrison, being so weakly attacked, had - leisure to prepare for a defence, and make proper use of their - great number of workmen, if not of soldiers, and the nearness - and plenty of their military stores. By throwing up earth in - the inside of the wall, they had planted a great many cannon, - some of a large calibre, and opened six batteries against one - that played upon them from the English. The distance alone of - the besiegers' battery, made these cannon of the enemy do less - execution; but that same distance rendered the attack - absolutely ineffectual. Were the battery brought nearer, to a - hundred paces for instance, 'twould be requisite to make it - communicate with the camp by trenches and a covered way, to - dig which was the work of some days for so small an army. - During this time, the besieged, foreseeing the place to which - the attack must be directed, could easily fortify it by - retrenchments in the inside of the wall; and planting ten - cannon to one, could silence the besiegers' feeble battery in - a few hours. They would not even have had leisure to make a - breach in the thin wall, which first discovered itself; and - that breach, if made, could not possibly serve to any purpose. - Above fifteen thousand men, completely armed by the East India - Company, and brave while protected by cannon and ramparts, - still stood in opposition to three thousand, discouraged with - fatigue, with sickness, and with despair of ever succeeding in - so unequal a contest. - - * * * * * - - A certain foreign writer, more anxious to tell his stories in - an entertaining manner than to assure himself of their - reality, has endeavoured to put this expedition in a - ridiculous light; but as there is not one circumstance of his - narration, which has truth in it, or even the least appearance - of truth, it would be needless to lose time in refuting it. - With regard to the prejudices of the public, a few questions - may suffice. - - Was the attempt altogether impracticable from the beginning? - The general neither proposed it, nor planned it, nor approved - it, nor answered for its success. Did the disappointment - proceed from want of expedition? He had no pilots, guides, nor - intelligence, afforded him; and could not possibly provide - himself in any of these advantages, so necessary to all - military operations. Were the engineers blamable? This has - always been considered as a branch of military knowledge, - distinct from that of a commander, and which is altogether - intrusted to those to whose profession it peculiarly belongs. - By his vigour in combating the vain terrors spread amongst the - troops, and by his prudence in timely desisting from a - fruitless enterprise, the misfortune was confined merely to a - disappointment, without any loss or any dishonour to the - British arms. Commanders, from the situation of affairs, have - had opportunities of acquiring more honour; yet there is no - one whose conduct, in every circumstance, could be more free - from reproach. On the first of October, the fleet sailed out - of Quimperlay Road, from one of the most dangerous situations - that so large a fleet had ever lain in, at so late a season, - and in so stormy a sea as the Bay of Biscay. The reflection on - this danger had been no inconsiderable cause of hastening the - re-embarkation of the troops. And the more so, that the - secretary had given express orders to the admiral not to bring - the fleet into any hazard. The prudence of the hasty departure - appeared the more visibly the very day the fleet sailed, when - a violent storm arising from the south west, it was concluded, - that if the ships had been lying at anchor on the coast, many - of them must have necessarily been driven ashore, and wrecked - on the rocks that surrounded them. The fleet was dispersed, - and six transports being separated from the rest, went - immediately for England, carrying with them about eight - hundred of the forces. The rest put into Quiberon Bay, and the - general landed his small body on the peninsula of that name. - By erecting a battery of some guns on the narrow neck of land, - which joins the peninsula to the continent, he rendered his - situation almost impregnable, while he saw the fleet riding - secure in his neighbourhood, in one of the finest bays in the - world. - - The industry and spirit of the general supported both himself - and the army against all these disadvantages, while there was - the smallest prospect of success. But his prudence determined - him to abandon it, when it appeared altogether desperate. - - The engineers, seeing no manner of effect from their shells - and red-hot balls, and sensible that 'twas impossible either - to make a breach from a battery, erected at so great a - distance, or to place the battery nearer, under such a - superiority of French cannon, at last unanimously brought a - report to the general, that they had no longer any hope of - success; and that even all the ammunition, which, with - infinite labour, had been brought, was expended: no prospect - remained of being farther supplied, on account of the broken - roads, which lay between them and the fleet. The council of - war held in consequence of this report, balanced the reasons - for continuing or abandoning the enterprise, if men can be - said to balance where they find nothing on the one side but an - extreme desire to serve their king and country, and on the - other every maxim of war and prudence. They unanimously agreed - to abandon the attempt, and return on board the transports. - The whole troops were accordingly re-embarked by the 28th of - September, with the loss of near twenty men killed and - wounded, on the whole enterprise. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[441:1] See ante, p. 218. - - - - -APPENDIX B. - -LETTERS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT.[456:1] - - -I.--LETTERS FROM MONTESQUIEU TO HUME.[456:2] - - -(1.) - - J'ai reçu Monsieur, comme une chose très précieuse, la belle - lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de m'écrire au sujet de - mon ouvrage. Elle est remplie de réflexions si judicieuses et - si sensées, que je ne sçaurois vous dire à quel point j'en ai - été charmé. Ce que vous dites sur la forme dont les jurés - prononcent en Angleterre, ou en Ecosse, m'a surtout fait un - grand plaisir, et l'endroit de mon livre où j'ai traité cette - matière est peut-être celui qui m'a fait le plus de peine, et - où j'ai le plus souvent changé. Ce que j'avois fait, parce-que - je n'avois trouvé personne qui eut la-dessus des idées aussi - nettes, que vous avez. Mais c'est assez parler de mon livre - que j'ai l'honneur de vous présenter. J'aime mieux vous parler - d'une belle dissertation où vous donnez une beaucoup plus - grande influence aux causes morales qu'aux causes - physiques--et il m'a paru, autant que je suis capable d'en - juger, que ce sujet est traité à fond, quelque difficile qu'il - soit à traiter, et écrit de main de maître, et rempli d'idées - et de réflexions très neuves. Nous commençâmes aussi à - lire--M. Stuart et moi--un autre ouvrage de vous où vous - maltraitez un peu l'ordre ecclésiastique. Vous croyez bien que - Monsr. Stuart et moi n'avons pas pu entièrement vous - approuver--nous nous sommes contentés de vous admirer. Nous ne - crûmes pas que ces Messieurs furent tels, mais nous trouvâmes - fort bonnes les raisons que vous donnez pour qu'ils dussent - être tels. M. Stuart m'a fait un grand plaisir en me faisant - espérer que je trouverois à Paris une partie de ces beaux - ouvrages. J'ai l'honneur, Monsieur, de vous en remercier, et - d'être avec les sentimens de la plus parfaite estime, votre - très humble et très obéissant serviteur. - - MONTESQUIEU. - - _A Bordeaux, ce 19 May, 1749._ - - -(2.) - - Monsieur j'ai reçu la lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de - m'écrire du 16 de Juillet, et il ne m'a été possible de la - lire qu' aujourdhui, à cause d'une grande fluxion sur les yeux - et que n'ayant point actuellement de secrétaire Anglais je ne - pouvois me la faire lire. J'étois prêt à y faire réponse quand - Mr. Le Mosnier est entré chez moi, et m'a parlé de l'honneur - qu'on veut faire à mon livre en Ecosse de l'y imprimer, et m'a - dit ce que vous m'avez déjà appris par votre lettre. Je suis - très obligé à vous Monsieur et à Monsieur Alexandre, de la - peine que vous avez prise. Je suis convenu avec M. Le Mosnier - que je ferais faire une copie des corrections que j'ai - envoiées en Angleterre, et à Paris, de la première édition de - Genève, en 2 volumes in 4to qui est très fautive, et qu'il se - chargeroit de les envoyer. J'ai reçu Monsieur, les exemplaires - de vos beaux ouvrages que vous avez eu la bonté de m'envoyer, - et j'ai lu avec un très grand plaisir l'essay sur l'esprit - humain, qui ne peut partir que d'un esprit extrêmement - philosophique. Tout ceci est rempli de belles idées, et je - vous remercie du plaisir que la lecture m'en a fait; à l'égard - de la citation des Lettres Persanes il vaut autant que mon nom - y soit que celui d'un autre, et cela n'est d'aucune - conséquence. - - La réputation de Monsieur le Docteur Midleton est certainement - venue jusqu'à nous. Notior ut jam sit canibus non Delia - nostris, et j'espère bien me procurer l'avantage de lire les - ouvrages dont vous me parlez. Je sçais que Mr. de Midleton est - un homme éminent. J'ai Monsieur l'honneur d'être, &c. - - _A Paris ce 3 7bre, 1749._ - - Je vous prie Monsieur, de vouloir bien faire mes compliments - très humbles à Mons. Stewart: il fairoit bien de venir nous - revoir cet automne prochain. - - -(3.) - - J'ai Monsieur reçu l'honneur de votre lettre avec la postille - qui y est jointe, et j'ai de plus reçu un exemplaire de vos - excellentes compositions par la voie de Milord Morton. Mr. de - Jouquart qui a formé le dessein de traduire l'ouvrage de - Mons{r.} Wallace, me dit hier qu'il traduiroit aussi le vôtre - sur le nombre des peuples chez les anciennes nations. Cela - dépendra du succès qu'aura sa traduction qui est la première - qu'il ait faite. Il est certain qu'il a tous les talents qu'il - faut pour s'en acquitter, et je ne doute pas que le public ne - l'encourage à continuer. Le public qui admirera les deux - ouvrages, n'admirera pas moins deux amis qui font céder d'une - manière si noble les petits intérêts de l'esprit aux intérêts - de l'amitié; et pour moi, je regarderai comme un très grand - bonheur, si je puis me flatter d'avoir quelque part dans cette - amitié. J'ai l'honneur d'être, &c. - - _Paris, ce 13 Juillet, 1753._ - - -II.--LETTERS FROM THE ABBÉ LE BLANC TO HUME. - -_Referred to in_ vol. i. p. 366, _and_ p. 408. - - -(1.) - - MONSIEUR,--La traduction de vos discours politiques, que j'ai - l'honneur de vous envoyer, est la preuve la plus éclatante que - je pouvois vous donner de l'estime que j'en fais; vous en - serez peut-être plus content si j'avois été à portée de - profiter de vos lumières. Je vous prie, et votre intérêt s'y - trouve comme le mien, de me faire la grâce de la lire avec - attention, et de m'avertir des endroits, ou malgré toute - l'attention que j'y ai apportée, j'aurois pu m'écarter de - votre sens. J'en profiterai à la première édition, ainsi que - des remarques, changements, ou additions, qu'il vous plaira me - communiquer, soit à l'occasion de vos discours, soit sur les - autres ouvrages Anglois dont je parle dans mes notes. - - Je vous prie encore Monsieur que ce soit le plus tôt qu'il - vous sera possible, car il est bon de vous dire que cette - traduction, grâce à l'excellence de l'original, se débite ici - comme un Roman; c'est tout dire, notre goût pour les futilités - vous est connu; il vous étoit réservé de nous y faire - renoncer, pour nous occuper des matières les plus dignes - d'exercer les esprits raisonnables. Le Libraire m'avertit - qu'il sera bientôt tems de penser à la seconde édition. - J'attendrai votre réponse pour l'enrichir de vos remarques qui - feront que celle-ci sera reçue du public avec encore plus - d'applaudissements. - - Je profite de cette occasion pour vous offrir une amitié qui - vous sera, peut-être, inutile, et vous demander la vôtre que - je serois très flatté d'obtenir. Il semble que l'auteur et le - traducteur sont faits pour être liés ensemble: il est à - présumer qui celui que traduit un ouvrage a d'avance ou du - moins épousé la façon de parler de celui qui l'a fait. J'ai - trouvé dans vos discours un politique Philosophe, et un - Philosophe citoyen. Je n'ai moi-même donné aucun ouvrage qui - ne porte ce double caractère, et je me flatte que vous le - trouverez dans les Lettres d'un François, si par hazard elles - vous sont connues. - - J'ai l'honneur d'être, avec les sentiments d'estime dont je - viens de vous donner des témoignages publics, et cette sorte - de respect que je n'ai que pour quelques Philosophes tels que - vous. Monsieur, votre très humble et très obéissant serviteur, - - L'ABBÉ LE BLANC, Historiographe des Bâtiments du Roy de France. - - _De Paris, le 25th Août, 1754._ - - -(2.) - - MONSIEUR,--La traduction de vos discours politiques est la - première que j'ai donnée au public; et l'utilité que j'ai cru - que ma patrie en pouvoit retirer, est l'unique motif que m'ait - déterminé à l'entreprendre. Je n'ose me répondre que vous la - trouverez telle que vous l'espérez. C'est à moi à vous - demander votre indulgence pour les fautes que vous y - trouverez, et à vous prier de me communiquer vos remarques sur - des notes que j'ai cru y devoir adjouter. Je vous promets de - corriger avec soumission les erreurs que vos m'y ferez - apercevoir. A la fin du 2d vol. j'ai donné une notice des - meilleurs ouvrages Anglois que j'ai consultés, sur les - matières du commerce; j'ai hazardé de porter mon jugement sur - chacun de ceux dont j'ai parlé. Je le rectifierai sur vos - lumières, si vous voulez bien me les communiquer. Si j'en ai - omis quelqu'un d'important, je vous prie de me le faire - connoître, et de me dire vous-même, qui êtes un si excellent - juge, ce que l'on en doit penser. J'enricherai la 2 Edition de - tout ce dont vous voudrez bien me faire part. - - A l'égard de votre histoire de la Grande Bretagne que vous - m'annoncez, ce ne sera plus simplement comme votre admirateur - mais comme votre ami Monsieur, que j'en entreprendrai la - traduction, et je ferai de mon mieux pour qu'elle perde le - moins qu'il est possible. J'aime votre façon de penser, et je - suis familiarisé avec votre stile; si la matière exige qu'il - soit plus élevé je tacherai d'y atteindre. Mais pour que je - puisse entreprendre cette traduction avec succès, il faut s'il - est possible, que vous retardiez à Londres au moins d'un mois - la publication de votre ouvrage, et que vous me l'envoyez tout - de suite par la poste, addressé sans autre enveloppe à Mr. - Jannes, Chevalier de l'ordre du Roi, Controlleur Général des - Postes à Paris. Nous avons ici une foule d'écrivains - médiocres, qui sans savoir ni l'Anglois ni le François même, - sont a l'affût de tout ce qui s'imprime chez vous, et qui à - l'aide d'un dictionnaire vous massacreront impitoyablement. On - nous a donné ainsi plusieurs bons ouvrages, et entre autres la - dissertation de M. Wallace dont il n'est pas possible de - supporter la lecture en François. Pour faire de pareille - besogne, il ne faut pas beaucoup de tems à ces Messieurs là. - Ils travaillent vîte, parce qu'ils travaillent _fami potius - quam famæ_. Si je n'ai pas du tems devant eux, je serai - prévenu, et si je le suis, je serai obligé d'abandonner - l'ouvrage. Je ne vous parle pas des traducteurs de Hollande - qui sont encore plus mauvais s'il est possible. Cette fois-ci - je veux faire un office d'amitié, je vous prie de me mettre à - portée de le bien faire. Vos discours Politiques vous ont, - comme je m'y attendois, donné ici la plus haute réputation, - dès que votre histoire paroîtra, un libraire la fera venir par - la poste, et mettra ses ouvriers après, à moins que vous ne - m'accordiez la grâce que je vous demande. Alors on saura que - je la traduis, et je suis sûr que ces messieurs me laisseront - faire. - - J'ai encore à vous apprendre, monsieur, que le succès de vos - Discours Politiques ne fait qu'augmenter tous les jours, et - que tout retentit de vos Éloges. Nos ministres même n'en sont - pas moins satisfaits que le public. Mr. le Comte d'Argenson, - Mr. Le Maréchal de Noailles, en un mot tous ceux qui ont ici - part au gouvernement ont parlé de votre ouvrage, comme d'un - des meilleurs qui ayent jamais été faits sur ces matières. - J'ai été obligé de céder mon exemplaire à un d'entre eux; - ainsi je vous prie de m'en adresser un par la même voie que je - vous ai indiquée, la poste après que vous m'aurez envoyé le I. - vol. de votre histoire, d'autant plus que les additions et - corrections dont vous m'avez fait part se rapportent à la 3{e} - edition qui je crois se trouveroit difficilement a Paris. - - -(3.) - - MONSIEUR,--Je vous avois promis, et je m'étois flatté de - pouvoir consacrer mes veilles à traduire aussi votre admirable - Histoire de l'infortunée Maison de Stewart. Les obstacles les - plus puissants, ceux-mêmes qui ôtent à l'esprit cette liberté - sans laquelle on ne fait rien de bien, voyages, affaires, - disgrâces, maladies--tout s'est opposé à l'exécution d'un - projet qui rioit si fort à mon imagination et dont l'exécution - ne pouroit que me faire honneur. - - A ce défaut j'ai prêté à un de mes amis, homme d'esprit et - laborieux, le premier volume que vous avez eu la bonté de - m'envoyer. Il l'a traduit et le rendra public au commencement - de l'hiver prochain. - - J'ai de même que tous ceux qui savent ici l'Anglois, le plus - grand empressement de lire votre second volume. J'en ferai le - même usage que du premier. - - Je vous avois annoncé que vos discours Politiques feroient - parmi nous le même effet que _L'Esprit des Loix_. L'évènement - m'a justifié, non seulement ils jouissent parmi nous de cette - haute réputation qu'ils méritent, mais ils ont donné lieu à - un grand nombre d'autres ouvrages plus ou moins estimables et - qui la plus part n'ont d'original que la forme. Vous en - trouverez le catalogue à la suite d'une troisième édition de - ma traduction que je vais donner incessamment. - - Il vient d'en paroître un qui fait ici un grand bruit, et que - je n'ai garde de confondre avec tous ceux dont je viens de - parler. Il est intitulé, L'AMI DES HOMMES OU TRAITÉ DE LA - POPULATION. L'Auteur est un génie hardi, original, qui comme - Montaigne se laisse aller à ses idées, les expose sans - orgueil, sans modestie; il ne suit ni ordre ni méthode; mais - son ouvrage, plein d'excellentes choses, respire le bien de - l'humanité et de la patrie. Il prêche l'agriculture, et - foudroye la finance. Il combat votre système sur le luxe, mais - avec les égards élevés à la superiorité de vos lumières. Il - m'a remis un exemplaire de son ouvrage, qu'il me prie de vous - présenter comme un tribut de son estime et de la - reconnoissance qu'il vous doit, pour l'utilité qu'il a tirée - de vos Discours Politiques. Il ne demande pas mieux que d' - être éclairé et par la noblesse des sentiments et la politesse - de la conduite. Je ne crains pas de le dire. L'adversaire est - digne de vous. C'est _Monsieur le Marquis de Mirabeau_, qui - est tel qu'il paroît dans son livre--c'est à dire un des plus - extraordinaires des hommes qu'il y ait en quelque pays que ce - soit. Je vous prie Monsieur de m'indiquer une voie sûre pour - vous faire parvenir son ouvrage. - - -(4.) - - _Dresde, le 25 Dec. 1754._ - - J'ai vu ici la traduction de vos Discours Politiques imprimée - en Hollande; elle ne se peut pas lire; vous souffririez vous, - Monsieur, de vous voir ainsi défiguré. Le Traducteur quel - qu'il soit ne sait constamment ni l'Anglois ni le François. - C'est probablement un de ces auteurs qui travaillent à la - foire pour les libraires de Hollande, et dont les ouvrages - bons ou mauvais se débitent aux foires de Leipsig et de - Francfort. Les bibliothèques de ce pays ci sont remplies de - livres François qui n'ont jamais été et ne seront jamais - connus en France. Cette traduction passe ici pour être d'un - Mr. Mauvillon de Leipsic dont le métier est de faire des - livres François pour L'Allemagne, et d'enseigner ce qu'il ne - sait--c'est à dire, votre langue et la nôtre. Ce qu'il y a de - Saxons lettrés qui les possèdent l'une ou l'autre, et qui - s'intéressent au bien de leur pays, connoissent l'excellence - de votre ouvrage, me pressent de faire imprimer à Dresde même - la seconde édition de ma traduction, et je pourrois bien me - rendre à leur avis. Je n'attends plus que votre réponse pour - me décider. Quelque part qu'elle se fasse, je tâcherai de - faire en sorte qu'elle soit belle et correcte. - - -(5.) - - MONSIEUR,--Il y a à peu près un an que notre commerce - épistolaire a commencé, et j'ai grand regret que par des - contretems de tout espèce il ait été sitôt interrompu. Vous - m'avez donné trop de preuves de votre politesse pour que je ne - sois pas à présent convaincu que vous n'avez reçu aucune des - lettres que je vous ai écrites de Dresde, et que j'avois - essayé de vous faire passer par la voie de votre ambassadeur à - cette cour. Prêt a quitter la Saxe, je vous écrivis encor de - Leïpzic, pour vous rendre compte de mon séjour en ce pays, et - vous dire que la dissipation où j'y avois vécu forcément, ne - m'avoit pas permis d'avancer beaucoup dans la traduction de - votre histoire de la malheureuse famille des Stuarts. J'ai - depuis été en Hollande, et, comme je l'avois prévu j'ai appris - qu'un de ces auteurs, qui travaillent à la fois aux gages des - libraires qui les employent, en avoit fait une de son coté, - qui étoit toute prête à paroître. Vous pouvez aisément juger - du découragement où une pareille nouvelle m'a jetté. La - manufacture des livres de Hollande fait réellement grand tort - à notre littérature Françoise. On y employe à traduire un - excellent ouvrage des gens qui ne seroient bons qu'à - travailler à la fabrique du papier. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[456:1] From the MSS. R.S.E. - -[456:2] See _antea_, p. 304. - - - - -APPENDIX C. - -DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. - - -I.--CORRESPONDENCE. - - -(1.) - -HUME _to_ ----. - - _Edinburgh, August 16, 1760._ - - SIR,--I am not surprised to find by your letter, that Mr. Gray - should have entertained suspicions with regard to the - authenticity of these fragments of our Highland poetry. The - first time I was shown the copies of some of them in - manuscript, by our friend John Home, I was inclined to be a - little incredulous on that head; but Mr. Home removed my - scruples, by informing me of the manner in which he procured - them from Mr. Macpherson, the translator. - - These two gentlemen were drinking the waters together at - Moffat last autumn, when their conversation fell upon Highland - poetry, which Mr. Macpherson extolled very highly. Our friend, - who knew him to be a good scholar, and a man of taste, found - his curiosity excited, and asked whether he had ever - translated any of them. Mr. Macpherson replied, that he never - had attempted any such thing; and doubted whether it was - possible to transfuse such beauties into our language; but, - for Mr. Home's satisfaction, and in order to give him a - general notion of the strain of that wild poetry, he would - endeavour to turn one of them into English. He accordingly - brought him one next day, which our friend was so much pleased - with, that he never ceased soliciting Mr. Macpherson, till he - insensibly produced that small volume which has been - published. - - After this volume was in every body's hands, and universally - admired, we heard every day new reasons, which put the - authenticity, not the great antiquity which the translator - ascribes to them, beyond all question; for their antiquity is - a point, which must be ascertained by reasoning; though the - arguments he employs seem very probable and convincing. But - certain it is, that these poems are in every body's mouth in - the Highlands, have been handed down from father to son, and - are of an age beyond all memory and tradition. - - In the family of every Highland chieftain, there was anciently - retained a bard, whose office was the same with that of the - Greek rhapsodists; and the general subject of the poems which - they recited was the wars of Fingal; an epoch no less - remarkable among them, than the wars of Troy among the Greek - poets. This custom is not even yet altogether abolished: the - bard and piper are esteemed the most honourable offices in a - chieftain's family, and these two characters are frequently - united in the same person. Adam Smith, the celebrated - Professor in Glasgow, told me that the piper of the - Argyleshire militia repeated to him all those poems which Mr. - Macpherson has translated, and many more of equal beauty. - Major Mackay, Lord Reay's brother, also told me that he - remembers them perfectly; as likewise did the Laird of - Macfarlane, the greatest antiquarian whom we have in this - country, and who insists so strongly on the historical truth, - as well as on the poetical beauty of these productions. I - could add the Laird and Lady Macleod to these authorities, - with many more, if these were not sufficient, as they live in - different parts of the Highlands, very remote from each other, - and they could only be acquainted with poems that had become - in a manner national works, and had gradually spread - themselves into every mouth, and imprinted themselves on every - memory. - - Every body in Edinburgh is so convinced of this truth, that we - have endeavoured to put Mr. Macpherson on a way of procuring - us more of these wild flowers. He is a modest, sensible, young - man, not settled in any living, but employed as a private - tutor in Mr. Grahame of Balgowan's family, a way of life which - he is not fond of. We have, therefore, set about a - subscription of a guinea or two guineas a-piece, in order to - enable him to quit that family, and undertake a mission into - the Highlands, where he hopes to recover more of these - fragments. There is, in particular, a country surgeon - somewhere in Lochaber, who, he says, can recite a great number - of them, but never committed them to writing; as indeed the - orthography of the Highland language is not fixed, and the - natives have always employed more the sword than the pen. This - surgeon has by heart the Epic poem mentioned by Mr. Macpherson - in his Preface; and as he is somewhat old, and is the only - person living that has it entire, we are in the more haste to - recover a monument, which will certainly be regarded as a - curiosity in the republic of letters. - - I own that my first and chief objection to the authenticity of - these fragments, was not on account of the noble and even - tender strokes which they contain; for these are the offspring - of genius and passion in all countries; I was only surprised - at the regular plan which appears in some of these pieces, and - which seems to be the work of a more cultivated age. None of - the specimens of barbarous poetry known to us, the Hebrew, - Arabian, or any other, contain this species of beauty; and if - a regular epic poem, or even any thing of that kind, nearly - regular, should also come from that rough climate or - uncivilized people, it would appear to me a phenomenon - altogether unaccountable. - - I remember Mr. Macpherson told me, that the heroes of this - Highland epic were not only, like Homer's heroes, their own - butchers, bakers, and cooks, but also their own shoemakers, - carpenters, and smiths. He mentioned an incident which put - this matter in a remarkable light. A warrior had the head of - his spear struck off in battle; upon which he immediately - retires behind the army, where a large forge was erected, - makes a new one, hurries back to the action, pierces his - enemy, while the iron, which was yet red-hot, hisses in the - wound. This imagery you will allow to be singular, and so well - imagined, that it would have been adopted by Homer, had the - manners of the Greeks allowed him to have employed it. - - I forgot to mention, as another proof of the authenticity of - these poems, and even of the reality of the adventures - contained in them, that the names of the heroes, Fingal, - Oscar, Osur, Oscan, Dermid, are still given in the Highlands - to large mastiffs, in the same manner as we affix to them the - names of Cæsar, Pompey, Hector, or the French that of - Marlborough. - - It gives me pleasure to find, that a person of so fine a taste - as Mr. Gray approves of these fragments; as it may convince - us, that our fondness of them is not altogether founded on - national prepossessions, which, however, you know to be a - little strong. The translation is elegant; but I made an - objection to the author, which I wish you would communicate to - Mr. Gray, that we may judge of the justness of it. There - appeared to me many verses in his prose, and all of them in - the same measure with Mr. Shenstone's famous ballad: - - "Ye shepherds so cheerful and gay, - Whose flocks never carelessly roam, &c." - - Pray, ask Mr. Gray, whether he made the same remark, &c. and - whether he thinks it a blemish. Yours most sincerely, - &c.[465:1] - - -(2.) - -HUME _to_ DR. BLAIR. - - _Lisle St. Leicester Fields, 19th Sept. 1763._ - - DEAR SIR,--I live in a place where I have the pleasure of - frequently hearing justice done to your Dissertation; but - never heard it mentioned in a company where some one person or - other did not express his doubts with regard to the - authenticity of the poems which are its subject; and I often - hear them totally rejected with disdain and indignation, as a - palpable and most impudent forgery. This opinion has, indeed, - become very prevalent among the men of letters in London; and - I can foresee, that in a few years the poems, if they continue - to stand on their present footing, will be thrown aside, and - will fall into final oblivion. It is in vain to say that their - beauty will support them, independent of their authenticity. - No; that beauty is not so much to the general taste as to - ensure you of this event; and if people be once disgusted with - the idea of a forgery, they are thence apt to entertain a more - disadvantageous notion of the excellency of the production - itself. The absurd pride and caprice of Macpherson himself, - who scorns, as he pretends, to satisfy any body that doubts - his veracity, has tended much to confirm this general - scepticism; and I must own, for my own part, that, though I - have had many particular reasons to believe these poems - genuine, more than it is possible for any Englishman of - letters to have, yet I am not entirely without my scruples on - that head. You think that the internal proofs in favour of the - poems are very convincing; so they are: but there are also - internal reasons against them, particularly from the manners, - notwithstanding all the art with which you have endeavoured to - throw a varnish on that circumstance; and the preservation of - such long and such connected poems by oral tradition alone, - during a course of fourteen centuries, is so much out of the - ordinary course of human affairs, that it requires the - strongest reasons to make us believe it. - - My present purpose, therefore, is to apply to you, in the name - of all the men of letters of this, and I may say of all other - countries, to establish this capital point, and to give us - proof that these poems are, I do not say so ancient as the age - of Severus, but that they were not forged within these five - years by James Macpherson. These proofs must not be arguments, - but testimonies. People's ears are fortified against the - former: the latter may yet find their way before the poems are - consigned to total oblivion. Now the testimonies may, in my - opinion, be of two kinds. Macpherson pretends that there is an - ancient manuscript of part of Fingal, in the family, I think, - of Clanronald. Get that fact ascertained by more than one - person of credit; let these persons be acquainted with the - Gaelic; let them compare the original and the translation; and - let them testify the fidelity of the latter. But the chief - point in which it will be necessary for you to exert yourself, - will be to get positive testimony from many different hands, - that such poems are vulgarly recited in the Highlands, and - have there long been the entertainment of the people. This - testimony must be as particular as it is positive. It will not - be sufficient that a Highland gentleman or clergyman say or - write to you, that he has heard such poems; nobody questions - that there are traditional poems in that part of the country, - where the names of Ossian and Fingal, and Oscar, and Gaul, are - mentioned in every stanza. The only doubt is, whether these - poems have any farther resemblance to the poems published by - Macpherson. I was told by Bourke, a very ingenious Irish - gentleman, the author of a tract on the Sublime and Beautiful, - that on the first publication of Macpherson's book, all the - Irish cried out, We know all these poems, we have always heard - them from our infancy. But when he asked more particular - questions, he could never learn that any one had ever heard, - or could repeat the original of any one paragraph of the - pretended translation. This generality, then, must be - carefully guarded against, as being of no authority. - - Your connexions among your brethren of the clergy, may here - be of great use to you. You may easily learn the names of all - ministers of that country, who understand the language of it; - you may write to them, expressing the doubts that have arisen, - and desiring them to send for such of the bards as remain, and - make them rehearse their ancient poems. Let the clergymen, - then, have the translation in their hands, and let them write - back to you, and inform you that they heard such a one, - (naming him,) living in such a place, rehearse the original of - such a passage, from such a page to such a page of the English - translation, which appeared exact and faithful. If you give to - the public a sufficient number of such testimonies, you may - prevail. But I venture to foretel to you that nothing less - will serve the purpose; nothing less will so much as command - the attention of the public. Becket tells me that he is to - give us a new edition of your Dissertation, accompanied with - some remarks on Temora; here is a favourable opportunity for - you to execute this purpose. You have a just and laudable zeal - for the credit of these poems; they are, if genuine, one of - the greatest curiosities, in all respects, that ever was - discovered in the commonwealth of letters; and the child is, - in a manner, become yours by adoption, as Macpherson has - totally abandoned all care of it. These motives call upon you - to exert yourself; and I think it were suitable to your - candour, and most satisfactory also to the reader, to publish - all the answers to all the letters you write, even though some - of these letters should make somewhat against your own opinion - in this affair. We shall always be the more assured that no - arguments are strained beyond their proper force, and no - contrary arguments suppressed, where such an entire - communication is made to us. Becket joins me heartily in this - application, and he owns to me, that the believers in the - authenticity of the poems diminish every day among the men of - sense and reflection. Nothing less than what I propose, can - throw the balance on the other side. I depart from hence in - about three weeks, and should be glad to hear your resolution - before that time. - - This journey to Paris is likely to contribute much to my - entertainment, and will certainly tend much to improve my - fortune; so that I have no reason to repent that I have - allowed myself to be dragged from my retreat. I shall - henceforth converse with authors, but shall not probably for - some time have much leisure to peruse them; which is not - perhaps the way of knowing them most to their advantage. I - carried only four books along with me, a Virgil, a Horace, a - Tasso, and a Tacitus. I could have wished also to carry my - Homer, but I found him too bulky. I own that, in common - decency, I ought to have left my Horace behind me, and that I - ought to be ashamed to look him in the face. For I am sensible - that, at my years, no temptation would have seduced him from - his retreat; nor would he ever have been induced to enter so - late into the path of ambition.[468:1] But I deny that I enter - into the path of ambition; I only walk into the green fields - of amusement; and I affirm, that external amusement becomes - more and more necessary as one advances in years, and can find - less supplies from his own passions or imagination. I am, - &c.[468:2] - - -(3.) - -DR. BLAIR _to_ HUME. - - _Edinburgh, 29th September, 1763._ - - DEAR SIR,--I am much obliged to you for the information you - have communicated to me, and for the concern you show that - justice should be done to our Highland Poems. From what I saw - myself when at London, I could easily believe that the - disposition of men of letters was rather averse to their - reception as genuine; but I trusted that the internal - characters of their authenticity, together with the occasional - testimonies given to them by Highland gentlemen who are every - where scattered, would gradually surmount these prejudices. - For my own part, it is impossible for me to entertain the - smallest doubt of their being real productions, and ancient - ones, too, of the Highlands. Neither Macpherson's parts, - though good, nor his industry, were equal to such a forgery. - The whole publication, you know, was in its first rise - accidental. Macpherson was entreated and dragged into it. Some - of the MSS. sent to him passed through my hands. Severals of - them he translated, in a manner, under my eye. He gave me - these native and genuine accounts of them, which bore plain - characters of truth. What he said was often confirmed to me by - others. I had testimonies from several Highlanders concerning - their authenticity, in words strong and explicit. And, setting - all this aside, is it a thing which any man of sense can - suppose, that Macpherson would venture to forge such a body of - poetry, and give it to the public as ancient poems and songs, - well known at this day through all the Highlands of Scotland, - when he could have been refuted and exposed by every one of - his own countrymen? Is it credible that he could bring so many - thousand people into a conspiracy with him to keep his secret? - or that some would not be found who, attached to their own - ancient songs, would not cry out, "These are not the poems we - deal in. You have forged characters and sentiments we know - nothing about; you have modernized and dressed us up: we have - much better songs and poems of our own." Who but John Bull - could entertain the belief of an imposture so incredible as - this? The utmost I should think any rational scepticism could - suppose is this, that Macpherson might have sometimes - interpolated, or endeavoured to improve, by some corrections - of his own. Of this I am verily persuaded there was very - little, if any at all. Had it prevailed, we would have been - able to trace more marks of inconsistency, and a different - hand and style; whereas, these poems are more remarkable for - nothing than an entire, and supported, and uniform consistency - of character and manner through the whole. - - However, seeing we have to do with such incredulous people, I - think it were a pity not to do justice to such valuable - monuments of genius. I have already, therefore, entered upon - the task you prescribe me, though I foresee it may give me - some trouble. I have writ by last post to Sir James Macdonald, - who is fortunately at this time in the Isle of Skye. I have - also, through the Laird of Macleod, writ to Clanronald, and - likewise to two clergymen in the Isle of Skye, men of letters - and character; one of them, Macpherson minister of Sleat, the - author of a very learned work about to be published concerning - the Antiquities of Scotland. Several others in Argyleshire, - the Islands, and other poetical regions, worthy clergymen, who - are well versed in the Gaelic, I intend also without delay to - make application to. - - My requisition to them all is for such positive and express - testimonies as you desire; MSS. if they have any, compared - before witnesses with the printed book, and recitations of - bards compared in the same manner. I have given them express - directions in what manner to proceed, so as to avoid that - loose generality which, as you observe, can signify nothing. - What use it may be proper to put these testimonies to, I can - only judge after having got all my materials. I apprehend - there may be some difficulty in obtaining the consent of those - concerned to publish their letters, nor might it be proper. - But concerning this, I may afterwards advise with you and my - other friends. - - In the meantime, you may please acquaint Mr. Becket, that this - must retard for some time the publication of his new edition - with my Dissertation; as the least I can allow for the return - of letters from such distant parts, where the communication by - post is irregular and slow, together with the time necessary - for their executing what is desired, will be three months, - perhaps some more; and, assuredly, any new evidence we can - give the world, must accompany my Dissertation. - - I am in some difficulty with Macpherson himself in this - affair. Capricious as he is, I would not willingly hurt or - disoblige him; and yet I apprehend that such an inquiry as - this, which is like tracing him out, and supposing his - veracity called in question, will not please him. I must write - him by next post, and endeavour to put the affair in such a - light as to soften him; which you, if you see him, may do - likewise, and show him the necessity of something of this kind - being done; and with more propriety, perhaps, by another than - himself.[470:1] - - -(4.) - -HUME _to_ DR. BLAIR. - - _6th October, 1763._ - -MY DEAR SIR,--I am very glad you have undertaken the task which I used -the freedom to recommend to you. Nothing less than what you propose will -serve the purpose. You need expect no assistance from Macpherson, who -flew into a passion when I told him of the letter I had wrote to you. -But you must not mind so strange and heteroclite a mortal, than whom I -have scarce ever known a man more perverse and unamiable. He will -probably depart for Florida with governor Johnstone, and I would advise -him to travel among the Chickisaws or Cherokees, in order to tame him -and civilize him. - - I should be much pleased to hear of the success of your - labours. Your method of directing to me is under cover to the - Earl of Hertford, Northumberland House; any letters that come - to me under that direction, will be sent over to me at Paris. - - I beg my compliments to Robertson and Jardine. I am very sorry - to hear of the state of Ferguson's health. John Hume went to - the country yesterday with Lord Bute. I was introduced the - other day to that noble lord, at his desire. I believe him a - very good man, a better man than a politician. - - Since writing the above, I have been in company with Mrs. - Montague, a lady of great distinction in this place, and a - zealous partisan of Ossian. I told her of your intention, and - even used the freedom to read your letter to her. She was - extremely pleased with your project; and the rather as the Duc - de Nivernois, she said, had talked to her much on that subject - last winter, and desired, if possible, to get collected some - proofs of the authenticity of these poems, which he proposed - to lay before the Académie des Belles Lettres at Paris. You - see, then, that you are upon a great stage in this inquiry, - and that many people have their eyes upon you. This is a new - motive for rendering your proofs as complete as possible. I - cannot conceive any objection, which a man, even of the - gravest character, could have to your publication of his - letters, which will only attest a plain fact known to him. - Such scruples, if they occur, you must endeavour to remove. - For on this trial of yours will the judgment of the public - finally depend. - - Lord Bath, who was in the company, agreed with me, that such - documents of authenticity are entirely necessary and - indispensable. - - Please to write to me as soon as you make any advances, that I - may have something to say on the subject to the literati of - Paris. I beg my compliments to all those who bear that - character at Edinburgh. I cannot but look upon all of them as - my friends. I am, &c.[471:1] - - -II. - -ESSAY ON THE GENUINENESS OF THE POEMS.[471:2] - - I think the fate of this production the most curious effect of - prejudice, where superstition had no share, that ever was in - the world. A tiresome, insipid performance; which, if it had - been presented in its real form, as the work of a - contemporary, an obscure Highlander, no man could ever have - had the patience to have once perused, has, by passing for the - poetry of a royal bard, who flourished fifteen centuries ago, - been universally read, has been pretty generally admired, and - has been translated, in prose and verse, into several - languages of Europe. Even the style of the supposed English - translation has been admired, though harsh and absurd in the - highest degree; jumping perpetually from verse to prose, and - from prose to verse; and running, most of it, in the light - cadence and measure of Molly Mog. Such is the Erse epic, which - has been puffed with a zeal and enthusiasm that has drawn a - ridicule on my countrymen. - - But, to cut off at once the whole source of its reputation, I - shall collect a few very obvious arguments against the notion - of its great antiquity, with which so many people have been - intoxicated, and which alone made it worthy of any attention. - - (1.) The very manner in which it was presented to the public - forms a strong presumption against its authenticity. The - pretended translator goes on a mission to the Highlands to - recover and collect a work, which, he affirmed, was dispersed, - in fragments, among the natives. He returns, and gives a - quarto volume, and then another quarto, with the same - unsupported assurance as if it were a translation of the - Orlando Furioso, or Lousiade, or any poem the best known in - Europe. It might have been expected, at least, that he would - have told the public, and the subscribers to his mission, and - the purchasers of his book, _This part I got from such a - person, in such a place; that other part, from such another - person. I was enabled to correct my first copy of such a - passage by the recital of such another person; a fourth - supplied such a defect in my first copy_. By such a history of - his gradual discoveries he would have given some face of - probability to them. Any man of common sense, who was in - earnest, must, in this case, have seen the peculiar necessity - of that precaution, any man that had regard to his own - character, would have anxiously followed that obvious and easy - method. All the friends of the pretended translator exhorted - and entreated him to give them and the public that - satisfaction. No! those who could doubt his veracity were - fools, whom it was not worth while to satisfy. The most - incredible of all facts was to be taken on his word, whom - nobody knew; and an experiment was to be made, I suppose in - jest, how far the credulity of the public would give way to - assurance and dogmatical affirmation. - - (2.) But, to show the utter incredibility of the fact, let - these following considerations be weighed, or, rather, simply - reflected on; for it seems ridiculous to weigh them. Consider - the size of these poems. What is given us is asserted to be - only a part of a much greater collection; yet even these - pieces amount to two quartos. And they were composed, you say, - in the Highlands, about fifteen centuries ago; and have been - faithfully transmitted, ever since, by oral tradition, through - ages totally ignorant of letters, by the rudest, perhaps, of - all the European nations; the most necessitous, the most - turbulent, the most ferocious, and the most unsettled. Did - ever any event happen that approached within a hundred degrees - of this mighty wonder, even to the nations the most fortunate - in their climate and situation? Can a ballad be shown that has - passed, uncorrupted, by oral tradition, through three - generations, among the Greeks, or Italians, or Phoenicians, - or Egyptians, or even among the natives of such countries as - Otaheite or Molacca, who seem exempted by nature from all - attention but to amusement, to poetry, and music? - - But the Celtic nations, it is said, had peculiar advantages - for preserving their traditional poetry. The Irish, the Welsh, - the Bretons, are all Celtic nations, much better entitled than - the Highlanders, from their soil, and climate, and situation, - to have leisure for these amusements. They, accordingly, - present us not with complete epic and historical poems, (for - they never had the assurance to go that length,) but with very - copious and circumstantial traditions, which are allowed, by - all men of sense, to be scandalous and ridiculous impostures. - - (3.) The style and genius of these pretended poems are another - sufficient proof of the imposition. The Lapland and Runic - odes, conveyed to us, besides their small compass, have a - savage rudeness, and sometimes grandeur, suited to those ages. - But this Erse poetry has an insipid correctness, and - regularity, and uniformity, which betrays a man without - genius, that has been acquainted with the productions of - civilized nations, and had his imagination so limited to that - tract, that it was impossible for him even to mimic the - character which he pretended to assume. - - The manners are still a more striking proof of their want of - authenticity. We see nothing but the affected generosity and - gallantry of chivalry, which are quite unknown, not only to - all savage people, but to every nation not trained in these - artificial modes of thinking. In Homer, for instance, and - Virgil, and Ariosto, the heroes are represented as making a - nocturnal incursion into the camp of the enemy. Homer and - Virgil, who certainly were educated in much more civilized - ages than those of Ossian, make no scruple of representing - their heroes as committing undistinguished slaughter on the - sleeping foe. But Orlando walks quietly through the camp of - the Saracens, and scorns to kill even an infidel who cannot - defend himself. Gaul and Oscar are knight-errants, still more - romantic: they make a noise in the midst of the enemy's camp, - that they may waken them, and thereby have a right to fight - with them and to kill them. Nay, Fingal carries his ideas of - chivalry still farther; much beyond what was ever dreamt of by - Amadis de Gaul or Lancelot de Lake. When his territory is - invaded, he scorns to repel the enemy with his whole force: he - sends only an equal number against them, under an inferior - captain: when these are repulsed, he sends a second - detachment; and it is not till after a double defeat, that he - deigns himself to descend from the hill, where he had - remained, all the while, an idle spectator, and to attack the - enemy. Fingal and Swaran combat each other all day, with the - greatest fury. When darkness suspends the fight, they feast - together with the greatest amity, and then renew the combat - with the return of light. Are these the manners of barbarous - nations, or even of people that have common sense? We may - remark, that all this narrative is supposed to be given us by - a contemporary poet. The facts, therefore, must be supposed - entirely, or nearly, conformable to truth. The gallantry and - extreme delicacy towards the women, which is found in these - productions, is, if possible, still more contrary to the - manners of barbarians. Among all rude nations, force and - courage are the predominant virtues; and the inferiority of - the females, in these particulars, renders them an object of - contempt, not of deference and regard. - - (4.) But I derive a new argument against the antiquity of - these poems, from the general tenor of the narrative. Where - manners are represented in them, probability, or even - possibility, are totally disregarded: but in all other - respects, the events are within the course of nature; no - giants, no monsters, no magic, no incredible feats of strength - or activity. Every transaction is conformable to familiar - experience, and scarcely even deserves the name of wonderful. - Did this ever happen in ancient and barbarous poetry? Why is - this characteristic wanting, so essential to rude and ignorant - ages? Ossian, you say, was singing the exploits of his - contemporaries, and therefore could not falsify them in any - great degree. But if this had been a restraint, your pretended - Ossian had never sung the exploits of his contemporaries; he - had gone back a generation or two, which would have been - sufficient to throw an entire obscurity on the events; and he - would thereby have attained the marvellous, which is alone - striking to barbarians. I desire it may be observed, that - manners are the only circumstances which a rude people cannot - falsify; because they have no notion of any manners beside - their own: but it is easy for them to let loose their - imagination, and violate the course of nature, in every other - particular; and indeed they take no pleasure in any other kind - of narrative. In Ossian, nature is violated, where alone she - ought to have been preserved; is preserved where alone she - ought to have been violated. - - (5.) But there is another species of the marvellous, wanting - in Ossian, which is inseparable from all nations, civilized as - well as barbarous, but still more, if possible, from the - barbarous, and that is religion; no religious sentiment in - this Erse poetry. All those Celtic heroes are more complete - atheists than ever were bred in the school of Epicurus. To - account for this singularity, we are told that a few - generations before Ossian, the people quarrelled with their - Druidical priests, and having expelled them, never afterwards - adopted any other species of religion. It is not quite - unnatural, I own, for the people to quarrel with their - priests,--as we did with ours at the Reformation; but we - attached ourselves with fresh zeal to our new preachers and - new system; and this passion increased in proportion to our - hatred of the old. But I suppose the reason of this strange - absurdity in our new Erse poetry, is, that the author, finding - by the assumed age of his heroes, that he must have given them - the Druidical religion, and not trusting to his literature, - (which seems indeed to be very slender) for making the - representations consistent with antiquity, thought it safest - to give them no religion at all; a circumstance so wonderfully - unnatural, that it is sufficient alone, if men had eyes, to - detect the imposition. - - (6.) The state of the arts, as represented in those poems, is - totally incompatible with the age assigned to them. We know, - that the houses even of the Southern Britons, till conquered - by the Romans, were nothing but huts erected in the woods; but - a stately stone building is mentioned by Ossian, of which the - walls remain, after it is consumed with fire. The melancholy - circumstance of a fox is described, who looks out at the - windows; an image, if I be not mistaken, borrowed from the - Scriptures. The Caledonians, as well as the Irish, had no - shipping but currachs, or wicker boats covered with hides: yet - are they represented as passing, in great military - expeditions, from the Hebrides to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; - a most glaring absurdity. They live entirely by hunting, yet - muster armies, which make incursions to these countries as - well as to Ireland: though it is certain from the experience - of America, that the whole Highlands would scarce subsist a - hundred persons by hunting. They are totally unacquainted with - fishing; though that occupation first tempts all rude nations - to venture on the sea. Ossian alludes to a wind or water-mill, - a machine then unknown to the Greeks and Romans, according to - the opinion of the best antiquaries. His barbarians, though - ignorant of tillage, are well acquainted with the method of - working all kinds of metals. The harp is the musical - instrument of Ossian; but the bagpipe, from time immemorial, - has been the instrument of the Highlanders. If ever the harp - had been known among them, it never had given place to the - other barbarous discord. - - Stridenti miserum stipula disperdere carmen. - - (7.) All the historical facts of this poem are opposed by - traditions, which, if all these tales be not equally - contemptible, seem to merit much more attention. The Irish - Scoti are the undoubted ancestors of the present Highlanders, - who are but a small colony of that ancient people. But the - Irish traditions make Fingal, Ossian, Oscar, all Irishmen, and - place them some centuries distant from the Erse heroes. They - represent them as giants, and monsters, and enchanters, a sure - mark of a considerable antiquity of these traditions. I ask - the partisans of Erse poetry, since the names of these heroes - have crept over to Ireland, and have become quite familiar to - the natives of that country, how it happens, that not a line - of this poetry, in which they are all celebrated, which, it is - pretended, alone preserves their memory with our Highlanders, - and which is composed by one of these heroes themselves in the - Irish language, ever found its way thither? The songs and - traditions of the Senachies, the genuine poetry of the Irish, - carry in their rudeness and absurdity the inseparable - attendants of barbarism, a very different aspect from the - insipid correctness of Ossian; where the incidents, if you - will pardon the antithesis, are the most unnatural, merely - because they are natural. The same observation extends to the - Welsh, another Celtic nation. - - (8.) The fiction of these poems is, if possible, still more - palpably detected, by the great numbers of other traditions, - which, the author pretends, are still fresh in the Highlands, - with regard to all the personages. The poems, composed in the - age of Truthil and Cormac, ancestors of Ossian, are, he says, - full of complaints against the roguery and tyranny of the - Druids. He talks as familiarly of the poetry of that period as - Lucian or Longinus would of the Greek poetry of the Socratic - age. I suppose here is a new rich mine of poetry ready to - break out upon us, if the author thinks it can turn to - account. For probably he does not mind the danger of - detection, which he has little reason to apprehend from his - experience of the public credulity. But I shall venture to - assert, without any reserve or further inquiry, that there is - no Highlander who is not, in some degree, a man of letters, - that ever so much as heard there was a Druid in the world. The - margin of every page almost of this wonderful production is - supported, as he pretends, by minute oral traditions with - regard to the personages. To the poem of Dar-thula, there is - prefixed a long account of the pedigree, marriages, and - adventures of three brothers, Nathos, Althos, and Ardan, - heroes that lived fifteen hundred years ago in Argyleshire, - and whose memory, it seems, is still celebrated there, and in - every part of the Highlands. How ridiculous to advance such a - pretension to the learned, who know that there is no tradition - of Alexander the great all over the East; that the Turks, who - have heard of him from their communication with the Greeks, - believe him to have been the captain of Solomon's guard; that - the Greek and Roman story, the moment it departs from the - historical ages, becomes a heap of fiction and absurdity; that - Cyrus himself, the conqueror of the East, became so much - unknown, even in little more than half a century, that - Herodotus himself, born and bred in Asia, within the limits of - the Persian empire, could tell nothing of him, more than of - Croesus, the contemporary of Cyrus, and who reigned in the - neighbourhood of the historian, but the most ridiculous - fables; and that the grandfather of Hengist and Horsa, the - first Saxon conquerors, was conceived to be a divinity. I - suppose it is sufficiently evident, that without the help of - books and history, the very name of Julius Cæsar would at - present be totally unknown in Europe. A gentleman, who - travelled into Italy, told me, that in visiting Frescati or - Tusculum, his cicerone showed him the foundation and ruins of - Cicero's country house. He asked the fellow who this Cicero - might be, "Un grandissimo gigante," said he. - - (9.) I ask, since the memory of Fingal and his ancestors and - descendants is still so fresh in the Highlands, how it - happens, that none of the compilers of the Scotch fabulous - history ever laid hold of them, and inserted them in the list - of our ancient monarchs, but were obliged to have recourse to - direct fiction and lying to make out their genealogies? It is - to be remarked, that the Highlanders, who are now but an - inferior part of the nation, anciently composed the whole; so - that no tradition of theirs could be unknown to the court, the - nobility, and the whole kingdom. Where, then, have these - wonderful traditions skulked during so many centuries, that - they have never come to light till yesterday? And the very - names of our ancient kings are unknown; though it is - pretended, that a very particular narrative of their - transactions was still preserved, and universally diffused - among a numerous tribe, who are the original stem of the - nation. Father Innes, the only judicious writer that ever - touched our ancient history, finds in monastic records the - names, and little more than the names, of kings from Fergus, - whom we call Fergus the Second, who lived long after the - supposed Fingal: and he thence begins the true history of the - nation. He had too good sense to give any attention to - pretended traditions even of kings, much less would he have - believed that the memory and adventures of every leader of - banditti in every valley of the Highlands, could be - circumstantially preserved by oral tradition through more than - fifteen centuries. - - (10.) I shall observe, that the character of the author, from - all his publications, (for I shall mention nothing else,) - gives us the greatest reason to suspect him of such a - ludicrous imposition on the public. For to be sure it is only - ludicrous; or at most a trial of wit, like that of the - sophist, who gave us Phalaris' Epistles, or of him that - counterfeited Cicero's Consolation, or supplied the fragments - of Petronius. These literary amusements have been very common; - and unless supported by too violent asseverations, or - persisted in too long, never drew the opprobrious appellation - of impostor on the author. - - He writes an ancient history of Britain, which is plainly - ludicrous. He gives us a long circumstantial history of the - emigrations of the Belgae, Cimbri, and Sarmatae, so - unsupported by any author of antiquity that nothing but a - particular revelation could warrant it; and yet it is - delivered with such seeming confidence, (for we must not think - he was in earnest,) that the history of the Punic wars is not - related with greater seriousness by Livy. He has even left - palpable contradictions in his narrative, in order to try the - faith of his reader. He tells us, for instance, that the - present inhabitants of Germany have no more connexion with the - Germans mentioned by Tacitus, than with the ancient - inhabitants of Peloponnesus: the Saxons and Angles, in - particular, were all Sarmatians, a quite different tribe from - the Germans, in manners, laws, language, and customs. Yet a - few pages after, when he pretends to deliver the origin of the - Anglo-Saxon constitution, he professedly derives the whole - account from Tacitus. All this was only an experiment to see - how far the force of affirmation could impose on the credulity - of the public: but it did not succeed; he was here in the open - daylight of Greek and Roman erudition, not in the obscurity of - his Erse poetry and traditions. Finding the style of his - Ossian admired by some, he attempts a translation of Homer in - the very same style. He begins and finishes, in six weeks, a - work that was for ever to eclipse the translation of Pope, - whom he does not even deign to mention in his preface; but - this joke was still more unsuccessful: he made a shift, - however, to bring the work to a second edition, where he says, - that, notwithstanding all the envy of his malignant opponents, - his name alone will preserve the work to a more equitable - posterity! - - In short, let him now take off the mask, and fairly and openly - laugh at the credulity of the public, who could believe that - long Erse epics had been secretly preserved in the Highlands - of Scotland, from the age of Severus till his time. - - The imposition is so gross, that he may well ask the world how - they could ever possibly believe him to be in earnest? - - But it may reasonably be expected that I should mention the - external positive evidence, which is brought by Dr. Blair to - support the authenticity of these poems. I own, that this - evidence, considered in itself, is very respectable, and - sufficient to support any fact, that both lies within the - bounds of credibility, and has not become a matter of party. - But will any man pretend to bring human testimony to prove, - that above twenty thousand verses have been transmitted, by - tradition and memory, during more than fifteen hundred years; - that is, above fifty generations, according to the ordinary - course of nature? verses, too, which have not, in their - subject, any thing alluring or inviting to the people, no - miracle, no wonders, no superstitions, no useful instruction; - a people, too, who, during twelve centuries, at least, of that - period, had no writing, no alphabet; and who, even in the - other three centuries, made very little use of that imperfect - alphabet for any purpose; a people who, from the miserable - disadvantages of their soil and climate, were perpetually - struggling with the greatest necessities of nature; who, from - the imperfections of government, lived in a continual state of - internal hostility; ever harassed with the incursions of - neighbouring tribes, or meditating revenge and retaliation on - their neighbours. Have such a people leisure to think of any - poetry, except, perhaps, a miserable song or ballad, in praise - of their own chieftain, or to the disparagement of his rivals? - - I should be sorry to be suspected of saying any thing against - the manners of the present Highlanders. I really believe that, - besides their signal bravery, there is not any people in - Europe, not even excepting the Swiss, who have more plain - honesty and fidelity, are more capable of gratitude and - attachment, than that race of men. Yet it was, no doubt, a - great surprise to them to hear that, over and above their - known good qualities, they were also possessed of an - excellence which they never dreamt of, an elegant taste in - poetry, and inherited from the most remote antiquity the - finest compositions of that kind, far surpassing the popular - traditional poems of any other language; no wonder they - crowded to give testimony in favour of their authenticity. - Most of them, no doubt, were sincere in the delusion; the same - names that were to be found in their popular ballads were - carefully preserved in the new publication; some incidents, - too, were perhaps transferred from the one to the other; some - sentiments also might be copied; and, on the whole, they were - willing to believe, and still more willing to persuade others, - that the whole was genuine. On such occasions, the greatest - cloud of witnesses makes no manner of evidence. What Jansenist - was there in Paris, which contains several thousands, that - would not have given evidence for the miracles of Abbé Paris? - The miracle is greater, but not the evidence, with regard to - the authenticity of Ossian. - - The late President Forbes was a great believer in the second - sight; and I make no question but he could, on a month's - warning, have overpowered you with evidence in its favour. But - as finite added to finite never approaches a hair's breadth - nearer to infinite; so a fact incredible in itself, acquires - not the smallest accession of probability by the accumulation - of testimony. - - The only real wonder in the whole affair is, that a person of - so fine a taste as Dr. Blair, should be so great an admirer of - these productions; and one of so clear and cool a judgment - collect evidence of their authenticity. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[465:1] _European Magazine_, May, 1784, p. 327. - -[468:1] See this observation commented on by Blair, in vol. ii. p. 167. - -[468:2] Laing's History, iv. 496. Report of the Highland Society on -Ossian's Poems. - -[470:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[471:1] Laing's History, iv. 500. Report of the Highland Society. - -[471:2] See this referred to in Vol. II., p. 85. - - - END OF VOL. I. - - - EDINBURGH - - Printed by WILLIAM TAIT, 107, Prince's Street. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Abercrombie--General James, i. 212, 222, 311. - - Abingdon--Lord, ii. 185. - - Adam--John, architect, ii. 174, 187, 195, 286. - - ----, William--Lord Chief Commissioner, ii. 174. - His notices of Hume, 439. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 174, 286. - - Advocates' Library. - Hume as librarian, i. 367. - Its extent, 373. - French works removed from, as improper, 395. - Hume resigns librarianship of, ii. 18. - - Aiguillon--Duchesse de, ii. 175. - - Albemarle--Lord, i. 245-246. - - Alembert--D', i. 94; ii. 181. - Hume's friendship with, 218, 270, 323, 345, 348, 350, 354, 355, 377, - 489. - - Allen--Dr., his inquiry into the rise and progress of the royal - prerogative, ii. 122. - - Amelia--The Princess, ii. 292. - - Ancient Nations--Essay on the populousness of, i. 363. - - Anderson--Revd. George, i. 425. - His writings against Hume and Lord Kames, 428. - His death, 432. - - Anderson--Dr. Walter, i. 424. - - Annandale--Marquis of. - His invitation to Hume, i. 170. - His mental condition, 172. - Hume's residence with, 170, _et seq._ - - ----, Marchioness-Dowager of, i. 185. - Letter to, 203. - - Anson--Madame, ii. 236. - - Anstruther--General, i. 383. - - Antiquaries. - Their use to the historian, ii. 122-123. - - Antiquity, the populousness of. - Dissertation on, i. 326. - - Aquinas--His theory of association, i. 286. - Its alleged similarity to Hume's, 287. - - Argyle--Duke of, ii. 55. - - Armstrong--Dr., ii. 64, 148. - - Arnauld--Antony, i. 432. - - Artois--Comte d', ii. 178. - - Assembly--General. - Its proceedings against Hume, i. 429. - Overture to, regarding him, 430. - - Association--Hume's theory of, i. 286. - - Aylesbury--Lady, ii. 305, 385. - - - Bacon--Lord, ii. 67. - - Balance of trade--Hume's opinions on, i. 358. - - Balcarras--Earl of, letter to, i. 412. - His appearance, 413. - - Balfour--James of Pilrig, i. 160, 345; ii. 192, 414, 415. - - Bank--Cash credit in. - Its nature, i. 359. - - Banking--Hume's remarks on, i. 359. - - Barbantane--Marquise de, ii. 280, 309, 322, 360. - - Barré--Colonel, ii. 150, 289. - - Bastide--M., ii. 236, 241. - - Bath--Hume's visit to, ii. 495, _et seq._ - - Bayard--The Chevalier, ii. 441. - - Beauchamp--Lord, ii. 161, 162, 171, 183, 204, 245, 268, 287. - - Beauvais--Princess, ii. 497. - - Beauveau--Madame de, ii. 206. - - Beccaria, i. 121. - - Bedford--Duke of, ii. 279, 280, 285, 290. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 279. - - Bellman's Petition, i. 315, 317. - - Belot--Madame, her translation of Hume's works, ii. 176. - - Bentham, i. 121, 384. - - Berri--Duc de, ii. 178. - - Bertrand--Professor, ii. 187. - - Betham--Mr. and Mrs., i. 411. - - Birch--Dr., i. 416, 436; ii. 82. - - Black--Joseph. - Letters from, ii. 488, 514-515. - - Blacklock--Thomas, i. 385. - Hume's first acquaintance with, 388. - His ideas of light and colours, 389. - Account of his early life, 390. - Publication of his poems, 392. - Miscellaneous notices of, 393, 398; ii. 164, 454. - Letters from, 399. - - Blacklock--Mrs., ii. 401. - - Blackwell--Hume's criticism on his Court of Augustus, i. 434. - - Blair--Dr., i. 427; ii. 86, 115, 117, 139, 153, 167, 175, 192, 198. - Letters to, 180, 181, 193, 229, 265, 267, 286, 288, 297, 310, 312, - 318, 344, 365, 371, 386, 395, 421, 472. - - ----, Robert, President of the Court of Session, ii. 423. - - Blanc--Abbé le, i. 365. - His translations from Hume, 366. - Letter to, 406, 409; ii. 347. - - Bologna--University of, i. 151. - - Bon--Abbé le, his death, ii. 428. - - Bonne--Hume's account of, i. 249. - - Boswell--James, received Johnson in Hume's house, ii. 138, 139, 307, - 441. - - Boufflers--Madame de, ii. 72. - Account of, 90. - Her letters to Hume, 94, 99, 106, 110. - Letters to, 114, 205, 246, 247. - Notice of, 251, 279, 280, 298, 303, 323, 330, 346, 352, 353, 429. - Last letter to, 513. - - Bourgés--University of, i. 151. - - Bower--Archibald, ii. 58. - - Boyle--The Honourable Mr., i. 293. - - Brand--Mr., ii. 225. - - Breda--Hume's account of, i. 244. - - Brest, ii. 63. - - Brienne, Archbishop of Toulouse, ii. 283, 497. - - Bristol--Lord, ii. 407. - - Brodie--George, ii. 66. - - Brougham--Lord, ii. 348. - His opinion of Hume's Political Discourses, i. 354. - - Brown--Dr. John, ii. 23. - - Browne--Sir Thomas, i. 94. - - Bruce--Professor, ii. 192. - - Bruyére--La, i. 148. - - Buccleuch--Duke of, ii. 58, 227, 467. - - Buchan--Lord, ii. 455. - - Buckingham--Mrs., ii. 186. - - Buffon--M. de, ii. 181, 299. - - Bunbury--Mr. afterwards Sir Charles, ii. 159, 164, 189, 239, 277, 280. - - ----, Lady Sarah, ii. 239. - - Burke--Edmund, i. 351, 353; ii. 59, 333, 449. - - Burnet--James, Lord Monboddo, i. 394; ii. 204, 231. - - Bute--Lord, ii. 34, 149, 159, 162, 163, 187, 258, 265, 282, 290, 334, - 407; ii. 418. - - Butler--Samuel, ii. 90. - - ----, Bishop, i. 64, 143. - - - Caldwell--Sir James, i. 260. - - Calton Hill--Hume's monument on, ii. 518. - - Campbell--Dr. George, ii. 115, 116. - Letter to, 118. - Letter from, 119. - Notice of, 154. - - Carlyle--Dr., ii. 88, 164, 266, 472. - - Carraccioli, ii. 53. - - Carre--George, of Nisbet, i. 115. - - Cause and Effect--Hume's views of, i. 79. - Their effect on Kant, ib. - - Causes--unseen, aptly illustrated by Hume, i. 83. - - Charles Edward--his insurrection, i. 175. - Anecdotes of, ii. 462. - - Charlemont--Lord. - Description and anecdotes of Hume by, i. 270, 394; ii. 116, 223. - - Chatham--Lord, ii. 396, 406, 418. - Hume's dislike to, ii. 420, 422. - - Chaulieu, 510. - - Chesterfield--Lord, ii. 131, 160. - - Cheyne--Dr. George, i. 42. - His work, "The English Malady," i. 43. - - Chivalry--Essay on, i. 18-25. - - Choiseul--Duc de, ii. 228, 500. - - ----, Duchesse de, her civilities to Hume, ii. 169. - - Choquart--Abbé, ii. 242, 261, 262, 271, 273. - - Christianity--cannot be injured by theories purely metaphysical, i. - 86, 88. - - Church--Catholic. - Hume's treatment of, ii. 5. - - ----, Scottish Episcopal. - Its condition in Hume's time, ii. 6. - - ----, English. - Hume's sympathies with, ii. 9. - - Churchill--Charles, ii. 148. - - Chute--Mr., ii. 225. - - Cicero--Orations of. - Essay on, i. 144, 145. - - Clagenfurt in Carinthia. - Hume's account of, i. 264. - - Clairaut--M., ii. 295. - - Clarendon--as a historian, i. 404. - - Clark--General, ii. 172, 195. - - Clarke--Dr. Staniers, ii. 179. - - Cleghorn--William. - Appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy, i. 170. - - Clephane--Dr. - Letters to, i. 314, 376, 379, 381, 384, 397, 408, 433; ii. 38, 443. - - Clow--Mr., Professor of logic in the University of Glasgow, i. 351; - ii. 199. - - Club--The Poker. - Its proceedings, ii. 456. - - Coblentz--Hume's account of, i. 249. - - Cockburn--Mrs. - Letter from, ii. 230, 424, 449. - - Coke--Sir Edward, ii. 69. - - Colebroke--Sir George, ii. 460, 467. - - Coleridge--His charge against Hume, i. 286. - How disproved, 287. - - Cologne--Hume's account of, i. 248. - - Condé--Prince of, ii. 92. - - Constitutional theories--Hume's, ii. 65, 67, 73. - - Conti--Prince of, ii. 90, 221, 246, 297, 307. - - ----, Princess of, ii. 245. - - Conway--Marshal, ii. 156-157, 283, 284, 305, 307, 324, 326, 351, 365, - 371, 374. - - ----, Appoints Hume under-secretary, ii. 382, 396, 407. - - Corby castle, i. 226. - - Corneille, ii. 196. - - Coutts--Provost, i. 165. - - ----, Thomas, ii. 476. - - ----, James, ii. 476. - - Cowley, ii. 90. - - Craigie--Professor, i. 350. - - Crawford--James, i. 233; ii. 149, 500. - - Crébillon--His "L'Ecumoire," i. 395; ii. 428. - - Crowle--Anecdote regarding, i. 306. - - Cudworth, i. 94. - - Cullen--Dr. - Letter to, i. 350, 418. - Notice of, 411; ii, 199. - Letters from, ii. 488, 489, 515. - - Currency--Hume's views on, ii. 426. - - - D'Angiviller--M., ii. 216. - - Dalrymple--Sir David, i. 395; ii. 415, 416. - - ----, Sir John, ii. 37, 467. - - Dauphin of France--His attentions to Hume, ii. 177-178. - Notice of, 286. - - Davenport--Richard, ii. 313. - Gives Rousseau a retreat at Wooton, 319. - Notice of, 323, 327, 328. - Letter from, 335, 336, 343, 345, 364, 367, 368, 370. - Notice of, 374, 378, 379. - - Deffand--Madame du. - Character of, ii. 214. - Her quarrel with Mademoiselle de L'Espinasse, 215. - - De Lolme, i. 137. - - D'Epinay--Madame. - Anecdote from, ii. 224. - - Dettingen--Battle-field of, i. 252. - - Deyverdun, ii. 410. - - Dialogues concerning Natural Religion--Their characteristics, i. - 328-330. - Account of them in a letter to Sir Gilbert Elliot, 332; ii. 490. - - Dickson--David, ii. 383. - - Diderot, ii. 181, 220. - - D'Ivernois--M., ii. 325. - - Divine right--Hume's opinions on, i. 123-124. - - Dodwell--Mr., ii. 386. - - Donaldson--Alexander, i. 431; ii. 4, 82. - - Douglas--Mr., ii. 204. - - ----, Dr., afterwards Bishop of Carlisle, ii. 78, 87. - - ---- cause, ii. 150, 163, 203, 421, 423. - - ---- of Cavers, ii. 407. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 232. - - ----, Lady Jane, ii. 424. - - ----, Tragedy of. Hume's criticism on, i. 419. - Rehearsal of, 420. - - Dow--Colonel, ii. 461. - - Duclos, ii. 181, 347. - - Dupré de St. Maur--Madame, ii. 168, 347. - - Durand--M., ii, 378. - - Dysart--Mrs., of Eccles. - Hume's correspondence with, i. 337. - - Dyson--Mr., ii. 132, 408. - - - Earthquakes--Fears regarding, i. 298. - - Economy--Political. - See Political Economy. - - Edmondstoune--Colonel, i. 212, 397, 409. - Letter to, ii. 182. - Letter from, to Hume, 185. - Letters to, 187, 473. - Letter from, 474, 508. - - Education--On the influences of, i. 85. - - ----, State of, in Scotland, in 17th and 18th centuries, i. 151. - - Egmont--Countess of, ii. 299. - - Election--Westminster, in 1749, i. 305. - - Elibank--Lord, letters to, i. 192, 387; ii. 167, 252, 256, 257, 260. - - Elliot--Sir Gilbert, of Minto. - Hume's intercourse with, i. 320. - Letters to, 321, 324. - His criticism on Hume's Dialogue, 323. - Hume's reply to, 324. - Account of the "Epigoniad" to, ii. 25. - Letter to, 32. - Letters to, 144, 159, 189. - Letter from, 233. - Reply, 235. - Letters to, 240, 244, 261, 270, 273, 280, 406, 407, 414. - Letter from, 415. - Letters to, 432, 434. - - ----, Gilbert, younger of Minto, afterwards Governor-general of India, - ii. 233, 262, 271, 273, 281. - - Elliot--Sir John, of Stobs, ii. 407. - - ----, Anne, ii. 345. - - ----, Hugh, ii. 262, 271, 273, 281. - - ----, Lady, ii. 415, 446. - - ----, Miss, ii. 62, 90. - - ----, Peggy, ii. 62 - - "Emile"--Criticism on, ii. 114. - - England--History of. - Rapidity with which it was composed and printed, i. 381; ii. 121. - - "English Malady," by Dr. Cheyne--Extracts from, i. 43-46. - - Entails--Device for breaking, ii. 32. - - Epicurean--The. - Remarks on, i. 142. - - Epicurus, i. 142. - - "Epigoniad." - Some account of, ii. 25. - Hume's partiality to, 31. - Its rejection by the public, 34, 37. - - Eriot--Professor, ii. 241. - - Erskine--Sir Harry, i. 212. - Letter to, 219. - His illness, 264, 397, 409; ii. 159. - - Erskine--John, ii. 453. - - Essay--Historical, on chivalry and modern honour, i. 18, 25. - - Essays--Moral and Political, when published, and how, i. 136. - Their success, 143. - Third edition of, 289. - - ---- on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul, ii. 13. - - ---- on Political Economy, i. 354, 363. - - Eugene--Prince. - His palace, i. 262; ii. 501 - - - Fairholms--Bankruptcy of, ii. 195. - - Falconer--Sir David, of Newton, i. 1. - - Farquhar--John, ii. 154. - - Ferguson--Sir Adam, ii. 451, 457. - - ----, Professor Adam. - Hume's commendation of, ii. 32. - Notice of, 34. - Appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy, 45. - Notice of, 56. - "Sister Peg" attributed to him, 83. - Hume's mystification on the subject, 88. - Letter to, 172. - Letter from, 175. - His Essay on the History of Civil Society, 385, 409, 440, 461. - - ----, a painter, ii. 409. - - Fitzmaurice--Mr., ii. 163, 171. - - Fitzroy--Charles, ii. 407. - - Fléche--La. - Hume's residence in, i. 57. - Jesuit's College of, ib. - - Fleury--Cardinal, 498. - - Fontaine--La, Les Contes de, removed from the Advocates' Library, i. - 395. - - Forester--Colonel James. - His connexion with the Marquis of Annandale, i. 174. - Verses on his traveling to the Highlands of Scotland, ib. - - Fourqueux, ii, 348. - - France--State of morality in, during Hume's time, ii. 91. - - ----, Manners in, i. 53-54, 55-56; ii. 208. - - Frankfort--Hume's account of, i. 251, 252. - - Franklin--Benjamin, ii. 426, 427, 471, 476. - - Fraser--James, i. 305. - Hume's character of, 308. - - Free Trade--Hume as the founder of the principles of, ii. 520. - - French literature. - Its licentious features, i. 395. - - - Galliani--Abbé, ii. 428. - - Garden--Francis, ii. 204. - - Garrick--David, ii. 141, 309, 421. - - Gascoigne--Chief-justice, ii. 69. - - Genlis--Madame de, ii. 221, 301. - - Geoffrin--Madame. - Her position in Paris, ii. 210. - Specimen of her handwriting, 211. - Character of, 212, 471. - - Geometry and Natural Philosophy--Dissertation on, i. 421. - - Gerard--Alexander, ii. 55, 154, 155. - - Gibbon--Edward, ii. 409. - Letter from, 410. - Letter to, 411, 484. - - Gillies--Adam, ii. 138. - - Glamorgan--Lord, ii. 77, 78. - - Glanvill--Joseph, i. 83. - - Glover--Richard, ii. 141. - - Goodall--Walter, i. 374. - Anecdote regarding him, ib.; ii. 254. - - Gordon--Father, ii. 201. - - Government--Monarchical. - Hume's partiality for, i. 140. - - Gower--Earl, i. 305. - - Graffigny--M., ii. 390. - - ----, Madame de, ii. 391. - - Grafton--Duke of, ii. 284, 397, 407, 432. - - Grammont--Madame de, ii. 206. - - Gregory--Dr., ii. 154, 155. - - Grenville--George, ii. 191, 226, 265, 272, 274, 282. - - Greville--Mrs. - Her Ode to Indifference, i. 228. - - Grimm--Baron de, ii. 168, 223. - - Guerchy--M. de, ii. 290, 373. - - Guichiardin, i. 113. - His character of Alexander VI. 113-114. - - Guigne--M. de, ii. 446. - - Gustard--Doctor, ii. 504. - - - Hague--The. - Hume's account of, i. 243. - - Hamilton--Duke of, i. 417. - - ----, Sir William, i. 288; ii. 153. - - Halifax--Lord, ii. 160, 277. - - Hall--Edward, ii. 72. - - Hallam--Henry, ii. 66. - - Hardwicke--Lord, ii. 465. - - Harrington--Hume's opinion of, i. 361; ii. 481. - - Hawke--Admiral, ii. 63. - - Hay--Secretary to Prince Charles Edward, ii. 203. - - Helvétius--His "De l'Esprit," i. 121; ii. 52. - Proposes Hume to translate it, 52. - Hume excuses himself, 53. - Notice of, 54, 57, 168, 131, 387. - His intercourse with Prince Charles Edward, ii. 464. - - Henault--President, ii. 181, 266, 269. - - Henry--Robert. - His History of Britain, ii. 469. - Hume's review of it, 470. - - Hepburn--Rev. Thomas, ii. 472. - - Herbert--Mr., ii. 162. - - Hertford--Marquis of. - His appointment to the French Embassy, ii. 156. - Invitation to Hume, 156, 158. - Notice of, 159, 161, 164, 171, 172, 181. - Hume's opinion of, 183, 188, 197, 205, 232, 258, 269, 272, 274, 278. - Appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 282, 284, 388. - - ----, Marchioness of, ii. 92, 161, 171, 280. - - Hervey--Lady, ii. 225. - - Historians--Benefit to, from being familiar with military service, i. - 218, 221. - - ----, Knowledge requisite in, ii. 123-127. - - History--Essay on, ii. 123, 126. - - ---- of England--Hume's. - Preparation of, i. 378. - Rapidity of composition, 381. - Its reception, 414. - - Hobbes--Hume's remarks regarding, i. 77, 94. - - Holbach--Baron d', ii. 346, 353, 357. - - Holderness--Lord, ii. 194, 386, 463. - - Holingshed--Raphael, ii. 73. - - Holland--Lord, i. 403; ii. 239. - - Home--Alexander, Solicitor General, i. 208. - - ----, Alexander, of Whitfield. - Letter to, i. 2-3. - - ----, Lord. - His relationship to the Humes, i. 3. - - ----, Henry. - Letters to, i. 62, 105, 144. - Letter from, 204. - His Essays, 426. - Anderson's writings against, 428. - Attacked in the General Assembly, 429. - His Law Tracts, ii. 56, 131, 195, 454. - - ----, John. - His "Douglas" noticed, i. 316, 392, 411; ii. 17. - Hume's interest in him, i. 418. - Hume's opinion of his "Douglas," i. 419; ii. 32. - Suppressed dedication to, 16. - His "Siege of Aquileia," 81, 159, 166, 188, 191, 199, 383, 444, 456, - 475, 482. - His diary of a journey with Hume, 495. - Bequest of port wine to, 506, 507. - - ---- of Ninewells. - _See_ Hume. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 404. - - ----, Sir James, of Blackadder, i. 3. - - Hope--Lord, ii. 56. - - Human Nature, treatise of, i. 66. - Character of the work, 66, 97. - Its Style, 91. - - ----, Understanding, Philosophical Essays concerning, i. 271. - Inquiry concerning, 271. - - Human Actions, as the object of inductive philosophy, i. 275. - Application of this theory to history, 276. - - Hume--David, his birth and parentage, i. 2-3. - Account of his family, 2-7. - His opinions on the philosophy of family pride, 5. - Scenes of his boyhood, 8-9. - Account of his early years, 10-11. - Education, ib. - Early correspondence, 12-16. - Ambitious projects, 17. - Early writings, 18-19. - Essay on chivalry, 18-25. - Deserts the law, 26. - Letter to a physician, 30-39. - Goes to Bristol, 39. - Leaves Bristol for France, 48. - Visit to Paris, 49. - Residence at Rheims, 51-56. - Residence at La Fléche, 57. - Correspondence with Home, 62-65. - Preparing his treatise for press, 65. - Treatise of Human Nature, 66. - Treatise on the Passions, 99. - Review of Treatise in "Works of the Learned," 109. - Anecdote on the subject, 110. - Intercourse with Hutcheson, 112. - Application for a situation, 115. - Treatise on Morals, 120. - Extracts from memorandum book, 127-135. - Moral and Political Essays, their publication, 136. - Their character, 137-143. - His partiality for monarchical government, 140. - Opinions on the liberty of the press, 137-139. - Criticism on Cicero, 144-146. - Correspondence with Hutcheson, 146. - Correspondence with Mure, 153, 158. - Thoughts on religion, 162. - On prayer, 163. - Endeavours to obtain the professorship of moral philosophy, 165. - Opposition, 168-169. - Unsuccessful, 170. - Residence with the Marquis of Annandale, ib. - Dissension there, 182-190. - Its effect on Hume, 191. - He resigns the appointment, 193. - Different views of his resignation, 194. - State of society in Scotland at that time, 196. - Difficulty of means of subsistence, 196-197. - Position of the poor scholar, 199. - Offer from General St. Clair of the Secretaryship accepted, 208. - Expedition to the coast of France, 210. - One of the historians who have been familiar with military service, - 218. - Letter to Sir Harry Erskine, 219. - To Henry Home, 220. - To Col. Abercrombie, 222. - Desponding remarks on public affairs, 224. - Returns to Ninewells, 225. - Supposed character of himself, found amongst his papers, 226. - His poetical attempts, 227-229. - Question whether he was ever in love, 231. - Poetic epistle to John Medina, 234. - Appointment as secretary to the mission to the court of Turin, 235. - Letter to James Oswald, 236. - Views regarding history, ib. - Disinclination to leave his studies, 239. - New edition of his Essays, ib. - Philosophical Essays, ib. - His position with General St. Clair, 240. - Extracts from the Journal of his journey to Italy, 240-271. - Hague, 242. - Breda, 244. - Nimeguen, 247. - Bonne, 249. - Coblentz, ib. - Frankfurt, 251. - Wurtzburg, 252. - Ratisbon, 255. - Vienna, 257. - Knittlefeldt, 262. - Trent, 264. - Mantua, 265. - Turin, 266. - Publication of his Philosophical Essays, 271. - Inquiry concerning Human Understanding, 272. - Doctrine of Necessity, 275. - Doctrines on Miracles, 279-285. - His mode of treating the subject, 281. - Leading principle of his theory concerning, 282. - Third edition of Essays, Moral and Political, 289. - His mother's death, 291. - Silliman's story, 292. - Disproved, 293. - Correspondence with Dr. Clephane, 296. - Westminster election, 305. - Document regarding James Fraser, 308. - Letters to Col. Abercrombie, 311, 312. - To Dr. Clephane, 314. - Bellman's Petition, 315, 317. - Correspondence with Sir Gilbert Elliot, 324. - Dissertation on the Populousness of Antiquity, 326. - Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, 328. - Their character and tendency, 330. - Writes to Elliot regarding them, 331. - His brother's marriage, 337. - Letter to Mrs. Dysart, ib. - The independence of his mind, and moderation of his wishes, 340. - Letter to Michael Ramsay, 342. - His domestic arrangements, 344. - His theory of morals, 346. - Utilitarian system, 344. - Limited extent to which Hume carried it, 347. - Charge against it, 349. - Publication of Political Discourses, 350. - Is unsuccessful in his application for the chair of logic in - Glasgow, 350. - Letter to Dr. Cullen, 350. - Unfitness to be a teacher of youth, 352. - Political Discourses, 354. - Political economy, 355, 366. - Appointment, as keeper of the Advocates' Library, 367. - Letter to Dr. Clephane, 369, 376. - Account of domestic arrangements, 377. - Preparation of the History, 378. - Letter to Dr. Clephane, 379, 381. - Absorbing nature of his studies, 382. - Kindness to Blacklock, 385. - Letter to Joseph Spence, 388. - To Adam Smith, 393. - Gives Blacklock his salary as librarian, 393. - History of the Stuarts, 397. - Letter to Dr. Clephane, 397. - Conflicting opinions regarding the History of the Stuarts, 400. - Misapprehension regarding state of constitution, 403. - Inconsistencies between his philosophical and historical works, 405. - Letter to the Abbé le Blanc, 406. - To Dr. Clephane, 408. - To William Mure of Caldwell, 409. - To Mrs. Dysart, 410. - To Andrew Millar, 415. - To Adam Smith, 417. - Criticism on Home's "Douglas," 419. - _Edinburgh Review_, 422. - Attacked by Anderson, 429. - By the church courts, 430. - The second volume of the History of the Stuarts, ii. 5. - Its reception, ib. - Apologies for his treatment of religion, 10. - Unpublished preface, 11. - Essay on Suicide, 13. - Natural History of Religion, ib. - The suppressed Essays, ib. - Resigns the office of librarian, 18. - Dedication to Home, 21. - Third volume of the History, 22. - "Epigoniad," 25. - Warburton's attack, 35. - Goes to London, 47. - Correspondence with Dr. Robertson, 48. - Returns to Scotland, 65. - History of the Tudors, ib. - His constitutional theories, 67. - Alterations of the History in the direction of despotic principles, - 73. - Specimens of alterations, 74-77. - Specimens of alteration in style, 79, 80. - Letter to Millar, 81. - To Robertson, 83. - Macpherson's "Ossian," 85. - Letter to Dr. Carlyle, 88. - To Adam Smith, 89. - Madame de Boufflers, 90. - Correspondence with Madame de Boufflers, 94-98, 102. - Rousseau, 102. - Letters from Earl Marischal, 104. - Criticism on "Emile," 114. - Publication of the History anterior to the accession of the Tudors, - 120. - Intention to write an Ecclesiastical History, 130. - Correspondence with Millar, 132. - Residence in James's Court, 136. - Corrections of his works, 144. - His projects, 144-146. - Douglas cause, 150. - Criticisms on Reid's "Inquiry into the Human Mind," 153. - Accepts the office of secretary to the French embassy, 157. - Correspondence on the occasion, 157-160. - His celebrity in Paris, 167. - Feelings on the occasion, 171-172. - Attentions of the dauphin, 177. - Memoirs of James II., 179. - Advice to a clergyman, 185. - Secretaryship of the embassy, 188. - His pension, 191. - Letters from Paris, 193. - Madame de Boufflers, 205. - Social position in France, 207. - Notices by H. Walpole, 225. - Takes charge of Elliot's sons, 235. - Settles them in Paris, 244. - Liability to anger, 251. - Letter to Lord Elibank, 252. - Care of Elliot's sons, 273. - Secretaryship of legation, 278-281. - Is appointed to it, and to receive the salary, 284. - Expects to be secretary to Lord Hertford, as Lord-lieutenant of - Ireland, 287. - Is disappointed, 289. - Rousseau, 293. - Hume's first opinion of him, 299. - Brings him to England, 303. - Settles him at Wooton, 319. - Rousseau's quarrel, 326-330. - Publication of it, 354-360. - Walpole, 361. - Kindness to Rousseau, 381. - Appointed under secretary of state, 382. - His amiability of character, 390. - Compared with his nephew, Baron Hume, 402. - His interest in the education of his nephews, 403. - Influence in church patronage, 406. - His picture, 408. - Criticism of Robertson's Charles V., 412. - Views on currency, 426. - Returns to Edinburgh, 429. - Education of his nephews, 430. - His dislike of the English, 433. - His social character, 437. - Temper and disposition, 441. - His own account of his character, 442. - His conversation, 451. - Traditional anecdotes, 457. - Incidents regarding Prince Charles Edward, 462. - Review of Henry's History, 469. - Political opinions, 479. - Impatient for Smith's "Wealth of Nations," 483. - His last illness, 487, _et seq._ - His will, 489. - Disposal of his manuscripts, 490. - Publication of the "Dialogues on Natural Religion," 491-493. - Negotiations with Smith on the subject, ib. - His journey to Bath, 495, _et seq._ - John Home's account of their journey, ib. - His return, 506. - Party to bid him farewell, 507. - Correspondence, ib. - Smith's account of his latter days, 514. - Account of his death by Dr. Black and Dr. Cullen, 515. - His funeral and monument, 517-518. - Influence of his works on the opinions of the world, 519. - - Hume, or Home of Ninewells--Anecdote of, i. 6, 7. - - ----, John of Ninewells, brother to Hume, i. 213. - Narrative of the Expedition to the coast of France, addressed to, - 213-217. - His marriage, 337. - Letters to, ii. 290, 308, 396. - His character, 398. - - ----, David, afterwards Baron, ii. 400. - Compared with his uncle, 402, 405, 425, 474, 479, 480. - - ----, Joseph, of Ninewells, i. 1. - - ----, Joseph, younger. - His education, ii. 174, 175, 292, 398, 403, 404. - - ----, Director, i. 387. - - ----, John. - _See_ Home--John. - - ----, Mrs., verses by, i. 295. - - ----, Frank, ii. 199. - - Huntingdon--Lady, ii. 506. - - Hurd--Warburton's letter to, ii. 35. - Notice of, 50. - - Hutcheson--Francis, i. 111. - Hume's correspondence with, 112. - His reflexions on Hume's papers, 112. - Letter to, 117, 146. - - - Ideas--Hume's theory of, i, 70. - - Impressions--Hume's theory of, i. 73. - - Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, i. 344. - Its tendency, ib. - - ---- concerning Human Understanding, its publication, 273. - Views developed in it, 274. - - Irvine--Colonel, ii. 160. - - - James II.--Memoirs of, ii. 179, 200. - - James's Court--Hume's residence in, description of, ii. 136. - - Jardine--Dr., ii. 197, 230, 286. - His death, 317, 318. - - Jeffrey--Lord, i. 403. - - Jenyns--Soame, ii. 55, 59. - - Johnson--Dr., ii. 122. - Anecdote of, 138, 420. - - Johnstone of Hilton--Anecdote of, i. 6, 7. - - ----, Colonel John, i. 185. - - ----, Sir James--of Westerhall, i. 175, 176. - Letters to, 182, 184, 192. - Letter to, from Henry Home, 204. - - Johnstone--Sir William, ii. 168. - - Journal--Hume's, of his journey to Italy, i. 240, 271. - - Judge Advocate--Hume appointed, i. 212. - Claim for half-pay, 222. - - Justice Clerk--The, ii. 47. - - - Kames--Lord. - _See_ Home--Henry. - - Kant--Effect of Hume's Theory of Cause and Effect on, i. 79. - His justification of Hume, 88. - - Keith--Mr., ii. 431. - - Keith--General, ii. 498. - - Kenrick--William Shakspere, editor of _The London Review_, i. 110. - - Kincaid--Alexander, i. 431; ii. 4, 81, 82. - - Kirkpatrick--James, i. 387. - - Knittlefeldt in Styria, Hume's account of it, i. 262. - - Knox--John, ii. 58. - - - La Chapelle, ii. 270. - - La Harpe, ii. 468. - - Lansdowne--Lord, ii. 146. - - Larpent--Mr., ii. 245, 271. - - Law and government--first principles of, Hume's remarks on, i. 122. - - Leechman--Dr., i. 160. - Hume's criticism on his sermon, 161, 411. - - Legge, H. B., ii. 54. - - Leslie--Sir John. - His professorship, i. 89. - - L'Espinasse--Mademoiselle de. - Her position with Madame du Deffand, ii. 215. - D'Alembert's attachment to her, ib. - Notice of, 237. - - Lestock--Admiral Richard, i. 210. - - Leyden--University of, i. 151. - - Lindsay--Lord, i. 413. - - ----, Lady Anne. - Her remembrances of Hume, ii. 445. - - Liston--Mr., afterwards Sir Robert, ii. 245, 270, 271, 273, 280, 414. - - Literature, French--State of, ii. 166. - - Locke, i. 94; ii. 68. - - Logic--chair of, in Glasgow, i. 350. - - L'Orient--Port of, i. 211. - Expedition against, i. 211. - - Loughborough--Lord, ii. 425. - - Louis XV--Anecdotes of, 499. - - Lounds--Mr., ii. 368. - - Lyttelton--George Lord, i. 391, 433; ii. 55, 58, 79, 82, 226, 345. - - Luze--M. de, ii. 303-305. - - - Macdonald--Sir James, ii. 228, 229, 257, 267, 272, 349. - - Mackenzie--Henry, i. 58. - His ideas of Hume, ii. 438, 444. - - Mackenzie, Stuart, ii. 258, 259. - - Mackintosh--Sir James, i. 287. - - Macpherson--James, i. 462; ii. 85, 461. - - Malesherbes, ii. 219. - - Maletête--M., ii. 428. - - Mallet--David, ii. 3, 79, 82, 131, 140, 141. - Letter from, to Hume, 142. - Notice of, 144, 187, 232. - His death, 273. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 62, 141, 200, 232. - - Malthus, i. 364. - - Mansfield--Lord, ii. 163, 386, 415, 424, 466. - - Mantua--Hume's account of, i. 265. - - March--Lord, ii. 240, 241, 242, 245. - - Marchmont--Lord, extraordinary adventure of, i. 237. - - Marischal--Lord, ii. 103. - Letters from, 104, 105. - Notice of, 113, 139, 175, 179, 182, 217, 293, 295, 306, 313, 354, - 464, 465. - - Markham--Sir George, ii. 146. - - Marlborough--Duke of, ii. 141. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 141. - - Marmontel, ii. 181, 196. - - Martigny, ii. 52. - - Masserane--Prince, ii. 428. - - Mathematics. - Hume's application of, i. 73. - - Mauvillon--Eléazar, i. 365. - - Maxwell--Sir John, ii. 455. - - Mead--Dr., i. 316. - - Medina--John, poetic epistle to, by Hume, i. 234. - - Memorandum book--Hume's. - Extracts from, i. 126-135. - - Mesnieres--President, ii. 177. - - Metaphysics. - Theories purely such not dangerous to religion, i. 86, 88. - - Millar--Andrew, i. 415. - His views for Hume, ib. - Correspondence with, 421; ii. 2, 22, 34. - Notice of, 57, 64, 81. - Letters to, 130, 134, 135, 136, 138, 143, 147, 179, 199, 200, 231, - 263, 264, 272, 393, 408. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 180, 200, 232. - - ----, Professor, ii. 474, 479, 480, 481. - - Milton--Lord, ii. 46, 199. - - Minto--Lord, i. 320; ii. 233. - - Mirabeau, the elder, i. 365, 366. - - Miracles--Doctrines on, i. 279-286. - - Mirepoix--Madame de, ii. 244, 245. - - Monarchical character--sacredness of, Hume's ideas on, ii. 70. - - Monboddo--Lord, ii. 467. - _See_ Burnet. - - Moncrief--David, ii. 431. - - Money--Letter on the value of, i. 301. - - ----, Elements of the value of, according to Hume, i. 358-360. - - Montesquieu, i. 92, 139. - His Esprit des Loix, i. 304. - His appreciation of Hume's critical works, 305, 365, 387. - Letters from, to Hume, 426. - - Montigny--Trudaine de, letter from, ii. 167, 352. - - ----, Madame, ii. 348. - - Moore--Mr., ii. 436. - - Moral and Political Essays, their publication, i. 136. - - ---- Sentiments--Theory of, by Adam Smith, ii. 55. - Hume's appreciation of it, ib. - - Morals--Treatise on, i. 120. - Principles of, inquiry concerning, 344. - The utilitarian, limited extent to which it was carried by Hume, - 347. - Charge against it, 349. - - Morellet--The Abbé, ii. 276, 337, 425. - Letter to, 426. - - Morrice--Corbyn, ii. 147. - - Mount Stuart--Lord, ii. 184. - - Muirhead--Mr., i. 411. - - Mure--William, of Caldwell, i. 380. - Letters to, i. 153, 158, 162, 165; ii. 19, 158, 165, 199, 200, 390, - 391, 436, 478. - - Murray--Lady Elliot, letter from, ii. 446. - - ----, Alexander, i. 306; ii. 93, 101, 168, 258, 259. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 281. - - ----, of Broughton, i. 167. - - Musset Pathay, ii. 322, 325, 329, 330. - - - Nairne--Mr., ii. 456. - - National characters--Essay on, i. 290. - - Nationality--Hume's spirit of, ii. 31. - - Natural Philosophy--Hume's notes on, i. 95-96. - - Natural Religion--Dialogues concerning, i. 328, 330. - Arrangements regarding their publication, ii. 490-493. - - Necessity--Doctrine of, i. 275. - - Necker, ii. 487. - - Neville--Mr., ii. 171. - - Nicholas--Sir Harris. - His chronology of history, ii. 123. - - Nicol--Miss, ii. 361. - - Niebuhr, i. 218. - - Nimeguen--Hume's account of, i. 247. - - Ninewells, family residence of the Humes, i. 1, 8. - - Nivernois--Duc de, ii. 286, 431, 449. - - Nominalism--Hume's, a system of, i. 73. - - North--Lord, ii. 479. - - Norwich--Bishop of, ii. 54. - - Note-book--Hume's, extracts from, i. 126-135. - - - Obedience--Passive, Hume's opinions on, ii. 70. - - Orange--Prince of. - His popularity, i. 242. - - Ord--Baron, ii. 436. - - ----, Miss, ii. 436, 494. - - Original Contract--Essay of the, i. 290. - - Orleans--Duke of, ii. 269. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 269. - - Ormond--James Butler, Duke of, ii. 77. - - Ossian's Poems, ii. 85. - Essay on the authenticity of, 86. - Notice of, 180. - - ----, Papers regarding, i. 462. - - Ossory--Lord, ii. 322. - - Oswald--Sir Harry, ii. 188, 191. - - ----, James, of Dunnikier, i. 156, 222. - Letter to, 236, 301, 380. - Notice of, ii. 58. - Letter to, 149. - Notice of, 188. - Letter to, 275. - - - Page du Boccage--Madame de, ii. 213. - - Paley--William, i. 152. - - Palgrave--Sir Francis, ii. 122. - - Paoli, King of Corsica, ii. 307. - - Paris--Abbé, miracles at his tomb, i. 49-50. - - ----, Hume's first visit to, i. 49-51. - - ----, University of, i. 151. - - Passions--Treatise on, i. 99. - Some account of, 104. - Dissertation on, 421. - - Passive obedience--Essay of, i. 220. - - Percy--Bishop, ii. 385. - - Peyrou, du, ii. 335. - - Philosophical Essays concerning the Human Understanding. - When published, i. 271. - - Philosophy--System of, in the Treatise of Human Nature, i. 66, 97. - Its characteristic, 97. - - Physician--Letter to, i. 30-39, 41, 42. - - Piozzi--Mrs., ii. 139. - - Pitcairne--Dr., ii. 390. - - Pitfour--Lord, ii. 480. - - Pitt--William, i. 392; ii. 63, 159, 160, 162, 163. - - Platonist--The, i. 141. - - Pluche--The Abbé, i. 52. - - Plutarch--Hume's project of translating, i. 415, 417. - - Poetry by Hume, i. 228. - - ---- by Mrs. Home of Ninewells, i. 295. - - ---- By Miss A. B., to Mrs. H----, by her Black Boy, i. 296. - - Political Discourses--Publication of, i. 350. - Their character, 354. - - ---- Economy. Hume's ideas on, i. 355. - How received, 356. - State of opinion on, in the time of Hume, i. 355-356. - Effect of the French Revolution on, 357. - - Political Doctrines--Hume's, i. 123. - Their inconsistency with his historical works, 405. - - Pompadour--Madame de, ii. 169. - - Populousness of Ancient Nations--Essay on, i. 326, 363. - - Praslin--Duc de, ii. 172, 283, 290. - - ----, Duchess de, ii. 173. - - Press--Liberty of, i. 137-138. - - Prevôt--Abbé, i. 408; ii. 52. - - Primrose--Lady, ii. 462. - - Pringle--Sir John, president of the Royal Society of London, i. 165. - Letter to, ii. 162. - Letter from, 465, 476. - - Protestant Succession--Essay on, i. 365. - - Provence--Comte de, ii. 178. - - Prussia--King of, ii. 306, 309, 363. - - Prynne--William, i. 405. - - Puysieuls--Mons. de, ii. 204, 266. - - - Quesnay, i. 365. - - - Rabutin--Bussy, i. 306. - - Ralph--Mr., ii. 148. - - Ramsay--Allan, i. 421; ii. 135. - - ----, The Chevalier, i. 12, 53. - - ----, Michael, an early correspondent of Hume's, i. 11, 51, 107, 116. - Letter to, ii. 342. - - Ratisbon--Hume's account of, i. 255. - - Raynal--The Abbé, i. 365. - - Record Commission. - Works prepared by, ii. 121. - - Reid--Dr. Thomas; his "Inquiry into the Human Mind," ii. 151. - Intercourse with Hume, 153. - Letter from, 154. - - Religion--Hume's thoughts regarding, i. 162-164, 279. - His treatment of, ii. 5. - Tone in speaking of the Roman Catholic religion, ii. 6. - - ----, Hume's apologies for his treatment of, ii. 10. - - ----, Natural. - Dialogues concerning, i. 328; ii. 490. - Their character and tendency, i. 330. - - Republicanism--Hume's estimate of, ii. 481. - - _Review_--The original _Edinburgh_. - Its origin, i. 422. - - Rheims--Hume's residence in, i. 51-56. - - Rianecourt--Madame, ii. 351. - - Riccoboni--Madame, ii. 350. - - Richmond--Duke of, ii. 282, 290, 326. - - Rivière, i. 365. - - Robertson--Dr. William. - Hume's commendations of, ii. 32, 43. - Letter to, regarding Queen Mary, 48. - Correspondence with Hume, 49-55. - Notice of, 58. - Correspondence and notices, 83, 100, 176, 229, 252, 266, 270, 286, - 383. - Remarks by Hume on his History of Charles Fifth, 412, 445, 453, 470. - - Robinson--Sir Thomas, i. 257. - - Roche--La. - Story of, i. 58. - - Rockingham--Lord, ii. 282, 395, 396. - - Rodney--Admiral, ii. 61. - - Rohan--Louis, Prince de, ii. 221. - - Rollin, ii. 50. - - Romilly--Sir Samuel, ii. 220. - - Rougemont--M., ii. 330. - - Rousseau--Jean Jacques, ii. 102, 110, 112-113, 114, 187. - Takes up his abode at Motier Travers, 293. - Removes to St. Pierre, 294. - Goes to Strasburg, 296. - To Paris, ib. - The enthusiasm for him at Paris, 299. - Goes to England, 303, 308, 311, 312. - Hume's account of him, 315. - His judgment on his own works, 316. - Settlement at Wooton, 319. - Walpole's letter, 321. - Pension from the King of England, 324. - Quarrel with Hume, 326-380. - - Ruat--Professor, ii. 56, 62. - - Ruddiman--Thomas, i. 367; ii. 19. - - Russel--J., ii. 192. - - Rutherford--Dr., ii. 199. - - - Saducismus Triumphatus, i. 83. - - Sandwich--Lord, ii. 160. - - Sarsfield--Count, ii. 388. - - Saurin, ii. 387. - - Sceptic--The, i. 141. - Character of, 143. - - Scholar--The poor. - His position in Hume's time, i. 199. - - Scott of Scotstarvet, i. 416. - - ----, Sir Walter. - His remarks on Hume's poetical attempts, i. 226, 227; ii. 137. - - Selwin--George, ii. 240. - - Shaftesbury--Lord, i. 384. - - Sharp--Matthew, of Hoddam. - Letter to, i. 178-180, 386. - - Sheffield--Lord, ii. 409. - - Shelburne--Lord, ii. 405, 406. - - Short--Mr., ii. 64. - - Silliman--the American traveller. - His story regarding Hume, i. 291-293. - - Smellie--William, ii. 469. - - Smith--Adam. - His first introduction to Hume, i. 117. - His appointment to the chair of Moral Philosophy, 350. - The method of his political economy, 361. - Letters to, and notices of, 375, 393. - His correspondence with Hume, 417. - Letter to, ii. 16. - Hume's commendation of, 32. - Notice of, 58, 59. - Correspondence with, 89, 148, 150, 157, 160, 168, 227, 228, 348, - 349, 353, 388, 390, 395, 426, 429, 432, 433, 459, 461, 466, 471. - Letter to, on his "Wealth of Nations," 486. - Appointed Hume's literary executor, 490. - Letters to, 491. - Revocation of the nomination, 494. - His account of Hume's last moments, 509. - - Smollett--Tobias, ii. 53. - Hume's interest in, 405. - Letter from, 418. - Letter to, 419. - - Solitude--Hume's opinion on, i. 99. - - Spence--Joseph. - Letter to, i. 388. - Notice of, 435. - - Spinoza, i. 89. - - St. Clair--General. - His invitation to Hume, to act as secretary to the expedition to the - Coast of France, i. 208. - His expedition, ib. 440. - Appoints Hume secretary to the mission to the Court of Turin, 235, - 372. - - Stanislaus Augustus, King of Poland, ii. 91. - - Stevenson--John, ii. 46. - - Stewart--Dugald, i. 88, 89. - - ----, John, ii. 168, 180, 311, 321. - - Stobo--Captain Robert, ii. 418. - - Stoic--The, i. 141. - - Strahan--William, ii. 82-83, 412. - Hume's papers left to the charge of, 494. - Letters from, 477, 512. - - Stuart--Andrew, ii. 168, 175, 203, 423, 424, 466. - - ----, Dr., ii. 454. - - ---- Mackenzie, Mr., ii. 258. - - ----, Gilbert, ii. 414, 416, 456, 467. - His opinion of himself, 468. - Anecdotes regarding, 469. - His malignity, ib. 470. - - Stuarts--History of the, i. 399. - Character of the work, ib. - Conflicting opinions regarding, 400. - Charge brought against, 401. - Tendency, 402. - Its reception, 414. - Second volume, ii. 2. - - Suard--M. - Letter to, ii. 357. - - Suicide--Hume's ideas on, ii. 15. - - Sympathy--Criticism on Smith's ideas on, ii. 60. - - - Tate--Christopher, ii. 432. - - Tavistock--Lord, ii. 239. - - Teacher of youth--Hume's unfitness for, i. 352. - Qualifications requisite, ib. - - Temple--Lord, ii. 163. - - Tessé--Countess of, ii. 206. - - Thomson--Dr. John, i. 351, 353. - - Torbay, ii. 63. - - Townsend--Lord, ii. 407. - - ----, Charles, ii. 58, 132, 133, 134, 304, 305. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 305. - - Trade--Free. - _See_ Free Trade. - - Tragedy--Dissertation on, i. 421. - - Trail--Dr., ii. 204, 245, 456. - - Treatise of Human Nature, when published, i. 66. - Character of the work, 66-97. - Its service to philosophy, 90. - Characteristics of the system, 97. - Hume's condition during its composition, 96. - Its reception, 107-109. - Treatise on the Passions, some account of, 99. - Treatise on Morals, its character, 120-123. - - Trent--Hume's account of, i. 264. - - Trentham--Lord, i. 305. - - Tronchin, ii. 186, 338, 345. - - Tucker. - His Light of Nature, i. 150. - - ----, Dr., ii. 428. - - Turgot, i. 365. - Hume's friendship with, ii. 219, 351, 354. - Letters from, 352, 381, 428. - - Tweeddale--Marquis of, ii. 383. - - - Understanding--The Treatise on, i. 99. - - Universities--foreign. - The resort of Scottish youth, i. 150. - - Utilitarian system--Hume's development of, i. 121, 344. - Limited extent to which he carried it, 347. - - - Vain man--Hume's character of, i. 104. - - Vallière--Duc de, ii. 268. - - Vandeput--Sir George, i. 105. - - Vauban, i. 365. - - Vasseur--Thérèse le, ii. 294, 299, 305, 307, 323, 352, 366, 370. - - Verdelin--Madame de, ii. 295. - - Vienna. - Hume's account of the court there, and his introduction, i. 257-259. - - Vincent--Captain Philip, i. 177, 180. - His position with the Marquis of Annandale, 181, 186-189. - Letter from, 189. - Terms specified by, of Hume's engagement with the Marquis of - Annandale, 201, 203. - - Voltaire, i. 219; ii. 57, 126, 166, 184, 195, 323, 348, 358. - His "Henriade," Hume's opinion of, 440. - - - Walker--Professor, ii. 334. - - Wallace--Dr. Robert, i. 364, 387; ii. 193. - - Walpole, Lady, ii. 138. - - ----, Sir Robert. - Hume's character of, i. 289. - - ----, Horace. - Anecdote from, i. 197; ii. 54, 55, 159. - His notices of Hume, 226. - Account of his own reception in Paris, 226. - His letter in the name of the King of Prussia, 306, 321. - His Memoirs of George III., 282, 345, 351. - Letter to, 355, 361. - - Warburton--Bishop. - His letter to Hurd, i. 285. - Notice of, ii. 35. - His letter against Hume, ib. - His Remarks on Hume's essays, ib. - Notice of, 38, 64, 454. - - Warton--Thomas, ii. 51. - - Wealth of Nations--Hume's opinion of the, ii. 486. - - Wedderburn--Alexander, i. 379; ii. 471. - - Westminster election, in 1749, i. 305. - - Weymouth--Lord, ii. 384. - - Wilkie--William. - His "Epigoniad," ii. 25, 29. - His education, 26. - - Wilkes--John, ii. 148, 202, 282, 422. - - Wilson--Mr., type-founder, ii. 59. - - Wood--Mr., ii. 63, 182. - - Worcester--Marquis of. - _See_ Glamorgan--Lord. - - Wray--Mr., ii. 465. - - Wroughton--Mr., ii. 272. - - Wurtzburg--Hume's account of, i. 252. - - - York--Archbishop of, ii. 386. - - ----, Duke of, ii. 310. - - Yorke--Mr., ii. 59. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -The following words use an oe ligature in the original: - - coeur manoeuvres - Croesus oeuvres - Foedera Phoenicians - foetid Ploemeur - -The following corrections have been made to the text: - - Page xvii: Observations on Miracles--[dash missing in - original]New Edition - - Page 62: but, in their early intercourse[original has - "intercouse"], when his senior - - Page 150: Edinb.[original has "Edinr."] Jan. 10, 1743. - - Page 154: "[quotation mark missing in original]I say not a - word of Mr. Hutcheson - - Page 158: the triennial bill, for the pension[original has - "pensiou"] bill - - Page 210: commanded by Admiral[original has "Amiral"] Richard - Lestock - - Page 252: "[quotation mark missing in original]Next post - beyond Hanau - - Page 283: we would at once maintain to be impossible[original - has "impossibile"] - - Page 313: delivered you by Mr.[period missing in original] - William Cockburn - - Page 324: that part of your work.[original has extraneous - quotation mark] - - Page 326: is beyond human capacity[original has "ca acity"] - - Page 333: '_If the idea of cause and effect is nothing but - vicinity_,'[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 391: subscription for supporting[original has - "suppporting"] him during five years - - Page 400: it has frequently been the means[original has - "mean"] of throwing - - Page 427: if this were necessary!"[quotation mark missing in - original] - - Page 431: and he[original has "be"] brought before the - Presbytery of Edinburgh - - Page 457: le dessein de traduire l'ouvrage[original has - "l'ourage"] - - Page 458: J'ai[original has "Jai"] l'honneur d'être, &c. - - Page 472: necessity of that precaution,[comma missing in - original] any man - - Page 480: never approaches a hair's breadth[original has - "hair'sbreadth"] nearer - - [257:1] [original has extraneous double quote]Sir T. Robinson - was a tall uncouth man - - [325:1] La Perpétuité de la Foi, de l'Eglise[original has "l' - Eglise"] Catholique - - [353:1] into which they had been admitted."[original has - single quote] - - [365:3] Discours Politiques traduits de L'Anglais[original - has "L' Anglois"] - - [434:1] épitres[original has "èpitres"] de Cicéron - - [434:1] les Bourgmestres de la ville de Rome."[quotation mark - missing in original] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life and Correspondence of David Hume, -Volume I (of 2), by John Hill Burton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID HUME, VOLUME I *** - -***** This file should be named 42843-8.txt or 42843-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/8/4/42843/ - -Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Life and Correspondence of David Hume, Volume I (of 2) - -Author: John Hill Burton - -Release Date: May 30, 2013 [EBook #42843] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID HUME, VOLUME I *** - - - - -Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - -</pre> - - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42843 ***</div> <div class="notebox"> <p>Transcriber's Notes: Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been @@ -20616,384 +20575,6 @@ missing in original]</p> </div> </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life and Correspondence of David Hume, -Volume I (of 2), by John Hill Burton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID HUME, VOLUME I *** - -***** This file should be named 42843-h.htm or 42843-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/8/4/42843/ - -Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Life and Correspondence of David Hume, Volume I (of 2) - -Author: John Hill Burton - -Release Date: May 30, 2013 [EBook #42843] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID HUME, VOLUME I *** - - - - -Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been -left as in the original. Greek words have been transliterated and placed -between +plus signs+. Words in italics in the original are surrounded by -_underscores_. A row of asterisks represents a thought break. Letters -superscripted in the original are surrounded by {braces}. Ellipses match -the original. A complete list of corrections follows the text. - -The original has two different kinds of blockquotes: one uses a smaller -font than the main text, and the other has wider margins. In this text, -the blockquotes in a smaller font have wider margins, and the other -blockquotes have two blank lines before and after the quotation. An -explanation of the different kinds of quotations can be found at the end -of the "ADVERTISEMENT". - -The Index that was printed at the end of Volume II. of this series has -been included at the end of this Volume for reference purposes. - - - - - LIFE AND - - CORRESPONDENCE OF - - DAVID HUME. - - - [Illustration: Bust of David Hume] - - - - - LIFE - - AND - - CORRESPONDENCE - - OF - - DAVID HUME. - - FROM THE PAPERS BEQUEATHED BY HIS NEPHEW TO THE - ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH; AND OTHER - ORIGINAL SOURCES. - - - BY JOHN HILL BURTON, ESQ. - ADVOCATE. - - - VOLUME I. - - - EDINBURGH: - WILLIAM TAIT, 107, PRINCE'S STREET. - MDCCCXLVI. - - - - - EDINBURGH: - Printed by WILLIAM TAIT, 107, Prince's Street. - - - - - TO THE PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL - - OF - - THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH, - - THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED - - BY - - THEIR MOST OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, - - J. H. BURTON. - - - - -ADVERTISEMENT. - - -In this work, an attempt has been made to connect together a series of -original documents, by a narrative of events in the life of him to whom -they relate; an account of his literary labours; and a picture of his -character, according to the representations of it preserved by his -contemporaries. The scantiness of the resources at the command of -previous biographers, and the extent and variety of the new materials -now presented to the world, render unnecessary any other apology for the -present publication. How far these materials have been rightly used, -readers and critics must judge; but I may be perhaps excused for -offering a brief explanation of the spirit in which I desired to -undertake the task; and the responsibility I felt attached to the duty, -of ushering before the public, documents of so much importance to -literature. - -The critic or biographer, who writes from materials already before the -public, may be excused if he give way to his prepossessions and -partialities, and limit his task to the representation of all that -justifies and supports them. If he have any misgivings, that, in -following the direction of his prepossessions, he may not have taken the -straight line of truth, he may be assured, that if the cause be one of -any interest, an advocate, having the same resources at his command, -will speedily appear on the other side. But when original manuscripts -are for the first time to be used, it is due to truth, and to the desire -of mankind to satisfy themselves about the real characters of great men, -that they should be so presented as to afford the means of impartially -estimating those to whom they relate. We possess many brilliant -Eulogiums of the leaders of our race--many vivid pictures of their -virtues and their vices--their greatness or their weakness. But if a -humbler, it is perhaps a no less useful task, to represent these -men--their character, their conduct, and the circumstances of their -life, precisely as they were; rejecting nothing that truly exemplifies -them, because it is beneath the dignity of biography, or at variance -with received notions of their character and the tendency of their -public conduct. The desire to have a closer view of the fountain head -whence the outward manifestations of a great intellect have sprung, is -but one of the many examples of man's spirit of inquiry from effects to -their causes; and the desire will not be gratified by reproducing the -object of inquiry in all the pomp and state of his public intercourse -with the world, and keeping the veil still closed upon his inner nature. -It is difficult to write with mere descriptive impartiality, and without -exhibiting any bias of opinion, on matters which are, at the same time, -the most deeply interesting to mankind, and the objects of their -strongest partialities. Though the task that was before me was simply to -describe, and never to controvert, I do not profess to have avoided all -indications of opinion in the departments of the work which have the -character of original authorship. I have the satisfaction, however, of -reflecting, that the documents, which are the real elements of value in -this work, are impartially presented to the reader, and that nothing is -omitted which seemed to bear distinctly on the character and conduct of -David Hume. - -I now offer a few words in explanation of the nature of these original -documents. The late Baron Hume had collected together his uncle's -papers, consisting of the letters addressed to him, the few drafts or -copies he had left of letters written by himself, the letters addressed -_by_ him to his immediate relations, and apparently all the papers in -his handwriting, which had been left in the possession of the members of -his family. To these the Baron seems to have been enabled to add the -originals of many of the letters addressed by him to his intimate -friends, Adam Smith, Blair, Mure, and others. The design with which this -interesting collection was made, appears to have been that of preparing -a work of a similar description to the present; and it is a misfortune -to literature that this design was not accomplished. On the death of -Baron Hume, it was found that he had left this mass of papers at the -uncontrolled disposal of the Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. -This learned body, after having fully considered the course proper to be -adopted in these circumstances, determined that they would permit the -papers to be made use of by any person desirous to apply them to a -legitimate literary purpose, who might enjoy their confidence. Having -for some time indulged in a project of writing a life of Hume, postponed -from time to time, on account of the imperfect character of the -materials at my disposal, I applied to the Council of the Royal Society -for access to the Hume papers; and after having considered my -application with that deliberation which their duty to the public as -custodiers of these documents seemed to require, they acceded to my -request. The ordinary form of returning thanks for the privilege of -using papers in the possession of private parties, appears not to be -applicable to this occasion; and I look on the concession of the Council -as conferring on me an honour, which is felt to be all the greater, that -it was bestowed in the conscientious discharge of a public duty. - -The Hume papers, besides a manuscript of the "Dialogues on Natural -Religion," and of a portion of the History, fill seven quarto volumes of -various thickness, and two thin folios. In having so large a mass of -private and confidential correspondence committed to their charge, the -Council naturally felt that they would be neglecting their duty, if they -did not keep in view the possibility that there might be in the -collection, allusions to the domestic conduct or private affairs of -persons whose relations are still living; and that good taste, and a -kind consideration for private feelings should prevent the accidental -publication of such passages. On inspection, less of this description of -matter was found than so large a mass of private documents might be -supposed to contain. There is no passage which I have felt any -inclination to print, as being likely to afford interest to the reader, -of which the use has been denied me; and I can therefore say that I have -had in all respects full and unlimited access to this valuable -collection. Before leaving this matter, I take the opportunity of -returning my thanks for the kind and polite attention I have received -from those gentlemen of the Council, on whom the arrangements for my -getting access to these papers, imposed no little labour and sacrifice -of valuable time. - -A rumour has obtained currency regarding the contents of these papers, -which seems to demand notice on the present occasion. - -It is stated in _The Quarterly Review_,[xi:1] that "those who have -examined the Hume papers--which we know only by report--speak highly of -their interest, but add, that they furnish painful disclosures -concerning the opinions then prevailing amongst the clergy of the -northern metropolis: distinguished ministers of the gospel encouraging -the scoffs of their familiar friend, the author of 'the Essay upon -Miracles;' and echoing the blasphemies of their associate, the author of -the 'Essay upon Suicide!'" I have the pleasing task of removing the -painful feelings which, as this writer justly observes, must attend the -belief in such a rumour, by saying that I could not find it justified -by a single sentence in the letters of the Scottish clergy contained in -these papers, or in any other documents that have passed under my eye. I -make this statement as an act of simple justice to the memory of men to -whose character, being a member of a different church, I have no -partisan attachment: and I may add that, in the whole course of my -pretty extensive researches in connexion with Hume and his friends, I -found no reason for believing that letters containing evidence of any -such frightful duplicity ever existed. - -Among these papers, a variety of letters, chiefly from eminent -foreigners, though interesting in themselves, were entitled to no place -in the body of this work, as illustrative of the life and character of -Hume. These I had intended to print in an appendix, believing that, -though not directly connected with my own project, the lovers of -literature would not readily excuse me for neglecting the opportunity -afforded by my access to these papers, for adding to the stock of the -letters of celebrated men. But the work, according to its original scope -and design, continuing to increase under my hands, I found that if it -contained the documents specially referred to in the text, its bulk -would be sufficiently extended, and I have determined to let the other -papers here alluded to follow in a separate volume, which will contain -letters to Hume from D'Alembert, Turgot, Diderot, Helvetius, Franklin, -Walpole, and other distinguished persons. - -The reader will find that many original documents printed in this -collection have been obtained from other sources than the Hume papers. -My acknowledgments are particularly due to the Earl of Minto, for the -liberality with which he allowed me the uncontrolled use of the large -and valuable collection of correspondence between Hume and Sir Gilbert -Elliot. For the letters in the Kilravock collection I am indebted to -Cosmo Innes, Esq., sheriff of Morayshire; and I obtained access to those -addressed to Colonel Edmondstoune, through the polite intervention of -George Dundas, Esq., sheriff of Selkirkshire. I am obliged to the -kindness of Lord Murray for much assistance in obtaining materials and -information for this work; and to Robert Chambers, Esq., who has been -accustomed from time to time, to preserve such letters and other -documents connected with Scottish biography, as came under his notice, I -have to offer my thanks for the whole of his collections regarding Hume, -which he generously transferred to me. - -In the use of printed books, where the Advocates' Library, to which I -have professional access, has failed me, I have found the facilities for -consulting the select and well arranged collection of the Writers to the -Signet of great service. - -I owe acknowledgments to many friends for useful advice in the conduct -of the work. To one especially, who, after having long occupied a -distinguished place in the literature of his country, permits his -friends still to enjoy the social exercise of those intellectual -qualities that have delighted the world, I am indebted for such critical -counsel as no other could have given, and few would have had the -considerate kindness to bestow, were they able. - -Of the two portraits engraved for this work, that which will, probably, -most strikingly attract attention, is taken from a bust, of coarse and -unartistic workmanship, but bearing all the marks of a genuine likeness. -It was moulded by a country artist, at the desire of Hume's esteemed -friend, Professor Ferguson; and I am under obligations to his son, Sir -Adam, for the privilege of using it on this occasion, and to Sir George -Mackenzie, for having kindly mentioned its existence, and exerted -himself in its recovery, after it had been long lost sight of. The -medallion, from which the other portrait is taken, is in the possession -of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq., by whom I was presented with the -engraved plate, from which the fac simile of a letter, addressed by Hume -to his collateral ancestor, is printed. - -_Edinburgh, February, 1846._ - - *.* It may be right to explain, that the two sizes of type, - used in this work, were first adopted with the design of - presenting all letters addressed to Hume, all extracts, and - all letters from him with which the public is already - familiar, in the smaller type, in order that the reader coming - to a document with which he is already acquainted, might see - at once where it ends. This arrangement was accidentally - broken through, several letters having been printed in the - larger that should have appeared in the smaller type. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[xi:1] No. LXXIII. p. 555. - - - - -CONTENTS OF VOLUME FIRST. - - -ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I. - - Portrait of Hume from a Medallion, _Frontispiece_. - - Fac simile of a letter by Hume, Page 178 - - -CHAPTER I. - -1711-1734. AET. 0-23. - - Birth--Parentage--His own account of his Ancestors--Local - associations of Ninewells--Education--Studies--Early - Correspondence--The Ramsays--Specimen of his early Writings-- - Essay on Chivalry--Why he deserted the Law--Early ambition to - found a School of Philosophy--Letter to a Physician describing - his studies and habits--Criticism on the Letter--Supposition - that it was addressed to Dr. Cheyne--Hume goes to Bristol. 1 - - -CHAPTER II. - -1734-1739. AET. 23-27. - - Hume leaves Bristol for France--Paris--Miracles at the Tomb of - the Abbe Paris--Rheims--La Fleche--Associations with the Abbe - Pluche and Des Cartes--Observations on French Society and - Manners --Story of La Roche--Return to Britain--Correspondence - with Henry Home--Publication of the first and second volume of - the Treatise of Human Nature--Character of that Work--Its - influence on Mental Philosophy. 48 - - -CHAPTER III. - -1739-1741. AET. 27-29. - - Letters to his friends after the publication of the first and - second volume of the Treatise--Returns to Scotland--Reception - of his Book--Criticism in "The Works of the Learned"--Charge - against Hume of assaulting the publisher--Correspondence with - Francis Hutcheson--Seeks a situation--Connexion with Adam - Smith--Publication of the third volume of the Treatise-- - Account of it--Hume's notes of his reading--Extracts from his - Note-books. 105 - - -CHAPTER IV. - -1741-1745. AET. 30-34. - - Publication of the Essays, Moral and Political--Their - Character--Correspondence with Home and Hutcheson--Hume's - Remarks on Hutcheson's System--Education and Accomplishments - of the Scottish Gentry--Hume's Intercourse with Mure of - Caldwell and Oswald of Dunnikier--Opinions on a Sermon by Dr. - Leechman--Attempts to succeed Dr. Pringle in the Chair of Moral - Philosophy in Edinburgh. 136 - - -CHAPTER V. - -1745-1747. AET. 34-36. - - Hume's Residence with the Marquis of Annandale--His Predecessor - Colonel Forrester--Correspondence with Sir James Johnstone and - Mr. Sharp of Hoddam--Quarrel with Captain Vincent--Estimate of - his Conduct, and Inquiry into the Circumstances in which he was - placed--Appointed Secretary to General St. Clair--Accompanies - the expedition against the Court of France as Judge-Advocate-- - Gives an Account of the Attack on Port L'Orient--A tragic - Incident. 170 - - -CHAPTER VI. - -1746-1748. AET. 35-37. - - Hume returns to Ninewells--His domestic Position--His attempts - in Poetry--Inquiry as to his Sentimentalism--Takes an interest - in Politics--Appointed Secretary to General St. Clair on his - mission to Turin--His journal of his Tour--Arrival in Holland-- - Rotterdam--The Hague--Breda--The War--French Soldiers--Nimeguen - --Cologne--Bonn--The Rhine and its scenery--Coblentz--Wiesbaden - --Frankfurt--Battle of Dettingen--Wurzburg--Ratisbon--Descent - of the Danube--Observations on Germany--Vienna--The Emperor and - Empress Queen--Styria--Carinthia--The Tyrol--Mantua--Cremona-- - Turin. 225 - - -CHAPTER VII. - -1748-1751. AET. 37-40. - - Publication of the "Inquiry concerning Human Understanding"-- - Nature of that Work--Doctrine of Necessity--Observations on - Miracles--New Edition of the "Essays, Moral and Political"-- - Reception of the new Publications--Return Home--His Mother's - Death--Her Talents and Character--Correspondence with Dr. - Clephane--Earthquakes--Correspondence with Montesquieu-- - Practical jokes in connexion with the Westminster Election-- - John Home--The Bellman's Petition. 271 - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -1751-1752. AET. 40-41. - - Sir Gilbert Elliot--Hume's intimacy with him--Their Philosophical - Correspondence--Dialogues on Natural Religion--Residence in - Edinburgh--Jack's Land--Publication of the "Inquiry concerning - the Principles of Morals"--The Utilitarian Theory--Attempt to - obtain the Chair of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow--Competition - with Burke--Publication of the "Political Discourses"--The - foundation of Political Economy--French Translations. 319 - - -CHAPTER IX. - -1752-1755. AET. 41-44. - - Appointment as keeper of the Advocates' Library--His Duties-- - Commences the History of England--Correspondence with Adam - Smith and others on the History--Generosity to Blacklock - the Poet--Quarrel with the Faculty of Advocates--Publication of - the First Volume of the History--Its reception--Continues the - History--Controversial and Polemical attacks--Attempt to subject - him, along with Kames, to the Discipline of Ecclesiastical - Courts--The leader of the attack--Home's "Douglas"--The first - Edinburgh Review. 367 - - -APPENDIX. - - Fragments of a Paper in Hume's handwriting, describing the - Descent on the Coast of Brittany, in 1746, and the causes of - its failure. 441 - - Letters from Montesquieu to Hume, 456 - - ---- the Abbe le Blanc to Hume, 458 - - Documents relating to the Poems of Ossian, 462 - - Essay on the Genuineness of the Poems, 471 - - - - -THE LIFE - -OF - -DAVID HUME. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -1711-1734. AET. 0-23. - - Birth--Parentage--His own account of his Ancestors--Local - associations of Ninewells--Education--Studies--Early - Correspondence--The Ramsays--Specimen of his early Writings-- - Essay on Chivalry--Why he deserted the Law--Early ambition to - found a School of Philosophy--Letter to a Physician describing - his studies and habits--Criticism on the Letter--Supposition - that it was addressed to Dr. Cheyne--Hume goes to Bristol. - - -David Hume was born at Edinburgh, on the 26th of April,[1:1] 1711. He -was the second son of Joseph Hume, or Home, proprietor of the estate of -Ninewells, in the parish of Chirnside, in Berwickshire. His mother was a -daughter of Sir David Falconer of Newton, who filled the office of Lord -President of the Court of Session from 1682 to 1685, and is known to -lawyers as the collector of a series of decisions of the Court of -Session, published in 1701. His son, the brother of Hume's mother, -succeeded to the barony of Halkerton in 1727. Mr. Hume the elder, was a -member of the Faculty of Advocates.[1:2] He appears, however, if he -ever intended to follow the legal profession as a means of livelihood, -to have early given up that view, and to have lived, as his eldest son -John afterwards did, the life of a retired country gentleman. - -It is an established rule, that all biographical attempts of -considerable length, shall contain some genealogical inquiry regarding -the family of their subject. The present writer is relieved both of the -labour of such an investigation, and the responsibility of adjusting it -to the appropriate bounds, by being able to print a letter in which the -philosopher has himself exhibited the results of an inquiry into the -subject. - - -DAVID HUME _to_ ALEXANDER HOME _of Whitfield_. - -"_Edinburgh, 12th April, 1758._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I was told by Mrs. Home, when she was in town, that you -intended to make some researches into our family, in order to give them -to Mr. Douglas, who must insert them, or the substance of them, into his -account of the Scottish nobility.[2:1] I think that your purpose is very -laudable, and is very obliging to us all; and for this reason I shall -inform you of what I know of the matter. These hints will at least serve -to point out to you more authentic documents. - -"My brother has no very ancient charters: the oldest he has, are some -charters of the lands of Horndean. There he is designated Home, or Hume, -of Ninewells. The oldest charters of Ninewells are lost. It was always -a tradition in our family, that we were descended from Lord Home, in -this manner. Lord Home gave to his younger son the lands of Tinningham, -East Lothian. This gentleman proved a spendthrift and dissipated his -estate, upon which Lord Home provided his grandchild, or nephew, in the -lands of Ninewells as a patrimony. This, probably, is the reason why, in -all the books of heraldry, we are styled to be cadets of Tinningham; and -Tinningham was undoubtedly a cadet of Home. I was told by my grand-aunt, -Mrs. Sinclair of Hermiston, that Charles earl of Home told her, that he -had been looking over some old papers of the family, where the Lord Home -designs Home of Ninewells either his grandson or nephew, I do not -precisely remember which. - -"The late Sir James Home of Blackadder showed me a paper, which he -himself had copied a few days before from a gravestone in the churchyard -of Hutton: the words were these--'Here lies John Home of Bell, son of -John Home of Ninewells, son of John Home of Tinningham, son of John Lord -Home, founder of Dunglas.' - -"I find that this Lord Home, founder of Dunglas, was the very person -whom Godscroft says went over to France with the Douglas, and was father -to Tinningham: so thus the two stories tally exactly. He was killed -either in the battle of Crevant or Verneuil, gained by the Duke of -Bedford, the regent, against the French. Douglas fell in the same -battle. I think it was the battle of Verneuil. All the French and -English histories, as well as the Scotch, contain this fact. This Lord -Home was your ancestor, and ours, lived in the time of James the First -and Second of Scotland, Henrys the Fifth and Sixth of England. - -"I have asked old Bell the descent of his family. He said he was really -sprung from Ninewells, but that the lands fell to an heiress who married -a brother of Polwarth's. - -"By Godscroft's account, Tinningham was the third son of Home in the -same generation that Wedderburn was the second, so that the difference -of antiquity is nothing, or very inconsiderable. - -"The readiest way of vouching these facts would be for you to take a -jaunt to the churchyard of Hutton, and inquire for Bell's monument, and -see whether the inscription be not obliterated; for it is above -twenty-five years ago that I saw the paper in Sir James Home's hand, and -he told us, at that time, that the inscription was somewhat difficult to -be read. If it be still legible it would be very well done to take a -copy of it in some authentic manner, and transmit it to Mr. Douglas, to -be inserted in his volume. If it be utterly effaced, the next, but most -difficult task would be to search for the paper above-mentioned in the -family of Home: it must be some time about the year 1440 or 1450. If -both these means fail, we must rest upon the tradition. - -"I am not of the opinion of some, that these matters are altogether to -be slighted. Though we should pretend to be wiser than our ancestors, -yet it is arrogant to pretend that we are wiser than the other nations -of Europe, who, all of them, except perhaps the English, make great -account of their family descent. I doubt that our morals have not much -improved since we began to think riches the sole thing worth -regarding.[4:1] - -"If I were in the country I should be glad to attend you to Hutton, in -order to make the inquiry I propose. I doubt whether my brother will -think of doing it: he has such an extreme aversion to every thing that -savours of vanity, that he would not willingly expose himself to -censure; but this is a justice that one owes to their posterity, for we -are not certain that these matters will be always so little regarded. - -"I shall farther observe to you, that the Lord Home, founder of Dunglas, -married the heiress of that family, of the name of Pepdie, and from her -we always bear the Pepingos in our arms. - -"I find in Hall's Chronicle that the Earl of Surrey, in an inroad upon -the Merse, made during the reign of Henry the Eighth, after the battle -of Flouden, destroyed the castles of Hedderburn, West Nisgate, and -Blackadder, and the towers of East Nisgate, and Winwalls. The names, you -see, are somewhat disfigured; but I cannot doubt but he means Nisbet and -Ninewells: the situation of the places leads us to that conjecture. - -"I have reason to believe, notwithstanding the fact, as Ninewells lay -very near Berwick, our ancestors commonly paid contributions to the -governor of that place, and abstained from hostilities and were -prevented from ravages. There is, in Hayne's State Papers, a very -particular account of the ravages committed by an inroad of the English, -during the minority of Queen Mary.[6:1] Not a village, scarce a single -house in the Merse, but what is mentioned as burnt or overthrown, till -you come to Whitwater. East of the river, there was not one destroyed. -This reason will perhaps explain why, in none of the histories of that -time, even the more particular, there is any mention made of our -ancestors; while we meet with Wedderburn, Aiton, Manderston, -Cowdenknows, Sprot, and other cadets of Home. - -"I have learned from my mother, that my father, in a lawsuit with -Hilton, claimed an old apprizing upon the lands of Hutton-Hall, upon -which there had been no deed done for 140 years. Hilton thought that it -must necessarily be expired; but my father was able to prove that, -during that whole time there had not been forty years of majority in the -family. He died soon after, and left my mother very young; so that there -was near 160 years during which there was not forty years of -majority.[6:2] Now we are upon this subject, I shall just mention to -you a trifle, with regard to the spelling of our name. The practice of -spelling Hume is by far the most ancient and most general till about the -Restoration, when it became common to spell Home contrary to the -pronunciation. Our name is frequently mentioned in Rymer's Foedera, -and always spelt Hume. I find a subscription of Lord Hume in the memoirs -of the Sidney family, where it is spelt as I do at present. These are a -few of the numberless authorities on this head. - -"I wish the materials I give you were more numerous and more -satisfactory; but such as they are, I am glad to have communicated them -to you.--I am," &c.[7:1] - - -A competent authority in such matters gives the following partly -heraldic, partly topographical account of the Humes and their -territory:-- - -"Hume of Ninewells, the family of the great historian, bore 'Vert a lion -rampant, argent, within a bordure or, charged with _nine wells_, or -springs, barry-wavy and argent.' - -"The estate of Ninewells is so named from a cluster of springs of that -number. Their situation is picturesque. They burst forth from a gentle -declivity in front of the mansion, which has on each side a semicircular -rising bank, covered with fine timber, and fall, after a short time, -into the bed of the river Whitewater, which forms a boundary in the -front. These springs, as descriptive of their property, were assigned to -the Humes of this place, as a difference in arms from the chief of their -house."[8:1] - -The scenes amidst which Hume passed his boyhood, and many of the years -of his later life, have subsequently, in the light of a national -literature, become a classic land, visited by strangers, with the same -feeling with which Hume himself trod the soil of Mantua. In his own -days, the elements of this literature were no less in existence; but it -was not part of his mental character to find any pleasing associations -in spots, remarkable only for the warlike or adventurous achievements -they had witnessed. Intellect was the material on which his genius -worked: with it were all his associations and sympathies; and what had -not been adorned by the feats of the mind had no charm in his eye. Had -he been a stranger of another land, visiting at the present, or some -later day, the scenes of the Lay and of Marmion, they would, without -doubt, like the land of Virgil, have lit in his mind some sympathetic -glow; but the scenes illustrated solely by deeds of barbarous warfare, -and by a rude illiterate minstrelsy, had nothing in them to rouse a -mind, which was yet far from being destitute of its own peculiar -enthusiasm. He had often, in his history, to mention great historical -events that had taken place in the immediate vicinity of his paternal -residence, and in places to which he could hardly have escaped, if he -did not court occasional visits. About six miles from Ninewells, stands -Norham castle. Three or four miles farther off, are Twisel bridge, where -Surrey crossed the Till to engage the Scots, and the other localities -connected with the battle of Flodden. In the same neighbourhood is -Holiwell Haugh, where Edward I. met the Scottish nobility, when he -professed himself to be the arbiter of the disputes between Bruce and -Baliol. In his notices of these spots, in connexion with the historical -events which he describes, he betrays no symptom of having passed many -of his youthful days in their vicinity, but is as cold and general as -when he describes Agincourt or Marston Moor; and it may safely be said, -that in none of his historical or philosophical writings does any -expression used by him, unless in those cases where a Scoticism has -escaped his vigilance, betray either the district or the country of his -origin.[9:1] Hume tells us, in his short autobiography, "My family was -not rich, and being myself a younger brother, my patrimony, according to -the mode of my country, was of course very slender. My father, who -passed for a man of parts, died when I was an infant, leaving me, with -an elder brother and a sister, under the care of our mother, a woman of -singular merit, who, though young and handsome, devoted herself entirely -to the rearing and education of her children." He says no more of his -education, than that he "passed through the ordinary course of education -with success." In a document which will be immediately quoted at length, -we find him speaking of having received the usual college education of -Scotland, which terminates when the student is fourteen or fifteen years -old. It is probable that he studied at the University of Edinburgh, in -the matriculation book of which the name of "David Home" appears, as -intrant of the class of William Scott, Professor of Greek, on 27th -February, 1723. Holding the year to commence on 1st January, which was -then the practice in Scotland, though not in England, he would be at -that time nearly twelve years old. The name does not appear in any of -the subsequent matriculation lists: it was probably not then the -practice for the student to be entered more than once, at the -commencement of his curriculum; and neither the name of Hume, nor of -Home, occurs in the list of graduates. - -Of his method of studying, and of his habits of life, after he left the -university, as of his literary aspirations and projects, we fortunately -possess some curious notices in his correspondence. The earliest letter -written by Hume, known to be extant, is in a scroll which has been -apparently preserved by himself. It is addressed to Michael Ramsay, with -whom it will be seen, from the letters quoted in the course of this -work, that the friendship formed, when both were young, remained -uninterrupted and vigorous during their mature years. I have been unable -to discover any thing of the history of this Michael Ramsay, beyond what -may be gathered from the internal evidence supplied by the -correspondence. He must have been destined for the English Church, but -he appears not to have taken orders; as in a letter from Hume, which, -though undated, must have been written at an advanced period of both -their lives, he is addressed "Michael Ramsay, Esq." Writing on 5th June, -1764, he says to Hume, "I continue in the old wandering way in which I -have passed so much of my life, and in which it is likely I shall end -it." He appears to have had many connexions well to do in the world, and -to have died before the year 1779, leaving his papers in the possession -of a nephew having his own Christian name of Michael; which was also, it -may be observed, the name of the Chevalier Ramsay, of whom Hume's -correspondent was perhaps a relation.[12:1] - - -HUME _to_ MICHAEL RAMSAY. - -"_July 4, 1727._ - -"D{R} M.--I received all the books you writ of, and your Milton among -the rest. When I saw it, I perceived there was a difference betwixt -preaching and practising: you accuse me of niceness, and yet practise it -most egregiously yourself. What was the necessity of sending your -Milton, which I knew you were so fond of? Why, I lent your's and can't -get it. But would you not, in the same manner, have lent your own? Yes. -Then, why this ceremony and good breeding? I write all this to show you -how easily any action may be brought to bear the countenance of a fault. -You may justify yourself very well, by saying it was kindness; and I am -satisfied with it, and thank you for it. So, in the same manner, I may -justify myself from your reproofs. You say that I would not send in my -papers, because they were not polished nor brought to any form: which -you say is nicety. But was it not reasonable? Would you have me send in -my loose incorrect thoughts? Were such worth the transcribing? All the -progress that I made is but drawing the outlines, on loose bits of -paper: here a hint of a passion; there a phenomenon in the mind -accounted for: in another the alteration of these accounts; sometimes a -remark upon an author I have been reading; and none of them worth to any -body, and I believe scarce to myself. The only design I had of -mentioning any of them at all, was to see what you would have said of -your own, whether they were of the same kind, and if you would send any; -and I have got my end, for you have given a most satisfactory reason for -not communicating them, by promising they shall be told _viva voce_--a -much better way indeed, and in which I promise myself much satisfaction; -for the free conversation of a friend is what I would prefer to any -entertainment. Just now I am entirely confined to myself and library for -diversion since we parted. - - ----ea sola voluptus, - Solamenque mali--[14:1] - -And indeed to me they are not a small one: for I take no more of them -than I please; for I hate task-reading, and I diversify them at -pleasure--sometimes a philosopher, sometimes a poet--which change is not -unpleasant nor disserviceable neither; for what will more surely engrave -upon my mind a Tusculan disputation of Cicero's De AEgritudine Lenienda, -than an eclogue or georgick of Virgil's? The philosopher's wise man and -the poet's husbandman agree in peace of mind, in a liberty and -independency on fortune, and contempt of riches, power, and glory. Every -thing is placid and quiet in both: nothing perturbed or disordered. - - At secura quies, et nescia fallere vita---- - Speluncae, vivique laci; at frigida Tempe, - Mugitusque boum, mollesque sub arbore somnos - Non absint.[14:2] - -"These lines will, in my opinion, come nothing short of the instruction -of the finest sentence in Cicero: and is more to me, as Virgil's life is -more the subject of my ambition, being what I can apprehend to be more -within my power. For the perfectly wise man, that outbraves fortune, is -surely greater than the husbandman who slips by her; and, indeed, this -pastoral and saturnian happiness I have in a great measure come at just -now. I live like a king, pretty much by myself, neither full of action -nor perturbation,--_molles somnos_. This state, however, I can foresee -is not to be relied on. My peace of mind is not sufficiently confirmed -by philosophy to withstand the blows of fortune. This greatness and -elevation of soul is to be found only in study and contemplation--this -can alone teach us to look down on human accidents. You must allow [me] -to talk thus, like a philosopher: 'tis a subject I think much on, and -could talk all day long of. But I know I must not trouble you. Wherefore -I wisely practise my rules, which prescribe to check our appetite; and, -for a mortification, shall descend from these superior regions to low -and ordinary life; and so far as to tell you, that John has bought a -horse: he thinks it neither cheap nor dear. It cost six guineas, but -will be sold cheaper against winter, which he is not resolved on as yet. -It has no fault, but bogles a little. It is tolerably well favoured, and -paces naturally. Mamma bids me tell you, that Sir John Home is not going -to town; but he saw Eccles in the country, who says he will do nothing -in that affair, for he is only taking off old adjudications, so it is -needless to let him see the papers. He desires you would trouble -yourself to inquire about the Earle's affairs, and advise us what to do -in this affair. - -"If it were not breaking the formal rule of connexions I have prescribed -myself in this letter--and it did not seem unnatural to raise myself -from so low affairs as horses and papers, to so high and elevate things -as books and study--I would tell you that I read some of Longinus -already, and that I am mightily delighted with him. I think he does -really answer the character of being the great sublime he describes. He -delivers his precepts with such force, as if he were enchanted with the -subject; and is himself an author that may be cited for an example to -his own rules, by any one who shall be so adventurous as to write upon -his subject."[16:1] - - -This is certainly a remarkable letter to have been written by a youth -little more than sixteen years old. If it had been written by one less -distinguished by the originality of his mature intellect, it might be -looked upon as one of those illustrations of the faculty of imitation, -for which some young persons display peculiar powers; but its grave and -high-toned philosophical feeling is evidently no echo of other people's -words, but the deeply felt sentiments of the writer. In some measure, -perhaps, he deceived himself in believing that he had attuned his mind -to pastoral simplicity, and had weeded it of all ambitious longings. If -he had a sympathy with Virgil, it was not, as he has represented, with -the poet's ideas of life, but with his realizations of it; not with the -quiet sphere of a retired and unnoticed existence, but with the lustre -of a well-earned fame. Through the whole, indeed, of the memorials of -Hume's early feelings, we find the traces of a bold and far-stretching -literary ambition; and though he believed that he had seared his mind to -ordinary human influences, it was because this one had become so -engrossing as to overwhelm all others. "I was seized very early," he -tells us, in his 'own life,' "with a passion for literature, which has -been the ruling passion of my life, and a great source of my -enjoyments." Joined to this impulse, we find a practical philosophy -partaking far more of the stoical than of that sceptical school with -which his metaphysical writings have identified him; a morality of -self-sacrifice and endurance, for the accomplishment of great ends. In -whatever light we may view his speculative opinions, we gather from the -habits of his life, and from the indications we possess of his passing -thoughts, that he devotedly acted up to the principle, that his genius -and power of application should be laid out with the greatest prospect -of permanent advantage to mankind. He was an economist of all his -talents from early youth: no memoir of a literary man presents a more -cautious and vigilant husbandry of the mental powers and acquirements. -There is no instance of a man of genius who has wasted less in idleness -or in unavailing pursuits. Money was not his object, nor was temporary -fame; though, of the means of independent livelihood, and a good repute -among men, he never lost sight: but his ruling object of ambition, -pursued in poverty and riches, in health and sickness, in laborious -obscurity and amidst the blaze of fame, was to establish a permanent -name, resting on the foundation of literary achievements, likely to live -as long as human thought endured, and mental philosophy was studied. - -There is among Hume's papers a fragment of "An Historical Essay on -Chivalry and Modern Honour." It is evidently a clean copy from a -corrected scrawl, written with great precision and neatness, and no -despicable specimen of caligraphy. From the pains that appear to have -been bestowed on the penmanship, and from many rhetorical defects and -blemishes which do not appear in any of his published works, it may be -inferred that this is a production of very early years, and properly -applicable to this period of his life; although its matured thought, and -clear systematic analysis, might, in other circumstances, have indicated -it as the fruit of a mind long and carefully cultivated. It is scarcely -necessary to frame an excuse for quoting such a document on the present -occasion. It could not be legitimately incorporated with his works; -because, whatever is given to the public in that shape, is presumed to -consist of those productions which the author himself, or those entitled -to represent him, have thought fit to lay before the public, as the -efforts by which the full stretch and compass of his intellectual powers -are to be tested. From such collections, the editor who performs his -functions with a kind and respectful consideration for the reputation of -the illustrious dead, will exclude whatever is characterized by the -crudeness of youth, or the feebleness of superannuation. To the -reputation of Hume it would be peculiarly unjust to publish among his -acknowledged and printed works, any productions of extreme youth; -because, from his earliest years to an advanced period of his life, his -mind was characterized by constant improvement, and he was every now and -then reaching a point from which he looked back with regret and -disapprobation at the efforts of earlier years. - -But in a biographical work, where the chief object is the tracing the -history of the author's mind, not the representation of its matured -efforts, these early specimens of budding genius have their legitimate -place, and receive that charitable consideration for the circumstances -in which they were written, which their author's reputation demands. - -The essay commences with a sketch of the decline of virtue, and the -prevalence of luxury among the Romans; and describes their possession of -the arts which they had learned in their better days, when not seconded -by bravery and enterprise, as furnishing, like the fine clothes of a -soldier, a temptation to hostile cupidity. He then represents the -conquerors adapting themselves, after the manner peculiar to their own -barbarous state, to the habits and ideas of the civilized people whom -they had subdued. He represents the conquered people as sunk in -indolence, but imperfectly preserving the arts and elegancies -transmitted to them by their ancestors; and the conquerors full of -energy and activity, as the sources of whatever impulse was thereafter -given to thought or action. They "came with freshness and alacrity to -the business; and being encouraged both by the novelty of these subjects -and by the success of their arms, would naturally ingraft some new kind -of fruit on the ancient stock." He then proceeds with the following -train of reflections:-- - - -"'Tis observable of the human mind, that when it is smit with any idea -of merit or perfection beyond what its faculties can attain, and in the -pursuit of which it uses not reason and experience for its guide, it -knows no mean, but as it gives the rein, and even adds the spur, to -every florid conceit or fancy, runs in a moment quite wide of nature. -Thus we find, when, without discretion, it indulges its devote terrors, -that working in such fairy-ground, it quickly buries itself in its own -whimsies and chimeras, and raises up to itself a new set of passions, -affections, desires, objects, and, in short, a perfectly new world of -its own, inhabited by different beings, and regulated by different laws -from this of ours. In this new world 'tis so possessed that it can -endure no interruption from the old; but as nature is apt still on every -occasion to recall it thither, it must undermine it by art, and retiring -altogether from the commerce of mankind, if it be so bent upon its -religious exercise, from the mystic, by an easy transition, degenerate -into the hermite. The same thing is observable in philosophy, which -though it cannot produce a different world in which we may wander, makes -us act in this as if we were different beings from the rest of mankind; -at least makes us frame to ourselves, though we cannot execute them, -rules of conduct different from those which are set to us by nature. No -engine can supply the place of wings, and make us fly, though the -imagination of such a one may make us stretch and strain and elevate -ourselves upon our tiptoes. And in this case of an imagined merit, the -farther our chimeras hurry us from nature, and the practice of the -world, the better pleased we are, as valuing ourselves upon the -singularity of our notions, and thinking we depart from the rest of -mankind only by flying above them. Where there is none we excel, we are -apt to think we have no excellency; and self-conceit makes us take every -singularity for an excellency. - -"When, therefore, these barbarians came first to the relish of some -degree of virtue and politeness beyond what they had ever before been -acquainted with, their minds would necessarily stretch themselves into -some vast conceptions of things, which, not being corrected by -sufficient judgment and experience, must be empty and unsolid. Those who -had first bred these conceptions in them could not assist them in their -birth, as the Grecians did the Romans; but being themselves scarce half -civilized, would be rather apt to entertain any extravagant misshapen -conceit of their conquerors, than able to lick it into any form. 'Twas -thus that that monster of romantic chivalry, or knight-errantry, by the -necessary operation of the principles of human nature, was brought into -the world; and it is remarkable that it descended from the Moors and -Arabians, who, learning somewhat of the Roman civility from the province -they conquered, and being themselves a southern people, which are -commonly observed to be more quick and inventive than the northern, were -the first who fell upon this vein of achievement. When it was once -broken upon it ran like wild-fire over all the nations of Europe, who, -being in the same situation with these nations, kindled with the least -spark. - -"What kind of monstrous birth this of chivalry must prove, we may learn -from considering the different revolutions in the arts, particularly in -architecture, and comparing the Gothic with the Grecian models of it. -The one are plain, simple, and regular, but withal majestic and -beautiful, which when these barbarians unskilfully imitated, they ran -into a wild profusion of ornaments, and by their rude embellishments -departed far from nature and a just simplicity. They were struck with -the beauties of the ancient buildings; but, ignorant how to preserve a -just mean, and giving an unbounded liberty to their fancy in heaping -ornament upon ornament, they made the whole a heap of confusion and -irregularity. For the same reason, when they would rear up a new scheme -of manners, or heroism, it must be strangely overcharged with ornaments, -and no part exempt from their unskilful refinements; and this we find to -have been actually the case, as may be proven by running over the -several parts of it." - - -He then inquires into the reason, why courage is the principal virtue of -barbarous nations, and why they esteem deeds of heroism, however useless -or mischievous, as far more meritorious than useful efforts of -government or internal organization. He contrasts the heroism of the -barbarous periods of the ancient world, with those of the dark ages of -modern Europe; and finding the former selfish and aggrandizing, while -the latter is characterized by the more generous features of chivalry, -he thus accounts for this characteristic. - - -"The method by which these courteous knights acquired this extreme -civility of theirs, was by mixing love with their courage. Love is a -very generous passion, and well fitted both to that humanity and -courage they would reconcile. The only one that can contest with it is -friendship, which, besides that it is too refined a passion for common -use, is not by many degrees so natural as love, to which almost every -one has a great propensity, and which it is impossible to see a -beautiful woman, without feeling some touches of. Besides, as love is a -capricious passion, it is the more susceptible of these fantastic forms, -which it must take when it mixes with chivalry. Friendship is a solid -and serious thing, and, like the love of their country in the Roman -heroes, would dispel and put to flight all the chimeras, inseparable -from this spirit of adventure. So that a mistress is as necessary to a -cavalier or knight-errant, as a god or saint to a devotee. Nor would he -stop here, or be contented with a submiss reverence and adoration to one -of the sex, but would extend in some degree the same civility to the -whole, and by a curious reversement of the order of nature, make them -the superior. This is no more than what is suitable to that infinite -generosity of which he makes profession. Every thing below him he treats -with submission, and every thing above him, with contumacy. Thus he -carries these double symptoms of generosity which Virgil makes mention -of into extravagance. - - Parcere subjectis et debellare superbos. - -Hence arises the knight-errant's strong and irreconcileable aversion to -all giants, with his most humble and respectful submission to all -damsels. These two affections of his, he unites in all his adventures, -which are always designed to relieve distressed damsels from the -captivity and violence of giants. - -"As a cavalier is composed of the greatest warmth of love, tempered with -the most humble submission and respect, his mistress's behaviour is in -every point the reverse of this; and what is conspicuous in her temper -is the utmost coldness along with the greatest haughtiness and disdain; -until at last, gratitude for the many deliverances she has met with, and -the giants and monsters without number that he has destroyed for her -sake, reduces her, though unwilling, to the necessity of commencing a -bride. Here the chastity of women, which, from the necessity of human -affairs, has been in all ages and countries an extravagant point of -honour with them, is run into still greater extravagance, that none of -the sexes may be exempt from this fantastic ornament. - -"Such were the notions of bravery in that age, and such the fictions by -which they formed models of it. The effects these had on their ordinary -life and conversation was, first, an extravagant gallantry and adoration -of the whole female sex, and romantic notions of extraordinary -constancy, fidelity, and refined passion for one mistress. Secondly, the -introduction of the practice of single combat. How naturally this sprung -up from chivalry may easily be understood. A knight-errant fights, not -like another man full of passion and resentment, but with the utmost -civility mixed with his undaunted courage. He salutes you before he cuts -your throat; and a plain man, who understood nothing of the mystery, -would take him for a treacherous ruffian, and think that, like Judas, he -was betraying with a kiss, while he is showing his generous calmness and -amicable courage. In consequence of this, every thing is performed with -the greatest ceremony and order; and whenever either chance or his -superior bravery make either of them victorious, he generously gives his -antagonist his life, and again embraces him as his friend. When these -fantastic practices have come in use, the amazed world, who, merely -because there is nothing real in all this, must certainly imagine there -is a great deal, could not but look upon such a courteous enmity as the -most heroic and sublime thing in nature; and instead of punishing any -murder that might ensue, as the law directs in such cases, would praise -and applaud the murderer."[25:1] - - -Perhaps the reader of these passages will have come to the conclusion -that the powers of reason displayed in them are as bold and original as -the imagination is meagre and servile. The reflections on Gothic -architecture are the commonplace opinions of the day, uttered by one who -was singularly destitute of sympathy with the human intellect, in its -early efforts to resolve itself into symmetry and elegance; whose mind -shrunk from the contemplation of any work of man that did not bear the -stamp of high intellectual culture. The same want of sympathy with man -in his rude and grand, though inharmonious efforts, here attends both -the chivalric manners and the solemn architecture of the dark ages. Of -the former, he has made a cold, clear, unsympathizing, perhaps accurate -estimate. The latter, unless a large proportion of the architectural -enthusiasts of the present day have raised the taste of the age upon -false foundations, he utterly misappreciated. - -It must have been about his seventeenth year that Hume commenced, and -abruptly relinquished the practical study of the law,--a curious episode -in his history, which he thus describes in his "own life:" "My studious -disposition, my sobriety, and my industry, gave my family a notion that -the law was a proper profession for me; but I found an insurmountable -aversion to every thing but the pursuits of philosophy and general -learning; and while they fancied I was poring upon Voet and Vinnius, -Cicero and Virgil were the authors which I was secretly devouring." - -But this by no means gives the reader a full and faithful impression of -his motives. The passage calls up the vision of a contemplative, gentle, -unambitious youth, shrinking from the arid labours that lead to wealth -and distinction, and content to dream away his life in obscurity with -the companionship of his favourite books. The document already referred -to, and immediately to be quoted, shows that far other thoughts were in -his mind; that he did not shrink from the professional labours of the -bar, to sink into studious ease, but rejected them to encounter higher -and more arduous toils--that he did not drop passively from the path of -ambition opened to him, but deserted it for a higher and more -adventurous course. He had indeed already before him the prospect of -being a discoverer in philosophy, and his mind, crowded with the images -of his new system, could see nothing else in life worthy of pursuit. - -Without this clue, Hume's aversion to the study of the law would have -been a problem not to be easily solved. Had he lived in the present day, -when the mass of statute and precedent that have accumulated even within -the narrow domain of Scottish law, have completely precluded those -luxurious digressions into the field of speculation and theory, which -characterized the legal practice of our ancestors, one might readily -comprehend the aversion of his fastidiously cultivated logical mind to -such hard and coarse materials. But a lawyer's library, in his days, -consisted of the classics, the philosophers of mind, and the civilians. -The advocate often commenced his pleadings with a quotation from the -young philosopher's favourite poet Virgil, and then digressed into a -speculative inquiry into the general principles of law and government: -the philosophical genius of Themis long soaring sublime, until at last, -folding her wings, she rested on some vulgar question about dry multures -or an irritancy of a tailzie, to the settlement of which the wide -principles so announced were applied. Surely that science, within the -boundaries of which the speculative spirit of Lord Kames had room for -its flights, could not have been rejected on the ground that it cramped -and restrained the faculty of generalizing.[28:1] Yet in a letter to -Smith, of 12th April, 1759, which shows that Hume retained his antipathy -to the study to an advanced period of his life, he says, "I am afraid of -Kames' Law Tracts. A man might as well think of making a fine sauce by a -mixture of wormwood and aloes, as an agreeable composition by joining -metaphysics and Scottish law. However, the book I believe has merit, -though few people will take the pains of inquiring into it." - -In truth there appear to have been in Hume all the elements of which a -good lawyer is made: clearness of judgment, power of rapidly acquiring -knowledge, untiring industry, and dialectic skill; and, if his mind had -not been preoccupied, he might have fallen into that gulf in which many -of the world's greatest geniuses lie buried--professional eminence, and -might have left behind him a reputation limited to the traditional -recollections of the Parliament House, or associated with important -decisions. He was through life an able, clear-headed man of business, -and I have seen several legal documents written in his own hand and -evidently drawn by himself. They stand the test of general professional -observation; and their writer, by preparing documents of such a -character on his own responsibility, showed that he had considerable -confidence in his ability to adhere to the forms adequate for the -occasion. He talks of it as "an ancient prejudice industriously -propagated by the dunces in all countries, that _a man of genius is -unfit for business_;"[29:1] and he showed, in his general conduct -through life, that he did not choose to come voluntarily under this -proscription. - -His writings, however, bear but slight traces of his juridical studies. -In analysing the foundations of our notions of property, he criticises -some of the subtleties of the early civilians, but shows no more -intimate acquaintance with their works than any well-informed scholar of -the day might be supposed to exhibit. He shows no pleasure in dwelling -on matters connected with this study, but rather appears disposed to -release himself and his reader from a subject so little congenial to his -taste. The particular law of Scotland is one of those subjects to which -he would be careful to avoid a reference, as carrying with it that tone -of provincial thought and education which he was always anxious to -avoid. It may be perhaps an unfortunate result of this early prejudice -against the study of jurisprudence, that in after life he failed to -acquire that knowledge of the progress of the law of England, which -would have made his history much less amenable than it has been to -censorious criticism. - -It is now time that the reader should be possessed of the document above -alluded to, as throwing much light on Hume's early studies and habits of -life; and it is here presented, without any introductory explanation, as -it first appeared to me in going through the papers in the possession of -the Royal Society. - - -_A Letter to a Physician._ - -"SIR,--Not being acquainted with this handwriting, you will probably -look to the bottom to find the subscription, and not finding any, will -certainly wonder at this strange method of addressing to you. I must -here in the beginning beg you to excuse it, and, to persuade you to read -what follows with some attention, must tell you, that this gives you an -opportunity to do a very good-natured action, which I believe is the -most powerful argument I can use. I need not tell you, that I am your -countryman, a Scotsman; for without any such tie, I dare rely upon your -humanity even to a perfect stranger, such as I am. The favour I beg of -you is your advice, and the reason why I address myself in particular to -you, need not be told,--as one must be a skilful physician, a man of -letters, of wit, of good sense, and of great humanity, to give me a -satisfying answer. I wish fame had pointed out to me more persons, in -whom these qualities are united, in order to have kept me some time in -suspense. This I say in the sincerity of my heart, and without any -intention of making a compliment; for though it may seem necessary, -that, in the beginning of so unusual a letter, I should say some fine -things, to bespeak your good opinion, and remove any prejudices you may -conceive at it, yet such an endeavour to be witty, would ill suit with -the present condition of my mind; which, I must confess, is not without -anxiety concerning the judgment you will form of me. Trusting, however, -to your candour and generosity, I shall, without further preface, -proceed to open up to you the present condition of my health, and to do -that the more effectually, shall give you a kind of history of my life, -after which you will easily learn why I keep my name a secret. - -"You must know then that, from my earliest infancy, I found always a -strong inclination to books and letters. As our college education in -Scotland, extending little further than the languages, ends commonly -when we are about fourteen or fifteen years of age, I was after that -left to my own choice in my reading, and found it incline me almost -equally to books of reasoning and philosophy, and to poetry and the -polite authors. Every one who is acquainted either with the philosophers -or critics, knows that there is nothing yet established in either of -these two sciences, and that they contain little more than endless -disputes, even in the most fundamental articles. Upon examination of -these, I found a certain boldness of temper growing in me, which was not -inclined to submit to any authority in these subjects, but led me to -seek out some new medium, by which truth might be established. After -much study and reflection on this, at last, when I was about eighteen -years of age, there seemed to be opened up to me a new scene of thought, -which transported me beyond measure, and made me, with an ardour natural -to young men, throw up every other pleasure or business to apply -entirely to it. The law, which was the business I designed to follow, -appeared nauseous to me, and I could think of no other way of pushing my -fortune in the world, but that of a scholar and philosopher. I was -infinitely happy in this course of life for some months; till at last, -about the beginning of September, 1729, all my ardour seemed in a moment -to be extinguished, and I could no longer raise my mind to that pitch, -which formerly gave me such excessive pleasure. I felt no uneasiness or -want of spirits, when I laid aside my book; and therefore never imagined -there was any bodily distemper in the case, but that my coldness -proceeded from a laziness of temper, which must be overcome by -redoubling my application. In this condition I remained for nine months, -very uneasy to myself, as you may well imagine, but without growing any -worse, which was a miracle. There was another particular, which -contributed, more than any thing, to waste my spirits and bring on me -this distemper, which was, that having read many books of morality, such -as Cicero, Seneca, and Plutarch, and being smit with their beautiful -representations of virtue and philosophy, I undertook the improvement of -my temper and will, along with my reason and understanding. I was -continually fortifying myself with reflections against death, and -poverty, and shame, and pain, and all the other calamities of life. -These no doubt are exceeding useful, when joined with an active life, -because the occasion being presented along with the reflection, works it -into the soul, and makes it take a deep impression; but in solitude they -serve to little other purpose, than to waste the spirits, the force of -the mind meeting with no resistance, but wasting itself in the air, like -our arm when it misses its aim. This, however, I did not learn but by -experience, and till I had already ruined my health, though I was not -sensible of it. Some scurvy spots broke out on my fingers the first -winter I fell ill, about which I consulted a very knowing physician, who -gave me some medicine that removed these symptoms, and at the same time -gave me a warning against the vapours, which, though I was labouring -under at that time, I fancied myself so far removed from, and indeed -from any other disease, except a slight scurvy, that I despised his -warning. At last, about April 1730, when I was nineteen years of age, a -symptom, which I had noticed a little from the beginning, increased -considerably; so that, though it was no uneasiness, the novelty of it -made me ask advice; it was what they call a ptyalism or wateryness in -the mouth. Upon my mentioning it to my physician, he laughed at me, and -told me I was now a brother, for that I had fairly got the disease of -the learned. Of this he found great difficulty to persuade me, finding -in myself nothing of that lowness of spirit, which those who labour -under that distemper so much complain of. However upon his advice I went -under a course of bitters, and anti-hysteric pills, drank an English -pint of claret wine every day, and rode eight or ten Scotch miles. This -I continued for about seven months after. - -"Though I was sorry to find myself engaged with so tedious a distemper, -yet the knowledge of it set me very much at ease, by satisfying me that -my former coldness proceeded not from any defect of temper or genius, -but from a disease to which any one may be subject. I now began to take -some indulgence to myself; studied moderately, and only when I found my -spirits at their highest pitch, leaving off before I was weary, and -trifling away the rest of my time in the best manner I could. In this -way, I lived with satisfaction enough; and on my return to town next -winter found my spirits very much recruited, so that, though they sank -under me in the higher flights of genius, yet I was able to make -considerable progress in my former designs. I was very regular in my -diet and way of life from the beginning, and all that winter made it a -constant rule to ride twice or thrice a-week, and walk every day. For -these reasons, I expected, when I returned to the country, and could -renew my exercise with less interruption, that I would perfectly -recover. But in this I was much mistaken; for next summer, about May -1731, there grew upon me a very ravenous appetite, and as quick a -digestion, which I at first took for a good symptom, and was very much -surprised to find it bring back a palpitation of heart, which I had felt -very little of before. This appetite, however, had an effect very -unusual, which was to nourish me extremely; so that in six weeks' time, -I passed from the one extreme to the other; and being before tall, lean, -and raw-boned, became on a sudden the most sturdy, robust, -healthful-like fellow you have seen, with a ruddy complexion and a -cheerful countenance. In excuse for my riding, and care of my health, I -always said that I was afraid of consumption, which was readily believed -from my looks, but now every body congratulated me upon my thorough -recovery. This unnatural appetite wore off by degrees, but left me as a -legacy the same palpitation of the heart in a small degree, and a good -deal of wind in my stomach, which comes away easily, and without any bad -_gout_, as is ordinary. However, these symptoms are little or no -uneasiness to me. I eat well; I sleep well; have no lowness of spirits, -at least never more than what one of the best health may feel from too -full a meal, from sitting too near a fire, and even that degree I feel -very seldom, and never almost in the morning or forenoon. Those who live -in the same family with me, and see me at all times, cannot observe the -least alteration in my humour, and rather think me a better companion -than I was before, as choosing to pass more of my time with them. This -gave me such hopes, that I scarce ever missed a day's riding, except in -the winter time; and last summer undertook a very laborious task, which -was to travel eight miles every morning, and as many in the forenoon, to -and from a mineral well of some reputation. I renewed the bitter and -anti-hysteric pills twice, along with anti-scorbutic juice, last -spring, but without any considerable effect, except abating the symptoms -for a little time. - -"Thus I have given you a full account of the condition of my body; and -without staying to ask pardon, as I ought to do, for so tedious a story, -shall explain to you how my mind stood all this time, which on every -occasion, especially in this distemper, have a very near connexion -together. Having now time and leisure to cool my inflamed imagination, I -began to consider seriously how I should proceed in my philosophical -inquiries. I found that the moral philosophy transmitted to us by -antiquity laboured under the same inconvenience that has been found in -their natural philosophy, of being entirely hypothetical, and depending -more upon invention than experience: every one consulted his fancy in -erecting schemes of virtue and of happiness, without regarding human -nature, upon which every moral conclusion must depend. This, therefore, -I resolved to make my principal study, and the source from which I would -derive every truth in criticism as well as morality. I believe it is a -certain fact, that most of the philosophers who have gone before us, -have been overthrown by the greatness of their genius, and that little -more is required to make a man succeed in this study, than to throw off -all prejudices either for his own opinions or for those of others. At -least this is all I have to depend on for the truth of my reasonings, -which I have multiplied to such a degree, that within these three years, -I find I have scribbled many a quire of paper, in which there is nothing -contained but my own inventions. This, with the reading most of the -celebrated books in Latin, French, and English, and acquiring the -Italian, you may think a sufficient business for one in perfect health, -and so it would had it been done to any purpose; but my disease was a -cruel encumbrance on me. I found that I was not able to follow out any -train of thought, by one continued stretch of view, but by repeated -interruptions, and by refreshing my eye from time to time upon other -objects. Yet with this inconvenience I have collected the rude materials -for many volumes; but in reducing these to words, when one must bring -the idea he comprehended in gross, nearer to him, so as to contemplate -its minutest parts, and keep it steadily in his eye, so as to copy these -parts in order,--this I found impracticable for me, nor were my spirits -equal to so severe an employment. Here lay my greatest calamity. I had -no hopes of delivering my opinions with such elegance and neatness, as -to draw to me the attention of the world, and I would rather live and -die in obscurity than produce them maimed and imperfect. - -"Such a miserable disappointment I scarce ever remember to have heard -of. The small distance betwixt me and perfect health makes me the more -uneasy in my present situation. It is a weakness rather than a lowness -of spirits which troubles me, and there seems to be as great a -difference betwixt my distemper and common vapours, as betwixt vapours -and madness. I have noticed in the writings of the French mystics, and -in those of our fanatics here, that when they give a history of the -situation of their souls, they mention a coldness and desertion of the -spirit, which frequently returns; and some of them, at the beginning, -have been tormented with it many years. As this kind of devotion depends -entirely on the force of passion, and consequently of the animal -spirits, I have often thought that their case and mine were pretty -parallel, and that their rapturous admirations might discompose the -fabric of the nerves and brain, as much as profound reflections, and -that warmth or enthusiasm which is inseparable from them. - -"However this may be, I have not come out of the cloud so well as they -commonly tell us they have done, or rather began to despair of ever -recovering. To keep myself from being melancholy on so dismal a -prospect, my only security was in peevish reflections on the vanity of -the world and of all human glory; which, however just sentiments they -may be esteemed, I have found can never be sincere, except in those who -are possessed of them. Being sensible that all my philosophy would never -make me contented in my present situation, I began to rouse up myself; -and being encouraged by instances of recovery from worse degrees of this -distemper, as well as by the assurances of my physicians, I began to -think of something more effectual than I had hitherto tried. I found, -that as there are two things very bad for this distemper, study and -idleness, so there are two things very good, business and diversion; and -that my whole time was spent betwixt the bad, with little or no share of -the good. For this reason I resolved to seek out a more active life, and -though I could not quit my pretensions in learning but with my last -breath, to lay them aside for some time, in order the more effectually -to resume them. Upon examination, I found my choice confined to two -kinds of life, that of a travelling governor, and that of a merchant. -The first, besides that it is in some respects an idle life, was, I -found, unfit for me; and that because from a sedentary and retired way -of living, from a bashful temper, and from a narrow fortune, I had been -little accustomed to general companies, and had not confidence and -knowledge enough of the world to push my fortune, or to be serviceable -in that way. I therefore fixed my choice upon a merchant; and having got -recommendation to a considerable trader in Bristol, I am just now -hastening thither, with a resolution to forget myself, and every thing -that is past, to engage myself, as far as is possible, in that course of -life, and to toss about the world, from the one pole to the other, till -I leave this distemper behind me. - -"As I am come to London in my way to Bristol, I have resolved, if -possible, to get your advice, though I should take this absurd method of -procuring it. All the physicians I have consulted, though very able, -could never enter into my distemper; because not being persons of great -learning beyond their own profession, they were unacquainted with these -motions of the mind. Your fame pointed you out as the properest person -to resolve my doubts, and I was determined to have somebody's opinion, -which I could rest upon in all the varieties of fears and hopes, -incident to so lingering a distemper. I hope I have been particular -enough in describing the symptoms to allow you to form a judgment; or -rather, perhaps, have been too particular. But you know it is a symptom -of this distemper, to delight in complaining and talking of itself. The -questions I would humbly propose to you are: Whether, among all those -scholars you have been acquainted with, you have ever known any affected -in this manner? Whether I can ever hope for a recovery? Whether I must -long wait for it? Whether my recovery will ever be perfect, and my -spirits regain their former spring and vigour, so as to endure the -fatigue of deep and abstruse thinking? Whether I have taken a right way -to recover? I believe all proper medicines have been used, and therefore -I need mention nothing of them." - -The history of this eventful period in the mental biography of Hume, is -very briefly narrated in his "own life." Alluding to his adoption of the -life of a student, he says, "My very slender fortune, however, being -unsuitable to this plan of life, and my health being a little broken by -my ardent application, I was tempted, or rather forced, to make a very -feeble trial for entering into a more active scene of life. In 1734, I -went to Bristol, with some recommendations to eminent merchants, but in -a few months found that scene totally unsuitable to me." - - -I am sure the reader will sympathize with me in esteeming it a high -privilege to be the humble instrument of ushering into the world so -curious a piece of literary autobiography as that which he has just -perused. We are here admitted into the confessional. So secret is the -communication of thought by the writer to the receiver, that the latter, -who was made acquainted with so much of the internal meditations of the -former, was not to be allowed to know with what outward man this mind of -which he obtained a description was connected. The individual mind was -fully and minutely described--to what individual man this mind belonged -was to be preserved a profound secret. The writer shrunk from the -admission of any man to a participation with him in his -self-conferences, and he planned that by keeping his name a secret, the -link which would connect this knowledge of the inner to an acquaintance -with the outer man should be broken. We have surely in this an argument -in favour of the candour and explicitness of his narrative. He felt that -to be known, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, by the person he -addressed, would be a restraint on the freedom of his revelations--he -threw off this restraint, and we are entitled to infer that his letter -is a piece of full and candid self-examination. Every word of it, as it -was originally written, is here printed, and it will perhaps be admitted -that there is not one word of it that does not do honour to its writer. -To Aristotle and others it is attributed that they taught esoteric -doctrines to a chosen few--doctrines not to be promulgated to the world -at large, because they were likely to have a dangerous influence on -minds not skilfully trained for their reception. For any vestiges of -these hidden doctrines the world searches, anticipating that in them -will be found a nearer approach to that which the philosopher believed -in his own mind, as distinct from that which he desired to inculcate on -others. In all ages there has been a natural and a praiseworthy -curiosity to know the hidden thoughts of great teachers. Mankind in -general admit, that truth is what is valuable in all philosophy, and if -a man entertained thoughts in his own mind in any way different from -those which he taught, it has been a conclusion certainly quite -legitimate, that truth is more likely to be found in the former than in -the latter. But certainly there can hardly be found any other instance -in which a document, so likely to be the honest impress of a -philosopher's own mind, has been laid before the world; and it is an -attestation of the sincerity with which the opinions then in the course -of formation in his mind were believed. - -But, independently of the philosophical value of the document, to be -thus admitted into the secrecy of the thoughts of a man ambitious of -high literary distinction, and who has attained his object, is a rare -privilege. The revelation, notwithstanding its foreboding tone, is -calculated to give far more pleasure than pain. The future, which seemed -to the desponding philosopher for a moment so dark, we know to have -brightened on him. Hume was of the happy few who lived to see their airy -castles substantially realized. Comparing what it reveals of the inner -man, with the subsequent history of his achievements, the picture -supplied by this fragment of autobiography is a happy one. We sympathize -with the aspiring dreams of the young man, without feeling that they -were afterwards doomed to disappointment. The immediate occasion of his -earnest appeal is undoubtedly one of despondency; but it was preceded by -hope, as we know it was followed by success; and notwithstanding this -passing cloud, it may fairly be pronounced, that though Hume enjoyed -through life more than the average portion of human happiness, he had no -moments of purer felicity than those in which, in the retirement of his -paternal home, he was sketching the airy outline of his subsequent -career. - -Perhaps the feature that will most forcibly strike the reader, is the -evidence of the deep-rooted ambition to found a philosophical -reputation, that seems to have filled the mind of the writer of this -document. The consciousness that the receiver of the paper must at once -perceive this circumstance, and the desire not to let a stranger -penetrate his aspiring thoughts, must have been the reasons of his -desire for secrecy: it was natural that one who had not entered the -lists to struggle for literary distinction, should wish to conceal how -strong and inextinguishable was his desire to obtain the prize. The -intensity of his anxiety on this subject seems to have made him, in -relation to his mind, what the ordinary hypochondriac is as to his -physical constitution. The desire to preserve the elements of -distinction was so intense, that it disturbed him with vain fears for -their disappearance. Feeling within him, at times, the consciousness of -possessing an original genius,--that it should depart from him, and that -his lot should be cast among that of ordinary mortals, with good -physical health and commonplace abilities, appeared to him the most -awful calamity which fate could have in store for him. Of the excellent -physical health which accompanied these unpleasant variations of his -mental capacity, he speaks with an almost sardonic scorn, as one who, in -the bitterness of being bereft of what is all in all to him, talks of -some paltry trifle which fortune in her sarcastic malice has chosen to -leave untouched. In short, the manner in which he speaks of the -departure of his cunning, must almost necessarily convey to the reader a -considerable portion of that ludicrous character which is always -presented by a scene in which a man appears to be dreadfully anxious -about the safety of that which either is of no importance, or is not in -danger. - -It may be a question whether this strange letter was ever sent to its -destination, as the version from which it is here printed is not a rough -draught, but a neatly written copy, such as might have been prepared for -transmission. But this does not afford so full a presumption in Hume's -case, as it would in that of the average of literary men, as he seems to -have felt a sort of enjoyment in his earlier years in having his papers -neatly written out. The first name that suggested itself as that of the -person to whom the paper was addressed was Arbuthnot, whose fine genius -was just then flickering in the socket. But a more full consideration -showed to my satisfaction that it must have been destined for Dr. George -Cheyne, and that it was suggested by that eminent physician's -publication, in the preceding year, of "The English Malady; or, a -Treatise of Nervous Diseases of all kinds, as Spleen, Vapours, Lowness -of Spirits, Hypochondriacal Distempers, &c." There is a certain unison -of tone between Hume's letter and this book, that, added to other -coincidences, strongly impresses on the mind their connexion with each -other; and though it is perhaps necessary, before this is fully seen, to -enter into the whole tenor and tone of Cheyne's book, the reader will -perhaps find the following passage sufficient to render the conjecture -probable:-- - -"It is a common observation, (and I think has great probability on its -side,) that fools, weak or stupid persons, heavy and dull souls, are -seldom much troubled with vapours or lowness of spirits. The -intellectual faculty, without all manner of doubt, has material and -animal organs, by which it mediately works, as well as the animal -functions. What they are, and how they operate, as I believe very few -know, so it is very little necessary to know them for my present -purpose. As a philosophical musician may understand proportions and -harmony, and yet never be in a condition to gratify a company with a -fine piece of music, without the benefit of sounds from proper organs, -so the intellectual operations (as long as the present union between -soul and body lasts) can never be performed in the best manner without -proper instruments. The works of imagination and memory, of study, -thinking, and reflecting, from whatever source the principle on which -they depend springs, must necessarily require bodily organs. Some have -these organs finer, quicker, more agile, and sensible, and perhaps more -numerous than others; brute animals have few or none, at least none that -belong to reflection; vegetables certainly none at all. There is no -account to be given how a disease, a fall, a blow, a debauch, poisons, -violent passions, astral and aerial influences, much application, and -the like, should possibly alter or destroy these intellectual operations -without this supposition. It is evident, that in nervous distempers, and -a great many other bodily diseases, these faculties and their operations -are impaired, nay, totally ruined and extinguished to all appearance; -and yet, by proper remedies, and after recovery of health, they are -restored and brought to their former state. Now, since this present age -has made efforts to go beyond former times, in all the arts of -ingenuity, invention, study, learning, and all the contemplative and -sedentary professions, (I speak only here of our own nation, our own -times, and of the better sort, whose chief employments and studies these -are,) the organs of these faculties being thereby worn and spoiled, must -affect and deaden the whole system, and lay a foundation for the -diseases of lowness and weakness. Add to this, that those who are -likeliest to excel and apply in this manner, are most capable and most -in hazard of following that way of life which I have mentioned, as the -likeliest to produce these diseases. Great wits are generally great -epicures, at least, men of taste. And the bodies and constitutions of -one generation are still more corrupt, infirm, and diseased, than those -of the former, as they advance in time and the use of the causes -assigned." - -Then there are the farther coincidences, that Cheyne was a Scotsman, -that he was an eminent man in his profession, and that he had bestowed -some attention on mental philosophy. "I passed my youth," he tells us, -"in close study, and almost constant application to the abstracted -sciences, wherein my chief pleasure consisted." "Having," he elsewhere -says, "had a liberal education, with the instruction and example of -pious parents, (who at first had designed me for the church,) I had -preserved a firm persuasion of the great and fundamental principles of -all virtue and morality: viz. the existence of a supreme and infinitely -perfect Being, the freedom of the will, the immortality of the spirits -of all intellectual beings, and the certainty of future rewards or -punishments. These doctrines I had examined carefully, and had been -confirmed in, from abstracted reasonings, as well as from the best -natural philosophy, and some clearer knowledge of the material system of -the world in general, and the wisdom, fitness, and beautiful contrivance -of particular things animated and inanimated; so that the truth and -necessity of these principles was so riveted in me, (which may be seen -by the first edition of my 'Philosophical Principles,' published some -years before that happened,[45:1]) as never after to be shaken in all my -wanderings and follies."[45:2] It may be mentioned also, as a -circumstance likely to bring Cheyne's work early under Hume's -observation, that it contains a long statement of the case of Dr. -William Cranstoun, an eminent medical man then residing at Jedburgh, in -the same district of country with Ninewells. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1:1] Old Style. - -[1:2] He is entered in the list of members on 23d June, 1705, as "Mr. -Joseph Hume of Ninewalls." It thus appears that the orthography of the -name adopted by his son, and which will be found to have been so much -the subject of dispute, was not a novelty to the family. - -[2:1] Both the "Peerage" and the "Baronage" of Scotland, by Robert -Douglas, are well known to Scottish genealogical antiquaries. The former -was published in 1764. The latter, in which there is a brief account of -the Ninewells' family, in 1798. - -[4:1] In connexion with this, it is not uninteresting to view Hume's -opinions on the philosophy of family pride. He says, in the Treatise of -Human Nature, Book ii. p. i. sect. 9.--"'Tis evident that, when any one -boasts of the antiquity of his family, the subjects of his vanity are -not merely the extent of time and number of ancestors, but also their -riches and credit, which are supposed to reflect a lustre on himself on -account of his relation to them. He first considers these objects; is -affected by them in an agreeable manner; and then returning back to -himself, through the relation of parent and child, is elevated with the -passion of pride, by means of the double relation of impressions and -ideas. Since, therefore, the passion depends on these relations, -whatever strengthens any of the relations must also increase the -passion, and whatever weakens the relations must diminish the passion. -Now 'tis certain the identity of the possession strengthens the relation -of ideas arising from blood and kindred, and conveys the fancy with -greater facility from one generation to another, from the remotest -ancestors to their posterity, who are both their heirs and their -descendants. By this facility the impression is transmitted more entire, -and excites a greater degree of pride and vanity." - -[6:1] The document is quoted in Book ii. of Robertson's History of -Scotland. - -[6:2] A tragic incident occurred in the year 1683, in which Hume of -Ninewells, and Johnston of Hilton, were victims to the revengeful -passions of a brother of the Earl of Home, vented under circumstances of -singular treachery and inhospitality. It is thus narrated in Law's -Memorials, p. 259. "December, 1683, about the close of that moneth, the -Earl himself being from home, the Lairds of Hilton and Nynhools came to -make a visit to the Earl of Home his house, and went to dice and cards -with Mr. William Home, the Earl's brother. Some sharp words fell amongst -them at their game, which were not noticed, as it seemed to them; yet, -when the two gentlemen were gone to their bed-chambers, the foresaid Mr. -William comes up with his sword and stabs Hilton with nine deadly -wounds, in his bed, that he dies immediately; and wounds Nynhools -mortally, so that it was thought he could not live, and immediately took -horse and fled into England--a treacherous and villanous act done to two -innocent gentlemen, the fruits of dicing and card gaming." - -"Joseph Johnstone of Hilton was stabbed by Mr. William, brother to -Charles earle of Hume. Hilton being of a lofty temper, had given Mr. -Hume bad words in his own house of Hilton, and a box on the ear. . . . -And William Hume made his escape to England, on Hilton's horse. He was -after killed himself in the wars abroad."--Lord Fountainhall's Diary, p. -33. - -The editor of Law, Mr. Kirkpatrick Sharpe, appends the following farther -notices of this incident:-- - -"Before his death he is said to have returned to Scotland, smitten with -remorse, and anxious to obtain pardon of a near male relation of -Johnstone's, then residing in Edinburgh. This gentleman, in the dusk of -the evening, was called forth to the outside stairs of the house, to -speak with a stranger muffled in a cloak. As he proceeded along the -passage, the door being open, he recognised the murderer; and -immediately drawing his sword, rushed towards him, on which the other -leapt nimbly down from the stairs into the street, and was never again -seen in Scotland." These events were made the subject of an amusing -sketch in _Chambers's Edinburgh Journal_, No. 569. - -[7:1] Copy MS. communicated by Dr. Vallange, Portobello. - -[8:1] Hist. and Allus. Arms, p. 400, where the information is derived -from Douglas's Baronage. - -[9:1] Unless such allusions as the following be held as an exception: -"The north of England abounds in the best horses of all kinds which are -perhaps in the world. In the neighbouring counties, north side of the -Tweed, no good horses of any kind are to be met with." Essay on National -Characters. But he speaks fully as distinctly and specifically of local -matters in France or Spain. - -The remarks in the text may probably be considered superfluous, being -applicable to by far the greater portion of literary men--as those who -have attempted to trace, from the internal evidence of their works, the -birthplaces of authors not commemorated by their contemporaries, can -testify. Thomson, also a borderer, and a poet of rural life, has -scarcely any allusion that bears a distinct reference to the scenery of -his childhood, and celebrates the heroism of almost every land but his -own. In that age, however, to be national in Scotland was to be -provincial in Britain; and unless an author chose to aim at the -restricted reputation of a Ramsay or a Pennecuik, he must carefully shun -allusions to his native country. But the very existence of this, as a -general characteristic, seems to render it worthy of notice in this -instance, which must certainly be held, like Thomson's, a peculiarly -marked illustration of this feature in literary history. Hume had -frequently to record events which had taken place close to his home; and -the whole of the surrounding district was full of traditional lore, -about the wild life of the borderers in the seventeenth century, which -would have afforded valuable materials for his history, and some of his -other works, had he been one of those who derive their knowledge from -men as well as from books. But these volumes will afford ample -opportunity for observing, that he required to place no great restraint -on his pen to keep it free of provincial allusions; and that, even in -his most familiar letters, though he often speaks of the friends of his -youth, he says nothing of the places in which he spent his early days. - -[12:1] Among the Hume Papers in the possession of the Royal Society of -Edinburgh, there is a letter from the chevalier, addressed to "Monsieur -de Ramsay, a l'Hotel de Provence, Rue de Conde, Faubourg St. Germain," -dated 1st September, 1742. The receiver of this letter was probably the -correspondent of Hume, to whom it may have been sent, under the -impression that he was the person connected with the Vindication of the -Duchess of Marlborough, a book now well known to have been put into -shape by Hooke, the historian of Rome. The letter is in English; and it -shows that there are works of genius which the author of "The Travels of -Cyrus" had not taste to appreciate. He says:-- - -"I have read the first book of 'The History of Joseph Andrews,' but -don't believe I shall be able to finish the first volume. Dull burlesque -is still more insupportable than dull morality. Perhaps my not -understanding the language of low life in an English style is the reason -of my disgust; but I am afraid your Britannic wit is at as low an ebb as -the French. I hope to find some more amusement in my Lady Duchess of -Marlborough's adventures. They say a friend of ours has some hand in -them. I pity his misfortune, if he is obliged to stoop below his fine -genius and talents, to please an old rich dowager, that neither deserves -apology nor praise, and that would be too much honoured for her merit by -an ingenious fine satyr. I long to be in a condition to travel, that I -may see and embrace you, make acquaintance with your amiable young Lord, -and assure you both of the tender zeal, friendship, and attachment with -which I am your most humble and most obedient servant, - -"The Ch. RAMSAY." - -Perhaps the criticism on Fielding may not be thought inconsistent with -the man who pronounced Locke a shallow writer. - -[14:1] Virg. AEn. iii. 660. - -[14:2] - - At secura quies, et nescia fallere vita, - Dives opum variarum: at latis otia fundis, - Speluncae, vivique lacus; at frigida Tempe, - Mugitusque boum, mollesque sub arbore somni - Non absunt. - - Virg. Georg. ii. 467 et seq. - -In the course of the correspondence which follows, there will be found -several quotations from the Latin classics. Hume's handwriting is so -distinct, that we can seldom have any doubt of the individual letters -written by him. At the same time, as he appears to have always quoted -from memory, there is sometimes a greater difference than even that -exhibited above, between the original and his version of it. I have -thought, that were I to attempt to correct his quotations, I would be -removing valuable data from which the reader may form an estimate of his -mental powers and his education. It will perhaps be allowed, that in -some instances he shows a fertile invention in substituting words for -those which his memory has failed to retain; while in others, as in the -above quotation, the fastidious critics of England will perhaps detect -traces of the more slovenly classical education of Scotland. In his -published works, Hume appears to have anxiously collated his quotations. -But in his letters he seems to have been always more anxious about the -judicious choice of his own expressions, than the accurate transcription -of the words of others. His letters appear to have been carefully -composed. He wrote in constant dread of falling into slovenly -colloquialisms of style, and was not ashamed to leave on his letters the -marks of this anxiety, in corrections and interlineations. This -peculiarity must be admitted to be at variance with the received canon -of the learned world, which excuses mistakes and clumsy expressions in -the vernacular language of a writer, but has no mercy for irregularities -in the use of the dead languages. - -[16:1] From a scroll in the MSS. bequeathed by Baron Hume to the Royal -Society of Edinburgh. - -An account of these MSS. will be found in the Preface. Henceforth, for -the sake of brevity, they will be referred to thus--MS. R.S.E. A part of -the above letter has been already printed in the _Literary Gazette_ for -1821, p. 762. - -[25:1] It may be interesting to compare these extracts with his method -of treating the same subject at a later period of his life. The -following is taken from his Essay on the Feudal and Anglo-Norman -Government and Manners, in the two volumes of his History, first -published in 1762. - -"The feudal institutions, by raising the military tenants to a kind of -sovereign dignity, by rendering personal strength and valour requisite, -and by making every knight and baron his own protector and avenger, -begat that martial pride and sense of honour, which, being cultivated -and embellished by the poets and romance writers of the age, ended in -chivalry. The virtuous knight fought not only in his own quarrel, but in -that of the innocent, of the helpless, and, above all, of the fair, whom -he supposed to be for ever under the guardianship of his valiant arm. -The uncourteous knight, who, from his castle, exercised robbery on -travellers, and committed violence on virgins, was the object of his -perpetual indignation; and he put him to death without scruple, or -trial, or appeal, whenever he met with him. The great independence of -men made personal honour and fidelity the chief tie among them, and -rendered it the capital virtue of every true knight, or genuine -professor of chivalry. The solemnities of single combat, as established -by law, banished the notion of every thing unfair or unequal in -rencounters, and maintained an appearance of courtesy between the -combatants till the moment of their engagement. The credulity of the age -grafted on this stock the notions of giants, enchanters, spells, and a -thousand wonders, which still multiplied during the time of the -crusades, when men, returning from so great a distance, used the liberty -of imposing every fiction on their believing audience. These ideas of -chivalry infected the writings, conversations, and behaviour of men -during some ages; and even after they were in a great measure banished -by the revival of learning, they left modern _gallantry_, and the _point -of honour_, which still maintain their influence, and are the genuine -offspring of those ancient affectations." - -[28:1] Perhaps few authors afford so many curious illustrations of the -substitution of fanciful analogy for the severe logic of a practical -lawyer, as Lord Kames--_e. g._ when, in his essays on British -antiquities, he identifies hereditary descent with the law of -gravitation, and the inclination of the mind to continue downwards in a -straight line, as a stone falls from a height; so that, "in tracing out -a family, the mind descends by degrees from the father, first to the -eldest son, and so downwards in the order of age:" pleasant enough -speculations, yet not likely to serve any good purpose in practical law. - -[29:1] Essay on Eloquence. - -[45:1] Philosophical Principles of Natural Religion, 1705, 8vo. - -[45:2] The English Malady, p. 330-331. I have run my eye over Cheyne's -"Natural Method of Curing Diseases of the Body and Mind," 1742, -8vo,--the only work I am aware of his having published subsequently to -the date of Hume's letter, but I have found in it no trace of a -reference to Hume's case. Cheyne's works are perhaps better known to the -public in general, than any medical books of the same period, and their -curious discursive contents amply repay perusal. Their science is of -course held to be completely superseded, but the unscientific reader -cannot help thinking that there is much sagacious good counsel in his -advice, notwithstanding the eccentric garrulity with which it is -uttered. His account of his own experiences, in experimenting on -himself, is the most interesting department of his medical observations. -He describes every thing with a sort of rude eloquence, infinitely more -pleasing to an ordinary reader than scientific precision; and the -recklessness with which he appears to have submitted his own carcass to -the most violent changes of regimen, inclines one to think that he had -applied towards it the _fiat experimentum in compore vili_. He tells us -that he was disposed to "corpulence by the whole race of one side" of -his family. In the quotation given above, he represents himself as -having been studious in his youth. He began to practise his profession -in London, of which he says--"The number of fires, sulphurous and -bituminous; the vast expense of tallow and foetid oil in candles and -lamps, under and above ground; the clouds of stinking breaths and -perspiration, not to mention the ordure of so many diseased, both -intelligent and unintelligent animals; the crowded churches, -churchyards, and burying places, with putrifying bodies, the sinks, -butcher houses, stables, dunghills, and the necessary stagnation, -fermentation, and mixture of all variety of all kinds of atoms, are more -than sufficient to putrify, poison, and infect the air, for twenty miles -round it." Having come from the fresh air of the country into so hopeful -an atmosphere, he seems to have resolved that his habit of living should -be an equally great contrast to his previous studious abstinence. "Upon -my coming to London, I all of a sudden changed my whole manner of -living. I found the bottle-companions, the younger gentry, and -free-livers, to be the most easy of access, and most quickly susceptible -of friendship and acquaintance,--nothing being necessary for that -purpose but to be able to eat lustily, and swallow down much liquor; and -being naturally of a large size, a cheerful temper, and tolerable lively -imagination; and having, in my country retirement, laid in store of -ideas and facts,--by these qualifications I soon became caressed by -them, and grew daily in bulk, and in friendship with these gay gentlemen -and their acquaintances. I was tempted to continue this course, no -doubt, from a liking, as well as to force a trade, which method I had -observed to succeed with some others: and thus constantly dining and -supping in taverns, and in the houses of my acquaintances of taste and -delicacy, my health was in a few years brought into great distress, by -so sudden and violent a change. I grew excessively fat, short-breathed, -lethargic, and listless." - -The consequences were "a constant, violent headach, giddiness, lowness, -anxiety, and terror," and he went about "like a malefactor condemned, or -one who expected every moment to be crushed by a ponderous instrument of -death hanging over his head." These evil symptoms prompted him to -abandon suppers and restrict himself to a small quantity of animal food -and of fermented liquors. He very naturally found that on this abrupt -change all his "bouncing, protesting, and undertaking companions" -forsook him, and "dropped off like autumnal leaves," leaving him to -vegetate in temperate dreariness, while they "retired to comfort -themselves with a cheer-up cup," so that he pathetically tells us, "I -was forced to retire into the country quite alone, being reduced to the -state of Cardinal Wolsey, when he said, that if he had served his Maker -as faithfully and warmly as he had his prince, he would not have -forsaken him in that extremity." - -It would be difficult to follow out the multitudinous course of remedies -he adopted, commencing with "volatiles, foetids, bitters, chalybeats, -and mineral waters," and how he took twenty grains of "what is called -the prince's powder," and "had certainly perished under the operation, -but for an over-dose of laudanum after it," having thus experienced -something like the good fortune of the man of Thessaly who leaped into a -quickset hedge. Under these circumstances he felt his body "melting away -like a snow-ball in summer." Having tried the Bath waters, he appears to -have somewhat revived, whereupon by increasing his quantity of "animal -food and strong liquors," he was "heated so," that he "apprehended a -hectic." His next change was to a milk diet, in which experiment he was -confirmed by a visit to Dr. Taylor of Croydon, its apostle, whom he -found "at home, at his full quart of cow's milk, which was all his -dinner." He found in consequence of this change, that he "increased in -spirits, strength, appetite and gaiety," until, the old Adam struggling -within him, he "began to find a craving and insufferable longing for -more solid and toothsome food, and for higher and stronger liquors." -Hereupon we have him getting more generous in his diet, but still, as he -counts it, "sober, moderate, and plain," in so far as he "drank not -above a quart or three pints at most of wine any day." Under this -regimen, he says, "I swelled to such an enormous size, that upon my last -weighing I exceeded thirty-two stones." Then came fits of various kinds, -and a dreary period of hypochondria, with recurrences to the low diet -system, and then such startling revulsions from it as the following: "I -resolved to change my half pint of port at dinner, into the same -quantity of Florence. I ate, at the same time, a good deal of more -butter with my vegetables, and plenty of old rich cheese; and likewise -nuts extremely--I procured from abroad and at home, great plenty of all -kinds, as filberts, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, &c., eating them in -great quantities after dinner by way of dessert," but in pity to the -digestive sympathies of the reader this subject must be dropped. Dr. -Cheyne is--not the martyr, but the hero of dyspepsia, and Mrs. Radcliffe -could not have drawn him through a longer series of horrors than his -inventive genius seems to have created for himself. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -1734-1739. AET. 23-27. - - Hume leaves Bristol for France--Paris--Miracles at the Tomb of - the Abbe Paris--Rheims--La Fleche--Associations with the Abbe - Pluche and Des Cartes--Observations on French Society and - Manners--Story of La Roche--Return to Britain.--Correspondence - with Henry Home--Publication of the first and second volume of - The Treatise of Human Nature--Character of that Work--Its - Influence on mental Philosophy. - - -We have no account of Hume's sojourn in Bristol, except his own very -brief statement, that "in a few months," he "found that scene totally -unsuitable" to him.[48:1] He must have proceeded to France about the -middle of the year 1734, and he thus describes in his "own life," his -motives and intentions. "I went over to France, with a view of -prosecuting my studies in a country retreat; and I there laid that plan -of life, which I have steadily and successfully pursued. I resolved to -make a very rigid frugality supply my deficiency of fortune, to -maintain unimpaired my independency, and to regard every object as -contemptible, except the improvement of my talents in literature." - -His subsequent letters show that he proceeded in the first instance to -Paris, where he remained for a short time. Not long before his arrival -there, some occurrences had taken place which were afterwards -prominently referred to in his philosophical writings. A Jansenist, -distinguished by his sanctity and the wide circle of his charities--the -Abbe Paris, having died, a tomb was erected over his remains in the -cemetery of St. Medard. Thither the poor, whom the good man had -succoured in life, repaired to bless his memory and pray for the state -of his soul. But it was discovered that this devotion was speedily -rewarded; for the sick were cured, the blind saw, all manner of miracles -were performed; and the evidence of their genuineness was considered so -satisfactory, that the Jesuits were never able to impugn them--an -instance which it might be well for every one to recall to mind who is -told of phenomena out of the ordinary course of nature being -authenticated by the testimony of respectable and enlightened people. At -length, this series of miracles became offensive to the -government--there was no saying how far the matter might proceed. It was -resolved that there should be no more miracles performed at the tomb of -the Abbe Paris: the gates of the cemetery were closed, and the miracles -necessarily came to an end. This occurred in the year 1732, just two -years before Hume's visit; and it will easily be imagined that the -references to these wonderful events which he would hear in -conversation, suggested many trains of thought to the young philosopher. -It was not long afterwards, and probably while all this was very fresh -in his memory, that the principal theory of his Essay on Miracles was -suggested to him. In that Essay he says: - -"Many of the miracles of Abbe Paris were proved immediately by witnesses -before the officialty or bishop's court at Paris, under the eye of -Cardinal Noailles, whose character for integrity and capacity was never -contested even by his enemies. - -"His successor in the archbishopric was an enemy to the Jansenists, and -for that reason promoted to the see by the court. Yet twenty-two rectors -or cures of Paris, with infinite earnestness, press him to examine those -miracles, which they assert to be known to the whole world, and -indisputably certain. But he wisely forbore." - -And farther on:-- - -"No less a man than the Duc de Chatillon, a duke and peer of France, of -the highest rank and family, gives evidence of a miraculous cure, -performed upon a servant of his, who had lived several years in his -house with a visible and palpable infirmity. - -"I shall conclude with observing, that no clergy are more celebrated for -strictness of life and manners than the secular clergy of France, -particularly the rectors or cures of Paris, who bear testimony to these -impostures." - -An illustration of his notice of what was passing around him in Paris, -occurs in the following passage in his "Natural History of Religion." - -"I lodged once at Paris in the same hotel with an ambassador from Tunis, -who, having passed some years at London, was returning home that way. -One day I observed his Moorish excellency diverting himself under the -porch, with surveying the splendid equipages that drove along; when -there chanced to pass that way some Capucin friars, who had never seen -a Turk, as he, on his part, though accustomed to the European dresses, -had never seen the grotesque figure of a Capucin: and there is no -expressing the mutual admiration with which they inspired each other. -Had the chaplain of the embassy entered into a dispute with these -Franciscans, their reciprocal surprise had been of the same nature. Thus -all mankind stand staring at one another; and there is no beating it -into their heads, that the turban of the African is not just as good or -as bad a fashion as the cowl of the European.--'He is a very honest -man,' said the Prince of Sallee, speaking of De Ruyter; 'it is a pity he -were a Christian.'" - -After leaving Paris, he resided at Rheims in the province of Champagne, -about eighty miles north-east of the metropolis. Thence he addressed to -his friend Michael Ramsay the following letter, full of observation and -thought. - - -HUME _to_ MICHAEL RAMSAY. - -"_Rheims, September 12, 1734._ - -"MY DEAR MICHAEL,--I suppose you have received two letters from me, -dated at Paris, in one of which was enclosed a letter to my Lord Stair. -I am now arrived at Rheims, which is to be the place of my abode for -some considerable time, and where I hope both to spend my time happily -for the present, and lay up a stock for the future. It is a large town, -containing about forty thousand inhabitants, and has in it about thirty -families that keep coaches, though, by the appearance of the houses, you -would not think there was one. I am recommended to two of the best -families in town, and particularly to a man, who they say is one of the -most learned in France.[52:1] He is just now in the country, so that I -have not yet seen him; though, if I had seen him, it would be some time -before I could contract a friendship with him, not being yet sufficient -master of the language to support a conversation; which is a great -vexation to me, but which I hope in a short time to get over. As I have -little more than this to say about business, I shall use the freedom to -entertain you with any idle thoughts that come into my head, hoping at -least you will excuse them, if not be pleased with them, because they -come from an absent friend. - -"When I parted from Paris, the Chevalier Ramsay gave me as his advice, -to observe carefully, and imitate as much as possible, the manners of -the French. For, says he, though the English, perhaps, have more of the -real politeness of the heart, yet the French certainly have the better -way of expressing it. This gave me occasion to reflect upon the matter, -and in my humble opinion it is just the contrary: viz., that the French -have more real politeness, and the English the better method of -expressing it. By real politeness I mean softness of temper, and a -sincere inclination to oblige and be serviceable, which is very -conspicuous in this nation, not only among the high but low; in so much -that the porters and coachmen here are civil, and that, not only to -gentlemen, but likewise among themselves; so that I have not yet seen -one quarrel in France, though they are every where to be met with in -England.[53:1] By the expressions of politeness, I mean those outward -deferences and ceremonies which custom has invented, to supply the -defect of real politeness or kindness, that is unavoidable towards -strangers, or indifferent persons, even in men of the best dispositions -in the world. These ceremonies ought to be so contrived, as that, though -they do not deceive nor pass for sincere, yet still they please by their -appearance, and lead the mind by its own consent and knowledge into an -agreeable delusion. One may err by running into either of the two -extremes; that of making them too like truth or too remote from it: -though we may observe, that the first is scarce possible, because -whenever any expression or action becomes customary, it can deceive -nobody. Thus, when the Quakers say, 'your friend,' they are as easily -understood, as another, that says, 'your humble servant.' The French err -in the contrary extreme, that of making their civilities too remote from -truth, which is a fault, though they are not designed to be believed; -just as it is a transgression of rules in a dramatic poet to mix any -improbabilities with his fable, though 'tis certain that, in the -representation, the scenes, lights, company, and a thousand other -circumstances, make it impossible he can ever deceive. - -"Another fault I find in the French manners, is that, like their clothes -and furniture, they are too glaring. An English fine gentleman -distinguishes himself from the rest of the world, by the whole tenor of -his conversation, more than by any particular part of it; so that though -you are sensible he excels, you are at a loss to tell in what, and have -no remarkable civilities and compliments to pitch on as a proof of his -politeness. These he so smooths over, that they pass for the common -actions of life, and never put you to[55:1] trouble of returning thanks -for them. The English politeness is always greatest where it appears -least. - -"After all, it must be confessed that the little niceties of French -behaviour, though troublesome and impertinent, yet serve to polish the -ordinary kind of people, and prevent rudeness and brutality. For in the -same manner as soldiers are found to become more courageous in learning -to hold their muskets within half an inch of a place appointed; and your -devotees feel their devotion increase by the observance of trivial -superstitions, as sprinkling, kneeling, crossing, &c.; so men insensibly -soften towards each other in the practice of these ceremonies. The mind -pleases itself by the progress it makes in such trifles, and while it is -so supported, makes an easy transition to something more material. And I -verily believe it is for this reason that you scarce ever meet with a -clown or an ill-bred man in France. - -"You may perhaps wonder that I, who have stayed so short time in France, -and who have confessed that I am not master of their language, should -decide so positively of their manner. But you will please to observe, -that it is with nations as with particular men, where one trifle -frequently serves more to discover the character, than a whole train of -considerable actions. Thus, when I compare our English phrase of 'humble -servant,' which likewise we omit upon the least intimacy, with the -French one of 'the honour of being your most humble servant,' which they -never forget,--this, compared with other circumstances, lets me clearly -see the different humours of the nations. This phrase, of the honour of -doing or saying such a thing to you, goes so far, that my washing-woman -to-day told me, that she hoped she would have the honour of serving me -while I staid at Rheims; and what is still more absurd, it is said by -people to those who are very much their inferiors. - -"Before I conclude my letter, I must tell you that I hope you will -excuse my rudeness, if I use the freedom (?)[56:1] to desire of you -that, the next time you do me the honour of writing to me, you will be -so good as to sit down a day before the post goes away; for I cannot -help being afraid that, in your haste, you have omitted many things, -which otherwise I would have had the honour and satisfaction of hearing -from you. When you are so good as to condescend to write, please to -direct so:--'A Monsieur--Monsieur David Hume, gentilhomme, Ecossois, -chez Monsieur Mesier, au Peroquet verd, proche la porte au Ferron, -Rheims.'"[56:2] - - -Hume states, in his "own life," that he passed "three years" very -agreeably in France. We find from a letter to Principal Campbell,[57:1] -that two of these years were spent at La Fleche, and that he had some -communication with the members of the Jesuits' College there. He says, -"It may perhaps amuse you to learn the first hint, which suggested to me -that argument which you have so strenuously attacked. I was walking in -the cloisters of the Jesuits' College of La Fleche, a town in which I -passed two years of my youth, and engaged in a conversation with a -Jesuit of some parts and learning, who was relating to me, and urging -some nonsensical miracle performed lately in their convent, when I was -tempted to dispute against him; and as my head was full of the topics of -my Treatise of Human Nature, which I was at that time composing, this -argument immediately occurred to me, and I thought it very much -gravelled my companion; but at last he observed to me, that it was -impossible for that argument to have any solidity, because it operated -equally against the Gospel as the Catholic miracles;--which observation -I thought proper to admit as a sufficient answer. I believe you will -allow, that the freedom at least of this reasoning makes it somewhat -extraordinary to have been the produce of a convent of Jesuits, though -perhaps you may think the sophistry of it savours plainly of the place -of its birth." - -This same Jesuits' College of La Fleche, is familiar to the -philosophical reader as the seminary in which Des Cartes was educated. -The place which Hume had just left, has been seen to be associated with -the birth and residence of a distinguished opponent of the Cartesian -theory. We now find him perfecting his work in that academic solitude, -where Des Cartes himself was educated, and where he formed his theory of -commencing with the doubt of previous dogmatic opinions, and framing for -himself a new fabric of belief. The coincidence is surely worthy of -reflective association, and it is perhaps not the least striking -instance of Hume's unimaginative nature, that in none of his works, -printed or manuscript, do we find an allusion to the circumstance, that -while framing his own theories, he trod the same pavement that had -upwards of a century earlier borne the weight of one whose fame and -influence on human thought was so much of the same character as he -himself panted to attain. - -It is to Hume's early sojourn in France that we must assign the time and -the scene of Mackenzie's pleasant fiction, called the "Story of La -Roche," published in the Mirror of 1779. It is generally admitted that -the writer's materials were merely the character and habits of the -philosopher, and that there was no groundwork for the narrative in any -incident that had actually occurred. But the story must be taken as the -observations of an acute perception, and a finely adjusted taste, upon -Hume's character; and our reliance on the accuracy of the picture is -enhanced by the circumstance that Smith, deceived by its air of reality, -expressed his wonder that Hume had never told him of the incident.[58:1] - -The opening description is in these words:-- - -"More than forty years ago, an English philosopher, whose works have -since been read and admired by all Europe, resided at a little town in -France. Some disappointments in his native country had first driven him -abroad, and he was afterwards induced to remain there, from having found -in this retreat, where the connexions even of nature and language were -avoided, a perfect seclusion and retirement, highly favourable to the -development of abstract subjects, in which he excelled all the writers -of his time. - -"Perhaps in the structure of such a mind as Mr. ----'s, the fine and -more delicate sensibilities are seldom known to have place; or, if -originally implanted there, are in a great measure extinguished by the -exertions of intense study and profound investigation. Hence the idea of -philosophy and unfeelingness being united, has become proverbial; and, -in common language, the former word is often used to express the latter. -Our philosopher had been censured by some, as deficient in warmth and -feeling: but the mildness of his manners has been allowed by all; and it -is certain, that if he was not easily melted into compassion, it was at -least not difficult to awaken his benevolence." - -The impression of the actions of a kind, charitable, and tolerant -disposition, conveyed by the circumstances of the narrative, cannot be -represented without incorporating it in full; and it will probably be -thought that one or two passing sketches of character, such as the -above, are all that should be taken into a work like the present, from a -book accessible to every reader. Thus, when the housekeeper comes with -the account of the distresses of the poor protestant clergyman and his -daughter: - -"Her master laid aside the volume in his hand, and broke off the chain -of ideas it had inspired. His night-gown was exchanged for a coat, and -he followed his gouvernante to the sick man's apartment." - -Again,-- - -"La Roche found a degree of simplicity and gentleness in his companion, -which is not always annexed to the character of a learned or a wise man. -His daughter, who was prepared to be afraid of him, was equally -undeceived. She found in him nothing of that self-importance which -superior parts, or great cultivation of them, is apt to confer. He -talked of every thing but philosophy or religion; he seemed to enjoy -every pleasure and amusement of ordinary life, and to be interested in -the most common topics of discourse: when his knowledge or learning at -any time appeared, it was delivered with the utmost plainness, and -without the least shadow of dogmatism." - -And not less distinctly are the following sentences the echo of -Mackenzie's own observations of the character and habits of the -philosopher, that they are put in the varied shape of dialogue and -narrative. - -"You regret, my friend," said [La Roche,] "when my daughter and I talk -of the exquisite pleasure derived from music, you regret your want of -musical powers and musical feelings; it is a department of soul, you -say, which nature has almost denied you, which, from the effects you see -it have on others, you are sure must be highly delightful. Why should -not the same thing be said of religion? Trust me, I feel it in the same -way, an energy, an inspiration, which I would not lose for all the -blessings of sense or enjoyments of the world. . . . . . And it would -have been inhuman in our philosopher to have clouded, even with a doubt, -the sunshine of this belief. - -"His discourse was very remote from metaphysical disquisition or -religious controversy. Of all men I ever knew, his ordinary conversation -was the least tinctured with pedantry or liable to dissertation. With La -Roche and his daughter it was perfectly familiar. The country round -them, the manners of the villagers, the comparison of both with those of -England, remarks on the works of favourite authors, or the sentiments -they conveyed, and the passions they excited, with many other topics in -which there was an equality, or alternate advantage among the speakers, -were the subjects they talked on." - -Nor can one, after having quoted so much, avoid giving the concluding -sentence, in which the philosopher contemplates the old clergyman's -grief for the loss of his daughter, and at the same time that he -perceives its bitterness and intensity, is made aware of the -consolations which the bereaved old man finds in religion, and "rejoices -that such consolation" is his. - -"Mr. ----'s heart was smitten; and I have heard him long after confess, -that there were moments when the remembrance overcame him even to -weakness; when, amidst all the pleasures of philosophical discovery, and -the pride of literary fame, he recalled to his mind the venerable figure -of the good La Roche, and wished that he had never doubted." - -The account of his sojourn in France is thus given in his "own -life:"--"During my retreat in France, first at Rheims, but chiefly at La -Fleche, in Anjou, I composed my 'Treatise of Human Nature.' After -passing three years very agreeably in that country, I came over to -London in 1737." - -We must now follow him to London, where we find him occupied in carrying -his "Treatise of Human Nature," through the press. One of his early -friends was his namesake Henry Home, afterwards Lord Kames, who -pursued, but with unequal step, the same path with himself. Home was -fifteen years the elder of the two, and had joined the bar in 1723. He -had already published some of his professional works; but it was at a -subsequent period of his life, and when he perhaps became emulous of the -fame of his friend, that he attempted works in ethics, metaphysics, and -criticism. During many years of continued intimacy, these two -distinguished men enjoyed each other's mutual respect; but, in their -early intercourse, when his senior had for some time occupied a -prominent position in the eye of the public, we naturally find Hume -writing about his great project in a tone of modest deference. - - -HUME _to_ HENRY HOME. - -"_London, December 2, 1737._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I am sorry I am not able to satisfy your curiosity by giving -you some general notion of the plan upon which I proceed. But my -opinions are so new, and even some terms I am obliged to make use of, -that I could not propose, by any abridgment, to give my system an air of -likelihood, or so much as make it intelligible. It is a thing I have in -vain attempted already, at a gentleman's request in this place, who -thought it would help him to comprehend and judge of my notions, if he -saw them all at once before him. I have had a greater desire of -communicating to you the plan of the whole, that I believe it will not -appear in public before the beginning of next winter. For, besides that -it would be difficult to have it printed before the rising of the -parliament, I must confess I am not ill pleased with a little delay, -that it may appear with as few imperfections as possible. I have been -here near three months, always within a week of agreeing with my -printers; and you may imagine I did not forget the work itself during -that time, where I began to feel some passages weaker for the style and -diction than I could have wished. The nearness and greatness of the -event roused up my attention, and made me more difficult to please, than -when I was alone in perfect tranquillity in France. But here I must tell -you one of my foibles. I have a great inclination to go down to Scotland -this spring to see my friends; and have your advice concerning my -philosophical discoveries; but cannot overcome a certain shamefacedness -I have to appear among you at my years, without having yet a settlement, -or so much as attempted any. How happens it that we philosophers cannot -as heartily despise the world as it despises us? I think in my -conscience the contempt were as well founded on our side as on the -other. - -"Having a franked letter, I was resolved to make use of it; and -accordingly enclose some '_Reasonings concerning Miracles_,'[63:1] which -I once thought of publishing with the rest, but which I am afraid will -give too much offence, even as the world is disposed at present. There -is something in the turn of thought, and a good deal in the turn of -expression, which will not perhaps appear so proper, for want of knowing -the context: but the force of the argument you'll be judge of, as it -stands. Tell me your thoughts of it. Is not the style too diffuse? -though, as that was a popular argument, I have spread it out much more -than the other parts of the work. I beg of you to show it to nobody, -except to Mr. Hamilton, if he pleases; and let me know at your leisure -that you have received it, read it, and burnt it. Your thoughts and mine -agree with respect to Dr. Butler, and I would be glad to be introduced -to him. I am at present castrating my work, that is, cutting off its -nobler parts; that is, endeavouring it shall give as little offence as -possible, before which, I could not pretend to put it into the Doctor's -hands. This is a piece of cowardice, for which I blame myself, though I -believe none of my friends will blame me. But I was resolved not to be -an enthusiast in philosophy, while I was blaming other enthusiasms. If -ever I indulge myself in any, 'twill be when I tell you that I am, dear -Sir, yours."[64:1] - - -Butler, to whom Hume is thus found desiring an introduction, had, in the -immediately preceding year, published "The Analogy of Religion, Natural -and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature;" and it appears -that Hume courted the attention of the author of that clear logical work -to those speculations of his own, which, in the opinion of the world in -general, have so opposite a tendency to that of the "Analogy." The -following letter, acknowledging an introduction from Home, and dated 4th -March, 1738, tells its own tale. - - -"I shall not trouble you with any formal compliments or thanks, which -would be but an ill return for the kindness you have done me in writing -in my behalf, to one you are so little acquainted with as Dr. Butler; -and, I am afraid, stretching the truth in favour of a friend. I have -called upon the Doctor, with a design of delivering him your letter, -but find he is at present in the country. I am a little anxious to have -the Doctor's opinion. My own I dare not trust to; both because it -concerns myself, and because it is so variable, that I know not how to -fix it. Sometimes it elevates me above the clouds; at other times, it -depresses me with doubts and fears; so that, whatever be my success, I -cannot be entirely disappointed. Somebody has told me that you might -perhaps be in London this spring. I should esteem this a very lucky -event; and notwithstanding all the pleasures of the town, I would -certainly engage you to pass some philosophical evenings with me, and -either correct my judgment, where you differ from me, or confirm it -where we agree. I believe I have some need of the one, as well as the -other; and though the propensity to diffidence be an error on the better -side, yet 'tis an error, and dangerous as well as disagreeable.--I am, -&c. - -"I lodge at present in the Rainbow Coffeehouse, Lancaster Court."[65:1] - - -The transactions between authors and booksellers are seldom accompanied -by any formidable array of legal formalities; but Hume and his -publishers seem to have thought it necessary to bind each other in the -most stringent manner, to the performance of their respective -obligations, by "articles of agreement, made, concluded, and agreed, -upon the 26th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand -seven hundred and thirty-eight, and in the twelfth year of the reign of -our sovereign lord King George the Second,--between David Hume of -Lancaster Court of the one part, and John Noone of Cheapside, London, -bookseller, of the other part." By this very precise document, it is -provided, that "the said David Hume shall and will permit and suffer the -said John Noone to have, hold, and enjoy, the sole property, benefit, -and advantage of printing and publishing the first edition of the said -book, not exceeding one thousand copies thereof." The author, in return, -receives L50, and twelve bound copies of the book.[66:1] The transaction -is on the whole creditable to the discernment and liberality of Mr. -Noone. It may be questioned, whether, in this age, when knowledge has -spread so much wider, and money is so much less valuable, it would be -easy to find a bookseller, who, on the ground of its internal merits, -would give L50 for an edition of a new metaphysical work, by an unknown -and young author, born and brought up in a remote part of the empire. -These articles refer to the first and second of the three volumes of the -"Treatise of Human Nature;" and they were accordingly published in -January, 1739. They include "Book I. Of the Understanding," and "Book -II. Of the Passions." - -It has been generally and justly remarked, that the Treatise is among -the least systematic of philosophical works--that it has neither a -definite and comprehensive plan, nor a logical arrangement. It was, -indeed, so utterly deficient in the former--there was so complete a want -of any projected scope of subject which the author was bound to exhaust -in what he wrote--that an attempt to divide and subdivide the matter -after it had been written, according to a logical arrangement, would -only, as a sort of _experimentum crucis_, have exposed the imperfect -character of the original plan. The author, therefore, very discreetly -allowed his matter to be arranged as the subjects of which he treated -had respectively suggested themselves, and bestowed on his work a title -rather general than comprehensive,--a title, of which all that can be -said of its aptness to the subject is, that no part of his book can be -said to be wholly without it, while he might have included an almost -incalculable multitude of other subjects within it. He called it simply -"A Treatise of Human Nature;" and by a subsidiary title, explanatory -rather of his method than definitive of his matter, he called it "an -attempt to introduce the experimental method of reasoning into moral -subjects." - -The purely metaphysical,[67:1] and, at the same time, the most original -portion of the work, and that which has most conspicuously rendered -itself a constituent part of the literature of intellectual philosophy, -is "Book I. Of the Understanding." "Book II. Of the Passions," contains -mixed metaphysics and ethics, with occasional notices of phenomena, -which, though Hume does not, other writers would be likely to connect -with physiological inquiries. The third book, "Of Virtue and Vice in -General," published a year later, is of an ethical character, being an -inquiry into the origin and proper system of morals, and an application -of the system to government and politics. - -The "Treatise of Human Nature" afforded materials for the criticism of -two very distinct classes of writers. The one consisted of men imbued -with a spirit of inquiry kindred to that of Hume, and a genius capable -of appreciating his services in the cause of truth; who, as the teachers -of systems of which they were themselves the architects, had to attack -or to defend the principles promulgated in the Treatise, according as -these differed from or corresponded with their own. It is in the -writings of these men that the true immortality of Hume as a philosopher -consists. Whether they find in him great truths to acknowledge, or -subtle and plausible errors to attack, they are the vital evidence of -the originality of his work, of the genius that inspired it, and of its -great influence on human thought and action. The other class of critics -are those who, in pamphlets, or works more ambitious but not rising in -real solidity above that fugitive class, or in occasional digressions -from other topics, have endeavoured to prejudice the minds of their -readers against the principles of the Treatise, by exaggeration, or by -the misapplication of their metaphysical doctrines to the proceedings of -every-day life,--a set of literary efforts of quick production and as -quick decay. - -To the former class of authors, it is of course not within the scope of -the present writer's ambition to belong, and he sees no occasion to -attempt to imitate the latter. In a work, however, which professes to -give a life of David Hume, it is necessary to say something about the -"Treatise of Human Nature;" and as a preliminary to such an attempt, it -may be well to mark the boundaries within which the writer conceives -that the duty he has assumed calls on him for a description of the work, -neither impugning nor defending any of the opinions it sets forth. - -It seems to be right that some attempt should be made to describe the -character and strength of the author's intellect, and the method of its -operations; and to give a view of the fundamental characteristic -principles by which he professes to distinguish his own philosophy from -that of other writers on metaphysical subjects. An attempt should also -be made to tell in what respect Hume has made incidental suggestions -which have either been admitted as new truths in metaphysics, or have, -as original but perhaps fallacious suggestions, afforded to other -thinkers the means of establishing truths. These being the general -objects to be kept in view, there is no intention to take them in any -precise order, or to exhaust them in remarks on this one work. To -attempt an analysis of the work would be out of place. There can be no -more repulsive matter for reading than condensed metaphysics; and -probably there is nothing less instructive than those abridgments, -which, necessarily suppressing the author's discursive arguments, appeal -almost entirely to the memory. To seize on and give a descriptive rather -than an analytical account of the prominent features of the system, will -be the chief aim of these remarks. Moreover, the Treatise bears on -subjects which are nearly all recalled in its author's subsequent works; -and while there are some things in the critical history of Hume's -opinions which may be appropriately viewed in connexion with his first -publication, there are others which it may be more expedient to examine -when he is found reconsidering the subjects in his later works; and -again, others which may be viewed in a general attempt to describe the -extent of his literary achievements. - -The Treatise has been already spoken of as embracing two great objects, -metaphysics and ethics; or three, if politics be considered as distinct -from ethics. The great leading principle of the metaphysical department, -and a principle which is never lost sight of in any part of the book, -is, that the materials on which intellect works are the _impressions_ -which represent immediate sensation, whether externally as by the -senses, or internally as by the passions, and _ideas_ which are the -faint reflections of these impressions. Thus to speak colloquially, when -I see a picture, or when I am angry with some one, there is an -_impression_; but when I think about this picture in its absence, or -call to recollection my subsided anger, what exists in either case is an -_idea_. Hume looked from words to that which they signified, and he -found that where they signified any thing, it must be found among the -things that either are or have been impressions. The whole varied and -complex system of intellectual machinery he found occupied in the -representation, the combination, or the arrangement of these raw -materials of intellectual matter. If I say I see an object, I give -expression to the fact, that a certain impression is made on the retina -of my eye. If I convey to the person I am speaking to an accurate notion -of what I mean, I awaken in his mind ideas left there by previous -impressions, brought thither by his sense of sight.[70:1] Thus, in the -particular case of the external senses, when they are considered as in -direct communication between the mind and any object, there are -impressions: when the senses are not said to be in communication with -the object, the operations of the mind in connexion with it, are from -vestiges which the impressions have left on the mind; and these vestiges -are called ideas, and are always more faint than the original -impressions themselves. And a material circumstance to be kept in view -at the very threshold of the system is, that there is no specific and -distinct line drawn between impressions and ideas. Their difference is -in degree merely--the former are stronger, the latter weaker. There is -no difference in kind; and there is sometimes doubt whether that which -is supposed to be an impression may not be a vivid idea, and that which -is supposed to be an idea a faint impression. - -When Hume examined, with more and more minuteness, the elements of the -materials on which the mind works, he could still find nothing but these -impressions and ideas. Looking at language as a machinery for giving -expression to thought, he thus established for himself a test of its -adaptation to its right use,--a test for discovering whether in any -given case it really served the purpose of language, or was a mere -unmeaning sound. As he found that there was nothing on which thought -could operate but the impressions received through sensation, or the -ideas left by them, he considered that a word which had not a meaning to -be found in either of these things, had no meaning at all. He looked -upon ideas as the goods with which the mind was stored; and on these -stores, as being of the character of impressions, while they were in the -state of coming into the mind. When any one, then, in reasoning, or any -other kind of literature, spoke of any thing as existing, the principle -of his theory was, that this storehouse of idealized impressions should -be searched for one corresponding to the term made use of. If such an -impression were not found, the word was, so far as our human faculties -were concerned, an unmeaning one. Whether there was any existence -corresponding to its meaning, no one could say: all that the sceptical -philosopher could decide was, that, so far as human intellect was put in -possession of materials for thought, it had nothing to warrant it in -saying, that this word represented any thing of which that intellect had -cognizance. - -This limitation of the material put at the disposal of the mind, was -largely illustrated in the course of the work; and the illustrations -assumed some such character as this:--Imaginative writers present us -with descriptions of things which never, within our own experience, have -existed,--of things which, we believe, never have had existence. Yet, -however fantastic and heterogeneous may be the representations thus -presented to our notice, there is no one part, of which we form a -conception, that is any thing more than a new arrangement of ideas that -have been left in the mind by impressions deposited there by sensation. -The most extravagant of eastern or classical fictions there find their -elements. If it be a three-headed dog, a winged horse, a fiery dragon, -or a golden palace, that is spoken of, the reader who forms a conception -of the narrative puts it together with the ideas left in his mind by -impressions conveyed through the external senses. If a spectre is said -to be raised, it may be spoken of as not denser than the atmosphere, yet -the attributes that bring a conception of it to the intellect are the -form and proportions of a human being,--expression, action, and -habiliments: all elements the ideas of which the mind has received -through the impressions of the senses. If words were used in a book of -fiction which did not admit of being thus realized by the mind putting -together a corresponding portion of the ideas stored up within -it--supplying, as it were, the described costume from this -wardrobe--then, according to Hume's philosophy, the word would be a -sound without meaning. He maintained a like rule as to books of -philosophy. If the authors used terms which were not thus represented in -the storehouse of the matter of thought and language, they were not -reasoning on what they knew; they were not using words as the signs of -things signified, but printing unmeaning collections of letters, or -uttering senseless sounds. - -The system, if it were to be classed under the old metaphysical -divisions, was one of nominalism. Such words as shape, colour, hardness, -roughness, &c. the author of the Treatise could only admit to have a -meaning in as far as they signified ideas in the mind; and these ideas -could only be there as the relics of impressions derived through the -senses. Thus, general terms, such as the categories of Aristotle, could -have no existence except in so far as they represented and called up -particulars. Of the abstract term colour, our notion is derived solely -from the ideas left in the mind by the actual impressions made through -the senses. Heat, cold, and largeness, so far as these words represent -what is really in the mind, have no other foundation. - -The application of this system to the mathematics, and to natural -philosophy, was so startling as to afford to some readers almost a -_reductio ad absurdum_. The infinite divisibility of matter was -arraigned by Hume as so far from being a truth, that it was not even -capable of being conceived by the mind, which had never yet received any -impressions through the senses corresponding to the expression. Every -man had seen matter divided--some into smaller fragments than others; -but where our ideas, derived from actual experiment, stopped in -minuteness of division, the conception of divisibility stopped also. The -truth of geometrical demonstration, as applicable to practice, he did -not deny; but he maintained, or rather seemed to maintain, for his -reasoning here is of a highly subtle order, that we have a conception of -these operations only in as far as they concur with really existing -things, or, more properly speaking, with the ideas in the mind conveyed -thither by the senses. Of the point, which has no breadth, depth, or -length; of the straight line, which is deficient in the first and -second, and not in the last of these qualities, he denied that we could -have an idea, unless that idea were just as much the representative of -an actual existence as any other idea is. - -Infinity of space was an expression to which he had an objection on -similar grounds; it had no idea corresponding to it lodged in the mind. -Of space finite in various quantities, the mind possessed ideas stored -up from repeated impressions, and by adding these ideas together, more -or less vastness in the conception of finite space was afforded. But any -thing beyond this definitive increase, attested as it was by the senses, -the mind had no means of conceiving. Whatever might be in another -intellectual world, there was no idea corresponding to infinity of space -in the mind of man. It thence followed, that space unoccupied was a -conception of which the mind was incapable, because the impressions -originally conveyed to the mind were the medium through which the -conception of space existed, and where there were no ideas of such -impressions, an aggregate idea of space was wanting. In the same manner -it was held, that it was in a succession of impressions, with ideas -corresponding, that the conception of time consisted, and that without -such a succession, time would be a thing unknown and unconceived. Our -ideas of numbers he found to be but the collected ideas of the -impressions of the units of which the senses have received distinct -impressions; and in confirmation of this he appealed to the distinctness -of our notion of small numbers, which our mind has been accustomed to -find represented by units, and our imperfect conception of those large -numbers, which we have never had presented to us in detail. How readily -we have a notion of six, but how imperfectly the mind receives the -conception of six millions; how clearly we perceive, in units, the -difference between six and twelve, but how imperfect is our notion of -the difference between six millions and twelve millions.[75:1] - -All human consciousness being of these two materials, impressions and -ideas, the answer to the question, What knowledge have we of an external -world, resolved itself into this, that there were certain impressions -and ideas which we supposed to relate to it--further we knew not. When -we turn, according to this theory, from the external world, and, looking -into ourselves, ask what certainty we have of separate self-existence, -we find but a string of impressions and ideas, and we have no means of -linking these together into any notion of a continuous existence. Such -is that boasted thing the human intellect, when its elements are -searched out by a rigid application of the sceptical philosophy of Hume. -Not a thing separate and self-existent, which was, and is, and shall -continue; but a succession of mere separate entities, called in one view -impressions, in another ideas.[76:1] - -It may make this brief sketch more clear, to notice a circumstance in -the history of philosophy, which, perhaps, serves better in an -incidental manner to mark the boundaries of the field of Hume's inquiry, -than many pages of discursive description. The transcendentalists took -him up as having examined the materials solely, on which pure reason -operates; not pure reason itself. They said that he had examined the -classes of matter which come before the judge, but had omitted to -describe the judge himself, the extent of his jurisdiction, and his -method of enforcing it. They maintained, that all these things, which -with Hume appeared to be the constituent elements of philosophy, were -nothing but the materials on which philosophy works,--that to presume -them to be of service presupposed a reason which could make use of -them,--that Hume himself, while thus speculating and telling us that his -mind consisted but of a string of ideas, left behind by certain -impressions, was himself making use of that pure reason which was in him -before the ideas or impressions existed, and was through that power -adapting the impressions and ideas to use. He characterized his system -as "an attempt to introduce the experimental method of reasoning into -moral subjects:" but they said that there was another and a preliminary -matter of inquiry--the faculty, to speak popularly, which suggested what -experiments should be made, and judged of their results. - -Hume may be found indirectly lamenting the fate of his own work on -metaphysics, in his remarks on other works of a kindred character; and -in these criticisms we have a clue to the expectations he had formed. In -his well-known rapid criticism on the literature of the epoch of the -civil wars, he says of Hobbes: "No author in that age was more -celebrated both abroad and at home than Hobbes. In our times, he is much -neglected: a lively instance how precarious all reputations founded on -reasoning and philosophy! A pleasant comedy which paints the manners of -the age, and exposes a faithful picture of nature, is a durable work, -and is transmitted to the latest posterity. But a system, whether -physical or metaphysical, owes commonly its success to its novelty; and -is no sooner canvassed with impartiality, than its weakness is -discovered." - -Like the majority of literary prophecies dictated by feeling and not by -impartial criticism, this one, whether as it refers to "The Leviathan," -of which it is ostensibly uttered, or to the "Treatise of Human Nature," -the fate of which doubtless suggested it, has proved untrue. The -influence of Hobbes has revived, as that of the Treatise remained -undiminished from the time when it was first fully appreciated. And in -both cases their influence has arisen from that element which seems -alone to be capable of giving permanent value to metaphysical thought. -It is not that in either case the fundamental theory of the author is -adopted, as the disciples of old imbibed the system of their masters, -but that each has started some novelties in thought, and, either by -themselves sweeping away prevailing fallacies, or suggesting to others -the means of doing so, have cleared the path of philosophy. As a general -system, the philosophy of Hobbes has been perhaps most completely -rejected at those times when its incidental discoveries and suggestions -made it most serviceable to philosophy, and were the cause of its being -most highly esteemed. "Harm I can do none," says Hobbes, when speaking -of the metaphysicians who preceded him, "though I err not less than -they, for I leave men but as they are, in doubt and dispute." There is -indeed nothing in the later history of metaphysical writing to show that -the triumphs in that department of thought are to stretch beyond the -establishment of incidental truths, the removal of fallacies, and the -suggestion of theories that may teach men to think. The field is a -republic: incidental merit has its praise, and is allowed its -pre-eminence; but no one mind, it may safely be pronounced, holds in it -that monarchical sway which Adam Smith retains over the empire of -political economy. The ancient systems anterior to Christianity allowed -of such empire. The pupil did not follow his master merely in this and -that incidental truth developed, but adopted the system in all its -details and proportions as his system and his creed. In later times it -would probably be found that the most devoted admirers of great writers -on metaphysics do not adopt their opinions in the mass; and it seems -that men must now go elsewhere than to the produce of human reason, for -the grand leading principles of the philosophy of belief and disbelief. - -To those who hold that the writings of the great metaphysicians are thus -to be esteemed on account, not of their fundamental principles, but of -the truths they bring out in detail, a new theory is like a new road -through an unfrequented country, valuable, not for itself, but for the -scenery which it opens up to the traveller's eye. The thinker who adopts -this view, often wonders at the small beginnings of philosophical -systems--wonders, perhaps, at the circumstance of Kant having believed -that his own system started into life at one moment as he was reading -Hume's views of Cause and Effect. But the solution is ready at hand. We -feel that the philosopher of Koenigsberg had in his mind the impulses -that would have driven him into a new path had no Hume preceded him. We -owe it to the Essay on Cause and Effect that it was the starting-point -at which he left the beaten track; but, had it not attracted his -attention, his path would have been as original, though not, perhaps, in -the same direction. And so of Hume himself. If the main outline of his -theory had never occurred to him, he would still have been a great -philosopher; for in some form or other he would have found his way to -those incidental and subsidiary discoveries, which are admitted to have -reality in them by many who repudiate his general theory. - -Of all the secondary applications of the leading principle of the -Treatise, none has perhaps exercised so extensive an influence on -philosophy, as this same doctrine of cause and effect. Looking to those -separate phenomena, of which in common language we call the one the -cause of the other, and the other the effect of that cause, he could see -no other connexion between them than that the latter immediately -followed the former. He found that the mind, proceeding on the inductive -system, when it repeatedly saw two phenomena thus conjoined, expected, -when that which had been in use to precede the other made its -appearance, that the other would follow; and he found that by repeated -experiment this expectation might be so far strengthened, that people -were ready to stake their most important temporal interests on the -occurrence of the phenomenon called the effect, when that called the -cause had taken place. But if there were any thing else but this -conjunction, of which a knowledge was demanded--if the unsatisfied -investigator sought for some power in the one phenomenon which enabled -it to be the fabricator of the other--the sceptical reasoner would -answer, that for all he could say to the contrary such a thing might be, -but he had no clue to that knowledge--no impression of any such quality -passed into his intellect through sensation--his mind had no material -committed to it by which the existence or non-existence of any such -thing could be argued. - -The vulgar notion of this theory was, that it destroyed all our notions -of regularity and system in the order of nature; that it made no -provision for unseen causes, and contemplated only the application of -the doctrines of cause and effect to things which were palpably seen -following each other. But the inventor of the theory never questioned -the regularity of the operations of nature as established by the -inductive philosophy; he only endeavoured to show how far and within -what limits we could acquire a cognizance of the machinery of that -regularity. He denied not that when the spark was applied, the gunpowder -would ignite, or that when the ball was dropped, it would proceed to the -earth with the accelerated motion of gravitation; but he denied that we -could see any other connexion between the cause and effect in either -case, than that of uniform sequence. When it was scientifically adopted, -the theory was found to be productive of the most important results. The -view that when any effect was observed, that phenomenon which was most -uniform in its precedence was the one entitled to be termed the cause, -was a salutary incentive to close and patient investigation, by laying -before the philosopher the simple, numerical question--what was that -phenomenon which, by the uniformity of its precedence, was entitled to -be termed the cause?[81:1] The test became of the simplest kind; and, if -the experimentalist had at a particular time considered some phenomenon -as a cause,--if the farther progress of patient and unprejudiced inquiry -showed that another, by the occurrence of instances in which it -preceded the effect while the former did not, had a preferable title to -be termed the cause, the mind in its unbiassed estimate of numbers at -once admitted the claim. But when, according to the antagonist -system,[82:1] it became settled that any given phenomenon had in it the -power of bringing into existence another, that power was viewed as a -quality of the object. When things are admitted to have qualities, it is -not easy for the mind at once to assent to their non-existence and to -admit that others have the proper title to these qualities. Analogy, the -great source of fallacies, comes to increase the difficulty, by a -confusion of what are termed the qualities of bodies, and those -endowments with which we invest our fellow-creatures. In this respect -Hume's theory of cause and effect has been of great service to inductive -philosophy. - -It was an objection to it that it made no allowance for unseen causes; -but it was part of its author's system, that the uniformity which our -observation teaches us, proceeds unseen in those cases to which our -observation cannot penetrate. It was part of the theory, that where -there is a want of the absolute uniformity in the sequence of two -phenomena, they are not respectively cause and effect. This principle is -of vital importance in physical science. It is a notion with the vulgar, -and one that sometimes perhaps lurks unseen in scientific operations, -that the cause sometimes does not produce its effect by reason of some -failure in the operating power. It is from a vague amplification of this -heresy, that the popular notion of chance is derived. Hume's theory -nips the bud of such a fallacy by denying, whenever there is a break in -the sequence, that the phenomena which have in other instances followed -each other, really are cause and effect. It is perhaps in the -unscientific application of therapeutics, that the popular fallacy is -most widely and most dangerously exemplified. The whole of the -complexity of that wondrous science consists in the immediate causes and -effects being unseen--in the phenomena immediately conjoined not being -ascertained, but in attempts being made to estimate them through the -connexion between those external causes to which the internal causes may -have had the relation of effects, and those external effects of which -these internal effects may have been the causes. The character of unseen -causes was aptly illustrated by Hume himself, from the throwing of a -die. The vulgar mind can see no cause and effect in the operation, -because there is a series of causes and effects, which are hidden from -the sight, in the interior of the box; but the philosopher knows not the -less, that those laws of motion, which induction has established to him -as truths, are taking place; and that there is no turn made by the die, -which is not as much the effect of some cause, as the turning of the -hands of a watch, or the parallel motion in a steam engine. - -It is one of the peculiar features of the history of mental philosophy, -that there is scarcely ever a new principle, associated with the name of -a great author, but it is shown that it has been anticipated, in some -oracular sentence, probably by an obscure writer. Joseph Glanvill is -pretty well known as the author of "Saducismus Triumphatus," a -vindication of the belief in witches and apparitions, which must have -been perused by all the curious in this species of lore. Glanvill was -the author of various tracts on biblical subjects, but it was not -generally known that he wrote a book on sceptical philosophy, called -"Scepsis Scientifica, or, Confest Ignorance the Way to Science," until -it was unearthed by the persevering inquiries of Mr. Hallam. In that -book there is the passage, "all knowledge of causes is _deductive_, for -we know none by simple intuition, but through the medium of their -effects; so that we cannot conclude any thing to be the cause of another -but from its continual accompanying it, for the causality itself is -_insensible_."[84:1] This is an addition to the many instances where -writers have almost, as it were by chance, laid down principles, of -which they show, by neglecting to follow them to their legitimate -conclusions, that they have not understood their full meaning; if it do -not rather illustrate the view already noticed, that in metaphysics our -assent is secured, not to general propositions as such, but to their -particular applications; and that it is not in the laying down of first -principles that important truths are exhibited to the world, but in -those subsidiary expositions by which the discoverer endeavours to show -their application. - -The subsequent history of Hume's theory of Cause and Effect, is a marked -illustration of the danger of bringing forward as an argument against -theories purely metaphysical, the statement that they are dangerous to -religion. It is difficult to see where there is a difference between -adducing that argument in the sphere of natural philosophy, from which -it has been long scouted by common consent, and bringing it forward as -an answer to the theories of the metaphysician. In either case it is a -threat, which, in the days of Galileo, bore the terror of corporal -punishment, and in the present day carries the threat of unpopularity, -to the person against whom it is used.[86:1] If any one should suppose -that he finds lurking in the speculations of some metaphysical writer, -opinions from which it may be inferred that he is not possessed of the -hopes and consolations of the Christian, humanity to the unhappy author -should suggest that he ought rather to be pitied than condemned, and -respect for the religious feelings of others should teach that there is -no occasion to endeavour, by a laborious pleading, to demonstrate that a -man who has said nothing against religion is in reality an enemy to -Christianity. They are surely no enlightened friends to religion, who -maintain that the suppression of inquiry as to the material or the -immaterial world, is favourable to the cause of revealed truth. The -blasphemer who raises his voice offensively and contentiously against -what his fellow citizens hold sacred, invokes the public wrath, and is -no just object of sympathy. The extent of his punishment is regretted -only when, by its vindictive excess, it is liable to excite retaliatory -attacks from the same quarter. But the speculative philosopher, who does -not directly interfere with the religion of his neighbours, should be -left to the peaceful pursuit of his inquiries; and those who, instead of -meeting him by fair argument, cry out irreligion, and call in the mob to -their aid, should reflect first, whether it is absolutely certain that -they are right in their conclusion, that his inquiries, if carried out, -would be inimical to religion--whether some mind more acute and -philosophical than their own, may not either finally confute the -sceptical philosopher's argument, or prove that it is not inimical to -religion; and secondly, whether they are not likely to be themselves the -greatest foes to religion, by holding that it requires such defence, and -the practical blasphemers, by proclaiming that religion is in danger? - -Kant, the most illustrious opponent of Hume, in allusion to those who -have appealed against him to our religious feelings, asks, what the man -is doing that we should meddle with him; says he is but trying the -strength of human reason, and bids us leave him to combat with those who -are giving him specimens of the fabric on which to try his skill--tells -us to wait and see who will produce one too strong to be broken to -pieces--and not cry treason, and appeal to the angry multitude, who are -strangers to these refined reasonings, to rush in. Shall we ask reason -to give us lights, and prescribe beforehand what they are to show -us?[88:1] "The observation of human blindness and weakness," says Hume -himself, "is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, -in spite of our endeavours to elude or avoid it." A solemn saying, and -characteristic of one who has done more than any other man to show the -feebleness of poor human reason, and to teach man that he is not all -sufficient to himself. - -Those revelations in astronomy and geology, the first glimmerings of -which made the timid if not doubting friends of their cause tremble, -have enlarged year by year in rapid progression; but revealed religion -is not less firm on her throne; and many of those who held that Hume's -theory of Cause and Effect was inimical to revelation, lived to see how -startlingly that argument could be turned against themselves. It has -been well observed by Dugald Stewart, that this theory is the most -effectual confutation of the gloomy materialism of Spinoza, "as it lays -the axe to the very root from which Spinozism springs." "The cardinal -principle," he says, "on which the whole of that system turns is, that -all events, physical and moral, are _necessarily_ linked together as -causes and effects; from which principle all the most alarming -conclusions adopted by Spinoza follow as unavoidable and manifest -corollaries. But if it be true, as Mr. Hume contends, and as most -philosophers now admit, that physical causes and effects are known to us -merely as _antecedents_ and _consequents_; still more if it be true that -the word _necessity_, as employed in this discussion, is altogether -unmeaning and insignificant, the whole system of Spinoza is nothing -better than a rope of sand, and the very proposition which it professes -to demonstrate is incomprehensible by our faculties."[89:1] - -It will be remembered how signally, in the question in the General -Assembly of the Church of Scotland, as to Sir John Leslie's -professorship, the argument of irreligion was retaliated; and it was -shown that, in the theory of an existing machinery in nature enabling -the universe to proceed in its regular course, the cause having within -it the adequate power for producing its effect, the omnipresence of a -Deity was dispensed with, and there was substituted for the -all-pervading influence of a superior wisdom, a mere material machine, -having within itself the elements of its own regular motion. Thus, in -instances where writers have claimed credit for having aided the cause -of religion by carrying out the principles of natural theology, this -merit has in many cases, and among certain classes of devout religious -thinkers, been sternly denied them; and it has been said that their -labours are rather adverse than favourable to revealed religion, -because, through their tendency to make people believe in an established -order in nature, by which causes produce their effects according to a -fixed system, they have the effect of making mankind forget the -existence of a revealed, omnipresent Deity, whose all-competent -superintendence regulates the world, and they supply a religion -independent of the religion of revelation. - -Perhaps in this little history we may find an illustration of the view, -that the greatest service which the Treatise has done to philosophy is -that purely incidental one of teaching human reason its own weakness--of -showing how easily the noblest fabric of human thought may be -undermined, by a destroying agency of power not greater than that of the -constructive genius which has raised it. In this respect it has done to -philosophy the invaluable service of teaching philosophers their own -fallibility. In all the departments of thought, and not only in the -world of thought but in that of action, the spirit of human -infallibility is the greatest obstacle to truth and goodness. Whether it -appear to protect a system which the thinker has framed for himself, or -assume the more modest shape of maintaining, that among conflicting -systems he has made choice of that which is absolutely and certainly -right, while all others which in any way differ from it are as -absolutely and certainly wrong; this offspring of the pride of human -intellect is an equally dangerous enemy of human improvement; and to -have contributed to its downfal is of itself no small achievement for -one mind. - -Such are a few remarks on the matter of the first part of the "Treatise -of Human Nature"--given not by any means as an analysis of the doctrines -there taught, but merely as an attempt to characterize them by their -prominent features. It will naturally be expected that a similar attempt -should be made to characterize the form in which these doctrines were -promulgated. As to the style of the Treatise, it possesses the -clearness, flexibility, and simplicity that distinguish the maturity of -its author's literary career, though not quite in all the perfection in -which they afterwards attended his pen. There are occasional -Scoticisms--a defect which he took infinite pains to cure, but of which -he was never entirely rid. He uses a few obsolete and now harsh sounding -forms of expression, from which he afterwards abstained: such as the -elliptical combination 'tis, for it is. Here, and in the first editions -of his History, he frequently neglects the increment on the perfect -tense, as by saying, "I have forgot," instead of, I have forgotten; "I -have wrote," instead of I have written. - -The Treatise has that happy equality of flight, which distinguishes the -author's maturer productions. There is no attempt to soar, and none of -those ambitious inequalities which often deform the works of young -authors. His imagination and language seem indeed to have been kept -permanently chained down by the character of his inquiries. His constant -aim is to make his meaning clear; and in the subtleties of a new and -intricate system of metaphysics, he seems to have felt that there lay -upon him so heavy a responsibility to make use on all occasions of the -clearest and simplest words, that any flight of imagination or eloquence -would be a dangerous experiment. - -There is a corresponding absence of pedantic ornament. A young writer -who has read much, is generally more anxious to show his learning and -information than his own power of thought. With many the defect lasts -through maturer years, and they write as if to find a good thing in some -unknown author, were more meritorious than to have invented it. -Montesquieu, whom Hume has been accused of imitating, carried this -defect to a vice, and often distorted the order of his reasoning, that -he might introduce an allusion to something discovered in the course of -his peculiar learning. That Hume had read much in philosophy before he -undertook his great work, cannot be doubted, but he does not drag his -readers through the minutiae of his studies, and is content with giving -them results. In many respects, indeed, one would have desired to know -more of his appreciation of his predecessors. The name of Aristotle is, -it is believed, not once mentioned in the work, and there are only some -indirect allusions to him, and these not very respectful, in casual -remarks on the opinions of the Peripatetics. One would have expected -from Hume a kindred sympathy with the great master of intellectual -philosophy, and a respectful appreciation of one whose inquiries were -conducted with a like acute severity, but whose mind took so much more -wide and comprehensive a grasp of the sources of human knowledge. - -It has been often observed, that a person so original in his opinions as -Hume, ought to have made a new nomenclature for the new things which he -taught. But he has no philosophical nomenclature; he appears indeed to -have despised that useful instrument of method, and means of -communicating clear ideas to learners. This want has prevented his -system from being clearly and fully learned by the student, while it has -at the same time probably made his works less repulsive to the general -reader. He seems indeed hardly to have been conscious of the advantage -to all philosophy, of uniformity of expression. Using the words "force," -"vivacity," "solidity," "firmness," and "steadiness," all with the same -meaning, he speaks of this usage as a "variety of terms which may seem -so unphilosophical;" and then observes, more in the style of one who is -tired of philosophical precision than of a philosopher, "Provided we -agree about the thing, 'tis needless to dispute about the terms." - -This is a kindred defect to that absence of method which has been -already taken notice of. A fixed nomenclature is a beacon against -repetition and discursiveness. But the Treatise has no pretension to be -a work of which he who omits paying attention to any part, thereby drops -a link in a chain, the loss of which will make the whole appear broken -and inconsistent. There are, it is true, places where the essential -parts of the author's philosophy are developed, the omission of which -would render that which follows hard to be understood, but in general -each department of the work is intelligible in itself. Its author -appears to have composed it in separate fragments; holding in view, -while he was writing each part, the general principle of his theory, but -not taking it for granted that the reader is so far master of that -principle, as not to require it to be generally explained in connexion -with the particular matter under consideration. He seems indeed rather -desirous to dwell on it, as something that the reader may have seen in -the earlier part of the work, but may have neglected to keep in his mind -while he reads the other parts. Perhaps the true model of every -philosophical work is to be found in the usual systems of geometry, -where, whatever is once proposed and proved, is held a fixed part of -knowledge, and is never repeated; but as far as psychological reasoning -is from the certainty of geometrical, so distant perhaps, will ever be -the precision of its method from that of geometry. - -It may safely be pronounced, that no book of its age presents itself to -us at this day, more completely free from exploded opinions in the -physical sciences. With the exception perhaps of occasional allusions to -"animal spirits," as a moving influence in the human body, the author's -careful sifting sceptical mind seems, without having practically tested -them, to have turned away from whatever doctrines were afterwards -destined to fall before the test of experiment and induction. It was not -that he was so much of a natural philosopher himself as to be able to -test their truth or falsehood, but that with a wholesome jealousy, -characteristic of the mind in which the Disquisition on Miracles was -working itself into shape, he avoided them as things neither coming -within the scope of his own analysis, nor bearing the marks of having -been satisfactorily established by those whose more peculiar province it -was to investigate their claims to be believed. At a later date, his -friend D'Alembert admitted judicial astrology and alchemy as branches of -natural philosophy in his "Systeme Figure des Connoissances Humaines." -Cudworth, and even the scrutinizing Locke, dealt gravely with matters -doomed afterwards to be ranked among popular superstitions, and Sir -Thomas Browne, in some respects a sceptic, eloquently defended more -"vulgar errors" than he exposed. Hobbes was, in the midst of the darkest -scepticism, a practical believer in the actual presence of the spirits -of the air; and Johnson, whose name, however, it may scarcely be fair to -class in this list, as he did not profess, except for conversational -triumph, to be a reducer and demolisher of unfounded beliefs, along -with his partial admission of the existence of spectres, has left behind -him many dogmatic announcements of physical doctrines, which the -progress of science has now long buried under its newer systems. - -It is by no means maintained that Hume was beyond his age--or even on a -par with its scientific ornaments, in physical knowledge; but merely -that he showed a judicious caution in distinguishing, in his published -work, those parts of physical philosophy which had been admitted within -the bounds of true and permanent science, from those which were still in -a state of mere hypothesis. His knowledge of physical science was -probably not very extensive. A small portion of a collection of his -notes on subjects that attracted his attention bear on this subject. The -collection from which they are taken will be noticed in the next -chapter; but as those which are set apart from the others, and are -headed "Natural Philosophy," seem to have been written at an earlier -period than the rest of the collection, and are appropriate to the -present subject, they are here given. It is not expected that they will -awaken in the natural philosopher any great respect for the extent of -Hume's inquiries in this department of knowledge. - - -NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. - -"A ship sails always swiftest when her sides yield a little. - -"Two pieces of timber, resting upon one another, will bear as much as -both of them laid across at the distance of their opening. - -"Calcined antimony more heavy than before.[95:1] - -"A proof that natural philosophy has no truth in it, is, that it has -only succeeded in things remote, as the heavenly bodies; or minute, as -light. - -"'Tis probable that mineral waters are not formed by running over beds -of minerals, but by imbibing the vapours which form these minerals, -since we cannot make mineral waters with all the same qualities. - -"Hot mineral waters come not a-boiling sooner than cold water. - -"Hot iron put into cold water soon cools, but becomes hot again. - -"There falls usually at Paris, in June, July, and August, as much rain -as in the other nine months. - -"This seems to be a strong presumption against medicines, that they are -mostly disagreeable, and out of the common use of life. For the weak and -uncertain operation of the common food, &c. is well known by experience. -These others are the better objects of quackery." - - -The system of philosophy to which the foregoing remarks apply, was -published when its author was twenty-six years old, and he completed it -in voluntary exile, and in that isolation from the counsel and sympathy -of early friends, which is implied by a residence in an obscure spot in -a foreign country. While he was framing his metaphysical theory, Hume -appears to have permitted no confidential adviser to have access to the -workings of his inventive genius; and as little did he take for granted -any of the reasonings and opinions of the illustrious dead, as seek -counsel of the living. Nowhere is there a work of genius more completely -authenticated, as the produce of the solitary labour of one mind; and -when we reflect on the boldness and greatness of the undertaking, we -have a picture of self-reliance calculated to inspire both awe and -respect. The system seems to be characteristic of a lonely mind--of one -which, though it had no enmity with its fellows, had yet little sympathy -with them. It has few of the features that characterize a partaker in -the ordinary hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows, of humanity; little -to give impulse to the excitement of the enthusiast; nothing to dry the -tear of the mourner. It exposes to poor human reason her own weakness -and nakedness, and supplies her with no extrinsic support or protection. -Such a work, coming from a man at the time of life when our sympathies -with the world are strongest, and our anticipations brightest, would -seem to indicate a mind rendered callous by hardship and disappointment. -But it was not so with Hume. His coldness and isolation were in his -theories alone; as a man he was frank, warm, and friendly. But the same -impulses which gave him resolution to adopt so bold a step, seem at the -same time to have armed him with a hard contempt for the opinions of the -rest of mankind. Hence, though his philosophy is sceptical, his manner -is frequently dogmatical, even to intolerance; and while illustrating -the feebleness of all human reasoning, he seems as if he felt an innate -infallibility in his own. He afterwards regretted this peculiarity; and -in a letter, written apparently at an advanced period of life, we find -him deprecating not only the tone of the Inquiry, but many of its -opinions. He says:-- - - -"Allow me to tell you, that I never asserted so absurd a proposition as -_that any thing might arise without a cause_. I only maintained that our -certainty of the falsehood of that proposition proceeded neither from -intuition nor demonstration, but from another source. _That Caesar -existed_, that there is such an island as Sicily,--for these -propositions, I affirm, we have no demonstration nor intuitive -proof,--would you infer that I deny their _truth_, or even their -certainty? There are many different kinds of certainty; and some of them -as satisfactory to the mind, though perhaps not so regular as the -demonstrative kind. - -"Where a man of sense mistakes my meaning, I own I am angry; but it is -only with myself, for having expressed my meaning so ill, as to have -given occasion to the mistake. - -"That you may see I would no way scruple of owning my mistakes in -argument, I shall acknowledge (what is infinitely more material) a very -great mistake in conduct, viz. my publishing at all the 'Treatise of -Human Nature,' a book which pretended to innovate in all the sublimest -paths of philosophy, and which I composed before I was five-and-twenty; -above all, the positive air which prevails in that book, and which may -be imputed to the ardour of youth, so much displeases me, that I have -not patience to review it. But what success the same doctrines, better -illustrated and expressed, may meet with, _adhuc sub judice lis est_. -The arguments have been laid before the world, and by some philosophical -minds have been attended to. I am willing to be instructed by the -public; though human life is so short, that I despair of ever seeing the -decision. I wish I had always confined myself to the more easy parts of -erudition; but you will excuse me from submitting to a proverbial -decision, let it even be in Greek."[98:1] - - -The reader, who passes from the first book of the Treatise, on "the -Understanding," to the second, on "the Passions," will, in many -instances, feel like one who is awakened from a dream, or as if, after -penetrating in solitude and darkness into the unseen world of thought, -he had come forth to the cheerful company of mankind, and were holding -converse with a shrewd and penetrating observer of the passing world. As -Hume was never totally insensible to the elements of social enjoyment, -but had indeed an ample sympathy with the joys and sorrows of his fellow -men, he appears occasionally, in the midst of his most subtle -speculations, to experience a desire to burst from the dark prison of -solitude, into which he had voluntarily immured himself, and bask in the -sunshine of the world. "Man," he says, in his Treatise, "is the creature -of the universe who has the most ardent desire of society, and is fitted -for it by the most advantages. We can form no wish which has not a -reference to society. A perfect solitude is, perhaps, the greatest -punishment we can suffer. Every pleasure languishes when enjoyed apart -from company, and every pain becomes more cruel and intolerable." In a -remarkable passage, in which, after having long proceeded in enthusiasm -with his solitary labours, he seems to have stopped for a moment, and -recalling within himself the feelings and sympathies of an ordinary man, -to have reflected on the scope and tendency of the system in which he -was involving himself, he thus expresses himself, regarding its gloomy -tendency, and the effect it has in destroying, in the mind of its -fabricator, those stays of satisfactory belief in which it is so -comfortable for the wearied intellect to find a resting-place:-- - - Before I launch out into those immense depths of philosophy - which lie before me, I find myself inclined to stop a moment - in my present station, and to ponder that voyage which I have - undertaken, and which undoubtedly requires the utmost art and - industry to be brought to a happy conclusion. Methinks I am - like a man, who, having struck on many shoals, and having - narrowly escaped shipwreck in passing a small frith, has yet - the temerity to put out to sea in the same leaky - weather-beaten vessel, and even carries his ambition so far as - to think of compassing the globe under these disadvantageous - circumstances. My memory of past errors and perplexities makes - me diffident for the future. The wretched condition, weakness, - and disorder of the faculties, I must employ in my inquiries, - increase my apprehensions. And the impossibility of amending - or correcting these faculties, reduces me almost to despair, - and makes me resolve to perish on the barren rock, on which I - am at present, rather than venture myself upon that boundless - ocean which runs out into immensity. This sudden view of my - danger strikes me with melancholy; and, as 'tis usual for that - passion, above all others, to indulge itself, I cannot forbear - feeding my despair with all those desponding reflections which - the present subject furnishes me with in such abundance. - - I am first affrighted and confounded with that forlorn - solitude in which I am placed in my philosophy, and fancy - myself some strange uncouth monster, who, not being able to - mingle and unite in society, has been expelled all human - commerce, and left utterly abandoned and disconsolate. Fain - would I run into the crowd for shelter and warmth, but cannot - prevail with myself to mix with such deformity. I call upon - others to join me, in order to make a company apart, but no - one will hearken to me. Every one keeps at a distance, and - dreads that storm which beats upon me from every side. I have - exposed myself to the enmity of all metaphysicians, logicians, - mathematicians, and even theologians; and can I wonder at the - insults I must suffer? I have declared my disapprobation of - their systems; and can I be surprised if they should express a - hatred of mine and of my person? When I look abroad, I foresee - on every side dispute, contradiction, anger, calumny, and - detraction. When I turn my eye inward, I find nothing but - doubt and ignorance. All the world conspires to oppose and - contradict me; though such is my weakness, that I feel all my - opinions loosen and fall of themselves, when unsupported by - the approbation of others. Every step I take is with - hesitation, and every new reflection makes me dread an error - and absurdity in my reasoning. - - For with what confidence can I venture upon such bold - enterprises, when, beside those numberless infirmities - peculiar to myself, I find so many which are common to human - nature? Can I be sure that, in leaving all established - opinions, I am following truth? and by what criterion shall I - distinguish her, even if fortune should at last guide me on - her footsteps? After the most accurate and exact of my - reasonings, I can give no reason why I should assent to it, - and feel nothing but a _strong_ propensity to consider objects - _strongly_ in that view under which they appear to me.[101:1] - -Occasionally, seduced by some impulse of playful candour, we find him -giving us admission as it were into the chamber of his thoughts, and -desiring that some one would drag him into the common circle of the -world. When there, he consents for a short time to comport himself as a -man, is social and sympathetic with his kind, and pleased with what is -passing around; when anon the ambition which had prompted his solitary -musings stirs his soul, tells him that in active life and the world at -large, the sphere of his true greatness is not placed, and prompts him -to reimprison himself, and pursue the great aim of his existence. - - But what have I here said, that reflections very refined and - metaphysical have little or no influence upon us? This opinion - I can scarce forbear retracting, and condemning from my - present feeling and experience. The _intense_ view of these - manifold contradictions and imperfections in human reason has - so wrought upon me, and heated my brain, that I am ready to - reject all belief and reasoning, and can look upon no opinion - even as more probable or likely than another. Where am I, or - what? From what causes do I derive my existence, and to what - condition shall I return? Whose favour shall I court, and - whose anger must I dread? What beings surround me? and on whom - have I any influence, or who have any influence on me? I am - confounded with all these questions, and begin to fancy myself - in the most deplorable condition imaginable, environed with - the deepest darkness, and utterly deprived of the use of every - member and faculty. - - Most fortunately it happens, that since Reason is incapable of - dispelling these clouds, Nature herself suffices to that - purpose, and cures me of this philosophical melancholy and - delirium, either by relaxing this bent of mind, or by some - avocation, and lively impression of my senses, which - obliterate all these chimeras. I dine, I play a game of - backgammon, I converse, and am merry with my friends; and - when, after three or four hours' amusement, I would return to - these speculations, they appear so cold, and strained, and - ridiculous, that I cannot find in my heart to enter into them - any farther. - - Here, then, I find myself absolutely and necessarily - determined to live, and talk, and act like other people in the - common affairs of life. But notwithstanding that my natural - propensity, and the course of my animal spirits and passions - reduce me to this indolent belief in the general maxims of the - world, I still feel such remains of my former disposition, - that I am ready to throw all my books and papers into the - fire, and resolve never more to renounce the pleasures of life - for the sake of reasoning and philosophy. For those are my - sentiments in that splenetic humour which governs me at - present. I may, nay I must yield to the current of nature, in - submitting to my senses and understanding; and in this blind - submission I show most perfectly my sceptical disposition and - principles. But does it follow that I must strive against the - current of nature, which leads me to indolence and pleasure; - that I must seclude myself, in some measure, from the commerce - and society of men, which is so agreeable; and that I must - torture my brain with subtilties and sophistries, at the very - time that I cannot satisfy myself concerning the - reasonableness of so painful an application, nor have any - tolerable prospect of arriving by its means at truth and - certainty? Under what obligation do I lie of making such an - abuse of time? And to what end can it serve, either for the - service of mankind, or for my own private interest? No: if I - must be a fool, as all those who reason or believe any thing - _certainly_ are, my follies shall at least be natural and - agreeable. Where I strive against my inclination, I shall have - a good reason for my resistance; and will no more be led - a-wandering into such dreary solitudes, and rough passages, as - I have hitherto met with. - - These are the sentiments of my spleen and indolence; and - indeed I must confess, that philosophy has nothing to oppose - to them, and expects a victory more from the returns of a - serious good-humoured disposition, than from the force of - reason and conviction. In all the incidents of life, we ought - still to preserve our scepticism. If we believe that fire - warms, or water refreshes, 'tis only because it costs us too - much pains to think otherwise. Nay, if we are philosophers, it - ought only to be upon sceptical principles, and from an - inclination which we feel to the employing ourselves after - that manner. Where reason is lively, and mixes itself with - some propensity, it ought to be assented to. Where it does - not, it never can have any title to operate upon us. - - At the time, therefore, that I am tired with amusement and - company, and have indulged a _reverie_ in my chamber, or in a - solitary walk by a river side, I feel my mind all collected - within itself, and am naturally _inclined_ to carry my view - into all those subjects, about which I have met with so many - disputes in the course of my reading and conversation. I - cannot forbear having a curiosity to be acquainted with the - principles of moral good and evil, the nature and foundation - of government, and the cause of those several passions and - inclinations which actuate and govern me. I am uneasy to think - I approve of one object, and disapprove of another; call one - thing beautiful, and another deformed; decide concerning truth - and falsehood, reason and folly, without knowing upon what - principles I proceed. I am concerned for the condition of the - learned world, which lies under such a deplorable ignorance in - all these particulars. I feel an ambition to arise in me of - contributing to the instruction of mankind, and of acquiring a - name by my inventions and discoveries. These sentiments spring - up naturally in my present disposition; and should I - endeavour to banish them, by attaching myself to any other - business or diversion, I _feel_ I should be a loser in point - of pleasure; and this is the origin of my philosophy.[104:1] - -The acuteness which the solitary metaphysician brought to his aid when -he chose to contemplate mankind, is not the least interesting feature in -his book. That he could have seen much of men, since his life had been -but brief and his converse with books great, is not probable; yet -Chesterfield and Rochefoucauld did not observe men more clearly and -truly, though they may have done so more extensively. The following -sketch of the mental features of a vain man, would not have been -unworthy of Theophrastus. - - Every thing belonging to a vain man is the best that is any - where to be found. His houses, equipage, furniture, clothes, - horses, hounds, excel all others in his conceit; and 'tis easy - to observe, that from the least advantage in any of these, he - draws a new subject of pride and vanity. His wine, if you'll - believe him, has a finer flavour than any other; his cookery - is more exquisite; his table more orderly; his servant more - expert; the air in which he lives more healthful; the soil he - cultivates more fertile; his fruits ripen earlier, and to - greater perfection; such a thing is remarkable for its - novelty; such another for its antiquity: this is the - workmanship of a famous artist; that belonged to such a prince - or great man; all objects, in a word, that are useful, - beautiful, or surprising, or are related to such, may, by - means of property, give rise to this passion. These agree in - giving pleasure, and agree in nothing else. This alone is - common to them, and therefore must be the quality that - produces the passion, which is their common effect.[104:2] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[48:1] A literary friend suggests that Hume has a quiet allusion to the -intellectual faculties of the people of Bristol, in the description of -James Naylor's attempts to personify our Saviour, where it is said, "he -entered Bristol mounted on a horse--I suppose from the difficulty in -that place of finding an ass." Retrospect of manners &c., at the end of -the History of the Commonwealth. - -[52:1] It is not improbable that the person here alluded to is the Abbe -Pluche, a native of Rheims, the greatest literary ornament of that city, -and one who filled no small place in the lettered aristocracy of France, -where he held in many respects the position which Paley occupied in -England. He filled successively the chairs of Humanity and Rhetoric, in -the University of Rheims. His promotion in the Church was checked by his -partiality for Jansenism. He had the rare merit of uniting to a firm -belief in the great truths of Christianity a wide and full toleration -for the conscientious opinions of others; and he enjoyed, what is no -less rarely possessed by those who meddle in theological disputes, the -good opinion of his opponents. He was a great scholar, and wrote some -works on etymological and archaeological subjects; but he is chiefly -known for his writings on natural theology, celebrated for their clear -and animated enunciation of the harmonies of nature, and not only -popular in their own country, but translated into most of the European -languages. His "Spectacle de la Nature," written in a series of -dialogues, was sketched while he acted as instructor to the son of Lord -Stafford; and the master and pupil, with the father and mother of the -latter, are the interlocutors. One of its main objects is, by tracing -effects in the operations of nature to their causes, to prove and -illustrate the beneficence and wisdom of the Deity. This work has been a -treasure to many an English schoolboy, in its well-known translation, -with the title, "Nature Displayed." An answer by Pluche to some _esprits -forts_, who wondered why a philosopher could believe so much, has been -preserved by his contemporaries: "It is more reasonable," he said, "to -believe in the dictates of the Supreme Being than to follow the feeble -lights of a reason bounded in its operations and subject to error." - -It must be granted that what Hume calls the association of contrariety -has in some measure caused this digression, and that the Abbe Pluche -would not have been so amply discussed as the possible learned man that -Hume had an introduction to, had there not been so much that is common -in the subjects treated of by both, and so much that is contrasted in -the mode of treatment. Pluche was an opponent of Des Cartes, and thus a -name far greater than his, and as many will hold greater than Hume's, is -introduced into the circle of these local associations. - -[53:1] The following passage in a recent work, Mrs. Shelley's "Rambles -in Germany and Italy," seems appropriate to this observation:-- - -"By this time I became aware of a truth which had dawned on me before, -that the French common people have lost much of that grace of manner -which once distinguished them above all other people. More courteous -than the Italians they could not be; but, while their manners were more -artificial, they were more playful and winning. All this has changed. I -did not remark the alteration so much with regard to myself, as in their -mode of speaking to one another. The 'Madame,' and 'Monsieur,' with -which stable boys, and old beggar women, used to address each other with -the deference of courtiers, has vanished. No trace of it is to be found -in France; a shadow faintly exists among the Parisian shopkeepers when -speaking to their customers, but only there is the traditional -phraseology still used: The courteous accent, the soft manner, erst so -charming, exists no longer. I speak of a thing known and acknowledged by -the French themselves. . . . . . Their phraseology, once so delicately -and even to us more straightforward people, amusingly deferential (not -to superiors only, but toward one another,) is become blunt, and almost -rude. The French allege several causes for this change, which they date -from the Revolution of 1830: some say it arises from every citizen -turning out as one of the national guard in his turn, so that they all -get a _ton de garnison_: others attribute it to their imitation of the -English. Of course, in the times of the _ancien regime_, the courtly -tone found an echo and reflexion, from the royal anti-chambers down to -the very ends of the kingdom. This has faded by degrees, till the -Revolution of 1830 gave it the _coup-de-grace_." - -[55:1] Sic in MS. - -[56:1] This word is nearly obliterated. The passage appears to be a sort -of caricatured pompous politeness. - -[56:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[57:1] Dated 7th January, 1762, and written in relation to a copy of -Campbell's "Dissertation on Miracles," sent to him by Dr. Blair. - -[58:1] It may be said, that, as Mackenzie's description of Hume's -character, this subject belongs to a later period of his life--the time -when Mackenzie was acquainted with him. But Mackenzie intended it to be -a true view of Hume's character as a young man; and it appears that it -properly belongs to that chronological period to which its author -assigned it. - -[63:1] See above, p. 50. These reasonings appeared probably in a shape -more consonant with the author's later views in the "Philosophical -Essays," 1748. - -[64:1] Tytler, Life of Kames, i. 84. - -[65:1] Tytler, Life of Kames, i. 88. - -[66:1] Original MS. R.S.E. - -[67:1] According to some acceptations of the word metaphysical, which -seem to make it synonymous with transcendental, and referable solely to -the operations of pure reason, to the rejection of whatever is founded -on experiment, none of Hume's works are properly metaphysical; and by -the very foundation he has given to his philosophy, he has made it -empirical and consequently not metaphysical. The word metaphysical is, -however, here used in its ordinary, and, as it may be termed, popular -acceptation, and as applicable to any attempt to analyze mind or -describe its elements,--a subject in relation to which the word ontology -is also sometimes used. - -[70:1] The term "ideas," in the philosophical nomenclature of Hume, is -thus used in a sense quite distinct from its previous current -acceptations, and as different from its vernacular use by Plato, in -reference to the archetypes of all the empirical objects of thought, as -from its employment by Locke, who used it to express "whatsoever is the -object of the understanding when a man thinks." - -[75:1] "If we take as the utmost bounds of this system the orbit Uranus, -we shall find that it occupies a portion of space not less than three -thousand six hundred millions of miles in extent. The mind fails to form -an exact notion of a portion of space so immense; but some faint idea of -it may be obtained from the fact, that, if the swiftest race-horse ever -known, had begun to traverse it at full speed, at the time of the birth -of Moses, he could only as yet have accomplished half his -journey."--Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, pp. 1-2. Here an -attempt is made to give a conception of abstract numbers, by calling up -in the mind the ideas deposited there from actual impressions. Hume had, -in the application of his theory to mathematics, to struggle with the -fact that no truths had a clearer and more distinct existence in the -mind than the abstract truths of the exact sciences; and feeling the -difficulty he thus had to encounter, he did not recur in his subsequent -works to this part of the sceptical theory. Kant seems to have filled up -the blank for him, by treating those truths as synthetical intuitions -anterior to experience in their abstract existence, though depending on -experience in the knowledge of their concrete application; but it may be -observed, that at the beginning of sect. 4. of his Inquiry, Hume seems -to have nearly anticipated some such principle. - -[76:1] "If any impression gives rise to the idea of self, that -impression must continue invariably the same, through the whole course -of our lives: since self is supposed to exist after that manner. But -there is no impression constant and invariable. Pain and pleasure, grief -and joy, passions and sensations, succeed each other, and never all -exist at the same time. It cannot, therefore, be from any of these -impressions, or from any other, that the idea of self is derived; -and consequently there is no such idea. . . . . For my part, when -I enter most intimately into what I call _myself_, I always stumble -on some perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love -or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch _myself_ at any time -without a perception, and never can observe any thing but the -perception."--Treatise, B. i. p. iv. sect. 6. - -[81:1] One cannot escape a feeling of astonishment on finding so great a -philosopher as Reid saying, (Active Powers, ch. ix.) that on this theory -day and night might be called mutually the cause and effect of each -other, on account of their mutual sequence: as if the observation of -those who have gone so far in civilisation as just to have seen ignited -bodies, had not data for concluding that that phenomenon which most -uniformly preceded the ramification of rays of light, was the appearance -of a luminous body. - -[82:1] This refers to the notion, which may now be termed obsolete, at -least in philosophy, of an inherent power in the cause to produce the -effect--not to Kant's theory, which does not appear to be inconsistent -with the scientific application of Hume's. - -[84:1] "Scepsis Scientifica; or, Confest Ignorance the Way to Science, -in an essay of the vanity of dogmatizing and confident opinion." By -Joseph Glanvill, M.A. 1665, 4to, p. 142. See this coincidence commented -on in the _Penny Cyclopaedia_, art. Scepticism. The style of Glanvill's -work, in its rich variety of logical imagery and its powerful use of -antithesis, is formed on that of Sir Thomas Browne, whose "Vulgar -Errors" had been first published fifteen years earlier. That one who -wrote a book so full of wisdom--so bold, original, and firm in its -attacks on received fallacies, should also have been the champion of -belief in witchcraft, in which his prototype, Sir Thomas Browne, was -also a believer, is one of those inconsistencies in poor human nature, -which elicit much wonder, but no explanation. The following passages -from this curious and rare book are offered for the reader's -amusement:-- - -"We conclude many things impossibilities, which yet are easie -_feasables_. For by an unadvised transiliency, leaping from the effect -to its remotest cause, we observe not the connexion through the -interposal of more immediate causalities, which yet at last bring the -extremes together without a miracle. And hereupon we hastily conclude -that _impossible_ which we see not in the proximate capacity of its -_efficient_."--pp. 83-84. - -"From this last-noted head ariseth that other of _joyning causes with -irrelevant effects_, which either refer not at all unto them, or in a -remoter capacity. Hence the Indian conceived so grossly of the _letter_ -that discovered his theft; and that other who thought the watch an -_animal_. From hence grew the impostures of _charmes_ and _amulets_, and -other insignificant ceremonies; which to this day impose upon common -belief, as they did of old upon the _barbarism_ of the uncultivate -_heathen_. Thus effects unusual, whose causes run under ground, and are -more remote from ordinary discernment, are noted in the book of _vulgar -opinion_ with _digitus Dei_, or _Daemonis_; though they owe no other -dependence to the _first_ than what is common to the whole _syntax_ of -beings, nor yet any more to the _second_ than what is given it by the -imagination of those unqualified judges. Thus, every unwonted _meteor_ -is portentous; and the appearance of any unobserved _star_, some divine -_prognostick_. Antiquity thought _thunder_ the immediate voyce of -_Jupiter_, and impleaded them of impiety that referred it to natural -causalities. Neither can there happen a _storm_ at this remove from -_antique_ ignorance, but the multitude will have the _Devil_ in -it."--pp. 84-85. - - -_On the Influence of Education._ - -"We judge all things by our _anticipations_; and condemn or applaud -them, as they agree or differ from our _first receptions_. One country -laughs at the _laws_, _customs_, and _opinions_ of another as absurd and -ridiculous; and the other is as charitable to them in its conceit of -theirs."--pp. 93-94. - -"Thus, like the hermite, we think the sun shines nowhere but in our -cell, and all the world to be darkness but ourselves. We judge truth to -be circumscribed by the confines of our belief, and the doctrines we -were brought up in; and, with as ill manners as those of _China_, repute -all the rest of the world _monoculous_. So that, what some astrologers -say of our _fortunes_ and the passages of our lives, may, by the -allowance of a metaphor, be said of our _opinions_--that they are -written in our _stars_, being to the most as fatal as those involuntary -occurrences, and as little in their power as the _placits_ of _destiny_. -We are bound to our country's _opinions_ as to its _laws_; and an -accustomed assent is tantamount to an infallible conclusion. He that -offers to dissent shall be an _outlaw_ in reputation; and the fears of -guilty Cain shall be fulfilled on him--whoever meets him _shall slay -him_."--pp. 95-96. - -"We look with superstitious reverence upon the accounts of preterlapsed -ages, and with a supercilious severity on the more deserving products of -our own--a vanity which hath possessed all times as well as ours; and -the _golden age_ was never present. . . . We reverence gray-headed -doctrines, though feeble, decrepit, and within a step of dust: and on -this account maintain opinions which have nothing but our _charity_ to -uphold them."--p. 102. - -[86:1] "Had I done but half as much as he [Hume] in labouring to subvert -principles which ought ever to be held sacred, I know not whether the -friends of truth would have granted me any indulgence, I am sure they -ought not. Let me be treated with the lenity due to a good citizen no -longer than I act as becomes one."--Beattie's Essay on the Nature and -Immutability of Truth, &c. p. 20. - -On this Priestley says, "Certainly the obvious construction of this -passage is, that Mr. Hume ought not to be treated with the indulgence -and lenity due to a good citizen, but ought to be punished as a bad one. -And what is this but what a Bonner and a Gardiner might have put into -the preamble of an order for his execution. . . I for my part am truly -pleased with such publications as those of Mr. Hume, and I do not think -it requires any great sagacity or strength of mind, to see that such -writings must be of great service to religion, natural and revealed. -They have actually occasioned the subject to be more thoroughly -canvassed, and consequently to be better understood than ever it was -before, and thus _vice cotis funguntur_."[86:A] - - [86:A] Examination of Dr. Reid's Inquiry, &c. Dr. Beattie's - Essay, &c. and Dr. Oswald's Appeal, &c. 1774, pp. 191-193. - -[88:1] Critik der reinen Vernunft, (Methodenlehre,) 7th ed. p. 571. - -[89:1] Preliminary Dissertation to the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 210. - -[95:1] A scientific friend observes, that this is the germ of the theory -of oxidation. - -[98:1] I have been favoured by Mr. Chambers with an old copy of this -letter, in which it is titled as a letter to Gilbert Stuart. The -original is among the MSS. R.S.E. where there is a note in Baron Hume's -handwriting, with a supposition that it was addressed to Dr. Traill. - -[101:1] B. i. part iv. sect. 7. - -[104:1] B. i. part iv. sect. 7. - -[104:2] B. ii. part i. sect. 10. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -1739-1741. AET. 27-29. - - Letters to his friends after the publication of the first and - second volume of the Treatise--Returns to Scotland--Reception - of his Book--Criticism in "The Works of the Learned"--Charge - against Hume of assaulting the publisher--Correspondence with - Francis Hutcheson--Seeks a situation--Connexion with Adam - Smith--Publication of the third volume of the Treatise--Account - of it--Hume's notes of his reading--Extracts from his Note - books. - - -Immediately after the publication of his work we find Hume thus writing -to Henry Home:-- - - -"_London, February 13, 1739._ - -"SIR,--I thought to have wrote this from a place nearer you than London, -but have been detained here by contrary winds, which have kept all -Berwick ships from sailing. 'Tis now a fortnight since my book was -published; and, besides many other considerations, I thought it would -contribute very much to my tranquillity, and might spare me many -mortifications, to be in the country while the success of the work was -doubtful. I am afraid 'twill remain so very long. Those who are -accustomed to reflect on such abstract subjects, are commonly full of -prejudices; and those who are unprejudiced are unacquainted with -metaphysical reasonings. My principles are also so remote from all the -vulgar sentiments on the subject, that were they to take place, they -would produce almost a total alteration in philosophy; and you know, -revolutions of this kind are not easily brought about. I am young enough -to see what will become of the matter; but am apprehensive lest the -chief reward I shall have for some time will be the pleasure of studying -on such important subjects, and the approbation of a few judges. Among -the rest, you may believe I aspire to your approbation; and next to -that, to your free censure and criticism. I shall present you with a -copy as soon as I come to Scotland; and hope your curiosity, as well as -friendship, will make you take the pains of perusing it. - -"If you know any body that is a judge, you would do me a sensible -pleasure in engaging him to a serious perusal of the book. 'Tis so rare -to meet with one that will take pains on a book, that does not come -recommended by some great name or authority, that I must confess I am as -fond of meeting with such a one as if I were sure of his approbation. I -am, however, so doubtful in that particular, that I have endeavoured all -I could to conceal my name; though I believe I have not been so cautious -in this respect as I ought to have been. - -"I have sent the Bishop of Bristol[106:1] a copy, but could not wait on -him with your letter after he had arrived at that dignity. At least I -thought it would be to no purpose after I began the printing. You'll -excuse the frailty of an author in writing so long a letter about -nothing but his own performances. Authors have this privilege in common -with lovers; and founded on the same reason, that they are both besotted -with a blind fondness of their object. I have been upon my guard against -this frailty; but perhaps this has rather turned to my prejudice. The -reflection on our caution is apt to give us a more implicit confidence -afterwards, when we come to form a judgment. I am," &c.[107:1] - - -To the same year we must attribute a letter from Hume to Michael Ramsay, -bearing no more precise date than 27th February. He says:--"As to -myself, no alteration has happened to my fortune: nor have I taken the -least step towards it. I hope things will be riper next winter; and I -would not aim at any thing till I could judge of my success in my grand -undertaking, and see upon what footing I shall stand in the world. I am -afraid, however, that I shall not have any great success of a sudden. -Such performances make their way very heavily at first, when they are -not recommended by any great name or authority." - -In the same letter he speaks of Ramsay as being then a tutor in the -Marchmont family, and offers him this sage and business-like -advice:--"Should a living fall to the gift of the Duchess of -Marlborough, or any other of your friends and patrons, 'twould have but -an ill air to say that the gentleman was in the South of France, and -that he should be informed of the matter. Besides, you know how -necessary a man's presence is to quicken his friends, to make them unite -their interests, and to save them the trouble of contriving and thinking -about his affairs. Many a one may endeavour to serve you when you point -out the service you desire of them, who would not take the pains to find -it out themselves."[107:2] - -Early in the year 1739, desiring apparently to await in retirement the -effect of his work on the mind of the public, he proceeded to Scotland, -and took up his residence at Ninewells, whence we find him writing to -Henry Home on 1st June. - - -"DEAR SIR,--You see I am better than my word, having sent you two papers -instead of one. I have hints for two or three more, which I shall -execute at my leisure. I am not much in the humour of such compositions -at present, having received news from London of the success of my -Philosophy, which is but indifferent, if I may judge by the sale of the -book, and if I may believe my bookseller. I am now out of humour with -myself; but doubt not, in a little time, to be only out of humour with -the world, like other unsuccessful authors. After all, I am sensible of -my folly in entertaining any discontent, much more despair, upon this -account, since I could not expect any better from such abstract -reasoning; nor, indeed, did I promise myself much better. My fondness -for what I imagined new discoveries, made me overlook all common rules -of prudence; and, having enjoyed the usual satisfaction of projectors, -'tis but just I should meet with their disappointments. However, as 'tis -observed with such sort of people, one project generally succeeds -another, I doubt not but in a day or two I shall be as easy as ever, in -hopes that truth will prevail at last over the indifference and -opposition of the world. - -"You see I might at present subscribe myself your most _humble_ servant -with great propriety: but, notwithstanding, shall presume to call myself -your most affectionate friend as well as humble servant."[108:1] - - -His account of the success of his work in his "own life," is contained -in these well-known sentences: "Never literary attempt was more -unfortunate than my 'Treatise of Human Nature.' It fell _dead born from -the press_, without reaching such distinction as even to excite a murmur -among the zealots." But he was never easily satisfied with the success -of his works; and we know that this one was not so entirely unnoticed by -the periodical press, such as it then was, but that it called forth a -long review in the number for November, 1739, of _The History of the -Works of the Learned_, a periodical which may be said to have set the -example in England, of systematic reviews of new books. This review is -written with considerable spirit, and has a few pretty powerful strokes -of sarcasm--as where, in relation to Hume's sceptical examination of the -results of the demonstrations of the geometricians, the writer says, "I -will have nothing to do in the quarrel; if they cannot maintain their -demonstrations against his attacks, they may even perish." The paper is -of considerable length, and it has throughout a tone of clamorous -jeering and vulgar raillery that forcibly reminds one of the writings of -Warburton. But it is the work of one who respects the adversary he has -taken arms against; and, before leaving the subject, the writer makes a -manly atonement for his wrath, saying of the Treatise,--"It bears, -indeed, incontestable marks of a great capacity, of a soaring genius, -but young and not yet thoroughly practised. The subject is vast and -noble as any that can exercise the understanding; but it requires a very -mature judgment to handle it as becomes its dignity and importance: the -utmost prudence, tenderness, and delicacy are requisite to this -desirable issue. Time and use may ripen these qualities in our author; -and we shall probably have reason to consider this, compared with his -later productions, in the same light as we view the juvenile works of -Milton, or the first manner of a Raphael or other celebrated painter." - -Immediately after Hume's death, there appeared in _The London Review_, -the following account of the manner in which he had acknowledged the -article in _The Works of the Learned_: "It does not appear our author -had acquired, at this period of his life, that command over his passions -of which he afterwards makes his boast. His disappointment at the public -reception of his 'Essay on Human Nature,' had, indeed, a violent effect -on his passions in a particular instance; it not having dropped so dead -born from the press but that it was severely handled by the reviewers of -those times, in a publication entitled _The Works of the Learned_. A -circumstance this which so highly provoked our young philosopher, that -he flew in a violent rage to demand satisfaction of Jacob Robinson, the -publisher, whom he kept, during the paroxysm of his anger, at his -sword's point, trembling behind the counter lest a period should be put -to the life of a sober critic by a raving philosopher."[110:1] - -This statement is in a note to a Review of Hume's "own life," and it has -after it the letters "Rev." which serve to give it the attestation of -William Shakespeare Kenrick, the editor of _The London Review_, and a -man whose sole title to literary remembrance rests on the hardy -effrontery and deadly spite of his falsehoods. There is nothing in the -story to make it in itself incredible--for Hume was far from being that -docile mass of imperturbability, which so large a portion of the world -have taken him for. But the anecdote requires authentication; and has it -not. Moreover, there are circumstances strongly against its truth. Hume -was in Scotland at the time when the criticism on his work was -published: he did not visit London for some years afterwards; and, to -believe the story, we must look upon it not as a momentary ebullition of -passion, but as a manifestation of long-treasured resentment,--a -circumstance inconsistent with his character, inconsistent with human -nature in general, and not in keeping with the modified tone of -dissatisfaction with the criticism, evinced in his correspondence. - -While Hume was preparing for the press the third part of his "Treatise -of Human Nature,"--on the subject of Morals, Francis Hutcheson, then -professor of moral philosophy in the university of Glasgow, was enjoying -a reputation in the philosophical world scarcely inferior to that of -either of his great contemporaries, Berkeley and Wolff. From the -following correspondence it will be seen that Hume submitted the -manuscript of his forthcoming volume to Hutcheson's inspection; and he -shows more inclination to receive with deference the suggestions of that -distinguished man, than to allow himself to be influenced from any other -quarter. But still, it will be observed that it is only in details that -he receives instruction, and that he vigorously supports the fundamental -principles of his system. The correspondence illustrates the method in -which he held himself as working with human nature--not as an artist, -but an anatomist, whose minute critical examinations might be injured by -any bursts of feeling or eloquence.[111:1] The letters show how far he -saw into the depths of the utilitarian system; and prove that it was -more completely formed in his mind than it appeared in his book. -Notions of prudence appear to have restrained him, at that time, from -issuing so full a development of the system as that which he afterwards -published; but he soon discovered that it was not in that department of -his works that he stood on the most dangerous ground. - - -HUME _to_ FRANCIS HUTCHESON. - -"_Ninewells, 17th Sept. 1739._ - -"SIR,--I am much obliged to you for your reflections on my papers. I -have perused them with care, and find they will be of use to me. You -have mistaken my meaning in some passages, which, upon examination, I -have found to proceed from some ambiguity or defect in my expression. - -"What affected me most in your remarks, is your observing that there -wants a certain warmth in the cause of virtue, which you think all good -men would relish, and could not displease amidst abstract inquiries. I -must own this has not happened by chance, but is the effect of a -reasoning either good or bad. There are different ways of examining the -mind, as well as the body. One may consider it either as an anatomist or -as a painter: either to discover its most secret springs and principles, -or to describe the grace and beauty of its actions. I imagine it -impossible to conjoin these two views. Where you pull off the skin, and -display all the minute parts, there appears something trivial, even in -the noblest attitudes and most vigorous actions; nor can you ever render -the object graceful or engaging, but by clothing the parts again with -skin and flesh, and presenting only their bare outside. An anatomist, -however, can give very good advice to a painter or statuary. And, in -like manner, I am persuaded that a metaphysician may be very helpful to -a moralist, though I cannot easily conceive these two characters united -in the same work. Any warm sentiment of morals, I am afraid, would have -the air of declamation amidst abstract reasonings, and would be esteemed -contrary to good taste. And though I am much more ambitious of being -esteemed a friend to virtue than a writer of taste, yet I must always -carry the latter in my eye, otherwise I must despair of ever being -serviceable to virtue. I hope these reasons will satisfy you; though at -the same time I intend to make a new trial, if it be possible to make -the moralist and metaphysician agree a little better. - -"I cannot agree to your sense of _natural_. 'Tis founded on final -causes, which is a consideration that appears to me pretty uncertain and -unphilosophical. For, pray, what is the end of man? Is he created for -happiness, or for virtue? for this life, or for the next? for himself, -or for his Maker? Your definition of _natural_ depends upon solving -these questions, which are endless, and quite wide of my purpose. I have -never called justice unnatural, but only artificial. '_Atque ipsa -utilitas, justi prope mater et aequi_,'[113:1] says one of the best -moralists of antiquity. Grotius and Puffendorf, to be consistent, must -assert the same. - -"Whether natural abilities be virtue, is a dispute of words. I think I -follow the common use of language; _virtus_ signified chiefly courage -among the Romans. I was just now reading this character of Alexander VI. -in Guicciardin. 'In Alessandro sesto fu solertia et sagacita singulare: -consiglio eccellente, efficacia a persuadere maravigliosa, et a tutte -le faccende gravi, sollicitudine, et destrezza incredibile. Ma erano -queste virtu avanzate di grande intervallo da vitii.'[114:1] Were -benevolence the only virtue, no characters could be mixed, but would -depend entirely on their degrees of benevolence. Upon the whole, I -desire to take my catalogue of virtues from 'Cicero's Offices,' not from -'The Whole Duty of Man.' I had indeed the former book in my eye in all -my reasonings. - -"I have many other reflections to communicate to you; but it would be -troublesome. I shall therefore conclude with telling you, that I intend -to follow your advice in altering most of those passages you have -remarked as defective in point of prudence; though, I must own, I think -you a little too delicate. Except a man be in orders, or be immediately -concerned in the instruction of youth, I do not think his character -depends upon his philosophical speculations, as the world is now -modelled; and a little liberty seems requisite to bring into the public -notice a book that is calculated for few readers. I hope you will allow -me the freedom of consulting you when I am in any difficulty, and -believe me," &c. - -"P.S.--I cannot forbear recommending another thing to your -consideration. Actions are not virtuous nor vicious, but only so far as -they are proofs of certain qualities or durable principles in the mind. -This is a point I should have established more expressly than I have -done. Now, I desire you to consider if there be any quality that is -virtuous, without having a tendency either to the public good or to the -good of the person who possesses it. If there be none without these -tendencies, we may conclude that their merit is derived from sympathy. I -desire you would only consider the _tendencies_ of qualities, not their -actual operations, which depend on chance. _Brutus_ riveted the chains -of _Rome_ faster by his opposition; but the natural tendency of his -noble dispositions--his public spirit and magnanimity--was to establish -her liberty. - -"You are a great admirer of _Cicero_ as well as I am. Please to review -the fourth book _De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum_: where you find him -prove against the _Stoics_, that if there be no other goods but virtue, -'tis impossible there can be any virtue, because the mind would then -want all motives to begin its actions upon; and 'tis on the goodness or -badness of the motives that the virtue of the action depends. This -proves, that to every virtuous action there must be a motive or -impelling passion distinct from the virtue, and that virtue can never be -the sole motive to any action. You do not assent to this: though I think -there is no proposition more certain or important. I must own my proofs -were not distinct enough and must be altered. You see with what -reluctance I part with you, though I believe it is time I should ask -your pardon for so much trouble." - - -In the mean time we find Hume anxious to be employed in the capacity of -a travelling governor or tutor, and writing to Mr. George Carre of -Nisbet, intimating his readiness to officiate to that gentleman's -cousins, Lord Haddington and Mr. Baillie, if there are no favoured -candidates for the situation. There is nothing in the letter to excite -much interest.[116:1] He says, he hears the young gentlemen are -proposing to travel; observes that he has the honour to be their -relation, "which gives a governor a better air in attending his pupils," -and that he has some leisure time. In his letter to a physician, in the -preceding chapter, we find him mentioning this office as one of the few -to which his prospects were limited, and, at the same time, as one for -which his knowledge of the world scarcely fitted him. His six years' -farther experience of life had perhaps in his own opinion provided him -with opportunities of better qualifying himself for the duties of this -office. It was held by many able and accomplished men at that time, and -appears to have been the profession of his friend Michael Ramsay. There -are no traces of the manner in which his application was received. - -From such matters as these, one readily turns with interest to the most -trifling notices connected with his literary history. On 4th March, -1740, we find him thus writing to Hutcheson. - -"My bookseller has sent to Mr. Smith a copy of my book, which I hope he -has received, as well as your letter. I have not yet heard what he has -done with the abstract; perhaps you have. I have got it printed in -London, but not in _The Works of the Learned_, there having been an -article with regard to my book, somewhat abusive, printed in that work, -before I sent up the abstract."[116:2] - -The "Smith" here mentioned as receiving a copy of the Treatise, we may -fairly conclude, notwithstanding the universality of the name, to be -Adam Smith, who was then a student in the university of Glasgow, and -not quite seventeen years old.[117:1] It may be inferred from Hume's -letter, that Hutcheson had mentioned Smith as a person on whom it would -serve some good purpose to bestow a copy of the Treatise: and we have -here, evidently, the first introduction to each other's notice, of two -friends, of whom it can be said, that there was no third person writing -the English language during the same period, who has had so much -influence upon the opinions of mankind as either of these two men. - -The correspondence with Hutcheson is continued as follows: - - -HUME _to_ FRANCIS HUTCHESON. - -"_16th March,1740._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I must trouble you to write that letter you was so kind as -to offer to Longman the bookseller. I concluded somewhat of a hasty -bargain with my bookseller, from indolence and an aversion to -bargaining: as also because I was told that few or no bookseller would -engage for one edition with a new author. I was also determined to keep -my name a secret for some time, though I find I have failed in that -point. I sold one edition of these two volumes for fifty guineas, and -also engaged myself heedlessly in a clause, which may prove troublesome, -viz. that upon printing a second edition I shall take all the copies -remaining upon hand at the bookseller's price at the time. 'Tis in order -to have some check upon my bookseller, that I would willingly engage -with another: and I doubt not but your recommendation would be very -serviceable to me, even though you be not personally acquainted with -him. - -"I wait with some impatience for a second edition, principally on -account of alterations I intend to make in my performance. This is an -advantage that we authors possess since the invention of printing, and -renders the _nonum prematur in annum_ not so necessary to us as to the -ancients. Without it I should have been guilty of a very great temerity, -to publish at my years so many novelties in so delicate a part of -philosophy; and at any rate, I am afraid that I must plead as my excuse -that very circumstance of youth which may be urged against me. I assure -you, that without running any of the heights of scepticism, I am apt in -a cool hour to suspect, in general, that most of my reasonings will be -more useful by furnishing hints and exciting people's curiosity, than as -containing any principles that will augment the stock of knowledge, that -must pass to future ages.[118:1] I wish I could discover more fully the -particulars wherein I have failed. I admire so much the candour I have -observed in Mr. Locke, yourself, and a very few more, that I would be -extremely ambitious of imitating it, by frankly confessing my errors. If -I do not imitate it, it must proceed neither from my being free from -errors nor want of inclination, but from my real unaffected ignorance. I -shall consider more carefully all the particulars you mention to me: -though with regard to _abstract ideas_, 'tis with difficulty I can -entertain a doubt on that head, notwithstanding your authority. Our -conversation together has furnished me a hint, with which I shall -augment the second edition. 'Tis this--the word _simple idea_ is an -abstract term, comprehending different individuals that are similar. Yet -the point of their similarity, from the very nature of such ideas, is -not distinct nor separable from the rest. Is not this a proof, among -many others, that there may be a similarity without any possible -separation even in thought. - -"I must consult you in a point of prudence. I have concluded a reasoning -with these two sentences: 'When you pronounce any action or character to -be vicious, you mean nothing but that, from the particular constitution -of your nature, you have a feeling or sentiment of blame from the -contemplation of it. Vice and virtue, therefore, may be compared to -sounds, colours, heat, and cold, which, according to modern philosophy, -are not qualities in objects, but perceptions in the mind. And this -discovery in morals, like that other in physics, is to be regarded as a -mighty advancement of the speculative sciences, though like that too it -has little or no influence on practice.'[119:1] - -"Is not this laid a little too strong? I desire your opinion of it, -though I cannot entirely promise to conform myself to it. I wish from my -heart I could avoid concluding, that since morality, according to your -opinion, as well as mine, is determined merely by sentiment, it regards -only human nature and human life. This has been often urged against you, -and the consequences are very momentous. If you make any alterations in -your performances, I can assure you, there are many who desire you would -more fully consider this point, if you think that the truth lies on the -popular side. Otherwise common prudence, your character, and situation, -forbid you [to] touch upon it. If morality were determined by reason, -that is the same to all rational beings; but nothing but experience can -assure us that the sentiments are the same. What experience have we with -regard to superior beings? How can we ascribe to them any sentiments at -all? They have implanted those sentiments in us for the conduct of life -like our bodily sensations, which they possess not themselves. I expect -no answer to these difficulties in the compass of a letter. 'Tis enough -if you have patience to read so long a letter as this.--I am." &c. - - -The third volume of the "Treatise of Human Nature" being the part -relating to morals, was published by Thomas Longman in 1740. It is not -so original as the metaphysical part of the work, nor are its principles -so clearly and decidedly laid down. Its author's metaphysical theories -were rather modified than confirmed in his subsequent works. But his -opinions on ethical subjects, only indistinctly shadowed forth in his -early work, were afterwards reduced to a more compact system, and were -more clearly and fully set forth. - -The metaphysical department of the Treatise is a system with a great -leading principle throughout, of which its author intended that all the -details should be but the individual applications. If his reasoning in -that department of his work be accurate, he sweeps away all other -systems of the foundation of knowledge, and substitutes another in their -stead. But the third book, "on Morals," like the second, on "the -Passions," has no such pretension. The leading principles of the -metaphysical department are certainly kept in view, but the details are -not necessarily parts of it. They have a separate existence of their -own: they are an analysis of phenomena which we witness in our daily -life; and the reader assents or dissents as the several opinions -expressed correspond with or diverge from his own observation of what he -sees passing in the world around him, without, in that mental operation, -either receiving or rejecting any general theory. In short, it is to a -considerable extent a series of observations of human conduct and -character; and as such they are admitted or denied, are sympathized with -or contemned, according to the previous feelings and opinions of the -reader. Among the prominent features of the theoretical part of this -book, is the admission of a moral sense,[121:1] but the negation of an -abstract code of morality, separately existing, and independent of the -position of the persons who are applying this sense. The work in some -measure foreshadows the systems which have been respectively called the -utilitarian and the selfish; the former applying as the scale of moral -excellence the extent to which an action is beneficial or hurtful to the -human race; the latter referring the actions of mankind, whether good or -bad, interested or disinterested, to self, and to impulses which are -always connected with the individual in whom they act, and his passions -or desires. - -In this respect it had its influence, when joined to other hints thrown -out by philosophers, in supplying the texts on which Helvetius, -Beccaria, and Bentham discoursed at greater length and with a clearer -application to definite systems. The utilitarian principle Hume -afterwards extended and rendered systematic, in pursuance of the views -announced in his correspondence with Hutcheson. In connexion with what -is called the "selfish system" of morals, he went no farther than to -point out that the source of every impulse must have its relation to the -individual person on whom that impulse acts. If it be the sordid impulse -of the miser, it must be because the man who feels it loves gold; if it -be the profuse impulse of the spendthrift, it must be because the -individual who spends has a corresponding desire within himself; if it -be the charitable impulse of the person who feeds the poor, it must be -because that person is under the influence of inducements which incline -him rather to do so than not do so. If the principle be applied to a -martyr suffering for conscience sake, or to a soldier who prefers death -to submission, it is still because the person who acts fulfils impulses -acting on himself. But this is a subject from which Hume appears to have -shrunk in his subsequent works. He seems to have disliked the character -of being connected with "the selfish school;" and he thus failed to -revert to a subject on which his rigid and clear examination would have -been a matter of greater interest, than his merely arguing against -self-interest being the proper rule of action--an argument that with him -amounts to nothing more than a protest against that vulgarization of the -system, which charges it with such a doctrine for the purpose of -rendering it odious. We shall afterwards find that he had a -correspondence on this subject with Helvetius, who wished to bring him -over to the admission of his own opinions. - -In this department of the Treatise there are some inquiries into the -first principles of law and government. Here, if any where, he shows the -influence over his mind of his reading in the works of the civilians. -His own utilitarian principle, when carried out on these subjects, shows -that the best government is that which is most conducive to the welfare -of the community. But he occasionally mixes up this principle with -elements totally heterogeneous to it--as in those instances where he -considers the privilege of governing as held by the same tenure with the -right of property, and views the question whether any particular -government is good or bad, in its effect upon the persons governed, as -secondary to the question whether it is or is not held by a good tenure -when it is considered as if it were a matter of private property. But, -notwithstanding these inconsistencies, which he afterwards amended when -he had more fully investigated the principles of politics, the general -aim of his observations on the sources of government is to show that -they are to be found in reason, and to dispel the various irrational and -superstitious notions of political authority, which are comprehended in -the use of the term Divine Right. Indeed, the observations which he -makes with a practical application to governments, are a partial -anticipation of the clear good sense which distinguished his subsequent -political essays. In connexion with the motives of that insurrection -which occurred within eight years after the publication of the Treatise, -and with the partiality for high monarchical principles with which -Hume's name is so much associated, the following remarks are interesting -and instructive. - - Whoever considers the history of the several nations of the - world, their revolutions, conquests, increase and diminution, - the manner in which their particular governments are - established, and the successive right transmitted from one - person to another, will soon learn to treat very lightly all - disputes concerning the rights of princes, and will be - convinced that a strict adherence to any general rules, and - the rigid loyalty to particular persons and families, on - which some people set so high a value, are virtues that hold - less of reason than of bigotry and superstition. In this - particular, the study of history confirms the reasonings of - true philosophy, which, showing us the original qualities of - human nature, teaches us to regard the controversies in - politics as incapable of any decision in most cases, and as - entirely subordinate to the interests of peace and liberty. - Where the public good does not evidently demand a change, 'tis - certain that the concurrence of all those titles, _original - contract_, _long possession_, _present possession_, - _succession_, and _positive laws_, forms the strongest title - to sovereignty, and is justly regarded as sacred and - inviolable. But when these titles are mingled and opposed in - different degrees, they often occasion perplexity, and are - less capable of solution from the arguments of lawyers and - philosophers, than from the swords of the soldiery. Who shall - tell me, for instance, whether Germanicus or Drusus ought to - have succeeded Tiberius, had he died while they were both - alive, without naming any of them for his successor? Ought the - right of adoption to be received as equivalent to that of - blood, in a nation where it had the same effect in private - families, and had already, in two instances, taken place in - the public? Ought Germanicus to be esteemed the eldest son, - because he was born before Drusus; or the younger, because he - was adopted after the birth of his brother? Ought the right of - the elder to be regarded in a nation, where the eldest brother - had no advantage in the succession to private families? Ought - the Roman empire at that time to be esteemed hereditary, - because of two examples; or ought it, even so early, to be - regarded as belonging to the stronger, or the present - possessor, as being founded on so recent an usurpation? Upon - whatever principles we may pretend to answer these and - such-like questions, I am afraid we shall never be able to - satisfy an impartial inquirer, who adopts no party in - political controversies, and will be satisfied with nothing - but sound reason and philosophy.[124:1] - -Some of Hume's notes, of matters which have occurred to him in the -course of his reading as worthy of observation, or of remarkable -thoughts passing through his mind, have been preserved.[125:1] They -appear to be merely a few stray leaves, which have accidentally survived -the loss of many others, as the number of subjects to which they refer -is limited in comparison with the wide compass of knowledge embraced in -Hume's various works. The specimens so preserved, appear generally to -have been written at this period of his life, with the exception, -perhaps, of those which are printed above, and which have reference to -physical science.[125:2] They are set down with clearness and precision, -as if by one who knew both the step in a series of reasoning to which -each of them belongs, and the form in which it should be expressed. They -are written on long sheets of paper; and unless the few that appear -under the head "Natural Philosophy," and some which have the general -heading "Philosophy," they appear to have been subjected to no system of -pre-arrangement, such as that which Locke suggested, but to have been -set down according as the fruits of the annotator's reading or thought -presented themselves to him. A few specimens are here given: they will -be found to have been chiefly made use of in the "Natural History of -Religion," and in the "Essay on the Populousness of Ancient Nations," -while a few of them--as for instance that relating to Gustavus -Vasa--make their appearance in the little volume of "Essays, Moral and -Political," published in 1741.[125:3] A considerable proportion of them -have not been made use of in Hume's printed works, and some of them -contain information which is embodied in Smith's "Wealth of Nations." -It is an occurrence quite characteristic of the friendship of these two -great men, that either of them should have supplied the other with facts -or ideas applicable to the subjects on which he might be engaged. - - -EXTRACTS FROM A COLLECTION OF MEMORANDUMS. - -Perhaps the custom of allowing parents to murder their infant children, -though barbarous, tends to render a state more populous, as in China. -Many marry by that inducement; and such is the force of natural -affection, that none make use of that privilege but in extreme -necessity. - -A pound of steel, when manufactured, may become of L10,000 value. - -No hospitals in Holland have any land or settled revenue, and yet the -poor better provided for than any where else in the world. - -The Romans had two ways chiefly of levying their taxes,--by public -lands, which were all dissipated by popular tribunes about the end of -the republic; or by customs upon importation, which were different in -different places; in some the fortieth part of the value; in Sicily the -twentieth. - -They had also a kind of excise, which began with the emperors, and was -the two-hundredth or one-hundredth part of the value of all goods sold, -the fiftieth of slaves. - -Beside this, they had pretty early, even in the time of the republic, -duties upon mines and salt; and in order to levy the former more easily, -they forbid all mines in Italy. Their mines near Carthagena yielded -them 25,000 drachms a-day. _Burman de Vict. Rom._ - -In the time of the monarchy, the kings had the sole power of imposing -taxes. In the time of the republic, 'tis strange to see this power -belonging sometimes to the magistrates, sometimes to the senate, or to -the people. We learn from Livy, in the second Punic War, that the senate -could contract debt alone. Polybius says, that all money matters -belonged to the senate. The censors levied all the taxes, and farmed -them out to the Roman knights. The Romans could be no great politicians; -since the senate could not gain the sovereignty, nor the censors the -supreme magistracy, notwithstanding these advantages. - -All French projectors take it for granted that 'tis equally dangerous to -make the people too easy as to oppress them too much. _Comte de -Boulainvilliers._ - -The charter governments in America, almost entirely independent of -England. - -Those north of Virginia interfere most with us in manufactures, which -proceeds from the resemblance of soil and climate. - -Gustavus Vasa is perhaps the only instance of a prince who humbled the -clergy while he aspired to arbitrary power. - -From 1729 to 1730, imported of corn into Ireland to the value of -L274,000,--ascribed to the want of a drawback by the Irish House of -Commons. - -The exchange to Holland always against us. _Craftsman._ Not true. - -Our exports no rule to judge of our trade: masters enter more than they -export, to persuade others that their ship is near full. - -The East India Company have offered to pay all the duties upon tea, -provided it may be sold duty free. The interest the crown has in -seizures thought to be the cause why they were refused.--Never asked; -because afterwards they cannot expect the execution of the laws against -foreign tea. - -The government of England perhaps the only one, except Holland, wherein -the legislature has not force enough to execute the laws without the -good-will of the people. This is an irregular kind of check upon the -legislature. - -Men have much oftener erred from too great respect to government than -from too little. - -The French sugar colonies supplied entirely with provisions from our -northern colonies. - -15000-20000 Hogsheads of tobacco exported to France at L20 a hogshead; -at L5. - -The gross produce of the English customs L3,000,000 a-year; the neat -produce L1,800,000. - -In all the British Leeward Islands, the muster-roll exceeded not two -thousand five hundred men a few years ago, and yet there are twenty -thousand blacks in Antigua alone. - -The French fish on the coasts of Newfoundland in the winter, which gives -them an advantage above us. - -Our bustle about the Ostend company, the cause of the great progress of -the French company. - -The East India Company have desired to have China raw silk put upon the -same footing as to duty with the Italian, but have been refused. - -The reason why the court has a greater superiority among the Lords than -Commons, beside the bishops, is that the court gives places to the -Lords, chiefly for their interest among the Commons. - -Eighteen hundred children put upon the parishes at Dublin in five years, -of which, upon inquiry, there remained only twenty-eight. - -Ninety-five thousand seamen computed to be in France; only sixty -thousand in England. - -Ships formerly lasted twenty-seven years in the English navy; now only -thirteen. - -Within the last two thousand years, almost all the despotic governments -of the world have been improving, and the free ones degenerating; so -that now they are pretty near a par. - -There must be a balance in all governments; and the inconvenience of -allowing a single person to have any share is, that what may be too -little for a balance in one hand will be too much in another. - -The fiars of wheat, in 1400, were fixed at Edinburgh, 6 sh. 7 p. Scots -money. - -Banks first invented in Sweden on account of their copper money. - -There is not a word of trade in all Machiavel, which is strange, -considering that Florence rose only by trade. - -About twenty thousand tun of wine imported into England about the time -of the first Dutch war.--_Sir Josiah Child._ - -One per cent. in interest, worse than two per cent. in customs; because -ships pay the interest, not the customs. - -Eight hundred thousand Jews chased from Spain by Ferdinand the -Catholic.--_Geddes._[129:1] - -About 100,000 Moors condemned for apostacy, by the Inquisition, in forty -years. 4000 burned.--_Id._ - -Near a million of Moors expelled Spain.--_Id._ - -The Commons of Castile, in taking arms against Charles the Fifth, among -other things petition, that no sheep nor wool shall be allowed to go out -of the kingdom.--_Id._ - -The interest in Rome reduced to six per cent. under Tiberius.--_Tacit._ - -The laws of Arragon required a public trial for the subjects: but -allowed the king a kind of despotic power over his servants and -ministers, in order to render the great men less fond of court -preferment.--_Geddes._ - -'Twould be more easy for the English liberties to recover themselves -than the Roman, because of the mixed government. The transition is not -so violent. - -The farms were large among the ancients. The Leontine farms in Sicily -contained 130,000 acres, and were farmed to eighty-three -farmers.--_Cicero in Verrem._ - -After the conquest of Egypt by Augustus, the prices of every thing -doubled in Rome. - -The Roman colonies, in the time of Augustus, voted in their colonies, -and sent their votes to Rome. - -The Romans very exact in their book-keeping; in so much, that a crime, -such as bribery or poisoning, could be proved or refuted from their -books.--_Cic. pro Cluentio._ - -They also kept commentaries or ephemerides, wherein every action or word -was wrote down; at least Augustus practised this with his daughters and -nieces.--_Sueton._ - -In Nero's time, 30,000 buried in one autumn, while there was a plague. - -Machiavel makes it a question, whether absolute power is best founded on -the nobility or the people. In my opinion, a subject who usurps upon a -free state, cannot trust the nobles, and must caress the people. This -was the case with the Roman emperors. But an established monarchy is -better founded on the nobles. - -When the Lex Licinia was promulgated, the senate voted that it should be -binding from that moment, as if it had been voted by the people. - -In 1721, the English and Dutch drew more money from Spain than France -did.--_Dict. de Com._ - -There is computed to be 3000 tun of gold in the bank of Amsterdam, at -100,000 florins a tun.--_Id._ - -A ship of 50 or 60 tun has commonly seven hands, and increases a man -every 10 tun.--_Id._ - -The French commerce sunk much about the middle of the seventeenth -century, by reason of their infidelity in their goods.--_Id._ - -There seems to have been a very bad police in Rome; for Cicero says, -that if Milo had waylaid Clodius, he would have waited for him in the -neighbourhood, where his death might have been attributed to robbers, by -reason of the commonness of the accident; and yet Clodius had above -sixty servants with him, all armed. - -Thirty-eight holidays in the year in France.--_Vauban._ One hundred and -eighty working days at a medium.--_Id._ - -The people commonly live poorest in countries which have the richest -natural soil. - -600 slaves, working in the silver mines of Athens, yielded a mina a-day -to their master Xenophon. He computes that 10,000 slaves would produce a -revenue of 100 talents a-year. - -The holidays in Athens made two months in the year.--_Salmasius._ - -The public in Athens paid 20 per cent. for money.--_Xenophon._ - -Many of the chief officers of the army were named by the people in old -Rome.--_Liv._ lib. ix. and lib. vii. - -The Roman senate were obliged by law to give their authority to the -Comitia Centuriata before the suffrages were called.--_Id._ lib. viii. -cap. 12. - -The Pontifices of old Rome suppressed the records of their religion on -purpose, as well as those of new Rome.--_Id._ lib. ix. - -Every part of the office of the senate could be brought before the -people; even the distribution of provinces. An evident part of the -executive.--_Id._ lib. x. cap. 24. - -L60,000 sterling amassed beforehand for building the Capitol.--_Id._ -lib. i. - -Plays, a part of religious service for a pestilence.--_Id._ lib. vii. - -The senators were forbid trade among the Romans.--_Id._ lib. viii. cap. -63. - -In the Roman government, there was a great restraint on liberty, since a -man could not leave his colony, or live where he pleased.--_Id._ lib. -xxxix. cap. 3. - -External superstition punished by the Romans.--_Id._ lib. xxxix. cap. -16. - -They were very jealous of the established religion.--_Id._ lib. xl. cap. -29. - -Robbers established in legal companies in Egypt; and such captains as -Jonathan Wyld established.--_Diodorus Siculus._ - -Whoever consecrated the tenth of their goods to Hercules, was esteemed -sure of happiness by the Romans.--_Id._ - -Jupiter, according to the Cretan tradition, was a pious worshipper of -the gods; a clear proof that those people had a preceding -religion.--_Id._ lib. v. - -Gradenigo's change of the Venetian republic was made in 1280.--_St. -Didier._ - -The clergy are chosen by a popular call.--_Id._ - -Vossius says he saw in Rome, that, digging forty foot underground, they -found the tops of columns buried. - -Horses were very rare among the ancients, (before the Romans,) and not -employed in any thing but war. 1st, In the retreat of the ten thousand, -'twould have been easy to have mounted the whole army, if horses had -been as common as at present. 2d, They had about fifty horses, which, -instead of increasing, diminished during the road, though very useful. -3d, In the spoils of villages, Xenophon frequently mentions sheep and -oxen; never horses. 4th, Cleombrotus' army, in lib. v. Hist. made use of -asses for the carriages. - -Demosthenes tells the Athenians, that a very honest man of Macedonia, -who would not lie, told him such and such things of Philip's situation: -a kind of style that marks but bad intelligence, and little -communication among the different states.--_Olynth._ 2. - -The 30 tyrants killed about 1500 citizens untried.--_AEschines._ - -Thrasybulus restoring the people, and Caesar's conquest, the only -instances in ancient history of revolutions without barbarous cruelty. - -There seems to be a natural course of things which brings on the -destruction of great empires. They push their conquests till they come -to barbarous nations, which stop their progress by the difficulty of -subsisting great armies. After that, the nobility and considerable men -of the conquering nation and best provinces withdraw gradually from the -frontier army, by reason of its distance from the capital, and barbarity -of the country in which they quarter. They forget the use of war. Their -barbarous soldiers become their masters. These have no law but their -sword, both from their bad education, and from their distance from the -sovereign to whom they bear no affection. Hence disorder, violence, -anarchy, tyranny, and a dissolution of empire. - -Perseus's ambassadors to the Rhodians spoke a style like the modern, -with regard to the balance of power, but are condemned by Livy.--Lib. -xlii. cap. 46. - -Herodotus makes a scruple of so much as delivering an account of the -difference of religion among foreigners, lest he should give -offence.--Lib. ii. - -The Egyptians more careful of preserving their cats than their houses in -time of fire.--_Id._ - -Plutarch says, that the effect of the naval power of Athens, established -by Themistocles, was to render their government more popular: and that -husbandmen and labourers are more friends to nobility than merchants and -seamen are.--_In Vita Themist._ - -Solon is the first person mentioned in history to have raised the value -of money, which, says Plutarch, was a benefit to the poor in paying -their debts, and no loss to the rich.--_In Vita Solon._ - - -PHILOSOPHY. - -Men love pleasure more than they hate pain.--_Bayle._ - -Men are vicious, but hate a religion that authorizes vice.--_Id._ - -The accounts we have of the sentiments of the ancient philosophers not -very distinct nor consistent. Cicero contradicts himself in two -sentences: in saying that Thales allowed the ordering of the world by a -mind, and in saying that Anaxagoras was the first. - -Strato's atheism the most dangerous of the ancient--holding the origin -of the world from nature, or a matter endued with activity. Bayle thinks -there are none but the Cartesians can refute this atheism. - -A Stratonician could retort the arguments of all the sects of -philosophy. Of the Stoics, who maintained their God to be fiery and -compound; and of the Platonicians, who asserted the ideas to be distinct -from the Deity. The same question,--Why the parts or ideas of God had -that particular arrangement?--is as difficult as why the world had. - -Some pretend that there can be no necessity, according to the system of -atheism, "because even matter cannot be determined without something -superior to determine it."--_Fenelon._ - -Three proofs of the existence of a God: 1st, Some thing necessarily -existent, and what is so is infinitely perfect. 2d, The idea of infinite -must come from an infinite being. 3d, The idea of infinite perfection -implies that of actual existence. - -There is a remarkable story to confirm the Cartesian philosophy of the -brain. A man hurt by the fall of a horse, forgot about twenty years of -his life, and remembered what went before in a much more lively manner -than usual. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[106:1] Dr. Butler was consecrated bishop, 3d December, 1739, and was -afterwards translated to the see of Durham, 16th October, 1750. He died -16th June, 1752, in the 60th year of his age. - -[107:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 90. - -[107:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[108:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 93. - -[110:1] London Review, v. 200. - -[111:1] See above, p. 91. - -[113:1] Horat. Lib. i. Sat. iii. l. 98. - -[114:1] Edit. 1636, p. 5. "Alexander the Sixth was endowed with -wonderful cunning and extraordinary sagacity; had a surprising genius in -suggesting expedients in the cabinet, and uncommon efficacy in -persuading; and in all matters of consequence an incredible earnestness -and dexterity."--Goddard's Translation. - -[116:1] Dated, 12th November, 1739. MS. R.S.E. - -[116:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[117:1] He was born on 5th June, 1723. - -[118:1] See above, p. 78. - -[119:1] See this passage in the "Treatise of Human Nature," Book iii. -part i. sect. 1. where it appears with no other variation than the -substitution of the word "considerable," for mighty. It thus appears -that whatever remarks Hutcheson made on the passage, they were not such -as to induce the author materially to alter it. - -[121:1] It may be questioned if any reader of Hume's works has been able -to reconcile this admission of the existence of a moral sense, which, -according to his own account of it is an intuition, with his -metaphysical theory of impressions and ideas, notwithstanding his -ingenuity in ranking it among the impressions. - -[124:1] Book iii. part ii. sect. 10. - -[125:1] In the MSS. R.S.E. - -[125:2] See p. 95. - -[125:3] This circumstance, showing that a portion of the manuscript has -been written before the publication of these essays, points to the -present as the period to which a collection of extracts from the notes -will most aptly apply, although some of them may have been made at a -later date. - -[129:1] Miscellaneous Tracts, by Michael Geddes. 1730. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -1741-1745. AET. 30-34. - - Publication of the Essays, Moral and Political--Their - Character--Correspondence with Home and Hutcheson--Hume's - Remarks on Hutcheson's System--Education and Accomplishments - of the Scottish Gentry--Hume's Intercourse with Mure of - Caldwell and Oswald of Dunnikier--Opinions on a Sermon by Dr. - Leechman--Attempts to succeed Dr. Pringle in the Chair of - Moral Philosophy in Edinburgh. - - -A small duodecimo volume, the first of the "Essays Moral and Political," -was published at Edinburgh in 1741, and the second was published in -1742. The publication was anonymous; and it is remarkable that, although -thus shielded, Hume appears to have, at that early period, been so -anxious to disconnect himself with the authorship of the Treatise, that, -in the advertisement, he addresses his readers as if he were then -appearing as an author for the first time. "Most of these essays," he -says, "were wrote with a view of being published as weekly papers, and -were intended to comprehend the designs both of the Spectators and -Craftsmen. But, having dropt that undertaking, partly from laziness, -partly from want of leisure, and being willing to make trial of my -talents for writing before I ventured upon any more serious -compositions, I was induced to commit these trifles to the judgment of -the public. Like most new authors, I must confess I feel some anxiety -concerning the success of my work; but one thing makes me more -secure,--that the reader may condemn my abilities, but must approve of -my moderation and impartiality in my method of handling political -subjects; and, as long as my moral character is in safety, I can, with -less anxiety, abandon my learning and capacity to the most severe -censure and examination." - -Some of the subjects of these essays were not less untrodden at the time -when they appeared, than they are hackneyed in the present day. Of these -may be cited, "The Liberty of the Press;" "The Parties of Great -Britain;" "The Independency of Parliament." When they are compared with -the _Craftsman_, with _Mist's Journal_, and with the other periodicals -of the day, which had set the example of discussing such subjects, these -essays as little resemble their precursors, as De Lolme's "Remarks on -the British Constitution" do the articles in a daily London party paper. -Whatever he afterwards became, Hume was at that time no party -politician. He retained the Stoic severity of thought with which we have -found that he had sixteen years previously invested himself; and would -allow the excitements or rewards of no party in the state to drag him -out of the even middle path of philosophical observation. There is -consequently a wonderful impartiality in these essays, and an acuteness -of observation, which to the reader, who keeps in view how little the -true workings of the constitution were noticed in that day, is not less -remarkable. How completely, for instance, has the wisdom of the -following observations in the essay on "The Liberty of the Press," been -justified by the experience of a century. - - We need not dread from this liberty any such ill consequences - as followed from the harangues of the popular demagogues of - Athens and tribunes of Rome. A man reads a book or pamphlet - alone and coolly. There is none present from whom he can catch - the passion by contagion. He is not hurried away by the force - and energy of action. And should he be wrought up to never so - seditious a humour, there is no violent resolution presented - to him by which he can immediately vent his passion. The - liberty of the press, therefore, however abused, can scarce - ever excite popular tumults or rebellion. And as to those - murmurs or secret discontents it may occasion, 'tis better - they should get vent in words, that they may come to the - knowledge of the magistrate before it be too late, in order to - his providing a remedy against them. Mankind, 'tis true, have - always a greater propension to believe what is said to the - disadvantage of their governors than the contrary; but this - inclination is inseparable from them whether they have liberty - or not. A whisper may fly as quick, and be as pernicious as a - pamphlet. Nay, it will be more pernicious, where men are not - accustomed to think freely, or distinguish betwixt truth and - falsehood. - - It has also been found, as the experience of mankind - increases, that the _people_ are no such dangerous monster as - they have been represented, and that 'tis in every respect - better to guide them like rational creatures, than to lead or - drive them like brute beasts. Before the United Provinces set - the example, toleration was deemed incompatible with good - government; and 'twas thought impossible that a number of - religious sects could live together in harmony and peace, and - have all of them an equal affection to their common country - and to each other. England has set a like example of civil - liberty; and though this liberty seems to occasion some small - ferment at present, it has not as yet produced any pernicious - effects; and it is to be hoped that men, being every day more - accustomed to the free discussion of public affairs, will - improve in their judgment of them, and be with greater - difficulty seduced by every idle rumour and popular clamour. - - 'Tis a very comfortable reflection to the lovers of liberty, - that this peculiar privilege of Britain is of a kind that - cannot easily be wrested from us, and must last as long as our - government remains in any degree free and independent. 'Tis - seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. Slavery - has so frightful an aspect to men accustomed to freedom, that - it must steal in upon them by decrees, and must disguise - itself in a thousand shapes in order to be received. But if - the liberty of the press ever be lost, it must be lost at - once. The general laws against sedition and libelling are at - present as strong as they possibly can be made. Nothing can - impose a farther restraint but either the clapping an - imprimatur upon the press, or the giving very large - discretionary powers to the court to punish whatever - displeases them. But these concessions would be such a - barefaced violation of liberty, that they will probably be the - last efforts of a despotic government. We may conclude that - the liberty of Britain is gone for ever when these attempts - shall succeed. - -The opinion generally acceded to at the present day, that ministerial -and judicial functions should be intrusted to responsible individuals, -and not to bodies of men who may individually escape from a joint -responsibility, is anticipated in the following passage:--"Honour -is a great check upon mankind; but where a considerable body of -men act together, this check is in a great measure removed, since -a man is sure to be approved of by his own party for what promotes -the common interest, and he soon learns to despise the clamour of -adversaries."[139:1] The Grenville Act, and the subsequent measures for -reducing the number of the judges on controverted elections, are a -practical commentary on the truth of this remark. - -It has often been observed, that foreigners have been the first to -remark the leading peculiarities of the British constitution, and of the -administration of justice in this country, in a manner rational and -unimpassioned, yet so as to give them greater prominence, and a more -full descriptive development than they obtain from our own impassioned -party writers--an observation attested by the character which the works -of Montesquieu and De Lolme held in the preceding century, and those of -Thierry, Cottu, Meyer, and Raumer, have obtained in the present. -The reason of this superiority is to be sought in the circumstance that -the acuteness of these foreign observers was not obscured, or their -feelings excited, by any connexion with the workings of the systems they -have described; and the isolation from active life in which Hume was -placed, appears to have in some measure given him like qualifications -for the examination of our political institutions. He expresses a -general partiality for the monarchical government of Britain, but it is -a partiality of a calm utilitarian character, which would not be -inconsistent with an equally great esteem for a well-ordered republic. -On his philosophical appreciation of its merits, the monarchy has no -stronger claims than these--that to have an individual at the head of -the government who is merely the name through which other persons act, -and who is not amenable to any laws, while the real actors are -personally responsible for what they do in his name, is an expedient -arrangement. That it is very convenient to have some fixed criterion -such as the hereditary principle, which shall obviate the trouble and -danger of a competition for this elevated station. But that these are -all recommendations on the ground of expediency, which may be outweighed -by others, and the misconduct of a weak or tyrannical prince will -justify an alteration in that arrangement, which convenience only, and -the avoidance of occasions for turbulence and anarchy, have sanctioned. - -It may be observed, that in the edition of these essays which he -directed to be published after his death, many of those passages which -bear a democratic tendency are suppressed. Such was the fate of the -passage in "The Liberty of the Press" quoted above, and of the remarks -put within brackets in the quotation which follows, from the essay on -"The Parties of Great Britain." - - Some who will not venture to assert, that the real difference - between Whig and Tory, was lost at the Revolution, seem - inclined to think that the difference is now abolished, and - that affairs are so far returned to their natural state, that - there are at present no other parties amongst us but court and - country; that is, men who, by interest or principle, are - attached either to monarchy or to liberty. It must indeed be - confessed, that the Tory party has of late decayed much in - their numbers, still more in their zeal, and I may venture to - say, still more in their credit and authority. [There is no - man of knowledge or learning, who would not be ashamed to be - thought of that party; and in almost all companies, the name - of _Old Whig_ is mentioned as an incontestible appellation of - honour and dignity. Accordingly, the enemies of the ministry, - as a reproach, call the courtiers the true _Tories_; and, as - an honour, denominate the gentlemen in the _Opposition_ the - true _Whigs_.] The Tories have been so long obliged to talk in - the republican style, that they seem to have made converts of - themselves by their hypocrisy, and to have embraced the - sentiments as well as language of their adversaries. There - are, however, very considerable remains of that party in - England, with all their old prejudices; and a proof that court - and country are not our only parties, is, that almost all our - dissenters side with the court, and the lower clergy, at least - of the Church of England, with the opposition. This may - convince us that some bias still hangs upon our constitution, - some extrinsic weight which turns it from its natural course, - and causes a confusion in our parties.[141:1] - -Perhaps the most ambitious of the essays, and those on which the author -bestowed most of his skill and attention, are "The Epicurean," "The -Stoic," "The Sceptic," and "The Platonist." These are productions of the -imagination, suggested apparently by the style and method of _The -Spectator_. There is no attempt either to support or to attack the -systems represented by the names of the essays, nor is there a -description or definition of them; but on each occasion a member of one -of these celebrated schools speaks in his own person, and describes the -nature of the satisfaction that he finds in his own code of philosophy, -as a solution of the great difficulty of the right rule of thought and -action. "The Epicurean" takes a flight of imagination beyond that of -Hume's other works. It departs from the cold atmosphere of philosophy, -and desires to fascinate as well as enlighten. But though it possesses -all the marks of a fine intellect, the reader is apt to feel how far -more sweetly and gracefully the subject would have been handled by -Addison, to whose department of literature it seems rightly to belong. -The follower of Epicurus is not represented, as indulging in that gross -licentiousness, as wallowing in that disgusting "stye" which the -representations of Diogenes Laertius, and others, have impressed on the -vulgar associations with the name of that master. On the other hand, the -picture is far from embodying what many maintain to be the fundamental -precept of Epicurus, that happiness being the great end sought by man, -the proper method of reaching it is by the just regulation of the -passions and propensities; a precept embodied in the - - "Sperne voluptates. Nocet empta dolere voluptas." - -Hume, who was not correcting errors, or instructing his readers in the -true meaning of terms, or appreciation of characters, draws in "The -Epicurean" a picture of one who is not gross or grovelling in his -pleasures, and who restrains himself lest he should outrun enjoyment; -but whose ruling principle is still that of the voluptuary. - -The reader expects to find an attempt to draw his own picture in "The -Sceptic;" but it is not to be found there. The sceptic of the essays is -not a man analyzing the principles of knowledge, to find wherein they -consist, but one who is dissatisfied with rules of morality, and who, -examining the current codes one after another, tosses them aside as -unsatisfactory. It is into "The Stoic" that the writer has thrown most -of his heart and sympathy; and it is in that sketch that, though -probably without intention, some of the features of his own character -are portrayed. There are passages which have considerable unison of tone -with those autobiographical documents already quoted, in which he -describes himself as having laboured to subdue the rebellious passions, -to reduce the mind to a regulated system, to drive from it the influence -of petty impressions,--to hold one great object of life in view, and to -sacrifice before that object whatever stood in the way of his firmly -settled purpose. - -Of the success of these essays, and the method in which he occupied -himself after their publication, he thus speaks in his "own life:"--"The -work was favourably received, and soon made me entirely forget my former -disappointment. I continued with my mother and brother in the country, -and in that time recovered the knowledge of the Greek language, which I -had too much neglected in my early youth." On 13th June, 1742, he says -to Henry Home:--"The _Essays_ are all sold in London, as I am informed -by two letters from English gentlemen of my acquaintance. There is a -demand for them; and, as one of them tells me, Innys, the great -bookseller in Paul's Churchyard, wonders there is not a new edition, for -that he cannot find copies for his customers. I am also told that Dr. -Butler has every where recommended them; so that I hope they will have -some success. They may prove like dung with marl, and bring forward the -rest of my Philosophy, which is of a more durable, though of a harder -and more stubborn nature. You see I can talk to you in your own style." -In consequence of this favourable reception, a second edition appeared -in 1742. - -The communication of which the above is a part, contains the following -short essay on the Orations of Cicero:-- - - I agree with you, that Cicero's reasonings in his "Orations" - are very often loose, and what we should think to be wandering - from the point; insomuch, that now-a-days a lawyer, who should - give himself such liberties, would be in danger of meeting - with a reprimand from the judge, or at least of being - admonished of the point in question. His Orations against - Verres, however, are an exception; though that plunderer was - so impudent and open in his robberies, that there is the less - merit in his conviction and condemnation. However, these - orations have all a very great merit. The Oration for Milo is - commonly esteemed Cicero's masterpiece, and indeed is, in many - respects, very beautiful; but there are some points in the - reasoning of it that surprise me. The true story of the death - of Clodius, as we learn from the Roman historians, was - this:--It was only a casual rencontre betwixt Milo and him; - and the squabble was begun by their servants, as they passed - each other on the road. Many of Clodius's servants were - killed, the rest dispersed, and himself wounded, and obliged - to hide himself in some neighbouring shops; from whence he was - dragged out by Milo's orders, and killed in the street. These - circumstances must have been largely insisted on by the - prosecutors, and must have been proved too, since they have - been received as truth by all antiquity. But not a word of - them in Cicero, whose oration only labours to prove two - points, that Milo did not waylay Clodius, and that Clodius was - a bad citizen, and it was meritorious to kill him. If you read - his oration, you'll agree with me. I believe that he has - scarce spoke any thing to the question, as it would now be - conceived, by a court of judicature. - - The Orations for Marcellus and Ligarius, as also that for - Archias, are very fine, and chiefly because the subjects do - not require or admit of close reasoning. - - 'Tis worth your while to read the conclusion of the Oration - for Plancius, where I think the passions are very well - touched. There are many noble passages in the Oration for - Muraena, though 'tis certain that the prosecutors (who, - however, were Servius Sulpicius, and Cato,) must either have - said nothing to the purpose, or Cicero has said nothing. There - is some of that oration lost. - - 'Twould be a pleasure to read and compare the two first - philippics, that you may judge of the manners of those times, - compared to modern manners. When Cicero spoke the first - philippic, Antony and he had not broke all measures with each - other, but there were still some remains of a very great - intimacy and friendship betwixt them; and besides, Cicero - lived in close correspondence with all the rest of Caesar's - captains; Dolabella had been his son-in-law; Hirtius and Pansa - were his pupils; Trebasius was entirely his creature. For this - reason, prudence laid him under great restraints at that time - in his declamations against Antony; there is great elegance - and delicacy in them; and many of the thoughts are very fine, - particularly where he mentions his meeting Brutus, who had - been obliged to leave Rome. "I was ashamed," says he, "that I - durst return to Rome after Brutus had left it, and that I - could be in safety where he could not." In short, the whole - oration is of such a strain, that the Duke of Argyle might - have spoke it in the House of Peers against my Lord Orford; - and decency would not allow the greatest enemies to go - farther. But this oration is not much admired by the ancients. - The _Divine Philippic_, as Juvenal calls it, is the second, - where he gives a full loose to his scurrility; and without - having any point to gain by it, except vilifying his - antagonist, and without supporting any fact by witnesses (for - there was no trial or accusation) he rakes into all the filth - of Antony's character; reproaches him with drunkenness and - vomiting, and cowardice, and every sort of debauchery and - villany. There is great genius and wit in many passages of - this oration; but I think the whole turn of it would not now - be generally admired.[145:1] - -In 1742, Hutcheson published his celebrated outline of a system of -ethics, "Philosophiae Moralis Institutio Compendiaria." The following -letter contains Hume's remarks on the work; and to render them more -intelligible, the passages he had particularly in view are printed in -notes. It is not, however, as pieces of detached criticism, so much as -in the character of an elucidation of those features of his own system -in which it differs from that of Hutcheson, that the letter is valuable. -It is an argument for the utilitarian system of morality--an argument -that there is no _summum bonum_ which should be the object of moral -conduct, apart from the good of the human species. - - -HUME _to_ FRANCIS HUTCHESON. - -"DEAR SIR,--I received your very agreeable present, for which I esteem -myself much obliged to you. I think it needless to express to you my -esteem of the performance, because both the solidity of your judgment, -and the general approbation your writings meet with, instruct you -sufficiently what opinion you ought to form of them. Though your good -nature might prompt you to encourage me by some praises, the same reason -has not place with me, however justice might require them of me. Will -not this prove that justice and good nature are not the same? I am -surprised you should have been so diffident about your Latin. I have not -wrote any in that language these many years, and cannot pretend to judge -of particular words and phrases. But the turn of the whole seems to me -very pure, and even easy and elegant. - -"I have subjoined a few reflections, which occurred to me in reading -over the book. By these I pretend only to show you how much I thought -myself obliged to you for the pains you took with me in a like case, and -how willing I am to be grateful. - -"P. 9, l. _ult. et quae seq._[147:1] These instincts you mention seem not -always to be violent and impetuous, more than self-love or benevolence. -There is a calm ambition, a calm anger or hatred, which, though calm, -may likewise be very strong, and have the absolute command over the -mind. The more absolute they are, we find them to be commonly the -calmer. As these instincts may be calm without being weak, so self-love -may likewise become impetuous and disturbed, especially where any great -pain or pleasure approaches. - -"P. 21. l. 11.[147:2] In opposition to this, I shall cite a fine -writer,--not for the sake of his authority, but for the fact, which you -may have observed. 'Les hommes comptent presque pour rien toutes les -vertus du coeur, et idolatrent les talens du corps et de l'esprit: -celui qui dit froidement de soi, et sans croire blesser la modestie, -qu'il est bon, qu'il est constant, fidele, sincere, equitable, -reconnoissant, n'ose dire qu'il est vif, qu'il a les dents belles et la -peau douce: cela est trop fort.'--_La Bruyere._[148:1] - -"I fancy, however, this author stretches the matter too far. It seems -arrogant to pretend to genius or magnanimity, which are the most shining -qualities a man can possess. It seems foppish and frivolous to pretend -to bodily accomplishments. The qualities of the heart lie in a medium; -and are neither so shining as the one, nor so little valued as the -other. I suppose the reason why good nature is not more valued, is its -commonness, which has a vast effect on all our sentiments. Cruelty and -hardness of heart is the most detested of all vices. I always thought -you limited too much your ideas of virtue; and I find I have this -opinion in common with several that have a very high esteem for your -philosophy. - -"P. 30, l. _antepen. et quae seq._[148:2] You seem here to embrace Dr. -Butler's opinion in his "Sermons on Human Nature," that our moral sense -has an authority distinct from its force and durableness; and that -because we always think it _ought_ to prevail. But this is nothing but -an instinct or principle, which approves of itself upon reflection, and -that is common to all of them. I am not sure that I have not mistaken -your sense, since you do not prosecute this thought. - -"P. 52. l. 1. I fancy you employ the epithet _aerumnosam_[149:1] more -from custom than your settled opinion. - -"P. 129, _et quae seq._[149:2] You sometimes, in my opinion, ascribe the -original of property and justice to public benevolence, and sometimes to -private benevolence towards the possessors of the goods; neither of -which seem to me satisfactory. You know my opinion on this head. It -mortifies me much to see a person who possesses more candour and -penetration than any almost I know, condemn reasonings of which I -imagine I see so strongly the evidence. I was going to blot out this -after having wrote it, but hope you will consider it only as a piece of -folly, as indeed it is. - -"P. 244, l. 7.[149:3] You are so much afraid to derive any thing of -virtue from artifice or human conventions, that you have neglected what -seems to me the most satisfactory reason, viz. lest near relations, -having so many opportunities in their youth, might debauch each other, -if the least encouragement or hope was given to these desires, or if -they were not easily repressed by an artificial horror inspired against -them. - -"P. 263, l. 14. As the phrase is true Latin, and very common, it seemed -not to need an apology, as when necessity obliges one to employ modern -words.[150:1] - -"P. 266, l. 18, _et quae seq._[150:2] You imply a condemnation of Locke's -opinion, which, being the received one, I could have wished the -condemnation had been more express. - -"These are the most material things that occurred to me upon a perusal -of your ethics. I must own I am pleased to see such just philosophy, and -such instructive morals to have once set their foot in the schools. I -hope they will next get into the world, and then into the churches. - - Nil desperandum, Teucro duce et auspice Teucro. - -"_Edinb. Jan. 10, 1743._" - - -Among the Scottish gentry of Hume's day, there were many men of high -education and accomplishments; and the glimpses we occasionally obtain -into the society which he frequented, show us a circle possessing a much -less provincial tone than later times would probably have exhibited in -the same class. The notion that a university was a seat of learning, -where the scholarship of all the world should meet, and not a provincial -school, still lingered in our country, and prompted the gentry to -educate their sons abroad. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, -the registers of the universities of Paris, Bourges, Bologna, and -Leyden, were crowded with familiar Scottish names, whom we find holding -as great a proportion among the teachers as among the learners; and thus -a Wilson, a Barclay, a Bellenden, a Jack, and many others, whose fame -hardly reached their native country, are conspicuous among the literary -ornaments of the foreign universities. It is perhaps in a great measure -to the lingering continuance of this practice through part of the -eighteenth century, that we may attribute the learning and -accomplishments of the society in Scotland during that period.[151:1] - -"Many are poets who have never penned their inspiration, and perchance -the best." Many also are philosophers who have never either penned their -philosophy, or put it into shape in their own minds. The two operations -of induction and analysis proceed in every human mind with more or less -success; but it is only when literary ambition, or pecuniary necessity, -or the desire to head a system, prompts a man to collect and put into -shape their results, that they are given to the world. Instances have -occurred in which they have appeared very nearly in their raw unwrought -form. Thus, Tucker's "Light of Nature" is nothing more than the -reflections of an English country gentleman, collected and strung -together. Paley and Reid used them as if they had themselves gone -through the operation, and put the results into shape; while the late -William Hazlitt was at the pains of writing an abridgment of the book. -It was fortunate for philosophy that these disconnected observations and -thoughts were collected and preserved. And the reflection leads to the -recollection of the quantity of valuable thoughts that any man, who -notices the course of conversation around him, hears produced and -dropped. In after-dinner social intercourse, in general verbal criticism -of books or men, how much of the gold of true philosophy is scattered -away with the dross; lost almost at the moment it is uttered, and -forgotten both by hearer and speaker. - -It is interesting to have so much of this valuable matter, as may have -found its way into epistolary correspondence, preserved. The -conversation of Hume's friends we have unfortunately lost, for there was -no Boswell at his elbow. But their letters show how much of scholarship, -and elegant literature, and philosophy slumbered in the minds of the -Scottish gentry of that age; and assure us that in his intercourse with -an Elliot, a Mure, an Edmonstone, an Elibank, a Macdonald, an Oswald, -Hume was exchanging ideas with men not unworthy of literary fellowship -with a mind even so highly cultivated as his own. - -William Mure of Caldwell, who was in 1761 made a Baron of the Exchequer -in Scotland, was among those who seem to have earliest secured and -longest retained Hume's esteem. The letters which passed between them -are not often dated, but the circumstances under which many of them are -written are attested by internal evidence. The following is one of the -few which do not admit of being thus tested, but its merit is in a vein -of quiet, easy, epistolary humour, rather than in its connexion with the -events of the writer's life. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"_September 10._ - -"I made a pen, dipt it in ink, and set myself down in a posture of -writing, before I had thought of any subject, or made provision of one -single thought, by which I might entertain you. I trusted to my better -genius that he would supply me in a case of such urgent necessity; but -having thrice scratched my head, and thrice bit my nails, nothing -presented itself, and I threw away my pen in great indignation. 'O! thou -instrument of dulness,' says I, 'doest thou desert me in my greatest -necessity? and, being thyself so false a friend, hast thou a secret -repugnance at expressing my friendship to the faithful Mure, who knows -thee too well ever to trust to thy caprices, and who never takes thee in -his hand without reluctance. While I, miserable wretch that I am, have -put my chief confidence in thee; and, relinquishing the sword, the gown, -the cassock, and the toilette, have trusted to thee alone for my fortune -and my fame. Begone! avaunt! Return to the goose from whence thou -camest. With her thou wast of some use, while thou conveyedst her -through the etherial regions. And why, alas! when plucked from her wing, -and put into my hand, doest thou not recognise some similitude betwixt -it and thy native soil, and render me the same service, in aiding the -flights of my heavy imagination?' - -"Thus accused, the pen erected itself upon its point, placed itself -betwixt my fingers and my thumb, and moved itself to and fro upon this -paper, to inform you of the story, complain to you of my injustice, and -desire your good offices to the reconciling such ancient friends. But -not to speak nonsense any longer, (by which, however, I am glad I have -already filled a page of paper,) I arrived here about three weeks ago, -am in good health, and very deeply immersed in books and study. Tell -your sister, Miss Betty, (after having made her my compliments,) that I -am as grave as she imagines a philosopher should be,--laugh only once a -fortnight, sigh tenderly once a week, but look sullen every moment. In -short, none of Ovid's metamorphoses ever showed so absolute a change -from a human creature into a beast; I mean, from a gallant into a -philosopher. - -"I doubt not but you see my Lord Glasgow very often, and therefore I -shall suppose, when I write to one, I pay my respects to both. At least, -I hope he will so far indulge my laziness. _Hanc veniam petimusque -damusque vicissim._ - -"Did you receive my letter from Glasgow? I hope it did not displease -you. What are your resolutions with regard to that affair? - -"Remember me to your sister, Miss Nancy, to Miss Dunlop, and to Mr. -Leechman. Tell your mother, or sisters, or whoever is most concerned -about the matter, that their cousin, John Steuart, is in England, and, -as 'tis believed, will return with a great fortune. - -"I say not a word of Mr. Hutcheson, for fear you should think I intend -to run the whole circle of my West-country acquaintance, and to make you -a bearer of a great many formal compliments. But I remember you all -very kindly, and desire to be remembered by you, and to be spoke of -sometimes, and to be wrote to."[155:1] - - -The following letter is in reference to Mr. Mure having been chosen -member of Parliament for Renfrewshire as successor to Alexander -Cunningham, on whose death a new writ was moved on 22d November, 1742. -The advice which this letter offers to a young statesman, seems to be -both sagacious and honest. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"I have wrote to Mr. Oswald[155:2] by this post, in order to promote an -intimacy and friendship betwixt you. I exhort you to persevere in your -intention of cultivating a friendship with him. You cannot possibly find -a man of more worth, of a gentler disposition, or better understanding. -There are infinite advantages attending an intimacy with such persons; -among which this is not the least, as far as I can judge by my own -experience, that I always derive from it an additional motive to -preserve my character for honour and integrity; because I know that -nothing else can preserve their friendship. Should I give you an -exhortation of this kind, you might think me very impertinent; though -really you ought to ascribe it more to my friendship, than my -diffidence. 'Tis impossible ever to think ourselves secure enough, where -our concern is extremely great; and, though I dare be confident of your -good conduct, as of my own, yet you must also allow me to be diffident -of it, as I should be of my own. When I consider your disposition to -virtue, cultivated by letters, together with your moderation, I cannot -doubt of your steadiness. The delicacy of the times does not diminish -this assurance, but only dashes it with a few fears, which rise in me -without my approbation, and against my judgment. Let a strict frugality -be the guardian of your virtue; and preserve your frugality by a close -application to business and study. Nothing would so effectually throw -you into the lumber and refuse of the house as your departure from your -engagements at this time; as a contrary behaviour will secure your own -good opinion, and that of all mankind. These advantages are not too -dearly purchased even by the loss of fortune, but it belongs to your -prudence and frugality to procure them, without paying so dear a -purchase for them. I say no more; and hope you will ascribe what I have -said, not to the pedagogue, or even to the philosopher, but to the -friend. I make profession of being such with regard to you; and desire -you to consider me as such no longer than I shall appear to be a man of -honour. Yours." - -_January 26._[156:1] - - -Among Hume's friends in early life, we find James Oswald of Dunnikier, -who is mentioned in the foregoing letter--a name pretty well known in -the political history of Scotland. He was elected member for the -Kirkaldy district of burghs in 1741. He filled successively the -situations of Commissioner of the Navy, Member of the Board of Trade, -Lord of the Treasury, and Treasurer of Ireland. He was well read in the -sources of literary information, and brought to his official duties a -sagacious, practical understanding, which made him infinitely -serviceable to the speculative labours of his two illustrious friends, -Hume and Smith. "I know," says Hume, "you are the most industrious and -the most indolent man of my acquaintance; the former in business, the -latter in ceremony."[157:1] We have occasional glimpses of philosophical -rambles, not unmixed with a little conviviality, in which Oswald -sometimes embarked with his speculative friends. "You will remember," he -says, writing to Henry Home in 1742, "how your friend David Hume and -you, used to laugh at a most sublime declamation I one night made, after -a drunken expedition to Cupar, on the impotency of corruption in certain -circumstances; how I maintained, that on certain occasions, men felt, or -seemed to feel, a certain dignity in themselves, which made them disdain -to act on sordid motives: and how I imagined it to be extremely -possible, in such situations, that even the lowest of men might become -superior to the highest temptations."[157:2] The political course which -he afterwards adopted, however, was not precisely of this soaring cast, -but savoured more of the school of practical expedients founded by Sir -Robert Walpole. We shall afterwards have occasion to see his intercourse -with Hume illustrated at greater length. - -The following letter to Mure, contains a pretty sagacious division of -the prominent political movements of the day, into those which a -supporter of the court party would advocate, and those which he would -oppose. Hume seems to have had some dread lest the spirit of what was -then termed patriotism, might sway an inexperienced, young, and aspiring -politician into devious paths, inconsistent with the straight road of -duty and devotion to an adopted party. But Mure seems to have been a -sagacious steady-minded man, not likely to be seduced out of the path he -had chosen. He was subsequently much relied on by Lord Bute, and rose -to eminence and distinction as a Tory politician. The letter exhibits a -playful practice of talking of his correspondents as his pupils, which -Hume adopted sometimes with those who had least sympathy with his -principles, unless they were clergymen, or otherwise likely to take the -familiarity in bad part. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"I am surprised you should find fault with my letter. For my part, I -esteem it the best I ever wrote. There is neither barbarism, solecism, -equivoque, redundancy, nor transgression of one single rule of grammar -or rhetoric, through the whole. The words were chosen with an exact -propriety to the sense, and the sense was full of masculine strength and -energy. In short, it comes up fully to the Duke of Buckingham's -description of fine writing,--_Exact propriety of words and thought_. -This is more than what can be said of most compositions. But I shall not -be redundant in the praise of brevity, though much might be said on that -subject. To conclude all, I shall venture to affirm, that my last letter -will be equal in bulk to all the orations you shall deliver, during the -two first sessions of parliament. For, let all the letters of my epistle -be regularly divided, they will be found equivalent to a dozen of _No's_ -and as many _Ay's_. There will be found a _No_ for the triennial bill, -for the pension bill, for the bill about regulating elections, for the -bill of pains and penalties against Lord Orford, &c. There will also be -found an Ay for the standing army,[158:1] for votes of credit, for the -approbation of treaties, &c. As to the last _No_ I mentioned, with -regard to Lord Orford, I beg it of you as a particular favour. For, -having published to all Britain my sentiments on that affair, it will be -thought by all Britain that I have no influence on you, if your -sentiments be not conformable to mine. Besides, as you are my disciple -in religion and morals, why should you not be so in politics? I entreat -you to get the bill about witches repealed, and to move for some new -bill to secure the Christian religion, by burning Deists, Socinians, -Moralists, and Hutchinsonians. - -"I shall be in town about Christmas, where, if I find not Lord Glasgow, -I shall come down early in the spring to the borders of the Atlantic -Ocean, and rejoice the Tritons and sea-gods with the prospect of -Kelburn[159:1] in a blaze. For I find, that is the only way to unnestle -his lordship. But I intend to use the freedom to write to himself on -this subject, if you will tell me how to direct to him. In the meantime -do you make use of all your eloquence and argument to that purpose. - -"Make my humble compliments to the ladies, and tell them, I should -endeavour to satisfy them, if they would name the subject of the essay -they desire. For my part, I know not a better subject than themselves; -if it were not, that being accused of being unintelligible in some of my -writings, I should be extremely in danger of falling into that fault, -when I should treat of a subject so little to be understood as women. I -would, therefore, rather have them assign me the deiform fund of the -soul, the passive unions of nothing with nothing, or any other of those -mystical points, which I would endeavour to clear up, and render -perspicuous to the meanest readers. - -"Allow not Miss Dunlop to forget, that she has a humble servant, who -has the misfortune to be divided from her, by the whole breadth of this -island. I know she never forgets her friends; but, as I dare not pretend -to that relation, upon so short an acquaintance, I must be beholden to -your good offices for preserving me in her memory; because I suspect -mightily that she is apt to forget and overlook those who can aspire no -higher than the relation I first mentioned. - -"This, I think, is enough in all conscience. I see you are tired with my -long letter, and begin to yawn. What! can nothing satisfy you, and must -you grumble at every thing? I hope this is a good prognostic of your -being a patriot."[160:1] - -"_Nov. 14th._" - - -In the course of these Memoirs there will be many occasions for -exhibiting Hume's acquaintance with some of the most distinguished -clergymen of his time, and the mutual esteem which he and they -entertained towards each other. Among those members of the Presbyterian -church, with whom he appears to have had the most early intercourse, we -find the name of Dr. Leechman, who was his senior by about five years. -They probably got acquainted with each other in the family of the Mures -of Caldwell, where Leechman had been tutor to Hume's friend and -correspondent. Whatever other jealousies or distastes may have occurred -between them, it would be no drawback to their subsequent intimacy, that -Leechman was by his marriage with Miss Balfour, the brother-in-law of -one of Hume's most zealous controversial opponents, Mr. Balfour of -Pilrig. Dr. Leechman was for many years professor of divinity in the -university of Glasgow, of which he afterwards became principal. -His sermons, now little known, stood at one time in formidable rivalry -with those of Blair. He appears to have been a man who united settled -religious principles with a calm conscientious inquiring mind; and the -account which his biographer, the Rev. James Wodrow, gives of his -lectures, is characteristic of one who had too much respect for truth to -hate or contemn any man engaged in purely metaphysical inquiries, -whatever might be the opinions to which they led him. We are told, that -"no dictatorial opinion, no infallible or decisive judgment on any great -controverted point, was ever delivered from that theological chair. -After the point had undergone a full discussion, none of the students -yet knew the particular opinion of this venerable professor, in any -other way than by the superior weight of the arguments which he had -brought under their view; so delicately scrupulous was he to throw any -bias at all upon ingenuous minds, in their inquiries after sacred -truth."[161:1] - -There is a letter by Hume to Baron Mure, containing a criticism on the -composition and substance of a sermon by Dr. Leechman. From the general -tenor of the letter, it would appear that the sermon was placed in -Hume's hands that the author might have the advantage of his suggestions -in preparing a second edition for the press. The criticisms on style and -collocation are careful and minute, but they all indicate blemishes -peculiar to the piece of composition before the critic, and suggest -corresponding improvements; and none of them appear so far to illustrate -any canon of criticism as to be intelligible to a reader who has not -the sermon in his hands, in the same state as that in which it was -inspected by Hume. These corrective annotations precede the following -general remarks on the sermon and its subject. There may be seen in -these remarks a desire, which haunts the whole of Hume's writings on -kindred subjects; a desire to call forth argument and evidence in -support of that side from which he himself feels inclined to dissent; -like the unsatisfied feeling of one who would rather find refuge in the -argumentative fortress of some other person, than remain a sceptical -wanderer at his own free will. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"These are all the minute faults I could observe in the sermon. Mr. -Leechman has a very clear and manly expression; but, in my humble -opinion, he does not consult his ear enough, nor aim at a style which -may be smooth and harmonious, which, next to perspicuity, is the chief -ornament of style; _vide_ Cicero, Quinctilian, Longinus, &c. &c. &c. If -this sermon were not a popular discourse, I should also think it might -be made more concise. - -"As to the argument, I could wish Mr. Leechman would, in the second -edition, answer this objection both to devotion and prayer, and indeed -to every thing we commonly call religion, except the practice of -morality, and the assent of the understanding to the proposition _that -God exists_. - -"It must be acknowledged, that nature has given us a strong passion of -admiration for whatever is excellent, and of love and gratitude for -whatever is benevolent and beneficial; and that the Deity possesses -these attributes in the highest perfection: and yet I assert, he is not -the natural object of any passion or affection. He is no object either -of the senses or imagination, and very little of the understanding, -without which it is impossible to excite any affection. A remote -ancestor, who has left us estates and honours acquired with virtue, is a -great benefactor; and yet 'tis impossible to bear him any affection, -because unknown to us: though in general we know him to be a man or a -human creature, which brings him vastly nearer our comprehension than an -invisible, infinite spirit. A man, therefore, may have his heart -perfectly well disposed towards every proper and natural object of -affection--friends, benefactors, country, children, &c.--and yet, from -this circumstance of the invisibility and incomprehensibility of the -Deity, may feel no affection towards him. And, indeed, I am afraid that -all enthusiasts mightily deceive themselves. Hope and fear perhaps -agitate their breast when they think of the Deity; or they degrade him -into a resemblance with themselves, and by that means render him more -comprehensible. Or they exult with vanity in esteeming themselves his -peculiar favourites; or at best they are actuated by a forced and -strained affection, which moves by starts and bounds, and with a very -irregular, disorderly pace. Such an affection cannot be required of any -man as his duty. Please to observe, that I not only exclude the -turbulent passions, but the calm affections. Neither of them can operate -without the assistance of the senses and imagination; or at least a more -complete knowledge of the object than we have of the Deity. In most men -this is the case; and a natural infirmity can never be a crime. But, -secondly, were devotion never so much admitted, prayer must still be -excluded. First, the addressing of our virtuous wishes and desires to -the Deity, since the address has no influence on him, is only a kind of -rhetorical figure, in order to render these wishes more ardent and -passionate. This is Mr. Leechman's doctrine. Now, the use of any figure -of speech can never be a duty. Secondly, this figure, like most figures -of rhetoric, has an evident impropriety in it; for we can make use of no -expression, or even thought, in prayers and entreaties, which does not -imply that these prayers have an influence. Thirdly, this figure is very -dangerous, and leads directly, and even unavoidably, to impiety and -blasphemy. 'Tis a natural infirmity of men to imagine that their prayers -have a direct influence; and this infirmity must be extremely fostered -and encouraged by the constant use of prayer. Thus, all wise men have -excluded the use of images and pictures in prayer, though they certainly -enliven devotion; because 'tis found by experience, that with the vulgar -these visible representations draw too much towards them, and become the -only objects of devotion."[164:1] - - -The literary history of this sermon is curious and instructive. When its -author received his appointment of professor of divinity in 1744, a -party in the church opposed his being admitted in the usual manner as a -member of the presbytery of Glasgow; and one of their methods of attack -was to charge him with heretical opinions, promulgated in this sermon, -of which the first edition had been then published. It is singular -enough, in comparing their charge with Hume's criticism, to find the two -attacks brought against the same point, though with different weapons. -"The purport of the whole went to charge Mr. Leechman with having laid -too little stress on the merit of the satisfaction and intercession of -our blessed Saviour, as the sole ground of our acceptance with God in -prayer, and with teaching Christians to look for pardon and acceptance -on other grounds than this."[165:1] - -At this time, we find Hume making an effort to obtain a professorship in -Edinburgh. Dr. Pringle, subsequently Sir John Pringle, and President of -the Royal Society of London,-- - - "Who sat in Newton's chair, - And wonder'd how the devil he got there,"-- - -held the chair of "ethics and pneumatic philosophy"[165:2] in the -university of Edinburgh. In 1742, he was appointed physician to the Earl -of Stair, commander of the British troops in the Low Countries; and -through this circumstance it will be seen, from the following letter, -that Hume contemplated a vacancy, and that he was employing the usual -means for securing his own appointment to the chair. - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"DEAR WILL,--I shall tell you how my affair stands. Dr. Pringle has been -absent two years by allowance, and about six weeks ago wrote a letter to -the provost, in which he seemed in a manner to have resigned his office; -and desired the council, if they thought the university any way a -sufferer by his absence, to send him over a resignation in form, which -he would sign, and then they might proceed to the choice of a successor. -Mr. Couts,[165:3] upon receiving this, mentioned me to several of the -council, and desired me to mention myself as a candidate to all my -friends; not with a view of soliciting or making interest, but in order -to get the public voice on my side, that he might with the more -assurance employ his interest in my behalf. I accordingly did so; and -being allowed to make use of the provost's name, I found presently that -I should have the whole council on my side, and that, indeed, I should -have no antagonist. But when the provost produced the doctor's letter to -the council, he discovered that he had in secret wrote differently to -some of his friends, who still insisted that the town should give him -allowance to be absent another year. The whole council, however, except -two or three, exclaimed against this proposal, and it appeared -evidently, that if the matter had been put to a vote, there would have -been a majority of ten to one against the doctor. But Mr. Couts, though -his authority be quite absolute in the town, yet makes it a rule to -govern them with the utmost gentleness and moderation: and this good -maxim he sometimes pushes even to an extreme. For the sake of unanimity, -therefore, he agrees to an expedient, started by one of the doctor's -friends, which he thought would be a compliment to the doctor, and yet -would serve the same purpose as the immediate declaration of a vacancy -in the office. This expedient was to require either the doctor's -resignation, or a declaration upon honour, that whether it were peace or -war, or in any event, he would against November, 1745, return to his -office, and resign his commission of physician to the army, or any other -employment incompatible with his attendance in this place. This last -condition, Mr. Couts thinks it impossible he will comply with, because -he has a guinea a-day at present, as physician to the army, along with a -good deal of business and half-pay during life. And there seems at -present to be small chance for a peace before the term here assigned. I -find, however, that some are of a contrary opinion; and particularly -several of the doctor's friends say that he will sign the obligation -above-mentioned. We shall receive his answer in a fortnight, upon which -my success seems entirely to depend. - -"In the mean time, I have received another offer, which I shall tell you -as a friend, but desire you may not mention to any body. My Lord -Garlees[167:1] received a commission from Mr. Murray of Broughton[167:2] -to look out for a travelling tutor to his son, who is at present at -Glasgow. My lord inclines to give me the preference, but I could not -positively accept, till I had seen the end of this affair, which is so -near a crisis. Please to inform me of any particulars that you know with -regard to the young man, his family, &c., that in case the former -project fail, I may deliberate upon the other. The accusation of heresy, -deism, scepticism, atheism, &c. &c. &c., was started against me; but -never took, being bore down by the contrary authority of all the good -company in town. But what surprised me extremely, was to find that this -accusation was supported by the pretended authority of Mr. Hutcheson and -even Mr. Leechman, who, 'tis said, agreed that I was a very unfit person -for such an office. This appears to me absolutely incredible, especially -with regard to the latter gentleman. For, as to Mr. Hutcheson, all my -friends think that he has been rendering me bad offices to the utmost -of his power. And I know that Mr. Couts, to whom I said rashly that I -thought I could depend upon Mr. Hutcheson's friendship and -recommendation,--I say, Mr. Couts now speaks of that professor rather as -my enemy than as my friend. What can be the meaning of this conduct in -that celebrated and benevolent moralist, I cannot imagine. I shall be -glad to find, for the honour of philosophy, that I am mistaken: and, -indeed, I hope so too; and beg of you to inquire a little into the -matter, but very cautiously, lest I make him my open and professed -enemy, which I would willingly avoid. Here then it behoves you to be -very discreet. - -"'Tis probable Mr. Murray of Broughton may consult Mr. Hutcheson and the -other professors of Glasgow, before he fix absolutely on a tutor for his -son. We shall then see whether he really entertains a bad opinion of my -orthodoxy, or is only unwilling that I should be Professor of Ethics in -Edinburgh; lest that town, being in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, should -spread its contagion all around it, and even infect the students of the -latter university. - -"I have passed a week with Mr. Oswald at Kirkcaldy. He makes his -compliments to you. He has shown me the whole economy of the navy, the -source of the navy debt, with many other branches of public business. He -seems to have a great genius for these affairs, and I fancy will go far -in that way if he perseveres." - -"_Edinburgh, August 4, 1744._"[168:1] - - -It may easily be imagined that both Mr. Hutcheson and Dr. Leechman would -be opposed to the appointment of David Hume as a teacher of moral -philosophy in one of the universities; and that they might entertain -this opinion along with an honest admiration of his character, and an -appreciation of the value of his talents when exercised in another -sphere. It is at all events gratifying to find, that whatever opposition -Hutcheson may have made, he was influenced by no sordid motive, as he -was offered the chair, and refused it. On 27th March, 1745, a letter in -which Dr. Pringle resigned the chair, was read to the Town Council. On -3d April, a nomination to the chair was transmitted to Hutcheson.[169:1] -He declined the honour, in a rather verbose letter, in which he speaks -in the tone of one whose tenure of life cannot be expected to be strong -enough to fit him for new labours: yet he was then only fifty years old. -His death occurred two years later, and he probably felt that his long -series of intellectual labours had exhausted too much of the stamina of -life to leave him the prospect of a successful career in a new sphere of -duty. On Hutcheson's letter being read to the council, on 10th April, -1745, the minutes bear, that "several other persons having been named as -proper candidates, it was thereupon moved in council, whether to proceed -to take the ministers' avisamentum betwixt and next council day, in -order to facilitate their choice, or to delay the same for a month or -six weeks, so that the members of council might with the greater leisure -deliberate thereanent; and the rolls having thereupon been called, and -the vote marked, it carried delay for said space." - -It is probable that the "ministers' avisamentum," whatever may be -precisely designed by that phrase, was not such a recommendation as -would turn the minds of the members of council in favour of Hume. His -name is not mentioned in the council records in connexion with the -proceedings, and the vacancy was filled up on 5th June, 1745, by the -appointment of William Cleghorn, who had acted for Dr. Pringle in his -absence. - -The date of these transactions, brings us into the middle of a very -curious episode in Hume's history, which must now be examined. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[139:1] Essay on the Independency of Parliament. - -[141:1] This concluding sentence was added in the third Edition, (1748,) -in which also the passage within brackets was modified. - -[145:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 98, et seq. - -[147:1] Ab his animi motibus purioribus, et tranquillo stabilique suae -beatitudinis appetitione, quae ratione utitur duce, diversi plane sunt -motus quidam vehementiores et perturbati, quibus, secundum naturae suae -legem, saepe agitatur mens, ubi certa species ipsi obversatur, atque -bruto quodam impetu, fertur ad quaedam agenda, prosequenda, aut -fugienda, quamvis nondum, adhibita in consilium ratione, secum statuerat -haec ad vitam facere vel beatam vel miseram. Hos motus quisque -intelliget, qui, in se descendens, in memoriam revocaverit quali animi -impetu fuerat abreptus, quae passus, quum libidine, ambitione, ira, -odio, invidia, amore, laetitia, aut metu, agitabatur; etiam ubi nihil de -earum rerum, quae mentem commoverant, cursu ad vitam beatam aut miseram -serio cogitarat. Quid quod saepe in partes contrarias distineantur et -distrahantur homines, cum aliud cupido, mens vero, ejusque appetitus -tranquillus, aliud suadeat. - -[147:2] Diximus ex virtutis comprobatione ardentiorem efflorescere -amorem, in eos qui virtute videntur praediti. Quumque in omnes suas -vires, affectiones, sensus, vota, appetitiones, reflectere possit mens, -eaque contemplari; ille ipse decori et honesti sensus acrior, ardentior -virtutis appetitio, et honestiorum omnium amor et caritas, omnino -comprobabitur; neque ulla animi affectio magis, quam optimi cujusque -dilectiones et caritates. - -[148:1] See _Caracteres_ _Ch._ 11. De L'homme. - -[148:2] Qui multiplicem sensuum horum perspexerit varietatem, quibus res -adeo dispares hominibus commendantur appetendae; animique propensiones -pariter multiplices, et mutabiles; et inter se saepe pugnantes -appetitus, et desideria, quibus suam quisque insequitur utilitatem, -eamque variam, aut non minus variam voluptatem; eam etiam ingenii -humanitatem, affectionesque benignas multiplices; humana huic natura -prima specie videbitur, chaos quoddam, rudisque rerum non bene junctarum -moles, nisi altius repetendo, nexum quendam, et ordinem a natura -constitutum, et principatum deprehenderit, aut +hegemonikon+ aliquod, ad -modum caeteris ponendum idoneum. Philosophiae munus et hoc investigare, -atque monstrare qua demum ratione haec sint ordinanda; miro enim -artificio - - Hanc Deus, et melior litem natura diremit. - -[149:1] Hanc vitam caducam et aerumnosam. - -[149:2] The chapter _De Dominii acquirendi Rationibus_. - -[149:3] De nuptiis consanguineorum in linea transversa, quas adferunt -rationes viri docti, vix quiquam affirmant. Quia vero apud plurimas -gentes legis Judaicae ignaras, ejusmodi nuptiae habebantur impurae et -nefariae, credibile est et eas in prima mundi aetate lege aliqua -positiva, cujus diu manserunt vestigia, fuisse a Deo vetitas. Ea autem -lex hoc praecipue spectasse videtur, ut plures familiae gentesque ea -devinciantur caritate et benevolentia, quae ex affinitate et sanguinis -conjunctione oriri solet. Alia forte commoda hominibus nascituris -prospexit Deus, ex eo quod gentes variae, conjugiis inter se misceantur. - -[150:1] This is in reference to the word _despotica_ being put in -italics as a modern barbarism. - -[150:2] Civium quisque non sibi solum, verum et liberis, a civitate -defensionem stipulatur, et omnia vitae civilis commoda. Liberis gestum -est negotium utilissimum; unde citra suum consensum, ad ea omnia pro -ipsorum viribus, facienda praestanda adstringuntur, quae ob istiusmodi -commoda ab adultis jure flagitari poterant. Nihil autem aequius quam ut -singuli, pro virili parte, eam tueantur civitatem, neque ab ea -intempestive discedant, cujus beneficio diu protecti, innumeris potiti -fuerant vitae excultae commodis; utque haec a majoribus accepta ad -posteros transmittant. - -[151:1] The practice of sending young men to the continental -universities, seems to have continued for a longer time in the north -than in the south. Within these few years it was not uncommon north of -the Grampians, to meet with elderly country gentlemen, recalling to each -other the memorable events of their student life at Leyden. The practice -appears to be reviving in a favour for the German universities; but -perhaps it is now more frequently followed by the commercial classes -than by the country gentlemen. - -[155:1] MS. R.S.E. This letter is printed in the _Literary Gazette_ for -1822, p. 635. - -[155:2] Mr. Oswald of Dunnikier. - -[156:1] MS. R.S.E. _Literary Gazette_, 1822, p. 635. - -[157:1] Memorials of James Oswald, p. 82. - -[157:2] Ib. p. 19-20. - -[158:1] This refers to the taking Hanoverian troops into British pay, -warmly debated in the House of Commons on 10th December, 1742. - -[159:1] The Earl of Glasgow's house, on the coast of Ayrshire. - -[160:1] MS. R.S.E. _Literary Gazette_, 1822, p. 636. - -[161:1] Sermons by William Leechman, D.D. to which is prefixed some -account of the author's life, and his character, by James Wodrow, D.D. -1789, i. 34. - -[164:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[165:1] Memoir, _ut supra_, p. 23. - -[165:2] Pneumatic Philosophy must here be taken in its old sense, as -meaning Psychology. - -[165:3] John Couts or Coutts, a native of Dundee, at that time Lord -Provost of Edinburgh. He was the father of Thomas Coutts, the celebrated -banker. - -[167:1] The title of courtesy of the eldest son of the Earl of Galloway. - -[167:2] There were two Murrays of Broughton. The one had a small piece -of property in Tweeddale, between Noblehouse and Moffat; and soon after -the date of this letter acquired an infamous celebrity by giving -evidence against the rebels, after having acted as secretary to the -Pretender. The other, who was probably the person Hume had in view, had -a considerable estate in Galloway. - -[168:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[169:1] Town Council Records, where he is called George Hutcheson, -instead of Francis. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -1745-1747. AET. 34-36. - - Hume's Residence with the Marquis of Annandale--His - Predecessor Colonel Forrester--Correspondence with Sir James - Johnstone and Mr. Sharp of Hoddam--Quarrel with Captain - Vincent--Estimate of his Conduct, and Inquiry into the - Circumstances in which he was placed--Appointed Secretary to - General St. Clair--Accompanies the expedition against the - Court of France as Judge-Advocate--Gives an Account of the - Attack on Port L'Orient--A tragic Incident. - - -Hume's history of his residence with the Marquis of Annandale, is given -in the following brief terms, in his "own life." "In 1745, I received a -letter from the Marquis of Annandale, inviting me to come and live with -him in England: I found, also, that the friends and family of that young -nobleman were desirous of putting him under my care and direction, for -the state of his mind and health required it. I lived with him a -twelvemonth. My appointments during that time made a considerable -accession to my small fortune." - -It might have been favourable perhaps to the dignity of his position in -the world of letters, that this episode in his history had never been -more fully narrated; for a philosopher conducting a litigation for L75 -of arrears of salary, is apt to experience that diminution of respect in -the eyes of the public, which the prince of Conde discovered that a hero -suffered in those of his valet. Since, however, many statements have -been given to the world, connected with that part of Hume's life, and -many charges and countercharges among the persons connected with it are -preserved, it is necessary to give such a brief view of the whole -affair, as may enable the reader to estimate the respective merits of -the parties in the dispute. A collection of documents on the subject was -lately published by a gentleman to whom the literary history of Scotland -is indebted for many other services;[171:1] and from his book the -following statement is compiled. - -The person with whom David Hume was thus connected was the last Marquis -of Annandale, on whose death that title became dormant. On the 5th of -March, 1748, he was found, on an inquest from the Court of Chancery in -England, to be a lunatic, incapable of governing himself and managing -his own affairs, and to have been so since 12th December, 1744, a few -months anterior to Hume's engagement with him. The correspondence does -not give the reader the notion of one reduced to so abject a mental -state, but rather that of a man nervously timid and reserved; -distrustful of himself and his ability to transact business with other -people, but not quite incapable of managing his affairs, though -exciteable, and liable to be driven into fits of passion by causes not -susceptible of being anticipated. A party to the correspondence, talking -of him as in an improved condition, says: "My Lord walked out with me -lately two or three miles, received and returned the compliments of the -hat of those we met, and without any shyness or reserve: and bears to -stand by, and hear me talk with any farmer or countryman. This is a vast -change for the better, and the greatest appearance that it will -continue."[172:1] He appears to have been haunted by a spirit of -literary ambition. Hume says in a letter to Lord Elibank, "I have copied -out half a dozen of epigrams, which I hope will give you entertainment. -The thought in them is indeed little inferior to that in the celebrated -Epigrams of Rousseau; though the versification be not so correct. What a -pity! I say this on account both of the author and myself; for I am -afraid I must leave him." And on another occasion he alludes at length -to a far more extensive literary achievement, a novel, which the -excited Marquis had written, and which those about him had found it -necessary to print, circulating a few copies, and advertising it in one -newspaper to allay any suspicions in the author's mind that a thousand -copies had not been printed. Hume says: - -"You would certainly be a little surprised and vexed on receiving a -printed copy of the novel, which was in hands when you left London. If I -did not explain the mystery to you, I believe I told you, that I hoped -that affair was entirely over, by my employing Lord Marchmont and Lord -Bolingbroke's authority against publishing that novel; though you will -readily suppose that neither of these two noble Lords ever perused it. -This machine operated for six weeks; but the vanity of the author -returned with redoubled force, fortified by suspicions, and increased by -the delay. 'Pardie,' dit il, 'je crois que ces messieurs veulent etre -les seules Seigneurs d'Angleterre qui eussent de l'esprit. Mais je leur -montrerai ce que le petit A---- peut faire aussi.' In short, we were -obliged to print off thirty copies, to make him believe that we had -printed a thousand, and that they were to be dispersed all over the -kingdom. - -"My Lady Marchioness will also receive a copy, and I am afraid it may -give her a good deal of uneasiness, by reason of the story alluded to in -the novel, and which she may imagine my Lord is resolved to bring to -execution. Be so good, therefore, as to inform her, that I hope this -affair is all over. I discovered, about a fortnight ago, that one of the -papers sent to that damsel had been sent back by her under cover to his -rival, Mr. M'----, and that she had plainly, by that step, sacrificed -him to her other lover. This was real matter of fact, and I had the -good fortune to convince him of it; so that his pride seems to have got -the better of his passion, and he never talks of her at present." - -The "novel" appears to have referred to some little event in its -author's private history. If there be a copy of it now any where -existing, it is to be feared that it wastes its fragrance on the desert -air, as the existence of so choice a flower of literature, were it in -the possession of any collector, could not fail to have been rumoured -through the bibliographical world. - -The Marquis had previously been attended by a succession of hired -companions, of whom one was a man of considerable distinction, Colonel -James Forrester,[174:1] a person who, in the Scottish society of the -age, seems to have united some of the qualities of a Chesterfield to a -like proportion of those of a Beau Fielding. He was the author of "The -Polite Philosopher;" a lively little essay, sometimes published along -with Chesterfield's "Advice," in which the author is so much at ease -with his reader, that he discourses in prose or poetry as his own humour -dictates. Johnson said, with reference to the man and the book, that "he -was himself the great polite he drew;" and if it did not happen that his -coxcombry excited the poor invalid's irritable nerves to distraction, he -was probably an infinitely more suitable man for the office of companion -to the Marquis of Annandale, than David Hume. - -The overtures to Hume were made by the Marquis himself; who was, -according to an expression used by Sir James Johnstone, when writing to -Hume, "charmed with something contained in his Essays." The place of -residence of the Marquis was Weldhall, near St. Alban's, in -Hertfordshire. Hume had to go to London to make the anticipatory -arrangements, and he commenced his companionship on 1st April, 1745. The -insurrection, headed by Prince Charles Edward in Scotland, commenced -four months afterwards; and there is perhaps nothing more curious in -the whole dispute than the indifference with which this matter, fraught -with so much importance to his countrymen, is spoken of by Hume; while -there could not probably be a better answer to those who afterwards -insinuated that he was a Jacobite, than an account of the manner in -which his thoughts were occupied during that struggle. He occasionally -complains that he is prevented from personally discussing, with the -individuals interested, the matters he is writing about, on account of -"the present unhappy troubles;" and the following portion of a letter to -Sir James Johnstone of Westerhall, the brother of the Marquis's -stepfather, written immediately after he had left his attendance on the -Marquis, is the only occasion in which he appears to show the least -sympathy in the conflict or its results. - - -"_Portsmouth, June 6, 1746._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I have always sympathized very cordially with you, whenever -I met with any of the names, wherein you was interested, in any of the -public papers; but I hope that one of the persons is now safe by his -escape, and the other protected by her sex and innocence.[176:1] We live -not now in a time, when public crimes are supposed to cancel all private -ties, or when the duties of relation, even though executed beyond the -usual bounds, will render the persons criminal. I am willing, -therefore, to flatter myself, that your anxiety must now be in a great -measure over, and that a more happy conclusion of so calamitous an -affair could not be expected, either for private individuals or for the -public. Some little time ago, we had here a conversation with regard to -L----, and other persons in her condition, when General St. Clair said, -that he heard, from some of the ministers, that the intentions of the -menaces, or even of the intended prosecutions (if they went so far,) -were not to proceed to execution; but only to teach our countrywomen -(many of whom had gone beyond all bounds) that their sex was no absolute -protection to them, and that they were equally exposed to the law with -the other sex. However, I doubt not but your friend has no occasion for -their clemency, whatever may be the case with the other ladies in the -same situation, who had particularly valued themselves upon their -activity and courage." - - -It is now necessary to enter on a subject, which one feels a natural -inclination to postpone, as long as the order of events will afford any -excuse for looking at other things: the treatment Hume experienced in -this his self-adopted slavery. He had to deal with a capricious -unreasonable employer; to that he would, in the circumstances, -philosophically reconcile himself. He states in one of his letters, that -he lived with him "in a more equal way of complaisance and good humour -than could well have been expected. Some little disgusts and humours -could not be prevented, and never were proposed to be of any -consequence." But he had another and a far more unpleasant person to -deal with, in a certain Philip Vincent, a captain in the navy,[178:1] a -relation of the Dowager-marchioness of Annandale. For some months -matters appear to have gone smoothly with all concerned. The following -letter to one of his esteemed friends, shows that Hume was consoling -himself for the probable dissipation of his hopes of a professorship, by -reflecting on his good fortune in being connected with so amiable and -excellent a man as Captain Vincent:-- - -[Illustration: handwritten letter, text of which follows] - - -HUME _to_ MATTHEW SHARP _of Hoddam_.[178:2] - -"MY DEAR SIR,--I am informed that such a popular clamour has been raised -against me in Edinburgh, on account of scepticism, heterodoxy, and other -hard names, which confound the ignorant, that my friends find some -difficulty, in working out the point of my professorship, which once -appeared so easy. Did I need a testimonial for my orthodoxy, I should -certainly appeal to you; for you know that I always imitated Job's -friends, and defended the cause of Providence when [you] attacked it, on -account of the headachs you felt after a deba[uch.] But, as a more -particular explication of that particular seems superfluous, I shall -only apply to you for a renewal of your good offices with your -nephew, Lord Tinwal,[179:1] whose interest with Yetts and Allan may be -of service to me. There is no time to lose; so that I must beg you to be -speedy in writing to him, or speaking to him on that head. A word to the -wise. Even that is not necessary to a friend, such as I have always -esteemed and found you to be. - -"I live here very comfortably with the Marquis of Annandale, who, I -suppose you have heard, sent me a letter of invitation, along with a -bill of one hundred pounds, about two months ago. Every thing is much -better than I expected, from the accounts I heard after I came to -London; for the secrecy with which I stole away from Edinburgh, and -which I thought necessary for preserving my interest there, kept me -entirely ignorant of his situation. - -"My lord never was in so good a way [before.] He has a regular family, -honest servants, and every thing is managed genteelly and with economy. -He has intrusted all his English affairs to a mighty honest friendly -man, Captain Vincent, who is cousin-german to the Marchioness. And as my -lord has now taken so strong a turn to solitude and repose, as he -formerly had to company and agitation, 'tis to be hoped that his good -parts and excellent dispositions may at last, being accompanied with -more health and tranquillity, render him a comfort to his friends, if -not an ornament to his country. As you live in the neighbourhood of the -Marchioness, it may give her a pleasure to hear these particulars. I -am,[180:1] &c. - -"_Weldehall, near St. Albans_, - -"_April 25, 1745._" - - -On the other hand, we find Captain Vincent, when he speaks of Hume, -saying, "I think it very happy that he is with my lord, and still more -so if he is constantly to remain with him, which I do not foresee but -that he may; and I must do him the justice to say, that after having had -time enough to weigh the temper, situation, and circumstances of the -person he has to deal with, he very candidly owned that it was what he -could cheerfully abide with." And again in August, "Mr. Hume is almost -wholly taken up with our friend personally, so that he can scarce have -the resource of amusement, or even of business, which is somewhat hard -upon a man of erudition and letters, whom indeed I think very deserving -and good natured; and whilst he can be his companion, there could not be -a better made choice of." The captain, in other letters, speaks of Hume -as "a very worthy and knowing man," and as "My friend Mr. Hume;" and -seems at one time to have wished that an annuity of L100 a-year should -be settled upon him, without reference to his continuance in his office, -and in addition to the salary he might receive while he did so. But the -dawn was soon afterwards overcast. - -Hume, in the first place, disliked some of Captain Vincent's proposed -arrangements, as to the disposal of the person of the Marquis, and -seems to have soon suspected him of wishing to carry through designs -which would materially affect the interest of some of the Marquis's -relations. It is probable that a feeling of friendliness, or of duty, -may have prompted him to interfere. It may be so, and he may in reality -have done good; but the impression produced by the correspondence is, -regret that Hume did not at once retire in lofty scorn from the scene of -these paltry cabals. - -Captain Vincent held a commission from the Marquis to "hire and dismiss -servants," and perform other like functions. It was in virtue of this -authority that he dealt with Hume; and he seems at first to have -thought, that in the person of the philosopher he had met with a sort of -superior and valuable member of the fraternity of upper-servants. Though -Hume had then written the works on which a large portion of his European -reputation was afterwards built, this man seems to have regarded his -literary abilities as merely an enhancement of the qualities which -suited him for his servile office. Looking upon himself as a member of -the family, he appears to have had much the same disposition to admit -that Hume's literary distinction put them on a par with each other, as -he might have had to admit that the display of an unexpected degree of -musical talent in the servants' hall would qualify one of its -frequenters to be hail-fellow well met with him in the dining-room. -Whether Hume was right or wrong in the suspicions he entertained of -Vincent, the conduct of Vincent to Hume was brutal, and that on his own -showing. - -One of Hume's views, as to the proper treatment of the Marquis, was, -that the isolation of Weldhall was unsuitable to his condition: that he -should be in a a more cheerful residence, and one in other respects -more suitable; and the dispute appears to have been for some time -suspended on this peg. On the 31st October, Hume writes:-- - -"What is the mighty matter in dispute? Only about hiring a few carts to -remove the family to another house, in order to quit this; which, for -very good reasons, is infinitely disagreeable to your friend, very -dangerous, will be uninhabitable for cold during the winter season, and -costs L300 to L400 a-year, at least, to the family, more than is -requisite." And afterwards he says of Vincent:--"He said, when he was -here, that we shall live in this house till the lease was out, in spite -of all opposition." - -In the letter from which the preceding passage is taken, he says to Sir -James Johnstone,-- - - -"I must begin by complaining of you for having yoked me here with a man -of the Captain's character, without giving me the least hint concerning -it, if it was known to you, as, indeed, it is no secret to the world. -You seemed satisfied with his conduct, and even praised him to me; which -I am fully persuaded was the effect of your caution, not your -conviction. However, I, who was altogether a stranger, entered into the -family with so gross a prepossession. I found a man who took an infinite -deal of pains for another, with the utmost professions both of -disinterestedness and friendship to him and me; and I readily concluded -that such a one must be either one of the best, or one of the worst of -men. I can easily excuse myself for having judged at first on the -favourable side; and must confess that, when light first began to break -in upon me, I resisted it as I would a temptation of the devil. I -thought it, however, proper to keep my eyes open for farther -observation; till the strangest and most palpable facts, which I shall -inform you of at meeting, put the matter out of all doubt to me. - -"There is nothing he would be fonder of than to sow dissension betwixt -my Lady and you, whom he hates and fears. He flatters, and caresses, and -praises, and hates me also; and would be glad to chase me away, as doing -me the honour, and, I hope, the justice of thinking me a person very -unfit for his purposes. As he wants all manner of pretext from my -conduct and behaviour, he has broken his word." - - -That these statements are not those of a secret foe emitting calumnies -in the dark, is made clear by the concluding terms of the letter, in -which the writer, instead of asking his correspondent to keep its -contents secret--a very common clause when people, thrown much in each -other's way, write about each other's conduct to third parties--says, "I -wish you would bring this letter south with you, that, if you will allow -it, I may show it to him,"--that is, to Vincent. - -The excitement communicated to Hume's nerves on this occasion, is shown -by the following short letter to Sir James, so much at variance with the -usual character of his writings:-- - - -"God forgive you, dear Sir, God forgive you, for neither coming to us, -nor writing to us. The unaccountable, and, I may say, the inhuman -treatment we meet with here, throws your friend into rage and fury, and -me into the greatest melancholy. My only comfort is when I think of your -arrival; but still I know not when I can propose to myself that -satisfaction. I flatter myself you have received two short letters I -wrote within this month; though the uncertainty of the post gives me -apprehension. I must again entreat you to favour me with a short line, -to let me know the time you can propose to be with us; for, if it be -near, I shall wait with patience and with pleasure; if distant, I shall -write you at length, that you and my Lady Marchioness may judge of our -circumstances and situation.--I am, Dear Sir, yours, with great -sincerity, D. H." - - -Unfortunately, the precise objects which the parties respectively -desired to accomplish cannot be distinctly ascertained, as the letters -generally refer to explanations which it will be necessary for the -parties to make when they meet, because the troubled character of the -times made private letters liable to be opened and inspected. Hume at -the same time, being in the midst of a considerable retinue of servants -under the control and management of his enemy, was in dread that spies -were set on his motions. Thus he says to Sir James Johnstone,-- - -"I did write you the very first occasion after I came out thither. But I -find my letters have great difficulty to reach you; for which reason I -shall put this into the post-house myself, to prevent such practices as -I suspect are used in this family. I have some reason also to think that -spies are placed upon my most indifferent actions. I told you that I had -had more conversation with one of the servants than was natural, and for -what reason. Perhaps this fellow had the same privilege granted him as -other spies, to rail against his employer, in order to draw in an -unguarded man to be still more unguarded. But such practices, if real, -(for I am not altogether certain,) can only turn to the confusion of -those who use them. Where there is no arbitrary power, innocence must -be safe; and if there be arbitrary power in this family, 'tis long since -I knew I could not remain in it. What a scene is this for a man -nourished in philosophy and polite letters to enter into, all of a -sudden, and unprepared! But I can laugh, whatever happens; and the -newness of such practices rather diverts me. At first they caused -indignation and hatred; and even (though I am ashamed to confess it) -melancholy and sorrow." - -What a scene indeed! - -The chief incidental light that can be thrown on the nature of the -suspicions which Hume entertained of Vincent, is derived from the -position of the person to whom the greater part of these letters were -addressed--Sir James Johnstone, who has already been alluded to as a -connexion of the Annandale family. His brother, Colonel John Johnstone, -had married the Marchioness-dowager, the mother of the Marquis, and by -her had three children. She was an heiress; and though the Scottish -estates, following an entail, were destined to pass to another family, -her own property would be inherited by the children of her second -marriage, on the death of the Marquis. The accumulated rents of his -estates, being movable property, would also be the subject of -succession, different from that of the entail; and therefore the -management of this property, during his imbecility, was a matter of much -moment to some of his connexions. The public had ample opportunity of -knowing the extent of these accumulated funds. They rose to the sum of -L415,000, and were the subject of long litigation both in England and -Scotland. The "Annandale cases" had a material effect in settling in -Britain the important principle which had been previously adopted over -the greater part of Europe, that the movable or personal estate of a -deceased person must be distributed according to the law of the country -where he had his domicile or permanent residence at the time of his -death. - -It is pretty evident that Vincent had certain family projects in view in -connexion with the management of the estate, and that Hume wished to -defeat them. Before the outbreak of the quarrel, the latter had written -to Sir James: - -"I shall endeavour to give you my opinion, which I am certain would be -yours, were you to pass a day amongst us. I am sorry, therefore, to -inform you, that nothing now remains but to take care of your friend's -person, in the most decent and convenient manner; and, with regard to -his fortune, to be attentive that the great superplus, which will remain -after providing for these purposes, should be employed by my Lady and -your nephews, as the true proprietors, for their honour and advantage." - -Having written a civil letter to Vincent, stating that he desired the -intervention of Sir James Johnstone, and that he believed, in the mean -time, that the Marquis was satisfied with the engagement, and did not -wish him to be dismissed, he thus hints to Sir James his suspicions of -Vincent's views. - -"I must own it was with excessive reluctance I wrote so softening and -obliging a letter to this man; but as I knew that such a method of -proceeding was conformable to your intentions, I thought it my duty to -comply. However, I easily saw it would all be vain, and would only -fortify him in his arrogance. Do you think that _the absolute possession -of so ample a fortune_, to which this is the first requisite step, is a -prize to be resigned for a few fair words or flattering professions? He -deals too much in that bait himself ever to be caught with it by others. - -"I think this is the last opportunity that will ever offer of retrieving -the family and yourself (as far as you are concerned with the family,) -from falling into absolute slavery to so odious a master. If, in the -beginning, and while he is watched by jealous eyes, he can attempt such -things, what will he not do when he has fixed his authority, and has no -longer any inspector over him? - -"'Tis lucky, therefore, that this, as it seems the last, is so good an -opportunity. Nothing was ever so barefaced as his conduct. To quarrel -with me, merely because I civilly supported a most reasonable project; -to threaten me with his vengeance, if I opened my lips to you concerning -your friend's affairs; to execute that threat, without a pretext, or -without consulting you; these steps give us such advantages over him as -must not be neglected. - -"I hope you will not take it amiss, if I say, that your conduct, with -regard to your friend, and to those who have at different times been -about him, has all along been too gentle and cautious. I had -considerably shaken the authority of this man (though I had no authority -myself,) merely by my firmness and resolution. He now assumes more, when -he observes your precautions. - -"But, as I do not believe that, though your firmness may daunt him, it -will ever engage him to loose hold of so fine a prize, it will be -requisite to think of more effectual remedies. Happily there is time -enough both to contrive and to execute. For, though he makes me the -offer of present payment, (which I hope you observed,) in order to -engage me to leave you presently, he shall not get rid of me so easily." - -Hume appears, with a marvellous degree of self-restraint--marvellous in -a man of independent spirit--to have felt that it was his duty not to be -driven from his post by the insults of Vincent. He says to Sir James -Johnstone, when apparently wearied out, "I fancy he must prevail at -last; and I shall take care not to be a bone of contention betwixt you, -unless you think I am the most advantageous piece of ground on which you -can resist him." His opinion, that the interests of the other relations -were concerned in his resisting Vincent's designs, is confirmed by the -following letter, also addressed to Sir James Johnstone:-- - -"He [Vincent] desired you should intermeddle as little as possible in -these affairs; adding, that he intended, by keeping my Lord's person and -his English affairs in his own hands, to free my Lady from all slavery -to you. - -"Ever since, no entreaties, no threatenings have been spared to make me -keep silence to you; to which my constant answer was, that I thought not -that consistent with my duty. I told him freely, that I would lay all -the foregoing reasons before you, when you came to London, and hoped you -would prevail with him to alter his opinion. If not, we should all -write, if you thought proper, to my Lady Marchioness, in order to have -her determination. The endeavouring, then, to make me keep silence to -you, was also to keep my Lady in the dark about such material points, -since I could not have access to let her know the situation of our -affairs, by any other means. - -"He offered to let me leave your friend in the beginning of winter, if I -pleased, provided I would make no opposition to his plan,--that is, -would not inform you; for I was not capable of making any other -opposition. He added, he would allow me my salary for the whole year, -and that he would himself supply my place, leave his house in London, -and live with your friend. Can all this pains be taken, merely for the -difference betwixt one house and another? - -"An evening or two before his departure from Weldehall, he offered me -the continuance of the same friendship, which had always subsisted -betwixt us, if I would promise not to open my lips to you about this -matter. - -"The morning of his departure, he burst out all of a sudden, when the -subject was not talked of, into threatenings, and told me, that, if I -ever entered upon this subject with you, I should repent it. He went out -of the house presently, and these were almost his last words." - -The circumstance of these "threatenings" is amply confirmed by a letter -of Vincent himself, addressed to the Marchioness; an admirable specimen -of the outpouring of a vulgar and insolent mind:-- - - -"I will venture to say I have the knack of parrying and managing him, -but that Mr. Hume, who is so extraordinarily well paid, only for his -company, and lodged and lives, that, if it was at his own expense, he -could not do it for L200 a-year, should be gloomy and inconsolable for -want of society, and show, for this good while past, little or no sign -of content or gratitude to me for all I have done, and the best -intentions to serve him, and principally promoted his being in this -station, and repeatedly offered to come out frequently during the winter -and stay two or three days at a time, whilst he should be in town. I -shall do so, but nowise in consideration to him, but out of tenderness -and regard to our friend. Mr. Hume is a scholar, and I believe an honest -man; but one of his best friends at Edinburgh at first wrote me, he had -conversed more with books than the world, or any of the elegant part of -it, chiefly owing to the narrowness of his fortune. He does not in this -case seem to know his own interest, though I have long perceived it is -what he mostly has a peculiar eye to. Hereafter I shall consider him no -more than if I had never known him. Our friend in reality does not -desire he should stay with him. I don't see his policy in offering to -oppose my pleasure, and think it very wrong in him to mention his -appealing to Sir James Johnstone. I dare say your ladyship thinks as I -do, that it is unbecoming for me to be in a subservient state, in such a -case, to any body. I am very zealously disposed to be accountable to -you; both regard, civility, justice, long friendship and acquaintance, -as well as near relationship, are all the motives in the world for it; -and I hoped my being concerned would produce all possible good effects -in your having constant, true, and satisfactory accounts, as well as -that, in due time, those advantages in your own affairs might be -accruing, which you are so justly entitled to, and which I have before -declared to be one of the main ends to be accomplished, and which I -believe you think I could effect better than another. It is not one of -the most pleasing circumstances that, in the situation of our friend, it -is an inlet to strangers, taken in by accident, to be too much -acquainted with private family affairs. I certainly desire that Sir -James and I should be in good correspondence, and I believe he is -satisfied of that; but this man, taking it into his head to thwart my -methods, and all to gratify his own desire of being near town in the -winter forsooth, after the offer I have made of giving him relief -sometimes, and as nothing will satisfy some dispositions, I shall, at -the end of the year, close all accounts, in which there will be done -what was never done before, a complete state of the receipt and the -expense, and then very willingly desire to be excused from having any -farther concern. Most certainly I would do every thing in my power to -serve and oblige you; but if you desire the continuance of my care, -please to write to Sir James to signify occasionally to Mr. Hume that -the management is left to me, and not to a stranger, who, if he is not -satisfied, is at his liberty to remove from such attendance." - - -This illustration of character would be incomplete without a passage in -a subsequent letter, in which, after Hume had ceased to attend on the -Marquis, Vincent characterizes the sort of person who would be a -desirable successor. - -"If any proper person is about him again whilst I am concerned, terms -for their behaviour must be specified, and as they wax fat and are -encouraged, they must be discreet enough and reasonable in their nature, -so as not to kick. Such deportment would engage any good offices of -mine, in favour of a worthy man, fit for the purpose, which, I confess, -is very hard to find, and possibly my Lord will not care to have any -body put upon him by way of terms of continuance." - -That the iron of this bondage entered into his soul, is apparent in many -passages of Hume's letters. He regretted that he had left independence -in a humble home, for dependence in a lordly mansion: he regretted that -he had been led to meddle with intrigues, in which a vulgar selfish man, -who knew the world, was far more than a match for a profound -philosopher. How wise it had been for him had he never deserted the -humble prospects of an independent life, the following complaints, -addressed to Lord Elibank, testify:-- - - -"Meanwhile, I own to you, that my heart rebels against this unworthy -treatment; and nothing but the prospect of depending entirely on you, -and being independent of him, could make me submit to it. I have fifty -resolutions about it. My loss, in ever hearkening to his treacherous -professions, has been very great; but, as it is now irreparable, I must -make the best of a bad bargain. I am proud to say that, as I am no -plotter myself, I never suspect others to be such, till it be too late; -and, having always lived independent, and in such a manner as that it -never was any one's interest to profess false friendship to me, I am not -sufficiently on my guard in this particular. . . . . My way of living is -more melancholy than ever was submitted to by any human creature, who -ever had any hopes or pretensions to any thing better; and if to -confinement, solitude, and bad company, be also added these marks of -disregard, . . . . I shall say nothing, but only that books, study, -leisure, frugality, and independence, are a great deal better." - - -The filling up of the cup of his slights and injuries, and the -termination of his servitude, is thus described by Hume; and one reads -it with a feeling of relief, as an event long protracted, and for the -occurrence of which the reader of the narrative is impatient. He says, -writing to Sir James Johnstone, on 17th April, 1746,-- - -"You'll be surprised, perhaps, that I date my letters no longer from -Weldehall; this happened from an accident, if our inconstancies and -uncertainties can be called such. - -"You may remember in what humour you saw your friend a day or two before -you left us. He became gay and good-humoured afterwards, but more -moderately than usual. After that, he returned to his former -disposition. These revolutions, we have observed, are like the hot and -cold fits of an ague: and, like them too, in proportion as the one is -gentle, the other is violent. But the misfortune is, that this prejudice -continued even after he seemed, in other respects, entirely recovered. -So that, having tried all ways to bring him to good humour, by talking -with him, absenting myself for some days, &c., I have at last been -obliged yesterday to leave him. He is determined, he says, to live -altogether alone; and I fancy, indeed, it must come to that. As far as I -can judge, this caprice came from nobody, and no cause, except physical -ones. The wonder only is, that it was so long a-coming." - -There is a stroke of generosity in his thus attributing the impulse to -physical causes, and not only abstaining from an accusation of his -enemy, but expressly exempting him from all blame. The readers of the -correspondence have not probably all seconded the charitable exemption; -and the exulting tones in which Vincent speaks of the dismissal, foster -the suspicion that he had paved the way for it. He says, on the 19th -April,-- - - -"This day was a fortnight, my Lord told Mr. Hume to be gone, and that in -terms which I shall not repeat; the Monday following, the same -directions were renewed in a very peremptory manner, attended with such -expressions of resentment, that I advised Hume to go away the next day, -which he did, the 8th; and on the 15th I went out thither, and had told -my Lord before, that, if he could be reconciled to have him return, I -was very willing to contribute towards it, which proposal was not in -the least agreed to. . . . . Hume has not for many months stomached -depending in any respect upon my decision, who was originally the cause -of his being received at all, and had very great difficulty, long since -and at different times, to get my Lord to bear him. He has mistaken the -point; for there is nothing irritates his Lordship so much, as the -thought of any one showing some tokens of authority, and looking on what -he says as caprice, and of no consequence; and I really believe it is -some such notion as this, which has produced so thorough an aversion." - - -There are two different views that may be taken of Hume's motives for -not having at once resigned his appointment, at the very commencement of -the train of indignities to which he was subjected. Whoever anticipates -that a man who had tutored his mind by the rules of philosophy, and who -lived an upright and independent life, may be actuated by some better -views than those of mere pecuniary aggrandizement, will give him credit -for having believed it to be his duty to watch over certain interests of -the Annandale family at the sacrifice of his own feelings. Those who, -strongly disapproving of his opinions as a philosopher, believe them to -be therefore the dictate of a corrupted mind, will probably search for -base and selfish motives; and will have little difficulty in identifying -them with a pure love of gain, sufficiently strong to absorb all -gentlemanly feeling and all spirit of independence. The favourable and -charitable view admits of no direct demonstration on which an opponent -could not be able to throw doubt; and, the circumstances being stated, -each reader is left to form his own opinion. - -There is one thing that Hume never attempts to conceal--his feeling that -the situation was in a pecuniary point of view advantageous to him, and -his consequent desire to preserve it for his own sake, so long as he -could do so with honour. That it should be so is one of those -inconsistencies often exhibited in fine geniuses, which ordinary men of -the world find it difficult to appreciate. It frequently proceeds from -this circumstance, that, not being acquainted with the ordinary beaten -tracks towards wealth and independence, which other men so easily find; -yet desiring the latter, although perhaps they care not for the former -endowment, they lay hold with avidity on any guide that is likely to -lead them, by however devious and unpleasant a path, to the desired -object. Men whose minds are much occupied with abstract subjects, if -they be poor and desire to be free of unpleasant obligations, are thus -apt to grasp at trifling rights with a pertinacity which has the air of -selfishness. They feel a timidness of their own ability to make way in a -bustling active world; and, conscious that it would be vain to compete -with hard-headed acute men of business in the enlargement of their -fortune, treat with an undue importance any comparatively trifling -claims and advantages; while the sagacious world, which sees before it -so many more advantageous paths to the objects of men's secondary -ambition, ridicules their much ado about nothing. It was Hume's first -and chief desire to be independent. That if he had enjoyed a choice of -means, to be the hired companion of the Marquis of Annandale would have -been among the last on which he would have fixed, will easily be -believed. But this occupation was the only method of gaining a -livelihood that offered itself at the time; it was an honest one, and -the disagreeable circumstances attending the means were overlooked in -the desirableness of the end. - -It is necessary, also, along with the account of Hume's efforts to gain -a humble livelihood, to keep in mind the state of society in Scotland at -that time. The union with England had introduced new habits of living, -which made the means of the smaller aristocracy insufficient for the -support of their younger children. On the other hand, England was -jealous of Scottish rivalry in foreign trade: neither agriculture nor -manufactures had made any considerable progress in Scotland; while -Indian enterprise was in its infancy, and Scottish adventurers in the -East had not yet found a Pactolus in the Ganges. At that period the -gentleman-merchant, manufacturer, or money dealer; the civil engineer, -architect, editor, or artist, were nearly unknown in Scotland. The only -form in which a man poor and well born could retain the rank of a -gentleman, if he did not follow one of the learned professions, was by -obtaining a commission in the army, or a government civil -appointment.[196:1] - -Here ended the channels to subsistence along with gentility, and he who -had none of these paths open to him, and had resolved to make an -independent livelihood by his own talents or labour, had at once, as the -German nobles frequently do in the present day, to abandon his rank, and -become a shopkeeper or small farmer, probably with the intention of -returning to the bosom of his former social circle when he had realized -an independence, but more commonly ending his days with the -consciousness that he was, in the words of Henry Hunt, "the first of a -race of gentlemen who had become a tradesman." Any lawyer who pays -attention to the statistics of the Scottish decisions in mercantile -cases, during the earlier part of the eighteenth century, will have -noticed how frequently it occurs that the younger sons of some good -family are mentioned as fulfilling the humblest duties of village -tradesmen.[197:1] The practice is now comparatively unknown. The well -educated gentleman's son, if he be brought up to commerce, connects -himself with those more liberal departments of it, in which he may reap -the advantage of his education and training. To the practice which -distinguished the period of depression above alluded to, aided perhaps -by the spirit of clanship, we may owe the existence of so many -aristocratic names among the humbler tradesmen in Scotland. In England -the nomenclature of a city directory will as surely indicate the court -and the tradesmen end of the town, as the Norman name used to indicate -nobility and the Saxon vassalage. We do not find Edward Plantagenet -keeping an oyster shop, or Henry Seymour cobbling shoes; but it would -not be difficult to exemplify these humble occupations, in the regal -names of a Robert Bruce or a James Stuart. In his essay on "The Parties -of Great Britain," published in 1741, Hume alludes to the absence of a -middle class in Scotland, where he says there are only "two ranks of -men," "gentlemen who have some fortune and education, and the meanest -starving poor: without any considerable number of the middling rank of -men, which abounds more in England, both in cities and in the country, -than in any other quarter of the world."[198:1] - -The history of the miserable quarrels and intrigues connected with -Hume's residence in the Annandale family, is a sad picture, not only of -the position of the individual, but of his class,--the poor scholars, -the servile drudges for bread. The modern literary labourer--or hack, as -he is called by those who deem the word labourer too respectable to be -employed on such an occasion--may look from the narrow bounds of his own -independent home, with a feeling of sincere though not boastful -superiority on David Hume, living in the splendid bondage of a peer's -mansion. But in drawing the comparison on which the reflection rests, -let him keep in view the state of literature and of society at that -period, and ask where lay the hopes of the literary labourer? If he -remained in the less conspicuous walks of learned industry, and became a -divine or a teacher, there was before him the career of Parson Adams, -taking his pot and pipe with the upper servants; or that of the -threadbare tutor, subjected to the caprice and insolence of young men, -who, if they do not happen to be endowed with a high tone of sentiment, -must imbibe from all around them this feeling, that they are as far -beyond the parallel of rank of their instructor, as the Brahmin is -beyond that of the Pariah; or, thirdly, he might be the hired victim of -a semi-maniac, whose few rays of remaining reason are but sufficient to -indicate his own immeasurable superiority to the bought attendant of his -humours. These were the resources of the man who distrusted the power of -his own genius to soar into the higher flights of original literature; -the man, who might perhaps be too conscientious, not to say also too -timid, to throw the chance of his being able to meet his obligations to -society and to perform his social duties, on the chance of his -succeeding in the race for literary distinction. - -But suppose the race run and gained, and the laurels on the victor's -brow,--for what, then, has all been risked, all encountered? True, Hume -himself became one of the distinguished few who gained both fame and -fortune; but in the ordinary case, if the former were achieved, the -latter did not follow; and in seeking the types of literary distinction -in his age, Fielding, Goldsmith, and Johnson are the names that rise -before us. Was the garden in which these flowers bloomed so genial that -we would have others transplanted thither? - -Let not, then, the considerate and charitable reader overlook all these -palliations of the motives which may have induced a great man to humble -himself and bear so much contumely. Let us suppose that he who reads -this narrative is an editor of a newspaper, with a salary of say two or -three hundred a-year; or that he writes articles for the periodicals, -and neither in name nor in reality bound to any one, gets the fair price -of his independent labour; or that he is a teacher in an active -commercial academy, who, after the harassing labours of the day, can -retire to the bosom of his own family, without fearing the frown or -desiring the smile of any great man,--let him, if such should be his -lot, indulge, in all its luxury, the consciousness of his superior -independence and happier fate; but in looking from its elevation to -David Hume, a bondman in the house of an insane lord, let compassion -rather than contempt tinge his estimate of the illustrious victim's -motives, and let him thank the better times, that with all the drudgery -of his lot, its disappointed aspirations, and the bitterness of -unavailing efforts to raise it to a higher and more justly-respected -position in the eye of the world, have yet enabled him to quaff the -sweet cup of independence. - -Before entirely leaving the subject of Hume's connexion with the Marquis -of Annandale, it is necessary to take a view of his conduct regarding a -pecuniary dispute which arose out of the transaction. The terms of the -agreement were very distinctly set forth by Captain Vincent in the -following letter:-- - -"SIR,--You desire to have a letter from me, expressing all the -conditions of the agreement concluded betwixt us, with regard to your -living with the Marquis of Annandale. In compliance with so reasonable a -request, I hereby acknowledge that, by virtue of powers committed to me -by the said Marquis, and with the approbation and consent of his -Lordship and Sir James Johnstone, I engaged that my Lord should pay you -three hundred pounds sterling a-year, so long as you continued to live -with him, beginning from the first of April, one thousand seven hundred -and forty-five: also that the said Marquis, or his heirs, should be -engaged to pay you, or your heirs, the sum of three hundred pounds, as -one year's salary, even though the Marquis should happen to die any time -in the first year of your attendance, or should embrace any new scheme -or plan of life, which should make him choose that you should not -continue to live out the first year with him. Another condition was, -that, if you should, on your part, choose to leave the Marquis any time -in the first or subsequent years, you should be free to do it; and that -the Marquis should be bound to pay you your salary for the time you had -attended him, and also the salary for that quarter in which you should -leave him, in the same manner as if that quarter should be fully -expired. - -"These were the conditions of our agreement about the end of February -last, on your first coming up to London for the purposes here mentioned, -and which I have committed to writing for your satisfaction and -security, this first day of September, at Weldehall, four miles south of -St. Alban's, in the county of Hertford, and in the year one thousand -seven hundred and forty-five." - -Vincent, in continuation, and for Hume's information, gives him a copy -of the agreement, under which one of his predecessors in office, by name -Peter Young, had been engaged; an agreement, containing terms rather -more favourable to the stipendiary than those of which Hume had -consented to accept. And he concludes,-- - -"You see the latter part of Mr. Young's agreement are more advantageous -terms than the latter part of yours; but I have done as much as I -thought reasonable and proper for me, and as much as you desired. I make -no doubt but, in any contingency, all the Marquis's friends and -relations, would be far from reducing your conditions less than that of -others in the same case, as, in my opinion, and I dare believe in -theirs, your character and conduct would rather entitle you to a -preference." - -Hume had in the mean time received a present of L100 from the Marquis of -Annandale, no reference to which is made in the agreement, and which he -considered as a gratuity to induce him to leave Scotland, and enter on -those negotiations with Lord Annandale and his friends, which ended in -his being engaged, but might have ended otherwise; as an indemnity, in -short, for the time wasted and the trouble taken in the preliminary -arrangements. Indeed, it will have been noticed in his letter to Mr. -Sharp, quoted above,[202:1] that this gratuity was sent by the Marquis -along with the invitation to Hume to repair to London and hold a -conference on the subject. Hume, then, was engaged at L300 a-year, with -the condition that for any broken quarter a full quarter's salary should -be paid. His engagement commenced on 1st April, 1745. It terminated on -the 15th April, 1746. He thus considered himself entitled to L300 as a -year's salary, and to L75 as the salary of the quarter, of which fifteen -days had run. In the mean time, however, just after the expiry of the -first year, it had occurred to the magnanimous Vincent, that though -better terms than those given to Hume, had been obtained by the Peter -Youngs and others, Hume's salary was twice as much as it should be, and -ought to be reduced by a half. Hume, as if he had been subdued in -spirit, by the life he had been leading--feeling as if his lot were -cast, and his fate fixed--oblivious of the glorious dreams of ambition -that had dawned on him ten years earlier in life and were yet to be -realized, seems to have calmly contemplated this pecuniary reduction, -and to have been inclined to agree to it if it should form the prelude -to a permanent engagement. He thus wrote to the mother of the Marquis. - -"I had the honour of a letter from my Lord Marquis last spring, inviting -me to London, which I accordingly obeyed. He made me proposals of living -with him; and Mr. Vincent, in concert with Sir James Johnstone, -mentioned at first the yearly salary of L300 as an allowance which they -thought reasonable; because my Lord had always paid so much to all the -other gentlemen that attended him, even when his way of living, in other -particulars, was much more expensive than at present. Since that, Mr. -Vincent thinks this allowance too much, and proposes to reduce it from -L300 to L150. My answer was, that whatever your Ladyship and my Lord -should think my attendance merited, that I would very willingly accept -of. As he still insisted on the reasonableness of his opinion, I have -used the freedom to apply to your Ladyship, to whose sentiments every -one, that has the honour of being connected with the family of -Annandale, owe so entire a deference. I shall not insist on any -circumstances in my own favour. Your Ladyship's penetration will easily -be able to discover those, as well as what may be urged in favour of Mr. -Vincent's opinion. And your determination shall be entirely submitted to -by me." - -At the same time he appears to have submitted his grievances to the -consideration of his kind friend Henry Home, who, in a letter to Sir -James Johnstone, expresses views which will probably meet with more -sympathy than those announced by Hume himself. - - -"_Kames, 14th April, 1746._ - -"SIR,--I have a letter from Mr. David Hume lately, which surprised me -not a little, as if there were a plot formed against him to diminish his -salary. For my part, I was never hearty in his present situation; as I -did not consider the terms offered as any sufficient temptation for him -to relinquish his studies, which, in all probability, would redound more -to his advantage some time or other. For this reason, though I had a -good deal of indignation at the dishonourable behaviour of the author of -this motion, yet underhand I was not displeased with any occasion, not -blameable on my friend's part, to disengage him. I thought instantly of -writing him a letter not to stay upon any terms after such an affront; -but, reflecting upon your interest in this matter, I found such an -advice would be inconsistent with the duty I owe you, and therefore -stopped short till I should hear from you. I'm well apprized of the -great tenderness you have for your poor chief; and it is certainly of -some consequence that he should have about him at least one person of -integrity; and it should have given me pain to be the author of an -advice that might affect you, though but indirectly. At the same time, I -cannot think of sacrificing my friend, even upon your account, to make -him submit to dishonourable terms; and, therefore, if you esteem his -attendance of any use to the Marquis, I beg you'll interpose that no -more attempts of this kind be made. For I must be so free to declare -that, should he himself yield to accept of lower terms, which I trust he -will not be so mean-spirited to do, he shall never have my consent, and -I know he will not act without it." - - -The Marchioness declined to interfere, and thus the award by which Hume -agreed to abide was not made. He had thus began the first quarter of a -new year under the old agreement, and he had not consented either to -abandon the terms of that agreement for the time that was running, or -even to make new terms applicable to any subsequent period, though he -had shown a disposition to accept, under certain circumstances, of these -new terms. His abrupt dismissal, however, put an end to the negotiation; -and, as the terms of his agreement entitled him to the L75 if he had -chosen to throw up his appointment, he thought he was not the less -entitled to the money that he had been dismissed, and that the -ignominious and insulting treatment connected with his dismissal should -not be any inducement to him to abandon his claim. He could not lose -sight, moreover, of the circumstance, that to place the parties more at -their ease in dealing with him, he had abandoned his claims on the -professorship in Edinburgh. It is true that he had small chance of -obtaining it, but that chance, such as it was, he was desired by the -friends of the Marquis to abandon, and he did so. The question with him -then was, how much injury he should allow to be added to the insults he -had received. The L300, for his year's services, were paid. The payment -of the L75, for the subsequent quarter, was resisted. - -On the 9th June, 1746, Henry Home wrote a sensible and kind letter on -the subject to Sir James Johnstone, in which he laid down the law of the -case, that Hume's claim of salary for the broken quarter must be on the -old agreement, and could not be "upon the footing of a proposal or -offer, which never came the length of a covenant, and which, therefore, -never had any effect;" and he says,--"The question then is, whether he -is entitled to L75, for the broken quarter, or only to L37, 10s. The -thing is a mere trifle to the Marquis of Annandale, but of some -importance to a young gentleman who has not a large stock; and supposing -the claim to be doubtful, I have great confidence in your generosity, -that for a trifle you would not choose to leave a grudge in the young -gentleman's mind, of a hardship done to him. - -"But to deal with you after that plain manner which I know you love, I -will speak out my mind to you, that in strict justice, and in the direct -words of the agreement, Mr. Hume is entitled to L75." - -Hume never entirely abandoned this claim. He was not in a position to -urge it forward immediately after his dismissal, as another and more -agreeable official appointment called him abroad. So late as 1760 and -during the next ensuing year, we find him urging his demand, and -allusion is made to an action having been raised in the Court of -Session. "The case," says Dr. Murray, "must have been settled -extrajudicially or by reference; for, after a careful search in the -minute book of the Court of Session, we do not find that it was ever -enrolled." - -There has been a general tendency to consider this pertinacious -adherence to a pecuniary claim, as a proceeding unworthy of a -philosopher. In any ordinary man, whether wise or foolish after the -wisdom of the world, such conduct would have appeared but just and -natural; but a philosopher is presumed to have no more respect for money -and its value, than the generous and sympathizing gentleman on the -stage, who on the impulse of the moment, always tosses a heavy purse to -somebody, without having any more distinct notion of its contents than -the admiring audience can have. Hume's notions of these matters were -different. "Am I," he said, "in a condition to make the Marquis of -Annandale a present of L75, that of right belongs to me." It is true -that in the interval between the debt being incurred, and his insisting -on its payment, he had by frugality and industry made himself -independent. In 1747, he tells us that he was possessed of L1000, and in -1760, his fortune had probably considerably increased, though the -sources of emolument which made him subsequently worth L1000 a-year, had -not been then opened up. The surplus of the Marquis of Annandale's -estate had in the mean time accumulated in the manner that has been -already mentioned, and Hume probably thought it was an action more truly -worthy of a philosopher, to make over his salary of librarian to the -poor blind poet Blacklock, than to abandon a claim of L75, justly due -by an estate which had developed a surplus of L400,000. - - * * * * * - -Early in the year 1746, Hume received an invitation from General St. -Clair, "to attend him as a secretary to his expedition, which was at -first meant against Canada, but ended in an incursion on the coast of -France."[208:1] Before his departure, and while he expected to have to -cross the Atlantic, he wrote the following letter, addressed to "Mr. -Alexander Home, Advocate, His Majesty's Solicitor for Scotland, at -Edinburgh." The concluding remarks evidently relate to the state -prosecutions following on the insurrection in Scotland. - - -"_Portsmouth, May 23, 1746._ - -"DEAR SOLICITOR,--A letter you have good reason to expect from me, -before my departure for America; but a long one you cannot look for, if -you consider that I knew not a word of this matter till Sunday last at -night, that we shall begin to embark from hence in two or three days, -and that I had very ingeniously stripped myself of every thing, by -sending down my whole baggage for Scotland on Sunday morning. Such a -romantic adventure, and such a hurry I have not heard of before. The -office is very genteel--10s. a day, perquisites, and no expenses. -Remember me kindly to your brothers. Tell Frank I ask him ten thousand -pardons. Let Mr. Dysart, and Mrs. Dysart know of my good wishes. Be -assured yourself of my friendship. I cannot leave Europe without giving -you one instance of it, and so much the greater that with regard to any -other person but you, it would be a dangerous one. In short, I have -been told, that the zeal of party has been apt sometimes to carry you -too far in your expressions, and that fools are afraid of your violence -in your new office. Seek the praise, my dear Sandy, of humanity and -moderation. 'Tis the most durable, the most agreeable, and in the end -the most profitable. - -"I am, dear Sandy, yours most sincerely. - -"For God's sake, think of _Willy Hamilton_."[209:1] - - -At the same time we find him writing to Henry Home, and speculating on -the possibility of himself joining the military service. - -"As to myself, my way of life is agreeable; and though it may not be so -profitable as I am told, yet so large an army as will be under the -general's command in America, must certainly render my perquisites very -considerable. I have been asked, whether I would incline to enter into -the service? My answer was, that at my years I could not decently accept -of a lower commission than a company. The only prospect of working this -point would be, to procure at first a company in an American regiment, -by the choice of the colonies. But this I build not on, nor indeed am I -very fond of it.[209:2] D. H." - -The person to whom we thus find Hume acting in the capacity of -secretary, was the Honourable James St. Clair, one of those commanders -whose fortune it is to have passed through a long life of active -military service, without having one opportunity of performing a -distinguished action; for though, on the present occasion, the path to -honour appeared to be at last opened to him, it was closed by the -mismanagement of others. He was the second son of Henry Lord St. Clair. -His elder brother being engaged in the rebellion of 1715, was attainted -by act of Parliament. The father left the family estates to General St. -Clair, who, with a generous devotion to the hereditary principle, -conveyed them to his elder brother, on that gentleman obtaining a pardon -and a statutory removal of the disabilities of the attainder. He -obtained the rank of colonel on 26th July, 1722, of major-general on -15th August, 1741, and of lieutenant-general on 4th June, 1745. During -the last named year he was quarter-master general of the British forces -in Flanders. He was for many years a member of Parliament, having been -elected for the Dysart burghs in 1722, and subsequently for the counties -of Sutherland and Fife. He died at Dysart on 30th November, 1762.[210:1] - -The marine force connected with the proposed expedition was commanded by -Admiral Richard Lestock, a man whose professional fate was in some -respects of a like character with that of his military colleague. The -intended object of the armament was an attack on the French possessions -in Canada, and steps had been taken to second its efforts on the other -side of the Atlantic, by bringing together a British American force. But -the indolence or negligence of the authorities at home, delayed the -departure of the fleet until it was too late to attempt such an -enterprise; and then, as if to furnish a vivid illustration of weak and -blundering counsels, that all these preparations might not be thrown -away, the force prepared for operations in America was sent to attempt a -descent on the coast of France. - -The naval force, consisting of sixteen ships of the line, eight -frigates, and two bomb-ketches, accompanied by five thousand eight -hundred land troops, including matrosses and bombardiers, set sail from -Plymouth on 14th September.[211:1] Its destination was the town of Port -L'Orient, then a flourishing port, as the depot of the French East India -Company, which has since fallen to decay in common with the great -establishment with which it was connected. The history and fate of the -expedition will be best described in Hume's own words. It afforded no -harvest of military glory to either country; and while it is but -slightly described by our own historians, it is scarcely ever mentioned -by those of France. National partiality will hardly make any lover of -the true glory of his country regret that such an attempt was a failure. -The method of conducting war by descents upon an enemy's coast, is a -relic of barbarism which it is to be hoped the progress of humanity and -civilisation will not permit either false enthusiasm or the auspices of -a great name to revive among the nations of Europe. It is precisely the -warlike tactic of the scalping knife--the wreaking against the weak that -vengeance which cannot reach the strong. The rules of civilized war are -to strike such blows as will annihilate the power of an enemy's -government, with the least injury to the peaceful inhabitants of the -country. Descents on a coast do much injury to individuals--they do -little harm to the enemy's government. It is a system by which the vital -parts are not attacked until they suffer by exhaustion from the injuries -done to the extremities. Such expeditions do a grievous injury to our -enemies, to accomplish a very small good to ourselves. But if they -cannot be avoided, the next step of mercy is to make them effectual by -energetic and well-organized measures which render resistance hopeless, -and subject the places attacked only to the modified license of a -well-disciplined army. The blunders that made the present attempt as -contemptible as it was cruel, are amply recorded by Hume, and may be a -lesson of the responsibility incurred by those who fit out warlike -expeditions. - -In this expedition Hume not only acted as secretary to the general, but -was appointed by him judge advocate of all the forces under his command, -by a commission "given on board his majesty's ship Superb, the third day -of August, 1746,"[212:1] in virtue of the power which the commander of -an army possesses to fill up a vacancy in that office. The mixed -ministerial and judicial duties of a judge advocate require a general -knowledge of the great principles of law and justice, with a freedom -from that technical thraldom of the practical lawyer which would be -unsuitable to the rapidity of military operations; and there can be -little doubt that these delicate and important functions were in this -instance committed to one in every way capable of performing them in a -satisfactory manner. - -Some of Hume's permanent friendships appear to have been formed during -this expedition. General Abercromby, with whom we will afterwards find -him corresponding, was quarter-master general, Harry Erskine was deputy -quarter-master, and Edmonstoune of Newton was a captain in the Royal -Scottish regiment. Of the operations of the expedition, and some other -incidents of deep interest connected with it, he sent the following -narrative to his brother, John Hume, or Home, of Ninewells. - - -HUME _to his Brother_. - -"Our first warlike attempt has been unsuccessful, though without any -loss or dishonour. The public rumour must certainly have informed you -that, being detained in the Channel, till it was too late to go to -America, the ministry, who were willing to make some advantage of so -considerable a sea and land armament, sent us to seek adventures on the -coast of France. Though both the general and admiral were totally -unacquainted with every part of the coast, without pilots, guides, or -intelligence of any kind, and even without the common maps of the -country; yet, being assured there were no regular troops near this whole -coast, they hoped it was not possible but something might be -successfully undertaken. They bent their course to Port L'Orient, a fine -town on the coast of Britanny, the seat of the French East India trade, -and which about twenty years ago was but a mean, contemptible village. -The force of this town, the strength of its garrison, the nature of the -coast and country, they professed themselves entirely ignorant of, -except from such hearsay information as they had casually picked up at -Plymouth. However, we made a happy voyage of three days, landed in the -face of about 3000 armed militia on the 20th of September, marched up -next day to the gates of L'Orient, and surveyed it. - -"It lies at the bottom of a fine bay two leagues long, the mouth of -which is commanded by the town and citadel of Port Louis, or Blavet, a -place of great strength, and situated on a peninsula. The town of -L'Orient itself has no great strength, though surrounded by a new wall -of about 30 foot high, fortified with half moons, and guarded with some -cannon. They were in prodigious alarm at so unexpected an attack by -numbers which their fears magnified, and immediately offered to -capitulate, though upon terms which would have made their conquest of no -significancy to us. They made some advances a few hours after, to abate -of their demands; but the general positively refused to accept of the -town on any other condition than that of surrendering at discretion. He -had very good reason for this seeming rigour and haughtiness. It has -long been the misfortune of English armies to be very ill-served in -engineers; and surely there never was on any occasion such an assemblage -of ignorant blockheads as those which at this time attended us. They -positively affirmed it was easily in their power, by the assistance of a -mortar and two twelve pounders, in ten hours' time, either to lay the -town and East India magazine in ashes, or make a breach by which the -forces might easily enter. This being laid before the general and -admiral, they concluded themselves already masters of the -town,and[214:1] needed grant no terms. They were besides afraid that had -they taken the town upon terms, and redeemed it for a considerable sum -of money, the good people of England, who love mischief, would not be -satisfied, but would still entertain a suspicion that the success of his -majesty's arms had been secretly sold by his commanders. Besides, -nothing could be a greater blow to the French trade than the destruction -of this town; nor what[214:2] could imprint a stronger terror of the -English naval power, and more effectually reduce the French to a -necessity of guarding their coast with regular forces, which must -produce a great diversion from their ambitious projects on the -frontiers. But when the engineers came to execution, it was found they -could do nothing of what they had promised. Not one of their carkasses -or red hot balls took effect. As the town could not be invested either -by sea or land, they got a garrison of irregulars and regulars, which -was above double our number, and played 35 pieces of cannon upon us -while we could bring only four against them. Excessive rains fell, which -brought sickness amongst our men that had been stowed in transports -during the whole summer. We were ten miles from the fleet, the roads -entirely spoilt, every thing was drawn by men, the whole horses in the -country being driven away. So much fatigue and duty quite overcame our -little army. The fleet anchored in a very unsafe place in Quimperlay -Bay. For these and other reasons it was unanimously determined to raise -the siege on the 27th of September; and to this measure there was not -one contradictory opinion either in the fleet or army. We have not lost -above ten men by the enemy in the whole expedition, and were not in the -least molested either in our retreat or re-embarkation. We met with a -violent storm on the 1st of October, while we were yet very near the -coast, and have now got into Quiberon Bay south of Belle-Isle, where we -wait for a reinforcement of three battalions from England. There are -five or six of our transports amissing. After our French projects are -over, which must be very soon because of the late season, we sail to -Cork and Kingsale. - -"While we lay at Ploemeur, a village about a league from L'Orient, -there happened in our family one of the most tragical stories ever I -heard of, and than which nothing ever gave me more concern. I know not -if ever you heard of Major Forbes, a brother of Sir Arthur's. He was, -and was esteemed, a man of the greatest sense, honour, modesty, -mildness, and equality of temper, in the world. His learning was very -great for a man of any profession; but a prodigy for a soldier. His -bravery had been tried, and was unquestioned. He had exhausted himself -with fatigue and hunger for two days, so that he was obliged to leave -the camp and come to our quarters, where I took the utmost care of him, -as there was a great friendship betwixt us. He expressed vast anxiety -that he should be obliged to leave his duty, and fear lest his honour -should suffer by it. I endeavoured to quiet his mind as much as -possible, and thought I had left him tolerably composed at night; but, -returning to his room early next morning, I found him, with small -remains of life, wallowing in his own blood, with the arteries of his -arm cut asunder. I immediately sent for a surgeon, got a bandage tied to -his arm, and recovered him entirely to his senses and understanding. He -lived above four-and-twenty hours after, and I had several conversations -with him. Never a man expressed a more steady contempt of life, nor more -determined philosophical principles, suitable to his exit. He begged of -me to unloosen his bandage, and hasten his death, as the last act of -friendship I could show him: but, alas! we live not in Greek or Roman -times. He told me that he knew he could not live a few days: but if he -did, as soon as he became his own master, he would take a more -expeditious method, which none of his friends could prevent. 'I die,' -says he, 'from a jealousy of honour, perhaps too delicate; and do you -think, if it were possible for me to live, I would now consent to it, -to be a gazing-stock to the foolish world. I am too far advanced to -return. And if life was odious to me before, it must be doubly so at -present.' He became delirious a few hours before he died. He had wrote a -short letter to his brother, above ten hours before he cut his arteries. -This we found on the table." - -"_Quiberon Bay in Britanny, Oct. 4, 1746._" - -"P.S.--The general has not sent off his despatches till to-day, so that -I have an opportunity of saying a few words more. Our army disembarked -on the 4th of October, and took possession of the peninsula of Quiberon, -without opposition. We lay there, without molestation, for eight days, -though the enemy had formed a powerful, at least a numerous, army of -militia on the continent. The separation of so many of our transports, -and the reinforcements not coming, determined us to reimbark, and return -home, with some small hopes that our expedition has answered the chief -part of its intended purpose, by making a diversion from the French army -in Flanders. The French pretend to have gained a great victory; but with -what truth we know not. The admiral landed some sailors, and took -possession of the two islands of Houat and Hedie, which were secured by -small forts. The governor of one of them, when he surrendered his fort, -delivered up his purse to the sea officer, and begged him to take care -of it, and secure it from the pillage of the sailors. The officer took -charge of it, and, finding afterwards a proper opportunity to examine -it, found it contained the important sum of ten sous, which is less than -sixpence of our money."[217:1] - -"_October 17._" - - -As Niebuhr was an eye-witness of the battle of Copenhagen, so Hume also -had thus an opportunity of observing some practical warlike operations, -though they were on a much smaller scale, and were witnessed in much -less exciting circumstances than those which attended the position of -the citizen of Copenhagen. Thus, although not themselves soldiers, these -two great historians swell the list, previously containing the names of -Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Guicciardini, Davila, and Rapin, of -those historians of warfare who have witnessed its practical operation. -Voltaire, when the accuracy of his description of a battle was -questioned by one who had been engaged in it, bid the soldier keep to -his profession of fighting, and not interfere with another man's, which -was that of writing; but there is little doubt, that the person who -would accurately describe military manoeuvres, will have his task -facilitated by having actually witnessed some warlike operations, on -however small a scale, and however unlike in character to those which he -has to describe. Scott considered that he had derived much of his -facility as a narrative historian from his services in the Mid-Lothian -yeomanry; and Gibbon found that to be an active officer in the Hampshire -militia was not without its use to the historian of the latter days of -Rome. - -It is pretty clear that Hume looked upon these operations, not only as -events likely to furnish him with some critical knowledge of warlike -affairs, but with the inquiring eye of one who might have an opportunity -of afterwards narrating them in some historical work. In the appendix -there will be found a pretty minute account by Hume, of the causes which -led to the failure of the expedition, in a paper apparently drawn up as -a vindication of the conduct of General St. Clair. It does not appear -to have been printed, although it seems to have been designed for the -press. It contains the following passage: "A certain foreign writer, -more anxious to tell his stories in an entertaining manner than to -assure himself of their reality, has endeavoured to put this expedition -in a ridiculous light; but as there is not one circumstance in his -narration that has truth in it, or even the least appearance of truth, -it would be needless to lose time in refuting it." - -The following passage in a letter to Sir Harry Erskine, dated 20th -January, 1756,[219:1] shows that he here alludes to Voltaire: "I have -been set upon by several to write something, though it were only to be -inserted in the Magazines, in opposition to this account which Voltaire -has given of our expedition. But my answer still is, that it is not -worth while, and that he is so totally mistaken in every circumstance of -that affair, and indeed of every affair, that I presume nobody will pay -attention to him. I hope you are of the same opinion." But if Voltaire -ever wrote on this subject, it must have been in one of those works of -which he took the liberty of determinedly denying the authorship, for -there appears to be nothing bearing on the subject in the usual editions -of his published and acknowledged works, and in his "Precis du Siecle de -Louis XV.," he passes over the expedition with the briefest possible -allusion. - -We find Hume, on the return of the expedition, writing the following -letter to Henry Home. It contains some curious notices of its writer's -views and intentions, and betrays a sort of irresolution as to his -subsequent projects, which seems to have haunted him through life. It is -here that we find the first allusion to his historical studies. The -extracts from his notes, or adversaria, printed above, show that he had -read much in history, but chiefly in that of the ancient nations. It -does not appear that he had yet paid any marked attention to British -history. - - -HUME _to_ HENRY HOME. - -"DEAR SIR,--I am ashamed of being so long in writing to you. If I should -plead laziness, you would say I am much altered; if multiplicity of -business, you would scarce believe me; if forgetfulness of you and our -friendship, I should tell a gross untruth. I can therefore plead nothing -but idleness, and a gay, pleasurable life, which steals away hour after -hour, and day after day, and leaves no time for such occupations as -one's sober reason may approve most of. This is our case while on shore, -and even while on board, as far as one can have much enjoyment in that -situation. - -"I wrote my brother from the coast of Britanny; giving him some account -of our expedition, and of the causes of our disappointment. I suppose he -received it after you had left the country, but I doubt not he has -informed you of it. We were very near a great success, the taking of -L'Orient, perhaps Port Louis, which would have been a prodigious blow to -France; and, having an open communication with the sea, might have made -a great diversion of their forces, and done great service to the common -cause. I suppose you are become a great general, by the misfortune of -the seat of war being so long in your neighbourhood. I shall be able -when we meet to give you the just cause of our failure. Our expedition -to North America is now at an end; we are recalled to England, the -convoy is arrived, and we re-embark in a few days. I have an invitation -to go over to Flanders with the general, and an offer of table, tent, -horses, &c. I must own I have a great curiosity to see a real campaign, -but I am deterred by the view of the expense, and am afraid, that living -in a camp, without any character, and without any thing to do, would -appear ridiculous. Had I any fortune which would give me a prospect of -leisure and opportunity to prosecute my _historical projects_, nothing -could be more useful to me, and I should pick up more literary knowledge -in one campaign, by living in the general's family, and being introduced -frequently to the duke's, than most officers could do after many years' -service. But to what can all this serve? I am a philosopher, and so, I -suppose, must continue. - -"I am very uncertain of getting half pay, from several strange and -unexpected accidents, which it would be too tedious to mention; and if I -get it not, shall neither be gainer nor loser by the expedition. I -believe, if I would have begun the world again, I might have returned an -officer, gratis; and am certain, might have been made chaplain to a -regiment gratis; but[221:1] . . . . . . . I need say no more. I shall -stay a little time in London, to see if any thing new will present -itself. If not, I shall return very cheerfully to books, leisure, and -solitude, in the country. An elegant table has not spoiled my relish for -sobriety; nor gaiety for study; and frequent disappointments have taught -me that nothing need be despaired of, as well as that nothing can be -depended on. You give yourself violent airs of wisdom; you will say, -_Odi hominem ignava opera, philosophica sententia_. But you will not -say so when you see me again with my Xenophon or Polybius in my hand; -which, however, I shall willingly throw aside to be cheerful with you, -as usual. My kind compliments to Mrs. Home, who, I am sorry to hear, has -not yet got entirely the better of her illness. I am," &c.[222:1] - - -We find Hume corresponding also with Oswald and Colonel Abercromby, as -to his claim of half-pay for his services as Judge Advocate in the -expedition; and this subject we find him occasionally resuming down to -so late a period as 1763, when he speaks of "insurmountable -difficulties," and fears he must "despair of success."[222:2] It must be -admitted that when he thought fit to make a pecuniary claim he did not -easily resign it. His correspondent, Colonel Abercromby of Glassauch, -has already been mentioned as having held a command in the expedition. -He was afterwards one of Hume's intimate friends. Besides his rank in -the army, he held the two discordant offices of king's painter in -Scotland, and deputy-governor of Stirling castle. He was elected member -of parliament for the shire of Banff in 1735,[222:3] and Hume's letters -contain congratulations on his re-election in 1747, along with some -incidents in his own journey towards Scotland. - - -"_Ninewells. 7th August, 1747._ - -"DEAR COL{L}.--I have many subjects to congratulate you upon. The honour -you acquired at Sandberg, your safety, and your success in your -elections. You are equally eminent in the arts of peace and war. The -cabinet is no less a scene of glory to you than the field. You are a -hero even in your sports and amusements; and discover a superior genius -in whist, as well as in a state intrigue or in a battle. - -"I hope you recover well of your wound, and I beg of you to inform me. I -should be glad to know what became of Forster, and whether Bob Horne got -the majority. I write to you upon the supposition of your being at -London; because Dr. Clephane wrote me some time ago, that you was just -setting out for it. If that be the case please make my most humble -compliments to Mrs. Abercromby. - -"If the Colonel be still detained abroad by any accident, I must beg it -of you, Mrs. Abercromby, to take these compliments to yourself, and to -keep this letter till the Colonel comes over, for it is not worth while -to pay postage for it. I suppose, madam, that Lady Abercromby informed -you of our happy voyage together, and safe arrival in Newcastle: your -young cousin was a little noisy and obstreperous; our ship was dirty; -our accommodation bad; our company sick. There were four spies, two -informers, and three evidences, who sailed in the same ship with us. Yet -notwithstanding all these circumstances, we were very well pleased with -our voyage, chiefly on account of its shortness, which indeed is almost -the only agreeable circumstance that can be in a voyage. I am, &c." - -"To the royal in Bergen-op-zoom?[223:1] Have they lost any officers? I -hope Guidelianus[223:2] is safe? I hope Fraser is converted?" - - -In his correspondence with Oswald on the same matter of his half-pay, -his remarks on public affairs are very desponding. He says,-- - -"I know not whether I ought to congratulate you upon the success of -your election,[224:1] where you prevailed so unexpectedly. I think the -present times are so calamitous, and our future prospect so dismal, that -it is a misfortune to have any concern in public affairs, which one -cannot redress, and where it is difficult to arrive at a proper degree -of insensibility or philosophy, as long as one is in the scene. You know -my sentiments were always a little gloomy on that head; and I am sorry -to observe, that all accidents (besides the natural course of events) -turn out against us. What a surprising misfortune is this -Bergen-op-zoom, which is almost unparalleled in modern history! I hear -the Dutch troops, besides their common cowardice, and ill-discipline, -are seized with an universal panic. This winter may perhaps decide the -fate of Holland, and then where are we? I shall not be much disappointed -if this prove the last parliament, worthy the name, we shall ever have -in Britain. I cannot therefore congratulate you upon your having a seat -in it: I can only congratulate you upon the universal joy and -satisfaction it gave to every body."[224:2] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[171:1] Letters of David Hume, and extracts from letters referring to -him, edited by Thomas Murray, LL.D., author of "The Literary History of -Galloway." Edinburgh, 1841, 8vo, pp. 80. Dr. Murray says of these -letters: "The originals are supposed to have been deposited, about -eighty years ago, in the hands of a legal gentleman in Edinburgh, as -documents for a law-suit, to which the latter portion of them refers. -Since his death, they have, we believe, passed through several hands -without having attracted any particular attention, or, perhaps, without -having ever been read. They ultimately came into the possession of a -gentleman who appreciated their value, and who, several years ago, did -me the honour of presenting them unconditionally to me." - -[172:1] The Marquis is said to have afforded the first example of his -state of mind, in the manner in which he gave a ball at Dumfries. He had -the floor covered with confections, as a garden walk is laid with -gravel. A lady who was alive a few years ago, remembered having seen him -walking about at Highgate, near London; when he was probably in a more -confirmed state of insanity than even his intercourse with Hume -exhibits: a keeper walked before him, and a footman behind. The latter -would occasionally tap his Lordship on the shoulder, and hand him a -snuff-box, whence he would take a pinch. He was a very handsome man. He -had a sister, who exercised so much influence over him, that in her -presence a keeper could be dispensed with. - -[174:1] The following, discovered by a friend in an old newspaper, is so -amusing, and so descriptive of the man who was Hume's predecessor in -office, that I cannot resist inserting it:-- - - -_On_ CAPTAIN (BEAU) FORRESTER'S _travelling to the Highlands of Scotland -in winter, anno 1727, incog._ - - O'er Caledonia's ruder Alps - While Forrester pursu'd his way, - The mountains veil'd their rugged scalps, - And wrapt in snow and wonder lay! - - Each sylvan god, each rural power, - Peep'd out to see the raree-show; - And all confess'd, that, till that hour, - They ne'er had seen so bright a beau. - - Nay yet, and more I dare advance, - The story true as aught in print, - All nature round, in complaisance, - And imitation, took the hint. - - The fields that whilome only bore - Wild heath, or clad at best with oats, - Despis'd these humble weeds, and wore - Rich spangled doublets, and lac'd coats. - - The hills were periwigg'd with snow; - Pig-tails of ice hung on each tree; - The winds turn'd powder-puffs; and, lo, - On every shrub a sharp toupee! - - With silver clocks the river gods - Appear'd; and some will take their oath, - Or lay at least a thousand odds, - The clouds saliving spit white froth. - - The youth abash'd thus to survey - So rude a scene himself outdo, - His sprightly genius to display, - Resolv'd on something odd and new: - - All things he found were grown genteel, - Which made him deem it a-propos, - To be alone in dishabile, - A Forrester, and not a beau. - - _Edinburgh Courant_, Oct. 3, 1781. - -[176:1] The baronet's daughter, Margaret, had married the Earl of -Airley's eldest son, Lord Ogilvy, who, having engaged in the rebellion, -had fled to the continent after the battle of Culloden. His wife, -however, was among the prisoners; and in June 1746, she was committed to -Edinburgh Castle. In the ensuing November she escaped; and having joined -her husband in France, she died there, in 1757, at the age of -thirty-three. _Douglas's Peerage of Scotland_, vol. i. p. 35. - -[178:1] He had obtained this rank in 1729. Beatson's Political Index. - -[178:2] Matthew Sharp, born 18th Feb. 1693, was the second son of John -Sharp of Hoddam, by his wife Susan, daughter of John Muir of -Cassencarrie, ancestor of Sir John Muir Mackenzie of Delvin, Bart. Mr. -Sharp joined the Jacobite insurgents in the year 1715, and made his -escape to Scotland, after the rout at Preston, in the disguise of a -pig-driver. He then repaired to France, where he finally took up his -residence at Boulogne. In the year 1740 his elder brother George died, -and Mr. Sharp succeeded to the estate of Hoddam. He returned to his -native country, and died, unmarried, at Hoddam castle, in the year 1769. - -[179:1] Charles Erskine of Tinwald, third son of Sir Charles Erskine of -Alva, Bart., a Lord of Session, with the style of Lord Tinwald. His -first wife was Grizel, daughter of John Grierson of Barjarg, by -Catherine, eldest sister of Matthew Sharp of Hoddam. Lord Tinwald's -third daughter Jane, married to William Kirkpatrick, second son of Sir -Thomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburne, Bart. was mother of Charles -Kirkpatrick, to whom Matthew Sharp bequeathed his estate of Hoddam. - -[180:1] Original in the possession of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq. -This letter is printed in _The Edinburgh Annual Register_ for 1809, p. -552. - -[196:1] So much had it been considered a legitimate object of the -education of a young gentleman to bring him up to the expectation of a -government office, that in the "Institute of the Law of Scotland," the -posthumous work of John Erskine, who had been appointed professor of -Scots law in the university of Edinburgh in 1737, it is mentioned as one -of the duties of the guardian of a young man of good family with a small -patrimony, to "advance a yearly sum, far beyond the interest of his -patrimony, that he may appear suitably to his quality, while he is -unprovided of any office under the government by which he can live -decently." B. i. Tit. 7. Sec. 25. - -[197:1] Walpole gives a curious illustration of the poverty of the -Scottish nobility, before "the forty-five," saying of Lord Kilmarnock, -"I don't know whether I told you that the man at the tennis court -protests that he has known him dine with the man that sells pamphlets at -Storey's gate, and says he would have often been glad if I would have -taken him home to dinner. He was certainly so poor that in one of his -wife's intercepted letters, she tells him she has plagued their steward -for a fortnight for money, and can only get three shillings. Can any one -help pitying such distress?" Walpole's Letters, ii. 144. - -Goldsmith found the holder of a Scottish Peerage keeping a glove shop, -and in the case of Lord Mordington, who had been arrested for debt, and -claimed his privilege in the Common Pleas, "the bailiff made affidavit, -that when he arrested the said lord, he was so mean in his apparel, as -having a worn out suit of clothes and a dirty shirt on, and but sixpence -in his pocket, he could not suppose him to be a peer of Great Britain, -and of inadvertency arrested him." Fortescue's Reports, 165. This family -was peculiarly celebrated, Lady Mordington having raised the question, -whether a Scottish peeress who kept a tavern was protected by privilege -of peerage from being amenable to the laws against keeping disorderly -houses. - -[198:1] He had an example connected with his own neighbourhood, if not -with his own family, of the practice of the gentry following handicraft -trades. George Hume, son of the minister of his native parish, -Chirnside, who was connected with his own family, followed the humble -occupation of a baker in the Canongate, and rose to the dignity of -deacon of his trade. Ill-natured tradition says, that the philosopher -disliked the vicinity to himself of this living illustration of the -depression of the Scottish aristocracy, and occasionally put himself to -some trouble to avoid meeting him on the street; but this tradition is -not consistent with Hume's manly character. - -[202:1] P. 179. - -[208:1] My own Life. - -[209:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[209:2] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 123. - -[210:1] Douglas's Peerage, ii. 501-502. - -[211:1] Campbell's Naval History, iv. 324. Appendix, A. It appears that -Rodney commanded one of the ships, the Eagle. - -[212:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[214:1] Sic in MS. - -[214:2] Ibid. - -[217:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[219:1] In the possession of Cosmo Innes, Esq. - -[221:1] Mr. Tytler says, "The blank is in the manuscript, the reader -will be at no loss to supply it." - -[222:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, 125. - -[222:2] Memorials, &c. 76. - -[222:3] Beatson, Parliamentary Register. - -[223:1] In allusion to the Royal Scottish Regiment--Bergen-op-zoom had -been taken by storm on 16th Sept. - -[223:2] This name--probably latinised from some joke known only to the -parties, applies to Col. Edmonstoune of Newton. - -[224:1] For Fifeshire. - -[224:2] Memorials, &c. p. 54. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -1746-1748. AET. 35-37. - - Hume returns to Ninewells--His domestic Position--His attempts - in Poetry--Inquiry as to his Sentimentalism--Takes an interest - in Politics--Appointed Secretary to General St. Clair on his - mission to Turin--His journal of his Tour--Arrival in Holland - --Rotterdam--The Hague--Breda--The War--French Soldiers-- - Nimeguen--Cologne--Bonn--The Rhine and its scenery--Coblentz-- - Wiesbaden--Frankfurt--Battle of Dettingen--Wurzburg--Ratisbon - --Descent of the Danube--Observations on Germany--Vienna--The - Emperor and Empress Queen--Styria--Carinthia--The Tyrol-- - Mantua--Cremona--Turin. - - -We now find Hume restored, though but for a brief period, to the -tranquil retirement of Ninewells; and undisturbed by public events, -civil or warlike, sitting down quietly among his books in the midst of -his family circle, consisting of his mother, his elder brother, and his -sister. It would be interesting to obtain a glimpse of this circle and -its habits; but the lapse of nearly a century has thrown it too far into -the shade of time, to permit of these minute objects being -distinguished. Perhaps the following scrap from the papers preserved by -Hume himself,[225:1] may represent the evening diversions of Ninewells. -It is written by another hand, but is touched and corrected here and -there by Hume. Whether or not it is intended to have any reference to -himself, is a matter on which I shall not attempt to forestall the -reader's judgment. - - -_Character of ----, written by himself._ - -1. A very good man, the constant purpose of whose life is to do -mischief. - -2. Fancies he is disinterested, because he substitutes vanity in place -of all other passions. - -3. Very industrious, without serving either himself or others. - -4. Licentious in his pen, cautious in his words, still more so in his -actions. - -5. Would have had no enemies, had he not courted them; seems desirous of -being hated by the public, but has only attained the being railed at. - -6. Has never been hurt by his enemies, because he never hated any one of -them. - -7. Exempt from vulgar prejudices--full of his own. - -8. Very bashful, somewhat modest, no way humble. - -9. A fool, capable of performances which few wise men can execute. - -10. A wise man, guilty of indiscretions which the greatest simpletons -can perceive. - -11. Sociable, though he lives in solitude. - -12.[226:1] - -13. An enthusiast, without religion; a philosopher, who despairs to -attain truth. - -A moralist, who prefers instinct to reason. - -A gallant, who gives no offence to husbands and mothers. - -A scholar, without the ostentation of learning. - - -Sir Walter Scott says:--"We visited Corby castle on our return to -Scotland, which remains, in point of situation, as beautiful as when its -walks were celebrated by David Hume, in the only rhymes he was ever -known to be guilty of. Here they are from a pane of glass in an inn at -Carlisle,-- - - Here chicks in eggs for breakfast sprawl, - Here godless boys God's glories squall, - Here Scotchmen's heads do guard the wall, - But Corby's walks atone for all."[227:1] - -In the face, both of this assurance of the limited extent of Hume's -poetical efforts, and of the circumstance that he was occasionally in -the practice of copying such verses as pleased his ear,[227:2] or fancy, -I venture to offer the following specimens of his versification, -admitting the possibility but not the probability that some minute -investigator might be able to identify them as the production of a less -distinguished bard. The censorious critic will probably admit their -genuineness, on the plea that no one but their author would commit such -verses to writing. But apart from their internal evidence, there is -every reason to presume that these efforts are by Hume. The first piece -is dated in the writer's hand, as if to mark the day when it was -composed. With the exception of the third in order, they all contain, -in corrections and otherwise, decided marks of being composed by the -person in whose handwriting they are; and they are in the handwriting of -David Hume.[228:1] - -_4th Nov. 1747._ - - Go, plaintive sounds, and to the fair - My secret wounds impart, - Tell all I hope, tell all I fear, - Each motion in my heart. - - But she, methinks, is listening now - To some amusing strain, - The smile that triumphs o'er her brow, - Seems not to heed my pain. - - Yet, plaintive sounds--yet, yet delay, - Howe'er my love repine, - Let this gay minute pass away, - The next, perhaps, is mine. - - Yes, plaintive sounds, no longer crost, - Your griefs shall soon be o'er; - Her cheek, undimpled now, has lost - The smile it lately wore. - - Yes, plaintive sounds, she now is yours, - 'Tis now your turn to move: - Essay to soften all her powers, - And be that softness love. - - Cease plaintive sounds, your task is done, - That serious tender air - Proves o'er her heart the conquest won, - I see you melting there. - - Return, ye smiles,--return again, - Bring back each sprightly grace: - I yield up to your charming reign - That sweet enchanting face. - - I take no outward shows amiss; - Rove where you will, her eyes: - Still let her smiles each shepherd bless, - So that she hear my sighs. - -If this piece be deficient in fire or polish, it has at least the merit -of simplicity, and of not being a slavish adaptation to the formal -taste of the age. The following pieces will scarcely perhaps be thought -worthy of the like qualified praise. - - Tell me, Clarinda, why this scorn, - Why hatred give for love? - Why for a gentler purpose born, - Wouldst thou a tyrant prove? - - Why draw a cloud upon that face, - Made to enslave mankind? - Why through your lips does thunder pass, - Those lips for love design'd. - - Kindness, conjoin'd with meaner charms, - Will from you conquests gain; - We fly into _extended_ arms, - In _close-embraced_ remain. - - Thus when the angry heavens transform - To frowns their cheerful smiles, - When the dread thunder's voice a storm - To trembling swains foretells, - - If but a humble cottage nigh - Presents its peaceful shade, - We scorn the furies of the sky, - And court its friendly aid. - - -TO A LADY, - -_Suspecting that the friendship of men to her sex always concealed a -more dangerous passion._ - - Hang, my lyre, upon the willow, - Sigh to winds thy notes forlorn, - Or along the foaming billow, - Float the wrecking tempest's scorn. - - Airs no more thy warbling raises, - Such as Laura deigns approve; - Laura scorns her poet's praises, - Artless friendship calls it love. - - Impious love, that, spurning duty, - Spurning nature's chastest ties, - Mocks thy tears, dejected beauty, - Sports with fallen virtue's sighs. - - Call it love no more, profaning - Truth with dark suspicion's wound; - Or, if still the term retaining, - Change the sense, preserve the sound. - - Yes, 'tis love, that name is given, - Angels, to your purest flames; - Such a love as merits Heaven, - Heaven's divinest image claims. - - -LAURA'S ANSWER. - - Soon be thy lyre to winds consign'd. - Or hurl'd beneath the raging deep; - For while such strains seduce my mind, - How shall my heart its purpose keep. - - Thy artless lays, which artless seem, - With too much fondness I approve; - Oh write no more in such a theme, - Or Laura's friendship ends in love. - -The question, whether the man concerning whom a biographical work is -written was ever in love, is an important feature in his history, if any -light can be thrown upon it. Perhaps some readers will hold, that the -tameness of these verses show that, at all events, when he wrote _them_, -Hume was under the impulse of no passion. Very little more light can be -brought to bear on this subject; and what can be obtained, is of a like -faint and negative cast. He tells us in his "own life," "As I took a -particular pleasure in the company of modest women, I had no reason to -be displeased with the reception I met with from them." In his essays he -frequently discusses the passion of love, dividing it into its elements -about as systematically as if he had subjected it to a chemical -analysis, and laying down rules regarding it as distinctly and -specifically as if it were a system of logic. Nor do the references in -his correspondence to any individuals of the other sex, show any -perceptible warmth of sentiment. In a letter to Henry Home, of which the -other portions are printed above,[232:1] he speaks with perhaps as much -appearance of sentiment as any where else, when he says,-- - -"I thank Mrs. Home for her intelligence, and have much employed my brain -to find out the person she means. It could not be the widow: for she -toasts always the Duke of Argyle or Lord Stair, and never would name a -young man whom she may reasonably enough suppose to be in love with her. -I shall therefore flatter myself it was Miss Dalrymple. It is now -Exchequer term: she is among the few _very fine ladies_ of Mrs. Home's -acquaintance, whom I have the happiness of knowing. In short, many -circumstances, besides my earnest wishes, concur to make me believe it -was she who did me that honour. I will persevere in that opinion; unless -you think it proper to disabuse me, for fear of my being too much puft -up with vanity by such a conceit." - -His friend Jardine, writing to him when he was secretary of legation in -France, says, evidently in ironical reference to his notorious want of -sensibility in this respect, "An inordinate love of the fair sex, as I -have often told you, is one of those sins, that always, even from your -earliest years, did most easily beset you." - -Nor does the following passage in a letter from Mr. Crawford,[233:1] -dated, London, 9th December, 1766, seem to convey any more serious -charge:-- - -"What keeps you in Scotland? Lord Ossory says, it can be nothing but the -young beauty for whom you had formerly some passion. But we are both of -opinion, that she must now be old and ugly, and cannot be worthy to -detain you in so vile a country. Neither love nor wit can flourish -there, otherwise you would not have cracked such bad jokes upon -philosophers, the best subject in the world for joking upon. Then, - - --fuge nate Dea--_sterili teque abstrahe terra_. - -Come up here, and I know not but what I may be able to introduce you to -a young beauty, such as your imagination never figured to itself. With -charms and accomplishments possessed by no other woman, she has an -understanding equal to that of Madame du Deffand.--Would to God she were -blind like her too, that I might dare to avow my passion for her." - -If there be any thing in these passages tending to show a slight degree -of interest in the sex, their tendency will perhaps be fully neutralized -by Hume's exultation on the fortunate nature of his own happy -indifference, in a letter to Oswald, which will be found a few pages -farther on. It must be confessed, indeed, that, according to all -appearance, the appellation, more expressive than classical, frequently -used on such occasions, is applicable to Hume, and that he was a "sad -indifferent dog." - -To return to the verses.--The following is a specimen of a totally -different cast; and, if less ambitious in its pretensions, it will -probably be thought to have more successfully accomplished what it aims -at. It is called "An Epistle to Mr. John Medina," a son of Sir John -Medina, the celebrated painter, to whom, probably from the habits hinted -at in the verses, he was a far inferior artist. He is believed to have -been the painter of a large portion of the very numerous extant -portraits of Queen Mary. It would be difficult at this day to discover -the individual whom he is here called upon to portray, with attributes -about as grotesque as those of his inexplicable countryman, Aiken Drum. -As several names of persons who were active supporters of the measures -of social economy, and the agricultural improvements alluded to in the -verses, might be adduced, but no one can be named to whom they appear -distinctly and exclusively to apply, it may be less invidious to present -them in the form of a purely imaginative picture, than to associate them -with any name. - - -AN EPISTLE TO MR. JOHN MEDINA. - - Now, dear Medina, honest John, - Since all your former friends are gone, - And even Macgibbon 's turn'd a saint,[234:1] - You now perhaps have time to paint. - For you, and for your pencil fit, - The subject shall be full of wit. - - Draw me a little lively knight, - And place the figure full in sight. - With mien erect, and sprightly air, - To win the great, and catch the fair. - Make him a wreath of turnip tops, - With madder interwove, and hops; - Lucerne, and St. Foin, here and there, - Amid the foliage must appear; - Then add potatoes, white and red, - A garland for our hero's head. - - His coat be of election laws, - Lined with the patriot's good old cause. - His waistcoat of the linen bill, - Lapelled with flint and lined with tull. - The turnpike act must serve for breeches; - With hose of rape tied up with fetches, - Furrows, new horse-hoed, hide his shoes, - As earnest cross the fields he goes. - - Draw Pallas offering him a spool, - The Lemnian god a miner's tool. - Ceres three stalks of blighted corn, - Dangling from an inverted horn; - And Plutus every scheme inspiring - With proffer'd gold, but still retiring: - Alike to each important call, - Attentive, let him grasp at all. - - Finish, my friend, this grand design, - And immortality be thine. - No more obliged, for twenty groats, - To draw the Duke, or Queen of Scots, - Your name shall rise, prophetic fame says, - Above your Mercis[235:1] or your Ramsays. - Even I, in literary story, - Perhaps shall have my share of glory. - -Hume was again called away from the studious retirement of Ninewells, by -being appointed secretary to the mission of his friend General St. -Clair, to the court of Turin. The real object of the mission, in -whatever aspect it might have been openly represented, certainly was to -satisfy the British court on the question, whether Sardinia, and perhaps -some of the other stipendiary states, had furnished their respective -quotas of men to the war. The following letter by Hume to his friend -Oswald, details many of his feelings on assuming this new duty. It will -be found to be as different in tone from his previous letters, as the -life he was entering on was different from his hermit retirement at -Ninewells, or his slavery at Weldhall. This letter, indeed, appears to -mark an epoch in his correspondence. It is the first in which he -mentions miscellaneous public events, with the feeling of one who takes -an interest in the living politics of his time; and shows that the brief -episode of active practical life, in which he had just borne a share, -and the prospect of a renewal of such scenes, had opened his mind to the -reception of external impressions. - - -HUME _to_ JAMES OSWALD. - -"I have little more to say to you than to bid you adieu before I leave -this country. I got an invitation from General St. Clair, to attend him -in his new employment at the court of Turin, which I hope will prove an -agreeable, if not a profitable jaunt for me. I shall have an opportunity -of seeing courts and camps; and if I can afterwards be so happy as to -attain leisure and other opportunities, this knowledge may even turn to -account to me, as a man of letters, which, I confess, has always been -the sole object of my ambition. I have long had an intention, in my -riper years, of composing some history; and I question not but some -greater experience in the operations of the field, and the intrigues of -the cabinet, will be requisite, in order to enable me to speak with -judgment upon these subjects. But, notwithstanding of these flattering -ideas of futurity, as well as the present charms of variety, I must -confess that I left home with infinite regret, where I had treasured up -stores of study and plans of thinking for many years. I am sure I shall -not be so happy as I should have been had I prosecuted these. But, in -certain situations, a man dares not follow his own judgment or refuse -such offers as these. - -"The subscriptions for the stocks were filled up with wonderful -quickness this year; but, as the ministry had made no private bargains -with stock-jobbers, but opened books for every body, these money-dealers -have clogged the wheels a little, and the subscribers find themselves -losers on the disposal of their stock, to their great surprise. - -"There was a controverted election, that has made some noise, betwixt -John Pitt and Mr. Drax of the Prince's family, when Mr. Pelham, finding -himself under a necessity of disobliging the heir-apparent, resolved to -have others as deep in the scrape as himself; and accordingly obliged -Fox, Pitt, Lyttelton, and Hume Campbell, all to speak on the same side. -They say their speeches were very diverting. An ass could not mumble a -thistle more ridiculously than they handled this subject. Particularly -our countryman, not being prepared, was not able to speak a word to the -subject, but spent half an hour in protestations of his own integrity, -disinterestedness, and regard to every man's right and property. - -"His brother, Lord Marchmont, has had the most extraordinary adventure -in the world. About three weeks ago he was at the play, where he espied -in one of the boxes a fair virgin, whose looks, air, and manner, made -such a powerful and wonderful effect upon him as was visible to every -bystander. His raptures were so undisguised, his looks so expressive of -passion, his inquiries so earnest, that every body took notice of it. He -soon was told that her name was Crompton, a linen-draper's daughter, -that had been bankrupt last year, and had not been able to pay above -five shillings in the pound. The fair nymph herself was about sixteen or -seventeen, and being supported by some relations, appeared in every -public place, and had fatigued every eye but that of his Lordship, -which, being entirely employed in the severer studies, had never till -that fatal moment opened upon her charms. Such and so powerful was their -effect, as to be able to justify all the Pharamonds and Cyruses in their -utmost extravagancies. He wrote next morning to her father, desiring -leave to visit his daughter on honourable terms; and in a few days she -will be Countess of Marchmont.[238:1] All this is certainly true. They -say many small fevers prevent a great one. Heaven be praised that I have -always liked the persons and company of the fair sex! for by that means -I hope to escape such ridiculous passions. But could you ever suspect -the ambitious, the severe, the bustling, the impetuous, the violent -Marchmont, of becoming so tender and gentle a swain--an Artamenes, an -Oroondates? - -"The officers, (I suppose from effeminacy,) are generally much disgusted -at the service. They speak of no less than three hundred, high and low, -who have desired leave to sell out. I am," &c.[238:2] - -"_London, January 29, 1748._" - - -On the same occasion he writes the following short letter to Henry Home. - - -"_London, Feb. 9. 1748._ - -"DEAR SIR,--The doubt and ambiguity with which I came hither was soon -removed. General St. Clair positively refused to accept of a secretary -from the ministry; and I go along with him in the same station as -before. Every body congratulates me upon the pleasure I am to reap from -this jaunt: and really I have little to oppose to this prepossession, -except an inward reluctance to leave my books, and leisure and retreat. -However, I am glad to find this passion still so fresh and entire; and -am sure, by its means, to pass my latter days happily and cheerfully, -whatever fortune may attend me. - -"I leave here two works going on: a new edition of my Essays, all of -which you have seen, except one, 'Of the Protestant Succession,' where I -treat that subject as coolly and indifferently as I would the dispute -between Caesar and Pompey. The conclusion shows me a Whig, but a very -sceptical one. Some people would frighten me with the consequences that -may attend this candour, considering my present station; but I own I -cannot apprehend any thing. - -"The other work is the 'Philosophical Essays,' which you dissuaded me -from printing. I won't justify the prudence of this step, any other way -than by expressing my indifference about all the consequences that may -follow. I will expect to hear from you; as you may from me. Remember me -to Mrs. Home, and believe me to be yours most sincerely. - -"P.S.--We set out on Friday next for Harwich."[239:1] - - -Of his second appointment under General St. Clair, on the duties of -which he entered at the beginning of the year 1748, Hume thus speaks in -his "own life," after having mentioned the descent on the coast of -France,-- - - -"Next year, to wit, 1747, I received an invitation from the General to -attend him in the same station in his military embassy to the courts of -Vienna and Turin. I then wore the uniform of an officer, and was -introduced at these courts as aid-de-camp to the General, along with Sir -Harry Erskine and Captain Grant, now General Grant. These two years were -almost the only interruptions which my studies have received during the -course of my life. I passed them agreeably, and in good company; and my -appointments, with my frugality, had made me reach a fortune, which I -called independent, though most of my friends were inclined to smile -when I said so: in short, I was now master of near a thousand pounds." - - -We fortunately possess a more detailed account of his adventures and -observations on this occasion, in a pretty minute journal which he -transmitted to his brother, for the amusement of his family at -home.[240:1] It requires no farther introduction, and is as follows:-- - - -"_Hague, 3d March, 1748, N. S._ - -"DEAR BROTHER,--I have taken a fancy, for your amusement, to write a -sort of journal of our travels, and to send you the whole from Turin, by -a messenger whom we are to despatch from thence. I shall endeavour to -find little snatches of leisure in the several towns through which we -shall pass, and shall give you an account of the appearances of things, -more than of our own adventures. The former may be some entertainment, -but the other will in all probability contain little diversity, at least -for some time. - -"We set out from Harwich the day I wrote you last, and in twenty-four -hours arrived at Helvoet-Sluys. I had the misfortune to be excessively -sick, but the consolation to see an admiral as sick as myself. 'Twas -Admiral Forbes, the most agreeable, sensible sea officer in England. -Harwich and Helvoet are the general images in abridgment of all the -towns in the two countries; both of them small sea-port towns, without -much trade, or any support but passengers; yet the industry, economy, -and cleanliness of the Dutch, have made the latter the much prettier -town. The day of our arrival we lay at Rotterdam, and passed through the -Brill and Maeslan-Sluys. Yesterday we lay at this place. Holland has the -beauties of novelty to a stranger, as being so much different from all -the other parts of the world; but not those of diversity, for every part -of it is like another. 'Tis an unbounded plain, divided by canals, and -ditches, and rivers. The sea higher than the country, the towns higher -than the sea, and the ramparts higher than the towns. The country is in -general pretty open, except a few willow trees, and the avenues of elm, -which lead to their towns, and shade the ramparts. But the country is at -present covered with snow, so that it is difficult to judge of it. Were -the season favourable, the way of travelling would be very pleasant, -being along the dykes, which gives you a perfect prospect of the whole -country. I need not describe the beauty and elegance of the Dutch towns, -particularly of the Hague, which nothing can exceed. Rotterdam is also a -handsome town. The mixture of houses, trees, and ships, has a fine -effect, and unites town, country, and sea, in one prospect. Every person -and every house has the appearance of plenty and sobriety, of industry -and ease. I own, however, that the outside of their houses are the best; -they are too slight, full of bad windows, and not very well contrived." - - -"_Hague, 10th March._ - -"The General intended to have left this place to-day, but was detained -by the arrival of his Royal Highness,[242:1] which will retard him a day -or two longer. We go first to Breda, where the General's two battalions -lie, out of which he will endeavour to form one good healthy battalion -to remain here. The other returns to Scotland. We go in a day or two. -The Prince of Orange's authority seems firmly established, and for the -present is as absolute as that of any king in Europe; the favour of the -people is the foundation of it.[242:2] He is certainly a man of great -humanity and moderation, but his courage and capacity is perhaps a -little more doubtful. The present emergencies have given him an -opportunity of establishing his authority on a firmer bottom than -popular favour; viz. on foreign and mercenary forces. The Dutch troops -have behaved so ill, that the people themselves are willing to see them -disgraced, and discredited, and broke; so that the prince has been able -to make great distinctions in favour of foreigners, with the good will -of the people, who see the necessity of it. - -"He has broke all the Dutch troops that were prisoners in France, but -keeps up the foreigners that were in the same condition; and the latter -are chiefly encouraged in every thing. Great and universal joy appeared -on the birth of the young prince while we were there, though all the -arrangements were taken to have the young princess succeed, and -particularly, she was named colonel of a regiment of guards. - -"This is a place of little or no amusement, nor has the court made much -difference in this respect. No balls, no comedy, no opera. The prince -gives great application to business, which, however, they pretend does -not advance very much. But this we may venture to say, that Holland was -undoubtedly ruined by its liberty, and has now a chance of being saved -by its prince. Let republicans make the best of this example they can. - -"'Tis here regarded as a point indisputable, that the old governors were -in concert with the French, and were resolved, by delivering up town -after town, and army after army, to have peace, though at the price of -slavery and dependence. 'Tis a pity that the scrupulous and -conscientious character of the prince has not allowed him to make some -examples of these rascals, against whom, 'tis said, there could have -been legal proofs. It was not the mob, properly speaking, that made the -revolution, but the middling and substantial tradesmen. At Rotterdam -particularly, these sent a regular deputation to the magistrates, -requiring the establishment of the Prince of Orange, telling them, at -the same time, that if their request was refused, they could no longer -answer for the mob. This hint was sufficiently understood, and gave an -example to all the other towns in the province. - -"The only violence offered, was that of throwing into the canals whoever -wore not Orange ribbons. Every yellow rag, woollen, silk, and linen, -were employed; and when these were exhausted, the flowers were made use -of; and happily the revolution began in the spring, when the primroses -and daffodillys could serve as Orange cockades. To this day, every -boor, and tradesman, and schoolboy, wears the ensigns of the prince; and -every street in every village, as well as in every town, has triumphal -arches with emblematical figures and Latin inscriptions, such as, -'Tandem justitia triumphat,' 'Novus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo,' -'Vox populi, vox Dei.' I shall only say, if this last motto be true, the -Prince of Orange is the only _Jure divino_ monarch in the universe. I -believe, since the time of Germanicus, deservedly the darling of the -Romans, never was a people so fond of one man; surely there entered not -the smallest intrigue of his own into his election. There is something -of innocence and simplicity in his character, which promotes more his -popularity than the greatest capacity. But, - - Non tali auxilio, nec defensoribus istis - Tempus eget. - - -"_Breda, 16th March._ - -"We arrived here the day before yesterday, in three days from the Hague, -and as the snows were then melted, after the most violent frost in the -world, we discovered Holland in all its native deformity. Nothing can be -more disagreeable than that heap of dirt, and mud, and ditches, and -reeds, which they here call a country, except the silly collection of -shells and clipped evergreens which they call a garden. It gave us a -sensible pleasure, as we came near Breda, to find ourselves on a dry -barren heath, and to see something like a human habitation. I have heard -that a man, from the aspect of Holland, would imagine that land and -water, after many struggles which should be master of it, had at last -agreed to share it betwixt them. If so, the land has come by much the -worst bargain, and has much the smallest share of the possession. I am -told, however, that Holland is a pleasant enough habitation in the -summer: though even that beauty lasts a very short time; for, during the -latter end of summer and during the harvest, the canals send forth so -disagreeable and unwholesome a smell, that there is no enduring of it. - -"We passed over the Maese at Gorcum, where it is above half a mile -broad; and as the ice had been softened by a thaw of three or four days, -we were obliged to make use of an ice boat. The operation is after this -manner: you place yourself on your ice boat, which is like an ordinary -boat, except only that it runs upon two keels, shod with iron. Three or -four men push you along in this boat, very cleverly, as long as the ice -will bear you: but whenever that fails, plump down you go into the water -of a sudden. You are very heartily frightened. The men are wet, up to -the neck sometimes; but, keeping hold of the boat, leap in, row you -through the water, till they come to ice which can bear. There they pull -you up, run along with you, till you sink again; and so they renew the -same operation. - -"At Gorcum we met with Drumlanrig's regiment, which does no great honour -to their country by their looks and appearances. There has been a mutiny -amongst them, out of discontent to the country. We met with some -Highlanders, who regretted extremely their native hills. - -"The night we came to Breda we supped with Lord Albemarle, who told us, -in entering, that we might soon expect to hear of a battle in the -neighbourhood; and accordingly, in about an hour, a messenger came in -with the news, which is the best we have had in the Low Countries during -the whole war. You have no doubt heard of it. It was the attack of a -convoy to Bergen-op-Zoom, escorted by about 5000 French, where 400 were -killed, and about 1000 taken prisoners.[246:1] Next day, the prisoners -were led through the town. They were the piquets of several old -regiments, and some companies of grenadiers; but such pitiful-looking -fellows never man set eye on. France is surely much exhausted of men, -when she can fill her armies with such poor wretches. We all said, when -they passed along, are these the people that have beat us so often? - -"I stood behind Lord Albemarle, who was looking over a low window to see -them. One of the ragged scarecrows, seeing his lordship's star and -ribbon, turned about to him, and said very briskly, 'Aujourd'hui pour -vous, Monsieur, demain pour le roi.' If they have all this spirit, no -wonder they beat us. However, when one compares to the French the -figures of men that are in this town, British, Hessians, and Austrians, -they seem almost of a different species. Their officers expect they will -all do much better after having had leisure to see their enemy. Breda is -a strong town, though not near so strong as Bergen-op-zoom. It is almost -surrounded by water, and inaccessible except in one place, by which it -will be taken, if the 206,000 men, whom we are to have in the field this -year, in the Low Countries, cannot save it. 'Tis certain so many men are -stipulated by the several powers,--the greatest army that ever was -assembled together in the world, since the Xerxeses and Artaxerxeses; if -these could be called armies. God prosper his royal highness, and give -him what he only wants; I mean good fortune, to second his prudence and -conduct. - -"The French certainly have laid their account to give up Flanders by -the peace; they squeeze, and oppress, and tax and abuse the Flemings so -much, that 'tis evident they consider them not as subjects. They are -also said to be pretty heartily tired of the war, notwithstanding of -their great successes. I suppose the loss of their trade pinches them; -so that there are some hopes of a peace, which may not be altogether -intolerable. By the conversation I have had with several judicious -officers, I find that Mareschal Saxe and Lowendahl, though sensible men -and of great experience, are not regarded as such mighty generals as we -are apt to imagine them at a distance, from their victories and -conquests. Their blunders last campaign were many and obvious, and -particularly that of besieging Bergen-op-zoom. 'Twas a thousand to one -they got it, and it serves them to no purpose when they have it: It is -not by that quarter they can penetrate into the Provinces." - - -"_Nimeguen, 20th March._ - -"We have come from Breda in two days, and lay last night at Bois-le-duc, -which is situated in the midst of a lake, and is absolutely impregnable. -That part of Brabant, through which we travelled, is not very fertile, -and is full of sandy heaths. Nimeguen is in the Gueldre, the pleasantest -province of the seven, perhaps of the seventeen. The land is beautifully -divided into heights and plains, and is cut by the branches of the -Rhine. Nimeguen has a very commanding prospect, and the country below it -is particularly remarkable at present because of the innundation of the -Wahal, a branch of the Rhine, which covers the whole fields for several -leagues; and you see nothing but the tops of trees standing up amidst -the waters, which recalls the idea of Egypt during the inundations of -the Nile. Nimeguen is a well-built town, not very strong, though -surrounded with a great many works. Here we met our machines, which came -hither by a shorter road from the Hague. They are a berline for the -general and his company, and a chaise for the servants. We set out -to-morrow, and pass by Cologne, Frankfort, and Ratisbon, till we meet -with the Danube, and then we sail down that river for two hundred and -fifty miles to Vienna. - - -"_Cologne, 23d March._ - -"We came hither last night, and have travelled through an extreme -pleasant country along the banks of the Rhine. Particularly Cleves, -which belongs to the King of Prussia, is very agreeable, because of the -beauty of the roads, which are avenues bordered with fine trees. The -land in that province is not fertile, but is well cultivated. The -bishoprick of Cologne is more fertile and adorned with fine woods as -well as Cleves. The country is all very populous, the houses good, and -the inhabitants well clothed and well fed. This is one of the largest -cities in Europe, being near a league in diameter. The houses are all -high; and there is no interval of gardens or fields. So that you would -expect it must be very populous. But it is not so. It is extremely -decayed, and is even falling to ruin. Nothing can strike one with more -melancholy than its appearance, where there are marks of past opulence -and grandeur, but such present waste and decay, as if it had lately -escaped a pestilence or famine. We are told, that it was formerly the -centre of all the trade of the Rhine, which has been since removed to -Holland, Liege, Frankfort, &c. Here we see the Rhine in its natural -state; being only a little higher (but no broader) on account of the -melting of the snows. I think it is as broad as from the foot of your -house to the opposite banks of the river." - - -"_Bonne, 24th March._ - -"This is about six leagues from Cologne, a pleasant well-built little -town, upon the banks of the Rhine, and is the seat of the archbishop. We -have bestowed half a day in visiting his palace, which is an extensive -magnificent building; and he is certainly the best lodged prince in -Europe except the King of France. For, besides this palace, and a sort -of Maison de Plaisance near it, (the most elegant thing in the world,) -he has also two country houses very magnificent. He is the late -emperor's brother; and is, as they say, a very fine gentleman;--a man of -pleasure, very gallant and gay; he has always at his court a company of -French comedians and Italian singers. And as he always keeps out of -wars, being protected by the sacredness of his character, he has nothing -to hope and nothing to fear; and seems to be the happiest prince in -Europe. However, we could wish he took a little more care of his -high-ways, even though his furniture, pictures, and building were a -little less elegant. We are got into a country where we have no fires -but stoves; and no covering but feather beds; neither of which I like, -both of them are too warm and suffocating." - - -"_Coblentz, 26th March._ - -"We have made the pleasantest journey in the world in two days from -Bonne to this town. We travel all along the banks of the Rhine; -sometimes in open, beautiful, well-cultivated plains; at another time -sunk betwixt high mountains, which are only divided by the Rhine, the -finest river in the world. One of these mountains is always covered with -wood to the top; the other with vines; and the mountain is so steep that -they are obliged to support the earth by walls, which rise one above -another like terraces to the length of forty or fifty stories. Every -quarter of a mile, (indeed as often as there is any flat bottom for a -foundation,) you meet with a handsome village, situated in the most -romantic manner in the world. Surely there never was such an assemblage -of the wild and cultivated beauties in one scene. There are also several -magnificent convents and palaces to embellish the prospects. - -"This is a very thriving well-built town, situated at the confluence of -the Moselle and the Rhine, and consequently very finely situated. Over -the former river there is a handsome stone bridge; over the latter a -flying bridge, which is a boat fixed by a chain: this chain is fixed by -an anchor to the bottom of the middle of the river far above, and is -supported by seven little boats placed at intervals that keep it along -the surface of the water. By means of the rudder, they turn the head of -the large boat to the opposite bank, and the current of the river -carries it over of itself. It goes over in about four minutes, and will -carry four or five hundred people. It stays about five or six minutes -and then returns. Two men are sufficient to guide it, and it is -certainly a very pretty machine. There is the like at Cologne. This town -is the common residence of the Archbishop of Treves, who has here a -pretty magnificent palace. We have now travelled along a great part of -that country, through which the Duke of Marlborough marched up his army, -when he led them into Bavaria. 'Tis of this country Mr. Addison speaks -when he calls the people-- - - Nations of slaves by Tyranny debased, - Their Maker's image more than half-defaced. - -And he adds that the soldiers were-- - - Hourly instructed as they urge their toil, - To prize their Queen and love their native soil. - -"If any foot soldier could have more ridiculous national prejudices than -the poet, I should be much surprised. Be assured there is not a finer -country in the world; nor are there any signs of poverty among the -people. But John Bull's prejudices are ridiculous, as his insolence is -intolerable." - - -"_Frankfort, 28th March._ - -"Our road from Coblentz to this passes through a great many princes' -territories; Nassau's, Hesse's, Baden's, Mentz, and this Republic, &c. -and there is as great a diversity in the nature of the country. The -first part of the road from Coblentz to Weis-Baden is very mountainous -and woody, but populous and well-cultivated. In many places the snow is -lying very thick. The road is disagreeable for a coach; sometimes you go -along the side of a hill with a precipice below you, and have not an -inch to spare; and the road hanging all the way towards the precipice, -so that one had need to have a good head to look out of the windows. -Nassau, the prince of Orange's capital, is but a village, and one of the -most indifferent I have seen in Germany. Betwixt Weis-Baden and -Frankfort we travel along the banks of the Maine, and see one of the -finest plains in the world. I never saw such rich soil nor better -cultivated; all in corn and sown grass. For we have not met with any -natural grass in Germany. - -"Frankfort is a very large town, well-built and of great riches and -commerce. Around it there are several little country houses of the -citizens, the first of that kind we have seen in Germany; for every -body, except the farmers, live in towns, and these dwell all in -villages. Whether this be for company or protection, or devotion, I -cannot tell. But it has certainly its inconveniences. Princes have also -seats in the country, and monks have their convents; but no private -gentleman ever dwells there. To-morrow we pass over the field of -Dettingen. We saw Heighst [Hoechst] to-day, where Lord Stair past the -Maine, and was recalled. The post he took seems not so good as we have -heard it represented. We saw General Mordaunt at Cologne, who was at the -battle of Dettingen, and gave us an exact description of the whole, -which we are to-morrow to compare with the field. Frankfort is a -Protestant town." - - -"_Wurtzburg, 30th March._ - -"The first town we come to after leaving Frankfort is Hanau, which -belongs to the Landgrave of Hesse, and where there is a palace, that may -lodge any king in Europe, though the Landgrave never almost lives there. -Hanau is a very beautiful, well-built, but not large town, on the banks -of the Maine. All the houses almost in Germany are of plaster, either -upon brick or wood, but very neatly done, and many of them painted over, -which makes them look very gay. Their peasants' houses are sometimes -plaster, sometimes clay upon wood, two stories high, and look very well. - -"Next post beyond Hanau is the village of Dettingen, where we walked out -and surveyed the field of battle,[252:1] accompanied with the -postmaster, who saw the battle from his windows. Good God, what an -escape we made there! The Maine is a large river not fordable; this lay -on our left hand. On our right, high mountains covered with thick wood, -for several leagues. The plain is not half a mile broad. The French were -posted by Noailles with their right supported by the river and the -village of Dettingen; their left by the mountains; on their front a -little rivulet, which formed some marshes and meadows altogether -impassable for the cavalry, and passable with difficulty by the -infantry. Add to this, that their cannon, played in safety on the other -side of the Maine, raked the whole plain before Dettingen, and took our -army in flank. Noailles had past the bridge of Aschaffenbourg which was -not broke down, and came up upon our rear; and our army was starving for -want of provisions. - -"Such an arrangement of circumstances, as it were contrived to ruin an -army, a king and kingdom, never was before found in the world; and yet -there we gained a victory, by the folly of Grammont, who past that -rivulet, and met us in the open plain, before Noailles had come up. We -were travelling in great security, notwithstanding two repeated -informations that the French had past the Maine; the baggage of the army -was betwixt the two lines; and when the first cannons were fired, -Neuperg and Stair both agreed that it could be nothing but the French -signal guns. But when they were certain that the affair was more in -earnest, Stair said, 'Go to the king; I take nothing upon me.' Clayton -said, 'I will take it upon me, to remove the baggage.' And it was he -that made the little disposition that was made that day. The English -behaved ill: the French worse, which gave us the victory. But this -victory so unexpectedly gained, we pushed not as we ought, by the -counsel of Neuperg. What Lord Stair's whim was to advance to -Aschaffenbourg, where he was twenty-five miles from Frankfort, the place -of all his magazines, 'tis impossible to imagine. Surely he could -advance no farther, as he must have been convinced had he reconnoitred -the road. It runs over high mountains, and for twenty-five miles through -the thickest woods in the world. - -"There is a pass three or four miles beyond Aschaffenbourg, where no -army could go with cannon and baggage. When we[254:1] came to the foot -of it a trumpeter met us, who played a tune for joy of our safe arrival; -and the like on our ascending the opposite hill. The woods beyond are -the finest I ever saw. Wurtzburg is a very well-built town, situated in -a fine valley on the Maine. The banks of the river are very high, and -covered with vines. The river runs through the town, and is passed on a -very handsome bridge. But what renders this town chiefly remarkable, is -a building which surprised us all, because we had never before heard of -it, and did not there expect to meet with such a thing. 'Tis a -prodigious magnificent palace of the bishop who is the sovereign. 'Tis -all of hewn stone and of the richest architecture. I do think the king -of France has not such a house. If it be less than Versailles, 'tis more -complete and finished. What a surprising thing it is, that these petty -princes can build such palaces: but it has been fifty years a rearing; -and 'tis the chief expense of ecclesiastics. The bishop of Wurtzburg is -chosen from amongst the canons, who have a very good artifice to -exclude princes. 'Tis a rule, that every one at entering shall receive a -very hearty drubbing from the rest: the brother of the elector of -Bavaria offered a million of florins, to be exempted from the ceremony, -and could not prevail." - - -"_Ratisbon, 2d April._ - -"We were all very much taken with the town of Nuremberg, where we lay -two nights ago; the houses, though old-fashioned, and of a grotesque -figure, (having sometimes five or six stories of garrets,) yet are they -solid, well built, complete, and cleanly. The people are handsome, well -clothed, and well fed; an air of industry and contentment, without -splendour, prevails through the whole. 'Tis a Protestant republic on the -banks of a river, (whose name I have forgot,[255:1]) that runs into the -Maine, and is navigable for boats. The town is of a large extent. On -leaving Nuremberg we entered into the elector of Bavaria's country, -where the contrast appeared very strong with the inhabitants of the -former republic. There was a great air of poverty in every face; the -first poverty indeed we had seen in Germany. We travelled also through -part of the elector Palatine's country, and then returned to Bavaria; -but though the country be good and well cultivated, and populous, the -inhabitants are not at their ease. The late miserable wars have no doubt -hurt them much. Ratisbon is a catholic republic situated on the banks of -the Danube. The houses and buildings, and aspect of the people, are well -enough, though not comparable to those of Nuremberg. 'Tis pretended that -the difference is always sensible betwixt a Protestant and Catholic -country, throughout all Germany; and perhaps there may be something in -this observation, though it is not every where sensible. - -"We descend the Danube from this to Vienna; we go in a large boat about -eighty foot long, where we have three rooms, one for ourselves, a second -for the servants, and a third for our kitchen. 'Tis made entirely of fir -boards, and is pulled to pieces at Vienna, the wood sold, and the -watermen return to Ratisbon a-foot. We lie on shore every night. We are -all glad of this variety, being a little tired of our berline." - - -"_The Danube, 7th of April._ - -"We have really made a very pleasant journey, or rather voyage, with -good weather, sitting at our ease, and having a variety of scenes -continually presented to us, and immediately shifted, as it were in an -opera. The banks of the Danube are very wild and savage, and have a very -different beauty from those of the Rhine; being commonly high scraggy -precipices, covered all with firs. The water is sometimes so straitened -betwixt these mountains, that this immense river is often not sixty foot -broad. We have lain in and seen several very good towns in Bavaria and -Austria, such as Strauburg, Passau, Lintz; but what is most remarkable -is the great magnificence of some convents, particularly Moelk, where a -set of lazy rascals of monks live in the most splendid misery of the -world; for, generally speaking, their lives are as little to be envied -as their persons are to be esteemed. - -"We enter Vienna in a few hours, and the country is here extremely -agreeable; the fine plains of the Danube began about thirty miles above, -and continued down, through Austria, Hungary, &c. till it falls into -the Black Sea. The river is very magnificent. Thus we have finished a -very agreeable journey of 860 miles (for so far is Vienna from the -Hague,) have past through many a prince's territories, and have had more -masters than many of these princes have subjects. Germany is undoubtedly -a very fine country, full of industrious honest people; and were it -united, it would be the greatest power that ever was in the world. The -common people are here, almost every where, much better treated, and -more at their ease, than in France; and are not very much inferior to -the English, notwithstanding all the airs the latter give themselves. -There are great advantages in travelling, and nothing serves more to -remove prejudices; for I confess I had entertained no such advantageous -idea of Germany; and it gives a man of humanity pleasure to see that so -considerable a part of mankind as the Germans are in so tolerable a -condition." - - -"_Vienna, 15th April._ - -"The last week was Easter week, and every body was at their devotions, -so that we saw not the court nor the emperor and empress, till -yesterday, when we were all introduced by Sir Thomas Robinson.[257:1] -They are a well-looked couple, the emperor has a great air of goodness, -and his royal consort of spirit. Her voice, and manner, and address are -the most agreeable that can be, and she made us several compliments on -our nation. She is not a beauty; but, being a sovereign, and a woman of -sense and spirit, no wonder she has met such extraordinary support from -her subjects, as well as from some other nations of Europe. However, the -English gallantry towards her is a little relaxed; and the King of -Sardinia is their present favourite. She begged of the general not to be -so much her enemy as his predecessor, General Wentworth, had been. He -replied, that a perfect impartiality was recommended him by the king, -his master; and that he was resolved to preserve it, though he confessed -that was difficult for a person who had had the honour of having had -access to her imperial majesty. - -"We were introduced to-day to the archdukes and archduchesses (who are -fine children) and to the empress-dowager. She had seen no company for -two months; but, hearing that Englishmen desired to be introduced to -her, she immediately received us. You must know that you neither bow -nor kneel to emperors and empresses, but curtsy; so that, after we had -had a little conversation with her imperial majesty, we were to walk -backwards through a very long room, curtsying all the way, and there was -very great danger of our falling foul of each other, as well as of -tumbling topsy-turvy. She saw the difficulty we were in; and immediately -called to us: 'Allez, allez, Messieurs, sans ceremonie; vous n'etes pas -accoutumes a ce mouvement, et le plancher est glissant.' We esteemed -ourselves very much obliged to her for this attention, especially my -companions, who were desperately afraid of my falling on them and -crushing them. - -"This court is fine, without being gay; and the company is very -accessible, without being very sociable. When we were to be introduced -to the emperor and empress, Sir Thomas Robinson gathered us all together -into a window, that he might be able to carry us to them at once, when -the time should be proper. A lady came up to him, and asked him if these -were not his chickens he was gathering under his wings, after which she -joined conversation with us; and in a little time asked us, if we had -any acquaintance of the ladies of the court, and if we should not be -glad to know their names. We replied that she could not do us a greater -favour. 'Why, then,' says she, 'I shall tell you, beginning with myself; -I am the Countess'--she added her name, which I am sorry to have forgot. -We have met with several instances of these agreeable liberties. The -women here are many of them handsome; if you ever want toasts, please to -name, upon my authority, Mademoiselle Staremberg, or the Countess Palfi. - -"The men are ugly and awkward. We have seen all those fierce heroes, -whom we have so often read of in gazettes, the Lichtensteins, the -Esterhasis, the Colloredos; most of them have red heels to their shoes, -and wear very well-dressed toupees. - -"I have heard Maly Johnston say she was told that she was very like the -empress-queen. Please tell her it is not so. The empress, though not -very well shaped, is better than Maly; but she has not so good a face. -She looks also as if she were prouder and worse tempered. Apropos, to -our friends of Hutton hall, inform them that they have a very near -relation at this court, who is a prodigious fine gentleman, and a great -fool. His name is Sir James Caldwell.[260:1] He told me his grandmother -was a Hume, and that he expected soon to inherit a very fine estate by -her, which he was to share with the Johnstones in Scotland. But he says -it is only Wynne that has the half, not the ladies, who have no share; -so that you'll please tell Sophy that I am off; and give her her -liberty, notwithstanding all vows and promises that may have past -betwixt us." - - -"_Vienna, 25th April._ - -"We set out to-morrow, but go not by the way of Venice, as we at first -proposed. This is some mortification to us. We shall go, however, by -Milan. This town is very little for a capital, but excessively populous. -The houses are very high, the streets very narrow and crooked, so that -the many handsome buildings that are here, make not any figure. The -suburbs are spacious and open; but, on the whole, I can never believe -what they tell us, that there are two hundred thousand inhabitants in -it. It is composed entirely of nobility and of lackeys, of soldiers and -of priests. Now, I believe you'll allow, that in a town inhabited only -by these four sets of people above-mentioned, the empress-queen could -not have undertaken a more difficult task, than that which she has -magnanimously entered upon, viz. the producing an absolute chastity -amongst them. A court of chastity is lately erected here, who send all -loose women to the frontiers of Hungary, where they can only debauch -Turks and Infidels. I hope you will not pay your taxes with greater -grudge, because you hear that her imperial majesty, in whose service -they are to be spent, is so great a prude. - -"There has been great noise made with us on account of the queen's new -palace at Schoenbrunn. It is, indeed, a handsome house, but not very -great nor richly furnished. She said to the general last night, that not -a single soldier had gone to the building, whatever might be said in -England, but that she liked better to be tolerably lodged than to have -useless diamonds by her; and that she had sold all her crown jewels to -enable her to be at that expense. I think, for a sovereign, she is none -of the worst in Europe, and one cannot forbear liking her for the spirit -with which she looks, and speaks, and acts. But 'tis a pity her -ministers have so little sense. - -"Prince Eugene's palace in the suburbs is an expensive stately building, -but of a very barbarous Gothic taste. He was _more skilled in battering -walls than building_, as was said of his friend, the Duke of -Marlborough. There is a room in it, where all Prince Eugene's battles -were painted: upon which the Portuguese ambassador told him, that the -whole house was indeed richly furnished, but that all the kings in -Europe could not furnish such a room as that. I have been pretty busy -since I came here, and have regretted it the less that there is no very -great amusement in this place. No Italian opera; no French comedy; no -dancing. I have, however, heard Monticelli, who is the next wonder of -the world to Farinelli." - - -"_Knittelfeldt in Styria, 28th April._ - -"This is about a hundred and twenty miles from Vienna. The first forty -is a fine well-cultivated plain, after which we enter the mountains; -and, as we are told, we have three hundred miles more of them before we -reach the plains of Lombardy. The way of travelling through a -mountainous country is generally very agreeable. We are obliged to trace -the course of the rivers, and are always in a pretty valley surrounded -by high hills; and have a constant and very quick succession of wild -agreeable prospects every quarter of a mile. Through Styria nothing can -be more curious than the scenes. In the valleys, which are fertile and -finely cultivated, there is at present a full bloom of spring. The hills -to a certain height are covered with firs and larch trees, the tops are -all shining with snow. You may see a tree white with blossom, and, fifty -fathom farther up, the ground white with snow. These hills, as you may -imagine, give a great command of water to the valleys, which the -industrious inhabitants distribute into every field, and render the -whole very fertile. There are many iron mines in the country, and the -valleys are upon that account extremely populous. But as much as the -country is agreeable in its wildness, as much are the inhabitants -savage, and deformed, and monstrous in their appearance. Very many of -them have ugly swelled throats; idiots and deaf people swarm in every -village; and the general aspect of the people is the most shocking I -ever saw. One would think, that as this was the great road, through -which all the barbarous nations made their irruptions into the Roman -empire, they always left here the refuse of their armies before they -entered into the enemy's country, and that from thence the present -inhabitants are descended. Their dress is scarce European, as their -figure is scarce human. - -"There happened, however, a thing to-day, which surprised us all. The -empress-queen, regarding this country as a little barbarous, has sent -some missionaries of Jesuits to instruct them. They had sermons to-day -in the street, under our windows, attended with psalms; and believe me, -nothing could be more harmonious, better tuned, or more agreeable than -the voices of these savages; and the chorus of a French opera does not -sing in better time. You may infer from thence, if you please, that -Orpheus did not civilize the savage nations by his music. I know not -what progress the Jesuits have made by their eloquence; but it appears -to me that religion is not the point in which the Styrians are -defective, at least if we may judge by the number of their churches, -crucifixes, &c. We shall be detained here some days by Sir Harry -Erskine's illness, who is seized with an ague." - - -"_Clagenfurt in Carinthia, May 4._ - -"This is a mighty pretty little town, near the Drave. It is the capital -of the province, and stands in a tolerable large plain, surrounded with -very high hills; and on the other side the Drave we see the savage -Mountains of Carniola. You know the Alps join with the Pyrenees, these -with the Alps,[264:1] and run all along the north of Turkey in Europe to -the Black Sea, and form the longest chain of mountains in the universe. - -"The figure of the Carinthians is not much better than that of the -Styrians." - - -"_Trent, 8th of May._ - -"We are still amongst mountains, and follow the tract of rivers in order -to find our way. But the aspect of the people is wonderfully changed on -entering the Tyrol. The inhabitants are there as remarkably beautiful as -the Styrians are ugly. An air of humanity, and spirit, and health, and -plenty, is seen in every face. Yet their country is wilder than Styria, -the hills higher, and the valleys narrower and more barren. They are -both Germans, subject to the house of Austria; so that it would puzzle a -naturalist or politician to find the reason of so great and remarkable a -difference. We traced up the Drave to its source: (that river, you know, -falls into the Danube, and into the Black Sea.) It ended in a small -rivulet, and that in a ditch, and then in a little bog. On the top of -the hill (though there was there a well cultivated plain) there was no -more appearance of spring than at Christmas. In about half a mile after -we had seen the Drave extinguish, we observed a little stripe of water -to move. This was the beginning of the Adige, and the rivers that run -into the Adriatic. We were now turning toward the south part of the -hill, and descended with great rapidity. Our little brook in three or -four miles became a considerable river, and every hour's travelling -showed us a new aspect of spring; so that in one day we passed through -all the gradations of that beautiful season, as we descended lower into -the valleys, from its first faint dawn till its full bloom and glory. We -are here in Italy; at least the common language of the people is -Italian. This town is not remarkable neither for size nor beauty. 'Tis -only famous for that wise assembly of philosophers and divines, who -established such rational tenets for the belief of mankind." - - -"_Mantua, 11th of May._ - -"We are now in classic ground; and I have kissed the earth that produced -Virgil, and have admired those fertile plains that he has so finely -celebrated. - - Perdidit aut quales felices Mantua campos.[265:1] - -"You are tired, and so am I, with the descriptions of countries; and -therefore shall only say, that nothing can be more singularly beautiful -than the plains of Lombardy, nor more beggarly and miserable than this -town." - - -"_Cremona, 12th of May._ - -"Alas, poor Italy! - - Impius haec tam culta novalia miles habebit; - Barbarus has segetes? - - The poor inhabitant - Starves, in the midst of Nature's plenty curst; - And in the loaded vineyard dies for thirst. - -"The taxes are here exorbitant beyond all bounds. We lie to-morrow at -Milan." - - -"_Turin, June 16th, 1748._ - -"I wrote you about three weeks ago. This is brought into England by Mr. -Bathurst, a nephew of Lord Bathurst, who intended to serve a campaign in -our family. We know nothing as yet of the time of our return. But I -believe we shall make the tour of Italy and France before we come home. -'Tis thought the general will be sent as public minister to settle Don -Philip; so that we shall have seen a great variety of Dutch, German, -Italian, Spanish, and French courts in this jaunt. - - Qui mores hominum multorum vidit, et urbes. - -"I say nothing of Milan, or Turin, or Piedmont: because I shall have -time enough to entertain you with accounts of all these. Though you may -be little diverted with this long epistle, you ought at least to thank -me for the pains I have taken in composing it. I have not yet got my -baggage." - -Far different was the pomp and circumstance in which the writer of this -narrative performed his journey, from the condition in which Goldsmith, -four years afterwards, pursued nearly the same route to-- - - ----where the rude Carinthian boor - Against the houseless stranger shuts the door. - -And Hume's motions seem to have partaken of the pomp and regularity of -his official station; for, even in these familiar letters to his -brother, he is all along the secretary of legation; or when he descends -from that height, it is but to mount the chair of the scholar and -philosopher. There are no escapades. We never hear that he has taken it -in his head to diverge from the regular route to see an old castle or a -waterfall. Yet he went with an eye for scenery. The Alpine passes -excited his admiration, and his description of the banks of the Rhine -will be recognised at this day as very accurate--with one material -exception. He says nothing of the feudal fortresses perched like the -nests of birds of prey, to which their moral resemblance was at least as -close as their physical; and thus one of the greatest historians of his -age, passes through a country without appearing to have noticed in their -true character, this series of prominent marks of a remarkable chapter -in the history of Europe. He speaks of them simply as "palaces"--a word -not designative of the character of the buildings, or in any way -evincing that their historical position had occurred to his mind. But it -must be admitted, that later tourists on the Rhine have amply made up -for his silence on these matters. - -He does not condescend to mention any one of the fine specimens of -Gothic architecture which he must have seen--not even that vast and -beautiful fragment the cathedral of Cologne. One wonders whether or not -he was at the trouble of inquiring, what was that huge mass which he -must have seen towering over the city; and if, straying within its -gates, and looking on Albert Durer's painted windows, he had curiosity -enough to inspect the reliquary of the tomb of the three kings, -containing gems so ancient, that they are conjectured to be older than -Christianity, and to have been the ornaments of some Pagan shrine, -transferred to and historically associated with the pure creed which -displaced the barbarous rites of Paganism. This might have at least -formed a curious topic for his Natural History of Religion. But on this -as on many other subjects, he would sympathize with La Bruyere when he -speaks of "L'ordre Gothique, que la barbarie avoit introduit pour les -palais et pour les temples;" and his thorough neglect of both the -baronial and ecclesiastical architecture of the middle ages, is -characteristic of a mind which could find nothing worthy of admiration, -in the time which elapsed between the extinction of ancient classical -literature, and the rise of the arts and sciences in modern Europe. - -But upon scarcely any subject does Hume converse as a brother travelling -into foreign lands might be supposed to address a brother residing at -home, and cultivating his ancestral acres. We should expect to find him -observing that this river is like the Tweed, or unlike it--larger or -smaller; or comparing some range of hills with the Cheviots: but he is -general and undomestic in all his remarks, save the one observation that -the Rhine is as broad as from his brother's house to the opposite side -of the river. - -Until he comes to the land of Virgil, where he shows real enthusiasm, -the chief object of his interest and observation appears to have been -the warlike operations in the midst of which he found himself. The -mission must have been attended with the ordinary dangers of a military -enterprise. It was undertaken at a time when all Europe was at war, and -though decisive battles were not taking place, petty conflicts and -surprises were of perpetual occurrence until the treaty of -Aix-la-Chapelle, a few months afterwards, restored repose to the -exhausted nations. Yet we find no symptoms of anxiety in the mind of the -philosophical actor of the military character. His tone is generally -that of a private traveller in a peaceful country, rather than that of a -member of an expedition armed for defence, and likely to be called on to -defend itself. When he mentions warlike operations, he adopts the tone -of a historical critic, and never that of a person who may find his -personal safety or comfort compromised by them. - -Though he seems to have set out with the too general notion that -military affairs are the main object of attention to the man who is -desirous of distinction in historical literature, we find already -dawning on him the historian's nobler duty as a delineator of the state -of society, and an inquirer into the causes of the happiness or misery -of the people. And his observations are made with a wide and generous -benevolence, strikingly at contrast with those prevailing doctrines of -his day, which sought, in the success and happiness of one country, the -elements of the misery of another, and made the good fortune of our -neighbours a source of lamentation, as indicating calamity to ourselves. -His unaffected declaration of pleasure, in finding the Germans so happy -and comfortable a people, marks a heart full of genuine kindness and -benevolence, and will more than atone for the want of a disposition to -range through alpine scenery, or a taste to appreciate the beauties of -Gothic architecture. - -It will be seen that Hume had intended to continue his journal, but no -farther trace of it has been found. The results of the mission have not -been generally noticed by historians. Its objects were of a subordinate -nature, and the occasion for attending to them was obviated by the -completion of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle on 7th October. - -Meanwhile, of Hume's residence in Turin, we have some notices by an able -observer, Lord Charlemont, the celebrated Irish political leader, who, -then in his twentieth year, was following the practice of the higher -aristocracy of his age, and endeavouring to enlarge his mind by foreign -travel. In the following probably exaggerated description it will be -seen that he was far mistaken in his estimate of Hume's age. - -"With this extraordinary man I was intimately acquainted. He had kindly -distinguished me from among a number of young men, who were then at the -academy, and appeared so warmly attached to me, that it was apparent he -not only intended to honour me with his friendship, but to bestow on me -what was, in his opinion, the first of all favours and benefits, by -making me his convert and disciple. - -"Nature, I believe, never formed any man more unlike his real character -than David Hume. The powers of physiognomy were baffled by his -countenance; neither could the most skilful in that science, pretend to -discover the smallest trace of the faculties of his mind, in the -unmeaning features of his visage. His face was broad and fat, his mouth -wide, and without any other expression than that of imbecility. His eyes -vacant and spiritless, and the corpulence of his whole person, was far -better fitted to communicate the idea of a turtle-eating alderman, than -of a refined philosopher. His speech in English was rendered ridiculous -by the broadest Scotch accent, and his French was, if possible, still -more laughable; so that wisdom most certainly never disguised herself -before in so uncouth a garb. Though now near fifty years old, he was -healthy and strong; but his health and strength, far from being -advantageous to his figure, instead of manly comeliness, had only the -appearance of rusticity. His wearing an uniform added greatly to his -natural awkwardness, for he wore it like a grocer of the trained bands. -Sinclair was a lieutenant-general, and was sent to the courts of Vienna -and Turin, as a military envoy, to see that their quota of troops was -furnished by the Austrians and Piedmontese. It was therefore thought -necessary that his secretary should appear to be an officer, and Hume -was accordingly disguised in scarlet."[271:1] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[225:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[226:1] Obliterated. - -[227:1] Letter to Mr. Morritt, dated Abbotsford, 2d October, 1815. -Lockhart's Life. The letter continues: "Would it not be a good quiz to -advertise _The Poetical Works of David Hume_, with notes, critical, -historical, and so forth, with a historical inquiry into the use of eggs -for breakfast; a physical discussion on the causes of their being -addled; a history of the English Church music, and of the choir of -Carlisle in particular; a full account of the affair of 1745, with the -trials, last speeches, and so forth, of the poor _plaids_ who were -strapped up at Carlisle; and lastly, a full and particular description -of Corby, with the genealogy of every family who ever possessed it? I -think, even without more than the usual waste of margin, the poems of -David would make a decent twelve shilling touch." - -[227:2] For instance, there is preserved in his handwriting a very neat -transcript of the sweet and sad "Ode to Indifference," by Mrs. Greville, -copied, probably at a time when something in its tone of plaintive -imagination was attuned to his own feelings, and called up in him a -response to the complaint. - - Nor ease nor peace that heart can know, - That, like the needle true, - Turns at the touch of joy or wo, - But turning trembles too. - -And a desire to join in that prayer that the senses may be steeped in -indifference, in which the poet says, - - The tears which pity taught to flow, - My eyes shall then disown, - The heart, that throbb'd at others' wo, - Shall then scarce feel its own. - - The wounds that now each moment bleed, - Each moment then shall close, - And tranquil days shall still succeed, - To nights of soft repose. - - Oh fairy elf, but grant me this-- - This one kind comfort send; - And so may never-fading bliss - Thy flowery paths attend. - - So may the glow-worm's glimmering light - Thy fairy footsteps lead - To some new region of delight, - Unknown to mortal tread. - - And be thy acorn goblet fill'd - With heaven's ambrosial dew; - Sweetest, freshest flowers distill'd, - That shed fresh sweets for you. - - And what of life remains for me, - I'll pass in sober ease-- - Half-pleased, contented will I be, - Content--but half to please. - -[228:1] MSS. R.S.E. The third piece _appears_ to be in Hume's hand; but -it is written with so much schoolboy stiffness, that one cannot feel -sure of its being so: perhaps it may be a production of very early life. - -[232:1] See p. 144. - -[233:1] MS. R.S.E. Probably James Crawford of Auchinames. - -[234:1] Macgibbon was the name of a dissipated musical composer. - -[235:1] Probably Philip Mercier, portrait painter, who died 1760. - -[238:1] The marriage took place accordingly on the day following the -date of the letter, viz. 30th January. She was the second wife of Lord -Marchmont; his first countess, whose name was Western, having died on -9th May of the previous year. - -[238:2] Memorials of the Right Hon. James Oswald, p. 59. - -[239:1] Tytler's Life of Kames, i. 128. - -[240:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[242:1] The Duke of Cumberland. - -[242:2] The revolution by which the Stadtholdership was re-established -in the Prince of Orange, had taken place during the previous year. - -[246:1] The French, under Lowendahl, had taken Bergen by storm on the -5th September, 1747. - -[252:1] This celebrated battle took place nearly five years before -Hume's visit to the field. It was fought on 26th June, 1743. - -[254:1] The "we," must now be held no more to apply to our army, as it -has heretofore done, in reference to the battle, but to General St. -Clair's party. - -[255:1] The Pegnitz. - -[257:1] Sir Thomas Robinson, whose name has dropped out of recollection -in the ordinary biographical dictionaries, but is still familiar to the -readers of the history of the period, was for some time ambassador at -Vienna, and was plenipotentiary from Britain at the treaty of Aix La -Chapelle in 1748. In 1754 he became secretary of state for a few months. -In 1761 he was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Grantham. -"Sir Thomas," says Walpole, "had been bred in German courts, and was -rather restored than naturalized to the genius of that country; he had -German honour, loved German politics, and could explain himself as -little as if he spoke only German."--Memoires of George III. 337. -According to the same authority, he was subjected, on account of his -name, to an identification with Robinson Crusoe, something like that -with which Madame Talleyrand honoured Denon, owing to the accident of -his being a great traveller whose name ended in "on." - -Sir T. Robinson was a tall uncouth man, and his stature was often -rendered still more remarkable by his hunting dress, a postilion's cap, -a tight green jacket, and buckskin breeches. He was liable to sudden -whims; and once set off on a sudden, in his hunting suit, to visit his -sister, who was married and settled at Paris. He arrived while there was -a large company at dinner. The servant announced Mr. Robinson, and he -came in, to the great amazement of the guests. Among others a French -abbe thrice lifted his fork to his mouth, and thrice laid it down, with -an eager stare of surprise. Unable to restrain his curiosity any longer, -he burst out with, "Excuse me, sir; are you the famous Robinson Crusoe -so remarkable in history."--Walpoliana. - -[260:1] An Irish baronet, grandson of Sir James Caldwell who was created -a baronet in 1683, and distinguished himself in the service of William -III. during the Irish revolutionary wars. The person commemorated in so -flattering a manner by Hume, rose to considerable rank in the service of -the empress, and was enabled to introduce to that service a brother, who -obtained in it far more distinction, and who, in connexion with the -relationship mentioned above, was called Hume Caldwell. He seems to have -been strongly endowed with the mercurial disposition of his countrymen. -On his first introduction to the service, he "took expensive lodgings, -kept a chariot, a running footman, and a hussar, and was admitted into -the highest circles;" the natural result of which was, that, on -preparing to join his regiment, when he paid his debts, he found that he -had just two gold ducats left; whereupon, as his biographer pathetically -narrates, "the companion of princes, the friend of Count Conigsegg, the -possessor of a splendid hotel and a gilt chariot, who had kept a hussar -and an opera girl, figured at court, and had an audience of the empress, -and was possessed of a letter of credit for L1000, set out from Vienna -alone, on foot, in a mean habit, and with an empty pocket, for that army -in which he was to rise by his merit to a distinguished command." His -subsequent history is a little romance. Mr. Hume Caldwell, being lost -sight of by the great world, is searched for hither and thither, and at -length an Irish private soldier being questioned about the matter, turns -out to be Caldwell himself, who is immediately restored to his proper -station.--Ryan's Worthies of Ireland. - -[264:1] Sic in MS. Perhaps he meant to allude to the junction with the -Carpathians through the Bohemian ranges. - -[265:1] Et qualem infelix amisit Mantua campum. Georg. ii. 198? - -[271:1] Memoirs of the Political and Private Life of James Caulfield, -Earl of Charlemont, by Francis Hardy, p. 8. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -1748-1751. AET. 37-40. - - Publication of the "Inquiry concerning Human Understanding"-- - Nature of that Work--Doctrine of Necessity--Observations on - Miracles--New Edition of the "Essays, Moral and Political"-- - Reception of the new Publications--Return Home--His Mother's - Death--Her Talents and Character--Correspondence with Dr. - Clephane--Earthquakes--Correspondence with Montesquieu-- - Practical jokes in connexion with the Westminster Election-- - John Home--The Bellman's Petition. - - -Early in the year 1748, and while he was on his way to Turin, Hume's -"Philosophical Essays concerning Human Understanding,"[272:1] which he -afterwards styled "Inquiry concerning Human Understanding," were -published anonymously in London. The preparation of this work had -probably afforded him a much larger share of genuine pleasure, than -either the excitement of travelling, or the observation of the natural -scenery, the works of art, and the men and manners among which he moved. -In the tone of a true philosophical enthusiast, he says in the first -section of the work, "Were there no advantage to be reaped from these -studies beyond the gratification of an innocent curiosity, yet ought not -even this to be despised, as being an accession to those few safe and -harmless pleasures which are bestowed on the human race. The sweetest -and most inoffensive path of life leads through the avenues of science -and learning; and whoever can either remove any obstructions in this -way, or open up any new prospect, ought so far to be esteemed a -benefactor to mankind. And though these researches may appear painful -and fatiguing, it is with some minds as with some bodies, which being -endowed with vigorous and florid health, require severe exercise, and -reap a pleasure from what, to the generality of mankind, may seem -burdensome and laborious." - -On the publication of this work, he says in his "own life,"--"I had -always entertained a notion, that my want of success in publishing the -'Treatise of Human Nature,' had proceeded more from the manner than the -matter, and that I had been guilty of a very usual indiscretion, in -going to the press too early. I, therefore, cast the first part of that -work anew in the 'Inquiry concerning Human Understanding,' which was -published while I was at Turin. But this piece was at first little more -successful than the 'Treatise of Human Nature.' On my return from Italy, -I had the mortification to find all England in a ferment, on account of -Dr. Middleton's 'Free Inquiry,'[273:1] while my performance was entirely -overlooked and neglected." - -He now desired that the "Treatise of Human Nature" should be treated as -a work blotted out of literature, and that the "Inquiry" should be -substituted in its place. In the subsequent editions of the latter work, -he complained that this had not been complied with; that the world still -looked at those forbidden volumes of which he had dictated the -suppression. "Henceforth," he says, "the author desires that the -following pieces may alone be regarded as containing his philosophical -principles and sentiments;" and he became eloquent on the uncandidness -of bringing before the world as the sentiments of any author, a work -written almost in boyhood, and printed at the threshold of manhood. But -it was all in vain: he had to learn that the world takes possession of -all that has passed through the gates of the printing press, and that -neither the command of despotic authority, nor the solicitations of -repentant authorship can reclaim it, if it be matter of sterling value. -The bold and original speculations of the "Treatise" have been, and to -all appearance ever will be, part of the intellectual property of man; -great theories have been built upon them, which must be thrown down -before we can raze the foundation. That he repented of having published -the work, and desired to retract its extreme doctrines, is part of the -mental biography of Hume; but it is impossible, at his command, to -detach this book from general literature, or to read it without -remembering who was its author. - -But, indeed, there were pretty cogent reasons why the philosophical -world, and Hume's opponents in particular, should not lose sight of his -early work. In the Inquiry, he did not revoke the fundamental doctrines -of his first work. The elements of all thought and knowledge he still -found to be in impressions and ideas. But he did not on this occasion -carry out his principles with the same reckless hardihood that had -distinguished the Treatise; and thus he neither on the one side gave so -distinct and striking a view of his system, nor on the other afforded so -strong a hold to his adversaries. This hold they were resolved not to -lose; and therefore they retained the original bond, and would not -accept of the offered substitute. - -Of those views which are more fully developed in the Inquiry than in the -early work, one of the most important is the attempt to establish the -doctrine of necessity, and to refute that of free will in relation to -the springs of human action. To those who adopted the vulgar notion of -Hume's theory of cause and effect, that it left the phenomena of nature -without a ruling principle, the attempt to show that the human mind was -bound by necessary laws appeared to be a startling inconsistency--a sort -of reversal of the poet's idea, - - And binding nature fast in fate, - Left free the human will. - -It appeared to remove the chains of necessity from inanimate nature, and -rivet them on the will. - -But there is a decided principle of connexion between the two doctrines: -whether or not it be a principle that will bear scrutiny, is another -question. The two systems are identified with each other, simply by the -annihilation of the notion of power both in the material and in the -immaterial world. As we cannot find in physical causes any power to -produce their effect, so when a man moves his arm to strike, or his -tongue to reprimand, we have no notion of any _power_ being exercised; -but we have an impression that certain impulses are followed, and we can -no more suppose that it was at the choice of the individual whether, -when these impulses or motives existed, they should or should not be -obeyed, than that when the phenomenon called in the material world the -cause, made its appearance, there could be any doubt of its being -followed by the effect. The inference from this was, that human actions -are as much the objects of inductive philosophy as the operations of -nature; that they are equally regular, effect following cause as much in -the operations of the passions as in those of the elements. Of the -application of the theory to his historical observation of events, the -following passage is a vivid enunciation:-- - - -"It is universally acknowledged, that there is a great uniformity among -the actions of men, in all nations and ages, and that human nature -remains still the same in its principles and operations. The same -motives always produce the same actions; the same events follow from the -same causes. Ambition, avarice, self-love, vanity, friendship, -generosity, public spirit; these passions, mixed in various degrees, and -distributed through society, have been, from the beginning of the world, -and still are, the source of all the actions and enterprises which have -ever been observed among mankind. Would you know the sentiments, -inclinations, and course of life of the Greeks and Romans? study well -the temper and actions of the French and English: you cannot be much -mistaken in transferring to the former _most_ of the observations which -you have made with regard to the latter. Mankind are so much the same, -in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or -strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the -constant and universal principles of human nature, by showing men in all -varieties of circumstances and situations, and furnishing us with -materials from which we may form our observations, and become acquainted -with the regular springs of human action and behaviour. These records of -wars, intrigues, factions, and revolutions, are so many collections of -experiments, by which the politician or moral philosopher fixes the -principles of his science, in the same manner as the physician or -natural philosopher becomes acquainted with the nature of plants, -minerals, and other external objects, by the experiments which he forms -concerning them. Nor are the earth, water, and other elements, examined -by Aristotle and Hippocrates, more like to those which at present lie -under our observation, than the men described by Polybius and Tacitus -are to those who now govern the world. - -"Should a traveller, returning from a far country, bring us an account -of men wholly different from any with whom we were ever acquainted, men -who were entirely divested of avarice, ambition, or revenge, who knew no -pleasure but friendship, generosity, and public spirit, we should -immediately, from these circumstances, detect the falsehood, and prove -him a liar, with the same certainty as if he had stuffed his narration -with stories of centaurs and dragons, miracles and prodigies. And if we -would explode any forgery in history, we cannot make use of a more -convincing argument than to prove, that the actions ascribed to any -person are directly contrary to the course of nature, and that no human -motives, in such circumstances, could ever induce him to such a conduct. -The veracity of Quintus Curtius is as much to be suspected, when he -describes the supernatural courage of Alexander, by which he was hurried -on singly to attack multitudes, as when he describes his supernatural -force and activity, by which he was able to resist them. So readily and -universally do we acknowledge a uniformity in human motives and actions, -as well as in the operations of body. - -"Hence, likewise, the benefit of that experience, acquired by long life -and a variety of business and company, in order to instruct us in the -principles of human nature, and regulate our future conduct, as well as -speculation. By means of this guide we mount up to the knowledge of -men's inclinations and motives, from their actions, expressions, and -even gestures; and again descend to the interpretation of their -actions, from our knowledge of their motives and inclinations. The -general observations, treasured up by a course of experience, give us -the clue of human nature, and teach us to unravel all its intricacies. -Pretexts and appearances no longer deceive us. Public declarations pass -for the specious colouring of a cause. And though virtue and honour be -allowed their proper weight and authority, that perfect -disinterestedness, so often pretended to, is never expected in -multitudes and parties, seldom in their leaders, and scarcely even in -individuals of any rank or station. But were there no uniformity in -human actions, and were every experiment, which we could form of this -kind, irregular and anomalous, it were impossible to collect any general -observations concerning mankind; and no experience, however accurately -digested by reflection, would ever serve to any purpose. Why is the aged -husbandman more skilful in his calling than the young beginner, but -because there is a certain uniformity in the operation of the sun, rain, -and earth, towards the production of vegetables; and experience teaches -the old practitioner the rules by which this operation is governed and -directed?"[278:1] - - -How very clearly we find these principles practically illustrated in his -History! A disinclination to believe in the narratives of great and -remarkable deeds proceeding from peculiar impulses: a propensity, when -the evidence adduced in their favour cannot be rebutted, to treat these -peculiarities rather as diseases of the mind, than as the operation of -noble aspirations: a levelling disposition to find all men pretty much -upon a par, and none in a marked manner better or worse than their -neighbours: an inclination to doubt all authorities which tended to -prove that the British people had any fundamental liberties not -possessed by the French and other European nations. Such are the -practical fruits of this necessitarian philosophy. - -It was on this occasion that Hume promulgated those opinions upon -miracles, which we have found him afraid to make public even in that -work of which he afterwards regretted the bold and rash character. No -part of his writings gave more offence to serious and devout thinkers; -but the offence was in the manner of the promulgation, not the matter of -the opinions. To understand how this occurred, let us cast a glance for -a moment at two opposite classes of religious thinkers, into which a -large portion of the Christian world is divided, and find with which, if -with either, Hume's opinions coincide. - -If we suppose a man, impressed with a feeling of devotion and reverence -for a Superior Being, who, seeing in the order of the world and all its -movements, the omnipotent, all-wise, and all-merciful guidance of a -divine Providence, believes that the Great Being will give to his -creatures no revelation that is not in accordance with the merciful -harmony of all his ways; and thus devoutly and submissively receives the -word of God as promulgated in the Bible; attempts to make it the rule of -his actions and opinions; receives with deference the views of those -whom the same power that authorized it, has permitted to be the human -instruments of its promulgation and explanation; tries to understand -what it is within the power of his limited faculties to comprehend; but, -implicitly believing that in the shadows of those mysteries which he is -unable to penetrate, there lie operations as completely part of one -great regular plan, as merciful, as beneficent, and as wise as the -outward and comprehensible acts of Providence; who thus never for one -moment allows his mind to doubt, where it is unable to comprehend or -explain--such a man finds none of his sentiments in the writings of -Hume, for he is at once told there that reason and revelation are two -disconnected things, that each must act alone, and that the one derives -no aid from the other. - -But take one who believes that religion is too sacred to be in any way -allied with so poor and miserable a thing as erring human reason; who -feels that it is not in himself to merit any of the boundless mercies of -the atonement; and that to endeavour by his actions, or the direction of -his thoughts, to be made a participator in them, is but setting blind -reason to lead the blind appetites and desires; who feels that by no act -of his own, the true light of the Christian religion has been lighted -within him as by a miracle; who has been adopted by a sudden change in -his spiritual nature into the family of the faithful--then there is -nothing in all Hume's philosophy to militate against the religion of -such a man, but rather many arguments in its favour, both implied and -expressed. - -Since this is the case, it may be asked, why, if one party in religion -attacked the opinions of Hume, another did not defend them? why, if -Beattie and Warburton couched the lance, Whitefield and John Erskine did -not come forward as his champions? In the first place, it was only those -who united reason and revelation as going hand in hand and aiding each -other, that looked at books of philosophy with an eye to their influence -on religion, and such works formed a department of literature in which -the advocates of "eternal decrees" would not expect to find much to suit -their purpose. But, in the second place, this class of religious -thinkers are all, except the few who are hypocrites, devout and serious -people, and Hume's method of treating these subjects was not such as -they could feel a sympathy with. A want of proper deference for -devotional feeling, is a defect that runs through all his works--a -constitutional organic defect it might be termed. There is no ribaldry, -but at the same time there are no expressions of decent reverence; while -this religious party knew from the manner in which their predecessors in -the same doctrines were historically treated by Hume, that if there were -any coincidence in abstract opinions, there was very little in common -between their sympathies and his. - -In this same section on miracles, there are repeated protests against -the reader assuming that the writer is arguing against the Christian -faith. Against some Catholic miracles, which were asserted to be proved -by testimony as strong as that which attested the miracles of our -Saviour, he says, "As if the testimony of man could ever be put in the -balance with that of God himself, who conducted the pen of the inspired -writers!" and again, "Our most holy religion is founded on _faith_, not -on reason; and it is a sure method of exposing it to put it to such a -trial as it is by no means fitted to endure." These protests however -were made briefly and coldly, and in such a manner as made people feel, -that if Hume believed in the doctrines they announced, he certainly had -not his heart in them. Hence, although, since the origin of rationalism, -evangelical Christians have frequently had recourse to the arguments of -Hume, there was long in that quarter a not unnatural reluctance to -appeal to them. - -It is perhaps one of the most remarkable warnings against hasty -judgments on the effects of efforts of subtle reasoning, that, according -to later scientific discoveries, no two things are in more perfect -unison than Hume's theory of belief in miracles, and the belief that -miracles, according to the common acceptation of the term, have actually -taken place. The leading principle of this theory is, in conformity with -its author's law of cause and effect, that where our experience has -taught us that two things follow each other as cause and effect by an -unvarying sequence, if we hear of an instance in which this has not been -the case, we ought to doubt the truth of the narrative. In other words, -if we are told of some circumstance having taken place out of the usual -order of nature, we ought not to believe it; because the circumstance of -the narrator having been deceived, or of his designedly telling a -falsehood, is more probable than an event contradictory to all previous -authenticated experience. It is a rule for marking the boundary and -proper application of the inductive system, and one that is highly -serviceable to science. But, in applying it to use, we must not be led -away by the narrow application, in common conversation, of the word -experience. There is the experience of the common workman, and there is -the experience of the philosopher. There is that observation of -phenomena which makes a ditcher know that the difficulty of pulling out -a loosened stone with a mattock indicates it to be so many inches thick; -and that observation, fully as sure, which shows the geologist that the -stratum of the Pennsylvanian grauwacke is upwards of a hundred miles -thick. The experience and observation of the husbandman teach him, that -when the opposite hill is distinct to his view, the intervening -atmosphere is not charged with vapour; but observation, not less -satisfactory, shows the astronomer that Jupiter and the Moon have around -them no atmosphere such as that by which our planet is enveloped. Now -there is nothing more fully founded on experimental observation than the -fact, that there was a time when the present order of the world was not -in existence. That there have been convulsions, such as, did we now hear -of their contemporary occurrence, instead of attesting their past -existence through the sure course of observation and induction, we would -at once maintain to be impossible. To this then, and this only, comes -the theory of miracles, that at the present day, and for a great many -years back, the accounts that are given of circumstances having taken -place out of the general order of nature, are to be discredited, because -between the two things to be believed, the falsehood of the narrative is -more likely than the truth of the occurrence. But the very means by -which we arrive at this conclusion bring us to another, that there was a -time to which the rules taken from present observation of the course of -nature did not apply.[283:1] - -That in history, in science, in the conduct of every-day life, and -particularly in the formation of the minds of the young, this rule of -belief is of the highest practical utility, few will doubt. The parish -clergyman, who assists in throwing discredit on all the superstitious -stories of spectres, witchcrafts, and demoniacal possessions with which -his neighbourhood may be afflicted, is but an active promulgator of the -doctrine. It was a narrow view that Campbell adopted when he said, that -if we heard of a ferry boat, which had long crossed the stream in -safety, having sunk, we would give credit to the testimony concerning -it.[284:1] Our experience teaches us that ferry boats are made of -perishable materials, liable to be submerged; and thus, in this case, -there is no balance of incredibility against the narrator. To have tried -Campbell's practical faith in Hume's theory, he should have had before -him a person professing to have become aware of the sinking of the boat, -by some unprecedented means of perception, called a magnetic influence, -in the absence of a more distinct name; while it is shown that the same -person had an opportunity of being informed, through the organs of -hearing, of the circumstance which had taken place. It would then be -seen, whether that sagacious philosopher would have given the sanction -of his belief to a phenomenon contrary to all previous experience--the -ascertainment of an external event, without the aid of the senses; or -would have acceded to the too commonly illustrated phenomenon, that -human beings are capable of falsehood and folly. - -It is much to be regretted that Hume employed the word miracles in the -title of this inquiry. He thus employed a term which had been applied to -sacred subjects, and raised a natural prejudice against reasonings, -applicable to contemporary events, and to the rules of ordinary -historical belief. He might have found some other title--such as, "The -Principles of Belief in Human Testimony," which would have more -satisfactorily explained the nature of the inquiry. - -But it is not improbable that the odium thus occasioned first introduced -Hume's philosophical works to controversial notoriety. Though -disappointed by the silence of the public immediately on his arrival -from abroad, he has soon to tell us in his "own life,"--"Meanwhile, my -bookseller, A. Millar, informed me, that my former publications (all but -the unfortunate Treatise) were beginning to be the subject of -conversation; that the sale of them was gradually increasing, and that -new editions were demanded. Answers by reverends and right reverends -came out two and three in a year;[285:1] and I found, by Warburton's -railing, that the books were beginning to be esteemed in good -company."[285:2] - -It was in the "Inquiry concerning the Human Understanding," that Hume -promulgated the theory of association, which called forth so much -admiration of its simplicity, beauty, and truth. "To me," he says, -"there appear to be only three principles of connexion among ideas, -namely, _Resemblance_, _Contiguity_ in time or place, and _Cause_ or -_Effect_. - -"That these principles serve to connect ideas, will not, I believe, be -much doubted. A picture naturally leads our thoughts to the original -[Resemblance.] The mention of one apartment in a building, naturally -introduces an inquiry or discourse concerning the others [Contiguity:] -and if we think on a wound, we can scarcely forbear reflecting on the -pain which follows it [Cause and Effect.]"[286:1] - -In connexion with this theory a curious charge has been brought forward -by Coleridge, who says, "In consulting the excellent commentary of St. -Thomas Aquinas, on the Parva Naturalia of Aristotle, I was struck at -once with its close resemblance to Hume's essay on association. The main -thoughts were the same in both. The _order_ of the thoughts was the -same, and even the illustrations differed only by Hume's occasional -substitution of more modern examples. I mentioned the circumstance to -several of my literary acquaintances, who admitted the closeness of the -resemblance, and that it seemed too great to be explained by mere -coincidence; but they thought it improbable that Hume should have held -the pages of the angelic doctor worth turning over. But some time after, -Mr. Payne of the King's Mews, showed Sir James Mackintosh some odd -volumes of St. Thomas Aquinas, partly perhaps from having heard that Sir -James, (then Mr. Mackintosh,) had in his lectures passed a high encomium -on this canonized philosopher, but chiefly from the fact that the -volumes had belonged to Mr. Hume, and had here and there marginal marks -and notes of reference in his own handwriting. Among these volumes was -that which contains the Parva Naturalia, in the old Latin version, -swathed and swaddled in the commentary aforementioned." - -On this, Sir James Macintosh says, that "the manuscript of a part of -Aquinas, which I bought many years ago, (on the faith of a bookseller's -catalogue,) as being written by Mr. Hume, was not a copy of the -commentary on the _Parva Naturalia_, but of Aquinas's own _Secunda -Secundae_; and that, on examination, it proves not to be the handwriting -of Mr. Hume, and to contain nothing written by him."[287:1] So much for -the external evidence of plagiarism. - -With regard to the internal evidence, the passage of Aquinas -particularly referred to, which will be found below,[287:2] refers to -memory not imagination; to the recall of images in the relation to each -other in which they have once had a place in the mind, not to the -formation of new associations, or aggregates of ideas there; nor will it -bring the theories to an identity, that, according to Hume's doctrine, -nothing can be recalled in the mind unless its elements have already -been deposited there in the form of ideas, because the observations of -Aquinas apply altogether to the _reminiscence_ of aggregate objects. But -the classification is different: for Hume's embodies cause and effect, -but not contrariety; while that of Aquinas has contrariety, but not -cause and effect. In a division into three elements, this discrepancy is -material; and, without entering on any lengthened reasoning, it may -simply be observed, that the merit of Hume's classification is, that it -is exhaustive, and neither contains any superfluous element, nor omits -any principle under which an act of association can be classed. - -But it is remarkable that Coleridge should have failed to keep in view, -in his zeal to discover some curious thing to reward him for his -researches among the fathers, that the classification is not that of -Aquinas, but of Aristotle, and is contained in the very work on which -the passage in Aquinas is one of the many commentaries.[288:1] - - * * * * * - -The "Essays Moral and Political," had, though it is not mentioned by -Hume in his "own life," been so well received, that a second edition -appeared in 1742, the same year in which the second volume of the -original edition was published. A third edition was published in London -in 1748,[289:1] of which Hume, comparing them with his neglected -contemporaneous publication of the Inquiry, says that they "met not with -a much better reception." - -Two essays, which had appeared in the previous editions, were omitted in -the third. One of these, "Of Essay Writing," was evidently written at -the time when the author had the design of publishing his work -periodically,[289:2] and was meant as a prospectus or announcement to -the readers, of the method in which he proposed to address them in his -periodical papers. The other was a "Character of Sir Robert Walpole;" a -curious attempt to take an impartial estimate of a man who, at the time -of the first publication, had been longer in office, and was surrounded -by a more numerous and powerful band of enemies, than any previous -British statesman. But between the two publications the enemies had -triumphed; and the statesman of forty years had been driven into -retirement, where death speedily relieved him from a scene of inaction, -which might have been repose to others, but was to him an insupportable -solitude. Party rage had consequently changed its direction, and that -air of solemn deliberation which, while the statesman was moving between -the admiration of his friends and the hatred of his enemies, had an -appearance of resolute stoical impartiality, might have appeared -strained and affected, if the essay had been republished in 1748. - -To this third edition three essays were added, "Of National Characters," -"Of the Original Contract," and "Of Passive Obedience." The first of -these contains some very curious incidental notices of ancient morals -and habits, so adapted to modern colloquial language and habits, as to -make the descriptions as clear to the unlearned as to the learned; as, -for example, the following notices of the drinking practices of the -ancients:-- - -"The ancient Greeks, though born in a warm climate, seem to have been -much addicted to the bottle; nor were their parties of pleasure any -thing but matches of drinking among men, who passed their time -altogether apart from the fair. Yet when Alexander led the Greeks into -Persia, a still more southern climate, they multiplied their debauches -of this kind, in imitation of the Persian manners.[290:1] So honourable -was the character of a drunkard among the Persians, that Cyrus the -younger, soliciting the sober Lacedemonians for succour against his -brother Artaxerxes, claims it chiefly on account of his superior -endowments, as more valorous, more bountiful, and a better -drinker.[290:2] Darius Hystaspes made it be inscribed on his tomb-stone, -among his other virtues and princely qualities, that no one could bear a -greater quantity of liquor." - -The other two essays, though bearing on subjects which have now almost -dropped out of political discussion, "The Original Contract," and -"Passive Obedience," trod close on the heels of the long conflict in -which Milton, Salmasius, Hobbes, Sidney, Locke, and Filmer, had been -partakers; and while the din of arms was far from being exhausted, they -professed to hold the balance equally between the combatants, or, more -properly speaking, to examine philosophically the merits of the theory -of each party, without taking up the angry arguments of either. They -are, in truth, but a farther adaptation to politics of those utilitarian -theories which Hume had previously applied both to private morals and to -government. And the principle they promulgate is, that the citizen's -allegiance to the laws and constitution of his country, has its proper -foundation neither in an acknowledgment of the divine right of any -governor, nor in a contract with him by which both parties are bound, -but in the moral duty of respecting internal peace and order, and of -avoiding outbreaks which may plunge the people into anarchy and misery, -to gratify the pride or baser passions of turbulent individuals. - -It must have been on his return on this occasion, that Hume rejoined the -family circle at Ninewells, bereaved of the parent whose devotion to his -training and education he has so affectionately commemorated. "I went -down," he says, "in 1749, and lived two years with my brother at his -country house, for my mother was now dead."[291:1] In a letter, which -will have to be afterwards referred to, by Dr. Black, to Adam Smith, -written when Hume was on his death-bed, and in relation to his final -illness, there is the remark, "His mother," he says, "had precisely the -same constitution with himself, and died of this very disorder." - -On this subject, the American traveller, Silliman, gave currency to a -foolish and improbable story, which he puts in the following shape:-- - -"It seems that Hume received a religious education from his mother, and -early in life was the subject of strong and hopeful religious -impressions; but, as he approached manhood, they were effaced, and -confirmed infidelity succeeded. Maternal partiality, however alarmed at -first, came at length to look with less and less pain upon this -declension, and filial love and reverence seem to have been absorbed in -the pride of philosophical scepticism; for Hume now applied himself with -unwearied, and unhappily with successful efforts, to sap the foundation -of his mother's faith. Having succeeded in this dreadful work, he went -abroad into foreign countries; and as he was returning, an express met -him in London, with a letter from his mother, informing him that she was -in a deep decline, and could not long survive: she said, she found -herself without any support in her distress; that he had taken away that -source of comfort, upon which, in all cases of affliction, she used to -rely, and that now she found her mind sinking into despair. She did not -doubt but her son would afford her some substitute for her religion; and -she conjured him to hasten to her, or at least to send her a letter, -containing such consolations as philosophy can afford to a dying mortal. -Hume was overwhelmed with anguish on receiving this letter, and hastened -to Scotland, travelling day and night; but before he arrived his mother -expired. No permanent impression seems, however, to have been made on -his mind by this most trying event; and whatever remorse he might have -felt at the moment, he soon relapsed into his wonted obduracy of heart." - -This story, probably told after dinner, and invented on the spot,--the -American narrator's unfortunate name perhaps rendering him peculiarly -liable to the machinations of the mischievous,--is totally at variance -with Hume's character. He was no propagandist; and, indeed, seems ever -to have felt, that a firm faith in Christianity, unshaken by any doubts, -was an invaluable privilege, of which it would be as much more cruel to -deprive a fellow-creature than to rob him of his purse, as the one -possession is more valuable than the other. Hence we shall find, that -his conversation was acceptable to women and to clergymen, who never -feared in his presence to encounter any sentiment that might shock their -feelings; and what is more to the point, parents were never afraid of -trusting their children to his care and social attentions, and indeed -thought it a high privilege to obtain them. - -The appearance of the above passage in a notice of "Silliman's Travels" -in _The Quarterly Review_, called forth a remonstrance from Baron Hume, -which elicited the following statement from the editor:--[293:1] - -"That anecdote he has shown to be false by unquestionable dates, and by -a circumstance related in the manuscript memoirs of the late Dr. -Carlyle, an eminent clergyman of the Scottish Church, and friend of the -historian. The circumstance, interesting in itself, and decisive on the -subject, we transcribe, in the words of the manuscript, from the letter -before us:-- - -"David and he (the Hon. Mr. Boyle, brother of the Earl of Glasgow) were -both in London at the period when David's mother died. Mr. Boyle, -hearing of it, soon after went into his apartment, for they lodged in -the same house, where he found him in the deepest affliction, and in a -flood of tears. After the usual topics of condolence, Mr. Boyle said to -him, 'My friend, you owe this uncommon grief to having thrown off the -principles of religion; for if you had not, you would have been consoled -with the firm belief that the good lady, who was not only the best of -mothers but the most pious of Christians, was completely happy in the -realms of the just.' To which David replied, 'Though I throw out my -speculations to entertain the learned and metaphysical world, yet, in -other things, I do not think so differently from the rest of the world -as you imagine.'"[294:1] - -One of Hume's most intimate friends was Dr. Clephane, a physician in -considerable practice in London. They appear to have become acquainted -with each other during the expedition to Port L'Orient, in which -Clephane was probably a medical officer, as Hume, in his letters about -his own half-pay, speaks of him as in the same position with himself. -The correspondence is characterized by the thorough ease and polite -familiarity of the camp, and none of Hume's letters are fuller of his -playful spirit than those addressed to his brother officer. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"+Ietros gar aner pollon antaxios allon.+[296:1] - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I have here received a great many thanks from an honest -man, who tells me that he and all his family have been extremely obliged -to me. This is my brother's gardener, who showed me a letter from his -son, wherein he acknowledges that he owes his life to your care; that -you placed him in an hospital, and attended him with as much assiduity -as if he had been the best nobleman in the land; that all he shall ever -be worth will never be able to repay you: and that therefore he must -content himself with being grateful: at the same time desiring his -father to give me thanks, by whose means he was recommended to you. - -"These thanks I received with great gravity, and replied, that one must -always endeavour to do good when it is in one's power. In short, I took -upon me your part, and gave myself as many airs as if I had really shown -the same beneficent dispositions. I considered that you have good deeds -to spare, and are possessed of greater store of merits and works of -supererogation, than any church, Pagan, Mahometan, or Catholic, ever was -entitled to, and that, therefore, to rob you a little was no great -crime:-- - - ----cui plura supersunt, - Et fallunt dominum, et prosunt furibus.[297:1] - -"I hope, dear Doctor, you find virtue its own reward--that, methinks, is -but just--considering it is the only reward it is ever likely to meet -with--in this world I mean; at least you may take your own reward -yourself for me. I shall never trouble my head about the matter, and you -need not expect that I shall even like or esteem you the better for this -instance of your charity and humanity. You fancy, I suppose, that I -already liked and esteemed you so much, that this makes no sensible -addition. You may fancy what you please: I shall not so much as speak -another word upon this subject, but proceed to a better. You shall see. - -"You would perhaps ask, how I employ my time in this leisure and -solitude, and what are my occupations? Pray, do you expect I should -convey to you an encyclopedia, in the compass of a letter? The last -thing I took my hand from was a very learned, elaborate discourse, -concerning the populousness of antiquity; not altogether in opposition -to _Vossius_ and _Montesquieu_, who exaggerate that affair infinitely; -but, starting some doubts, and scruples, and difficulties, sufficient -to make us suspend our judgment on that head. Amongst other topics, it -fell in my way to consider the greatness of ancient _Rome_; and in -looking over the discourse, I find the following period. 'If we may -judge by the younger Pliny's account of his house, and by the plans of -ancient buildings in Dr. Mead's collection, the men of quality had very -spacious palaces, and their buildings were like the Chinese houses, -where each apartment is separate from the rest, and rises no higher than -a single story.'[298:1] Pray, on what authority are those plans founded? -If I remember right, I was told they were discovered on the walls of the -baths, and other subterraneous buildings. Is this the proper method of -citing them? If you have occasion to communicate this to Dr. Mead, I beg -that my sincere respects may be joined. - -"I think the parsons have lately used the physicians very ill, for, in -all the common terrors of mankind, you used commonly both to come in for -a share of the profit: but in this new fear of earthquakes, they have -left you out entirely, and have pretended alone to give prescriptions to -the multitude.[298:2] I remember, indeed, Mr. Addison talks of a quack -that advertised pills for an earthquake, at a time when people lay under -such terrors as they do at present. But I know not if any of the faculty -have imitated him at this time. I see only a Pastoral Letter of the -Bishop of London, where, indeed, he recommends certain pills, such as -fasting, prayer, repentance, mortification, and other drugs, which are -entirely to come from his own shop. And I think this is very unfair in -him, and you have great reason to be offended; for why might he not have -added, that medicinal powders and potions would also have done service? -The worst is, that you dare not revenge yourself in kind, by advising -your patients to have nothing to do with the parson; for you are sure he -has a faster hold of them than you, and you may yourself be discharged -on such an advice.[299:1] - -"You'll scarcely believe what I am going to tell you; but it is -literally true. Millar had printed off, some months ago, a new edition -of certain philosophical essays, but he tells me very gravely that he -has delayed publishing because of the earthquakes.[300:1] I wish you may -not also be a loser by the same common calamity; for I am told the -ladies were so frightened, they took the rattling of every coach for an -earthquake; and therefore would employ no physicians but from amongst -the infantry: insomuch that some of you charioteers had not gained -enough to pay the expenses of your vehicle. But this may only be waggery -and banter, which I abhor. Please remember to give my respects to the -General, and Sir Harry, and Captain Grant, who I hope are all in good -health: indeed, as to the Captain, I do not know what to hope, or wish; -for if he recover his health, he loses his shape, and must always remain -in that perplexing dilemma.--Remember me also to Suncey -Glassaugh,[300:2] and remember me yourself. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, April 18, 1750._ - -"P.S.--Pray, did Guidelianus[300:3] get his money, allowed him by the -Pay-office? I suppose he is in Ireland, poor devil! so I give you no -commission with regard to him. - -"Pray, tell Glassaugh that I hope he has not suppressed the paper I -sent him about the new year.[301:1] If he has, pray ask for a sight of -it, for it is very witty. I contrived it one night that I could not -sleep for the tortures of rheumatism; and you have heard of a great -lady, who always put on blisters, when she wanted to be witty. 'Tis a -receipt I recommend to you."[301:2] - - -The following letter to Oswald shows us that Hume was, at the time it -was written, earnestly engaged in the preparation of the "Essays on -Political Economy," which he published in 1752. - - -HUME _to_ JAMES OSWALD _of Dunnikier_. - -"DEAR SIR,--I confess I was a little displeased with you for neglecting -me so long; but you have made ample compensation. This commerce, I find, -is of advantage to both of us; to me, by the new lights you communicate, -and to you, by giving you occasion to examine these subjects more -accurately. I shall here deliver my opinion of your reasonings with the -freedom which you desire. - -"I never meant to say that money, in all countries which communicate, -must necessarily be on a level, but on a level proportioned to their -people, industry, and commodities. That is, where there is double -people, &c. there will be double money, and so on; and that the only way -of keeping or increasing money is, by keeping and increasing the people -and industry; not by prohibitions of exporting money, or by taxes on -commodities, the methods commonly thought of. I believe we differ -little on this head. You allow, that if all the money in England were -increased fourfold in one night, there would be a sudden rise of prices; -but then, say you, the importation of foreign commodities would soon -lower the prices. Here, then, is the flowing out of the money already -begun. But, say you, a small part of this stock of money would suffice -to buy foreign commodities, and lower the prices. I grant it would for -one year, till the imported commodities be consumed. But must not the -same thing be renewed next year? No, say you; the additional stock of -money may, in this interval, so increase the people and industry, as to -enable them to retain their money. Here I am extremely pleased with your -reasoning. I agree with you, that the increase of money, if not too -sudden, naturally increases people and industry, and by that means may -retain itself; but if it do not produce such an increase, nothing will -retain it except hoarding. Suppose twenty millions brought into -Scotland; suppose that, by some fatality, we take no advantage of this -to augment our industry or people, how much would remain in the quarter -of a century? not a shilling more than we have at present. My expression -in the Essay needs correction, which has occasioned you to mistake it. - -"Your enumeration of the advantages of rich countries above poor, in -point of trade, is very just and curious; but I cannot agree with you -that, barring ill policy or accidents, the former might proceed gaining -upon the latter for ever. The growth of every thing, both in art and -nature, at last checks itself. The rich country would acquire and retain -all the manufactures that require great stock or great skill; but the -poor country would gain from it all the simpler and more laborious. The -manufactures of London, you know, are steel, lace, silk, books, coaches, -watches, furniture, fashions; but the outlying provinces have the linen -and woollen trade. - -"The distance of China is a physical impediment to the communication, by -reducing our commerce to a few commodities; and by heightening the price -of these commodities, on account of the long voyage, the monopolies, and -the taxes. A Chinese works for three-halfpence a-day, and is very -industrious; were he as near us as France or Spain, every thing we used -would be Chinese, till money and prices came to a level; that is, to -such a level as is proportioned to the numbers of people, industry, and -commodities of both countries. - -"A part of our public funds serve in place of money; for our merchants, -but still more our bankers, keep less cash by them when they have stock, -because they can dispose of that upon any sudden demand. This is not the -case with the French funds. The _rentes_ of the Hotel de Ville are not -transferable, but are most of them entailed in the families. At least, I -know there is a great difference in this respect betwixt them and the -_actions_ of the Indian Company. - -"That the industry and people of Spain, after the discovery of the West -Indies, at first increased more than is commonly imagined, is a very -curious fact; and I doubt not but you say so upon good authority, though -I have not met with that observation in any author. - -"Beside the bad effects of the paper credit in our colonies, as it was a -cheat, it must also be allowed that it banished gold and silver, by -supplying their place. On the whole, my intention in the Essay was to -remove people's terrors, who are apt, from chimerical calculations, to -imagine they are losing their specie, though they can show in no -instance that either their people or industry diminish; and also to -expose the absurdity of guarding money otherwise than by watching over -the people and their industry, and preserving or increasing them. To -prohibit the exportation of money, or the importation of commodities, is -mistaken policy; and I have the pleasure of seeing you agree with me. - -"I have no more to say, but compliments; and therefore shall conclude. I -am," &c.[304:1] - -"_Ninewells, 1st November, 1750._" - - -In 1750 there was published in Edinburgh, an edition of Montesquieu's -"Esprit des Loix; avec les dernieres corrections et illustrations de -l'Auteur."[304:2] That Hume was instrumental to this publication, is -shown by the letters addressed to him by Montesquieu between the years -1749 and 1753, printed in the appendix. It appears, that, as he there -intimates, the author sent over a copy of his corrections and -illustrations; but the work must have been partly printed before their -arrival, for, in the advertisement to the reader, it is stated that a -few of the earliest sheets, where the more important amendments -occurred, had to be reprinted, while some minor alterations are -supplied by a list of corrections. - -Montesquieu's appreciation of some of Hume's ethical works will be read -with interest. Hume appears to have made the first advances towards an -intimacy; and the great Frenchman, then in his sixtieth year, seems to -have hailed with satisfaction the appearance of a kindred spirit, and to -have received his proffers with warm cordiality. This is the -commencement of that intercourse with his eminent contemporaries in -France, which we shall hereafter find to occupy a prominent feature in -Hume's literary and social history. - -At this period we find Hume taking much interest in the conduct of a -certain James Fraser, in connexion with the Westminster election of -1749--one of the marked epochs in the parliamentary history of that -renowned constituency. The candidates were Lord Trentham the eldest son -of Earl Gower, and Sir George Vandeput, of whom the former was returned -by the high bailiff. Sir George Vandeput was the "independent" -candidate, representing the "English interest." Lord Trentham was a -placeman, and was accused of a partiality for French interests. Though -the Jacobites were ranged on the Vandeput side, Lord Trentham was by -implication accused of having favoured the exiled family; as by one of -the election placards issued on the occasion, the voters are desired to -"ask Lord Trentham, who had his foot in the stirrup in the year 1715?" -He was charged with having sacrificed his country or Jacobite principles -for a place, and with being that most abhorred of all political -characters, an ex-patriot, who has ratted to obtain office. Shortly -before the election, a riotous attack had been made on a small French -theatre, which had become peculiarly unpopular by obtaining a licence, -when some English establishments had been suppressed under Walpole's -act. It appears that Lord Trentham had, with some others, endeavoured to -preserve the friendless foreigners from the fury of the mob. So -un-English an act, as this harbouring and protecting of foreign -vagabonds, against the just indignation of true born Britons, was very -successfully displayed as an overt act in favour of Popery, Jacobitism, -and French ascendency; and the skilful manner in which it was improved, -in the hand-bills, and pasquinades of the Vandeput party, shows that -this department of the electioneering art was not then far from its -present state of maturity.[306:1] - -A pretty minute investigation has not enabled me to discover what -precise conduct in connexion with this affair was important enough to -elicit from Hume the elaborate joke against Fraser embodied in the -following papers. He was evidently a medical man, but he does not appear -in the list of those who attested Mr. Murray's health, or were appointed -to visit him. He certainly acted on the Vandeput side, yet his name is -nowhere mentioned, in connexion with it, in a pretty large collection of -documents relating to this election, which I have had an opportunity of -consulting.[307:1] - -Fraser was evidently, like Clephane, one of the medical officers in -General St. Clair's expedition, for, in a previous letter to Colonel -Abercromby, Hume mentions him as an officer in the royal -regiment.[307:2] He appears to have been a thorough Jacobite, for, in -another letter, Hume speaks of him as one of the extreme persons whom -his history will displease by its too great partiality to the Whigs. A -very pleasing and natural description of his character is given by Hume, -in a letter to Clephane, a little farther on.[308:1] - -The following document was sent to Colonel Abercromby, along with the -explanatory letters which immediately follow it. - - - To the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Justice Reason, and the - Honourable the Judges Discretion, Prudence, Reserve, and - Deliberation, the Petition of the Patients of Westminster, - against James Fraser, Apothecary. - -Most humbly showeth, - -That your petitioners had put themselves and families under the -direction and care of the said James Fraser, and had so continued for -several years, to their great mutual benefit and emolument. - -That many of your petitioners had, under his management, recovered from -the most desperate and deplorable maladies, such as megrims, toothaches, -cramps, stitches, vapours, crosses in love, &c. which wonderful success, -after the blessing of God, they can ascribe to nothing but his -consummate skill and capacity, since many of their neighbours, labouring -under the same distresses, died every day, by the mistakes of less -learned apothecaries. - -That there are many disconsolate widows among your petitioners, who -believed themselves, and were believed by all their neighbours, to be -dying of grief; but as soon as the said James Fraser applied lenitives, -and proper topical medicines, they were observed to recover wonderfully. - -That in all hypochondriacal cases he was sovereign, in so much that his -very presence dispelled the malady, cheering the sight, exciting a -gentle agitation of the muscles of the lungs and thorax, and thereby -promoting expectoration, exhilaration, circulation, and digestion. - -That your petitioners verily believe, that not many more have died from -amongst them, under the administration of the said James Fraser, than -actually die by the course of nature in places where physic is not at -all known or practised; which will scarcely be credited in this -sceptical and unbelieving age. - -That all this harmony and good agreement betwixt your petitioners and -the said James Fraser had lately been disturbed, to the great detriment -of your petitioners and their once numerous families. - -That the said James Fraser, associating himself with ---- Carey, -surgeon, and William Guthrey, Esq. and other evil intentioned persons, -not having the fear of God before their eyes, had given himself entirely -up to the care of Dame PUBLIC, and had utterly neglected your -petitioners. - -That the lady above mentioned was of a most admirable CONSTITUTION, -envied by all who had ever seen her or heard of her; and was only -afflicted sometimes with vapours, and sometimes with a looseness or -flux, which not being of the bloody kind, those about her were rather -pleased with it. - -That notwithstanding this, the said James Fraser uses all diligence and -art to persuade the said lady that she is in the most desperate case -imaginable, and that nothing will recover her but a medicine he has -prepared, being a composition of _pulvis pyrius_,[310:1] along with a -decoction of northern steel, and an infusion of southern _aqua sacra_ or -holy water. - -That the medicine, or rather poison, was at first wrapt up under a wafer -marked Patriotism, but had since been attempted to be administrated -without any cover or disguise. - -That a dose of it had secretly been poured down the throat of the said -Dame Public, while she was asleep, and had been attended with the most -dismal symptoms, visibly heightening her vapours, and increasing her -flux, and even producing some symptoms of the bloody kind; and had she -not thrown it up with great violence, it had certainly proved fatal to -her. - -That the said James Fraser and his associates, now finding that the -_Catholicon_ does not agree with the constitution of the said Dame, -prescribed to her large doses of _Phillipiacum_, _Cottontium_,[310:2] -and _Vandeputiana_,[310:3] in order to alter her constitution, and -prepare her body for the reception of the said Catholicon. - -That he had even been pleased to see Lovitium[310:4] applied to her, -though known to be a virulent caustic, and really no better than a -_lapis infernalis_. - -That while the medicines Goveriacum and Trentuntium[311:1] were very -violent, resembling sublimate of _high flown_ mercury, he also much -approved of them, but since they were mollified by late operations, and -made as innocent as mercurius dulcis, they were become his utter -aversion. - -That the said James Fraser, through his whole practice on the said Dame -Public, entirely rejected all lenitives, soporifics, palliatives, &c. -though approved of by the regular and graduate physicians, as Dr. -Pelham, Dr. Fox, Dr. Pitt; and that he prescribed nothing but chemical -salts and stimulating medicines, in which regimen none but quacks and -empirics who had never taken their degrees will agree with him. - -That your petitioners remember the story of an Irish servant to a -physician, which seems fitted to the present purpose. The doctor bid -Teague carry a potion to a patient, and tell him it was the most -innocent in the world, and if it did him no good, could do him no harm. -The footman obeys, but unluckily transposing a word, said, that if it -did him no harm it could do him no good. And your petitioners are much -afraid that the catholicon above mentioned is much of the same nature. - - May it therefore please your worships to discharge the said - James Fraser from any farther attendance on the said Dame - Public, and to order him to return to the care and inspection - of your petitioners and their families. - - -The following is entitled, "True letter to Colonel Abercromby, to be -first read." - - -"DEAR COLONEL,--Endeavour to make Fraser believe I am in earnest. If -the thing takes, you may easily find somebody to personate Mr. Cockburn; -and you may swear to the truth of the whole. To make it more probable, -you may say that you suspect too much study has made me crazy; otherwise -I had never thought of so foolish a thing. - -"If there be any probability of succeeding, an advertisement, like that -which is on the following page, may be put into any of the public -papers--that is, if you think _que le jeu vaut la chandelle_. - -"My compliments to Mrs. Abercromby. I hope some day to regain her good -opinion. It shall be the great object of my ambition. - -"Tell the Doctor I shall answer him sooner than he did me. He will -assist you very well in any cheat or roguery: but do not attempt it, -unless you think you can all be masters of your countenance. This is a -note, not a letter. Yours sincerely. - -"P.S. Read Fraser the letter, but do not put it into his hands; he will -tear it. Show him first my other letter to you." - - * * * * * - -"ADVERTISEMENT.--Speedily will be published, price 1s. A letter to a -certain turbulent Patriot in Westminster, from a friend in the country. - - ----_Et_ spargere voces - In vulgum ambiguas, et quaerere conscius arma.--_Virgil._" - - -The following is the letter which, in pursuance of the arrangements for -completing this complicated joke, Colonel Abercromby was to read to -Fraser. Its tone of mock heroic will at once be detected, and indeed, -when the spilling of the last drop of blood, "or of ink," is with so -much simplicity made an alternative, it may be presumed that James -Fraser was a very obtuse being, if he believed these protestations to -be serious. - - -"DEAR SIR,--This will be delivered you by Mr. William Cockburn, a friend -of mine, who travels to London for the first time. I have taken the -opportunity to send up by him a manuscript, which I intend to have -printed. I have ordered him first to read it to you; but not to trust it -out of his hands. You can scarce be surprised that I treat Mr. Fraser so -roughly in it. No man, who loves his country, can be a friend to that -gentleman, considering his late as well as former behaviour. For if I be -rightly informed, his conduct shows no more the spirit of submission and -tranquillity than that of prudence and discretion; and if he goes on at -this rate, you yourself will be obliged to renounce all connexion and -friendship with him. - -"I have been ill of late; and am very low at present from the loss of -blood which they have drawn from me. My friends would hinder me from -reading; but my books and my pen are my only comfort and occupation; and -while I am master of a drop of blood or of ink, I will joyfully spill it -in the cause of my country. I am, Dear Sir, - -"Your most obedient humble servant." - -"_Ninewells, Feb. 16th, 1751._" - - -In the following letter to Dr. Clephane, we find that the practical joke -on James Fraser, which seems to have given a good deal of employment to -the wits of a great philosopher, a learned physician, and a gallant -colonel, is still a matter which Hume has very much at heart; while at -the same time he seems to have been amusing himself with some other -jocular effusions. The letter presents us with his first commemoration -of the poetical genius of his friend, John Home, though it gives no -forecast of the zeal with which he subsequently advocated his -countryman's claims to originality and high genius. The dramatic critic -will probably feel an interest in the light thrown on Hume's -appreciation of Shakspere by the manner in which his name is connected -with that of Racine. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, 18th February, 1751._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I will not pay you so bad a compliment as to say I was -not angry with you for neglecting me so long; that would be to suppose I -was indifferent whether I had any share in your memory or friendship. -However, since there is nothing in it but the old vice of indolence, - - Non ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco. - -Ed io anche sono Pittore, as Correggio said; I am therefore resolved to -forgive you, and to keep myself in a proper disposition for saying the -Lord's prayer, whenever I shall find space enough for it. - -"I must own I could not but think you excusable, even before you -disarmed me by your submission and penitence; 'tis so common an artifice -for provincials to hook on a correspondence with a Londoner, under -pretext of friendship and regard, that a jealousy on that head is very -pardonable in the latter. But I ought not to lie under that general -suspicion; for the fashionable songs I cannot sing; the present or the -expectant ministers I have no interest in; the old good books I have not -yet all read or pondered sufficiently; and the current stories and _bon -mots_, I would not repeat if I knew them. You see, therefore, that if I -were not concerned about Dr. Clephane, I never should desire to hear -from him, and consequently that a line of his would be equally -acceptable whether it comes from London or Crookhaven. - -"I have executed your desire and the Colonel's as well as I could, but -have not, I believe, succeeded so well as last year: the subject, -indeed, was exhausted, and the patient may justly, I fear, be esteemed -incurable. I leave you to manage the matter as you best can: but I beg -of you to conduct it, so as not to make a quarrel betwixt Fraser and me; -he is an honest, good-humoured, friendly, pleasant fellow, (though, it -must be confessed, a little turbulent and impetuous,) and I should be -sorry to disoblige him. The Colonel would be heartily bit, if by this or -any other means Fraser should be cured of his politics and patriotism; -all his friends would lose a great deal of diversion, and certainly -would not like him near so well, if he were more cool and reasonable, -and moderate, and prudent. But these are vices he is in no manner of -danger of. Is it likely that reason will prevail against nature, habit, -company, education, and prejudice? I leave you to judge. - -"But since I am in the humour of displaying my wit, I must tell you that -lately, at an idle hour, I wrote a sheet called the Bellman's Petition: -wherein (if I be not partial, which I certainly am,) there was some good -pleasantry and satire. The Printers in Edinburgh refused to print it, (a -good sign, you'll say, of _my_ prudence and discretion.) Mr. Mure, the -member, has a copy of it; ask it of him if you meet with him, or bid the -Colonel, who sees him every day at the house, ask it, and if you like it -read it to the General, and then return it. I will not boast, for I have -no manner of vanity; but when I think of the present dulness of London, -I cannot forbear exclaiming, - - Rome n'est pas dans Rome, - C'est par tout ou je suis. - -A namesake of mine has wrote a Tragedy, which he expects to come on this -winter.[316:1] I have not seen it, but some people commend it much. 'Tis -very likely to meet with success, and not to deserve it, for the author -tells me, he is a great admirer of Shakspere, and never read Racine. - -"When I take a second perusal of your letter, I find you resemble the -Papists, who deal much in penitence, but neglect extremely _les bonnes -oeuvres_. I asked you a question with regard to the plans of ancient -buildings in Dr. Mead's collection.[316:2] Pray, are they authentic -enough to be cited in a discourse of erudition and reasoning? have they -never been published in any collection? and what are the proper terms in -which I ought to cite them? I know you are a great proficient in the -_virtu_, and consequently can resolve my doubts. This word I suppose you -pretend to speak with an (e), which I own is an improvement: but -admitting your orthography, you must naturally have a desire of doing a -good-natured action, and instructing the ignorant. - -"It appears to me that apothecaries bear the same relation to -physicians, that priests do to philosophers; the ignorance of the former -makes them positive, and dogmatical, and assuming, and enterprising, and -pretending, and consequently much more taking with the people. Follow my -example--let us not trouble ourselves about the matter; let the one -stuff the beasts' guts with antimony, and the other their heads with -divinity, what is that to us? according to the Greek proverb, they are -no more, but as +es ten amida enourountes+. - -"You may tell me, indeed, that I mistake the matter quite; that it is -not your kindness for the people, which makes you concerned, but -something else. In short, that if self-interest were not in the case, -they might take clysters, and physic, and ipecacuanha, till they were -tired of them. Now, dear Doctor, this mercenary way of thinking I never -could have suspected you of, and am heartily ashamed to find you of such -a temper. - -"If you answer this any time within the twelve months 'tis sufficient, -and I promise not to answer you next at less than six months' interval; -and so, as the Germans say, je me recomante a fos ponnes craces. Yours, -&c." - - -The "Bellman's Petition," more than once alluded to in Hume's letters, -is a little jeu d'esprit, to which he seems to have attributed far more -than its due importance. The clergy and schoolmasters of Scotland were -then appealing to the legislature for an increase of their incomes; and -in this production, Hume, in a sort of parody on the representation of -these reverend and learned bodies, shows that bell-ringers have the -same, or even greater claims on the liberality of the public. It is -perhaps a little too like the original, of which it professes to be a -parody; and though it has some wit, is deficient in the bitter ridicule, -which Swift would have thrown into such an effort. The following are -some passages:-- - -"That as your petitioners serve in the quality of grave-diggers, the -great use and necessity of their order, in every well regulated -commonwealth, has never yet been called in question by any reasoner; an -advantage they possess above their brethren the reverend clergy. - -"That their usefulness is as extensive as it is great, for even those -who neglect religion or despise learning, must yet, some time or other, -stand in need of the good offices of this grave and venerable order. - -"That it seems impossible the landed gentry can oppose the interest of -your petitioners; since, by securing so perfectly as they have hitherto -done, the persons of the fathers and elder brothers of the foresaid -gentry, your petitioners, next after the physicians, are the persons in -the world, to whom the present proprietors of land are the most -beholden. - -"That, as your petitioners are but half ecclesiastics, it may be -expected they will not be altogether unreasonable nor exorbitant in -their demands. - -"That the present poverty of your petitioners in this kingdom is a -scandal to all religion; it being easy to prove, that a modern bellman -is not more richly endowed than a primitive apostle, and consequently -possesseth not the twentieth part of the revenues belonging to a -presbyterian clergyman. - -"That whatever freedom the profane scoffers, and free thinkers of the -age, may use with our reverend brethren the clergy, the boldest of them -tremble when they think of us; and that a simple reflection on us has -reformed more lives than all the sermons in the world. - -"That the instrumental music allotted to your petitioners, being the -only music of that kind left in our truly reformed churches, is a -necessary prelude to the vocal music of the schoolmaster and minister, -and is by many esteemed equally significant and melodious. - -"That your petitioners trust the honourable house will not despise them -on account of the present meanness of their condition; for, having heard -a learned man say that the cardinals, who are now princes, were once -nothing but the parish curates of Rome, your petitioners, observing the -same laudable measures to be now prosecuted, despair not of being, one -day, on a level with the nobility and gentry of these realms." - -The petition of which this is a specimen, is accompanied by a letter, -signed "Zerubabel Macgilchrist, Bellman of Buckhaven;" who kindly says -to the members of parliament he addresses, that the brother to whom is -allotted "the comfortable task of doing you the last service in our -power, shall do it so carefully, that you never shall find reason to -complain of him."[319:1] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[272:1] "By the author of The Essays Moral and Political," 8vo. Printed -for Andrew Millar. Hume's complaints about the obscurity of all his -books anterior to the "Political Discourses" and the History, seem to be -confirmed by the absence of this Edition in places where such books are -expected to be found. It is not in The Advocates' or The Signet -libraries in Edinburgh, nor is it to be found in the catalogues of the -British Museum or Bodleyan. Did I not possess the book, I might have -found it difficult to obtain an authenticated copy of the title-page. It -is not mentioned in Watt's Bibliotheca; but it will be found correctly -set forth in a German bibliographical work, infinitely superior to any -we possess in this country, but unfortunately not completed. Adelung's -Supplement to Joechers Allgemeines Gelehrten Lexicon. It appears in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_, list of books for April. - -[273:1] "A Free Inquiry into the miraculous powers, which are supposed -to have subsisted in the Christian Church, from the earliest ages -through several successive centuries," by Conyers Middleton, D.D. -London, 1748-1749, 4to. - -It was encountered by a perfect hurricane of controversial tracts, which -fill all the book lists of the time. - -[278:1] Inquiry concerning Human Understanding, sect. viii. - -[283:1] This matter seems on another occasion to have passed under his -own view. In the "Dialogues concerning Natural Religion" he makes Philo -say, "Strong and almost incontestable proofs may be traced over the -whole earth, that every part of this globe has continued for many ages -entirely covered with water. And though order were supposed inseparable -from matter, and inherent in it, yet may matter be susceptible of many -and great revolutions through the endless periods of eternal duration." -That even Hume's argument makes allowance for miracles having some time -or other existed, and that it can only be urged against this or that -individual statement of an unnatural occurrence, is the weapon which -Campbell wields with chief effect in his admirable dissertation. - -[284:1] "Let us try how his manner of argument on this point can be -applied to a particular instance. For this purpose I make the following -supposition. I have lived for some years near a ferry. It consists with -my knowledge that the passage boat has a thousand times crossed the -river, and as many times returned safe. An unknown man, whom I have just -now met, tells me in a serious manner that it is lost; and affirms, that -he himself, standing on the bank, was a spectator of the scene; that he -saw the passengers carried down the stream and the boat overwhelmed. No -person, who is influenced in his judgment of things, not by -philosophical subtleties, but by common sense, a much surer guide, will -hesitate to declare, that in such a testimony I have probable evidence -of the fact asserted."--Dissertation on Miracles, 46-47. - -[285:1] Perhaps the earliest in date of these is, "An Essay on Mr. -Hume's Essay on Miracles," by William Adams, M.A. chaplain to the Bishop -of Llandaff, 1751. - -[285:2] Warburton says to Hurd, on 28th September, 1749,--"I am strongly -tempted to have a stroke at Hume in passing. He is the author of a -little book called 'Philosophical Essays;' in one part of which he -argues against the being of a God, and in another (very needlessly you -will say,) against the possibility of miracles. He has crowned the -liberty of the press: and yet he has a considerable post under the -government. I have a great mind to do justice on his arguments against -miracles, which I think might be done in a few words. But does he -deserve notice? Is he known among you? Pray answer these questions. For -if his own weight keeps him down, I should be sorry to contribute to his -advancement to any place but the pillory." Letters from a late Rev. -prelate to one of his friends, 1808, p. 11. - -[286:1] Sect. iii. - -[287:1] Preliminary Dissertation, Note T. - -[287:2] "Quandoque remeniscitur aliquis incipiens ab aliqua re, cujus -memoratur, a qua procedit ad alium triplici ratione. Quandoque quidem -ratione similitudinis, sicut quando aliquis memoratur de Socrate, et per -hoc, occurrit ei Plato, qui est similis ei in sapientia; quandoque vero -ratione contrarietatis, sicut si aliquis memoretur Hectoris, et per hoc -occurrit ei Achilles. Quandoque vero ratione propinquitatis cujuscunque, -sicut cum aliquis memor est patris, et per hoc occurrit ei filius. Et -eadem ratio est de quacunque alia propinquitate, vel societatis, vel -loci, vel temporis, et propter hoc fit reminiscentia quia motus horum se -invicem consequuntur."--_Aquinatis Comment. in Aristot. de Memoria et -Remeniscentia_; _edit. Paris_, 1660, p. 64. The scope of Aquinas' -remarks have more reference to mnemonics or artificial memory than to -association. They explain how a man, remembering what he did yesterday, -may pass to the remembrance of what he did the day before, &c. - -[288:1] See Dr. Brown's commentary on the history of theories of -association, in his thirty-fourth Lecture. Sir William Hamilton, the -highest living authority on these subjects, while he thinks that -Aristotle has not got justice for the extent to which he has anticipated -Hume and others in relation to this matter, does not think there is the -slightest ground for the charge of plagiarism, and observes to me that -Coleridge's own remarks on association are merely an adaptation from the -German of Maas. - -[289:1] 8vo, printed for A. Millar. It is in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ -list for November. - -[289:2] See p. 136. - -[290:1] _Babylonii maxime in vinum, et quae ebrietatem sequuntur, effusi -sunt._ Quint. Cur. lib. v. cap. 1. - -[290:2] Plut. Symp. lib. i. quaest. 4. - -[291:1] From the circumstances to be immediately stated regarding this -event, it seems to have taken place while Hume was on his way back from -Turin. In a search in _The Scots Magazine_, and other quarters where one -might expect to find mention of the decease of a person in the rank of -the lady of Ninewells, I have not been able to ascertain the precise -date. - -[293:1] Quarterly Review, xvi. 279. - -[294:1] There is a traditional anecdote, to the effect that Mrs. Hume, -expressing her opinion of her son David and his accomplishments, said, -"Our Davie's a fine good-natured crater, but uncommon wake-minded." I -have heard this adduced as a proof of the philosopher's gentle, passive -nature, and the effect it had in stamping an impression of his character -on one not capable of appreciating his genius. But the anecdote is not -characteristic of either party, and arises out of the common mistake -that Hume was all his life tame, phlegmatic, and unimpassioned. However -much he had tutored himself to stoicism, and had succeeded in conquering -the outward demonstrations of strong feelings, it will be seen in -various documents quoted in these volumes, and in the incidents -narrated, that he was a man of strong impulses, full of blood and nerve, -and that, as in a high-mettled horse, his energies were regulated, not -extinguished. No one who had the training of his youth could have -escaped observing in him the workings of strong aspirations, and of a -hardy resolute temper. - -But Mrs. Hume was evidently an accomplished woman, worthy of the -sympathy and respect of her distinguished son, and could not have failed -to see and to appreciate from its earliest dawnings the originality and -power of his intellect. Her portrait, which I have seen, represents a -thin but pleasing countenance, expressive of great intellectual -acuteness. Some verses, which a lady, who is her direct descendant, -authenticates as being in her handwriting, are in the curious collection -of autographs and illustrated portraits, in the possession of Mr. W. F. -Watson, Prince's Street, Edinburgh. It has been supposed that they are -the composition of David Hume himself; but the use of the Scottish -language almost amounts to evidence against that supposition: he would -as readily have walked the streets of Edinburgh in a kilt. The lines are -called "Song.--Air, Mary's Dream," and begin-- - - What now avails the flowery dream, - That animates my youthful mind, - My Mary's vows are all a whim, - Her plighted troth as light as wind. - - O Mary, dearer than the day - That cheers the nighted wanderer's ee, - Through ance-loved scenes I lonely stray, - But lovely Mary's far frae me. - - What now avails the beachen grove, - Or willow in its cloak o' gray, - Those scenes 'twas sacred ance to love, - Now fills my heart in grief and wae. - - O Mary, &c. - -Perhaps this may be as good an opportunity as any other for the -insertion of some lines, carefully preserved in the MSS. R.S.E., which -are at least so far to the present purpose, that they give a pleasing -idea of the social circle at Ninewells. They are addressed to a lady who -had lived to see her grandchildren; which does not appear to have been -the case with the mother of the historian, as her eldest son was not -married till 1751. A dowager of an elder generation may have lived for -some time at Ninewells during David Hume's youth, though he does not -mention her: or there may have been some collateral member of the -family, to whom the lines may have been addressed; for, in a series of -extracts which I have obtained from the Kirk Session Records of -Chirnside, I find that a David Home _in_ Ninewells, who cannot have been -a lineal ancestor of the philosopher, had a numerous family baptized -between 1691 and 1701. The lines are entitled "Miss A. B. to Mrs. H. by -her Black Boy;" and however the genealogical questions, we have just -been considering, may stand, their intrinsic merit, as embodying a -beautiful and humane sentiment, entitle them to notice.--Query, is it to -this alone, or to some extrinsic interest attached to Miss A. B. that we -are to attribute the careful preservation of the lines by Hume? - - Condemn'd in infancy a slave to roam, - Far far from India's shore, my native home, - To serve a Caledonian maid I come-- - In me no father does his darling mourn-- - No mother weeps me from her bosom torn-- - Both grew to dust, they say to earth below; - But who those were, alas, I ne'er shall know. - Lady, to thee her love my mistress sends, - And bids thy grandsons be Ferdnando's friends. - Bids thee suppose, on Afric's distant coast, - One of those lily-coloured favourites lost; - Doom'd in the train of some proud dame to wait, - A slave, as she should will, for use or state. - If to the boy you'd wish her to be kind, - Such grace from you let Ferdinando find. - -[296:1] Hom. Il. +l.+ 515. A medical man is equal in value to many other -men. Or, as Pope has it, - - A wise physician, skill'd our wounds to heal, - Is more than armies to the public weal. - -[297:1] - - ----ubi non et multa supersunt, - Et dominum fallunt, et prosunt furibus. - - Hor. epist. i. 6, 45. - -[298:1] See this passage nearly verbatim in the "Essay on the -Populousness of Ancient Nations," (Works, edit. 1826, p. 483.) Much -light has of course been subsequently thrown on this matter by the -investigations in Pompeii, and other places. - -[298:2] London was kept in much excitement, during the year 1750, by -repeated shocks of earthquake. Horace Walpole says, on 11th March, "In -the night between Wednesday and Thursday last, (exactly a month since -the first shock,) the earth had a shivering fit between one and two; but -so slight that, if no more had followed, I don't believe it would have -been noticed. I had been awake, and had scarce dosed again. On a sudden -I felt my bolster lift up my head: I thought somebody was getting from -under my bed, but soon found it was a strong earthquake, that lasted -near half a minute, with a violent vibration and great roaring. I rang -my bell; my servant came in, frightened out of his senses. In an instant -we heard all the windows in the neighbourhood flung up. I got up, and -found people running into the streets; but saw no mischief done. There -has been some: two old houses flung down, several chimneys, and much -china ware."--Letters to Sir H. Man, ii. 349. - -"Dick Leveson and Mr. Rigby, who had supped and staid late at Bedford -House, the other night, knocked at several doors, and in a watchman's -voice cried, 'Past four o'clock, and a dreadful earthquake.'"--Ib. 354. - -[299:1] "There has been a shower of sermons and exhortations. Secker, -the jesuitical Bishop of Oxford, begun the mode. He heard the women were -all going out of town to avoid the next shock: and so, for fear of -losing his Easter offerings, he set himself to advise them to wait God's -good pleasure, in fear and trembling. But, what is more astonishing, -Sherlock, [Bishop of London,] who has much better sense, and much less -of the popish confessor, has been running a race with him for the old -ladies, and has written a Pastoral Letter, of which ten thousand were -sold in two days, and fifty thousand have been subscribed for since the -two first editions."--Ib. 353. - -[300:1] A second edition of the "Essays concerning Human Understanding," -was published by Millar in 1751, with the author's name. One of these -essays, which, in the first edition, had the title, "Of the Practical -Consequences of Natural Religion," but, in the second, received a much -less appropriate title, and one likely to make its tenor, as applicable -to the reasonings of philosophers anterior to Christianity, be -misunderstood. It was called, "Of a Particular Providence, and Future -State." - -[300:2] Colonel Abercromby. See above, p. 222. - -[300:3] Colonel Edmonstoune. - -[301:1] Probably "The Bellman's Petition," mentioned p. 317. - -[301:2] From the original at Kilravock. - -[304:1] Memorials of Oswald, p. 65. - -[304:2] Two vols. 8vo, Hamilton and Balfour. The productions of the -Scottish press, in the middle period of last century, deserve to be -looked back upon with respect; and the excellence of its matter at that -time, will go far to balance its present fertility. It was not only as a -vehicle of native genius, that it was respectable. Besides the eminent -editions of the classics by the Ruddimans and the Foulises, it supplied -handsome editions of celebrated foreign works; a sure indication that it -was surrounded by a large class of well educated readers. - -[306:1] The following placard is, in the circumstances, a master-stroke -in its simplicity and ingenuity. - - -"AUX ELECTEURS TRES DIGNES DE WESTMINSTER. - - "MESSIEURS,--Vos suffrages et interets sont desires pour Le - Tres Hon. mi Lord TRENTHAM, un VERITABLE Anglois. - - "N. B.--L'on prie ses Amis de ses rendre a l'hotel Francois - dans le Marche au Foin." - -The following acrostic is a specimen of the poetic lucubrations of the -Vandeput party:-- - - "T ruant to thy promis'd trust; - R ebel daring where thou durst, - E ager to promote French strollers, - N one but poltroons are thy pollers. - - T ribes of nose-led clerks and placemen, - H ackney voters, (bribes disgrace men,) - A ll forswear, through thick and thin, - M eanness theirs, but thine the sin." - -This election gave birth to some incidents apparently trifling, which -yet make a material figure in British history, from their connexion -with the vindication of the privileges of the House of Commons. The -Honourable Alexander Murray, brother of Lord Elibank, a gentleman who -will probably be again called up in a future part of these pages, was -charged along with Mr. Crowle, an attorney, and another person, with the -use of "threatening and affronting expressions," by the high bailiff. -They were brought before the bar of the House, and after some discussion -and inquiry, Crowle confessed, was submissive, received the usual -reprimand on his knees, and wiped them when he rose, saying, it was "the -dirtiest house he had ever been in." Murray denied the charge, and -resisted the House, "smiled," as Walpole says, "when he was taxed with -having called Lord Trentham and the high bailiff, rascals," and, -finally, refused to kneel, saying, "Sir, I beg to be excused, I never -kneel but to God." Then followed imprisonment, and embarrassing -questions about the prisoner's health, which, sinking under his -self-inflicted imprisonment, reproached those who could not turn back on -the course they had taken; the whole being rendered more complex by the -difficulty of finding a guiding rule in the precedents of the House, -until parliament was adjourned; and he left Newgate in a triumphant -procession, proclaiming the device of "Murray and Liberty." - -[307:1] Viz. in a volume of broadsides and other documents, in the -possession of James Maidment, Esq. of which the pieces in the preceding -note are specimens. To show how such inquiries are beset by tantalizing -coincidences, there are two James Frasers mentioned on the Trentham -side, one of them having after his name on a printed list of voters, the -significant MS. notandum, "Don't pay." - -[307:2] P. 223. - -[308:1] A gentleman of the same name connected with the Lovat family, -was for some time an apothecary in London, where he lived "the life of a -genuine London bachelor;" he was a keen Jacobite, and died about 1760. -_Note communicated by Captain Fraser, Knockie_, who also mentions -another James Fraser, who was commissioner of the navy during the -revolutionary war, and settled in London in 1781; but this appears to -have been a person of a later generation than Hume's friend. - -[310:1] Gunpowder. - -[310:2] In allusion, probably, to Sir John Hynd Cotton. - -[310:3] In allusion to Sir George Vandeput. - -[310:4] In allusion, probably, to Fraser's own family. - -[311:1] Earl Gower, and his son Lord Trentham. - -[316:1] Probably "Agis," which appears to have been written before -"Douglas." - -[316:2] See above, p. 298. - -[319:1] Printed sheet in the possession of James Maidment, Esq. "The -Bellman's Petition," has been reprinted in a curious collection of -scraps, called "A Scots Haggis," the editor of which does not however -appear to have known that Hume was the author of this piece. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -1751-1752. AET. 40-41. - - Sir Gilbert Elliot--Hume's intimacy with him--Their - Philosophical Correspondence--Dialogues on Natural Religion-- - Residence in Edinburgh--Jack's Land--Publication of the - "Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals"--The Utilitarian - Theory--Attempt to obtain the Chair of Moral Philosophy in - Glasgow--Competition with Burke--Publication of the "Political - Discourses"--The foundation of Political Economy--French - Translations. - - -Foremost in that body of accomplished gentlemen, whose friendship and -companionship afforded to Hume so much pleasure and instruction, was -Mr. afterwards Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto. A small portion of the -letters, of which their correspondence consists, has already been -embodied in philosophical literature;[320:1] and I have now, through the -favour of the noble descendant of the person to whom they were -addressed, an opportunity of presenting the reader with all those -portions of Hume's letters to Sir Gilbert Elliot, now existing, which -have any claim on public attention, whether as containing valuable -philosophical speculations, or throwing light on the social habits and -intercourse of the two distinguished correspondents.[320:2] - -Sir Gilbert Elliot was the third baronet of the family of Minto, who -bore the same Christian name.[320:3] He joined the Scottish bar, though -he does not seem to have sought professional practice. - -He was, for a considerable period, a member of Parliament, and among -other offices held that of treasurer of the navy.[321:1] In lighter -literature he is known as the author of some pretty pieces of poetry, -among which, the popular song of "My Sheep I neglected," is well -esteemed by the admirers of pastoral lyrics. His acquirements as a -scholar and philosopher are amply attested by his correspondence with -Hume. - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, 10th February, 1751._ - -"DEAR SIR,--About six weeks ago, I gave our friend, Jack Stuart, the -trouble of delivering you a letter, and some papers enclosed, which I -was desirous to submit to your criticism and examination. I say not this -by way of compliment and ceremonial, but seriously and in good earnest: -it is pretty usual for people to be pleased with their own performance, -especially in the heat of composition; but I have scarcely wrote any -thing more whimsical, or whose merit I am more diffident of. - -"But, in sending in these papers, I am afraid that I have not taken the -best step towards conveying them to your hand. I should also have wrote -you to ask for them, otherwise, perhaps, our friend may wear them out in -his pocket, and forget the delivery of them: be so good, therefore, as -to desire them from him, and having read them at your leisure, return -them to him in a packet, and he will send them to me by the carrier. You -would easily observe what I mentioned to you, that they had a reference -to some other work, and were not complete in themselves: but, with this -allowance, are they tolerable?"[322:1] - - -The paper to which the following letter refers, was published as an -appendix to the "Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals," to be -shortly noticed, and was simply termed, "A Dialogue." It is, perhaps, -more imaginative than any other of Hume's works, "The Epicurean" not -excepted. It draws startling contrasts, by taking from ancient and -modern times, two communities of men strikingly opposed to each other in -habits, and describing those of the one in the social language of the -other. In this manner, it gives an account of the vices of the Greeks, -in the manner in which they would be described by a modern fashionable -Englishman, seeking pleasure and companionship in Greece, as it was in -the days of Alcibiades. This method of exhibiting national manners -through the magnifying glass of national prejudices, has, in later -times, been frequently adopted,[322:2] and, perhaps, owes its popularity -to the success with which it was exhibited in Montesquieu's "Lettres -Persanes," and Goldsmith's "Citizen of the World." - - -GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto, to_ HUME. - - _February, 1751._ - - DEAR SIR,--I have read over your Dialogue, with all the - application I am master of. Though I have never looked into - any thing of your writing, which did not either entertain or - instruct me; yet, I must freely own to you, that I have - received from this last piece an additional satisfaction, and - what indeed I have a thousand times wished for in some of your - other performances. In the first part of this work, you have - given full scope to the native bent of your genius. The - ancients and moderns, how opposite soever in other respects, - equally combine in favour of the most unbounded scepticism. - Principles, customs, and manners, the most contradictory, all - seemingly lead to the same end; and agreeably to your laudable - practice, the poor reader is left in the most disconsolate - state of doubt and uncertainty. When I had got thus far, what - do you think were my sentiments? I will not be so candid as to - tell you; but how agreeable was my surprise, when I found you - had led me into this maze, with no other view, than to point - out to me more clearly the direct road. Why can't you always - write in this manner? Indulge yourself as much as you will in - starting difficulties, and perplexing received opinions: but - let us be convinced at length, that you have not less ability - to establish true principles, than subtlety to detect false - ones. This unphilosophical, or, if you will, this lazy - disposition of mine, you are at liberty to treat as you think - proper; yet am I no enemy to free inquiry, and I would gladly - flatter myself, no slave to prejudice or authority. I admit - also that there is no writing or talking of any subject that - is of importance enough to become the object of reasoning, - without having recourse to some degree of subtlety or - refinement. The only question is, where to stop,--how far we - can go, and why no farther. To this question I should be - extremely happy to receive a satisfactory answer. I can't tell - if I shall rightly express what I have just now in my mind: - but I often imagine to myself, that I perceive within me a - certain instinctive feeling, which shoves away at once all - subtle refinements, and tells me with authority, that these - air-built notions are inconsistent with life and experience, - and, by consequence cannot be true or solid. From this I am - led to think, that the speculative principles of our nature - ought to go hand in hand with the practical ones; and, for my - own part, when the former are so far pushed, as to leave the - latter quite out of sight, I am always apt to suspect that we - have transgressed our limits. If it should be asked--how far - will these practical principles go? I can only answer, that - the former difficulty will recur, unless it be found that - there is something in the intellectual part of our nature, - resembling the moral sentiment in the moral part of our - nature, which determines this, as it were, instinctively. Very - possibly I have wrote nonsense. However, this notion first - occurred to me at London, in conversation with a man of some - depth of thinking; and talking of it since to your friend H. - Home, he seems to entertain some notions nearly of the same - kind, and to have pushed them much farther. - - This is but an idle digression, so I return to the Dialogue. - - With regard to the composition in general, I have nothing to - observe, as it appears to me to be conducted with the greatest - propriety, and the artifice in the beginning occasions, I - think, a very agreeable surprise. I don't know, if, in the - account of the modern manners, you [had] an eye to Bruyere's - introduction to his translation of Theophrastes.[324:1] If you - had not, as he has a thought handled pretty much in that - manner, perhaps looking into it might furnish some farther - hints to embellish that part of your work.[324:2] - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -"_Ninewells, 19th February, 1751._ - -"DEAR SIR,--Your notion of correcting subtlety of sentiment, is -certainly very just with regard to morals, which depend upon sentiment; -and in politics and natural philosophy, whatever conclusion is contrary -to certain matters of fact, must certainly be wrong, and there must -some error lie somewhere in the argument, whether we be able to show it -or not. But in metaphysics or theology, I cannot see how either of these -plain and obvious standards of truth can have place. Nothing there can -correct bad reasoning but good reasoning, and sophistry must be opposed -by syllogisms. About seventy or eighty years ago, I observe, a principle -like that which you advance prevailed very much in France among some -philosophers and _beaux esprits_. The occasion of it was this: The -famous Mons. Nicole of the Port Royal, in his _Perpetuite de la -Foi_,[325:1] pushed the Protestants very hard upon the impossibility of -the people's reaching a conviction of their religion by the way of -private judgment; which required so many disquisitions, reasonings, -researches, eruditions, impartiality, and penetration, as not one in a -hundred even among men of education, is capable of. Mons. Claude and the -Protestants answered him, not by solving his difficulties, (which seems -impossible,) but by retorting them, (which is very easy.) They showed -that to reach the way of authority which the Catholics insist on, as -long a train of acute reasoning, and as great erudition, was requisite, -as would be sufficient for a Protestant. We must first prove all the -truths of natural religion, the foundation of morals, the divine -authority of the Scripture, the deference which it commands to the -church, the tradition of the church, &c. The comparison of these -controversial writings begot an idea in some, that it was neither by -reasoning nor authority we learn our religion, but by sentiment: and -certainly this were a very convenient way, and what a philosopher would -be very well pleased to comply with, if he could distinguish sentiment -from education. But to all appearance the sentiment of Stockholm, -Geneva, Rome ancient and modern, Athens and Memphis, have the same -characters; and no sensible man can implicitly assent to any of them, -but from the general principle, that as the truth in these subjects is -beyond human capacity, and that as for one's own ease he must adopt some -tenets, there is most satisfaction and convenience in holding to the -Catholicism we have been first taught. Now this I have nothing to say -against. I have only to observe, that such a conduct is founded on the -most universal and determined scepticism, joined to a little indolence; -for more curiosity and research gives a direct opposite turn from the -same principles. - -"I have amused myself lately with an essay or dissertation on the -populousness of antiquity, which led me into many disquisitions -concerning both the public and domestic life of the ancients. Having -read over almost all the classics both Greek and Latin, since I formed -that plan, I have extracted what served most to my purpose. But I have -not a Strabo, and know not where to get one in this neighbourhood. He is -an author I never read. I know your library--I mean the Advocates'--is -scrupulous of lending classics; but perhaps that difficulty may be got -over. I should be much obliged to you, if you could procure me the loan -of a copy, either in the original language or even in a good -translation. - -"The Greeks had military dances, particularly the Pyrrhicha; but these -were not practised in their festivals nor amidst their jollity. Their -way of dancing was very good for an indolent fellow; for commonly they -rose not from their seats, but moved their arms and head in cadence. -'Tis difficult to imagine there could be much grace in that kind of -dancing. - -"I send you enclosed a little endeavour at drollery, against some people -who care not much to be joked upon.[327:1] I have frequently had it in -my intentions to write a supplement to Gulliver, containing the ridicule -of priests. 'Twas certainly a pity that Swift was a parson; had he been -a lawyer or physician, we had nevertheless been entertained at the -expense of these professions: but priests are so jealous, that they -cannot bear to be touched on that head, and for a plain reason, because -they are conscious they are really ridiculous. That part of the Doctor's -subject is so fertile, that a much inferior genius I am confident might -succeed in it. - -"Tell Jack Stuart, as soon as you see him, that I have sent you the -copy, if he can make any thing of it. I intended to have had it printed, -but I know not how--I find it will not do. If you like the thing, I wish -you would contrive together some way of getting over the difficulties -that have arisen, the most strangely in the world. I am, &c."[327:2] - - -Among the papers submitted to the inspection of Mr. Elliot, were the -"Dialogues concerning Natural Religion," which were not published until -after their author's death, but which the following letter shows to have -been written before the year 1751. The manuscript of this work[328:1] is -full of emendations and corrections; and while the sentiments appear to -be substantially the same as when they were first set down, the -alterations in the method of announcing them are a register of the -improvements in their author's style, for a period apparently of -twenty-seven years. Here at least he could not plead the excuse of youth -and indiscretion. The work, penned in the full vigour of his faculties, -comes to us with the sanction of his mature years, and his approval when -he was within sight of the grave. Whatever sentiments, therefore, in -this work, may be justly found to excite censure, carry with them a -reproach from which their author's name cannot escape. - -The Dialogues are written with a solemn simplicity of tone worthy of the -character of the subject. The structure is in a great measure that of -Cicero, though there appears not, as there generally does in the -conversations professed to be recorded by the Roman moralist, any one -mind completely predominating over the others. Of the interlocutors, -Philo presents himself, at first as a materialist of the Spinoza school, -who finds that the material world has within itself the principles of -its own motion and development--the operating causes that produce its -phenomena; while he denies that these phenomena exhibit an all perfect -structure. He is not, however, a man of settled opinions, but rather a -sceptical demolisher of other people's views; and we find him saying, "I -must confess that I am less cautious on the subject of natural religion -than on any other; both because I know that I can never, on that head, -corrupt the principles of any man of common sense; and because no one, I -am confident, in whose eyes I appear a man of common sense, will ever -mistake my intentions. You in particular, Cleanthes, with whom I live in -unreserved intimacy, you are sensible, that notwithstanding the freedom -of my conversation, and my love of singular arguments, no one has a -deeper sense of religion impressed on his mind, or pays more profound -adoration to the Divine Being, as he discovers himself to reason, in the -inexplicable contrivance and artifice of nature." - -Cleanthes, another speaker, has created a natural religion of his own--a -system of Theism, in which, by induction from the beautiful order and -mechanism of the world, he has reasoned himself into the belief of an -all-wise and all-powerful Supreme Being. He holds, that "the most -agreeable reflection which it is possible for human imagination to -suggest, is that of genuine Theism, which represents us as the -workmanship of a being perfectly good, wise, and powerful, who created -us for happiness; and who, having implanted in us immeasurable desires -of good, will prolong our existence to all eternity, and will transfer -us into an infinite variety of scenes, in order to satisfy those -desires, and render our felicity complete and durable." And, strangely -enough, it is with this one that the author shows most sympathy, very -nearly professing that the doctrine announced by Cleanthes is his own; -while it will be found in his correspondence, that he admits his having -designedly endeavoured to make the argument of that speaker the most -attractive. This is another illustration of the inapplicability of -perfectly abstract metaphysical disquisitions to religious faith; for, -if there is any system of religion that is incompatible with Hume's -metaphysical opinions on ideas and impressions, it is a system that is, -like this of Cleanthes, the workmanship of human reason. The third -speaker, Demea, is a devoutly religious man, who, not venturing to -create a system of belief for himself, sees in the order of the world -such a merciful and wise dispensation of Divine Providence, as induces -him to receive the whole revealed scheme of religion without questioning -those parts of it which are beyond his comprehension, any more than he -questions those of which the wisdom and goodness are immediately -apparent. - -The general scope and purport of the Dialogues are not unlike those of -Voltaire's Jenni. In both, the argument on natural theology, -illustrating the existence of a ruling mind from the general order and -harmony of created things, is adduced, and is measured with its -counterpart, the argument from the imperfection of earthly things, and -the calamities and unhappiness of the beings standing at the head of the -whole social order, mankind. But in the mere similarity of the argument -the resemblance stops; no two performances can be more unlike each other -in tone and spirit than the English sceptic's honest search after truth, -and the French infidel's ribald sport with all that men love and revere. -The contrast may be found not only in these individual men, but in the -two classes of thinkers at the head of which they respectively stood. -Hume represented the cautious conscientious inquiry, which has -established many truths and gradually ameliorated social evils; the -Frenchman directed that scornful, careless, and cruel sport with -whatever is dear and important to humanity, which one day bowed to -absolute despotism, and the next destroyed the whole fabric of social -order.[331:1] - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -"_Ninewells, near Berwick, March 10, 1751._ - -"DEAR SIR,--You would perceive by the sample I have given you, that I -make Cleanthes the hero of the dialogue: whatever you can think of, to -strengthen that side of the argument, will be most acceptable to me. -Any propensity you imagine I have to the other side, crept in upon me -against my will; and 'tis not long ago that I burned an old manuscript -book, wrote before I was twenty, which contained, page after page, the -gradual progress of my thoughts on that head. It began with an anxious -search after arguments, to confirm the common opinion; doubts stole in, -dissipated, returned; were again dissipated, returned again; and it was -a perpetual struggle of a restless imagination against inclination, -perhaps against reason. - -"I have often thought, that the best way of composing a dialogue, would -be for two persons that are of different opinions about any question of -importance, to write alternately the different parts of the discourse, -and reply to each other: by this means, that vulgar error would be -avoided, of putting nothing but nonsense into the mouth of the -adversary; and at the same time, a variety of character and genius being -upheld, would make the whole look more natural and unaffected. Had it -been my good fortune to live near you, I should have taken on me the -character of Philo, in the dialogue, which you'll own I could have -supported naturally enough; and you would not have been averse to that -of Cleanthes. I believe, too, we could both of us have kept our tempers -very well; only, you have not reached an absolute philosophical -indifference on these points. What danger can ever come from ingenious -reasoning and inquiry? The worst speculative sceptic ever I knew, was a -much better man than the best superstitious devotee and bigot. I must -inform you, too, that this was the way of thinking of the ancients on -this subject. If a man made a profession of philosophy, whatever his -sect was, they always expected to find more regularity in his life and -manners, than in those of the ignorant and illiterate. There is a -remarkable passage of Appian to this purpose. That historian observes, -that notwithstanding the established prepossession in favour of -learning, yet some philosophers, who have been trusted with absolute -power, have very much abused it; and he instances Critias, the most -violent of the thirty, and Ariston, who governed Athens in the time of -Sylla: but I find, upon inquiry, that Critias was a professed Atheist, -and Ariston an Epicurean, which is little or nothing different. And yet -Appian wonders at their corruption, as much as if they had been Stoics -or Platonists. A modern zealot would have thought that corruption -unavoidable. - -"I could wish Cleanthes' argument could be so analyzed, as to be -rendered quite formal and regular. The propensity of the mind towards -it,--unless that propensity were as strong and universal as that to -believe in our senses and experience,--will still, I am afraid, be -esteemed a suspicious foundation. 'Tis here I wish for your assistance; -we must endeavour to prove that this propensity is somewhat different -from our inclination to find our own figures in the clouds, our faces in -the moon, our passions and sentiments even in inanimate matter. Such an -inclination may, and ought to be controlled, and can never be a -legitimate ground of assent. - -"The instances I have chosen for Cleanthes are, I hope, tolerably happy, -and the confusion in which I represent the sceptic seems natural, -but--si quid novisti rectius, &c. - -"You ask me, '_If the idea of cause and effect is nothing but -vicinity_,' (you should have said constant vicinity, or, regular -conjunction,) I should be glad to know _whence is that farther idea of -causation against which you argue_? This question is pertinent, but I -hope I have answered it; we feel, after the constant conjunction, an -easy transition from one idea to the other, or a connexion in the -imagination; and as it is usual for us to transfer our own feelings to -the objects on which they are dependent, we attach the internal -sentiment to the external objects. If no single instances of cause and -effect appear to have any connexion, but only repeated similar ones, you -will find yourself obliged to have recourse to this theory. - -"I am sorry our correspondence should lead us into these abstract -speculations. I have thought, and read, and composed very little on such -questions of late. Morals, Politics, and Literature have employed all my -time; but still the other topics I must think more curious, important, -entertaining, and useful, than any geometry that is deeper than Euclid. -If in order to answer the doubts started, new principles of philosophy -must be laid, are not these doubts themselves very useful? Are they not -preferable to blind, and ignorant assent? I hope I can answer my own -doubts; but if I could not, is it to be wondered at? To give myself -airs, and speak magnificently, might I not observe, that Columbus did -not conquer empires and plant colonies? - -"If I have not unravelled the knot so well, in those last papers I sent -you, as perhaps I did in the former, it has not, I assure you, proceeded -from want of good will; but some subjects are easier than others: at -some times one is happier in his researches and inquiries than at -others. Still I have recourse to the _si quid novisti rectius_; not in -order to pay you a compliment, but from a real philosophical doubt and -curiosity.[334:1] - -"I do not pay compliments, because I do not desire them. For this -reason, I am very well pleased you speak so coldly of my petition. I -had, however, given orders to have it printed, which perhaps may be -executed, though I believe I had better have let it alone; not because -it will give you offence, but because it will give no entertainment; not -because it may be called profane, but because it may perhaps be -deservedly called dull. To tell the truth, I was always so indifferent -about fortune, and especially now, that I am more advanced in life, and -am a little more at my ease, suited to my extreme frugality, that I -neither fear nor hope any thing from man; and am very indifferent either -about offence or favour. Not only, I would not sacrifice truth and -reason to political views, but scarce even a jest. You may tell me, I -ought to have reversed the order of these points, and put the jest -first: as it is usual for people to be the fondest of their performances -on subjects on which they are least made to excel, and that, -consequently, I would give more to be thought a good droll, than to have -the praises of erudition, and subtilty, and invention.--This malicious -insinuation, I will give no answer to, but proceed with my subject. - -"I find, however, I have no more to say on it, but to thank you for -_Strabo_. If the carrier who will deliver this to you do not find you at -home, you will please send the book to his quarters; his name is Thomas -Henderson, the Berwick carrier; he leaves town on the Thursdays, about -the middle of the day; he puts up at James Henderson, stabler, betwixt -the foot of Cant's Close and Blackfriar's Wynd. After you have done with -these papers, please return them by the same carrier; but there is no -hurry; on the contrary the longer you keep them, I shall still believe -you are thinking the more seriously to execute what I desire of you. I -am, dear Sir, - -"Yours most sincerely." - -"P.S.--If you'll be persuaded to assist me with Cleanthes, I fancy you -need not take matters any higher than part 3d. He allows, indeed, in -part 2d, that all our inference is founded on the similitude of the -works of nature to the usual effects of mind, otherwise they must appear -a mere chaos. The only difficulty is, why the other assimilations do not -weaken the argument; and indeed it would seem from experience and -feeling, that they do not weaken it so much as we might naturally -expect. A theory to solve this would be very acceptable."[336:1] - - -HUME _to_ GILBERT ELLIOT _of Minto_. - -1751. - -"DEAR SIR,--I am sorry your keeping these papers has proceeded from -business and avocations, and not from your endeavours to clear up so -difficult an argument. I despair not, however, of getting some -assistance from you; the subject is surely of the greatest importance, -and the views of it so new as to challenge some attention. - -"I believe the Philosophical Essays contain every thing of consequence -relating to the understanding, which you would meet with in the -Treatise; and I give you my advice against reading the latter. By -shortening and simplifying the questions, I really render them much more -complete. _Addo dum minuo._ The philosophical principles are the same in -both; but I was carried away by the heat of youth and invention to -publish too precipitately.--So vast an undertaking, planned before I was -one-and-twenty, and composed before twenty-five, must necessarily be -very defective. I have repented my haste a hundred, and a hundred times. - -"I return Strabo, whom I have found very judicious and useful. I give -you a great many thanks for your trouble. I am," &c. - - -Hume's elder brother, John, the laird of Ninewells, was married in 1751; -and the following letter, enlivened by touches of light and even elegant -raillery, scarcely excelled in the writings of Addison, evidently refers -to that event. The plan of life which he sets forth was afterwards -altered, at least in so far as he had then in view a place of residence. - - -HUME _to_ MRS. DYSART.[337:1] - -"_Ninewells, March 19th, 1751._ - -"DEAR MADAM,--Our friend at last plucked up a resolution, and has -ventured on that dangerous encounter. He went off on Monday morning; and -this is the first action of his life wherein he has engaged himself, -without being able to compute exactly the consequences. But what -arithmetic will serve to fix the proportion between good and bad wives, -and rate the different classes of each? Sir Isaac Newton himself, who -could measure the course of the planets, and weigh the earth as in a -pair of scales,--even he had not algebra enough to reduce that amiable -part of our species to a just equation; and they are the only heavenly -bodies whose orbits are as yet uncertain. - -"If you think yourself too grave a matron to have this florid part of -the speech addressed to you, pray lend it to the Collector, and he will -send it to Miss Nancy. - -"Since my brother's departure, Katty and I have been computing in our -turn, and the result of our deliberation is, that we are to take up -house in Berwick; where, if arithmetic and frugality don't deceive us, -(and they are pretty certain arts) we shall be able, after providing for -hunger, warmth, and cleanliness, to keep a stock in reserve, which we -may afterwards turn either to the purposes of hoarding, luxury, or -charity. But I have declared beforehand against the first; I can easily -guess which of the other two you and Mr. Dysart will be most favourable -to. But we reject your judgment; for nothing blinds one so much as -inveterate habits. - -"My compliments to his Solicitorship.[338:1] Unfortunately I have not a -horse at present to carry my fat carcass, to pay its respects to his -superior obesity. But if he finds travelling requisite either for his -health or the captain's, we shall be glad to entertain him here, as long -as we can do it at another's expense; in hopes we shall soon be able to -do it at our own. - -"Pray tell the Solicitor that I have been reading lately, in an old -author called _Strabo_, that in some cities of ancient Gaul, there was a -fixed legal standard established for corpulency; and that the senate -kept a measure, beyond which, if any belly presumed to increase, the -proprietor of that belly was obliged to pay a fine to the public, -proportionable to its rotundity. Ill would it fare with his worship and -I,[339:1] if such a law should pass our parliament; for I am afraid we -are already got beyond the statute. - -"I wonder, indeed, no harpy of the treasury has ever thought of this -method of raising money. Taxes on luxury are always most approved of; -and no one will say, that the carrying about a portly belly is of any -use or necessity. 'Tis a mere superfluous ornament; and is a proof, too, -that its proprietor enjoys greater plenty than he puts to a good use; -and, therefore, 'tis fit to reduce him to a level with his -fellow-subjects, by taxes and impositions. - -"As the lean people are the most active, unquiet, and ambitious, they -every where govern the world, and may certainly oppress their -antagonists whenever they please. Heaven forbid that Whig and Tory -should ever be abolished; for then the nation might be split into fat -and lean; and our faction, I am afraid, would be in piteous taking. The -only comfort is, if they oppressed us very much, we should at last -change sides with them. - -"Besides, who knows if a tax were imposed on fatness, but some jealous -divine might pretend that the church was in danger. - -"I cannot but bless the memory of Julius Caesar, for the great esteem he -expressed for fat men, and his aversion to lean ones. All the world -allows, that that emperor was the greatest genius that ever was, and -the greatest judge of mankind. - -"But I should ask your pardon, dear madam, for this long dissertation on -fatness and leanness, in which you are no way concerned; for you are -neither fat nor lean, and may indeed be denominated an arrant trimmer. -But this letter may all be read to the Solicitor; for it contains -nothing that need be a secret to him. On the contrary, I hope he will -profit by the example; and, were I near him, I should endeavour to prove -as good an encourager as in this other instance. What can the man be -afraid of? The Mayor of London had more courage, who defied the -hare.[340:1] - -"But I am resolved some time to conclude, by putting a grave epilogue to -a farce, and telling you a real serious truth, that I am, with great -esteem, dear madam, your most obedient humble servant.[340:2] - -"P.S. Pray let the Solicitor tell Frank, that he is a bad -correspondent--the only way in which he can be a bad one, by his -silence." - - -We find, through the whole of his acts and written thoughts before his -return from the embassy to Turin, the indications of an earnest wish to -possess the means of independent livelihood, suitable to one belonging -to the middle classes of life. Great wealth or ornamental rank he seems -never to have desired: but the circumstance of his having, in the year -1748, achieved the means of independence through his official -emoluments, seems to have taken so strong a hold of his mind, that -nearly thirty years afterwards, in writing his autobiography, he speaks -with exultation of his having been then in possession of L1000. The -position of the man in comfortable circumstances, equally removed from -the dread of want, and the uneasy pressure of superfluous wealth, -appears always to have presented itself as the most desirable fate -which, in mere pecuniary matters, fortune could have in store for him; -and no commentary on the sacred text has perhaps better illustrated its -application to the conduct and feelings of mankind, than his adaptation -of Agur's prayer to the middle station in life, at a time when he was -far from having realized that happy mediocrity of fortune, of which he -gives so pleasing a picture. - - Agur's prayer is sufficiently noted--"Two things have I - required of thee; deny me them not before I die: remove far - from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; - feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny - thee, and say, who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, - and take the name of my God in vain."--The middle station is - here justly recommended, as affording the fullest security for - virtue; and I may also add, that it gives opportunity for the - most ample exercise of it, and furnishes employment for every - good quality which we can possibly be possessed of. Those who - are placed among the lower ranks of men, have little - opportunity of exerting any other virtue besides those of - patience, resignation, industry, and integrity. Those who are - advanced into the higher stations, have full employment for - their generosity, humanity, affability, and charity. When a - man lies betwixt these two extremes, he can exert the former - virtues towards his superiors, and the latter towards his - inferiors. Every moral quality which the human soul is - susceptible of, may have its turn, and be called up to action; - and a man may, after this manner, be much more certain of his - progress in virtue, than where his good qualities lie dormant, - and without employment.[341:1] - -The following letter, of a somewhat later date, gives a view of his -definitive intentions. - - -HUME _to_ MICHAEL RAMSAY. - -"_Ninewells, 22d June, 1751._ - -"DEAR MICHAEL,--I cannot sufficiently express my sense of your kind -letter. The concern you take in your friends is so warm, even after so -long absence, and such frequent interruptions as our commerce has -unhappily met with of late years, that the most recent familiarity of -others can seldom equal it. I might perhaps pretend, as well as others, -to complain of fortune; but I do not, and should condemn myself as -unreasonable if I did. While interest remains as at present, I have L50 -a-year, a hundred pounds worth of books, great store of linens and fine -clothes, and near L100 in my pocket; along with order, frugality, a -strong spirit of independency, good health, a contented humour, and an -unabating love of study. In these circumstances I must esteem myself one -of the happy and fortunate; and so far from being willing to draw my -ticket over again in the lottery of life, there are very few prizes with -which I would make an exchange. After some deliberation, I am resolved -to settle in Edinburgh, and hope I shall be able with these revenues to -say with Horace-- - - Est bona librorum et provisae frugis in annum - Copia. - -Besides other reasons which determine me to this resolution, I would not -go too far away from my sister, who thinks she will soon follow me; and -in that case, we shall probably take up house either in Edinburgh, or -the neighbourhood. Our sister-in-law behaves well, and seems very -desirous we should both stay. . . . . . . And as she (my sister) can -join L30 a-year to my stock, and brings an equal love of order and -frugality, we doubt not to make our revenues answer. Dr. Clephane, who -has taken up house, is so kind as to offer me a room in it; and two -friends in Edinburgh have made me the same offer. But having nothing to -ask or solicit at London, I would not remove to so expensive a place; -and am resolved to keep clear of all obligations and dependencies, even -on those I love the most."[343:1] - - -In fulfilment of the design thus announced, he tells us, in his "own -life," "In 1751, I removed from the country to the town, the true scene -for a man of letters." We find, from the dating of his letters, that -Hume's residence in Edinburgh was for a year or two in "Riddell's Land," -and that it was afterwards in "Jack's Land." Since the plan of numbering -the houses in each street extended to the Scottish capital, these names -have no longer been in general use; but I find that the former applied -to an edifice in the Lawnmarket, near the head of the West Bow, and that -the latter was a tenement in the Canongate, right opposite to a house in -which Smollet occasionally resided with his sister. The term "Land" -applied to one of those edifices--some of them ten or twelve stories -high,--in which the citizens of Edinburgh, pressed upwards as it were by -the increase of the population within a narrow circuit of walls, made -stair-cases supply the place of streets, and erected perpendicular -thoroughfares. A single floor of one of these edifices was, a century -ago, sufficient to accommodate the family of a Scottish nobleman; and -we may be certain, that a very small "Flat" would suit the economical -establishment of Hume. - -In 1751, appeared the "Inquiry concerning the Principles of -Morals,"[344:1] the full development, so far as it was made by Hume, of -the utilitarian system. The leading principle kept in view throughout -this work, is, that its tendency to be useful to mankind at large, is -the proper criterion of the propriety of any action, or the justness of -any ethical opinion. In this spirit he examines many of the social -virtues, and shows that it is their usefulness to mankind that gives -them a claim to sympathy, and a title to be included in the list of -virtues. The defects of this exposition of the utilitarian system, are -marked by the manner in which it was critically attacked. In 1753 a -controversial examination of it was made, with temper and ability, by -James Balfour of Pilrig,[344:2] who in 1754 succeeded to the chair, in -the university of Edinburgh, which Hume had been desirous of -filling.[345:1] Mr. Balfour's great argument is the universality of the -admission by mankind, in some shape or other, of the leading cardinal -virtues, and the unhesitating adoption and practice of them by men on -whom the utilitarian theory never dawned, and who are unconscious that -their isolated acts are the fulfilment of any general or uniform law. -Mr. Balfour argued that we must thus look to something else than -utility, as the criterion of moral right and wrong. But a supporter of -the utilitarian system, as it has been more fully developed in later -days, would probably only take from Mr. Balfour's argument a hint to -enlarge the scope of Hume's investigations. To the inquiry, how far -utility is the proper end of human conduct, he would add the inquiry, -how far the theory has been practically adopted by mankind at large. -Though Bacon first laid down the broad rule of unvarying induction from -experiment, many experiments were made, and many inductions derived from -them, before he saw the light; and so before the utilitarian theory was -first formally suggested--as it appears to have been by Aristotle in his -Nicomachean Ethics--utility may frequently have been a rule of action. - -It does not necessarily follow, that because a practice is universal, -because it is adopted "by saint, by savage, and by sage," it is -therefore not the dictate of utility, provided it be admitted that -utility was an influencing motive with men before the days of Hume. The -followers of established customs may often be blind; but if we hunt back -a practice to its first institution, we may find that the leaders were -quick-sighted, and kept utility in view, so far as the state of things -they had to deal with permitted. A minute inquiry into national -prejudices and customs frequently surprises the speculative philosopher, -by developing these practices and opinions of the vulgar and illiterate, -as the fruit of great knowledge and forethought. Exhibiting, in their -full extravagance, the contrasts between different codes of morality, -was one of Hume's literary recreations; and it might have been worth his -while to have inquired, had it occurred to him, how much of his own -favourite utilitarian principle is common to all, or at least to many, -of the systems he has thus contrasted with each other. - -It was a consequence, perhaps, of the limited extent to which he had -carried the utilitarian theory, that Hume was charged with having left -no distinct line between talent and virtue. By making it seem as if he -held that each man was virtuous according as he did good to mankind at -large, and vicious in as far as he failed in accomplishing this end, he -made way for the argument, that no man can rise high in virtue, unless -he also rise high in intellectual gifts; since, without possessing the -latter, he is not capable of deciding what actions are, and what are -not, conducive to the good of the human race. Many sentiments expressed -in the Inquiry appeared to justify this charge.[347:1] There was thus no -merit assigned to what is called good intention; and no ground for -extending the just approbation of mankind to those who have never -attempted to frame a code of morality to themselves, but who, following -the track of established opinions, or the rules laid down by some of the -many leaders of the human race, believe that, by a steadfast and -disinterested pursuit of their adopted course, they are doing that which -is right in the eye of God and man. It is certain, however, that in this -way many a man may be pursuing a line of conduct conducive to the good -of his fellow-creatures, without knowing that his actions have that -ultimate end. While he follows the rules that have been laid down for -him, his code of morality may be as far superior to that of his clever -and aspiring neighbour, who has fabricated a system for himself, as the -intelligence of the leader, followed by the one, is greater than the -self-sufficient wisdom of the other. Hence multitudes in the humblest -classes of society, in any well regulated community of modern Europe, -will be found, almost blindly, following a code of morality as much -above what the genius either of Socrates or Cicero could devise, as the -order of the universe is superior to the greatest efforts of man's -artificial skill. - - "Yon cottager, who weaves at her own door, - Pillow and bobbins all her little store;-- - Content though mean, and cheerful if not gay, - Shuffling her threads about the livelong day, - Just earns a scanty pittance; and at night - Lies down secure,--her heart and pocket light. - - She, for her humble sphere by nature fit, - Has little understanding, and no wit; - Receives no praise--but, though her lot be such, - Toilsome and indigent, she renders much; - Just knows, and knows no more, her Bible true-- - A truth the brilliant Frenchman never knew; - And in that charter reads, with sparkling eyes, - Her title to a treasure in the skies. - - Oh, happy peasant! oh, unhappy bard! - His the mere tinsel, hers the rich reward; - He, praised, perhaps, for ages yet to come; - She never heard of half a mile from home; - He, lost in errors his vain heart prefers, - _She, safe in the simplicity of hers_." - -It was, perhaps, from a like want of inquiry into the full extent of the -system, that his theory of utility encountered the charge of being a -mere system of "expediency," which estimated actions according as they -accomplished what appeared at the moment to be good or evil, without any -regard to their ultimate consequences. He certainly left for Bentham the -task of making a material addition to the utilitarian theory, by -applying it to the secondary effects of actions. Thus, according to -Bentham's view, when a successful highway robbery is committed, the -direct evil done to the victim is but a part of the mischief -accomplished. The secondary effects have an operation, if not so deep, -yet very widely spread, in creating terror, anxiety, and distrust on the -part of honest people, and emboldening the wicked to the perpetration of -crimes. On the same principle a good measure must not be carried through -the legislature by corrupt means; because the example so set, will, in -the end, though not perhaps till the generation benefited by the measure -has passed away, produce more bad measures than good, by lowering the -tone of political morality. Had Hume kept in view these secondary -effects, he never would have vindicated suicide, thought sudden death an -occurrence rather fortunate than otherwise, or used expressions from -which an opponent could with any plausibility infer, that, under any -circumstances, he held strict female chastity in light esteem. But he -was always careless about the offensive application of his principles; -forgetting that if there be any thing in a set of opinions calculated -deeply and permanently to outrage the feelings of mankind, the -probability at least is, that they have something about them -unsound,--that the mass of the public are right, and the solitary -philosopher wrong. - -Hume's account, in his "own life," of this period of his literary -history, is contained in the following paragraph, in which, as in some -other instances, it will be seen that his memory has not accurately -retained the chronological sequence of his works. - -"In 1752, were published at Edinburgh, where I then lived, my 'Political -Discourses,' the only work of mine that was successful on the first -publication. It was well received abroad and at home. In the same year -was published at London, my 'Inquiry concerning the Principles of -Morals;' which, in my own opinion, (who ought not to judge on that -subject,) is of all my writings, historical, philosophical, or literary, -incomparably the best. It came unnoticed and unobserved into the world." - -Before noticing the "Political Discourses," it is necessary to state, -that during this winter of 1751, we find Hume again attempting to obtain -an academic chair, and again disappointed. Adam Smith, having been -Professor of Logic in the university of Glasgow, succeeded to the chair -of Moral Philosophy in November 1751, on the death of Professor Craigie, -its former occupant. That Hume used considerable exertions to be -appointed Smith's successor, is attested by some incidental passages in -his correspondence, and particularly by the following letter to Dr. -Cullen. - - -"_Edinburgh, 21st January, 1752._ - -"SIR,--The part which you have acted in the late project for my election -into your college, gave me so much pleasure, that I would do myself the -greatest violence did I not take every opportunity of expressing my most -lively sense of it. We have failed, and are thereby deprived of great -opportunities of cultivating that friendship, which had so happily -commenced by your zeal for my interests. But I hope other opportunities -will offer; and I assure you, that nothing will give me greater pleasure -than an intimacy with a person of your merit. You must even allow me to -count upon the same privilege of friendship, as if I had enjoyed the -happiness of a longer correspondence and familiarity with you; for as it -is a common observation, that the conferring favours on another is the -surest method of attaching us to him, I must, by this rule, consider you -as a person to whom my interests can never be altogether indifferent. -Whatever the reverend gentlemen may say of my religion, I hope I have as -much morality as to retain a grateful sentiment of your favours, and as -much sense as to know whose friendship will give greatest honour and -advantage to me. I am," &c. - - -The distinguished scientific man, in the course of whose researches this -curious literary incident was divulged, informs us that Burke was also a -candidate for this chair,[351:1] and that the successful competitor was -a Mr. Clow. Concerning this fortunate person literary history is silent; -but he has acquired a curious title to fame, from the greatness of the -man to whom he succeeded, and of those over whom he was triumphant. - -It is not, perhaps, to be regretted, that Hume failed in both his -attempts to obtain a professor's chair. He was not of the stuff that -satisfactory teachers of youth are made of. Although he was beyond all -doubt an able man of business, in matters sufficiently important to -command his earnest attention, yet it is pretty clear that he had -acquired the outward manner of an absent, good-natured man, unconscious -of much that was going on around him; and that he would have thus -afforded a butt to the mischief and raillery of his pupils, from which -all the lustre of his philosophical reputation would not have protected -him. - -Discoverers do not make, in ordinary circumstances, the best instructors -of youth, because their minds are often too full of the fermentation of -their own original ideas and partly developed systems, to possess the -coolness and clearness necessary for conveying a distinct view of the -laws and elements of an established system. But if this may be an -incidental inconvenience in one whose discoveries are but extensions of -admitted doctrines, the revolutionist who is endeavouring to pull to -pieces what has been taught for ages within the same walls, and to erect -a new system in its stead, can scarcely ever be a satisfactory -instructor of any considerable number of young men. The teacher of the -moral department of science especially must be, to a certain extent, a -conformist; if he be not, what is taught in the class-room will be -forgotten or contradicted in the closet. The teachers of youth are -themselves not less irascible and sometimes not less prejudiced than -other mortals. They have their hatreds and partisanships, often -productive of acrimonious controversy; but when there is something like -a unity of opinion in the systems of those who teach the same, or like -subjects, these superficial discussions produce no evil fruit. Hume -would have been at peace with all who would have let his unobtrusive -spirit alone; but he would probably have quietly proceeded to inculcate -doctrines to which most of his fellow-labourers were strongly averse; -and that, perhaps, without knowing or feeling that he was in any way -departing from the simple routine of duties which the public expected of -him. And thus he would probably have created in the midst of the rising -youth of the day, an isolated circle of disciples, taught to despise the -acquirements and opinions of their contemporaries, as these -contemporaries held theirs in abhorrence.[353:1] - -This was an important epoch in Hume's literary history; in 1751, he -produced the work which he himself considered the most meritorious of -all his efforts; in 1752, he published that which obtained the largest -amount of contemporary popularity, the "Political Discourses."[354:1] -After a series of literary disappointments, borne with the spirit of one -who felt within him the real powers of an original thinker and an -agreeable writer, and the assurance that the world would some day -acknowledge the sterling greatness of his qualifications, he now at last -presented them in a form, in which they received the ready homage of the -public. These Discourses are in truth the cradle of political economy; -and, much as that science has been investigated and expounded in later -times, these earliest, shortest, and simplest developments of its -principles are still read with delight even by those who are masters of -all the literature of this great subject.[354:2] But they possess a -quality which more elaborate economists have striven after in vain, in -being a pleasing object of study not only to the initiated but to the -ordinary popular reader, and of being admitted as just and true by many -who cannot or who will not understand the views of later writers on -political economy.[355:1] They have thus the rarely conjoined merit, -that, as they were the first to direct the way to the true sources of -this department of knowledge, those who have gone farther, instead of -superseding them, have in the general case confirmed their accuracy. - -Political economy is a science of which the advanced extremities are the -subject of debate and doubt, while the older doctrines are admitted by -all as firm and established truths. It may be slippery ground, but it is -not a tread-mill, and no step taken has ever to be entirely retraced. It -is owing to this characteristic of the science that those who oppose the -doctrines of modern economists do not think of denying those of David -Hume; and thus, while in these essays the economist finds some of the -most important doctrines of his peculiar subject set forth with a -clearness and elegance with which he dare not attempt to compete, the -ordinary reader, who has a distaste of new doctrines and innovating -theories, awards them the respect due to old established opinion. - -That they should have been, with all their innovation on received -opinions, and their startling novelty, so popular in their own age, is -also a matter which has its peculiar explanation. The dread of -innovation, simply as change, and without reference to the interests it -may affect, sprung up in later times, a child of the French revolution. -Before that event some men were republican or constitutional in their -views, and declared war against all changes which tended to throw power -into the hands of the monarch. Others were monarchical, and opposed to -the extension of popular rights. But if an alteration were suggested -which did not affect these fundamental principles and opinions, it was -welcomed with liberal courtesy, examined, and adopted or rejected on its -own merits. Hence both Hume and Smith, writing in bold denunciation of -all the old cherished prejudices in matters of commerce, instead of -being met with a storm of reproach, as any one who should publish so -many original views in the present day would be, at once received a fair -hearing and a just appreciation.[356:1] - -Thus there was a period during which innovations, however bold or -extensive, received a favourable hearing, and in which the literature -both of England and of France was daily giving publicity to new theories -embodying sweeping alterations of social systems. In this work the two -countries presented their national characteristics. The English writers -kept always in view the question how far there would be a vital -principle remaining in society after the diseased part was removed; how -far there was reason to suppose that the small quantity of good done to -the public by any irrational system, which at the same time did much -evil, might be accomplished after its abolition. The French were -indiscriminate in their war against old received opinions, and offered -nothing to fill their place when they were gone; and hence in some -measure followed results which have made change and innovation words of -dread throughout a great part of society. - -Of the inquiries through which Hume brought together the materials for -these essays, the reader will have found a specimen in the notes, or -_adversaria_ quoted above.[357:1] A comparison of these fragments of the -raw material, with the finished result, develops this marked feature in -Hume's method of working, that in the way to a short proposition, he has -often read and thought at great length. The simplicity and unity of his -writings were of more importance to him than the appearance of -elaboration; and where others would be scattering multitudinous -statements and authorities, he is content with the simple embodiment of -results, conscious that inquiry will confirm in the reader's mind the -justness of what he lays down. In some respects we can watch the -progress of Hume's mind in connexion with these subjects; for in his -allusions to commercial matters in his earlier works, he uses the common -phraseology, such as "balance of trade," in a manner indicating an -adherence to those ordinary fallacies of the day, which, when he came to -examine them in his essays on "commerce," "money," "interest," "the -balance of trade," "taxes," and "public credit," he extensively -repudiated. His examination of the nature and value of money as a medium -of exchange, is probably the best and simplest that, even down to this -day, can be found. His theory, so far as it goes, has hardly ever been -questioned; and indeed at present it may be said, that beyond it we know -little with certainty, and that its author had at once discovered the -limits at which full and satisfactory knowledge was, for nearly a -century, to rest.[358:1] He shows that money is not in itself property -or value; that it is a mere representative, which, if cheap or dear in -its material, is just, in the same ratio, a cheap or a dear method of -accomplishing a purpose. That if a community could conduct its -transactions with a small quantity of money as well as with a large, it -would, so far from being poorer, be the richer by so much as the -superabundant money had cost. He examines those simple laws which, when -there is no disturbing influence, have a tendency to equalize the -distribution of the precious metals, through the cheapness of labour and -commodities where they are scarce, the nominal enhancement where they -are abundant. He notices with great clearness and precision the -respective effects upon the community of a state of increase, and of a -state of diminution of the available currency of a country. But he -enters on few of those intricate monetary questions which are now so -frequently the subject of discussion. Of inquiries into the causes which -affect the quantity of money in a country, the moving influences from -which arise gluts, drains, stagnations, and all the mysteries of -finance, he shows us that he felt diffident; and on these matters, how -little is the quantity of full satisfactory undisputed knowledge which -we yet possess! - -Indeed, one of the great merits of Hume's Essays on Political Economy -is, that he knows when he is getting out of his depth, and does not -conceal his position. With many writers on this subject, the point where -clear and satisfactory inquiry ends, is that where dogmatism begins; but -Hume stops at that point, sees and admits the difficulty, and -acknowledges that he can go no farther with safety. - -Among these essays there is one which, like the Oceana of Harrington, -though on a smaller scale, is an attempt to construct a system of -polity. It is called "Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth." The system so put -together is liable to practical objections at every step, and is utterly -destitute of that sagacious applicability to the transactions of real -business, for which the efforts in hypothetical legislation by Bentham -are distinguished.[361:1] - -Another essay of a different character is conspicuous for the vast -extent of the learning and research which must have been expended in -bringing together its crowd of apt illustrations,--that on "The -Populousness of Ancient Nations." To afford a choice of so many -applicable facts, directly bearing on the point, how wide must have been -the research, how extensive the rejection of such fruit of that -research, as did not answer his purpose! In the perusal of this essay -one is inclined to regret that Hume afterwards made a portion of modern -Europe the object of his historical labours, instead of taking up some -department of the history of classical antiquity. The full blown lustre -of Greek and Roman greatness had far more of his sympathy than the -history of his own countrymen, and their slow progress from barbarism to -civilisation. The materials were nearly all confined to the great -spirits of antiquity, with whom he delighted to hold converse, instead -of involving that heap of documentary matter with which the historian of -Britain must grapple; acts of parliament, journals, writs, legal -documents, &c.--all things which his soul abhorred. In such a field he -might have escaped the imputation of not being a full and fair -investigator; and he would, at all events, have avoided the reproach -thrown on him by the prying antiquary, who, by the light of newly -discovered documents, could charge him with having neglected that of -which he did not, and could not, know the existence.[364:1] - -In a letter to Henry Home in 1748, we find Hume mentioning an essay on -the Protestant Succession, as one which he was to include in the edition -of his "Essays Moral and Political," then preparing for the -press.[365:1] He speaks of people having endeavoured to divert him from -this publication, as one likely to be injurious to him as an official -man. Perhaps he was prevailed on to adopt the view of his prudent -friends, for this essay is not among the "Essays Moral and Political," -but forms one of the volume of Discourses, among which it is somewhat -inharmoniously placed, as it is the only one which bears a reference to -the current internal party politics of the day. - -The "Political Discourses" introduced Hume to the literature of the -continent. The works of Quesnay, Riviere, Mirabeau, Raynal, and Turgot, -had not yet appeared, but the public mind of France had been opened for -novel doctrines by the bold appeal of Vauban,[365:2] and by the curious -and original inquiries of Montesquieu. The Discourses appear to have -been first translated by Eleazer Mauvillon, a native of Provence, and -private secretary to Frederic Augustus, King of Poland, who published -his translation in 1753.[365:3] Another, and better known translation, -by the Abbe Le Blanc, was published in 1754.[365:4] This Abbe had spent -some time in England, and wrote a work on his experiences in Britain, -called "Lettres sur les Anglois." He was the author also of a tragedy -called Aben Saeid, which seems to have now lost any fame it ever -acquired. His translations from Hume were, however, highly popular, that -of the Discourses passing through several editions; and we shall find -that they obtained the approbation of Hume himself. The Abbe, in a -letter to the author, gives an account of the reception of the -translation,[366:1] the colour of which he may be supposed to have -enriched, as regarding a matter in which he felt himself to be _pars -magna_. He prophesies that it will produce a like sensation to that -caused by the Esprit des Loix, and he finds his prophecy fulfilled. He -states, that it is not only read with avidity, but that it has given -rise to a multitude of other works. There can be no doubt, indeed, that -as no Frenchman had previously approached the subject of political -economy with a philosophical pen, this little book was a main -instrument, either by causing assent or provoking controversy, in -producing the host of French works on political economy, published -between the time of its translation, and the publication of Smith's -"Wealth of Nations," in 1776.[366:2] The work of the elder Mirabeau in -particular--L'Ami des Hommes, was in a great measure a controversial -examination of Hume's opinions on population. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[320:1] Stewart's Philosophy of the Human Mind, and Preliminary -Dissertation to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. - -[320:2] In the following pages these papers will be cited as the Minto -MSS. - -[320:3] His grandfather distinguished himself by his resolute and -skilful defence of William Veitch, one of the nonconforming clergy, who -suffered in the persecutions of the reign of Charles II. Elliot acting -as the persecuted man's agent, made an appeal to the feelings of the -English statesmen, on the barbarity of the measures of their Scots -colleagues; and was so far successful, that the sentence of death -pronounced against Veitch, was commuted to banishment. He thenceforth -became, of course, a marked man, and an act of forfeiture passed against -him in 1685, as an accessory in Argyle's rising. He afterwards obtained -a remission of his sentence, and on 22d November, 1688, he was received -as a member of the faculty of advocates. He was created a baronet in -1700, and on 25th July, 1705, was raised to the bench. (_Brunton and -Haig's account of the Senators of the College of Justice._) In Dr. -M'Crie's curious "Memoirs of Mr. William Veitch," (p. 99) it is stated, -that when the evil days were passed, and the condemned nonconformist was -parish minister of Dumfries, he was occasionally visited by the judge, -when the following conversation passed between them,--"Ah Willie, -Willie, had it no' been for me, the pyets had been pyken your pate on -the Nether-bow Port;" to which the retort was, "Ah Gibbie, Gibbie, had -it no' been for me, ye would ha'e been yet writing papers for a plack -the page." - -This Sir Gilbert's son, and the father of Hume's correspondent, was -raised to the bench on 4th June, 1726, and became Lord Justice Clerk on -3d May, 1703. He died on 16th April, 1766. - -[321:1] He was chosen member for the county of Selkirk in 1754, and -1762, and for Roxburghshire in 1765, 1768, and 1774. He succeeded to the -baronetcy on his father's death in 1766. He was made a lord of the -admiralty in 1756, treasurer of the chamber in 1762, keeper of the -signet in Scotland in 1767, and treasurer of the navy in 1770. He died -in 1777. _Collins' Peerage. Beatson's Parliamentary Register._ - -[322:1] Minto MS. - -[322:2] See as instances, Washington Irving's "Salmagundi," and Morier's -"Hajji Baba." - -[324:1] Discours sur Theophraste, where there are some bitter and just -remarks on the Parisian manners of La Bruyere's day, as an appropriate -introduction to the exhibition of the follies of the Athenians. - -[324:2] Scroll, Minto MSS. - -[325:1] "La Perpetuite de la Foi, de l'Eglise Catholique touchant -L'Eucharistie," 3 vols. 4to, 1669-1676. A smaller work published by the -same author in 1664, was called "La Petite Perpetuite." Its author, -Pierre Nicole, one of the illustrious recluses of the Port Royal, was -more efficient as a polemical supporter of the principles of his church, -than as a practical administrator of its authority. An amusing story is -told of his unguarded habits and absence of mind. A lady had brought -under his notice, as her spiritual adviser, a matter of extreme -delicacy, with which he felt it difficult to deal. Seeing approach at -the moment Father Fouquet, whom he knew to have much judgment and -experience in such matters, he cried out--"Ah, here comes a man who can -solve the difficulty," and, running to meet him, told the whole case, -loudly and energetically. The feelings of the fair penitent may be -imagined. - -[327:1] Probably "The Bellman's Petition," mentioned above. - -[327:2] Minto MSS. - -[328:1] In the MSS. R.S.E. - -[331:1] The late Rev. Dr. Morehead of St. Paul's Chapel in Edinburgh, -who was revered as a minister, and respected as a scholar and -philosopher, published in 1830, "Dialogues on Natural and Revealed -Religion," a pleasing continuation of the work we have just been -considering, in which the speakers are made to approach a conclusion -nearer to the reverend author's own opinions, than he found them to be -when he had read to the end of Hume's little book. From a note by Dr. -Morehead, I am tempted to extract the following passage: "Mr. Hume was -conscious of his own power, probably while his countrymen were making -him a theme of their uncouth derision; and he seems to have had a -prescience that he had not yet gathered all his fame. . . . . . . I am -much mistaken if the name of this profound thinker does not yet receive -the encomiastic epithets of a _grateful_ posterity; and if, when his -errors have passed away, he does not yet come to be regarded as the -philosopher who has made the most penetrating and successful researches -in the intricate science of human nature. He is a cool anatomist, who -has dissected it throughout every fibre and nerve; and he may be partly -pardoned, perhaps, if, in this sort of remorseless operation, he has too -much lost sight of the principle of its moral and intellectual life." -The Dialogues on Natural Religion seem to have taken a firm hold of Dr. -Morehead's mind. He left behind him a farther continuation, called -"Philosophical Dialogues," in which he beautifully represented the Philo -of the original, revising his old opinions amidst such a serene old age, -as the writer was then himself enjoying. This little work was published -after its author's death, by a distinguished surviving friend, who has -probably done more towards the propagation of Christian philosophy, than -any other living writer of the English language. - -[334:1] Down to this point, the letter is printed in Dugald Stewart's -Preliminary Dissertation to The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Note ccc. - -[336:1] Minto MSS. In this collection there is a scroll of a letter -written by Mr. Elliot to Hume, returning the manuscripts to which the -correspondence refers. It has been published in the notes (ccc,) to -Dugald Stewart's Preliminary Dissertation. It is not only a criticism of -the Dialogues on Natural Religion, but an examination of Hume's general -theory of impressions and ideas, worthy of the perusal of all who take -interest in these inquiries. It is of considerable length, and the -temptation to print it along with Hume's letter, was only overcome by -the circumstance that it is to be found in a work widely circulated, and -that the disposable space in this book may be more economically devoted -to some letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot which are not to be found -elsewhere. - -[337:1] Mrs. Dysart of Eccles, "a much valued relation of Hume," -according to Mackenzie's Account of the Life of Home, p. 104. - -[338:1] Alexander Home, Solicitor-general for Scotland.--_Mackenzie._ - -[339:1] Sic. - -[340:1] In allusion to that mayor who, on his first introduction to -field sports, hearing a cry that the hare was coming, exclaimed, in a -fit of magnanimous courage, "Let him come, in God's name; I fear him -not!" - -[340:2] Mackenzie's Home, p. 104. The original is in the MSS. R.S.E. - -[341:1] Essays Moral and Political, published in 1741. - -[343:1] From a copy transmitted by Ramsay's nephew to Baron Hume, in the -MSS. R.S.E. The blank denoted above is in the copy. - -[344:1] London: 8vo, printed for A. Millar. It is in the book list of -the _Gentleman's Magazine_, for December. - -[344:2] "A Delineation of the Nature and Obligation of Morality, with -Reflections upon Mr. Hume's book, entitled an 'Inquiry concerning the -Principles of Morals.'" - -On the publication of this book, Hume wrote the following letter, -addressed "To the Author of the Delineation of the Nature and -Obligations of Morality," and left it with the bookseller. - -"SIR,--When I write you, I know not to whom I am addressing myself: I -only know he is one who has done me a great deal of honour, and to whose -civilities I am obliged. If we be strangers, I beg we may be acquainted, -as soon as you think proper to discover yourself: if we be acquainted -already, I beg we may be friends: if friends, I beg we may be more so. -Our connexion with each other as men of letters, is greater than our -difference as adhering to different sects or systems. Let us revive the -happy times, when Atticus and Cassius the epicureans, Cicero the -academic, and Brutus the stoic, could all of them live in unreserved -friendship together, and were insensible to all those distinctions, -except so far as they furnished agreeable matter to discourse and -conversation. Perhaps you are a young man, and being full of those -sublime ideas, which you have so well expressed, think there can be no -virtue upon a more confined system. I am not an old one; but, being of a -cool temperament, have always found, that more simple views were -sufficient to make me act in a reasonable manner; +nethe, kai memneso -apistein+; in this faith have I lived, and hope to die. - -"Your civilities to me so much overbalance your severities, that I -should be ungrateful to take notice of some expressions which, in the -heat of composition, have dropped from your pen. I must only complain of -you a little for ascribing to me the sentiments, which I have put into -the mouth of the Sceptic in the "Dialogue." I have surely endeavoured to -refute the sceptic, with all the force of which I am master; and my -refutation must be allowed sincere, because drawn from the capital -principles of my system. But you impute to me both the sentiments of the -sceptic, and the sentiments of his antagonist, which I can never admit -of. In every dialogue no more than one person can be supposed to -represent the author. - -"Your severity on one head, that of chastity, is so great, and I am so -little conscious of having given any just occasion to it, that it has -afforded me a hint to form a conjecture, perhaps ill-grounded, -concerning your person. - -"I hope to steal a little leisure from my other occupations, in order to -defend my philosophy against your attacks. If I have occasion to give a -new edition of the work, which you have honoured with an answer, I shall -make great advantage of your remarks, and hope to obviate some of your -criticisms. - -"Your style is elegant, and full of agreeable imagery. In some few -places it does not fully come up to my ideas of purity and correctness. -I suppose mine falls still further short of your ideas. In this respect, -we may certainly be of use to each other. With regard to our -philosophical systems, I suppose we are both so fixed, that there is no -hope of any conversions betwixt us; and for my part, I doubt not but we -shall both do as well to remain as we are. - -"I am, &c. - -"_Edinburgh, March 15, 1753._" - -[345:1] It is stated in Ritchie's "Account of the Life and Writings of -Hume," from which the above letter is taken, and in some works of -reference, which appear to have depended on the authority of that book, -that Hume was a competitor with Balfour for the chair. This statement -has probably arisen out of some misapprehension as to his previous -competition for the chair. - -[347:1] See the dawning of this view in his correspondence with -Hutcheson, _supra_, p. 112. An essay, entitled "Of some Verbal -Disputes," published in the later editions of the work now under -consideration, contains some curious elucidations of it. - -[351:1] Thomson--Life of Cullen, 72-73--where the above letter is first -printed. Dr. Thomson tells me, that the evidence of Burke having been a -candidate is merely traditional, but that it was enough to satisfy his -own mind. In the "Outlines of Philosophical Education," by Professor -Jardine, who afterwards filled the same chair, there is this passage, -(p. 21:) "Burke, whose genius led him afterwards to shine in a more -exalted sphere, was thought of by some of the electors as a proper -person to fill it. He did not, however, actually come forward as a -candidate." - -[353:1] Dr. Thomson says, "It might afford curious matter of speculation -to conjecture what effect the appointment of Mr. Hume, or of Mr. Burke, -to the chair of logic in Glasgow, would have had upon the character of -that university, or upon the metaphysical, moral, and political -inquiries of the age in which they lived; and what consequences were -likely to have resulted from the influence which the peculiar genius and -talents of either of these great men, had they been exerted in that -sphere, must necessarily have had in forming the minds of such of their -pupils as were to be afterwards employed in the pursuits of science, or -the conduct and regulation of human affairs. It seems difficult to -conceive how, as instructors of youth, they could either of them, -without a considerable modification of their opinions, have taught -philosophy upon the sceptical or the Berkeleian systems which they had -respectively adopted; while the strict purity of their moral characters, -and the great reverence which they both entertained for established -institutions, give the fullest assurance, that, had either of them been -appointed to the chair of logic, their academical duties would have been -executed with an unceasing regard to the improvement of their pupils, -and to the reputation of the society into which they had been admitted." -Life of Cullen, p. 73. - -Smith, in a letter to Dr. Cullen, says, "I should prefer David Hume to -any man for a colleague; but I am afraid the public would not be of my -opinion; and the interest of the society will oblige us to have some -regard to the opinion of the public. If the event, however, we are -afraid of should happen, we can see how the public receives it. From the -particular knowledge I have of Mr. Elliot's sentiments, I am pretty -certain Mr. Lindsay must have proposed it to him, not he to Mr. -Lindsay." Ib. p. 606. - -[354:1] Edinburgh, 1752, 8vo. Printed for Kincaid and Donaldson. It is -in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ list of books for February. - -[354:2] Lord Brougham says, "Of the 'Political Discourses' it would be -difficult to speak in terms of too great commendation. They combine -almost every excellence which can belong to such a performance. The -reasoning is clear, and unencumbered with more words or more -illustrations than are necessary for bringing out the doctrine. The -learning is extensive, accurate, and profound, not only as to systems of -philosophy, but as to history, whether modern or ancient. The subjects -are most happily chosen; the language is elegant, precise, and vigorous; -and so admirably are the topics selected, that there is as little of -dryness in these fine essays as if the subject were not scientific; and -we rise from their perusal scarce able to believe that it is a work of -philosophy we have been reading, having all the while thought it a book -of curiosity and entertainment. The great merit, however, of these -Discourses, is their originality, and the new system of politics and -political economy which they unfold. Mr. Hume is, beyond all doubt, the -author of the modern doctrines which now rule the world of science, -which are to a great extent the guide of practical statesmen, and are -only prevented from being applied in their fullest extent to the affairs -of nations, by the clashing interests and the ignorant prejudices of -certain powerful classes." Lives of Men of Letters, p. 204. - -[355:1] Perhaps a portion of the pleasure with which these essays are -read by those who are not partial to the study of political economy, may -be attributed to their having been written before that science was in -possession of a nomenclature, and thus appearing clothed in the ordinary -language of literature. - -[356:1] It was in the most aristocratic quarters that these innovating -doctrines were best received; for in them was the greatest amount of -education, and its influence was not at that time paralyzed by general -prejudices against innovation. They were more in favour with the Tories -than with the Whigs. Indeed, Archdeacon Tucker, one of the boldest -speculators on the economy of trade, was in state politics one of the -most uncompromising Tories of his age. Fox, on the other hand, said of -the "Wealth of Nations," that "there was something in all these subjects -which passed his comprehension, something so wide that he could never -embrace them himself, or find any one who did." But in the French -treaty, and in other measures regarding trade, Pitt was in the fair way -of putting them into legislative practice, when, being arrested by the -French revolution, he entertained thenceforward a bitter enmity of -innovation; an enmity to which, in the department of political economy, -his party became the heirs, preserving the succession down nearly to the -present day, when, at least by their leader, old prejudices have been -already in a great measure, and are likely soon to be altogether -repudiated. - -[357:1] P. 126. - -[358:1] It is not intended to be maintained that Hume's Political -Economy is immaculate, but merely that in the majority of instances he -has fixed certain truths which later inquiries have not shaken. The -following passage, along with much that is received as true doctrine, -contains some observations, such as those on the tax on German linen, -and on brandy, which modern economists would pronounce to be heterodox. -The question of a gold or a paper currency was one which Hume did not -profess to decide. He described with considerable impartiality the -advantages and the disadvantages of both mediums of exchange. - -"From these principles we may learn what judgment we ought to form of -those numberless bars, obstructions, and imposts, which all nations of -Europe, and none more than England, have put upon trade, from an -exorbitant desire of amassing money, which never will heap up beyond its -level, while it circulates; or from an ill-grounded apprehension of -losing their specie, which never will sink below it. Could any thing -scatter our riches, it would be such impolitic contrivances. But this -general ill effect, however, results from them, that they deprive -neighbouring nations of that free communication and exchange which the -Author of the world has intended, by giving them soils, climates, and -geniuses, so different from each other. - -"Our modern politics embrace the only method of banishing money, the -using of paper credit; they reject the only method of amassing it, the -practice of hoarding; and they adopt a hundred contrivances, which serve -to no purpose but to check industry, and rob ourselves and our -neighbours of the common benefits of art and nature. - -"All taxes, however, upon foreign commodities, are not to be regarded as -prejudicial or useless, but those only which are founded on the jealousy -above mentioned. A tax on German linen encourages home manufactures, and -thereby multiplies our people and industry. A tax on brandy increases -the sale of rum, and supports our southern colonies. And as it is -necessary that imposts should be levied for the support of government, -it may be thought more convenient to lay them on foreign commodities, -which can easily be intercepted at the port, and subjected to the -impost. We ought, however, always to remember the maxim of Dr. Swift, -that, in the arithmetic of the customs, two and two make not four, but -often make only one. It can scarcely be doubted, but if the duties on -wine were lowered to a third, they would yield much more to the -government than at present: our people might thereby afford to drink -commonly a better and more wholesome liquor; and no prejudice would -ensue to the balance of trade, of which we are so jealous. The -manufacture of ale beyond the agriculture is but inconsiderable, and -gives employment to few hands. The transport of wine and corn would not -be much inferior." - -The following account of a banking practice still in lively operation in -Scotland, affords a specimen of Hume's capacity to grapple with -practical details. - -"There was an invention which was fallen upon some years ago by the -banks of Edinburgh, and which, as it was one of the most ingenious ideas -that has been executed in commerce, has also been thought advantageous -to Scotland. It is there called a Bank-Credit, and is of this nature:--A -man goes to the bank, and finds surety to the amount, we shall suppose, -of a thousand pounds. This money, or any part of it, he has the liberty -of drawing out whenever he pleases, and he pays only the ordinary -interest for it while it is in his hands. He may, when he pleases, repay -any sum so small as twenty pounds, and the interest is discounted from -the very day of the repayment. The advantages resulting from this -contrivance are manifold. As a man may find surety nearly to the amount -of his substance, and his bank-credit is equivalent to ready money, a -merchant does hereby in a manner coin his houses, his household -furniture, the goods in his warehouse, the foreign debts due to him, his -ships at sea; and can, upon occasion, employ them in all payments, as if -they were the current money of the country. If a man borrow a thousand -pounds from a private hand, besides that it is not always to be found -when required, he pays interest for it whether he be using it or not: -his bank-credit costs him nothing except during the very moment in which -it is of service to him: and this circumstance is of equal advantage as -if he had borrowed money at much lower interest. Merchants likewise, -from this invention, acquire a great facility in supporting each other's -credit, which is a considerable security against bankruptcies. A man, -when his own bank-credit is exhausted, goes to any of his neighbours who -is not in the same condition, and he gets the money, which he replaces -at his convenience." - -[361:1] Indeed, in all respects, Hume's political economy is rather -analytical of the effect of existing institutions and establishments, -than suggestive of any views on the practicability of any great -amelioration of mankind by positive regulations founded on principles of -political economy. Adam Smith pursued the same method. The mission of -that school was indeed rather to break down than to build up--to find -out and eradicate the mischief that had been done by empiric -legislation; not to attempt new arrangements. While so much mischievous -matter remained to be got rid of, the field was not clear for any -attempts to try the effect of plans of social organization. It is -perhaps only now when the doctrines of the political economists, after -having stood out against neglect and hostility, have been nearly brought -into practice by the successive abolition of the regulations most -objectionable in their eyes, that room has been made for the suggestion -of plans of internal social organization, founded on inquiries both -extensive and minute. In the present position of measures for the -physical and moral purification, and the social organization of this -densely peopled empire,--in the approach to an adjustment of the poor -law,--the reform of the criminal code,--the prison discipline, and the -sanatory suggestions; and still more, in these not being the mere dreams -of utopian theorists, but receiving the countenance and support of -practical statesmen, we appear to have witnessed the dawn of a new era -in political economy. - -Hume seems so far from having himself contemplated the application of -philosophical skill to the organization of large masses of human beings, -that we frequently find in his writings and in his letters, remarks on -the growth of cities, sometimes speaking of certain limits which they -cannot pass, at other times noticing, in a tone of despondency, the -rapid progress of London, as if it were exceeding those bounds within -which mankind can be kept under the dominion of law and order. In the -essay on the Populousness of Ancient Nations, he says, "London, by -uniting extensive commerce and middling empire, has perhaps arrived at a -greatness, which no city will perhaps be able to exceed;" and he fixes -this number at 700,000 inhabitants,--saying farther, "from the -experience of past and present ages, one might conjecture that there is -a kind of impossibility that any city could ever rise much beyond this -proportion." London must then have been considerably under the -population he thus assigns to it, and it had not probably reached that -number of inhabitants twenty-four years later, when we find him, -oppressed by the disease of which he died, saying in a letter to Smith, -"should London fall as much in its size as I have done, it will be the -better. It is nothing but a hulk of bad and unclean humours." - -During Hume's lifetime, the metropolis had been frequently outraged and -intimidated--on some occasions almost desolated, by mobs of city -savages; beings far more formidable and brutal than the savages of the -wilderness. At the time when he published his Political Discourses, it -contained bands of robbers, who followed their trade as openly as the -brigands of the Abruzzi, committing robberies and murders in the middle -of the city, in open day. Those who saw the city increasing in size, -while it retained these evil characteristics, naturally looked upon it -as a cancer, near the most vital part of the empire, and lamented -accordingly its waxing prosperity and bulk. But its size was not the -cause of the evil. It is now three times as populous as when Hume wrote, -yet, with much poverty, much vice, and much ignorance, it is not the -same diseased and dangerous mass it then was. The comparative sober -quietness of the streets,--the well ordered police,--the facilities for -discovering persons who are sought after, without their being subjected -in their movements to any control, inconsistent with British -liberty,--are all, when practised on so large a scale, indications that -human genius has great capacities for organization; and they may be, for -aught that can be seen to the contrary, only the initial movements, -which future generations will carry to far more wonderful results. - -[364:1] Dr. Robert Wallace, a distinguished clergyman of the Church of -Scotland, had prepared for the Philosophical Society, of which he was a -member, an essay, which he enlarged and published in 1752, with the -title, "Dissertations on the Numbers of Mankind in Ancient and Modern -Times;" adding a supplement, in which he examined Hume's discourse on -the Populousness of Ancient Nations. Malthus admitted that Dr. Wallace -was the first to point distinctly to the rule, that to find the limits -of the populousness of any given community, we must look at the quantity -of food at its disposal. But he was not successful in the controversial -application of his principle. Hume's method of inquiry is a double -comparison. The statements of numbers in ancient authors being compared -with the numbers in existing communities, the relative organization for -the supply of food in the two cases is examined, and the author finds -reason to believe that the statements of numbers are greatly exaggerated -by ancient authors, as the state of commerce and transit, and the amount -of stock or capital available for the concentration and distribution of -food, are not such as would enable such multitudes to be supported. Dr. -Wallace, laying down, that where there is the most food there will be -the greatest number of inhabitants, maintains, that as a much greater -proportion of the people were employed in agriculture among the ancients -than the moderns, there must have been more food and consequently more -human beings. It is almost needless, after so much has been written on -this matter, to explain at length the fallacy of this reasoning. The -richest and most populous states are those of which the smallest -proportion of the people are employed in agriculture. A decrease of the -comparative number employed in procuring the necessaries of life is the -mark of increase in wealth and abundance of all things, and is -necessarily accompanied either by a proportionally improved agriculture, -or the purchase of food from poorer communities. - -In the subsequent editions of the "Discourses," Hume acknowledges the -merit of Wallace's book, saying, "So learned a refutation would have -made the author suspect that his reasonings were entirely overthrown, -had he not used the precaution, from the beginning, to keep himself on -the sceptical side; and, having taken this advantage of the ground, he -was enabled, though with much inferior forces, to preserve himself from -a total defeat." - -[365:1] See above, p. 239. - -[365:2] Projet d'un Dime Royale, 4to, 1707--a project for abolishing the -feudal imposts and exemptions, tithes, and internal transit duties, and -levying a general revenue. "Projet," says the Dictionnaire Historique, -"digne d'un bon patriote, mais dont l'execution est tres-difficile." In -Hume's notes of his early reading, we find him referring to Vauban, see -p. 131. - -[365:3] Discours Politiques traduits de L'Anglais, par M. D' M*** -Amsterdam, 1753. Querard--_La France Litteraire_. - -[365:4] With the same title as the above. It was reprinted at Berlin in -1775. - -[366:1] See the letter in the Appendix. - -[366:2] There is evidence of the lasting hold which the Discourses had -taken on the minds of the French, in the appearance of a new translation -so late as 1766, with the title, "Essais sur le Commerce; le Luxe; -l'argent; l'interet de l'argent; les impots; le credit public, et la -balance du commerce; par M. David Hume," published at Amsterdam in 1766, -and Paris in 1767. Querard attributes this translation to a Mademoiselle -de la Chaux. So far as we are entitled to judge of a translation into a -foreign language, this one seems to be very spirited, speaking through -French idioms and ideas, and ingeniously overcoming the very few -conventionalisms which could not have been avoided by a native of -Britain, speaking of British trade and finance. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -1752-1755. AEt. 41-44. - - Appointment as keeper of the Advocates' Library--His Duties-- - Commences the History of England--Correspondence with Adam - Smith and others on the History--Generosity to Blacklock the - Poet--Quarrel with the Faculty of Advocates--Publication of - the First Volume of the History--Its reception--Continues - the History--Controversial and Polemical attacks--Attempt - to subject him, along with Kames, to the Discipline of - Ecclesiastical Courts--The Leader of the attack--Home's - "Douglas"--The first Edinburgh Review. - - -"In 1752," says Hume in his "own life," "the Faculty of Advocates chose -me their librarian, an office from which I received little or no -emolument, but which gave me the command of a large library."[367:1] We -have a very glowing account of the contest for this appointment from -his own pen in the following letter: - - -HUME TO DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, February 4th, 1752._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I have been ready to burst with vanity and self-conceit -this week past; and being obliged from decorum to keep a strict watch -over myself, and check all eruptions of that kind, I really begin to -find my health impaired by it, and perceive that there is an absolute -necessity for breathing a vein, and giving a loose to my inclination. -You shall therefore be my physician, "Dum podagricus fit pugil et -medicum urget." You must sustain the overflowings of my pride; and I -expect, too, that by a little flattery you are to help nature in her -discharge, and draw forth a still greater flux of the peccant matter. -'Tis not on my account alone you are to take part in this great event; -philosophy, letters, science, virtue, triumph along with me, and have -now in this one singular instance, brought over even the people from the -side of bigotry and superstition. - -"This is a very pompous exordium, you see; but what will you say when I -tell you that all this is occasioned by my obtaining a petty office of -forty or fifty guineas a-year. Since Caligula of lunatic memory, who -triumphed on account of the cockle shells which he gathered on the sea -shore, no one has ever erected a trophy for so small an advantage. But -judge not by appearances! perhaps you will think, when you know all the -circumstances, that this success is both as extraordinary in itself, and -as advantageous to me, as any thing which could possibly have happened. - -"You have probably heard that my friends in Glasgow, contrary to my -opinion and advice, undertook to get me elected into that college; and -they had succeeded, in spite of the violent and solemn remonstrances of -the clergy, if the Duke of Argyle had had courage to give me the least -countenance. Immediately upon the back of this failure, which should -have blasted for some time all my pretensions, the office of library -keeper to the Faculty of Advocates fell vacant, a genteel office, though -of small revenue; and as this happened suddenly, my name was immediately -set up by my friends without my knowledge. The President, and the Dean -of Faculty his son, who used to rule absolutely in this body of -advocates, formed an aversion to the project, because it had not come -from them; and they secretly engaged the whole party called squadroney -against me. The bigots joined them, and both together set up a gentleman -of character, and an advocate, and who had great favour on both these -accounts. The violent cry of deism, atheism, and scepticism, was raised -against me; and 'twas represented that my election would be giving the -sanction of the greatest and most learned body of men in this country -to my profane and irreligious principles. But what was more dangerous, -my opponents entered into a regular concert and cabal against me; while -my friends were contented to speak well of their project in general, -without having once formed a regular list of the electors, or considered -of the proper methods of engaging them. Things went on in this negligent -manner till within six days of the election, when they met together and -found themselves in some danger of being outnumbered; immediately upon -which they raised the cry of indignation against the opposite party; and -the public joined them so heartily, that our antagonists durst show -their heads in no companies nor assemblies: expresses were despatched to -the country, assistance flocked to us from all quarters, and I carried -the election by a considerable majority, to the great joy of all -bystanders. When faction and party enter into a cause, the smallest -trifle becomes important. Nothing since the rebellion has ever so much -engaged the attention of this town, except Provost Stewart's trial; and -there scarce is a man whose friendship or acquaintance I would desire, -who has not given me undoubted proofs of his concern and regard. - -"What is more extraordinary, the cry of religion could not hinder the -ladies from being violently my partisans, and I owe my success in a -great measure to their solicitations. One has broke off all commerce -with her lover, because he voted against me! and W. Lockhart, in a -speech to the Faculty, said that there was no walking the streets, nor -even enjoying one's own fireside, on account of their importunate zeal. -The town says, that even his bed was not safe for him, though his wife -was cousin-german to my antagonist. - -"'Twas vulgarly given out, that the contest was betwixt Deists and -Christians; and when the news of my success came to the Play-house, the -whisper ran that the Christians were defeated. Are you not surprised -that we could keep our popularity, notwithstanding this imputation, -which my friends could not deny to be well founded? - -"The whole body of cadies bought flambeux, and made illuminations to -mark their pleasure at my success; and next morning I had the drums and -town music at my door, to express their joy, as they said, of my being -made a great man. They could not imagine, that so great a fray could be -raised about so mere a trifle. - -"About a fortnight before, I had published a Discourse of the Protestant -Succession, wherein I had very liberally abused both Whigs and Tories; -yet I enjoyed the favour of both parties. - -"Such, dear Doctor, is the triumph of your friend; yet, amidst all this -greatness and glory, even though master of 30,000 volumes, and -possessing the smiles of a hundred fair ones, in this very pinnacle of -human grandeur and felicity, I cast a favourable regard on you, and -earnestly desire your friendship and good-will: a little flattery too, -from so eminent a hand, would be very acceptable to me. You know you are -somewhat in my debt, in that particular. The present I made you of my -Inquiry, was calculated both as a mark of my regard, and as a snare to -catch a little incense from you. Why do you put me to the necessity of -giving it to myself? - -"Please tell General St. Clair, that W. St. Clair, the Advocate, voted -for me on his account; but his nephew, Sir David, was so excessively -holy, that nothing could bring him over from the opposite party, for -which he is looked down upon a little by the fashionable company in -town. But he is a very pretty fellow, and will soon regain the little -ground he has lost. - -"I am, dear Doctor, yours sincerely." - - -This letter is evidently but half serious. That there was a good deal of -contest and caballing is pretty clear; and it is equally clear that Hume -took a deep interest in the result: but he appears to have been inclined -to laugh a little at his own fervour, and to hide the full extent of his -feelings under a cloud of playful exaggeration. - -The Advocates' Library, which is now probably next in extent in Britain -after the Bodleian, cannot then have borne any great proportion to its -present size. It had, however, existed for upwards of seventy years, and -was undoubtedly the largest collection of books in Scotland. It was -rich, perhaps unrivalled, in the works of the civilians and canonists, -and possessed, what was more valuable to Hume, a considerable body of -British historical literature, printed and MS.[373:1] Hume's duties must -have involved some attention, not only to the classification and custody -of the books, but to the arrangements for making them accessible to the -members of the Faculty, as numerous entries in his hand are to be found -in the receipt book for borrowed books.[373:2] - -Hume informs us, that the stores thus put at his command enabled him to -put his historical designs in practice, by commencing the "History of -England." We shall now find a great part of his correspondence devoted -to the "History of the House of Stuart," which appears to have been -commenced early in 1752. The following is the earliest extant letter to -Smith: - - -HUME _to_ ADAM SMITH. - -"_24th Sept. 1752._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I confess I was once of the same opinion with you, and -thought that the best period to begin an English history was about Henry -the Seventh. But you will please to observe, that the change which then -happened in public affairs, was very insensible, and did not display its -influence till many years afterwards. 'Twas under James that the House -of Commons began first to raise their head, and then the quarrel betwixt -privilege and prerogative commenced. The government, no longer oppressed -by the enormous authority of the crown, displayed its genius; and the -factions which then arose, having an influence on our present affairs, -form the most curious, interesting, and instructive part of our history. -The preceding events, or causes, may easily be shown, in a reflection or -review, which may be artfully inserted in the body of the work; and the -whole, by that means, be rendered more compact and uniform. I confess, -that the subject appears to me very fine; and I enter upon it with great -ardour and pleasure. You need not doubt of my perseverance. - -"I am just now diverted for a moment, by correcting my 'Essays Moral and -Political,' for a new edition. If any thing occur to you to be inserted -or retrenched, I shall be obliged to you for the hint. In case you -should not have the last edition by you, I shall send you a copy of it. -In that edition I was engaged to act contrary to my judgment, in -retaining the sixth and seventh Essays,[375:1] which I had resolved to -throw out, as too frivolous for the rest, and not very agreeable -neither, even in that trifling manner: but Millar, my bookseller, made -such protestations against it, and told me how much he had heard them -praised by the best judges, that the bowels of a parent melted, and I -preserved them alive. - -"All the rest of Bolingbroke's works went to the press last week, as -Millar informs me. I confess my curiosity is not much raised. - -"I had almost lost your letter by its being wrong directed. I received -it late, which was the reason why you got not sooner a copy of Joannes -Magnus. Direct to me in Riddal's Land, Lawnmarket. I am, dear Sir, yours -sincerely."[376:1] - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -_1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I need not inform you, that in certain polite countries, -a custom prevails, of writing _lettres de la nouvelle annee_, and that -many advantages result from this practice, which may seem merely -ceremonious and formal. Acquaintance is thereby kept up, friendship -revived, quarrels extinguished, negligence atoned for, and -correspondences renewed. A man who has been so long conscious of his -sins, that he knows not how to return into the way of salvation, taking -advantage of this great jubilee, wipes off all past offences, and -obtains plenary indulgence; instances are not wanting of such reclaimed -sinners, who have afterwards proved the greatest saints, and have even -heaped up many works of supererogation. Will you allow me, therefore, -dear Doctor, in consideration of my present penitence, and hopes of my -future amendment, to address myself to you, and to wish you many and -happy new years, _multos et felices_. May pleasures spiritual -(_spirituels_) multiply upon you without a decay of the carnal. May -riches increase without an augmentation of desires. May your chariot -still roll along without a failure of your limbs. May your tongue in due -time acquire the _social sweet garrulity_ of age, without your teeth -losing the sharpness and keenness of youth. May ---- but you yourself -will best supply the last prayer, whether it should be for the recovery -or continuance of the blessing which I hint at. In either case, may your -prayer be granted, even though it should extend to the resurrection of -the dead. - -"I must now set you an example, and speak of myself. By this I mean that -you are to speak to me of yourself. I shall exult and triumph to you a -little, that I have now at last--being turned of forty, to my own -honour, to that of learning, and to that of the present age--arrived at -the dignity of being a householder. About seven months ago, I got a -house of my own, and completed a regular family; consisting of a head, -viz. myself, and two inferior members, a maid and a cat. My sister has -since joined me, and keeps me company. With frugality I can reach, I -find, cleanliness, warmth, light, plenty, and contentment. What would -you have more? Independence? I have it in a supreme degree. Honour? that -is not altogether wanting. Grace? that will come in time. A wife? that -is none of the indispensable requisites of life. Books? that _is_ one of -them; and I have more than I can use. In short, I cannot find any -blessing of consequence which I am not possessed of, in a greater or -less degree; and without any great effort of philosophy, I may be easy -and satisfied. - -"As there is no happiness without occupation, I have begun a work which -will employ me several years, and which yields me much satisfaction. -'Tis a History of Britain, from the Union of the Crowns to the present -time. I have already finished the reign of King James. My friends -flatter me (by this I mean that they don't flatter me) that I have -succeeded. You know that there is no post of honour in the English -Parnassus more vacant than that of history. Style, judgment, -impartiality, care--every thing is wanting to our historians; and even -Rapin, during this latter period, is extremely deficient. I make my work -very concise, after the manner of the ancients. It divides into three -very moderate volumes: one to end with the death of Charles the First; -the second at the Revolution; the third at the Accession,[378:1] for I -dare come no nearer the present times. The work will neither please the -Duke of Bedford nor James Fraser; but I hope it will please you and -posterity. +Ktema eis aei.+ - -"So, dear Doctor, after having mended my pen, and bit my nails, I return -to the narration of parliamentary factions, or court intrigues, or civil -wars, and bid you heartily adieu. - -"_Edinburgh, Riddal's Land, 5th January, 1753._ - -"P.S.--When I say that I dare come no nearer the present time than the -Accession, you are not to imagine that I am afraid either of danger or -offence; I hope, in many instances, that I have shown myself to be above -all laws of prudence and discretion. I only mean, that I should be -afraid of committing mistakes, in writing of so recent a period, by -reason of the want of materials."[379:1] - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, 6th March, 1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--This is delivered to you by my friend Mr. -Wedderburn,[379:2] who makes a jaunt to London, partly with a view to -study, partly to entertainment. I thought I could not do him a better -office, nor more suitable to both these purposes, than to recommend him -to the friendship and acquaintance of a man of learning and -conversation. He is young: - - 'Mais dans les ames bien nees - La vertue n'attend point le nombre des annees.' - -It will be a great obligation, both to him and me, if you give him -encouragement to see you frequently; and, after that, I doubt not you -will think that you owe me an obligation-- - - 'La in giovenile corpo senile senno.' - -"But I will say no more of him, lest my letter fall into the same fault -which may be remarked in his behaviour and conduct in life; the only -fault which has been remarked in them, that of promising so much that it -will be difficult for him to support it. You will allow that he must -have been guilty of some error of this kind, when I tell you that the -man, with whose friendship and company I have thought myself very much -favoured, and whom I recommend to you as a friend and companion, is just -twenty. I am, dear Doctor, your affectionate friend and servant."[379:3] - - -HUME _to_ JAMES OSWALD. - -"_Jack's Land, 28th June, 1753._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I am to give you great and very hearty thanks for your care -in providing for my cousin, at my desire. The quickness in doing it, and -the many obliging circumstances attending that good office, I shall not -readily forget. What is usual, they say, makes little impression; but -that this rule admits of exceptions, I feel upon every instance of your -friendship. - -"Mr. Mure told me that you had undertaken to get satisfaction with -regard to the old English _subsidies_. I cannot satisfy myself on that -head; but I find that all historians and antiquarians are as much at a -loss. The nobility, I observe, paid according to their rank and quality, -not their estates. The counties were subjected to no valuation; but it -was in the power of the commissioners to sink the sums demanded upon -every individual, without raising it upon others; and they practised -this art when discontented with the court, as Charles complains of with -regard to the subsidies voted by his third parliament: yet it seems -certain that there must have been some rule of estimation. What was it? -Why was it so variable? Lord Strafford raised an Irish subsidy from -L12,000 to L40,000, by changing the rule of valuation; but the Irish -Parliament, after his impeachment, brought it down again: if Mr. Harding -undertakes the solution of this matter, it will be requisite to have -these difficulties in his eye. I am glad to hear that we are to have -your company here this summer, and that I shall have an opportunity of -talking over this, and many other subjects, where I want your advice and -opinion. The more I advance in my work, the more I am convinced that the -history of England has never yet been written; not only for style, -which is notorious to all the world, but also for matter; such is the -ignorance and partiality of all our historians. Rapin, whom I had an -esteem for, is totally despicable. I may be liable to the reproach of -ignorance, but I am certain of escaping that of partiality: the truth -is, there is so much reason to blame, and praise, alternately, king and -parliament, that I am afraid the mixture of both, in my composition, -being so equal, may pass sometimes for an affectation, and not the -result of judgment and evidence. Of this you shall be judge; for I am -resolved to encroach on your leisure and patience; - - Quem vero arripuit, tenet occiditque legendo. - -Let me hear of you as you pass through the town, that we may concert -measures for my catching you idle, and without company, at Kirkcaldy. I -am," &c.[381:1] - - -The rapidity with which the first volume of the "History of England" was -composed and printed, has been the object both of surprise and censure. -Hume's labours at this time must have been intense; and during the whole -of the period in which he was engaged in the different departments of -this great work--from 1752 to 1763--his correspondence is more scanty -than at other periods of his history. Four months elapse between the -letter last printed, and the next in order which has been preserved; and -in the latter, we find him very wittily alluding to those great labours -which he finds absorbing the petty duties of social intercourse. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_28th October, 1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I know not if you remember the giant in Rabelais, who -swallowed every morning a windmill to breakfast, and at last was choked -upon a pound of melted butter, hot from an oven. I am going to compare -myself to that giant. I think nothing of despatching a quarto in fifteen -or eighteen months, but am not able to compose a letter once in two -years; and am very industrious to keep up a correspondence with -posterity, whom I know nothing about, and who, probably, will concern -themselves very little about me, while I allow myself to be forgot by my -friends, whom I value and regard. However, it is some satisfaction that -I can give you an account of my silence, with which I own I reproach -myself. I have now brought down my History to the death of Charles the -First: and here I intend to pause for some time; to read, and think, and -correct; to look forward and backward; and to adopt the most moderate -and most reasonable sentiments on all subjects. I am sensible that the -history of the two first Stuarts will be most agreeable to the Tories; -that of the two last to the Whigs; but we must endeavour to be above any -regard either to Whigs or Tories. - -"Having thus satisfied your curiosity--for I will take it for granted -that your curiosity extends towards me--I must now gratify my own. I was -very anxious to hear that you had been molested with some disorders this -summer. I was told that you expected they would settle into a fit of the -gout. It is lucky where that distemper overtakes a man in his chariot: -we foot-walkers make but an awkward figure with it. I hope nobody has -the impertinence to say to you, Physician, cure thyself. All the world -allows that privilege to the gout, that it is not to be cured: it is -itself a physician; and, of course, sometimes cures and sometimes kills. -I fancy one fit of the gout would much increase your stock of -interjections, and render that part of speech, which in common grammars -is usually the most barren, with you more copious than either nouns or -verbs. - -"I must tell you good news of our friend Sir Harry. I am informed that -his talent for eloquence will not rust for want of employment: he bids -fair for another seat of the house; and what is the charming part of the -story, it is General Anstruther's seat which he is to obtain. He has -made an attack on the General's boroughs, and, by the assistance of his -uncle's interest and purse, is likely to prevail. Is not this delicious -revenge? It brings to my mind the story of the Italian, who reading that -passage of Scripture, 'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,' burst forth, -'Ay, to be sure; it is too sweet for any mortal.' I own I envy Sir -Harry: I never can hope to hate any body so perfectly as he does that -renowned commander; and no victory, triumph, vengeance, success, can be -more complete. Are not you pleased too? Pray, anatomize your own mind, -and tell me how many grains of your satisfaction is owing to malice, and -how many ounces to friendship. I leave the rest of this paper to be -filled up by Edmonstone. I am, &c. - -"P.S.--After keeping this by me eight days, I have never been able to -meet with Edmonstone. I must, therefore, send off my own part of a -letter which we projected in common. I shall only tell you, that I have -since seen Mr. Oswald, who assures me that Anstruther's defeat is -infallible."[383:1] - - -The following letter to the same friend is a curious instance of Hume's -diligent efforts to attain a correct English style:-- - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, 8th Dec. 1753._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I am at present reduced to the utmost straits and -difficulties. I know people are commonly ashamed to own such distresses. -But to whom can one have recourse in his misfortunes, but to his -friends? and who can I account my friend, if not Dr. Clephane? not a -friend only in the sunshine of fortune, but also in the shade of -adversity: not a security only in a calm; but in a storm a sheet-anchor. -But, to cut short all prefaces,--though, commonly, beggars and authors -abound with them, and I unite both these qualities,--the occasion of my -distress is as follows: - -"You know that the word _enough_, or _enuff_, as it is pronounced by the -English, we commonly, in Scotland, when it is applied to number, -pronounce enow. Thus we would say: such a one has books enow for study, -but not leisure enuff. Now I want to know, whether the English make the -same distinction. I observed the distinction already in Lord -Shaftesbury; 'Though there be doors enow,' says he, 'to get out of -life;' and thinking that this distinction of spelling words, that had -both different letters, and different pronunciation, was an improvement, -I followed it in my learned productions, though I knew it was not usual. -But there has lately arisen in me a doubt, that this is a mere -Scotticism; and that the English always pronounce the word, as if it -were wrote enuff, whether it be applied to numbers or to quantity. To -you, therefore, I apply in this doubt and perplexity. Though I make no -question that your ear is well purged from all native impurities, yet -trust not entirely to it, but ask any of your English friends, that -frequent good company, and let me know their opinion. - -"It is a rule of Vaugelas always to consult the ladies, rather than men, -in all doubts of language; and he asserts, that they have a more -delicate sense of the propriety of expressions. The same author advises -us, if we desire any one's opinion in any grammatical difficulty, not to -ask him directly; for that confounds his memory, and makes him forget -the use, which is the true standard of language. The best way, says he, -is to engage him as it were by accident, to employ the expression about -which we are in doubt. Now, if you are provided of any expedient, for -making the ladies pronounce the word enough, applied both to quantity -and number, I beg you to employ it, and to observe carefully and -attentively, whether they make any difference in the pronunciation. I -am, &c. - -"P.S.--I am quite in earnest in desiring a solution of my grammatical -doubt."[385:1] - - -The gentle sensitive character, and hard fate of poor blind Thomas -Blacklock, the poet, operated strongly on Hume's kindly feelings. He -busied himself with many schemes for enabling his unfortunate friend to -gain a subsistence which might make him enjoy "the glorious privilege of -being independent:" but with small success. This appears to be the only -pursuit which he permitted to divert his attention, at this time, from -his great work. We find him writing the following letter to a person -whose position in society might enable him to do some substantial -service to Blacklock. - - -HUME _to_ MATTHEW SHARP _of Hoddam_. - -"_Edinburgh, 25th February, 1754._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I have enclosed this letter under one to my friend Mr. -Blacklock, who has retired to Dumfries, and proposes to reside there for -some time. His character and situation are no doubt known to you, and -challenge the greatest regard from every one who has either good taste -or sentiments of humanity. He has printed a collection of poems, which -his friends are endeavouring to turn to the best account for him. Had he -published them in the common way, their merit would have recommended -them sufficiently to common sale; but, in that case, the greatest part -of the profit, it is well known, would have redounded to the -booksellers. His friends, therefore, take copies from him, and -distribute them among their acquaintances. The poems, if I have the -smallest judgment, are, many of them, extremely beautiful, and all of -them remarkable for correctness and propriety. Every man of taste, from -the merit of the performance, would be inclined to purchase them: every -benevolent man, from the situation of the author, would wish to -encourage him; and, as for those who have neither taste nor benevolence, -they should be forced, by importunity, to do good against their will. I -must, therefore, recommend it to you to send for a cargo of these poems, -which the author's great modesty will prevent him from offering to you, -and to engage your acquaintance to purchase them. But, dear sir, I would -fain go farther: I would fain presume upon our friendship, (which now -begins to be ancient between us,) and recommend to your civilities a man -who does honour to his country by his talents, and disgraces it by the -little encouragement he has hitherto met with. He is a man of very -extensive knowledge and of singular good dispositions; and his -poetical, though very much to be admired, is the least part of his -merit. He is very well qualified to instruct youth, by his acquaintance -both with the languages and sciences; and possesses so many arts of -supplying the want of sight, that that imperfection would be no -hinderance. Perhaps he may entertain some such project in Dumfries; and -be assured you could not do your friends a more real service than by -recommending them to him. Whatever scheme he may choose to embrace, I -was desirous you should be prepossessed in his favour, and be willing to -lend him your countenance and protection, which I am sensible would be -of great advantage to him. - -"Since I saw you, I have not been idle. I have endeavoured to make some -use of the library which was intrusted to me, and have employed myself -in a composition of British History, beginning with the union of the two -crowns. I have finished the reigns of James and Charles, and will soon -send them to the press. I have the impudence to pretend that I am of no -party, and have no bias. Lord Elibank says, that I am a moderate Whig, -and Mr. Wallace that I am a candid Tory. I was extremely sorry that I -could not recommend your friend to Director Hume,[387:1] as Mr. Cummin -desired me. I have never exchanged a word with that gentleman since I -carried Jemmy Kirkpatrick to him; and our acquaintance has entirely -dropt. I am," &c.[387:2] - - -Another letter by Hume, longer and fuller of detail, though it has -already appeared in a work well known and much read,[387:3] seems to -demand insertion here. It is addressed to the author of Polymetis and -friend of Pope. - - -HUME _to_ JOSEPH SPENCE. - - _Edinburgh, Oct. 15, 1754._ - - SIR,--The agreeable productions, with which you have - entertained the public, have long given me a desire of being - known to you: but this desire has been much increased by my - finding you engage so warmly in protecting a man of merit, so - helpless as Mr. Blacklock. I hope you will indulge me in the - liberty I have taken of writing to you. I shall very willingly - communicate all the particulars I know of him; though others, - by their longer acquaintance with him, are better qualified - for this undertaking. - - The first time I had ever seen or heard of Mr. Blacklock was - about twelve years ago, when I met him in a visit to two young - ladies. They informed me of his case, as far as they could in - a conversation carried on in his presence. I soon found him to - possess a very delicate taste, along with a passionate love of - learning. Dr. Stevenson had, at that time, taken him under his - protection; and he was perfecting himself in the Latin tongue. - I repeated to him Mr. Pope's elegy to the memory of an - unfortunate lady, which I happened to have by heart: and - though I be a very bad reciter, I saw it affected him - extremely. His eyes, indeed, the great index of the mind, - could express no passion: but his whole body was thrown into - agitation. That poem was equally qualified to touch the - delicacy of his taste, and the tenderness of his feelings. I - left the town a few days after; and being long absent from - Scotland, I neither saw nor heard of him for several years. At - last an acquaintance of mine told me of him, and said that he - would have waited on me, if his excessive modesty had not - prevented him. He soon appeared what I have ever since found - him, a very elegant genius, of a most affectionate grateful - disposition, a modest backward temper, accompanied with that - delicate pride, which so naturally attends virtue in distress. - His great moderation and frugality, along with the generosity - of a few persons, particularly Dr. Stevenson and Provost - Alexander, had hitherto enabled him to subsist. All his good - qualities are diminished, or rather perhaps embellished, by a - great want of knowledge of the world. Men of very benevolent - or very malignant dispositions are apt to fall into this - error; because they think all mankind like themselves: but I - am sorry to say that the former are apt to be most egregiously - mistaken. - - I have asked him whether he retained any idea of light or - colours. He assured me that there remained not the least - traces of them. I found, however, that all the poets, even the - most descriptive ones, such as Milton and Thomson, were read - by him with pleasure. Thomson is one of his favourites. I - remembered a story in Locke of a blind man, who said that he - knew very well what scarlet was: it was like the sound of a - trumpet. I therefore asked him, whether he had not formed - associations of that kind, and whether he did not connect - colour and sound together. He answered, that as he met so - often, both in books and conversation, with the terms - expressing colours, he had formed some false associations, - which supported him when he read, wrote, or talked of colours: - but that the associations were of the intellectual kind. The - illumination of the sun, for instance, he supposed to resemble - the presence of a friend; the cheerful colour of green, to be - like an amiable sympathy, &c. It was not altogether easy for - me to understand him: though I believe, in much of our own - thinking, there will be found some species of association. - 'Tis certain we always think in some language, viz. in that - which is most familiar to us; and 'tis but too frequent to - substitute words instead of ideas. - - If you was acquainted with any mystic, I fancy you would think - Mr. Blacklock's case less paradoxical. The mystics certainly - have associations by which their discourse, which seems jargon - to us, becomes intelligible to themselves. I believe they - commonly substitute the feelings of a common amour, in the - place of their heavenly sympathies: and if they be not belied, - the type is very apt to engross their hearts, and exclude the - thing typified. - - Apropos to this passion, I once said to my friend, Mr. - Blacklock, that I was sure he did not treat love as he did - colours; he did not speak of it without feeling it. There - appeared too much reality in all his expressions to allow that - to be suspected. "Alas!" said he, with a sigh, "I could never - bring my heart to a proper tranquillity on that head." Your - passion, replied I, will always be better founded than ours, - who have sight: we are so foolish as to allow ourselves to be - captivated by exterior beauty: nothing but the beauty of the - mind can affect you. "Not altogether neither," said he: "the - sweetness of the voice has a mighty effect upon me: the - symptoms of youth too, which the touch discovers, have great - influence. And though such familiar approaches would be - ill-bred in others, the girls of my acquaintance indulge me, - on account of my blindness, with the liberty of running over - them with my hand. And I can by that means judge entirely of - their shape. However, no doubt, humour, and temper, and sense, - and other beauties of the mind, have an influence upon me as - upon others." - - You may see from this conversation how difficult it is even - for a blind man to be a perfect Platonic. But though Mr. - Blacklock never wants his Evanthe, who is the real object of - his poetical addresses, I am well assured that all his - passions have been perfectly consistent with the purest virtue - and innocence. His life indeed has been in all respects - perfectly irreproachable. - - He had got some rudiments of Latin in his youth, but could not - easily read a Latin author till he was near twenty, when Dr. - Stevenson put him to a grammar school in Edinburgh. He got a - boy to lead him, whom he found very docible; and he taught him - Latin. This boy accompanied him to the Greek class in the - College, and they both learned Greek. Mr. Blacklock - understands that language perfectly, and has read with a very - lively pleasure all the Greek authors of taste. Mr. William - Alexander, second son to our late provost, and present member, - was so good as to teach him French; and he is quite master of - that language. He has a very tenacious memory and a quick - apprehension. The young students of the College were very - desirous of his company, and he reaped the advantage of their - eyes, and they of his instructions. He is a very good - philosopher, and in general possesses all branches of - erudition, except the mathematical. The lad who first attended - him having left him, he has got another boy, whom he is - beginning to instruct; and he writes me that he is extremely - pleased with his docility. The boy's parents, who are people - of substance, have put him into Mr. Blacklock's service, - chiefly on account of the virtuous and learned education which - they know he gives his pupils. - - As you are so generous to interest yourself in this poor man's - case, who is so much an object both of admiration and - compassion, I must inform you entirely of his situation. He - has gained about one hundred guineas by this last edition of - his poems, and this is the whole stock he has in the world. He - has also a bursary, about six pounds a-year. I begun a - subscription for supporting him during five years; and I made - out twelve guineas a-year among my acquaintance. That is a - most terrible undertaking; and some unexpected refusals I met - with, damped me, though they have not quite discouraged me - from proceeding. We have the prospect of another bursary of - ten pounds a-year in the gift of the exchequer; but to the - shame of human nature, we met with difficulties. Noblemen - interpose with their valet-de-chambres or nurses' sons, who - they think would be burdens on themselves. Could we ensure but - thirty pounds a-year to this fine genius and man of virtue, he - would be easy and happy: for his wants are none but those - which Nature has given him, though she has unhappily loaded - him with more than other men. - - His want of knowledge of the world, and the great delicacy of - his temper, render him unfit for managing boys or teaching a - school: he would retain no authority. Had it not been for this - defect, he could have been made professor of Greek in the - University of Aberdeen. - - Your scheme of publishing his poems by subscription, I hope - will turn to account. I think it impossible he could want, - were his case more generally known. I hope it will be so by - your means. Sir George Lyttleton, who has so fine a taste, and - so much benevolence of temper, would certainly, were the case - laid before him in a just light, lend his assistance, or - rather indeed quite overcome all difficulties. I know not, - whether you have the happiness of that gentleman's - acquaintance. - - As you are a lover of letters, I shall inform you of a piece - of news, which will be agreeable to you: we may hope to see - good tragedies in the English language. A young man called - Hume, a clergyman of this country, discovers a very fine - genius for that species of composition. Some years ago, he - wrote a tragedy called Agis, which some of the best judges, - such as the Duke of Argyle, Sir George Lyttleton, Mr. Pitt, - very much approved of. I own, though I could perceive fine - strokes in that tragedy, I never could in general bring myself - to like it: the author, I thought, had corrupted his taste by - the imitation of Shakspere, whom he ought only to have - admired. But the same author has composed a new tragedy on a - subject of invention; and here he appears a true disciple of - Sophocles and Racine. I hope in time he will vindicate the - English stage from the reproach of barbarism. - - I shall be very glad if the employing my name in your account - of Mr. Blacklock can be of any service. I am, Sir, with great - regard, &c. - - P.S.--Mr. Blacklock is very docible, and glad to receive - corrections. I am only afraid he is too apt to have a - deference for other people's judgment. I did not see the last - edition till it was printed; but I have sent him some - objections to passages, for which he was very thankful. I also - desired him to retrench some poems entirely; such as the Ode - on Fortitude, and some others, which seemed to me inferior to - the rest of the collection. You will very much oblige him, if - you use the same freedom. I remarked to him some Scotticisms; - but you are better qualified for doing him that service. I - have not seen any of his essays; and am afraid his prose is - inferior to his poetry. He will soon be in town, when I shall - be enabled to write you further particulars. - -In 1756, Spence published his edition of Blacklock's poems, with a long -introduction, in which all allusion to Hume's letter, and his services -to Blacklock, is carefully avoided. Blacklock was subsequently -alienated from Hume, and was accused by some of ingratitude; while -others threw the odium of the dispute on Hume, who, they said, was -mortified because Spence's edition of Blacklock's Poems was not -dedicated to him. Whoever may have been in the wrong, the latter -supposition is erroneous, as we shall find Hume at a much later period -conferring services on Blacklock, who in his turn gratefully -acknowledges them. The zeal of Spence to blot from the work any mark -that might connect it with the name of Hume, is alluded to with -good-natured sarcasm, in a letter to Dr. Clephane, farther on. - -The following letter, connected with another curious circumstance, -describes an incident in Hume's conduct to Blacklock. - - -HUME _to_ ADAM SMITH. - -"_Edinburgh, 17th December, 1754._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I told you that I intended to apply to the Faculty for -redress; and, if refused, to throw up the library. I was assured that -two of the curators intended before the Faculty to declare their -willingness to redress me, after which there could be no difficulty to -gain a victory over the other two. But before the day came, the Dean -prevailed on them to change their resolution, and joined them himself -with all his interest. I saw it then impossible to succeed, and -accordingly retracted my application. But being equally unwilling to -lose the use of the books, and to bear an indignity, I retain the -office, but have given Blacklock, our blind poet, a bond of annuity for -the salary. I have now put it out of these malicious fellows' power to -offer me any indignity, while my motive for remaining in this office is -so apparent. I should be glad that you approve of my conduct. I own I -am satisfied with myself."[394:1] - - -The following minute or memorandum, in Hume's handwriting,[394:2] -explains the ground of his disgust. One of the "malicious fellows" -appears to have been Lord Monboddo; another, Sir David Dalrymple, -afterwards Lord Hailes, with whom he never was on very cordial terms. - - -"_Edinburgh, 27th June, 1754._ - -"This day Mr. James Burnet, [Mr. Thomas Millar,] and Sir David -Dalrymple, curators of the library, (then follow some arrangement as to -meetings,) having gone through some accounts of books, lately bought for -the library, and finding therein the three following French books, Les -Contes de La Fontaine, L'Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules, and L'Ecumoire, -they ordain that the said books be struck out of the catalogue of the -library, and removed from the shelves as indecent books, and unworthy of -a place in a learned library. - -"And to prevent the like abuses in time to come, they appoint that after -this no books shall be bought for the library, without the authority of -a meeting of the curators in time of session, and of two of them in time -of vacation." - - -It involves no approval of the licentious features of French literature, -to pronounce this resolution of the curators pre-eminently absurd. A -public library, purged of every book of which any portion might offend -the taste of a well-regulated mind of the present day, would -unfortunately be very barren in the most brilliant departments of the -literature of other days and other languages. It would be wrong in the -guardians of a public library to advance to the dignity of its shelves, -those loathsome books written for the promotion of vice, of which, -though they be published by no eminent bookseller, exhibited on no -respectable counter, advertised in no newspaper, too many have found -their way, by secret avenues, into the heart of society, where they -corrupt its life-blood. But if Greece, Rome, and France,--if our own -ancestors, had a freer tone in their imaginative literature than we -have, we must yet admit their works to our libraries, if we would have -these institutions depositaries of the genius of all times and all -places. The Faculty of Advocates are probably not less virtuous at this -moment than they were in 1754, yet they have now on their shelves the -brilliant edition of all La Fontaine's works, published at Amsterdam in -1762,--so that the expurgatory zeal of the three curators, had only put -their constituents to the expense of replacing the condemned -book.[396:1] L'Ecumoire may also still be found in the Advocates' -library, along with the other still more censurable works of its author, -Crebillon the younger, who was certainly a free writer, but scarcely -deserved the very opprobrious name which he obtained, of the French -Petronius. Hume was afterwards the acquaintance and correspondent of -this author, who was anxious to hear that his works were well received -in Britain. Would Hume tell him that it was considered in Edinburgh an -offence against decency, to admit one of them to a national library? The -other condemned work, which is generally attributed to Bussy Rabutin, is -not now to be found in the catalogues of the Advocates' library.[396:2] - -Amidst such unpleasant interruptions he brought the first volume of his -History to a conclusion; and thus announces the fact to a friend, while -in the midst of his satisfaction he does not forget poor Blacklock. - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Sept. 1, 1754._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I desire you to give me joy. _Jamque opus exegi, &c._ -This day I received from the press the last sheet of the volume of -history which I intended to publish; and I am already well advanced in -composing the second volume. It was impossible for the booksellers to -refuse to several the sight of the sheets as we went on; and Whig and -Tory, and Tory and Whig, (for I will alternately give them the -precedence,) combine as I am told in approving of my politics. A few -Christians only (and but a few) think I speak like a Libertine in -religion: be assured I am tolerably reserved on this head. Elliot tells -me that you had entertained apprehensions of my discretion: what I had -done to forfeit with you the character of prudence, I cannot tell, but -you will see little or no occasion for any such imputation in this work. -I composed it _ad populum_, as well as _ad clerum_, and thought, that -scepticism was not in its place in an historical production. I shall -take care to convey a copy to you by the first opportunity, and shall be -very proud of your approbation, and no less pleased with your -reprehensions. - -"Our friend Aber is again to enjoy the privilege of franking after a -_hiatus valde deflendus_. Edmonstone is at Peterhead drinking the waters -for his health. Sir Harry lives among his boroughs, but not so assiduous -in his civilities as formerly; an instance of ingratitude which one -would not expect in a man of such nice honour. I was lately told, that -one day last winter he went to pay a visit to a deacon's wife, who -happened in that very instant to be gutting fish. He came up to her with -open arms, and said he hoped madam was well, and that the young ladies -her daughters were in good health. 'Oh, come not near me,' cried she, -'Sir Harry; I am in a sad pickle, as nasty as a beast.'--'Not at all, -madam,' replied he, 'you are in a very agreeable neglige.' 'Well,' said -she, 'I shall never be able to understand your fine English.'--'I mean, -madam,' returned he, 'that you are drest in a very genteel -_deshabille_.' - -"There is a young man of this country, Mr. Thomas Blacklock, who has -discovered a very fine genius for poetry, and under very extraordinary -circumstances. He is the son of a poor tradesman, and was born blind; -yet, notwithstanding these disadvantages, he has been able to acquire a -great knowledge of Greek, Latin, and French, and to be well acquainted -with all the classics in these languages, as well as in our own. He -published last winter a volume of Miscellanies, which all men of taste -admired extremely for their purity, elegance, and correctness; nor were -they devoid of force and invention. I sent up half-a-dozen to Dodsley, -desiring him to keep one, and to distribute the rest among men of taste -of his acquaintance. I find they have been much approved of, and that -Mr. Spence, in particular, has entertained thoughts of printing a new -edition by subscription, for the benefit of the author. You are an -acquaintance of Mr. Spence: encourage, I beseech you, so benevolent a -thought, and promote it every where by your recommendation. The young -man has a great deal of modesty, virtue, and goodness, as well as of -genius, and notwithstanding very strict frugality, is in great -necessities; but curst, or blest, with that honest pride of nature, -which makes him uneasy under obligations, and disdain all applications. -I need say no more to you. Dear Doctor, believe me, with great honesty -and affection, your friend and servant."[399:1] - - -Before the year 1754 came to an end, there was published, in a quarto -volume of four hundred and seventy-three pages, "The History of Great -Britain. Volume I. Containing the reigns of James I. and Charles I. By -David Hume, Esq."[399:2] He had now laid the foundation of a title to -that which all the genius and originality of his philosophical works -would never have procured for him--the reputation of a popular author. -His other works might exhibit a wider and a more original grasp of -thought: but the readers of metaphysics and ethics are a small number; -while the readers of history, and especially of the history of their own -country, are a community nearly as great as the number of those who can -read their own language. In this large market he produced his ware; and -after some hesitation on the part of those ordinary readers, who had -never known his genius as a philosopher, and of those who knew his -previous writings, but did not esteem them, it took the place of a -permanent marketable commodity--a sort of necessary of literary life. -The general reader found in it a distinct and animated narrative, -announced in a style easy, strong, and elegant. The philosopher and -statesman found in it profound and original views, such as the author of -the "Treatise of Human Nature" could not wield the pen without -occasionally dropping on his page. It was a work at once great in its -excellencies and beauties, and great in its defects; yet even the -latter circumstance swelled its fame, by producing a host of -controversial attacks, conducted by no mean champions. No author or -speaker could launch into a defence of monarchical prerogative without -triumphantly citing the opinion of Hume;--no friend of any popular -cause, from Chatham downwards, could appeal to history without -condemning his plausible perversions. No season of a debating society -has ever ended without the vexed questions he has started being -discussed in conjunction with his name. Every newspaper has recorded the -editor's opinion of the tendency of Hume's History. In reviews and -magazines, and political pamphlets, the references, laudatory or -condemnatory, are still, notwithstanding all that has been done for -British history in later times, unceasing; and some books, of no small -bulk, have been written, solely against the History, as one pamphlet is -written against another. - -Of a book which is so universally known, and has been subjected to so -thorough a critical examination, both in its narrative and its -reflective parts, a detailed criticism in a work like the present would -be superfluous and unwelcome. But the great extent of the controversial -writings on the subject, the quantity of able criticism which the -controversy has produced, the new light it has frequently been the means -of throwing on portions of British history, and the variety of -contending opinions it has elicited, do, in some measure, enable one who -is partial to that kind of reading, to note slightly and fugitively the -leading opinions which this controversy has developed; and thus, looking -back through the whole vista of debate and inquiry, to describe, in -general terms, the estimate which those who have since Hume's time -studied British history to best effect, have formed of his great work. -Perhaps, for casting a glance at the general principles he has announced -as to the progress of the constitution and public opinion in Britain, as -well as the general scope and extent of his historical labours, his work -may be divided into two leading departments; the history from the -accession of the house of Tudor downwards, which he completed in 1759; -and the history anterior to that epoch, which was published at a later -period of his life. In this arrangement, the general observations will -find their place in a subsequent portion of this work; while, in the -meantime, the opinions entertained of the narrative department of the -volume, published in 1754, may be noticed. - -The chief charge brought against it has been, that in describing the -great conflict which ended in the protectorate, the author has shown a -partiality to the side of the monarch, and particularly to Charles I. -and his followers; and has endeavoured to make the opposite -side--Independents, Presbyterians, Republicans, or under whatever name -they raised the banner of opposition to the court--odious and -ridiculous. - -Before Hume's day, every historian of those times took his side from the -beginning of the narrative, and proclaimed himself either the champion -or the opponent of the monarchical party. Salmon, Echard, and -Carte[401:1] wrote histories, in which, if they had spoken with decency -or temper of Oliver Cromwell, the Long Parliament, the Presbyterians, or -the Independents, they would have felt that they had as much neglected -their duty, as an advocate who, seeing some irregularity in the case of -the opposite party, fails to take advantage of it. The title-page of -Salmon announced his project: it promised "Remarks on Rapin, Burnet, and -other Republican writers, vindicating the just right of the Established -Church, and the prerogatives of the crown, against the wild schemes of -enthusiasts and levellers, no less active and diligent in promoting the -subversion of this beautiful frame of government, than their artful -predecessors in hypocrisy," &c. But Hume professed to approach the -subject as a philosopher, and to hold the balance even between Salmon -and Echard on the one side, and Oldmixon and Rapin on the other. Hence, -when it was believed that, under this air of impartiality, he masked a -battery well loaded and skilfully pointed against the principles of the -constitution, and the efforts of those who had fought for freedom, a -louder cry of indignation was raised against him than had ever assailed -the avowed retainers of the anti-popular cause. - -The tendency of the History was unexpected and inexplicable. In his -philosophical examination of the principles of government, written in -times of hot party feeling, he had discarded the theories of arbitrary -prerogative and divine right with bold and calm disdain. His utilitarian -theory represented the good of the people, not the will or advantage of -any one man, or small class of men, as the right object of government. -Harrison, Milton, and Sidney, had not expressed opinions more thoroughly -democratic than his. "Few things," says a critic, well accustomed to -trace literary anomalies to their causes in the minds of their authors, -"are more unaccountable, and, indeed, absurd, than that Hume should have -taken part with high church and high monarchy men. The persecutions -which he suffered in his youth from the Presbyterians, may, perhaps, -have influenced his ecclesiastical partialities.[403:1] But that he -should have sided with the Tudors and the Stuarts against the people, -seems quite inconsistent with all the great traits of his character. His -unrivalled sagacity must have looked with contempt on the preposterous -arguments by which the _jus divinum_ was maintained. His natural -benevolence must have suggested the cruelty of subjecting the enjoyments -of thousands to the caprice of one unfeeling individual; and his own -practical independence in private life, might have taught him the value -of those feelings which he has so mischievously derided."[403:2] - -In truth, it does not appear that Hume had begun his work with the -intention of adopting a side in the politics of the time; and that -sympathy, rather than rational conviction or political prejudice, -dictated his partisanship. His misapprehensions regarding the state of -the constitution, and the early foundation of British liberties, may be -attributed to another cause; but in his treatment of the question -between Charles I. and his opponents, he appears to have set out with -the design of preserving a rigid neutrality; to have gradually felt his -sympathies wavering,--to have at first restrained them, then let them -sway him slightly from the even middle path, and finally allowed them to -take possession of his opinions; opinions which, in their form of -expression, still preserved that tone of calm impartiality with which -he had set out. In the work of Clarendon--a scholar, a gentleman, a -dignified and elegant writer, a man of high-toned and manly feeling--he -found an attractive guide. In looking at the structure of Hume's -narrative, we can see that Clarendon was the author, whose account of -the great conflict was chiefly present to his mind; and dwelling on his -words and ideas, he must have in some measure felt the influence of that -plausible writer. As he went on with his narrative, he found on the one -side refinement and heroism, an elevated and learned priesthood, a -chivalrous aristocracy, a refined court,--all "the divinity" that "doth -hedge a king," followed by all the sad solemnity of fallen -greatness,--an adverse contest, borne with steady courage, and -humiliation and death endured with patient magnanimity. On the other -side appeared plebeian thoughts, rude uncivil speech, barbarous and -ludicrous fanaticism, and success consummated by ungenerous triumphs. -His philosophical indifference gave way before such temptations, and he -went the way of his sympathies. Yet he never permitted himself boldly -and distinctly to profess partisanship: he still bore the badge of -neutrality; and perhaps believed that he was swerving neither to the -right hand nor to the left. An eloquent writer has thus vividly -described the tone of his History: - - Hume, without positively asserting more than he can prove, - gives prominence to all the circumstances which can support - his case. He glides lightly over those which are unfavourable - to it. His own witnesses are applauded and encouraged; the - statements which seem to throw discredit on them are - controverted; the contradictions into which they fall are - explained away; a clear and connected abstract of their - evidence is given. Every thing that is offered on the other - side is scrutinized with the utmost severity; every suspicious - circumstance is a ground for comment and invective; what - cannot be denied is extenuated, or passed by without notice. - Concessions even are sometimes made; but this insidious - candour only increases the effect of this vast mass of - sophistry.[405:1] - -Yet when there was any thing of a grand and solemn character in the -proceedings of the Republican party,--when they were not connected with -the rude guards, and their insults to the fallen majesty of England; -with the long psalms, long sermons, and long faces of the Puritans; with -Trouble-world Lilburne, Praise-God Barebones, or eccentric, stubborn, -impracticable William Prynne,--he could employ the easy majesty of his -language in surrounding them with a suiting dignity of tone; and he did -so with apparent pleasure. Witness his description of the meeting of the -Long Parliament, and of the preparations for the king's trial before the -High Court of Justice. - -He seems to have felt, not unfrequently, the inconsistencies that must -be perceptible between the tone of his historical, and the political -doctrines of his philosophical works; and his attempts to reconcile them -with each other, sometimes only serve to make the difference more -conspicuous. Speaking of the act of holding judgment on Charles I., he -says, "If ever, on any occasion, it were laudable to conceal truth from -the populace, it must be confessed that the doctrine of resistance -affords such an example; and that all speculative reasoners ought to -observe, with regard to this principle, the same cautious silence which -the laws, in every species of government, have ever prescribed to -themselves." One could imagine a congress of crowned heads, or a -conclave of cardinals, adopting such a view; and resolving, at the same -moment, that it should be kept as secret as the grave. But that a man -should speak of the right of resistance as existing, and say the -knowledge of it ought not to be promulgated, and print and publish this -in a book in his own vernacular language, is surely as remarkable an -anomaly, as the history of practical contradictions can exhibit. - -Owing to his opinion of the manner in which the Abbe Le Blanc had -rendered his "Political Discourses" into French, he expressed a wish, in -the following courteous letter, that the History should have the benefit -of being translated by the same hand. - - -HUME _to the_ ABBE LE BLANC. - -"_Edinburgh, 15th October, 1754._ - -"SIR,--You will receive, along with this, a copy of the first volume of -my 'History of Great Britain,' which will be published next winter in -London. The honour which you did me in translating my 'Political -Discourses,' inspires me with an ambition of desiring to have this work -translated by the same excellent hand. The great curiosity of the events -related in this volume, embellished by your elegant pen, might challenge -the attention of the public. If you do not undertake this translation, I -despair of ever seeing it done in a satisfactory manner. Many -intricacies in the English government,--many customs peculiar to this -island, require explication; and it will be necessary to accompany the -translation with some notes, however short, in order to render it -intelligible to foreigners. None but a person as well acquainted as you -with England and the English constitution, can pretend to clear up -obscurities, or explain the difficulties which occur. If, at any time, -you find yourself at a loss, be so good as to inform me. I shall spare -no pains to solve all doubts; and convey all the lights which, by my -long and assiduous study of the subject, I may have acquired. The -distance betwixt us need be no impediment to this correspondence. If you -favour me frequently with your letters, I shall be able to render you -the same service as if I had the happiness of living next door to you, -and was able to inspect the whole translation. In this attempt, the -knowledge of the two languages is but one circumstance to qualify a man -for a translator. Though your attainments, in this respect, be known to -all the world, I own that I trust more to the spirit of reflection and -reasoning which you discover; and I thence expect that my performance -will not only have justice done it, but will even receive considerable -improvements as it passes through your hands. I am, with great regard, -Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant."[407:1] - - -The Abbe received the proposal with rapture: he offered to translate -with the zeal not only of the illustrious author's admirer, but of his -friend. He desired Hume to postpone the publication for a while in -London, and to send him the sheets with the utmost rapidity, lest he -might be forestalled by some of that numerous host of rapid penmen, who -are ready, in obedience to the commands of the booksellers, to translate -such works, without knowing English, or even French. Holland was at that -period a great book mart, and there the Abbe found rivals still more -expeditious; for he was obliged to write to Hume, at a time when he -seems to have made little or no progress with his work, stating that he -is disheartened by the prospect of the immediate appearance of a -translation in Holland, where they employ, in the rendering of excellent -books into French, people who are only fit to manufacture paper. In the -end, having encountered a host of interruptions, he intimates that he -has placed the work in the hands of another person.[408:1] - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Oct. 18th, 1754._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--I received your kind letter, for which I thank you. Poor -Aber[408:2] is disappointed by a train of Norland finesse, alas--what -you will. I have given orders to deliver to you a copy of my History, -as soon as it arrives in London, and before it be published. Lend it not -till it be published. It contains no paradoxes, and very little -profaneness,--as little as could be expected. The Abbe Le Blanc, who has -translated some other of my pieces, intends to translate it, and the -enclosed is part of a copy I send him: excuse the freedom--you may -perhaps receive some other packets of the same kind, which you will -please to send carefully to the post-house. The General and Sir Henry -are in town, who remember you. Edmonstone is well, and I just now left -him a-bed. I may perhaps be in London for good and all in a year or two. -Show me that frugality could make L120 a-year do, and I am with you: a -man of letters ought always to live in a capital, says Bayle. I believe -I have no more to say. You'll own that my style has not become more -verbose, on account of my writing quartos. Yours affectionately," -&c.[409:1] - - -HUME _to_ WILLIAM MURE _of Caldwell_. - -"DEAR MURE,--I had sent to Sharpe a copy of my History, of which I hope -you will tell me your opinion with freedom; - - Finding, like a friend, - Something to blame, and something to commend. - -"The first quality of an historian, is to be true and impartial. The -next to be interesting. If you do not say that I have done both parties -justice, and if Mrs. Mure be not sorry for poor King Charles, I shall -burn all my papers and return to philosophy. - -"I shall send a copy to Paris to L'Abbe Le Blanc, who has translated -some other of my pieces; and therefore your corrections and amendments -may still be of use, and prevent me from misleading or tiring the French -nation. We shall also make a Dublin edition; and it were a pity to put -the Irish farther wrong than they are already. I shall also be so -sanguine as to hope for a second edition, when I may correct all errors. -You know my docility."[410:1] - - -HUME _to_ MRS. DYSART _of Eccles_. - -"_9th October._ - -"DEAR MADAM,--As I send you a long book, you will allow me to write a -short letter, with this fruit of near two years' very constant -application, my youngest and dearest child. You should have read it -sooner; but, during the fine weather, I foresaw that it would produce -some inconvenience: either you would attach yourself so much to the -perusal of me, as to neglect walking, riding, and field diversions, -which are much more beneficial than any history; or if this beautiful -season tempted you, I must lie in a corner, neglected and forgotten. I -assure you I would take the pet if so treated. Now that the weather has -at last broke, and long nights are joined to wind and rain, and that a -fireside has become the most agreeable object, a new book, especially if -wrote by a friend, may not be unwelcome. In expectation, then, that you -are to peruse me first with pleasure, then with ease, I expect to hear -your remarks, and Mr. Dysart's, and the Solicitor's. Whether am I Whig -or Tory? Protestant or Papist? Scotch or English? I hope you do not all -agree on this head, and that there are disputes among you about my -principles. We never see you in town, and I can never get to the -country; but I hope I preserve a place in your memory. I am, &c. - -"P.S.--I have seen John Hume's new unbaptized play,[411:1] and it is a -very fine thing. He now discovers a great genius for the theatre." - -[Written at the top.] "I must beg of you not to lend the book out of -your house, on any account, till the middle of November; any body may -read it in the house."[411:2] - - -In a continuation of the letter, of which the part relating to Blacklock -was cited above, he thus desires Adam Smith's opinion of the History:-- - - -"Pray tell me, and tell me ingenuously, what success has my History met -with among the judges with you. I mean Dr. Cullen, Mr. Betham, Mrs. -Betham, Mr. Leichman, Mr. Muirhead, Mr. Crawford, &c. Dare I presume -that it has been thought worthy of examination, and that its beauties -are found to overbalance its defects? I am very desirous to know my -errors; and I dare swear you think me tolerably docile to be so veteran -an author. I cannot, indeed, hope soon to have an opportunity of -correcting my errors; this impression is so very numerous. The sale, -indeed, has been very great in Edinburgh; but how it goes on in London, -we have not been precisely informed. In all cases I am desirous of -storing up instruction; and as you are now idle, (I mean, have nothing -but your class to teach, which to you is comparative idleness,) I will -insist upon hearing from you. - -"_Edinburgh, 17th Dec. 1754._" - - -The following letter, still on the same subject, introduces the name of -a new correspondent. - - -HUME _to the_ EARL _of_ BALCARRES. - -"_Edinburgh, 17th December, 1754._ - -"MY LORD,--I did really intend to have paid my respects to your lordship -this harvest; but I have got into such a recluse, studious habit, that I -believe myself only fit to converse with books; and, however I may -pretend to be acquainted with dead kings, shall become quite unsuitable -for my friends and cotemporaries. Besides, the great gulf that is fixed -between us terrifies me. I am not only very sick at sea, but often can -scarce get over the sickness for some days. - -"I am very proud that my History, even upon second thoughts, appears to -have something tolerable in your lordship's eyes. It has been very much -canvassed and read here in town, as I am told; and it has full as many -inveterate enemies as partial defenders. The misfortune of a book, says -Boileau, is not the being ill spoke of, but the not being spoken of at -all. The sale has been very considerable here, about four hundred and -fifty copies in five weeks. How it has succeeded in London, I cannot -precisely tell; only I observe that some of the weekly papers have been -busy with me.--I am as great an Atheist as Bolingbroke; as great a -Jacobite as Carte; I cannot write English, &c. I do, indeed, observe -that the book is in general rather more agreeable to those they call -Tories; and I believe, chiefly for this reason, that, having no places -to bestow, they are naturally more moderate in their expectations from a -writer. A Whig, who can give hundreds a-year, will not be contented with -small sacrifices of truth; and most authors are willing to purchase -favour at so reasonable a price. - -"I wish it were in my power to pass this Christmas at Balcarres. I -should be glad to accompany your lordship in your rural improvements, -and return thence to relish with pleasure the comforts of your fireside. -You enjoy peace and contentment, my lord, which all the power and wealth -of the nation cannot give to our rulers. The whole ministry, they say, -is by the ears. This quarrel, I hope, they will fight out among -themselves, and not expect to draw us in as formerly, by pretending it -is for our good. We will not be the dupes twice in our life. - -"I have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedient and -most humble servant."[413:1] - - -The literary success that would satisfy Hume required to be of no small -amount. Though neither, in any sense, a vain man, nor a caterer for -ephemeral applause, he was greedy of fame; and what would have been to -others pre-eminent success, appears to have, in his eyes, scarcely risen -above failure. His expressions about the reception of his History, have -a tinge of morbidness. In John Home's memorandum of his latest -conversations, it is said that "he recurred to a subject not unfrequent -with him, that is, the design to ruin him as an author, by the people -that were ministers at the first publication of his History."[414:1] In -his "own life," written at the same time, the only passage truly bitter -in its tone, gives fuller expression to a like feeling:--"I was, I own, -sanguine in my expectations of the success of this work. I thought that -I was the only historian that had at once neglected present power, -interest, and authority, and the cry of popular prejudices; and as the -subject was suited to every capacity, I expected proportional applause. -But miserable was my disappointment: I was assailed by one cry of -reproach, disapprobation, and even detestation; English, Scotch, and -Irish, Whig and Tory, Churchman and Sectary, Freethinker and -Religionist, Patriot and Courtier, united in their rage against the man -who had presumed to shed a generous tear for the fate of Charles I. and -the Earl of Strafford; and after the first ebullitions of their fury -were over, what was still more mortifying, the book seemed to sink into -oblivion. Mr. Millar told me, that in a twelvemonth he sold only -forty-five copies of it. I scarcely, indeed, heard of one man in the -three kingdoms, considerable for rank or letters, that could endure the -book. I must only except the primate of England, Dr. Herring, and the -primate of Ireland, Dr. Stone, which seem two odd exceptions. These -dignified prelates separately sent me messages not to be discouraged. - -"I was however, I confess, discouraged; and had not the war been, at -that time, breaking out between France and England, I had certainly -retired to some provincial town of the former kingdom, have changed my -name, and never more have returned to my native country. But as this -scheme was not now practicable, and the subsequent volume was -considerably advanced, I resolved to pick up courage, and to persevere." - -Andrew Millar, a countryman of Hume, had, about this time, formed an -extensive publishing connexion in London. An arrangement was made, by -which he should take the History under his protection,--publish the -subsequent volumes, and push the sale of the first. The arrangement is -said to have been recommended by Hume's Edinburgh publishers; and it -shows how much, in that age, as probably also in this, even a great work -may depend on the publisher's exertions, for giving it a hold on the -public mind. Hume had a pretty extensive correspondence with Millar. -Many of the letters are purely on business, and sometimes on business -not very important; but others, such as the following, have some -literary interest. Hume appears to have contemplated a translation of -Plutarch, and Millar seems to have wished to make him editor of a London -newspaper. - - -HUME _to_ ANDREW MILLAR. - -"_12th April, 1755._ - -"The second volume of my History I can easily find a way of conveying -to you when finished and corrected, and fairly copied. Perhaps I may be -in London myself about that time. I have always said, to all my -acquaintance, that if the first volume bore a little of a Tory aspect, -the second would probably be as grateful to the opposite party. The two -first princes of the house of Stuart were certainly more excusable than -the two second. The constitution was, in their time, very ambiguous and -undetermined; and their parliaments were, in many respects, refractory -and obstinate. But Charles the Second knew that he had succeeded to a -very limited monarchy. His long parliament was indulgent to him, and -even consisted almost entirely of royalists. Yet he could not be quiet, -nor contented with a legal authority. I need not mention the oppressions -in Scotland, nor the absurd conduct of King James the Second. These are -obvious and glaring points. Upon the whole, I wish the two volumes had -been published together. Neither one party nor the other would, in that -case, have had the least pretext of reproaching me with partiality. - -"I shall give no farther umbrage to the godly, though I am far from -thinking, that my liberties on that head have been the real cause of -checking the sale of the first volume. They might afford a pretext for -decrying it to those who were resolved on other accounts to lay hold of -pretexts. - -"Pray tell Dr. Birch, if you have occasion to see him, that his story of -the warrant for Lord Loudon's execution, though at first I thought it -highly improbable, appears to me at present a great deal more -likely.[416:1] I find the same story in "Scotstarvet's Staggering -State,"[417:1] which was published here a few months ago. The same -story, coming from different canals, without any dependence on each -other, bears a strong air of probability. I have spoke to Duke Hamilton, -who says, that I shall be very welcome to peruse all his papers. I shall -take the first opportunity of going to the bottom of that affair; and if -I find any confirmation of the suspicion, will be sure to inform Dr. -Birch. I own it is the strongest instance of any which history affords, -of King Charles's arbitrary principles. - -"I have made a trial of Plutarch, and find that I take pleasure in it; -but cannot yet form so just a notion of the time and pains which it will -require, as to tell you what sum of money I would think an equivalent. -But I shall be sure to inform you as soon as I come to a resolution. The -notes requisite will not be numerous,--not so many as in the former -edition. I think so bulky a book ought to be swelled as little as -possible; and nothing added but what is absolutely requisite. The little -trial I have made, convinces me that the undertaking will require time. -My manner of composing is slow, and I have great difficulty to satisfy -myself."[417:2] - - -HUME _to_ ADAM SMITH. - -"_Edinburgh, 9th January, 1755._ - - "DEAR SIR,--I beg you to make my compliments to the Society,[417:3] -and to take the fault on yourself, if I have not executed my duty, and -sent them, this time, my anniversary paper. Had I got a week's warning I -should have been able to have supplied them. I should willingly have -sent some sheets of the history of the Commonwealth, or Protectorship; -but they are all of them out of my hand at present, and I have not been -able to recall them. - -"I think you are extremely in the right, that the Parliament's bigotry -has nothing in common with Hiero's generosity. They were, themselves, -violent persecutors at home, to the utmost of their power. Besides, the -Hugunots in France were not persecuted; they were really seditious, -turbulent people, whom their king was not able to reduce to obedience. -The French persecutions did not begin till sixty years after. - -"Your objection to the Irish massacre is just, but falls not on the -execution, but the subject. Had I been to describe the massacre of -Paris, I should not have fallen into that fault. But, in the Irish -massacre, no single eminent man fell, or by a remarkable death.[418:1] -If the elocution of the whole chapter be blamable, it is because my -conception laboured with too great an idea of my subject, which is there -the most important. But that misfortune is not unusual. I am," -&c.[418:2] - - -We shall have farther occasion to notice the deep interest which Hume -took in John Home's tragedy of Douglas. The following letter, which is -without date, was, probably, written at the beginning of the year 1755, -and before Home made his unsuccessful journey to London, to submit his -effort to the judgment of Garrick. - - -HUME _to_ JOHN HOME. - -"DEAR SIR,--With great pleasure I have more than once perused your -tragedy. It is interesting, affecting, pathetic. The story is simple and -natural; but what chiefly delights me, is to find the language so pure, -correct, and moderate. For God's sake read Shakspere, but get Racine and -Sophocles by heart. It is reserved to you, and you alone, to redeem our -stage from the reproach of barbarism. - -"I have not forgot your request to find fault; but as you had neither -numbered the pages nor the lines in your copy, I cannot point out -particular expressions. I have marked the margin, and shall tell you my -opinion when I have the pleasure of seeing you. The more considerable -objections seem to be these: _Glenalvon's_ character is too abandoned. -Such a man is scarce in nature; at least it is inartificial in a poet to -suppose such a one, as if he could not conduct his fable by the ordinary -passions, infirmities, and vices of human nature. _Lord Barnet's_[419:1] -character is not enough decided; he hovers betwixt vice and virtue; -which, though it be not unnatural, is not sufficiently theatrical nor -tragic. After _Anna_ had lived eighteen years with _Lady Barnet_, and -yet had been kept out of the secret, there seems to be no sufficient -reason why, at that very time, she should have been let into it. The -spectator is apt to suspect that it was in order to instruct him; a very -good end, indeed, but which might have been attained by a careful and -artificial conduct of the dialogue. - -"There seem to be too many casual rencounters. _Young Forman_[420:1] -passing by chance, saves _Lord Barnet_; _Old Forman_, passing that way, -by chance, is arrested. Why might not _Young Forman_ be supposed to be -coming to the castle, in order to serve under _Lord Barnet_, and _Old -Forman_, having had some hint of his intention, to have followed him -that way? - - [Some lines torn off and lost.] - -Might not _Anna_ be supposed to have returned to her mistress after long -absence? This might account for a greater flow of confidence."[420:2] - - -HUME _to_ ANDREW MILLAR. - -"_Edinburgh, 12th June, 1755._ - -"DEAR SIR,--I give you a great many thanks for thinking of me in your -project of a weekly paper. I approve very much of the design, as you -explain it to me; and there is nobody I would more willingly engage -with. But, as I have another work in hand, which requires great labour -and care to finish, I cannot think of entering on a new undertaking, -till I have brought this to a conclusion. Your scheme would require me -immediately to remove to London; and I live here, at present, in great -tranquillity, with all my books around me; and I cannot think of -changing while I have so great a work in hand as the finishing of my -History. - -"There are four short Dissertations, which I have kept some years by me, -in order to polish them as much as possible. One of them is that which -Allan Ramsay mentioned to you. Another, of the Passions; a third, of -Tragedy; a fourth, some Considerations previous to Geometry and Natural -Philosophy.[421:1] The whole, I think, would make a volume, a fourth -less than my Inquiry, as nearly as I can calculate; but it would be -proper to print it in a larger type, in order to bring it to the same -size and price. I would have it published about the new year; and I -offer you the property for fifty guineas, payable at the publication. -You may judge, by my being so moderate in my demands, that I do not -propose to make any words about the bargain. It would be more convenient -for me to print here, especially one of the Dissertations, where there -is a good deal of literature; but, as the manuscript is distinct and -accurate, it would not be impossible for me to correct it, though -printed at London. I leave it to your choice; though I believe that it -might be as cheaply and conveniently and safely executed here. However, -the matter is pretty near indifferent to me. I would fain prognosticate -better than you say with regard to my History; that you expect little -sale till the publication of the second volume. I hope the prejudices -will dissipate sooner. I am," &c.[422:1] - - -In 1755, an effort was made to establish a periodical Review in -Scotland, characterized by a higher literary spirit, and a more original -tone of thinking, than the other periodical literature of the day could -boast. It assumed the name, so famous in later times, of _The Edinburgh -Review_. With such contributors as Smith, Robertson, Blair, and Jardine, -it could not fail to achieve its object, so far as its own merit was -concerned; but the public did not appreciate its excellence, and it died -after two half-yearly numbers, which may now be found on the shelves of -the curious. On this matter, Mackenzie says, - - David Hume was not among the number of the writers of the - _Review_, though we should have thought he would have been the - first person whose co-operation they would have sought. But I - think I have heard that they were afraid both of his extreme - good nature, and his extreme artlessness; that, from the one, - their criticisms would have been weakened or suppressed; and, - from the other, their secret discovered. The merits of the - work strongly attracted his attention, and he expressed his - surprise, to some of the gentlemen concerned in it, with whom - he was daily in the habit of meeting, at the excellence of a - performance written, as he presumed, from his ignorance on the - subject, by some persons out of their own literary circle. It - was agreed to communicate the secret to him at a dinner, which - was shortly after given by one of their number. At that dinner - he repeated his wonder on the subject of _The Edinburgh - Review_. One of the company said he knew the authors, and - would tell them to Mr. Hume upon his giving an oath of - secrecy. "How is the oath to be taken," said David, with his - usual pleasantry, "of a man accused of so much scepticism as I - am? You would not trust my Bible oath; but I will swear by the - +to kalon+ and the +to prepon+ never to reveal your secret." - He was then told the names of the authors and the plan of the - work; but it was not continued long enough to allow of his - contributing any articles.[423:1] - -It was a strong judgment to pass on a man who filled the office of -secretary of legation, and under-secretary of state, that a secret was -not safe in his keeping. Perhaps Hume had acquired absent habits about -trifles. But he could transact important business with ability, and keep -important secrets with strictness. There is a general propensity to -find, in the nature and habits of abstruse thinkers, an innocent -simplicity about the passing affairs of the world, which is often -dispelled by a nearer view of their characters. Hume was careless about -small matters; but in the serious transactions of life, he was -sagacious, prompt, and energetic. Though he did not contribute to it, -he owed some substantial services to this periodical, in the conflict in -the ecclesiastical courts, which, in the course of events, comes now to -be considered.[424:1] - -Hume was not one of those who, when they find that the opinions they -have formed are at variance with those of the rest of mankind, blaze the -unpopular portions forth in the light of day, or fling them in the face -of their adversaries. Among his intimate friends, he could pass sly -jests about his opinions; using, in regard to them, those strong -expressions which he knew his adversaries would apply to them. But he -disliked ostentation of any kind. He particularly disliked the -ostentation of singularity; and so little was he aware that he was -outraging any of the world's opinions, in promulgating the fruits of his -metaphysical speculations, that he appears to have been much astonished -that any one should find in them any ground for serious objection, and -to have marvelled greatly that clergymen and others should deem him an -unfit person to be a professor of moral philosophy, or a teacher of -youth. "Rara temporum felicitas, ubi sentire quae velis, et quae sentias -dicere, licet," was the motto of his first work; and he seems to have -thought that he lived in an age when speculation might soar with -unclipped wings, and when his opinions would be questioned only before -the tribunal of reason. - -In all this, however, he now found that he was mistaken, and that there -were persons who, professing to have charge of these matters, and to -know the final judgment concerning them, thought right to execute it on -earth, by punishing the man whose opinions were different from their -own. The soul of this crusade was a certain Reverend George Anderson, a -restless, fiery, persevering being, probably of great polemical note in -his day, the observed of all observers as he passed through the city, a -Boanerges in church courts; but now only known through the eminence of -those against whom the fury of his zeal was directed. Hume was not the -only object of pursuit. Other game was started at the same time in the -person of his friend, Lord Kames. It is somewhat remarkable, that it was -against the latter that the pursuit was most persevering and bitter. He -was certainly not a man likely to have provoked such attacks. It is true -that he meddled with dangerous subjects, but he did so with great -caution and skill. Bred to the practice of the bar, at a time when the -advocate often felt a temptation to insinuate doctrines which could not -be proclaimed without risk, he became like a chemist who is expert in -the safe manipulation of detonating materials. Yet he made a narrow -escape; for as he had been raised to the bench in 1752, any proceeding -by a church court, professing to subject him to punishment, temporal or -eternal, however lightly it might have fallen on a philosopher, might -have tended materially to injure the usefulness of a judge. - -Kames' work, which was published in 1751, and entitled "Essays on the -Principles of Morality and Natural Religion," bears evident marks of -having been written in opposition to the opinions laid down by Hume, -although the author probably did not wish to expose the works of his -kind friend to odium, by making a particular reference to them. It is -clear that he considered his own opinions likely to be so very popular -among the orthodox, that it would be doing an evil turn to his friend, -to mention him as the promulgator of views on the other side. In his -advertisement, he said, the object of his book was "to prepare the way -for a proof of the existence of the Deity," and the Essays end with a -prayer. Their leading principle is, that according to the doctrine of -predestination, there can be no liberty to human beings, in the ordinary -acceptation of the term, while the Deity has nevertheless, for wise -purposes, which we cannot fathom, implanted in our race the feeling that -we are free. Some have held that, while the scheme of predestination was -exhibited by Hume as a mere metaphysical theory, Kames united it to -vital religion. He had the misfortune, however, to write in a -philosophical tone; and those who constituted themselves judges of the -matter, seem to have taken example from the stern father, who, when -there is a quarrel in the nursery, punishes both sides, because -quarrelling is a thing not allowed in the house. In a letter to Michael -Ramsay, Hume says, in continuation of a passage printed above,[427:1] -"Have you seen our friend Harry's Essays? They are well wrote, and are -an unusual instance of an obliging method of answering a book. -Philosophers must judge of the question; but the clergy have already -decided it, and say he is as bad as me! Nay, some affirm him to be -worse,--as much as a treacherous friend is worse than an open enemy." -Dr. Blair is believed to have been the champion of Kames; and the -following notice of his connexion with the controversy, given by -Mackenzie, is valuable and instructive. - - It is a singular enough coincidence with some church - proceedings, about fifty years after,[427:2] that Dr. Blair, - in defence of his friend's Essays, expressly states, that one - purpose of those Essays was to controvert what appeared to him - to be a very dangerous doctrine, held by the author of certain - other _Essays_, then recently published, (by Mr. David Hume,) - that, by no principle in human nature, can we discover any - real connexion between _cause_ and _effect_. According to Dr. - Blair, the object of one of Lord Kames' Essays is to show, - that though such connexion is not discoverable by _reason_, - and by a process of argumentative induction, there is, - nevertheless, a real and obvious connexion, which every one - intuitively perceives between an _effect_ and its _cause_. We - feel and acknowledge, that every effect implies a cause; that - nothing can begin to exist without a cause of its existence. - "We are not left," says the author of the Vindication, "to - gather our belief of a _Deity_, from inferences and - conclusions deduced through intermediate steps, many or few. - How unhappy would it be, for the great bulk of mankind, if - this were necessary!" - -The first attack was made in a pamphlet, called "An Estimate of the -Profit and Loss of Religion, personally and publicly stated: illustrated -with reference to 'Essays on Morality and Natural Religion,'" published -at Edinburgh, in 1753; the work of Anderson himself, and endowed with -all the marks of its author. This was levelled against Kames alone; but -it was followed in 1755 by a pamphlet, in which, under the name of -Sopho, he was coupled with Hume, thus: "An Analysis of the Moral and -Religious Sentiments contained in the Writings of Sopho and David Hume, -Esq., addressed to the consideration of the reverend and honourable -members of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland." "My design," -says the author, "is to analyze the works of these celebrated authors, -giving their own expressions under the different heads to which they -seem to belong. This method, I imagine, will not only give the clearest -view of the sentiments of these gentlemen, but is such as they -themselves must allow to be the most fair and candid; because if, in -stating the proposition, I should happen to mistake their meaning, their -own words, subjoined, must immediately do them justice." With this -preamble, the writer ranges his quotations under such heads as, "All -distinction betwixt virtue and vice is merely imaginary;" "Adultery is -very lawful, but sometimes not expedient," &c. - -A counter pamphlet was published, called "Observations upon a pamphlet, -entitled 'An Analysis of the Moral and Religious Sentiments contained in -the Writings of Sopho and David Hume, Esq.'"[428:1] In reference to his -opponents' boasted series of accurate quotations, the writer of this -answer says, "If there should be found passages which are neither the -words nor the meaning of the author, the falsehood cannot be palliated -nor excused." And then, after giving a specimen of these "accurate" -quotations, he says,-- - - "In all that page there is no such sentence, neither is there - any such sentiment to be found. The passage from the beginning - is as follows," &c. and he continues: "To glean disunited - sentences, to patch them together arbitrarily, to omit the - limitations or remarks with which a proposition is delivered; - can this be styled exhibiting the sentiments of an author? I - hope I shall not be thought to deviate into any thing - ludicrous, when I refer the reader to a well-known treatise of - the Dean of St. Patrick's, in which the inquisitorial method - of interpretation in the Church of Rome is by so just and so - severe raillery rendered detestable. _Si non totidem - sententiis, ast totidem verbis; si non totidem verbis, ast - totidem syllabis; si non totidem syllabis ast totidem - literis._ This is the genuine logic of persecution."[429:1] - -The matter was brought before the immediately ensuing General Assembly, -that of 1755; by which a general resolution was passed, expressive of -the Church's "utmost abhorrence" of "impious and infidel principles," -and of "the deepest concern on account of the prevalence of infidelity -and immorality, the principles whereof have been, to the disgrace of -our age and nation, so openly avowed in several books published of late -in this country, and which are but too well known amongst us." But this -general anathema was not sufficient to satisfy the pious zeal of Mr. -Anderson, who, in anticipation of the meeting of the Assembly in 1756, -wrote another pamphlet, called "Infidelity a proper object of censure." - -The initiatory step in the legislative business of the General Assembly, -is the bringing before it an overture, which has previously obtained the -sanction, either of one of the inferior church courts, or of a committee -of the Assembly for preparing overtures. In such a committee, it was -moved on 28th May, 1756, that the following overture should be -transmitted to the Assembly. - - "The General Assembly, judging it their duty to do all in - their power to check the growth and progress of infidelity; - and considering, that as infidel writings have begun of late - years to be published in this nation, against which they have - hitherto only testified in general, so there is one person - styling himself David Hume, Esq. who hath arrived at such a - degree of boldness as publicly to avow himself the author of - books containing the most rude and open attacks upon the - glorious gospel of Christ, and principles evidently subversive - even of natural religion, and the foundations of morality, if - not establishing direct atheism: therefore the Assembly - appoint the following persons . . . . . as a committee to - inquire into the writings of this author, to call him before - them, and prepare the matter for the next General Assembly." - -The matter was discussed with the usual keenness of such debates in such -bodies. But toleration was triumphant, and the overture was rejected by -fifty votes to seventeen.[430:1] - -Still the indefatigable Anderson returned to the charge, though he -brought it against humbler persons in a less conspicuous arena. As he -found the authors above his reach, he resolved to proceed against the -booksellers; and he brought before the Presbytery of Edinburgh a -"Petition and Complaint" against Alexander Kincaid and Alexander -Donaldson, the publishers of "Kames' Essays," praying, "that the said -printer and booksellers may be summoned to the next meeting of the -Presbytery, and there and then to declare and give up the author of the -said book; and that he and they may be censured, according to the law of -the gospel, and the practice of this and all other well-governed -churches." Anderson indeed would seem to have imbibed the spirit of the -great Anthony Arnauld: who, when Nicole spoke of some rest from the -endless war of polemical controversy, exclaimed, "Rest! will you not -have enough of rest hereafter, through all eternity?" Before the -Presbytery could meet he accordingly published another pamphlet, called -"the Complaint of George Anderson, minister of the gospel, verified by -passages in the book libelled." He died in the 19th October,[432:1] just -ten days before the meeting of the presbytery, for which he had made -such active preparation. He fell in harness, and the departure of the -restless spirit of the champion from its tenement of clay, was death to -the cause. After the perusal of written pleadings, and a formal debate, -the complaint was dismissed. - -This matter appears to have given Hume very little disturbance. He does -not mention it in his "own life." He laboured uninterruptedly at the -second volume of his History; and his correspondence, which we may now -resume, will be found to pursue its even tenor, taking no farther notice -of the proceedings of his opponents, than the simple question put to -Smith, whether it will be a matter of much consequence if he should be -excommunicated? - - -HUME _to_ DR. CLEPHANE. - -"_Edinburgh, 20th April, 1756._ - -"DEAR DOCTOR,--There is certainly nothing so unaccountable as my long -silence with you; that is, with a man whose friendship I desire most to -preserve of any I know, and whose conversation I would be the most -covetous to enjoy, were I in the same place with him. But to tell the -truth, we people in the country, (for such you Londoners esteem our -city,) are apt to be troublesome to you people in town; we are vastly -glad to receive letters which convey intelligence to us of things which -we should otherwise have been ignorant of, and can pay them back with -nothing but provincial stories, which are no way interesting. It was -perhaps an apprehension of this kind which held my pen: but really, I -believe, the truth is, when I was idle, I was lazy--when I was busy, I -was so extremely busy, that I had no leisure to think of any thing else. -For, dear Doctor, what have we to do with news on either side, unless it -be literary news, which I hope will always interest us? and of these, -London seems to me as barren as Edinburgh; or rather more so, since I -can tell you that our friend Hume's 'Douglas,' is altered and finished, -and will be brought out on the stage next winter, and is a singular, as -well as fine performance, [----[433:1]] of the spirit of the English -theatre, not devoid of Attic and French elegance. You have sent us -nothing worth reading this winter; even your vein of wretched novels is -dried up, though not that of scurrilous partial politics. We hear of Sir -George Lyttleton's History, from which the populace expect a great deal: -but I hear it is to be three quarto volumes. 'O, magnum horribilem et -sacrum Libellum.'--This last epithet of _sacrum_ will probably be -applicable to it in more senses than one. However, it cannot well fail -to be readable, which is a great deal for an English book now-a-days. - -"But, dear Doctor, even places more hyperborean than this, more -provincial, more uncultivated, and more barbarous, may furnish articles -for a literary correspondence. Have you seen the second volume of -Blackwell's 'Court of Augustus?' I had it some days lying on my table, -and, on turning it over, met with passages very singular for their -ridicule and absurdity. He says that Mark Antony, travelling from Rome -in a post-chaise, lay the first night at Redstones: I own I did not -think this a very classical name; but, on recollection, I found, by the -Philippics, that he lay at Saxa Rubra. He talks also of Mark Antony's -favourite poet, Mr. Gosling, meaning Anser, who, methinks, should rather -be called Mr. Goose. He also takes notice of Virgil's distinguishing -himself, in his youth, by his epigram on Crossbow the robber! Look your -Virgil, you'll find that, like other robbers, this man bore various -names. Crossbow is the name he took at Aberdeen, but Balista at Rome. -The book has many other flowers[434:1] of a like nature, which made me -exclaim, with regard to the author, - - Nec _certe_[435:1] apparet . . . utrum - Minxerit in patrios cineres, an triste bidental - Moverit incestus. Certe furit. - -But other people, who have read through the volume, say that, -notwithstanding these absurdities, it does not want merit; and, if it be -so, I own the case is still more singular. What would you think of a man -who should speak of the mayorality of Mr. Veitch; meaning the consulship -of Cicero?--Is not this a fine way of avoiding the imputation of -pedantry? Perhaps Cicero, to modernize him entirely, should be called -Sir Mark Veitch, because his father was a Roman knight. - -"I do not find your name among the subscribers of my friend Blacklock's -poems, you have forgot; buy a copy of them and read them, they are many -of them very elegant, and merit esteem, if they came from any one, but -are admirable from him. [----[435:2]] Spence's industry in so good a -work, but there is a circumstance of his conduct that will entertain -you. In the Edinburgh edition there was a stanza to this effect: - - The wise in every age conclude, - What Pyrrho taught and Hume renewed, - That Dogmatists are fools. - -"Mr. Spence would not undertake to promote a London subscription, unless -my name, as well as Lord Shaftesbury's, (who was mentioned in another -place,) were erased: the author frankly gave up Shaftesbury, but said -that he would forfeit all the profit he might expect from a -subscription, rather than relinquish the small tribute of praise which -he had paid to a man whom he was more indebted to than to all the world -beside. I heard by chance of this controversy, and wrote to Mr. Spence, -that, without farther consulting the author, I, who was chiefly -concerned, would take upon me to empower him to alter the stanza where I -was mentioned. He did so, and farther, having prefixed the life of the -author, he took occasion to mention some people to whom he had been -obliged, but is careful not to name me; judging rightly that such good -deeds were only _splendida peccata_, and that till they were sanctified -by the grace of God they would be of no benefit to salvation.[436:1] - -"I have seen (but, I thank God, was not bound to read) Dr. [Birch's] -'History of the Royal Society.' Pray make my compliments to him, and -tell him, that I am his most obliged humble servant. I hope you -understand that the last clause was spoken ironically. You would have -surprised _him_ very much had you executed the compliment. I shall -conclude this article of literature by mentioning myself. I have -finished the second volume of my History, and have maintained the same -unbounded liberty in my politics which gave so much offence: religion -lay more out of my way; and there will not be . . .[436:2] in this -particular: I think reason, and even some eloquence, are on my side, and -. . . will, I am confident, get the better of faction and folly, which -are the . . .[436:2] least they never continue long in the same shape. I -am sorry, however, that you speak nothing on this head in your -postscript to me. - -"It gives me great affliction, dear Doctor, when you speak of gouts and -old age. Alas! you are going down hill, and I am tumbling fast after -you. I have, however, very entire health, notwithstanding my studious -sedentary life. I only grow fat more than I could wish. When shall I see -you? God knows. I am settled here; have no pretensions, nor hopes, nor -desires, to carry me to court the great. I live frugally on a small -fortune, which I care not to dissipate by jaunts of pleasure. All these -circumstances give me little prospect of seeing London. Were I to change -my habitation, I would retire to some provincial town in France, to -trifle out my old age, near a warm sun in a good climate, a pleasant -country, and amidst a sociable people. My stock would then maintain me -in some opulence; for I have the satisfaction to tell you, dear Doctor, -that on reviewing my affairs, I find that I am worth L1600 sterling, -which, at five per cent, makes near 1800 livres a-year--that is, the pay -of two French captains. - -"Edmonstone left this town for Ireland. I wish he were out of the way: -he has no prospect of advancement suitable to his merit. Sir Harry, I -hope, has only run backwards to make a better jump. Pray imitate not my -example--delay not to write; or, if you do, I will imitate yours, and -write again without waiting for an answer. Ever most sincerely."[437:1] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[367:1] The appointment is thus recorded in the minutes of the Faculty -of Advocates. - -"_28th January, 1752._ - -"The Faculty proceeded to the choice of a keeper of their library, in -place of the said Mr. Thomas Ruddiman; and some members proposed that a -dignified member of their own body, viz. Mr. Kenneth Mackenzie, -Advocate, Professor of the Civil Law in the University of Edinburgh, -should be named to that office, and others inclining that Mr. David Hume -should be elected, it was agreed that the matter should be put to a -vote. And the rolls being called, and votes distinctly marked and taken -down and numbered, it was found that the majority had declared for the -latter; upon which, the Dean and Faculty declared the said Mr. David -Hume duly elected keeper of their library, and appointed that the usual -salary of forty pounds sterling should be paid to him yearly on that -account. And in regard that he was to have their minutes, acts, and -records, under his custody, they appointed him also clerk to the -Faculty, which office had been lately resigned by Mr. David Falconer, -with power to the said Mr. Hume to officiate therein by a depute. - -"Mr. Gilbert Elliot, senior, curator of the library, here proposed, that -in consideration that there would be a good deal of labour and trouble -in delivering over the library to Mr. Hume, and his receiving the same, -and doing several other things requisite and necessary relating thereto, -that the Faculty should name a certain salary to some person as under -keeper for some time till that business may be accomplished. The Dean -and Faculty resolved, that they would name no person, nor no salary, but -leave Mr. Hume, their library keeper, himself the nomination and choice -of his own depute, as he was to be answerable and accountable to the -Faculty for his whole charge and intromissions; but that, against the -next anniversary meeting, they would take under their consideration what -extraordinary work should be then accomplished, and do therein as should -be found reasonable. - -"Lastly, the Dean and Faculty appointed Mr. George Brown to intimate to -Mr. David Hume their election of him for their library keeper, and that -he should be present at their next meeting to have the oath _de fideli_ -administered to him." - -In this office, Hume succeeded the celebrated Thomas Ruddiman. The life -of this distinguished critic and philologist was written in an 8vo -volume by George Chalmers, (1794.) This book is valuable as containing -some of the finest specimens of mixed bombast and bathos in the English -language. Chalmers was a distinguished antiquary, and his high fame in -that department of research was well earned; but this did not content -his ambition, and like an eminent Anglo-Saxon antiquary of the present -day, he must needs mount a cap and bells on his head, by aping the style -of the fine writers of his age. Gibbon and Johnson seem to have been -honoured with an equal share in the elements of his style. He can say -nothing without a due pomp and state; when he tells us how John Love was -the son of a bookseller in Dumbarton, he must put it thus: "He was born -in July, 1695, at Dunbarton, the Dunbriton of the British, the _arx -Britonum_ of the Romans, the Dunclidon of Ravennas, the Alcluyd of Bede, -and he was the son of John Love, a bookseller, who, like greater dealers -in greater towns, supplied his customers with such books as their taste -required, and, like the father of Johnson, occasionally exhibited his -books at the neighbouring fairs." We are then of course provided with a -list of what these books sold by Love's father might or might not -probably be, which has this reference to the life of Ruddiman, that -_young_ Love quarrelled with him. We then find such solemn announcements -as the following: "Love had scarcely animadverted on Trotter, when he -was carried before the judicatories of the kirk by Mr. Sydserf, the -minister of Dumbarton, who accused him of _brewing on a Sunday_; and -who, after a juridical trial, was obliged to make a public apology for -having maliciously accused calumniated innocence." A printer publishing -books calculated for an extensive sale is thus described:--"To these -other qualities of prudence, of industry, and of attention, Ruddiman -added judgment. He did not print splendid editions of books for the -public good; he did not publish volumes for the perusal of the few; but -he chiefly employed his press in supplying Scotland with books, which, -from their daily use, had a general sale; and he was by this motive -induced to furnish country shopkeepers with school-books at the lowest -rate." - -[373:1] The state of the library in Hume's time may be guessed at by -consulting the first volume of the catalogue, printed under Ruddiman's -auspices in 1742, folio. It is a singular circumstance that this library -has always been very deficient in the early editions of Hume's -works--those which were published before his librarianship. Another set -of works, which one misses in the early catalogues, consists in the -controversial books, written by Logan _against_ its previous librarian, -Ruddiman. - -[373:2] The assistant, whose remuneration was to be at the pleasure of -the Faculty, according to the above minute, was Walter Goodall, an -unfortunate scholar, whom Hume's predecessor in office, the celebrated -Thomas Ruddiman, had attached to the library as a hanger-on and -miscellaneous drudge. The extent of his emoluments may be appreciated -from a minute of Faculty, (7th Jan. 1758,) which, in consideration of -his long services, awards him a salary of "L5 a-year, over and above -what he may receive from the keeper of the library." Goodall's character -and fate are summed up in the sententious remark of Lord Hailes, that -"Walter was seldom sober." Yet he did not a little for historical -literature. He was a violent Jacobite and champion of the innocence of -Queen Mary; and in 1754 he published, in two volumes 8vo, his -"Examination of the Letters said to be written by Mary, Queen of Scots, -to James, Earl of Bothwell, showing by intrinsick and extrinsick -evidence that they are forgeries." In 1759 he edited the best edition of -Fordun's Scotichronicon, in two volumes folio. - -The following traditional anecdote has been preserved, of the keeper and -his assistant. "One day, while Goodall was composing his treatise -concerning Queen Mary, he became drowsy, and laying down his head upon -his MSS. in that posture fell asleep. Hume entering the library, and -finding the controversialist in that position, stepped softly up to him, -and laying his mouth to Watty's ear, roared out with the voice of a -stentor, that Queen Mary was a whore and had murdered her husband. -Watty, not knowing whether it was a dream or a real adventure, or -whether the voice proceeded from a ghost or a living creature, started -up, and before he was awake or his eyes well opened, he sprang upon -Hume, and seizing him by the throat, pushed him to the farther end of -the library, exclaiming all the while that he was some base Presbyterian -parson, who was come to murder the character of Queen Mary, as his -predecessors had contributed to murder her person. Hume used to tell -this story with much glee, and Watty acknowledged the truth of it with -much frankness." Chambers's Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, -_voce_ GOODALL. - -[375:1] "Of Love and Marriage," and "Of the Study of History." - -[376:1] _Literary Gazette_, 1821, p. 745. The original is in the MSS. -R.S.E. - -[378:1] Thus it appears that it was his original intention to continue -the history down to 1714, before he went back to the earlier periods. - -[379:1] From the original at Kilravock. - -[379:2] Probably Alexander Wedderburn, afterwards Lord Chancellor -Loughborough, who was then twenty years of age. - -[379:3] From the original at Kilravock. - -[381:1] Memorials of James Oswald, p. 72. - -[383:1] _Scots Mag._ 1802, p. 794. Collated with original at Kilravock. - -[385:1] _Scots Magazine_, 1802, p. 902. - -[387:1] Alexander Hume, a director of the East India Company. - -[387:2] _Edinburgh Annual Register_ for 1809, p. 553. - -[387:3] Singer's edition of Spence's Anecdotes of Books and Men, p. 448. - -[394:1] It is out of some vague rumour as to this transaction, that Lord -Charlemont must have constructed the following romantic story of Hume. -"He was tender-hearted, friendly, and charitable in the extreme, as will -appear from a fact, which I have from good authority. When a member of -the University of Edinburgh, and in great want of money, having little -or no paternal fortune, and the collegiate stipend being very -inconsiderable, he had procured, through the interest of some friend, an -office in the university, which was worth about L40 a-year. On the day -when he had received this good news, and just when he had got into his -possession the patent or grant entitling him to his office, he was -visited by his friend Blacklock, the poet, who is much better known by -his poverty and blindness than by his genius. This poor man began a long -descant on his misery, bewailing his want of sight, his large family of -children, and his utter inability to provide for them, or even procure -them the necessaries of life. Hume, unable to bear his complaints, and -destitute of money to assist him, ran instantly to his desk, took out -the grant, and presented it to his miserable friend, who received it -with exultation, and whose name was soon after, by Hume's interest, -inserted instead of his own."--_Hardy's Memoirs of Charlemont_, p. 9. -This story is constructed after the received model of the current -anecdotes of Fielding, Goldsmith, and others, and is perhaps as close to -the truth as many of them would be found to be, if they were minutely -investigated. It is pretty clear that Hume's generosity,--for generosity -he certainly had, to a very large extent, by the testimony of all who -knew him,--was not so much the creature of impulse, as that of the -authors who have been mentioned above: but such an instance as that just -given, is a warning to distrust those anecdotes of the inconsiderate -generosity of men of genius, that are put into a very dramatic shape. - -[394:2] It is along with the letter to Smith in the MSS. R.S.E. - -[396:1] The fastidious Gray's appreciation of La Fontaine, is thus -recorded. "The sly, delicate, and exquisitely elegant pleasantry of La -Fontaine he thought inimitable, whose muse, however licentious, is never -gross; not perhaps on that account the less dangerous."--Nicholls' -Reminiscences. Gray's Works, v. 45. - -[396:2] In 1756, some disputes appear to have arisen between the Faculty -and their curators, owing to the arbitrary disposal of the books by the -latter. On 6th January it was represented by Mr. William Johnstone, that -the curators had ordered certain books to be sold, and that the practice -was a very questionable one, "seeing as one curator succeeded another -yearly, and different men had different tastes, the library might by -that means happen to suffer considerably." It was declared that the -curators had no right to dispose of books. - -[399:1] From the original at Kilravock. - -[399:2] Edinburgh: published by Hamilton, Balfour, and Neill. It is -entered in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ list for October. - -[401:1] Carte's last volume was posthumously published in the year after -Hume's first. - -[403:1] He does not appear to have suffered any _persecutions_ before he -wrote the first volume of the History of the Stuarts, unless the -opposition to his appointment as a professor deserves that name. The -tone of the History itself was indeed one of the grounds on which he was -attacked in the ecclesiastical courts. - -[403:2] Article by Lord Jeffrey in _The Edinburgh Review_, xii. 276. - -[405:1] Article on History by Mr. Macaulay. _Edinburgh Review_, xlvii. -p. 359. - -[407:1] Printed in the Appendix of Voltaire et Rousseau, par Henry Lord -Brougham, p. 340. - -[408:1] See the letters in Appendix. The French bibliographical works -of reference, which are in general very full, do not mention any -translation of the History of the Stuarts earlier than 1760, when -Querard and Brunet give the following: - - Histoire de la Maison de Stuart sur le trone d'Angleterre, - jusqu'au detronement de Jacques II. traduite de l'Anglois de - David Hume, (par L'Abbe Prevost.) Londres (Paris) 1760. 3 - vols. in 4to. - -The edition about to appear in Holland, which threw Le Blanc into -despair, seems to have been overlooked. This Prevost, or Prevot, is the -well-known author of the "Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon -Lescaut," which still holds its place in French popular literature, -though it bears but a small proportion to the bulk of his other -voluminous works which are forgotten. The authors of the Dictionnaire -Historique, say they find in his translation of Hume, "un air etranger, -un style souvent embarrasse, seme d'Anglicismes, d'expressions peu -Francoises, de tours durs, de phrases louches et mal construites." This -abbe led an irregular life, being a sort of disgraced ecclesiastic, and -his death was singularly tragical. He had fallen by the side of a wood -in a fit of apoplexy. Being found insensible, he was removed as a dead -body to the residence of a magistrate, where a surgeon was to open the -body to discover the cause of death. At the first insertion of the -knife, a scream from the victim terrified all present: but it was too -late; the instrument had entered a vital part. - -[408:2] Colonel Abercrombie. - -[409:1] From the original at Kilravock. - -[410:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[411:1] "I presume this was 'Douglas;' and the expression, 'he now -discovers a great genius for the theatre,' I suppose was meant to imply -Mr. D. Hume's opinion of its being better fitted for the stage than -_Agis_."--_Mackenzie._ - -[411:2] Mackenzie's Account of Home, p. 102. The original in the MS. -R.S.E. - -[413:1] "Lives of the Lindsays, or a Memoir of the Houses of Crawford -and Balcarres, by Lord Lindsay." Hume's correspondent was James, the -fifth earl. He had had the misfortune to be "out in the fifteen," and -though a zealous and hardy soldier, he in vain attempted to rise in the -army; and at last retiring in disgust, he betook himself to learned -leisure. In the pleasing work above referred to, he is thus -picturesquely described: "Though his aspect was noble, and his air and -deportment showed him at once a man of rank, yet there was no denying -that a degree of singularity attended his appearance. To his large -brigadier wig, which hung down with three tails, he generally added a -few curls of his own application, which I suspect would not have been -considered quite orthodox by the trade. His shoe, which resembled -nothing so much as a little boat with a cabin at the end of it, was -slashed with his pen-knife, for the benefit of giving ease to his honest -toes; here--there--he slashed it where he chose to slash, without an -idea that the world or its fashions had the smallest right to smile at -his shoe; had they smiled, he would have smiled too, and probably said, -'Odsfish! I believe it is not like other people's; but as to that, look, -d' ye see? what matters it whether so old a fellow as myself wears a -shoe or a slipper.'" - -[414:1] Mackenzie's Account of Home, p. 175. - -[416:1] He does not, however, mention it in any of the subsequent -editions of his History. - -[417:1] Scott of Scotstarvet's Staggering State of Scots Statesmen.--A -collection of contemporary characters, drawn by a shrewd but bitter and -unscrupulous observer. - -[417:2] MS. R.S.E. - -[417:3] Evidently the Philosophical Society. It was instituted in 1731, -chiefly as a medical society; but, in 1739, its plan was so far -enlarged, as to admit of the above comprehensive denomination. - -[418:1] Sic in MS. - -[418:2] _Lit. Gazette_, 1822, p. 745. The original is in the MSS. R.S.E. - -[419:1] This name changed to _Randolph_, after the first -representation.--_Mackenzie._ - -[420:1] Changed to _Norval_, before the tragedy was brought on the -stage.--_Mackenzie._ - -[420:2] Mackenzie's Account of Home, p. 100. - -The following paper made its first appearance in _The Edinburgh Weekly -Chronicle_, a few years ago, when it was edited by Mr. Hislop, a -gentleman said to be well acquainted with theatrical matters. It is here -repeated, not as being believed, but because having excited some -attention when it first appeared, it found its way into some books -connected with Scottish literature. - -"It may not be generally known, that the first rehearsal took place in -the lodgings in the Canongate, occupied by Mrs. Sarah Warde, one of -Digges's company; and that it was rehearsed by, and in presence of the -most distinguished literary characters Scotland ever could boast of. The -following was the cast of the piece on the occasion:-- - -DRAMATIS PERSONAE. - - Lord Randolph, Dr. Robertson, Principal, Edinburgh. - Glenalvon, David Hume, Historian. - Old Norval, Dr. Carlyle, Minister of Musselburgh. - Douglas, John Home, the Author. - Lady Randolph, Dr. Ferguson, Professor. - Anna, (the Maid,) Dr. Blair, Minister, High Church. - -"The audience that day, besides Mr. Digges, and Mrs. Warde, were, the -Right Honourable Patrick Lord Elibank, Lord Milton, Lord Kames, Lord -Monboddo, (the two last were then only lawyers,) the Rev. John Steele -and William Home, ministers. The company, all but Mrs. Warde, dined -afterwards in the Erskine Club, in the Abbey." - -The reader must take this statement at its own value, which he will -probably not consider high. The "cast," has no pretensions to be a -transcript of any contemporary document; for Dr. Robertson was not then -Principal of the University, but minister of the country parish of -Gladsmuir; and Ferguson was not a Professor, but an army chaplain, with -leave of absence, spending his time chiefly in Perthshire. Lord Kames, -spoken of as "only" a lawyer, had been raised to the bench in 1752. - -[421:1] This last appears to have been suppressed. The publication of -the others is mentioned further on. - -[422:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[423:1] Account of John Home, p. 24. - -[424:1] There is an amusing traditional anecdote, with which this -periodical has some connexion. Dr. Walter Anderson, minister of -Chirnside, having caught the fire of literary ambition, made the remark -to Hume, one afternoon when they had been enjoying the hospitalities of -Ninewells: "Mr. David, I daresay other people might write books too; but -you clever fellows have taken up all the good subjects. When I look -about me, I cannot find one unoccupied."--"What would you think, Mr. -Anderson," said Hume, in reply, "of a History of Croesus, king of Lydia? -This has never yet been written." Dr. Anderson was a man who understood -no jesting, and held no words as uttered in vain; so away he goes, pulls -down his Herodotus, and translates all the passages in the first book -relating to Croesus, with all the consultations of the oracles, and all -the dreams; only interweaving with them, from his own particular genius, -some very sage and lengthy remarks on the extent to which there was real -truth in the prophetic revelations of the Pythoness. This book, which is -now a great rarity, was reviewed with much gravity and kindness in _The -Edinburgh Review_. It was more severely treated in _The Critical -Review_, edited by Smollett, where it is said, "There is still a race of -soothsayers in the Highlands, derived, if we may believe some curious -antiquaries, from the Druids and Bards that were set apart for the -worship of Apollo. The author of the History before us may, for aught we -know, be one of these venerable seers, though we rather take him to be a -Presbyterian teacher, who has been used to expound apothegms that need -no explanation." - -[427:1] Page 342. MS. R.S.E. - -[427:2] The case of Sir John Leslie, see above, p. 89. - -[428:1] Attributed to Dr. Blair by Tytler, (Life of Kames, i. 142,) as -well as by Mackenzie; as on the preceding page. - -[429:1] Besides those mentioned above, the occasion seems to have called -forth some blasts of the trumpet, still better suited to split the ears -of the groundlings--such as "The Deist stretched on a Death-bed, or a -lively Portraiture of a Dying Infidel." The contemporary _Edinburgh -Review_, which carried on a guerilla warfare on the side of the -threatened philosophers, thus commences a notice of this production. -"This is a most extraordinary performance. The hero of it is an infidel, -'a humorous youth,' as the author describes him, 'a youth whose life was -one successive scene of pleasantry and humour: who laughed at -revelation, and called religion _priestcraft_ and _grimace_: a gay and -sprightly free-thinker. But yesterday,' says he 'this gay and sprightly -free-thinker _revelled_ his usual _round_ of gallantry and applause, -till, satiated at length, he staggered to bed devoid of sense and -reason.' We suppose, (continues the reviewer,) the author's meaning is, -that he went to bed very drunk.'" - -[430:1] _Scots Magazine_, 1756, pp. 248, 280, where those who are -partial to such reading, will find a pretty clear abstract of the -debate. The General Assembly had its hands at that time pretty full. A -deadly dispute had arisen between the partisans of the old and new -church music, which is thus described in Ritchie's Life of Hume, p. 57: - -"At this time the Scottish church was thrown into a general ferment by -an attempt to introduce the reformed music. In accomplishing this, the -most indecent scenes were exhibited. It was not uncommon for a -congregation to divide themselves into two parties, one of which, in -chaunting the psalms, followed the old, and the other the new mode of -musical execution; while the infidel, who was not in the habit of -frequenting the temple, now resorted to it, not for the laudable purpose -of repentance and edification, but from the ungodly motive of being a -spectator of the contest. . . . . - -"During the present dispute, it was customary for the partisans of the -different kinds of music to convene apart, in numerous bodies, for the -purpose of practising, and to muster their whole strength on the -Sabbath. The moment the psalm was read from the pulpit, each side, in -general chorus, commenced their operations; and as the pastor and clerk, -or precentor, often differed in their sentiments, the church was -immediately in an uproar. Blows and bruises were interchanged by the -impassioned songsters, and, in many parts of the country, the most -serious disturbances took place." - -They had, at the same time, to conduct the war against the tragedy of -Douglas, and the frequenters of the theatre. Home himself, as is well -known, escaped the odium of ecclesiastical punishment, by resigning his -ministerial charge. Order was then taken with those clergy who could not -resist being present on so memorable an occasion as the performance of a -great national tragedy, written by a member of their own body. Among -these the Rev. Mr. White of Libberton was subjected to the modified -punishment of a month's suspension from office, because 'he had attended -the representation only once, when he endeavoured to conceal himself in -a corner, to avoid giving offence.' _Scots Mag._ for 1757, p. 47. - -[432:1] Ritchie says, (p. 79,) that he was in his eightieth year. One is -tempted to say with Lady Macbeth, "Who would have thought the old man -had so much blood in him." Besides these conflicts in Scotland, he was -conducting a war in England against Mallet, for the publication of -Bolingbroke's works. - -[433:1] Word illegible. - -[434:1] That such flowers were not confined to Aberdeen, may be seen in -the following passage of the "Carpentariana." - -"Si l'on vouloit traduire les noms Grecs et Romains en Francois, on les -rendroit souvent ridicules. J'ai vu une traduction des epitres de -Ciceron a Atticus, imprimee chez Thiboust, en 1666, pag. 217, ou -l'auteur est tombe dans cette faute ridicule, en traduisant cet endroit: -_Pridie autem apud me Crassipes fuerat_, Le jour precedent Gros-pied fut -chez moi. Veritablement _Crassipes_, veut dire Gros-pied, mais il est -ridicule de la traduire ainsi: et il ne faut jamais toucher aux noms -propres, soit qu'ils fassent un bon ou mauvais effet, rendus dans notre -langue. Un autre traducteur des epitres de Ciceron, lui fait dire, -Mademoiselle votre fille, Madame votre femme; et je me souviens d'un -auteur qui appelloit Brutus et Collatinus, les Bourgmestres de la ville -de Rome." - -[435:1] Satis. - -[435:2] Words obliterated. - -[436:1] See above p. 393. - -[436:2] Words obliterated by decay of the MS. - -[437:1] Original at Kilravock. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX A. - -FRAGMENTS OF A PAPER IN HUME'S HANDWRITING, DESCRIBING THE DESCENT ON -THE COAST OF BRITTANY, IN 1746, AND THE CAUSES OF ITS FAILURE.[441:1] - - - The forces under Lieutenant General St. Clair consisted of - five battalions, viz. the first battalion of the 1st Royal, - the 5th Highlanders, 3d Brag's, 4th Richbell's, 2d Harrison's, - together with part of Frampton's, and some companies of - Marines, making in all about 4500 men. The fleet consisted of - __________. Though this army and fleet had been at first - fitted out for entering upon action in summer 1746, and making - conquest of Canada, it was found, after several vain efforts - to get out of the Channel, first under Commodore Cotes, then - under Admiral Listock, that so much time had been unavoidably - lost, from contrary winds and contrary orders, as to render it - dangerous for so large a body of ships to proceed thither. The - middle of May was the last day of rendezvous appointed at - Spithead; and in the latter end of August, the fleet had yet - got no farther than St. Helen's, about a league below it. It - is an observation, that in the latter end of autumn, or - beginning of winter, the north-west winds blow so furiously on - the coast of North America, as to render it always difficult, - and often impossible, for ships that set out late to reach any - harbour in those parts. Instances have been found of vessels - that have been obliged to take shelter from these storms, even - in the Leeward Islands. It was therefore become necessary to - abandon all thoughts of proceeding to America that season; and - as the transports were fitted out and fleet equipped at great - expense, an attempt was hastily made to turn them to some - account in Europe, during the small remainder of the summer. - The distress of the allies in Flanders demanded the more - immediate attention of the English nation and ministry, and - required, if possible, some speedy remedy. 'Twas too late to - think of sending the six battalions under General St. Clair, - to reinforce Prince Charles of Lorraine, who commanded the - armies of the allies; and their number was, besides, too - inconsiderable to hope for any great advantages from that - expedient. 'Twas more to be expected, that falling on the - parts of France, supposed to be defenceless and disarmed, they - might make a diversion, and occasion the sending a - considerable detachment from the enemy's army in Flanders. But - as time pressed, and allowed not leisure to concert and - prepare this measure, the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of - State, hoped to find that General St. Clair had already - planned and projected some enterprise of this nature. He - formed this presumption on a hint which had been started very - casually, and which had been immediately dropped by the - General. - - In the spring, when the obstructions and delays thrown in the - way of the American enterprise were partly felt and partly - foreseen, the Secretary, lamenting the great and, he feared, - useless expense to which the nation had been put by that - undertaking, gave occasion to the General to throw out a - thought, which would naturally occur in such a situation. He - said, "Why may you not send the squadron and troops to some - part of the coast of France, and at least frighten and alarm - them as they have done us; and, as all their troops are on the - Flanders and German frontiers, 'tis most probable that such an - alarm may make them recall some of them?" The subject was then - no farther prosecuted; but the King, being informed of this - casual hint of the General's, asked him if he had formed any - plan or project by which the service above-mentioned might be - effectuated. He assured his majesty that he had never so much - as thought of it; but that, if it was his pleasure, he would - confer with Sir John Ligonier, and endeavour to find other - people in London who could let him into some knowledge of the - coast of France. To this the King replied, "No, no; you need - not give yourself any trouble about it." And accordingly the - General never more thought of it, farther than to inform the - Duke of Newcastle of this conference with his majesty. - However, the Duke being willing that the person who was to - execute the undertaking should also be the projector of it, by - which means both greater success might be hoped from it, and - every body else be screened from reflection in case of its - miscarriage, desired, in his letter of the 22d of August, that - both the Admiral and General should give their opinion of such - an invasion; and particularly the General, who, having, he - said, formed some time ago a project of this nature, might be - the better prepared to give his thoughts with regard to it. - They both jointly replied, that their utter ignorance made - them incapable of delivering their sentiments on so delicate a - subject; and the General, in a separate letter, recalled to - the Duke's memory the circumstances of the story, as above - related. - - Though they declined proposing a project, they both cheerfully - offered, that if his majesty would honour them with any plan - of operation for a descent, they would do their best to carry - it into execution. They hoped that the Secretary of State, - who, by his office, is led to turn his eyes every where, and - who lives at London, the centre of commerce and intelligence, - could better form and digest such a plan, than they who were - cooped up in their ships, in a remote sea-port town, without - any former acquaintance with the coast of France, and without - any possibility of acquiring new knowledge. They at least - hoped, that so difficult a task would not be required of them - as either to give their sentiments without any materials - afforded them to judge upon, or to collect materials, while - the most inviolable secrecy was strictly enjoined on them. It - is remarkable, that the Duke of Newcastle, among other - advantages proposed by this expedition, mentions the giving - assistance to such Protestants as are already in arms, or may - be disposed to rise on the appearance of the English, as if we - were living in the time of the League, or during the confusion - of Francis the Second's minority. - - Full of these reflections, they sailed from St. Helens on the - 23d of August, and arrived at Plymouth on the 29th, in - obedience to their orders, which required them to put into - that harbour for farther instructions. They there found - positive orders to sail immediately, with the first fair wind, - to the coast of France, and make an attempt on L'Orient, or - Rochefort, or Rochelle, or sail up the river of Bourdeaux; or, - if they judged any of these enterprises impracticable, to sail - to whatever other place on the western coast they should think - proper. Such unbounded discretionary powers could not but be - agreeable to commanders, had it been accompanied with better, - or indeed with any intelligence. As the wind was then - contrary, they had leisure to reply in their letters of the - 29th and 30th. They jointly represented the difficulties, or - rather impossibilities, of any attempt on L'Orient, Rochefort, - and Rochelle, by reason of the real strength of these places, - so far as their imperfect information could reach; or, if that - were erroneous, by reason of their own absolute want of - intelligence, guides, and pilots, which are the soul of all - military operations. - - The General, in a separate letter, enforced the same topics, - and added many other reflections of moment. He said, that of - all the places mentioned in his orders, Bourdeaux, if - accessible, appeared to him the properest to be attempted; - both as it is one of the towns of greatest commerce and riches - in France, and as it is the farthest situated from their - Flanders' army, and on these accounts an attack on it would - most probably produce the wished-for alarm and diversion. He - added, that he himself knew the town to be of no strength, and - that the only place there capable of making any defence, is - Chateau Trompette, which serves it as a citadel, and was - intended, as almost all citadels are, more as a curb, than a - defence, on the inhabitants. But though these circumstances - promised some success, he observed that there were many other - difficulties to struggle with, which threw a mighty damp on - these promising expectations. In the first place, he much - questioned if there was in the fleet any one person who had - been ashore on the western coast of France, except himself, - who was once at Bourdeaux; and he, too, was a stranger to all - the country betwixt the town and the sea. He had no single map - of any part of France on board with him; and what intelligence - he may be able to force from the people of the country can be - but little to be depended on, as it must be their interest to - mislead him. And if money prove necessary, either for - obtaining intelligence, carrying on of works, or even - subsisting the officers, he must raise it in the country; for, - except a few chests of Mexican dollars, consigned to other - uses, he carried no money with him. If he advanced any where - into the country, he must be at a very great loss for want of - horses to draw the artillery; as the inhabitants will - undoubtedly carry off as many of them as they could, and he - had neither hussars nor dragoons to force them back again. And - as to the preserving any conquests he might make, (of which - the Duke had dropped some hints,) he observed that every place - which was not impregnable to him, with such small force, must - be untenable by him. On the whole, he engaged for nothing but - obedience; he promised no success; he professed absolute - ignorance with regard to every circumstance of the - undertaking; he even could not fix on any particular - undertaking; and yet he lay under positive orders to sail with - the first fair wind, to approach the unknown coast, march - through the unknown country, and attack the unknown cities of - the most potent nation of the universe. - - Meanwhile, Admiral Anson, who had put into Plymouth, and had - been detained there by the same contrary winds, which still - prevailed, had a conversation with the General and Admiral on - the subject of their enterprise. He told them, that he - remembered to have once casually heard from Mr. Hume, member - for Southwark, that he had been at L'Orient, and that, though - it be very strong by sea, it is not so by land. Though Mr. - Hume, the gentleman mentioned, be bred to a mercantile - profession, not to war, and though the intelligence received - from him was only casual, imperfect, and by second-hand, yet - it gave pleasure to the Admiral and General, as it afforded - them a faint glimmering ray in their present obscurity and - ignorance; and they accordingly resolved to follow it. They - wrote to the Duke of Newcastle, September the 3d, that 'twas - to L'Orient they intended to bend their course, as soon as the - wind offered. To remedy the ignorance of the coast and want of - pilots, as far as possible, Commodore Cotes in the Ruby, - together with Captain Stewart in the Hastings, and a sloop and - tender, was immediately despatched by the Admiral to view Port - L'Orient and all the places near it, so far as might regard - the safe approach and anchorage of the ships. The ignorance of - the country, and want of guides, was a desperate evil, for - which the General could provide no remedy. But as the wind - still continued contrary to the fleet and transports, though - single ships of war might work their way against it, the - General had occasion to see farther alterations made by the - ministry in their project of an invasion. - - The Duke of Newcastle, who had before informed the General - that, if he could establish himself on any part of the coast - of France, two battalions of the Guards, and General Huske's - regiment, should be despatched after him, now says, (Sept. 3,) - that these three battalions have got immediate orders to - follow him. He farther adds, that if the General finds it - impracticable to make any descent on the coast of Brittany, or - higher up in the Bay of Biscay, he would probably find, on his - return, some intelligence sent him, by the reinforcement, with - regard to the coast of Normandy. Next day the Duke changes his - mind, and sends immediately this intelligence with regard to - the coast of Normandy, and a plan for annoying the French on - that quarter, proposed by Major Macdonald; and to this plan he - seems entirely to give the preference to the other, of making - an attempt on the western coast of France, to which he had - before confined the Admiral and General. They considered the - plan, and conversed with Major Macdonald, who came down to - Plymouth a few days after. They found that this plan had been - given in some years before, and was not in the least - calculated for the present expedition, but required a body of - cavalry as an essential point towards its execution; an - advantage of which the General was entirely destitute. They - found that Major Macdonald had had so few opportunities of - improving himself in the art of war, that it would be - dangerous, without farther information, to follow his plan in - any military operations. They found that he pretended only to - know the strength of the town, and nature of the country, in - that province, but had never acquainted himself with the - sea-coast, or pitched upon any proper place for - disembarkation. They considered that a very considerable step - had been already taken towards the execution of the other - project on the coast of Brittany, viz. the sending Commodore - Cotes to inspect and sound the coast; and that the same step - must now be taken anew, in so late a season, with regard to - the coast of Normandy. They thought that, if their whole - operations were to begin, an attempt on the western coast was - preferable, chiefly because of its remoteness from the - Flanders' army, which must increase and spread the alarm, if - the country were really so defenceless as was believed. They - represented all those reasons to the Secretary; but at the - same time expressed their intentions of remaining at Plymouth - till they should receive his majesty's positive orders with - regard to the enterprise on which they were to engage. - - The Duke immediately despatched a messenger, with full powers - to them to go whithersoever they pleased. During this - interval, the General was obliged, to his great regret, to - remain in a manner wholly inactive. Plymouth was so remote a - place, that it was not to be expected he could there get any - proper intelligence. He was bound up by his orders to such - inviolable secrecy, that he could not make any inquiries for - it, or scarce receive it, if offered. The Secretary had sent - Major Macdonald, and one Cooke, captain of a privateer, who, - 'twas found, could be of no manner of service in this - undertaking. These, he said, were the only persons he could - find in London that pretended to know any thing of the coast - of France, as if the question had been with regard to the - coast of Japan or of California. The General desired to have - maps of France, chiefly of Gascony and Brittany. He receives - only a map of Gascony, together with one of Normandy. No map - of Brittany; none of France; he is obliged to set out on so - important an enterprise without intelligence, without pilots, - without guides, without any map of the country to which he was - bound, except a common map, on a small scale, of the kingdom - of France, which his Aid-de-camp had been able to pick up in a - shop at Plymouth. He represented all these difficulties to the - ministry; he begged them not to flatter themselves with any - success from a General who had such obstacles to surmount, and - who must leave his conduct to the government of chance more - than prudence. He was answered, that nothing was expected of - him, but to land any where he pleased in France, to produce an - alarm, and to return safe, with the fleet and transports, to - the British dominions. Though he was sensible that more would - be expected by the people, yet he cheerfully despised their - rash judgments, while he acted in obedience to orders, and in - the prosecution of his duty. The fleet sailed from Plymouth on - the 15th of September, and, after a short voyage of three - days, arrived, in the evening of the 18th, off the island of - Groa, where they found Commodore Cotes and Captain Stuart, who - gave them an account of the success which they had met with in - the survey of the coast near L'Orient. The place they had - pitched on for landing, was ten miles from that town, at the - mouth of the river of Quimperlay. They represented it as a - flat open shore, with deep water: on these accounts a good - landing-place for the troops, but a dangerous place for the - ships to ride in, on account of the rocks with which it was - every where surrounded, and the high swell which was thrown - in, from the Bay of Biscay, by the west and south-west winds. - - It was then about eight in the evening, a full moon and a - clear sky, with a gentle breeze blowing in shore. The question - was, whether to sail directly to the landing-place, or hold - off till morning. The two officers who had surveyed the coast - were divided in opinion: one recommended the former measure, - the other suggested some scruples, by representing the - dangerous rocks that lay on every side of them, and the - ignorance of all the pilots with regard to their number and - situation. The Admiral was determined, by these reasons, to - agree to this opinion. The question seemed little important, - as it regarded only a short delay; but really was of the - utmost consequence, and was, indeed, the spring whence all the - ill success in this expedition flowed. - - The great age of Admiral Listock, as it increased his - experience, should make us cautious of censuring his opinion - in sea affairs, where he was allowed to have such consummate - knowledge. But at the same time, it may beget a suspicion, - that being now in the decline of life, he was thence naturally - inclined rather to the prudent counsels which suit a concerted - enterprise, than to the bold temerity which belongs to such - hasty and blind undertakings. The unhappy consequences of this - over-cautious measure immediately appeared. The Admiral had - laid his account, that by a delay, which procured a greater - safety to the fleet and transports, only four or five hours - would be lost; but the wind changing in the morning, and - blowing fresh off shore, all next day, and part of next night, - was spent before the ships could reach the landing-place. Some - of them were not able to reach it till two days after. - - During this time, the fleet lay full in view of the coast, - and preparations were making in Port Louis, L'Orient, and - over the whole country, for the reception of an enemy, who - threatened them with so unexpected an invasion. - - The force of France, either for offence or defence, consists - chiefly in three different bodies of men: first, in a numerous - veteran army, which was then entirely employed in Italy and on - their frontiers, except some shattered regiments, which were - dispersed about the country, for the advantage of recruiting, - and of which there were two regiments of dragoons at that time - in Brittany; secondly, in a regular and disciplined militia, - with which all the fortified cities along the sea-coast were - garrisoned, and many of the frontier towns, that seemed not to - be threatened with any immediate attack. Some bodies of this - militia had also been employed in the field with the regular - troops, and had acquired honour, which gave spirits and - courage to the rest: thirdly, in a numerous body of coast - militia, or gardes-du-cote, amounting to near 200,000, ill - armed and ill disciplined, formidable alone by their numbers; - and in Brittany, by the ferocity of the inhabitants, esteemed - of old and at present, the most warlike and least civilized of - all the French peasants. Regular signals were concerted for - the assembling of these forces, by alarm guns, flags, and - fires; and in the morning of the 20th of September, by break - of day, a considerable body of all these different kinds of - troops, but chiefly of the last, amounting to above 3000 men, - were seen upon the sea-shore to oppose the disembarkation of - the British forces. A disposition, therefore, of ships and - boats must be made for the regular landing of the army; and as - the weather was then very blustering, and the wind blew almost - off shore, this could not be effected till afternoon. - - There appeared, in view of the fleet, three places which - seemed proper for a disembarkation, and which were separated - from each other either by a rising ground, or by a small arm - of the sea. The French militia had posted themselves in the - two places which lay nearest to L'Orient; and finding that - they were not numerous enough to cover the whole, they left - the third, which lay to the windward, almost wholly - defenceless. The General ordered the boats to rendezvous - opposite to this beach; and he saw the French troops march off - from the next contiguous landing-place, and take post opposite - to him. They placed themselves behind some sandbanks, in such - a manner as to be entirely sheltered from the cannon of those - English ships which covered the landing, while at the same - time they could rush in upon the troops, as soon as their - approach to the shore had obliged the ships to leave off - firing. - - The General remarked their plan of defence, and was - determined to disappoint them. He observed, that the next - landing-place to the leeward was now empty; and that, though - the troops which had been posted on the more distant beach had - quitted their station, and were making a circuit round an arm - of the sea, in order to occupy the place deserted by the - others, they had not as yet reached it. He immediately seized - the opportunity. He ordered his boats to row directly forward, - as if he intended to land on the beach opposite to him; but - while the enemy were expecting him to advance, he ordered the - boats to turn, at a signal; and, making all the speed that - both oars and sails could give them, to steer directly to the - place deserted by the enemy. In order to render the - disembarkation more safe, he had previously ordered two - tenders to attack a battery, which had been placed on a mount - towards the right, and which was well situated for annoying - the boats on their approach. The tenders succeeded in chasing - the French from their guns; the boats reached the shore before - any of the French could be opposite to them. The soldiers - landed, to the number of about six hundred men, and formed in - an instant; immediately upon which the whole militia dispersed - and fled up into the country. The English followed them - regularly and in good order; prognosticating success to the - enterprise from such a fortunate beginning. - - There was a creek, or arm of the sea, dry at low water, which - lay on the right hand of the landing-place, and through which - ran the nearest road to L'Orient, and the only one fit for the - march of troops, or the draught of cannon and heavy carriages. - As it was then high water, the French runaways were obliged, - by this creek, to make a circuit of some miles; and they - thereby misled the general, who, justly concluding they would - take shelter in that town, and having no other guides to - conduct him, thought that, by following their footsteps, he - would be led the readiest and shortest way to L'Orient. He - detached, therefore, in pursuit of the flying militia, about a - thousand men, under the command of Brigadier O'Farrel; who, - after being harassed by some firing from the hedges, (by which - Lieut.-Col. Erskine, Quarter-Master General, was dangerously - wounded,) arrived that evening at Guidel, a village about a - league distant from the landing-place. The general himself lay - near the sea-shore, to wait for the landing of the rest of the - forces. By break of day he led them up to join the brigadier - at Guidel. He there learned from some peasants, taken - prisoners, and who spoke the French language, (which few of - the common people in Brittany are able to do,) that the road - into which he had been led, by the reasons above specified, - was the longest by four or five miles. He was also informed, - what he had partly seen, that the road was very dangerous and - difficult, running through narrow lanes and defiles, betwixt - high hedges, faced with stone walls, and bordered in many - places with thick woods and brushes, where a very few - disciplined and brave troops might stop a whole army; and - where even a few, without discipline or bravery, might, by - firing suddenly upon the forces, throw them into confusion. - - In order to acquire a more thorough knowledge of the country, - of which he and the whole army were utterly ignorant, he here - divided the troops into two equal bodies, and marched them up - to L'Orient, by two different roads, which were pointed out to - him. The one part, which he himself conducted, passed without - much molestation. The other, under Brigadier O'Farrel, was not - so fortunate. Two battalions of that detachment, Richbell's - and Frampton's, partly from their want of experience, and - partly from the terror naturally inspired into soldiers by - finding themselves in a difficult country unknown both to - themselves and leaders, and partly, perhaps, from accident, to - which the courage of men is extremely liable, fell into - confusion, before a handful of French peasants who fired at - them from behind the hedges. Notwithstanding all the - endeavours of the Brigadier, many of them threw down their - arms, and ran away; others fired in confusion, and wounded - each other; and if any regular forces had been present to take - advantage of this disorder, the most fatal consequences might - have ensued. And though they were at last led on, and joined - the general that evening before L'Orient, the panic still - remained in these two battalions afterwards, and communicated - itself to others; kept the whole army in anxiety, even when - they were not in danger, and threw a mighty damp on the - expectations of success, conceived from this undertaking. - L'Orient, lately a small village, now a considerable town, on - the coast of Brittany, lies in the extremity of a fine bay, - the mouth of which is very narrow, and guarded by the strong - citadel of Port Louis. This town has become the centre of the - French East India trade, the seat of the company established - for that commerce, and the magazine whence they distribute the - East India commodities. The great prizes made upon them by the - English, during the course of the war, had given a check to - this growing commerce; yet still the town was esteemed a - valuable acquisition, were it only on account of the wealth it - contained, and the store-houses of the company, a range of - stately buildings, erected at public charge, both for use and - ornament. The town itself is far from being strong. Two sides - of it, which are not protected with water, are defended only - with a plain wall, near thirty feet high, of no great - thickness, and without any fosse or parapet. But the water - which covers the other two sides, rendered it impossible to - be invested, and gave an opportunity for multitudes of people - to throw themselves into it from every corner of that populous - country. And though these, for want of discipline, could not - be trusted in the field against regular forces, yet became - they of great use in a defence behind walls, by throwing up - works, erecting batteries, and digging trenches, to secure - (what was sufficient) for a few days, a weak town against a - small and ill-provided army. The East India Company had - numbers of cannon in their magazines, and had there erected a - school of engineers, for the service of their ships and - settlements; the vessels in the harbour supplied them with - more cannon, and with seamen accustomed to their management - and use; and whatever was wanting, either in artillery or - warlike stores, could easily be brought by water from Port - Louis, with which the town of L'Orient kept always an open - communication. - - But as these advantages, though great, require both a - sufficient presence of mind, and some time, to be employed - against an enemy, 'tis not improbable, that if the admiral had - been supplied with proper pilots, and the general with proper - guides, which could have led the English immediately upon the - coast, and to the town, the very terror of so unexpected an - invasion would have rendered the inhabitants incapable of - resistance, and made them surrender at discretion. The want of - these advantages had already lost two days; and more time must - yet be consumed, before they could so much as make the - appearance of an attack. Cannon was wanting, and the road by - which the army had marched, was absolutely unfit for the - conveyance of them. The general, therefore, having first - despatched an officer and a party to reconnoitre the country, - and find a nearer and better road, September 22d, went himself - next day to the sea-shore, for the same purpose, and also in - order to concert with the admiral the proper method of - bringing up cannon; as almost all the horses in the country, - which are extremely weak and of a diminutive size, had been - driven away by the peasants. Accordingly, a road was found, - much nearer, though still ten miles of length; and much - better, though easily rendered impassable by rainy weather, as - was afterwards experienced. - - A council of war was held on board the Princessa, consisting - of the admiral and general, Brigadier O'Farrel and Commodore - Cotes. The engineers, Director-General Armstrong, and Captain - Watson, who had surveyed the town of L'Orient, being called - in, were asked their opinion with regard to the practicability - of an attempt on it, together with the time, and artillery, - and ammunition, requisite for that purpose. Their answer was, - that with two twelve pounders, and a ten inch mortar, planted - on the spot which they had pitched on for erecting a battery, - they engaged either to make a practicable breach in the walls, - or with cartridges, bombs, and red-hot balls, destroy the - town, by laying it in ashes in twenty-four hours. Captain - Chalmers, the captain of the artillery, who had not then seen - the town, was of the same opinion, from their description of - it, provided the battery was within the proper distance. Had - the king's orders been less positive for making an attempt on - some part of the coast of France, yet such flattering views - offered by men who promised what lay within the sphere of - their own profession, must have engaged the attention of the - admiral and general, and induced them to venture on a much - more hazardous and difficult undertaking. 'Twas accordingly - agreed that four twelve pounders, and a ten inch mortar, - together with three field-pieces, should be drawn up to the - camp by sailors, in order to make, with still greater - assurance, the attempt, whose success seemed so certain to the - engineers. These pieces of artillery, with the stores - demanded, notwithstanding all difficulties, were drawn to the - camp in two days, except two twelve pounders, which arrived - not till the day afterwards. A third part of the sailors of - the whole fleet, together with all the marines, were employed - in this drudgery; the admiral gave all assistance in his power - to the general; and the public, in one instance, saw that it - was not impossible for land and sea officers to live in - harmony together, and concur in promoting the success of an - enterprise. - - The general, on his arrival in the camp, found the officer - returned whom he had sent to summon the town of L'Orient. By - his information, it appeared that the inhabitants were so much - alarmed by the suddenness of this incursion, and the terror of - a force, which their fears magnified, as to think of - surrendering, though upon conditions, which would have - rendered the conquest of no avail to their enemies. The - inhabitants insisted upon an absolute security to their houses - and goods; the East India Company to their magazines and - store-houses; and the garrison, consisting of about seven - hundred regular militia and troops, besides a great number of - irregulars, demanded a liberty of marching out with all the - honours of war. A weak town that opened its gates on such - conditions was not worth the entering; since it must - immediately be abandoned, leaving only to its conquerors the - shame of their own folly, and perhaps the reproach of - treachery. The general, therefore, partly trusting to the - promise of the engineers, and partly desirous of improving the - advantages gained by the present danger, when the deputies - arrived next day, September 23d, from the governor, from the - town, and from the East India Company, refused to receive any - articles but those from the governor, who commanded in the - name of his most Christian majesty. He even refused liberty to - the garrison to march out; well knowing that, as the town was - not invested, they could take that liberty whenever they - pleased. - - Meanwhile, every accident concurred to render the enterprise - of the English abortive. Some deserters got into the town, who - informed the garrison of the true force of the English, which, - conjecturing from the greatness and number of the ships, they - had much magnified. Even this small body diminished daily, - from the fatigue of excessive duty, and from the great rains - that began to fall. Scarce three thousand were left to do - duty, which still augmented the fatigue to the few that - remained; especially when joined to the frequent alarms, that - the unaccountable panic they were struck with made but too - frequent. Rains had so spoilt the roads as to render it - impracticable to bring up any heavier cannon, or more of the - same calibre, so long a way, by the mere force of seamen. But - what, above all things, made the enterprise appear desperate, - was the discovery of the ignorance of the engineers, chiefly - of the director-general, who in the whole course of his - proceedings appeared neither to have skill in contrivance, nor - order and diligence in execution. His own want of capacity and - experience, made his projects of no use; his blind obstinacy - rendered him incapable of making use of the capacity of - others. Though the general offered to place and support the - battery wherever the engineer thought proper, he chose to set - it above six hundred yards from the wall, where such small - cannon could do no manner of execution. He planted it at so - oblique an angle to the wall that the ball thrown from the - largest cannon must have recoiled, without making any - impression. He trusted much to the red-hot balls, with which - he promised to lay the town in ashes in twenty-four hours; - yet, by his negligence, or that of others, the furnace with - which these balls were to be heated, was forgot. After the - furnace was brought, he found that the bellows, and other - implements necessary for the execution of that work, were also - left on board the store-ships. With great difficulty, and - infinite pains, ammunition and artillery stores were drawn up - from the sea-shore in tumbrels. He was totally ignorant, till - some days after, that he had along with him ammunition wagons, - which would have much facilitated this labour. His orders to - the officers of the train were so confused, or so ill obeyed, - that no ammunition came regularly up to the camp, to serve the - few cannon and the mortars that played upon the town. Not only - fascines, piquets, and every thing necessary for the battery, - were supplied him beyond his demand; but even workmen, - notwithstanding the great fatigue and small numbers of the - army. These workmen found no addition to their fatigue in - obeying his orders. He left them often unemployed, for want of - knowing in what business he should occupy them. - - Meanwhile the French garrison, being so weakly attacked, had - leisure to prepare for a defence, and make proper use of their - great number of workmen, if not of soldiers, and the nearness - and plenty of their military stores. By throwing up earth in - the inside of the wall, they had planted a great many cannon, - some of a large calibre, and opened six batteries against one - that played upon them from the English. The distance alone of - the besiegers' battery, made these cannon of the enemy do less - execution; but that same distance rendered the attack - absolutely ineffectual. Were the battery brought nearer, to a - hundred paces for instance, 'twould be requisite to make it - communicate with the camp by trenches and a covered way, to - dig which was the work of some days for so small an army. - During this time, the besieged, foreseeing the place to which - the attack must be directed, could easily fortify it by - retrenchments in the inside of the wall; and planting ten - cannon to one, could silence the besiegers' feeble battery in - a few hours. They would not even have had leisure to make a - breach in the thin wall, which first discovered itself; and - that breach, if made, could not possibly serve to any purpose. - Above fifteen thousand men, completely armed by the East India - Company, and brave while protected by cannon and ramparts, - still stood in opposition to three thousand, discouraged with - fatigue, with sickness, and with despair of ever succeeding in - so unequal a contest. - - * * * * * - - A certain foreign writer, more anxious to tell his stories in - an entertaining manner than to assure himself of their - reality, has endeavoured to put this expedition in a - ridiculous light; but as there is not one circumstance of his - narration, which has truth in it, or even the least appearance - of truth, it would be needless to lose time in refuting it. - With regard to the prejudices of the public, a few questions - may suffice. - - Was the attempt altogether impracticable from the beginning? - The general neither proposed it, nor planned it, nor approved - it, nor answered for its success. Did the disappointment - proceed from want of expedition? He had no pilots, guides, nor - intelligence, afforded him; and could not possibly provide - himself in any of these advantages, so necessary to all - military operations. Were the engineers blamable? This has - always been considered as a branch of military knowledge, - distinct from that of a commander, and which is altogether - intrusted to those to whose profession it peculiarly belongs. - By his vigour in combating the vain terrors spread amongst the - troops, and by his prudence in timely desisting from a - fruitless enterprise, the misfortune was confined merely to a - disappointment, without any loss or any dishonour to the - British arms. Commanders, from the situation of affairs, have - had opportunities of acquiring more honour; yet there is no - one whose conduct, in every circumstance, could be more free - from reproach. On the first of October, the fleet sailed out - of Quimperlay Road, from one of the most dangerous situations - that so large a fleet had ever lain in, at so late a season, - and in so stormy a sea as the Bay of Biscay. The reflection on - this danger had been no inconsiderable cause of hastening the - re-embarkation of the troops. And the more so, that the - secretary had given express orders to the admiral not to bring - the fleet into any hazard. The prudence of the hasty departure - appeared the more visibly the very day the fleet sailed, when - a violent storm arising from the south west, it was concluded, - that if the ships had been lying at anchor on the coast, many - of them must have necessarily been driven ashore, and wrecked - on the rocks that surrounded them. The fleet was dispersed, - and six transports being separated from the rest, went - immediately for England, carrying with them about eight - hundred of the forces. The rest put into Quiberon Bay, and the - general landed his small body on the peninsula of that name. - By erecting a battery of some guns on the narrow neck of land, - which joins the peninsula to the continent, he rendered his - situation almost impregnable, while he saw the fleet riding - secure in his neighbourhood, in one of the finest bays in the - world. - - The industry and spirit of the general supported both himself - and the army against all these disadvantages, while there was - the smallest prospect of success. But his prudence determined - him to abandon it, when it appeared altogether desperate. - - The engineers, seeing no manner of effect from their shells - and red-hot balls, and sensible that 'twas impossible either - to make a breach from a battery, erected at so great a - distance, or to place the battery nearer, under such a - superiority of French cannon, at last unanimously brought a - report to the general, that they had no longer any hope of - success; and that even all the ammunition, which, with - infinite labour, had been brought, was expended: no prospect - remained of being farther supplied, on account of the broken - roads, which lay between them and the fleet. The council of - war held in consequence of this report, balanced the reasons - for continuing or abandoning the enterprise, if men can be - said to balance where they find nothing on the one side but an - extreme desire to serve their king and country, and on the - other every maxim of war and prudence. They unanimously agreed - to abandon the attempt, and return on board the transports. - The whole troops were accordingly re-embarked by the 28th of - September, with the loss of near twenty men killed and - wounded, on the whole enterprise. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[441:1] See ante, p. 218. - - - - -APPENDIX B. - -LETTERS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT.[456:1] - - -I.--LETTERS FROM MONTESQUIEU TO HUME.[456:2] - - -(1.) - - J'ai recu Monsieur, comme une chose tres precieuse, la belle - lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de m'ecrire au sujet de - mon ouvrage. Elle est remplie de reflexions si judicieuses et - si sensees, que je ne scaurois vous dire a quel point j'en ai - ete charme. Ce que vous dites sur la forme dont les jures - prononcent en Angleterre, ou en Ecosse, m'a surtout fait un - grand plaisir, et l'endroit de mon livre ou j'ai traite cette - matiere est peut-etre celui qui m'a fait le plus de peine, et - ou j'ai le plus souvent change. Ce que j'avois fait, parce-que - je n'avois trouve personne qui eut la-dessus des idees aussi - nettes, que vous avez. Mais c'est assez parler de mon livre - que j'ai l'honneur de vous presenter. J'aime mieux vous parler - d'une belle dissertation ou vous donnez une beaucoup plus - grande influence aux causes morales qu'aux causes - physiques--et il m'a paru, autant que je suis capable d'en - juger, que ce sujet est traite a fond, quelque difficile qu'il - soit a traiter, et ecrit de main de maitre, et rempli d'idees - et de reflexions tres neuves. Nous commencames aussi a - lire--M. Stuart et moi--un autre ouvrage de vous ou vous - maltraitez un peu l'ordre ecclesiastique. Vous croyez bien que - Monsr. Stuart et moi n'avons pas pu entierement vous - approuver--nous nous sommes contentes de vous admirer. Nous ne - crumes pas que ces Messieurs furent tels, mais nous trouvames - fort bonnes les raisons que vous donnez pour qu'ils dussent - etre tels. M. Stuart m'a fait un grand plaisir en me faisant - esperer que je trouverois a Paris une partie de ces beaux - ouvrages. J'ai l'honneur, Monsieur, de vous en remercier, et - d'etre avec les sentimens de la plus parfaite estime, votre - tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur. - - MONTESQUIEU. - - _A Bordeaux, ce 19 May, 1749._ - - -(2.) - - Monsieur j'ai recu la lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de - m'ecrire du 16 de Juillet, et il ne m'a ete possible de la - lire qu' aujourdhui, a cause d'une grande fluxion sur les yeux - et que n'ayant point actuellement de secretaire Anglais je ne - pouvois me la faire lire. J'etois pret a y faire reponse quand - Mr. Le Mosnier est entre chez moi, et m'a parle de l'honneur - qu'on veut faire a mon livre en Ecosse de l'y imprimer, et m'a - dit ce que vous m'avez deja appris par votre lettre. Je suis - tres oblige a vous Monsieur et a Monsieur Alexandre, de la - peine que vous avez prise. Je suis convenu avec M. Le Mosnier - que je ferais faire une copie des corrections que j'ai - envoiees en Angleterre, et a Paris, de la premiere edition de - Geneve, en 2 volumes in 4to qui est tres fautive, et qu'il se - chargeroit de les envoyer. J'ai recu Monsieur, les exemplaires - de vos beaux ouvrages que vous avez eu la bonte de m'envoyer, - et j'ai lu avec un tres grand plaisir l'essay sur l'esprit - humain, qui ne peut partir que d'un esprit extremement - philosophique. Tout ceci est rempli de belles idees, et je - vous remercie du plaisir que la lecture m'en a fait; a l'egard - de la citation des Lettres Persanes il vaut autant que mon nom - y soit que celui d'un autre, et cela n'est d'aucune - consequence. - - La reputation de Monsieur le Docteur Midleton est certainement - venue jusqu'a nous. Notior ut jam sit canibus non Delia - nostris, et j'espere bien me procurer l'avantage de lire les - ouvrages dont vous me parlez. Je scais que Mr. de Midleton est - un homme eminent. J'ai Monsieur l'honneur d'etre, &c. - - _A Paris ce 3 7bre, 1749._ - - Je vous prie Monsieur, de vouloir bien faire mes compliments - tres humbles a Mons. Stewart: il fairoit bien de venir nous - revoir cet automne prochain. - - -(3.) - - J'ai Monsieur recu l'honneur de votre lettre avec la postille - qui y est jointe, et j'ai de plus recu un exemplaire de vos - excellentes compositions par la voie de Milord Morton. Mr. de - Jouquart qui a forme le dessein de traduire l'ouvrage de - Mons{r.} Wallace, me dit hier qu'il traduiroit aussi le votre - sur le nombre des peuples chez les anciennes nations. Cela - dependra du succes qu'aura sa traduction qui est la premiere - qu'il ait faite. Il est certain qu'il a tous les talents qu'il - faut pour s'en acquitter, et je ne doute pas que le public ne - l'encourage a continuer. Le public qui admirera les deux - ouvrages, n'admirera pas moins deux amis qui font ceder d'une - maniere si noble les petits interets de l'esprit aux interets - de l'amitie; et pour moi, je regarderai comme un tres grand - bonheur, si je puis me flatter d'avoir quelque part dans cette - amitie. J'ai l'honneur d'etre, &c. - - _Paris, ce 13 Juillet, 1753._ - - -II.--LETTERS FROM THE ABBE LE BLANC TO HUME. - -_Referred to in_ vol. i. p. 366, _and_ p. 408. - - -(1.) - - MONSIEUR,--La traduction de vos discours politiques, que j'ai - l'honneur de vous envoyer, est la preuve la plus eclatante que - je pouvois vous donner de l'estime que j'en fais; vous en - serez peut-etre plus content si j'avois ete a portee de - profiter de vos lumieres. Je vous prie, et votre interet s'y - trouve comme le mien, de me faire la grace de la lire avec - attention, et de m'avertir des endroits, ou malgre toute - l'attention que j'y ai apportee, j'aurois pu m'ecarter de - votre sens. J'en profiterai a la premiere edition, ainsi que - des remarques, changements, ou additions, qu'il vous plaira me - communiquer, soit a l'occasion de vos discours, soit sur les - autres ouvrages Anglois dont je parle dans mes notes. - - Je vous prie encore Monsieur que ce soit le plus tot qu'il - vous sera possible, car il est bon de vous dire que cette - traduction, grace a l'excellence de l'original, se debite ici - comme un Roman; c'est tout dire, notre gout pour les futilites - vous est connu; il vous etoit reserve de nous y faire - renoncer, pour nous occuper des matieres les plus dignes - d'exercer les esprits raisonnables. Le Libraire m'avertit - qu'il sera bientot tems de penser a la seconde edition. - J'attendrai votre reponse pour l'enrichir de vos remarques qui - feront que celle-ci sera recue du public avec encore plus - d'applaudissements. - - Je profite de cette occasion pour vous offrir une amitie qui - vous sera, peut-etre, inutile, et vous demander la votre que - je serois tres flatte d'obtenir. Il semble que l'auteur et le - traducteur sont faits pour etre lies ensemble: il est a - presumer qui celui que traduit un ouvrage a d'avance ou du - moins epouse la facon de parler de celui qui l'a fait. J'ai - trouve dans vos discours un politique Philosophe, et un - Philosophe citoyen. Je n'ai moi-meme donne aucun ouvrage qui - ne porte ce double caractere, et je me flatte que vous le - trouverez dans les Lettres d'un Francois, si par hazard elles - vous sont connues. - - J'ai l'honneur d'etre, avec les sentiments d'estime dont je - viens de vous donner des temoignages publics, et cette sorte - de respect que je n'ai que pour quelques Philosophes tels que - vous. Monsieur, votre tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur, - - L'ABBE LE BLANC, Historiographe des Batiments du Roy de France. - - _De Paris, le 25th Aout, 1754._ - - -(2.) - - MONSIEUR,--La traduction de vos discours politiques est la - premiere que j'ai donnee au public; et l'utilite que j'ai cru - que ma patrie en pouvoit retirer, est l'unique motif que m'ait - determine a l'entreprendre. Je n'ose me repondre que vous la - trouverez telle que vous l'esperez. C'est a moi a vous - demander votre indulgence pour les fautes que vous y - trouverez, et a vous prier de me communiquer vos remarques sur - des notes que j'ai cru y devoir adjouter. Je vous promets de - corriger avec soumission les erreurs que vos m'y ferez - apercevoir. A la fin du 2d vol. j'ai donne une notice des - meilleurs ouvrages Anglois que j'ai consultes, sur les - matieres du commerce; j'ai hazarde de porter mon jugement sur - chacun de ceux dont j'ai parle. Je le rectifierai sur vos - lumieres, si vous voulez bien me les communiquer. Si j'en ai - omis quelqu'un d'important, je vous prie de me le faire - connoitre, et de me dire vous-meme, qui etes un si excellent - juge, ce que l'on en doit penser. J'enricherai la 2 Edition de - tout ce dont vous voudrez bien me faire part. - - A l'egard de votre histoire de la Grande Bretagne que vous - m'annoncez, ce ne sera plus simplement comme votre admirateur - mais comme votre ami Monsieur, que j'en entreprendrai la - traduction, et je ferai de mon mieux pour qu'elle perde le - moins qu'il est possible. J'aime votre facon de penser, et je - suis familiarise avec votre stile; si la matiere exige qu'il - soit plus eleve je tacherai d'y atteindre. Mais pour que je - puisse entreprendre cette traduction avec succes, il faut s'il - est possible, que vous retardiez a Londres au moins d'un mois - la publication de votre ouvrage, et que vous me l'envoyez tout - de suite par la poste, addresse sans autre enveloppe a Mr. - Jannes, Chevalier de l'ordre du Roi, Controlleur General des - Postes a Paris. Nous avons ici une foule d'ecrivains - mediocres, qui sans savoir ni l'Anglois ni le Francois meme, - sont a l'affut de tout ce qui s'imprime chez vous, et qui a - l'aide d'un dictionnaire vous massacreront impitoyablement. On - nous a donne ainsi plusieurs bons ouvrages, et entre autres la - dissertation de M. Wallace dont il n'est pas possible de - supporter la lecture en Francois. Pour faire de pareille - besogne, il ne faut pas beaucoup de tems a ces Messieurs la. - Ils travaillent vite, parce qu'ils travaillent _fami potius - quam famae_. Si je n'ai pas du tems devant eux, je serai - prevenu, et si je le suis, je serai oblige d'abandonner - l'ouvrage. Je ne vous parle pas des traducteurs de Hollande - qui sont encore plus mauvais s'il est possible. Cette fois-ci - je veux faire un office d'amitie, je vous prie de me mettre a - portee de le bien faire. Vos discours Politiques vous ont, - comme je m'y attendois, donne ici la plus haute reputation, - des que votre histoire paroitra, un libraire la fera venir par - la poste, et mettra ses ouvriers apres, a moins que vous ne - m'accordiez la grace que je vous demande. Alors on saura que - je la traduis, et je suis sur que ces messieurs me laisseront - faire. - - J'ai encore a vous apprendre, monsieur, que le succes de vos - Discours Politiques ne fait qu'augmenter tous les jours, et - que tout retentit de vos Eloges. Nos ministres meme n'en sont - pas moins satisfaits que le public. Mr. le Comte d'Argenson, - Mr. Le Marechal de Noailles, en un mot tous ceux qui ont ici - part au gouvernement ont parle de votre ouvrage, comme d'un - des meilleurs qui ayent jamais ete faits sur ces matieres. - J'ai ete oblige de ceder mon exemplaire a un d'entre eux; - ainsi je vous prie de m'en adresser un par la meme voie que je - vous ai indiquee, la poste apres que vous m'aurez envoye le I. - vol. de votre histoire, d'autant plus que les additions et - corrections dont vous m'avez fait part se rapportent a la 3{e} - edition qui je crois se trouveroit difficilement a Paris. - - -(3.) - - MONSIEUR,--Je vous avois promis, et je m'etois flatte de - pouvoir consacrer mes veilles a traduire aussi votre admirable - Histoire de l'infortunee Maison de Stewart. Les obstacles les - plus puissants, ceux-memes qui otent a l'esprit cette liberte - sans laquelle on ne fait rien de bien, voyages, affaires, - disgraces, maladies--tout s'est oppose a l'execution d'un - projet qui rioit si fort a mon imagination et dont l'execution - ne pouroit que me faire honneur. - - A ce defaut j'ai prete a un de mes amis, homme d'esprit et - laborieux, le premier volume que vous avez eu la bonte de - m'envoyer. Il l'a traduit et le rendra public au commencement - de l'hiver prochain. - - J'ai de meme que tous ceux qui savent ici l'Anglois, le plus - grand empressement de lire votre second volume. J'en ferai le - meme usage que du premier. - - Je vous avois annonce que vos discours Politiques feroient - parmi nous le meme effet que _L'Esprit des Loix_. L'evenement - m'a justifie, non seulement ils jouissent parmi nous de cette - haute reputation qu'ils meritent, mais ils ont donne lieu a - un grand nombre d'autres ouvrages plus ou moins estimables et - qui la plus part n'ont d'original que la forme. Vous en - trouverez le catalogue a la suite d'une troisieme edition de - ma traduction que je vais donner incessamment. - - Il vient d'en paroitre un qui fait ici un grand bruit, et que - je n'ai garde de confondre avec tous ceux dont je viens de - parler. Il est intitule, L'AMI DES HOMMES OU TRAITE DE LA - POPULATION. L'Auteur est un genie hardi, original, qui comme - Montaigne se laisse aller a ses idees, les expose sans - orgueil, sans modestie; il ne suit ni ordre ni methode; mais - son ouvrage, plein d'excellentes choses, respire le bien de - l'humanite et de la patrie. Il preche l'agriculture, et - foudroye la finance. Il combat votre systeme sur le luxe, mais - avec les egards eleves a la superiorite de vos lumieres. Il - m'a remis un exemplaire de son ouvrage, qu'il me prie de vous - presenter comme un tribut de son estime et de la - reconnoissance qu'il vous doit, pour l'utilite qu'il a tiree - de vos Discours Politiques. Il ne demande pas mieux que d' - etre eclaire et par la noblesse des sentiments et la politesse - de la conduite. Je ne crains pas de le dire. L'adversaire est - digne de vous. C'est _Monsieur le Marquis de Mirabeau_, qui - est tel qu'il paroit dans son livre--c'est a dire un des plus - extraordinaires des hommes qu'il y ait en quelque pays que ce - soit. Je vous prie Monsieur de m'indiquer une voie sure pour - vous faire parvenir son ouvrage. - - -(4.) - - _Dresde, le 25 Dec. 1754._ - - J'ai vu ici la traduction de vos Discours Politiques imprimee - en Hollande; elle ne se peut pas lire; vous souffririez vous, - Monsieur, de vous voir ainsi defigure. Le Traducteur quel - qu'il soit ne sait constamment ni l'Anglois ni le Francois. - C'est probablement un de ces auteurs qui travaillent a la - foire pour les libraires de Hollande, et dont les ouvrages - bons ou mauvais se debitent aux foires de Leipsig et de - Francfort. Les bibliotheques de ce pays ci sont remplies de - livres Francois qui n'ont jamais ete et ne seront jamais - connus en France. Cette traduction passe ici pour etre d'un - Mr. Mauvillon de Leipsic dont le metier est de faire des - livres Francois pour L'Allemagne, et d'enseigner ce qu'il ne - sait--c'est a dire, votre langue et la notre. Ce qu'il y a de - Saxons lettres qui les possedent l'une ou l'autre, et qui - s'interessent au bien de leur pays, connoissent l'excellence - de votre ouvrage, me pressent de faire imprimer a Dresde meme - la seconde edition de ma traduction, et je pourrois bien me - rendre a leur avis. Je n'attends plus que votre reponse pour - me decider. Quelque part qu'elle se fasse, je tacherai de - faire en sorte qu'elle soit belle et correcte. - - -(5.) - - MONSIEUR,--Il y a a peu pres un an que notre commerce - epistolaire a commence, et j'ai grand regret que par des - contretems de tout espece il ait ete sitot interrompu. Vous - m'avez donne trop de preuves de votre politesse pour que je ne - sois pas a present convaincu que vous n'avez recu aucune des - lettres que je vous ai ecrites de Dresde, et que j'avois - essaye de vous faire passer par la voie de votre ambassadeur a - cette cour. Pret a quitter la Saxe, je vous ecrivis encor de - Leipzic, pour vous rendre compte de mon sejour en ce pays, et - vous dire que la dissipation ou j'y avois vecu forcement, ne - m'avoit pas permis d'avancer beaucoup dans la traduction de - votre histoire de la malheureuse famille des Stuarts. J'ai - depuis ete en Hollande, et, comme je l'avois prevu j'ai appris - qu'un de ces auteurs, qui travaillent a la fois aux gages des - libraires qui les employent, en avoit fait une de son cote, - qui etoit toute prete a paroitre. Vous pouvez aisement juger - du decouragement ou une pareille nouvelle m'a jette. La - manufacture des livres de Hollande fait reellement grand tort - a notre litterature Francoise. On y employe a traduire un - excellent ouvrage des gens qui ne seroient bons qu'a - travailler a la fabrique du papier. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[456:1] From the MSS. R.S.E. - -[456:2] See _antea_, p. 304. - - - - -APPENDIX C. - -DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. - - -I.--CORRESPONDENCE. - - -(1.) - -HUME _to_ ----. - - _Edinburgh, August 16, 1760._ - - SIR,--I am not surprised to find by your letter, that Mr. Gray - should have entertained suspicions with regard to the - authenticity of these fragments of our Highland poetry. The - first time I was shown the copies of some of them in - manuscript, by our friend John Home, I was inclined to be a - little incredulous on that head; but Mr. Home removed my - scruples, by informing me of the manner in which he procured - them from Mr. Macpherson, the translator. - - These two gentlemen were drinking the waters together at - Moffat last autumn, when their conversation fell upon Highland - poetry, which Mr. Macpherson extolled very highly. Our friend, - who knew him to be a good scholar, and a man of taste, found - his curiosity excited, and asked whether he had ever - translated any of them. Mr. Macpherson replied, that he never - had attempted any such thing; and doubted whether it was - possible to transfuse such beauties into our language; but, - for Mr. Home's satisfaction, and in order to give him a - general notion of the strain of that wild poetry, he would - endeavour to turn one of them into English. He accordingly - brought him one next day, which our friend was so much pleased - with, that he never ceased soliciting Mr. Macpherson, till he - insensibly produced that small volume which has been - published. - - After this volume was in every body's hands, and universally - admired, we heard every day new reasons, which put the - authenticity, not the great antiquity which the translator - ascribes to them, beyond all question; for their antiquity is - a point, which must be ascertained by reasoning; though the - arguments he employs seem very probable and convincing. But - certain it is, that these poems are in every body's mouth in - the Highlands, have been handed down from father to son, and - are of an age beyond all memory and tradition. - - In the family of every Highland chieftain, there was anciently - retained a bard, whose office was the same with that of the - Greek rhapsodists; and the general subject of the poems which - they recited was the wars of Fingal; an epoch no less - remarkable among them, than the wars of Troy among the Greek - poets. This custom is not even yet altogether abolished: the - bard and piper are esteemed the most honourable offices in a - chieftain's family, and these two characters are frequently - united in the same person. Adam Smith, the celebrated - Professor in Glasgow, told me that the piper of the - Argyleshire militia repeated to him all those poems which Mr. - Macpherson has translated, and many more of equal beauty. - Major Mackay, Lord Reay's brother, also told me that he - remembers them perfectly; as likewise did the Laird of - Macfarlane, the greatest antiquarian whom we have in this - country, and who insists so strongly on the historical truth, - as well as on the poetical beauty of these productions. I - could add the Laird and Lady Macleod to these authorities, - with many more, if these were not sufficient, as they live in - different parts of the Highlands, very remote from each other, - and they could only be acquainted with poems that had become - in a manner national works, and had gradually spread - themselves into every mouth, and imprinted themselves on every - memory. - - Every body in Edinburgh is so convinced of this truth, that we - have endeavoured to put Mr. Macpherson on a way of procuring - us more of these wild flowers. He is a modest, sensible, young - man, not settled in any living, but employed as a private - tutor in Mr. Grahame of Balgowan's family, a way of life which - he is not fond of. We have, therefore, set about a - subscription of a guinea or two guineas a-piece, in order to - enable him to quit that family, and undertake a mission into - the Highlands, where he hopes to recover more of these - fragments. There is, in particular, a country surgeon - somewhere in Lochaber, who, he says, can recite a great number - of them, but never committed them to writing; as indeed the - orthography of the Highland language is not fixed, and the - natives have always employed more the sword than the pen. This - surgeon has by heart the Epic poem mentioned by Mr. Macpherson - in his Preface; and as he is somewhat old, and is the only - person living that has it entire, we are in the more haste to - recover a monument, which will certainly be regarded as a - curiosity in the republic of letters. - - I own that my first and chief objection to the authenticity of - these fragments, was not on account of the noble and even - tender strokes which they contain; for these are the offspring - of genius and passion in all countries; I was only surprised - at the regular plan which appears in some of these pieces, and - which seems to be the work of a more cultivated age. None of - the specimens of barbarous poetry known to us, the Hebrew, - Arabian, or any other, contain this species of beauty; and if - a regular epic poem, or even any thing of that kind, nearly - regular, should also come from that rough climate or - uncivilized people, it would appear to me a phenomenon - altogether unaccountable. - - I remember Mr. Macpherson told me, that the heroes of this - Highland epic were not only, like Homer's heroes, their own - butchers, bakers, and cooks, but also their own shoemakers, - carpenters, and smiths. He mentioned an incident which put - this matter in a remarkable light. A warrior had the head of - his spear struck off in battle; upon which he immediately - retires behind the army, where a large forge was erected, - makes a new one, hurries back to the action, pierces his - enemy, while the iron, which was yet red-hot, hisses in the - wound. This imagery you will allow to be singular, and so well - imagined, that it would have been adopted by Homer, had the - manners of the Greeks allowed him to have employed it. - - I forgot to mention, as another proof of the authenticity of - these poems, and even of the reality of the adventures - contained in them, that the names of the heroes, Fingal, - Oscar, Osur, Oscan, Dermid, are still given in the Highlands - to large mastiffs, in the same manner as we affix to them the - names of Caesar, Pompey, Hector, or the French that of - Marlborough. - - It gives me pleasure to find, that a person of so fine a taste - as Mr. Gray approves of these fragments; as it may convince - us, that our fondness of them is not altogether founded on - national prepossessions, which, however, you know to be a - little strong. The translation is elegant; but I made an - objection to the author, which I wish you would communicate to - Mr. Gray, that we may judge of the justness of it. There - appeared to me many verses in his prose, and all of them in - the same measure with Mr. Shenstone's famous ballad: - - "Ye shepherds so cheerful and gay, - Whose flocks never carelessly roam, &c." - - Pray, ask Mr. Gray, whether he made the same remark, &c. and - whether he thinks it a blemish. Yours most sincerely, - &c.[465:1] - - -(2.) - -HUME _to_ DR. BLAIR. - - _Lisle St. Leicester Fields, 19th Sept. 1763._ - - DEAR SIR,--I live in a place where I have the pleasure of - frequently hearing justice done to your Dissertation; but - never heard it mentioned in a company where some one person or - other did not express his doubts with regard to the - authenticity of the poems which are its subject; and I often - hear them totally rejected with disdain and indignation, as a - palpable and most impudent forgery. This opinion has, indeed, - become very prevalent among the men of letters in London; and - I can foresee, that in a few years the poems, if they continue - to stand on their present footing, will be thrown aside, and - will fall into final oblivion. It is in vain to say that their - beauty will support them, independent of their authenticity. - No; that beauty is not so much to the general taste as to - ensure you of this event; and if people be once disgusted with - the idea of a forgery, they are thence apt to entertain a more - disadvantageous notion of the excellency of the production - itself. The absurd pride and caprice of Macpherson himself, - who scorns, as he pretends, to satisfy any body that doubts - his veracity, has tended much to confirm this general - scepticism; and I must own, for my own part, that, though I - have had many particular reasons to believe these poems - genuine, more than it is possible for any Englishman of - letters to have, yet I am not entirely without my scruples on - that head. You think that the internal proofs in favour of the - poems are very convincing; so they are: but there are also - internal reasons against them, particularly from the manners, - notwithstanding all the art with which you have endeavoured to - throw a varnish on that circumstance; and the preservation of - such long and such connected poems by oral tradition alone, - during a course of fourteen centuries, is so much out of the - ordinary course of human affairs, that it requires the - strongest reasons to make us believe it. - - My present purpose, therefore, is to apply to you, in the name - of all the men of letters of this, and I may say of all other - countries, to establish this capital point, and to give us - proof that these poems are, I do not say so ancient as the age - of Severus, but that they were not forged within these five - years by James Macpherson. These proofs must not be arguments, - but testimonies. People's ears are fortified against the - former: the latter may yet find their way before the poems are - consigned to total oblivion. Now the testimonies may, in my - opinion, be of two kinds. Macpherson pretends that there is an - ancient manuscript of part of Fingal, in the family, I think, - of Clanronald. Get that fact ascertained by more than one - person of credit; let these persons be acquainted with the - Gaelic; let them compare the original and the translation; and - let them testify the fidelity of the latter. But the chief - point in which it will be necessary for you to exert yourself, - will be to get positive testimony from many different hands, - that such poems are vulgarly recited in the Highlands, and - have there long been the entertainment of the people. This - testimony must be as particular as it is positive. It will not - be sufficient that a Highland gentleman or clergyman say or - write to you, that he has heard such poems; nobody questions - that there are traditional poems in that part of the country, - where the names of Ossian and Fingal, and Oscar, and Gaul, are - mentioned in every stanza. The only doubt is, whether these - poems have any farther resemblance to the poems published by - Macpherson. I was told by Bourke, a very ingenious Irish - gentleman, the author of a tract on the Sublime and Beautiful, - that on the first publication of Macpherson's book, all the - Irish cried out, We know all these poems, we have always heard - them from our infancy. But when he asked more particular - questions, he could never learn that any one had ever heard, - or could repeat the original of any one paragraph of the - pretended translation. This generality, then, must be - carefully guarded against, as being of no authority. - - Your connexions among your brethren of the clergy, may here - be of great use to you. You may easily learn the names of all - ministers of that country, who understand the language of it; - you may write to them, expressing the doubts that have arisen, - and desiring them to send for such of the bards as remain, and - make them rehearse their ancient poems. Let the clergymen, - then, have the translation in their hands, and let them write - back to you, and inform you that they heard such a one, - (naming him,) living in such a place, rehearse the original of - such a passage, from such a page to such a page of the English - translation, which appeared exact and faithful. If you give to - the public a sufficient number of such testimonies, you may - prevail. But I venture to foretel to you that nothing less - will serve the purpose; nothing less will so much as command - the attention of the public. Becket tells me that he is to - give us a new edition of your Dissertation, accompanied with - some remarks on Temora; here is a favourable opportunity for - you to execute this purpose. You have a just and laudable zeal - for the credit of these poems; they are, if genuine, one of - the greatest curiosities, in all respects, that ever was - discovered in the commonwealth of letters; and the child is, - in a manner, become yours by adoption, as Macpherson has - totally abandoned all care of it. These motives call upon you - to exert yourself; and I think it were suitable to your - candour, and most satisfactory also to the reader, to publish - all the answers to all the letters you write, even though some - of these letters should make somewhat against your own opinion - in this affair. We shall always be the more assured that no - arguments are strained beyond their proper force, and no - contrary arguments suppressed, where such an entire - communication is made to us. Becket joins me heartily in this - application, and he owns to me, that the believers in the - authenticity of the poems diminish every day among the men of - sense and reflection. Nothing less than what I propose, can - throw the balance on the other side. I depart from hence in - about three weeks, and should be glad to hear your resolution - before that time. - - This journey to Paris is likely to contribute much to my - entertainment, and will certainly tend much to improve my - fortune; so that I have no reason to repent that I have - allowed myself to be dragged from my retreat. I shall - henceforth converse with authors, but shall not probably for - some time have much leisure to peruse them; which is not - perhaps the way of knowing them most to their advantage. I - carried only four books along with me, a Virgil, a Horace, a - Tasso, and a Tacitus. I could have wished also to carry my - Homer, but I found him too bulky. I own that, in common - decency, I ought to have left my Horace behind me, and that I - ought to be ashamed to look him in the face. For I am sensible - that, at my years, no temptation would have seduced him from - his retreat; nor would he ever have been induced to enter so - late into the path of ambition.[468:1] But I deny that I enter - into the path of ambition; I only walk into the green fields - of amusement; and I affirm, that external amusement becomes - more and more necessary as one advances in years, and can find - less supplies from his own passions or imagination. I am, - &c.[468:2] - - -(3.) - -DR. BLAIR _to_ HUME. - - _Edinburgh, 29th September, 1763._ - - DEAR SIR,--I am much obliged to you for the information you - have communicated to me, and for the concern you show that - justice should be done to our Highland Poems. From what I saw - myself when at London, I could easily believe that the - disposition of men of letters was rather averse to their - reception as genuine; but I trusted that the internal - characters of their authenticity, together with the occasional - testimonies given to them by Highland gentlemen who are every - where scattered, would gradually surmount these prejudices. - For my own part, it is impossible for me to entertain the - smallest doubt of their being real productions, and ancient - ones, too, of the Highlands. Neither Macpherson's parts, - though good, nor his industry, were equal to such a forgery. - The whole publication, you know, was in its first rise - accidental. Macpherson was entreated and dragged into it. Some - of the MSS. sent to him passed through my hands. Severals of - them he translated, in a manner, under my eye. He gave me - these native and genuine accounts of them, which bore plain - characters of truth. What he said was often confirmed to me by - others. I had testimonies from several Highlanders concerning - their authenticity, in words strong and explicit. And, setting - all this aside, is it a thing which any man of sense can - suppose, that Macpherson would venture to forge such a body of - poetry, and give it to the public as ancient poems and songs, - well known at this day through all the Highlands of Scotland, - when he could have been refuted and exposed by every one of - his own countrymen? Is it credible that he could bring so many - thousand people into a conspiracy with him to keep his secret? - or that some would not be found who, attached to their own - ancient songs, would not cry out, "These are not the poems we - deal in. You have forged characters and sentiments we know - nothing about; you have modernized and dressed us up: we have - much better songs and poems of our own." Who but John Bull - could entertain the belief of an imposture so incredible as - this? The utmost I should think any rational scepticism could - suppose is this, that Macpherson might have sometimes - interpolated, or endeavoured to improve, by some corrections - of his own. Of this I am verily persuaded there was very - little, if any at all. Had it prevailed, we would have been - able to trace more marks of inconsistency, and a different - hand and style; whereas, these poems are more remarkable for - nothing than an entire, and supported, and uniform consistency - of character and manner through the whole. - - However, seeing we have to do with such incredulous people, I - think it were a pity not to do justice to such valuable - monuments of genius. I have already, therefore, entered upon - the task you prescribe me, though I foresee it may give me - some trouble. I have writ by last post to Sir James Macdonald, - who is fortunately at this time in the Isle of Skye. I have - also, through the Laird of Macleod, writ to Clanronald, and - likewise to two clergymen in the Isle of Skye, men of letters - and character; one of them, Macpherson minister of Sleat, the - author of a very learned work about to be published concerning - the Antiquities of Scotland. Several others in Argyleshire, - the Islands, and other poetical regions, worthy clergymen, who - are well versed in the Gaelic, I intend also without delay to - make application to. - - My requisition to them all is for such positive and express - testimonies as you desire; MSS. if they have any, compared - before witnesses with the printed book, and recitations of - bards compared in the same manner. I have given them express - directions in what manner to proceed, so as to avoid that - loose generality which, as you observe, can signify nothing. - What use it may be proper to put these testimonies to, I can - only judge after having got all my materials. I apprehend - there may be some difficulty in obtaining the consent of those - concerned to publish their letters, nor might it be proper. - But concerning this, I may afterwards advise with you and my - other friends. - - In the meantime, you may please acquaint Mr. Becket, that this - must retard for some time the publication of his new edition - with my Dissertation; as the least I can allow for the return - of letters from such distant parts, where the communication by - post is irregular and slow, together with the time necessary - for their executing what is desired, will be three months, - perhaps some more; and, assuredly, any new evidence we can - give the world, must accompany my Dissertation. - - I am in some difficulty with Macpherson himself in this - affair. Capricious as he is, I would not willingly hurt or - disoblige him; and yet I apprehend that such an inquiry as - this, which is like tracing him out, and supposing his - veracity called in question, will not please him. I must write - him by next post, and endeavour to put the affair in such a - light as to soften him; which you, if you see him, may do - likewise, and show him the necessity of something of this kind - being done; and with more propriety, perhaps, by another than - himself.[470:1] - - -(4.) - -HUME _to_ DR. BLAIR. - - _6th October, 1763._ - -MY DEAR SIR,--I am very glad you have undertaken the task which I used -the freedom to recommend to you. Nothing less than what you propose will -serve the purpose. You need expect no assistance from Macpherson, who -flew into a passion when I told him of the letter I had wrote to you. -But you must not mind so strange and heteroclite a mortal, than whom I -have scarce ever known a man more perverse and unamiable. He will -probably depart for Florida with governor Johnstone, and I would advise -him to travel among the Chickisaws or Cherokees, in order to tame him -and civilize him. - - I should be much pleased to hear of the success of your - labours. Your method of directing to me is under cover to the - Earl of Hertford, Northumberland House; any letters that come - to me under that direction, will be sent over to me at Paris. - - I beg my compliments to Robertson and Jardine. I am very sorry - to hear of the state of Ferguson's health. John Hume went to - the country yesterday with Lord Bute. I was introduced the - other day to that noble lord, at his desire. I believe him a - very good man, a better man than a politician. - - Since writing the above, I have been in company with Mrs. - Montague, a lady of great distinction in this place, and a - zealous partisan of Ossian. I told her of your intention, and - even used the freedom to read your letter to her. She was - extremely pleased with your project; and the rather as the Duc - de Nivernois, she said, had talked to her much on that subject - last winter, and desired, if possible, to get collected some - proofs of the authenticity of these poems, which he proposed - to lay before the Academie des Belles Lettres at Paris. You - see, then, that you are upon a great stage in this inquiry, - and that many people have their eyes upon you. This is a new - motive for rendering your proofs as complete as possible. I - cannot conceive any objection, which a man, even of the - gravest character, could have to your publication of his - letters, which will only attest a plain fact known to him. - Such scruples, if they occur, you must endeavour to remove. - For on this trial of yours will the judgment of the public - finally depend. - - Lord Bath, who was in the company, agreed with me, that such - documents of authenticity are entirely necessary and - indispensable. - - Please to write to me as soon as you make any advances, that I - may have something to say on the subject to the literati of - Paris. I beg my compliments to all those who bear that - character at Edinburgh. I cannot but look upon all of them as - my friends. I am, &c.[471:1] - - -II. - -ESSAY ON THE GENUINENESS OF THE POEMS.[471:2] - - I think the fate of this production the most curious effect of - prejudice, where superstition had no share, that ever was in - the world. A tiresome, insipid performance; which, if it had - been presented in its real form, as the work of a - contemporary, an obscure Highlander, no man could ever have - had the patience to have once perused, has, by passing for the - poetry of a royal bard, who flourished fifteen centuries ago, - been universally read, has been pretty generally admired, and - has been translated, in prose and verse, into several - languages of Europe. Even the style of the supposed English - translation has been admired, though harsh and absurd in the - highest degree; jumping perpetually from verse to prose, and - from prose to verse; and running, most of it, in the light - cadence and measure of Molly Mog. Such is the Erse epic, which - has been puffed with a zeal and enthusiasm that has drawn a - ridicule on my countrymen. - - But, to cut off at once the whole source of its reputation, I - shall collect a few very obvious arguments against the notion - of its great antiquity, with which so many people have been - intoxicated, and which alone made it worthy of any attention. - - (1.) The very manner in which it was presented to the public - forms a strong presumption against its authenticity. The - pretended translator goes on a mission to the Highlands to - recover and collect a work, which, he affirmed, was dispersed, - in fragments, among the natives. He returns, and gives a - quarto volume, and then another quarto, with the same - unsupported assurance as if it were a translation of the - Orlando Furioso, or Lousiade, or any poem the best known in - Europe. It might have been expected, at least, that he would - have told the public, and the subscribers to his mission, and - the purchasers of his book, _This part I got from such a - person, in such a place; that other part, from such another - person. I was enabled to correct my first copy of such a - passage by the recital of such another person; a fourth - supplied such a defect in my first copy_. By such a history of - his gradual discoveries he would have given some face of - probability to them. Any man of common sense, who was in - earnest, must, in this case, have seen the peculiar necessity - of that precaution, any man that had regard to his own - character, would have anxiously followed that obvious and easy - method. All the friends of the pretended translator exhorted - and entreated him to give them and the public that - satisfaction. No! those who could doubt his veracity were - fools, whom it was not worth while to satisfy. The most - incredible of all facts was to be taken on his word, whom - nobody knew; and an experiment was to be made, I suppose in - jest, how far the credulity of the public would give way to - assurance and dogmatical affirmation. - - (2.) But, to show the utter incredibility of the fact, let - these following considerations be weighed, or, rather, simply - reflected on; for it seems ridiculous to weigh them. Consider - the size of these poems. What is given us is asserted to be - only a part of a much greater collection; yet even these - pieces amount to two quartos. And they were composed, you say, - in the Highlands, about fifteen centuries ago; and have been - faithfully transmitted, ever since, by oral tradition, through - ages totally ignorant of letters, by the rudest, perhaps, of - all the European nations; the most necessitous, the most - turbulent, the most ferocious, and the most unsettled. Did - ever any event happen that approached within a hundred degrees - of this mighty wonder, even to the nations the most fortunate - in their climate and situation? Can a ballad be shown that has - passed, uncorrupted, by oral tradition, through three - generations, among the Greeks, or Italians, or Phoenicians, - or Egyptians, or even among the natives of such countries as - Otaheite or Molacca, who seem exempted by nature from all - attention but to amusement, to poetry, and music? - - But the Celtic nations, it is said, had peculiar advantages - for preserving their traditional poetry. The Irish, the Welsh, - the Bretons, are all Celtic nations, much better entitled than - the Highlanders, from their soil, and climate, and situation, - to have leisure for these amusements. They, accordingly, - present us not with complete epic and historical poems, (for - they never had the assurance to go that length,) but with very - copious and circumstantial traditions, which are allowed, by - all men of sense, to be scandalous and ridiculous impostures. - - (3.) The style and genius of these pretended poems are another - sufficient proof of the imposition. The Lapland and Runic - odes, conveyed to us, besides their small compass, have a - savage rudeness, and sometimes grandeur, suited to those ages. - But this Erse poetry has an insipid correctness, and - regularity, and uniformity, which betrays a man without - genius, that has been acquainted with the productions of - civilized nations, and had his imagination so limited to that - tract, that it was impossible for him even to mimic the - character which he pretended to assume. - - The manners are still a more striking proof of their want of - authenticity. We see nothing but the affected generosity and - gallantry of chivalry, which are quite unknown, not only to - all savage people, but to every nation not trained in these - artificial modes of thinking. In Homer, for instance, and - Virgil, and Ariosto, the heroes are represented as making a - nocturnal incursion into the camp of the enemy. Homer and - Virgil, who certainly were educated in much more civilized - ages than those of Ossian, make no scruple of representing - their heroes as committing undistinguished slaughter on the - sleeping foe. But Orlando walks quietly through the camp of - the Saracens, and scorns to kill even an infidel who cannot - defend himself. Gaul and Oscar are knight-errants, still more - romantic: they make a noise in the midst of the enemy's camp, - that they may waken them, and thereby have a right to fight - with them and to kill them. Nay, Fingal carries his ideas of - chivalry still farther; much beyond what was ever dreamt of by - Amadis de Gaul or Lancelot de Lake. When his territory is - invaded, he scorns to repel the enemy with his whole force: he - sends only an equal number against them, under an inferior - captain: when these are repulsed, he sends a second - detachment; and it is not till after a double defeat, that he - deigns himself to descend from the hill, where he had - remained, all the while, an idle spectator, and to attack the - enemy. Fingal and Swaran combat each other all day, with the - greatest fury. When darkness suspends the fight, they feast - together with the greatest amity, and then renew the combat - with the return of light. Are these the manners of barbarous - nations, or even of people that have common sense? We may - remark, that all this narrative is supposed to be given us by - a contemporary poet. The facts, therefore, must be supposed - entirely, or nearly, conformable to truth. The gallantry and - extreme delicacy towards the women, which is found in these - productions, is, if possible, still more contrary to the - manners of barbarians. Among all rude nations, force and - courage are the predominant virtues; and the inferiority of - the females, in these particulars, renders them an object of - contempt, not of deference and regard. - - (4.) But I derive a new argument against the antiquity of - these poems, from the general tenor of the narrative. Where - manners are represented in them, probability, or even - possibility, are totally disregarded: but in all other - respects, the events are within the course of nature; no - giants, no monsters, no magic, no incredible feats of strength - or activity. Every transaction is conformable to familiar - experience, and scarcely even deserves the name of wonderful. - Did this ever happen in ancient and barbarous poetry? Why is - this characteristic wanting, so essential to rude and ignorant - ages? Ossian, you say, was singing the exploits of his - contemporaries, and therefore could not falsify them in any - great degree. But if this had been a restraint, your pretended - Ossian had never sung the exploits of his contemporaries; he - had gone back a generation or two, which would have been - sufficient to throw an entire obscurity on the events; and he - would thereby have attained the marvellous, which is alone - striking to barbarians. I desire it may be observed, that - manners are the only circumstances which a rude people cannot - falsify; because they have no notion of any manners beside - their own: but it is easy for them to let loose their - imagination, and violate the course of nature, in every other - particular; and indeed they take no pleasure in any other kind - of narrative. In Ossian, nature is violated, where alone she - ought to have been preserved; is preserved where alone she - ought to have been violated. - - (5.) But there is another species of the marvellous, wanting - in Ossian, which is inseparable from all nations, civilized as - well as barbarous, but still more, if possible, from the - barbarous, and that is religion; no religious sentiment in - this Erse poetry. All those Celtic heroes are more complete - atheists than ever were bred in the school of Epicurus. To - account for this singularity, we are told that a few - generations before Ossian, the people quarrelled with their - Druidical priests, and having expelled them, never afterwards - adopted any other species of religion. It is not quite - unnatural, I own, for the people to quarrel with their - priests,--as we did with ours at the Reformation; but we - attached ourselves with fresh zeal to our new preachers and - new system; and this passion increased in proportion to our - hatred of the old. But I suppose the reason of this strange - absurdity in our new Erse poetry, is, that the author, finding - by the assumed age of his heroes, that he must have given them - the Druidical religion, and not trusting to his literature, - (which seems indeed to be very slender) for making the - representations consistent with antiquity, thought it safest - to give them no religion at all; a circumstance so wonderfully - unnatural, that it is sufficient alone, if men had eyes, to - detect the imposition. - - (6.) The state of the arts, as represented in those poems, is - totally incompatible with the age assigned to them. We know, - that the houses even of the Southern Britons, till conquered - by the Romans, were nothing but huts erected in the woods; but - a stately stone building is mentioned by Ossian, of which the - walls remain, after it is consumed with fire. The melancholy - circumstance of a fox is described, who looks out at the - windows; an image, if I be not mistaken, borrowed from the - Scriptures. The Caledonians, as well as the Irish, had no - shipping but currachs, or wicker boats covered with hides: yet - are they represented as passing, in great military - expeditions, from the Hebrides to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; - a most glaring absurdity. They live entirely by hunting, yet - muster armies, which make incursions to these countries as - well as to Ireland: though it is certain from the experience - of America, that the whole Highlands would scarce subsist a - hundred persons by hunting. They are totally unacquainted with - fishing; though that occupation first tempts all rude nations - to venture on the sea. Ossian alludes to a wind or water-mill, - a machine then unknown to the Greeks and Romans, according to - the opinion of the best antiquaries. His barbarians, though - ignorant of tillage, are well acquainted with the method of - working all kinds of metals. The harp is the musical - instrument of Ossian; but the bagpipe, from time immemorial, - has been the instrument of the Highlanders. If ever the harp - had been known among them, it never had given place to the - other barbarous discord. - - Stridenti miserum stipula disperdere carmen. - - (7.) All the historical facts of this poem are opposed by - traditions, which, if all these tales be not equally - contemptible, seem to merit much more attention. The Irish - Scoti are the undoubted ancestors of the present Highlanders, - who are but a small colony of that ancient people. But the - Irish traditions make Fingal, Ossian, Oscar, all Irishmen, and - place them some centuries distant from the Erse heroes. They - represent them as giants, and monsters, and enchanters, a sure - mark of a considerable antiquity of these traditions. I ask - the partisans of Erse poetry, since the names of these heroes - have crept over to Ireland, and have become quite familiar to - the natives of that country, how it happens, that not a line - of this poetry, in which they are all celebrated, which, it is - pretended, alone preserves their memory with our Highlanders, - and which is composed by one of these heroes themselves in the - Irish language, ever found its way thither? The songs and - traditions of the Senachies, the genuine poetry of the Irish, - carry in their rudeness and absurdity the inseparable - attendants of barbarism, a very different aspect from the - insipid correctness of Ossian; where the incidents, if you - will pardon the antithesis, are the most unnatural, merely - because they are natural. The same observation extends to the - Welsh, another Celtic nation. - - (8.) The fiction of these poems is, if possible, still more - palpably detected, by the great numbers of other traditions, - which, the author pretends, are still fresh in the Highlands, - with regard to all the personages. The poems, composed in the - age of Truthil and Cormac, ancestors of Ossian, are, he says, - full of complaints against the roguery and tyranny of the - Druids. He talks as familiarly of the poetry of that period as - Lucian or Longinus would of the Greek poetry of the Socratic - age. I suppose here is a new rich mine of poetry ready to - break out upon us, if the author thinks it can turn to - account. For probably he does not mind the danger of - detection, which he has little reason to apprehend from his - experience of the public credulity. But I shall venture to - assert, without any reserve or further inquiry, that there is - no Highlander who is not, in some degree, a man of letters, - that ever so much as heard there was a Druid in the world. The - margin of every page almost of this wonderful production is - supported, as he pretends, by minute oral traditions with - regard to the personages. To the poem of Dar-thula, there is - prefixed a long account of the pedigree, marriages, and - adventures of three brothers, Nathos, Althos, and Ardan, - heroes that lived fifteen hundred years ago in Argyleshire, - and whose memory, it seems, is still celebrated there, and in - every part of the Highlands. How ridiculous to advance such a - pretension to the learned, who know that there is no tradition - of Alexander the great all over the East; that the Turks, who - have heard of him from their communication with the Greeks, - believe him to have been the captain of Solomon's guard; that - the Greek and Roman story, the moment it departs from the - historical ages, becomes a heap of fiction and absurdity; that - Cyrus himself, the conqueror of the East, became so much - unknown, even in little more than half a century, that - Herodotus himself, born and bred in Asia, within the limits of - the Persian empire, could tell nothing of him, more than of - Croesus, the contemporary of Cyrus, and who reigned in the - neighbourhood of the historian, but the most ridiculous - fables; and that the grandfather of Hengist and Horsa, the - first Saxon conquerors, was conceived to be a divinity. I - suppose it is sufficiently evident, that without the help of - books and history, the very name of Julius Caesar would at - present be totally unknown in Europe. A gentleman, who - travelled into Italy, told me, that in visiting Frescati or - Tusculum, his cicerone showed him the foundation and ruins of - Cicero's country house. He asked the fellow who this Cicero - might be, "Un grandissimo gigante," said he. - - (9.) I ask, since the memory of Fingal and his ancestors and - descendants is still so fresh in the Highlands, how it - happens, that none of the compilers of the Scotch fabulous - history ever laid hold of them, and inserted them in the list - of our ancient monarchs, but were obliged to have recourse to - direct fiction and lying to make out their genealogies? It is - to be remarked, that the Highlanders, who are now but an - inferior part of the nation, anciently composed the whole; so - that no tradition of theirs could be unknown to the court, the - nobility, and the whole kingdom. Where, then, have these - wonderful traditions skulked during so many centuries, that - they have never come to light till yesterday? And the very - names of our ancient kings are unknown; though it is - pretended, that a very particular narrative of their - transactions was still preserved, and universally diffused - among a numerous tribe, who are the original stem of the - nation. Father Innes, the only judicious writer that ever - touched our ancient history, finds in monastic records the - names, and little more than the names, of kings from Fergus, - whom we call Fergus the Second, who lived long after the - supposed Fingal: and he thence begins the true history of the - nation. He had too good sense to give any attention to - pretended traditions even of kings, much less would he have - believed that the memory and adventures of every leader of - banditti in every valley of the Highlands, could be - circumstantially preserved by oral tradition through more than - fifteen centuries. - - (10.) I shall observe, that the character of the author, from - all his publications, (for I shall mention nothing else,) - gives us the greatest reason to suspect him of such a - ludicrous imposition on the public. For to be sure it is only - ludicrous; or at most a trial of wit, like that of the - sophist, who gave us Phalaris' Epistles, or of him that - counterfeited Cicero's Consolation, or supplied the fragments - of Petronius. These literary amusements have been very common; - and unless supported by too violent asseverations, or - persisted in too long, never drew the opprobrious appellation - of impostor on the author. - - He writes an ancient history of Britain, which is plainly - ludicrous. He gives us a long circumstantial history of the - emigrations of the Belgae, Cimbri, and Sarmatae, so - unsupported by any author of antiquity that nothing but a - particular revelation could warrant it; and yet it is - delivered with such seeming confidence, (for we must not think - he was in earnest,) that the history of the Punic wars is not - related with greater seriousness by Livy. He has even left - palpable contradictions in his narrative, in order to try the - faith of his reader. He tells us, for instance, that the - present inhabitants of Germany have no more connexion with the - Germans mentioned by Tacitus, than with the ancient - inhabitants of Peloponnesus: the Saxons and Angles, in - particular, were all Sarmatians, a quite different tribe from - the Germans, in manners, laws, language, and customs. Yet a - few pages after, when he pretends to deliver the origin of the - Anglo-Saxon constitution, he professedly derives the whole - account from Tacitus. All this was only an experiment to see - how far the force of affirmation could impose on the credulity - of the public: but it did not succeed; he was here in the open - daylight of Greek and Roman erudition, not in the obscurity of - his Erse poetry and traditions. Finding the style of his - Ossian admired by some, he attempts a translation of Homer in - the very same style. He begins and finishes, in six weeks, a - work that was for ever to eclipse the translation of Pope, - whom he does not even deign to mention in his preface; but - this joke was still more unsuccessful: he made a shift, - however, to bring the work to a second edition, where he says, - that, notwithstanding all the envy of his malignant opponents, - his name alone will preserve the work to a more equitable - posterity! - - In short, let him now take off the mask, and fairly and openly - laugh at the credulity of the public, who could believe that - long Erse epics had been secretly preserved in the Highlands - of Scotland, from the age of Severus till his time. - - The imposition is so gross, that he may well ask the world how - they could ever possibly believe him to be in earnest? - - But it may reasonably be expected that I should mention the - external positive evidence, which is brought by Dr. Blair to - support the authenticity of these poems. I own, that this - evidence, considered in itself, is very respectable, and - sufficient to support any fact, that both lies within the - bounds of credibility, and has not become a matter of party. - But will any man pretend to bring human testimony to prove, - that above twenty thousand verses have been transmitted, by - tradition and memory, during more than fifteen hundred years; - that is, above fifty generations, according to the ordinary - course of nature? verses, too, which have not, in their - subject, any thing alluring or inviting to the people, no - miracle, no wonders, no superstitions, no useful instruction; - a people, too, who, during twelve centuries, at least, of that - period, had no writing, no alphabet; and who, even in the - other three centuries, made very little use of that imperfect - alphabet for any purpose; a people who, from the miserable - disadvantages of their soil and climate, were perpetually - struggling with the greatest necessities of nature; who, from - the imperfections of government, lived in a continual state of - internal hostility; ever harassed with the incursions of - neighbouring tribes, or meditating revenge and retaliation on - their neighbours. Have such a people leisure to think of any - poetry, except, perhaps, a miserable song or ballad, in praise - of their own chieftain, or to the disparagement of his rivals? - - I should be sorry to be suspected of saying any thing against - the manners of the present Highlanders. I really believe that, - besides their signal bravery, there is not any people in - Europe, not even excepting the Swiss, who have more plain - honesty and fidelity, are more capable of gratitude and - attachment, than that race of men. Yet it was, no doubt, a - great surprise to them to hear that, over and above their - known good qualities, they were also possessed of an - excellence which they never dreamt of, an elegant taste in - poetry, and inherited from the most remote antiquity the - finest compositions of that kind, far surpassing the popular - traditional poems of any other language; no wonder they - crowded to give testimony in favour of their authenticity. - Most of them, no doubt, were sincere in the delusion; the same - names that were to be found in their popular ballads were - carefully preserved in the new publication; some incidents, - too, were perhaps transferred from the one to the other; some - sentiments also might be copied; and, on the whole, they were - willing to believe, and still more willing to persuade others, - that the whole was genuine. On such occasions, the greatest - cloud of witnesses makes no manner of evidence. What Jansenist - was there in Paris, which contains several thousands, that - would not have given evidence for the miracles of Abbe Paris? - The miracle is greater, but not the evidence, with regard to - the authenticity of Ossian. - - The late President Forbes was a great believer in the second - sight; and I make no question but he could, on a month's - warning, have overpowered you with evidence in its favour. But - as finite added to finite never approaches a hair's breadth - nearer to infinite; so a fact incredible in itself, acquires - not the smallest accession of probability by the accumulation - of testimony. - - The only real wonder in the whole affair is, that a person of - so fine a taste as Dr. Blair, should be so great an admirer of - these productions; and one of so clear and cool a judgment - collect evidence of their authenticity. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[465:1] _European Magazine_, May, 1784, p. 327. - -[468:1] See this observation commented on by Blair, in vol. ii. p. 167. - -[468:2] Laing's History, iv. 496. Report of the Highland Society on -Ossian's Poems. - -[470:1] MS. R.S.E. - -[471:1] Laing's History, iv. 500. Report of the Highland Society. - -[471:2] See this referred to in Vol. II., p. 85. - - - END OF VOL. I. - - - EDINBURGH - - Printed by WILLIAM TAIT, 107, Prince's Street. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Abercrombie--General James, i. 212, 222, 311. - - Abingdon--Lord, ii. 185. - - Adam--John, architect, ii. 174, 187, 195, 286. - - ----, William--Lord Chief Commissioner, ii. 174. - His notices of Hume, 439. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 174, 286. - - Advocates' Library. - Hume as librarian, i. 367. - Its extent, 373. - French works removed from, as improper, 395. - Hume resigns librarianship of, ii. 18. - - Aiguillon--Duchesse de, ii. 175. - - Albemarle--Lord, i. 245-246. - - Alembert--D', i. 94; ii. 181. - Hume's friendship with, 218, 270, 323, 345, 348, 350, 354, 355, 377, - 489. - - Allen--Dr., his inquiry into the rise and progress of the royal - prerogative, ii. 122. - - Amelia--The Princess, ii. 292. - - Ancient Nations--Essay on the populousness of, i. 363. - - Anderson--Revd. George, i. 425. - His writings against Hume and Lord Kames, 428. - His death, 432. - - Anderson--Dr. Walter, i. 424. - - Annandale--Marquis of. - His invitation to Hume, i. 170. - His mental condition, 172. - Hume's residence with, 170, _et seq._ - - ----, Marchioness-Dowager of, i. 185. - Letter to, 203. - - Anson--Madame, ii. 236. - - Anstruther--General, i. 383. - - Antiquaries. - Their use to the historian, ii. 122-123. - - Antiquity, the populousness of. - Dissertation on, i. 326. - - Aquinas--His theory of association, i. 286. - Its alleged similarity to Hume's, 287. - - Argyle--Duke of, ii. 55. - - Armstrong--Dr., ii. 64, 148. - - Arnauld--Antony, i. 432. - - Artois--Comte d', ii. 178. - - Assembly--General. - Its proceedings against Hume, i. 429. - Overture to, regarding him, 430. - - Association--Hume's theory of, i. 286. - - Aylesbury--Lady, ii. 305, 385. - - - Bacon--Lord, ii. 67. - - Balance of trade--Hume's opinions on, i. 358. - - Balcarras--Earl of, letter to, i. 412. - His appearance, 413. - - Balfour--James of Pilrig, i. 160, 345; ii. 192, 414, 415. - - Bank--Cash credit in. - Its nature, i. 359. - - Banking--Hume's remarks on, i. 359. - - Barbantane--Marquise de, ii. 280, 309, 322, 360. - - Barre--Colonel, ii. 150, 289. - - Bastide--M., ii. 236, 241. - - Bath--Hume's visit to, ii. 495, _et seq._ - - Bayard--The Chevalier, ii. 441. - - Beauchamp--Lord, ii. 161, 162, 171, 183, 204, 245, 268, 287. - - Beauvais--Princess, ii. 497. - - Beauveau--Madame de, ii. 206. - - Beccaria, i. 121. - - Bedford--Duke of, ii. 279, 280, 285, 290. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 279. - - Bellman's Petition, i. 315, 317. - - Belot--Madame, her translation of Hume's works, ii. 176. - - Bentham, i. 121, 384. - - Berri--Duc de, ii. 178. - - Bertrand--Professor, ii. 187. - - Betham--Mr. and Mrs., i. 411. - - Birch--Dr., i. 416, 436; ii. 82. - - Black--Joseph. - Letters from, ii. 488, 514-515. - - Blacklock--Thomas, i. 385. - Hume's first acquaintance with, 388. - His ideas of light and colours, 389. - Account of his early life, 390. - Publication of his poems, 392. - Miscellaneous notices of, 393, 398; ii. 164, 454. - Letters from, 399. - - Blacklock--Mrs., ii. 401. - - Blackwell--Hume's criticism on his Court of Augustus, i. 434. - - Blair--Dr., i. 427; ii. 86, 115, 117, 139, 153, 167, 175, 192, 198. - Letters to, 180, 181, 193, 229, 265, 267, 286, 288, 297, 310, 312, - 318, 344, 365, 371, 386, 395, 421, 472. - - ----, Robert, President of the Court of Session, ii. 423. - - Blanc--Abbe le, i. 365. - His translations from Hume, 366. - Letter to, 406, 409; ii. 347. - - Bologna--University of, i. 151. - - Bon--Abbe le, his death, ii. 428. - - Bonne--Hume's account of, i. 249. - - Boswell--James, received Johnson in Hume's house, ii. 138, 139, 307, - 441. - - Boufflers--Madame de, ii. 72. - Account of, 90. - Her letters to Hume, 94, 99, 106, 110. - Letters to, 114, 205, 246, 247. - Notice of, 251, 279, 280, 298, 303, 323, 330, 346, 352, 353, 429. - Last letter to, 513. - - Bourges--University of, i. 151. - - Bower--Archibald, ii. 58. - - Boyle--The Honourable Mr., i. 293. - - Brand--Mr., ii. 225. - - Breda--Hume's account of, i. 244. - - Brest, ii. 63. - - Brienne, Archbishop of Toulouse, ii. 283, 497. - - Bristol--Lord, ii. 407. - - Brodie--George, ii. 66. - - Brougham--Lord, ii. 348. - His opinion of Hume's Political Discourses, i. 354. - - Brown--Dr. John, ii. 23. - - Browne--Sir Thomas, i. 94. - - Bruce--Professor, ii. 192. - - Bruyere--La, i. 148. - - Buccleuch--Duke of, ii. 58, 227, 467. - - Buchan--Lord, ii. 455. - - Buckingham--Mrs., ii. 186. - - Buffon--M. de, ii. 181, 299. - - Bunbury--Mr. afterwards Sir Charles, ii. 159, 164, 189, 239, 277, 280. - - ----, Lady Sarah, ii. 239. - - Burke--Edmund, i. 351, 353; ii. 59, 333, 449. - - Burnet--James, Lord Monboddo, i. 394; ii. 204, 231. - - Bute--Lord, ii. 34, 149, 159, 162, 163, 187, 258, 265, 282, 290, 334, - 407; ii. 418. - - Butler--Samuel, ii. 90. - - ----, Bishop, i. 64, 143. - - - Caldwell--Sir James, i. 260. - - Calton Hill--Hume's monument on, ii. 518. - - Campbell--Dr. George, ii. 115, 116. - Letter to, 118. - Letter from, 119. - Notice of, 154. - - Carlyle--Dr., ii. 88, 164, 266, 472. - - Carraccioli, ii. 53. - - Carre--George, of Nisbet, i. 115. - - Cause and Effect--Hume's views of, i. 79. - Their effect on Kant, ib. - - Causes--unseen, aptly illustrated by Hume, i. 83. - - Charles Edward--his insurrection, i. 175. - Anecdotes of, ii. 462. - - Charlemont--Lord. - Description and anecdotes of Hume by, i. 270, 394; ii. 116, 223. - - Chatham--Lord, ii. 396, 406, 418. - Hume's dislike to, ii. 420, 422. - - Chaulieu, 510. - - Chesterfield--Lord, ii. 131, 160. - - Cheyne--Dr. George, i. 42. - His work, "The English Malady," i. 43. - - Chivalry--Essay on, i. 18-25. - - Choiseul--Duc de, ii. 228, 500. - - ----, Duchesse de, her civilities to Hume, ii. 169. - - Choquart--Abbe, ii. 242, 261, 262, 271, 273. - - Christianity--cannot be injured by theories purely metaphysical, i. - 86, 88. - - Church--Catholic. - Hume's treatment of, ii. 5. - - ----, Scottish Episcopal. - Its condition in Hume's time, ii. 6. - - ----, English. - Hume's sympathies with, ii. 9. - - Churchill--Charles, ii. 148. - - Chute--Mr., ii. 225. - - Cicero--Orations of. - Essay on, i. 144, 145. - - Clagenfurt in Carinthia. - Hume's account of, i. 264. - - Clairaut--M., ii. 295. - - Clarendon--as a historian, i. 404. - - Clark--General, ii. 172, 195. - - Clarke--Dr. Staniers, ii. 179. - - Cleghorn--William. - Appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy, i. 170. - - Clephane--Dr. - Letters to, i. 314, 376, 379, 381, 384, 397, 408, 433; ii. 38, 443. - - Clow--Mr., Professor of logic in the University of Glasgow, i. 351; - ii. 199. - - Club--The Poker. - Its proceedings, ii. 456. - - Coblentz--Hume's account of, i. 249. - - Cockburn--Mrs. - Letter from, ii. 230, 424, 449. - - Coke--Sir Edward, ii. 69. - - Colebroke--Sir George, ii. 460, 467. - - Coleridge--His charge against Hume, i. 286. - How disproved, 287. - - Cologne--Hume's account of, i. 248. - - Conde--Prince of, ii. 92. - - Constitutional theories--Hume's, ii. 65, 67, 73. - - Conti--Prince of, ii. 90, 221, 246, 297, 307. - - ----, Princess of, ii. 245. - - Conway--Marshal, ii. 156-157, 283, 284, 305, 307, 324, 326, 351, 365, - 371, 374. - - ----, Appoints Hume under-secretary, ii. 382, 396, 407. - - Corby castle, i. 226. - - Corneille, ii. 196. - - Coutts--Provost, i. 165. - - ----, Thomas, ii. 476. - - ----, James, ii. 476. - - Cowley, ii. 90. - - Craigie--Professor, i. 350. - - Crawford--James, i. 233; ii. 149, 500. - - Crebillon--His "L'Ecumoire," i. 395; ii. 428. - - Crowle--Anecdote regarding, i. 306. - - Cudworth, i. 94. - - Cullen--Dr. - Letter to, i. 350, 418. - Notice of, 411; ii, 199. - Letters from, ii. 488, 489, 515. - - Currency--Hume's views on, ii. 426. - - - D'Angiviller--M., ii. 216. - - Dalrymple--Sir David, i. 395; ii. 415, 416. - - ----, Sir John, ii. 37, 467. - - Dauphin of France--His attentions to Hume, ii. 177-178. - Notice of, 286. - - Davenport--Richard, ii. 313. - Gives Rousseau a retreat at Wooton, 319. - Notice of, 323, 327, 328. - Letter from, 335, 336, 343, 345, 364, 367, 368, 370. - Notice of, 374, 378, 379. - - Deffand--Madame du. - Character of, ii. 214. - Her quarrel with Mademoiselle de L'Espinasse, 215. - - De Lolme, i. 137. - - D'Epinay--Madame. - Anecdote from, ii. 224. - - Dettingen--Battle-field of, i. 252. - - Deyverdun, ii. 410. - - Dialogues concerning Natural Religion--Their characteristics, i. - 328-330. - Account of them in a letter to Sir Gilbert Elliot, 332; ii. 490. - - Dickson--David, ii. 383. - - Diderot, ii. 181, 220. - - D'Ivernois--M., ii. 325. - - Divine right--Hume's opinions on, i. 123-124. - - Dodwell--Mr., ii. 386. - - Donaldson--Alexander, i. 431; ii. 4, 82. - - Douglas--Mr., ii. 204. - - ----, Dr., afterwards Bishop of Carlisle, ii. 78, 87. - - ---- cause, ii. 150, 163, 203, 421, 423. - - ---- of Cavers, ii. 407. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 232. - - ----, Lady Jane, ii. 424. - - ----, Tragedy of. Hume's criticism on, i. 419. - Rehearsal of, 420. - - Dow--Colonel, ii. 461. - - Duclos, ii. 181, 347. - - Dupre de St. Maur--Madame, ii. 168, 347. - - Durand--M., ii, 378. - - Dysart--Mrs., of Eccles. - Hume's correspondence with, i. 337. - - Dyson--Mr., ii. 132, 408. - - - Earthquakes--Fears regarding, i. 298. - - Economy--Political. - See Political Economy. - - Edmondstoune--Colonel, i. 212, 397, 409. - Letter to, ii. 182. - Letter from, to Hume, 185. - Letters to, 187, 473. - Letter from, 474, 508. - - Education--On the influences of, i. 85. - - ----, State of, in Scotland, in 17th and 18th centuries, i. 151. - - Egmont--Countess of, ii. 299. - - Election--Westminster, in 1749, i. 305. - - Elibank--Lord, letters to, i. 192, 387; ii. 167, 252, 256, 257, 260. - - Elliot--Sir Gilbert, of Minto. - Hume's intercourse with, i. 320. - Letters to, 321, 324. - His criticism on Hume's Dialogue, 323. - Hume's reply to, 324. - Account of the "Epigoniad" to, ii. 25. - Letter to, 32. - Letters to, 144, 159, 189. - Letter from, 233. - Reply, 235. - Letters to, 240, 244, 261, 270, 273, 280, 406, 407, 414. - Letter from, 415. - Letters to, 432, 434. - - ----, Gilbert, younger of Minto, afterwards Governor-general of India, - ii. 233, 262, 271, 273, 281. - - Elliot--Sir John, of Stobs, ii. 407. - - ----, Anne, ii. 345. - - ----, Hugh, ii. 262, 271, 273, 281. - - ----, Lady, ii. 415, 446. - - ----, Miss, ii. 62, 90. - - ----, Peggy, ii. 62 - - "Emile"--Criticism on, ii. 114. - - England--History of. - Rapidity with which it was composed and printed, i. 381; ii. 121. - - "English Malady," by Dr. Cheyne--Extracts from, i. 43-46. - - Entails--Device for breaking, ii. 32. - - Epicurean--The. - Remarks on, i. 142. - - Epicurus, i. 142. - - "Epigoniad." - Some account of, ii. 25. - Hume's partiality to, 31. - Its rejection by the public, 34, 37. - - Eriot--Professor, ii. 241. - - Erskine--Sir Harry, i. 212. - Letter to, 219. - His illness, 264, 397, 409; ii. 159. - - Erskine--John, ii. 453. - - Essay--Historical, on chivalry and modern honour, i. 18, 25. - - Essays--Moral and Political, when published, and how, i. 136. - Their success, 143. - Third edition of, 289. - - ---- on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul, ii. 13. - - ---- on Political Economy, i. 354, 363. - - Eugene--Prince. - His palace, i. 262; ii. 501 - - - Fairholms--Bankruptcy of, ii. 195. - - Falconer--Sir David, of Newton, i. 1. - - Farquhar--John, ii. 154. - - Ferguson--Sir Adam, ii. 451, 457. - - ----, Professor Adam. - Hume's commendation of, ii. 32. - Notice of, 34. - Appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy, 45. - Notice of, 56. - "Sister Peg" attributed to him, 83. - Hume's mystification on the subject, 88. - Letter to, 172. - Letter from, 175. - His Essay on the History of Civil Society, 385, 409, 440, 461. - - ----, a painter, ii. 409. - - Fitzmaurice--Mr., ii. 163, 171. - - Fitzroy--Charles, ii. 407. - - Fleche--La. - Hume's residence in, i. 57. - Jesuit's College of, ib. - - Fleury--Cardinal, 498. - - Fontaine--La, Les Contes de, removed from the Advocates' Library, i. - 395. - - Forester--Colonel James. - His connexion with the Marquis of Annandale, i. 174. - Verses on his traveling to the Highlands of Scotland, ib. - - Fourqueux, ii, 348. - - France--State of morality in, during Hume's time, ii. 91. - - ----, Manners in, i. 53-54, 55-56; ii. 208. - - Frankfort--Hume's account of, i. 251, 252. - - Franklin--Benjamin, ii. 426, 427, 471, 476. - - Fraser--James, i. 305. - Hume's character of, 308. - - Free Trade--Hume as the founder of the principles of, ii. 520. - - French literature. - Its licentious features, i. 395. - - - Galliani--Abbe, ii. 428. - - Garden--Francis, ii. 204. - - Garrick--David, ii. 141, 309, 421. - - Gascoigne--Chief-justice, ii. 69. - - Genlis--Madame de, ii. 221, 301. - - Geoffrin--Madame. - Her position in Paris, ii. 210. - Specimen of her handwriting, 211. - Character of, 212, 471. - - Geometry and Natural Philosophy--Dissertation on, i. 421. - - Gerard--Alexander, ii. 55, 154, 155. - - Gibbon--Edward, ii. 409. - Letter from, 410. - Letter to, 411, 484. - - Gillies--Adam, ii. 138. - - Glamorgan--Lord, ii. 77, 78. - - Glanvill--Joseph, i. 83. - - Glover--Richard, ii. 141. - - Goodall--Walter, i. 374. - Anecdote regarding him, ib.; ii. 254. - - Gordon--Father, ii. 201. - - Government--Monarchical. - Hume's partiality for, i. 140. - - Gower--Earl, i. 305. - - Graffigny--M., ii. 390. - - ----, Madame de, ii. 391. - - Grafton--Duke of, ii. 284, 397, 407, 432. - - Grammont--Madame de, ii. 206. - - Gregory--Dr., ii. 154, 155. - - Grenville--George, ii. 191, 226, 265, 272, 274, 282. - - Greville--Mrs. - Her Ode to Indifference, i. 228. - - Grimm--Baron de, ii. 168, 223. - - Guerchy--M. de, ii. 290, 373. - - Guichiardin, i. 113. - His character of Alexander VI. 113-114. - - Guigne--M. de, ii. 446. - - Gustard--Doctor, ii. 504. - - - Hague--The. - Hume's account of, i. 243. - - Hamilton--Duke of, i. 417. - - ----, Sir William, i. 288; ii. 153. - - Halifax--Lord, ii. 160, 277. - - Hall--Edward, ii. 72. - - Hallam--Henry, ii. 66. - - Hardwicke--Lord, ii. 465. - - Harrington--Hume's opinion of, i. 361; ii. 481. - - Hawke--Admiral, ii. 63. - - Hay--Secretary to Prince Charles Edward, ii. 203. - - Helvetius--His "De l'Esprit," i. 121; ii. 52. - Proposes Hume to translate it, 52. - Hume excuses himself, 53. - Notice of, 54, 57, 168, 131, 387. - His intercourse with Prince Charles Edward, ii. 464. - - Henault--President, ii. 181, 266, 269. - - Henry--Robert. - His History of Britain, ii. 469. - Hume's review of it, 470. - - Hepburn--Rev. Thomas, ii. 472. - - Herbert--Mr., ii. 162. - - Hertford--Marquis of. - His appointment to the French Embassy, ii. 156. - Invitation to Hume, 156, 158. - Notice of, 159, 161, 164, 171, 172, 181. - Hume's opinion of, 183, 188, 197, 205, 232, 258, 269, 272, 274, 278. - Appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 282, 284, 388. - - ----, Marchioness of, ii. 92, 161, 171, 280. - - Hervey--Lady, ii. 225. - - Historians--Benefit to, from being familiar with military service, i. - 218, 221. - - ----, Knowledge requisite in, ii. 123-127. - - History--Essay on, ii. 123, 126. - - ---- of England--Hume's. - Preparation of, i. 378. - Rapidity of composition, 381. - Its reception, 414. - - Hobbes--Hume's remarks regarding, i. 77, 94. - - Holbach--Baron d', ii. 346, 353, 357. - - Holderness--Lord, ii. 194, 386, 463. - - Holingshed--Raphael, ii. 73. - - Holland--Lord, i. 403; ii. 239. - - Home--Alexander, Solicitor General, i. 208. - - ----, Alexander, of Whitfield. - Letter to, i. 2-3. - - ----, Lord. - His relationship to the Humes, i. 3. - - ----, Henry. - Letters to, i. 62, 105, 144. - Letter from, 204. - His Essays, 426. - Anderson's writings against, 428. - Attacked in the General Assembly, 429. - His Law Tracts, ii. 56, 131, 195, 454. - - ----, John. - His "Douglas" noticed, i. 316, 392, 411; ii. 17. - Hume's interest in him, i. 418. - Hume's opinion of his "Douglas," i. 419; ii. 32. - Suppressed dedication to, 16. - His "Siege of Aquileia," 81, 159, 166, 188, 191, 199, 383, 444, 456, - 475, 482. - His diary of a journey with Hume, 495. - Bequest of port wine to, 506, 507. - - ---- of Ninewells. - _See_ Hume. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 404. - - ----, Sir James, of Blackadder, i. 3. - - Hope--Lord, ii. 56. - - Human Nature, treatise of, i. 66. - Character of the work, 66, 97. - Its Style, 91. - - ----, Understanding, Philosophical Essays concerning, i. 271. - Inquiry concerning, 271. - - Human Actions, as the object of inductive philosophy, i. 275. - Application of this theory to history, 276. - - Hume--David, his birth and parentage, i. 2-3. - Account of his family, 2-7. - His opinions on the philosophy of family pride, 5. - Scenes of his boyhood, 8-9. - Account of his early years, 10-11. - Education, ib. - Early correspondence, 12-16. - Ambitious projects, 17. - Early writings, 18-19. - Essay on chivalry, 18-25. - Deserts the law, 26. - Letter to a physician, 30-39. - Goes to Bristol, 39. - Leaves Bristol for France, 48. - Visit to Paris, 49. - Residence at Rheims, 51-56. - Residence at La Fleche, 57. - Correspondence with Home, 62-65. - Preparing his treatise for press, 65. - Treatise of Human Nature, 66. - Treatise on the Passions, 99. - Review of Treatise in "Works of the Learned," 109. - Anecdote on the subject, 110. - Intercourse with Hutcheson, 112. - Application for a situation, 115. - Treatise on Morals, 120. - Extracts from memorandum book, 127-135. - Moral and Political Essays, their publication, 136. - Their character, 137-143. - His partiality for monarchical government, 140. - Opinions on the liberty of the press, 137-139. - Criticism on Cicero, 144-146. - Correspondence with Hutcheson, 146. - Correspondence with Mure, 153, 158. - Thoughts on religion, 162. - On prayer, 163. - Endeavours to obtain the professorship of moral philosophy, 165. - Opposition, 168-169. - Unsuccessful, 170. - Residence with the Marquis of Annandale, ib. - Dissension there, 182-190. - Its effect on Hume, 191. - He resigns the appointment, 193. - Different views of his resignation, 194. - State of society in Scotland at that time, 196. - Difficulty of means of subsistence, 196-197. - Position of the poor scholar, 199. - Offer from General St. Clair of the Secretaryship accepted, 208. - Expedition to the coast of France, 210. - One of the historians who have been familiar with military service, - 218. - Letter to Sir Harry Erskine, 219. - To Henry Home, 220. - To Col. Abercrombie, 222. - Desponding remarks on public affairs, 224. - Returns to Ninewells, 225. - Supposed character of himself, found amongst his papers, 226. - His poetical attempts, 227-229. - Question whether he was ever in love, 231. - Poetic epistle to John Medina, 234. - Appointment as secretary to the mission to the court of Turin, 235. - Letter to James Oswald, 236. - Views regarding history, ib. - Disinclination to leave his studies, 239. - New edition of his Essays, ib. - Philosophical Essays, ib. - His position with General St. Clair, 240. - Extracts from the Journal of his journey to Italy, 240-271. - Hague, 242. - Breda, 244. - Nimeguen, 247. - Bonne, 249. - Coblentz, ib. - Frankfurt, 251. - Wurtzburg, 252. - Ratisbon, 255. - Vienna, 257. - Knittlefeldt, 262. - Trent, 264. - Mantua, 265. - Turin, 266. - Publication of his Philosophical Essays, 271. - Inquiry concerning Human Understanding, 272. - Doctrine of Necessity, 275. - Doctrines on Miracles, 279-285. - His mode of treating the subject, 281. - Leading principle of his theory concerning, 282. - Third edition of Essays, Moral and Political, 289. - His mother's death, 291. - Silliman's story, 292. - Disproved, 293. - Correspondence with Dr. Clephane, 296. - Westminster election, 305. - Document regarding James Fraser, 308. - Letters to Col. Abercrombie, 311, 312. - To Dr. Clephane, 314. - Bellman's Petition, 315, 317. - Correspondence with Sir Gilbert Elliot, 324. - Dissertation on the Populousness of Antiquity, 326. - Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, 328. - Their character and tendency, 330. - Writes to Elliot regarding them, 331. - His brother's marriage, 337. - Letter to Mrs. Dysart, ib. - The independence of his mind, and moderation of his wishes, 340. - Letter to Michael Ramsay, 342. - His domestic arrangements, 344. - His theory of morals, 346. - Utilitarian system, 344. - Limited extent to which Hume carried it, 347. - Charge against it, 349. - Publication of Political Discourses, 350. - Is unsuccessful in his application for the chair of logic in - Glasgow, 350. - Letter to Dr. Cullen, 350. - Unfitness to be a teacher of youth, 352. - Political Discourses, 354. - Political economy, 355, 366. - Appointment, as keeper of the Advocates' Library, 367. - Letter to Dr. Clephane, 369, 376. - Account of domestic arrangements, 377. - Preparation of the History, 378. - Letter to Dr. Clephane, 379, 381. - Absorbing nature of his studies, 382. - Kindness to Blacklock, 385. - Letter to Joseph Spence, 388. - To Adam Smith, 393. - Gives Blacklock his salary as librarian, 393. - History of the Stuarts, 397. - Letter to Dr. Clephane, 397. - Conflicting opinions regarding the History of the Stuarts, 400. - Misapprehension regarding state of constitution, 403. - Inconsistencies between his philosophical and historical works, 405. - Letter to the Abbe le Blanc, 406. - To Dr. Clephane, 408. - To William Mure of Caldwell, 409. - To Mrs. Dysart, 410. - To Andrew Millar, 415. - To Adam Smith, 417. - Criticism on Home's "Douglas," 419. - _Edinburgh Review_, 422. - Attacked by Anderson, 429. - By the church courts, 430. - The second volume of the History of the Stuarts, ii. 5. - Its reception, ib. - Apologies for his treatment of religion, 10. - Unpublished preface, 11. - Essay on Suicide, 13. - Natural History of Religion, ib. - The suppressed Essays, ib. - Resigns the office of librarian, 18. - Dedication to Home, 21. - Third volume of the History, 22. - "Epigoniad," 25. - Warburton's attack, 35. - Goes to London, 47. - Correspondence with Dr. Robertson, 48. - Returns to Scotland, 65. - History of the Tudors, ib. - His constitutional theories, 67. - Alterations of the History in the direction of despotic principles, - 73. - Specimens of alterations, 74-77. - Specimens of alteration in style, 79, 80. - Letter to Millar, 81. - To Robertson, 83. - Macpherson's "Ossian," 85. - Letter to Dr. Carlyle, 88. - To Adam Smith, 89. - Madame de Boufflers, 90. - Correspondence with Madame de Boufflers, 94-98, 102. - Rousseau, 102. - Letters from Earl Marischal, 104. - Criticism on "Emile," 114. - Publication of the History anterior to the accession of the Tudors, - 120. - Intention to write an Ecclesiastical History, 130. - Correspondence with Millar, 132. - Residence in James's Court, 136. - Corrections of his works, 144. - His projects, 144-146. - Douglas cause, 150. - Criticisms on Reid's "Inquiry into the Human Mind," 153. - Accepts the office of secretary to the French embassy, 157. - Correspondence on the occasion, 157-160. - His celebrity in Paris, 167. - Feelings on the occasion, 171-172. - Attentions of the dauphin, 177. - Memoirs of James II., 179. - Advice to a clergyman, 185. - Secretaryship of the embassy, 188. - His pension, 191. - Letters from Paris, 193. - Madame de Boufflers, 205. - Social position in France, 207. - Notices by H. Walpole, 225. - Takes charge of Elliot's sons, 235. - Settles them in Paris, 244. - Liability to anger, 251. - Letter to Lord Elibank, 252. - Care of Elliot's sons, 273. - Secretaryship of legation, 278-281. - Is appointed to it, and to receive the salary, 284. - Expects to be secretary to Lord Hertford, as Lord-lieutenant of - Ireland, 287. - Is disappointed, 289. - Rousseau, 293. - Hume's first opinion of him, 299. - Brings him to England, 303. - Settles him at Wooton, 319. - Rousseau's quarrel, 326-330. - Publication of it, 354-360. - Walpole, 361. - Kindness to Rousseau, 381. - Appointed under secretary of state, 382. - His amiability of character, 390. - Compared with his nephew, Baron Hume, 402. - His interest in the education of his nephews, 403. - Influence in church patronage, 406. - His picture, 408. - Criticism of Robertson's Charles V., 412. - Views on currency, 426. - Returns to Edinburgh, 429. - Education of his nephews, 430. - His dislike of the English, 433. - His social character, 437. - Temper and disposition, 441. - His own account of his character, 442. - His conversation, 451. - Traditional anecdotes, 457. - Incidents regarding Prince Charles Edward, 462. - Review of Henry's History, 469. - Political opinions, 479. - Impatient for Smith's "Wealth of Nations," 483. - His last illness, 487, _et seq._ - His will, 489. - Disposal of his manuscripts, 490. - Publication of the "Dialogues on Natural Religion," 491-493. - Negotiations with Smith on the subject, ib. - His journey to Bath, 495, _et seq._ - John Home's account of their journey, ib. - His return, 506. - Party to bid him farewell, 507. - Correspondence, ib. - Smith's account of his latter days, 514. - Account of his death by Dr. Black and Dr. Cullen, 515. - His funeral and monument, 517-518. - Influence of his works on the opinions of the world, 519. - - Hume, or Home of Ninewells--Anecdote of, i. 6, 7. - - ----, John of Ninewells, brother to Hume, i. 213. - Narrative of the Expedition to the coast of France, addressed to, - 213-217. - His marriage, 337. - Letters to, ii. 290, 308, 396. - His character, 398. - - ----, David, afterwards Baron, ii. 400. - Compared with his uncle, 402, 405, 425, 474, 479, 480. - - ----, Joseph, of Ninewells, i. 1. - - ----, Joseph, younger. - His education, ii. 174, 175, 292, 398, 403, 404. - - ----, Director, i. 387. - - ----, John. - _See_ Home--John. - - ----, Mrs., verses by, i. 295. - - ----, Frank, ii. 199. - - Huntingdon--Lady, ii. 506. - - Hurd--Warburton's letter to, ii. 35. - Notice of, 50. - - Hutcheson--Francis, i. 111. - Hume's correspondence with, 112. - His reflexions on Hume's papers, 112. - Letter to, 117, 146. - - - Ideas--Hume's theory of, i, 70. - - Impressions--Hume's theory of, i. 73. - - Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, i. 344. - Its tendency, ib. - - ---- concerning Human Understanding, its publication, 273. - Views developed in it, 274. - - Irvine--Colonel, ii. 160. - - - James II.--Memoirs of, ii. 179, 200. - - James's Court--Hume's residence in, description of, ii. 136. - - Jardine--Dr., ii. 197, 230, 286. - His death, 317, 318. - - Jeffrey--Lord, i. 403. - - Jenyns--Soame, ii. 55, 59. - - Johnson--Dr., ii. 122. - Anecdote of, 138, 420. - - Johnstone of Hilton--Anecdote of, i. 6, 7. - - ----, Colonel John, i. 185. - - ----, Sir James--of Westerhall, i. 175, 176. - Letters to, 182, 184, 192. - Letter to, from Henry Home, 204. - - Johnstone--Sir William, ii. 168. - - Journal--Hume's, of his journey to Italy, i. 240, 271. - - Judge Advocate--Hume appointed, i. 212. - Claim for half-pay, 222. - - Justice Clerk--The, ii. 47. - - - Kames--Lord. - _See_ Home--Henry. - - Kant--Effect of Hume's Theory of Cause and Effect on, i. 79. - His justification of Hume, 88. - - Keith--Mr., ii. 431. - - Keith--General, ii. 498. - - Kenrick--William Shakspere, editor of _The London Review_, i. 110. - - Kincaid--Alexander, i. 431; ii. 4, 81, 82. - - Kirkpatrick--James, i. 387. - - Knittlefeldt in Styria, Hume's account of it, i. 262. - - Knox--John, ii. 58. - - - La Chapelle, ii. 270. - - La Harpe, ii. 468. - - Lansdowne--Lord, ii. 146. - - Larpent--Mr., ii. 245, 271. - - Law and government--first principles of, Hume's remarks on, i. 122. - - Leechman--Dr., i. 160. - Hume's criticism on his sermon, 161, 411. - - Legge, H. B., ii. 54. - - Leslie--Sir John. - His professorship, i. 89. - - L'Espinasse--Mademoiselle de. - Her position with Madame du Deffand, ii. 215. - D'Alembert's attachment to her, ib. - Notice of, 237. - - Lestock--Admiral Richard, i. 210. - - Leyden--University of, i. 151. - - Lindsay--Lord, i. 413. - - ----, Lady Anne. - Her remembrances of Hume, ii. 445. - - Liston--Mr., afterwards Sir Robert, ii. 245, 270, 271, 273, 280, 414. - - Literature, French--State of, ii. 166. - - Locke, i. 94; ii. 68. - - Logic--chair of, in Glasgow, i. 350. - - L'Orient--Port of, i. 211. - Expedition against, i. 211. - - Loughborough--Lord, ii. 425. - - Louis XV--Anecdotes of, 499. - - Lounds--Mr., ii. 368. - - Lyttelton--George Lord, i. 391, 433; ii. 55, 58, 79, 82, 226, 345. - - Luze--M. de, ii. 303-305. - - - Macdonald--Sir James, ii. 228, 229, 257, 267, 272, 349. - - Mackenzie--Henry, i. 58. - His ideas of Hume, ii. 438, 444. - - Mackenzie, Stuart, ii. 258, 259. - - Mackintosh--Sir James, i. 287. - - Macpherson--James, i. 462; ii. 85, 461. - - Malesherbes, ii. 219. - - Maletete--M., ii. 428. - - Mallet--David, ii. 3, 79, 82, 131, 140, 141. - Letter from, to Hume, 142. - Notice of, 144, 187, 232. - His death, 273. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 62, 141, 200, 232. - - Malthus, i. 364. - - Mansfield--Lord, ii. 163, 386, 415, 424, 466. - - Mantua--Hume's account of, i. 265. - - March--Lord, ii. 240, 241, 242, 245. - - Marchmont--Lord, extraordinary adventure of, i. 237. - - Marischal--Lord, ii. 103. - Letters from, 104, 105. - Notice of, 113, 139, 175, 179, 182, 217, 293, 295, 306, 313, 354, - 464, 465. - - Markham--Sir George, ii. 146. - - Marlborough--Duke of, ii. 141. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 141. - - Marmontel, ii. 181, 196. - - Martigny, ii. 52. - - Masserane--Prince, ii. 428. - - Mathematics. - Hume's application of, i. 73. - - Mauvillon--Eleazar, i. 365. - - Maxwell--Sir John, ii. 455. - - Mead--Dr., i. 316. - - Medina--John, poetic epistle to, by Hume, i. 234. - - Memorandum book--Hume's. - Extracts from, i. 126-135. - - Mesnieres--President, ii. 177. - - Metaphysics. - Theories purely such not dangerous to religion, i. 86, 88. - - Millar--Andrew, i. 415. - His views for Hume, ib. - Correspondence with, 421; ii. 2, 22, 34. - Notice of, 57, 64, 81. - Letters to, 130, 134, 135, 136, 138, 143, 147, 179, 199, 200, 231, - 263, 264, 272, 393, 408. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 180, 200, 232. - - ----, Professor, ii. 474, 479, 480, 481. - - Milton--Lord, ii. 46, 199. - - Minto--Lord, i. 320; ii. 233. - - Mirabeau, the elder, i. 365, 366. - - Miracles--Doctrines on, i. 279-286. - - Mirepoix--Madame de, ii. 244, 245. - - Monarchical character--sacredness of, Hume's ideas on, ii. 70. - - Monboddo--Lord, ii. 467. - _See_ Burnet. - - Moncrief--David, ii. 431. - - Money--Letter on the value of, i. 301. - - ----, Elements of the value of, according to Hume, i. 358-360. - - Montesquieu, i. 92, 139. - His Esprit des Loix, i. 304. - His appreciation of Hume's critical works, 305, 365, 387. - Letters from, to Hume, 426. - - Montigny--Trudaine de, letter from, ii. 167, 352. - - ----, Madame, ii. 348. - - Moore--Mr., ii. 436. - - Moral and Political Essays, their publication, i. 136. - - ---- Sentiments--Theory of, by Adam Smith, ii. 55. - Hume's appreciation of it, ib. - - Morals--Treatise on, i. 120. - Principles of, inquiry concerning, 344. - The utilitarian, limited extent to which it was carried by Hume, - 347. - Charge against it, 349. - - Morellet--The Abbe, ii. 276, 337, 425. - Letter to, 426. - - Morrice--Corbyn, ii. 147. - - Mount Stuart--Lord, ii. 184. - - Muirhead--Mr., i. 411. - - Mure--William, of Caldwell, i. 380. - Letters to, i. 153, 158, 162, 165; ii. 19, 158, 165, 199, 200, 390, - 391, 436, 478. - - Murray--Lady Elliot, letter from, ii. 446. - - ----, Alexander, i. 306; ii. 93, 101, 168, 258, 259. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 281. - - ----, of Broughton, i. 167. - - Musset Pathay, ii. 322, 325, 329, 330. - - - Nairne--Mr., ii. 456. - - National characters--Essay on, i. 290. - - Nationality--Hume's spirit of, ii. 31. - - Natural Philosophy--Hume's notes on, i. 95-96. - - Natural Religion--Dialogues concerning, i. 328, 330. - Arrangements regarding their publication, ii. 490-493. - - Necessity--Doctrine of, i. 275. - - Necker, ii. 487. - - Neville--Mr., ii. 171. - - Nicholas--Sir Harris. - His chronology of history, ii. 123. - - Nicol--Miss, ii. 361. - - Niebuhr, i. 218. - - Nimeguen--Hume's account of, i. 247. - - Ninewells, family residence of the Humes, i. 1, 8. - - Nivernois--Duc de, ii. 286, 431, 449. - - Nominalism--Hume's, a system of, i. 73. - - North--Lord, ii. 479. - - Norwich--Bishop of, ii. 54. - - Note-book--Hume's, extracts from, i. 126-135. - - - Obedience--Passive, Hume's opinions on, ii. 70. - - Orange--Prince of. - His popularity, i. 242. - - Ord--Baron, ii. 436. - - ----, Miss, ii. 436, 494. - - Original Contract--Essay of the, i. 290. - - Orleans--Duke of, ii. 269. - - ----, Duchess of, ii. 269. - - Ormond--James Butler, Duke of, ii. 77. - - Ossian's Poems, ii. 85. - Essay on the authenticity of, 86. - Notice of, 180. - - ----, Papers regarding, i. 462. - - Ossory--Lord, ii. 322. - - Oswald--Sir Harry, ii. 188, 191. - - ----, James, of Dunnikier, i. 156, 222. - Letter to, 236, 301, 380. - Notice of, ii. 58. - Letter to, 149. - Notice of, 188. - Letter to, 275. - - - Page du Boccage--Madame de, ii. 213. - - Paley--William, i. 152. - - Palgrave--Sir Francis, ii. 122. - - Paoli, King of Corsica, ii. 307. - - Paris--Abbe, miracles at his tomb, i. 49-50. - - ----, Hume's first visit to, i. 49-51. - - ----, University of, i. 151. - - Passions--Treatise on, i. 99. - Some account of, 104. - Dissertation on, 421. - - Passive obedience--Essay of, i. 220. - - Percy--Bishop, ii. 385. - - Peyrou, du, ii. 335. - - Philosophical Essays concerning the Human Understanding. - When published, i. 271. - - Philosophy--System of, in the Treatise of Human Nature, i. 66, 97. - Its characteristic, 97. - - Physician--Letter to, i. 30-39, 41, 42. - - Piozzi--Mrs., ii. 139. - - Pitcairne--Dr., ii. 390. - - Pitfour--Lord, ii. 480. - - Pitt--William, i. 392; ii. 63, 159, 160, 162, 163. - - Platonist--The, i. 141. - - Pluche--The Abbe, i. 52. - - Plutarch--Hume's project of translating, i. 415, 417. - - Poetry by Hume, i. 228. - - ---- by Mrs. Home of Ninewells, i. 295. - - ---- By Miss A. B., to Mrs. H----, by her Black Boy, i. 296. - - Political Discourses--Publication of, i. 350. - Their character, 354. - - ---- Economy. Hume's ideas on, i. 355. - How received, 356. - State of opinion on, in the time of Hume, i. 355-356. - Effect of the French Revolution on, 357. - - Political Doctrines--Hume's, i. 123. - Their inconsistency with his historical works, 405. - - Pompadour--Madame de, ii. 169. - - Populousness of Ancient Nations--Essay on, i. 326, 363. - - Praslin--Duc de, ii. 172, 283, 290. - - ----, Duchess de, ii. 173. - - Press--Liberty of, i. 137-138. - - Prevot--Abbe, i. 408; ii. 52. - - Primrose--Lady, ii. 462. - - Pringle--Sir John, president of the Royal Society of London, i. 165. - Letter to, ii. 162. - Letter from, 465, 476. - - Protestant Succession--Essay on, i. 365. - - Provence--Comte de, ii. 178. - - Prussia--King of, ii. 306, 309, 363. - - Prynne--William, i. 405. - - Puysieuls--Mons. de, ii. 204, 266. - - - Quesnay, i. 365. - - - Rabutin--Bussy, i. 306. - - Ralph--Mr., ii. 148. - - Ramsay--Allan, i. 421; ii. 135. - - ----, The Chevalier, i. 12, 53. - - ----, Michael, an early correspondent of Hume's, i. 11, 51, 107, 116. - Letter to, ii. 342. - - Ratisbon--Hume's account of, i. 255. - - Raynal--The Abbe, i. 365. - - Record Commission. - Works prepared by, ii. 121. - - Reid--Dr. Thomas; his "Inquiry into the Human Mind," ii. 151. - Intercourse with Hume, 153. - Letter from, 154. - - Religion--Hume's thoughts regarding, i. 162-164, 279. - His treatment of, ii. 5. - Tone in speaking of the Roman Catholic religion, ii. 6. - - ----, Hume's apologies for his treatment of, ii. 10. - - ----, Natural. - Dialogues concerning, i. 328; ii. 490. - Their character and tendency, i. 330. - - Republicanism--Hume's estimate of, ii. 481. - - _Review_--The original _Edinburgh_. - Its origin, i. 422. - - Rheims--Hume's residence in, i. 51-56. - - Rianecourt--Madame, ii. 351. - - Riccoboni--Madame, ii. 350. - - Richmond--Duke of, ii. 282, 290, 326. - - Riviere, i. 365. - - Robertson--Dr. William. - Hume's commendations of, ii. 32, 43. - Letter to, regarding Queen Mary, 48. - Correspondence with Hume, 49-55. - Notice of, 58. - Correspondence and notices, 83, 100, 176, 229, 252, 266, 270, 286, - 383. - Remarks by Hume on his History of Charles Fifth, 412, 445, 453, 470. - - Robinson--Sir Thomas, i. 257. - - Roche--La. - Story of, i. 58. - - Rockingham--Lord, ii. 282, 395, 396. - - Rodney--Admiral, ii. 61. - - Rohan--Louis, Prince de, ii. 221. - - Rollin, ii. 50. - - Romilly--Sir Samuel, ii. 220. - - Rougemont--M., ii. 330. - - Rousseau--Jean Jacques, ii. 102, 110, 112-113, 114, 187. - Takes up his abode at Motier Travers, 293. - Removes to St. Pierre, 294. - Goes to Strasburg, 296. - To Paris, ib. - The enthusiasm for him at Paris, 299. - Goes to England, 303, 308, 311, 312. - Hume's account of him, 315. - His judgment on his own works, 316. - Settlement at Wooton, 319. - Walpole's letter, 321. - Pension from the King of England, 324. - Quarrel with Hume, 326-380. - - Ruat--Professor, ii. 56, 62. - - Ruddiman--Thomas, i. 367; ii. 19. - - Russel--J., ii. 192. - - Rutherford--Dr., ii. 199. - - - Saducismus Triumphatus, i. 83. - - Sandwich--Lord, ii. 160. - - Sarsfield--Count, ii. 388. - - Saurin, ii. 387. - - Sceptic--The, i. 141. - Character of, 143. - - Scholar--The poor. - His position in Hume's time, i. 199. - - Scott of Scotstarvet, i. 416. - - ----, Sir Walter. - His remarks on Hume's poetical attempts, i. 226, 227; ii. 137. - - Selwin--George, ii. 240. - - Shaftesbury--Lord, i. 384. - - Sharp--Matthew, of Hoddam. - Letter to, i. 178-180, 386. - - Sheffield--Lord, ii. 409. - - Shelburne--Lord, ii. 405, 406. - - Short--Mr., ii. 64. - - Silliman--the American traveller. - His story regarding Hume, i. 291-293. - - Smellie--William, ii. 469. - - Smith--Adam. - His first introduction to Hume, i. 117. - His appointment to the chair of Moral Philosophy, 350. - The method of his political economy, 361. - Letters to, and notices of, 375, 393. - His correspondence with Hume, 417. - Letter to, ii. 16. - Hume's commendation of, 32. - Notice of, 58, 59. - Correspondence with, 89, 148, 150, 157, 160, 168, 227, 228, 348, - 349, 353, 388, 390, 395, 426, 429, 432, 433, 459, 461, 466, 471. - Letter to, on his "Wealth of Nations," 486. - Appointed Hume's literary executor, 490. - Letters to, 491. - Revocation of the nomination, 494. - His account of Hume's last moments, 509. - - Smollett--Tobias, ii. 53. - Hume's interest in, 405. - Letter from, 418. - Letter to, 419. - - Solitude--Hume's opinion on, i. 99. - - Spence--Joseph. - Letter to, i. 388. - Notice of, 435. - - Spinoza, i. 89. - - St. Clair--General. - His invitation to Hume, to act as secretary to the expedition to the - Coast of France, i. 208. - His expedition, ib. 440. - Appoints Hume secretary to the mission to the Court of Turin, 235, - 372. - - Stanislaus Augustus, King of Poland, ii. 91. - - Stevenson--John, ii. 46. - - Stewart--Dugald, i. 88, 89. - - ----, John, ii. 168, 180, 311, 321. - - Stobo--Captain Robert, ii. 418. - - Stoic--The, i. 141. - - Strahan--William, ii. 82-83, 412. - Hume's papers left to the charge of, 494. - Letters from, 477, 512. - - Stuart--Andrew, ii. 168, 175, 203, 423, 424, 466. - - ----, Dr., ii. 454. - - ---- Mackenzie, Mr., ii. 258. - - ----, Gilbert, ii. 414, 416, 456, 467. - His opinion of himself, 468. - Anecdotes regarding, 469. - His malignity, ib. 470. - - Stuarts--History of the, i. 399. - Character of the work, ib. - Conflicting opinions regarding, 400. - Charge brought against, 401. - Tendency, 402. - Its reception, 414. - Second volume, ii. 2. - - Suard--M. - Letter to, ii. 357. - - Suicide--Hume's ideas on, ii. 15. - - Sympathy--Criticism on Smith's ideas on, ii. 60. - - - Tate--Christopher, ii. 432. - - Tavistock--Lord, ii. 239. - - Teacher of youth--Hume's unfitness for, i. 352. - Qualifications requisite, ib. - - Temple--Lord, ii. 163. - - Tesse--Countess of, ii. 206. - - Thomson--Dr. John, i. 351, 353. - - Torbay, ii. 63. - - Townsend--Lord, ii. 407. - - ----, Charles, ii. 58, 132, 133, 134, 304, 305. - - ----, Mrs., ii. 305. - - Trade--Free. - _See_ Free Trade. - - Tragedy--Dissertation on, i. 421. - - Trail--Dr., ii. 204, 245, 456. - - Treatise of Human Nature, when published, i. 66. - Character of the work, 66-97. - Its service to philosophy, 90. - Characteristics of the system, 97. - Hume's condition during its composition, 96. - Its reception, 107-109. - Treatise on the Passions, some account of, 99. - Treatise on Morals, its character, 120-123. - - Trent--Hume's account of, i. 264. - - Trentham--Lord, i. 305. - - Tronchin, ii. 186, 338, 345. - - Tucker. - His Light of Nature, i. 150. - - ----, Dr., ii. 428. - - Turgot, i. 365. - Hume's friendship with, ii. 219, 351, 354. - Letters from, 352, 381, 428. - - Tweeddale--Marquis of, ii. 383. - - - Understanding--The Treatise on, i. 99. - - Universities--foreign. - The resort of Scottish youth, i. 150. - - Utilitarian system--Hume's development of, i. 121, 344. - Limited extent to which he carried it, 347. - - - Vain man--Hume's character of, i. 104. - - Valliere--Duc de, ii. 268. - - Vandeput--Sir George, i. 105. - - Vauban, i. 365. - - Vasseur--Therese le, ii. 294, 299, 305, 307, 323, 352, 366, 370. - - Verdelin--Madame de, ii. 295. - - Vienna. - Hume's account of the court there, and his introduction, i. 257-259. - - Vincent--Captain Philip, i. 177, 180. - His position with the Marquis of Annandale, 181, 186-189. - Letter from, 189. - Terms specified by, of Hume's engagement with the Marquis of - Annandale, 201, 203. - - Voltaire, i. 219; ii. 57, 126, 166, 184, 195, 323, 348, 358. - His "Henriade," Hume's opinion of, 440. - - - Walker--Professor, ii. 334. - - Wallace--Dr. Robert, i. 364, 387; ii. 193. - - Walpole, Lady, ii. 138. - - ----, Sir Robert. - Hume's character of, i. 289. - - ----, Horace. - Anecdote from, i. 197; ii. 54, 55, 159. - His notices of Hume, 226. - Account of his own reception in Paris, 226. - His letter in the name of the King of Prussia, 306, 321. - His Memoirs of George III., 282, 345, 351. - Letter to, 355, 361. - - Warburton--Bishop. - His letter to Hurd, i. 285. - Notice of, ii. 35. - His letter against Hume, ib. - His Remarks on Hume's essays, ib. - Notice of, 38, 64, 454. - - Warton--Thomas, ii. 51. - - Wealth of Nations--Hume's opinion of the, ii. 486. - - Wedderburn--Alexander, i. 379; ii. 471. - - Westminster election, in 1749, i. 305. - - Weymouth--Lord, ii. 384. - - Wilkie--William. - His "Epigoniad," ii. 25, 29. - His education, 26. - - Wilkes--John, ii. 148, 202, 282, 422. - - Wilson--Mr., type-founder, ii. 59. - - Wood--Mr., ii. 63, 182. - - Worcester--Marquis of. - _See_ Glamorgan--Lord. - - Wray--Mr., ii. 465. - - Wroughton--Mr., ii. 272. - - Wurtzburg--Hume's account of, i. 252. - - - York--Archbishop of, ii. 386. - - ----, Duke of, ii. 310. - - Yorke--Mr., ii. 59. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -The following words use an oe ligature in the original: - - coeur manoeuvres - Croesus oeuvres - Foedera Phoenicians - foetid Ploemeur - -The following corrections have been made to the text: - - Page xvii: Observations on Miracles--[dash missing in - original]New Edition - - Page 62: but, in their early intercourse[original has - "intercouse"], when his senior - - Page 150: Edinb.[original has "Edinr."] Jan. 10, 1743. - - Page 154: "[quotation mark missing in original]I say not a - word of Mr. Hutcheson - - Page 158: the triennial bill, for the pension[original has - "pensiou"] bill - - Page 210: commanded by Admiral[original has "Amiral"] Richard - Lestock - - Page 252: "[quotation mark missing in original]Next post - beyond Hanau - - Page 283: we would at once maintain to be impossible[original - has "impossibile"] - - Page 313: delivered you by Mr.[period missing in original] - William Cockburn - - Page 324: that part of your work.[original has extraneous - quotation mark] - - Page 326: is beyond human capacity[original has "ca acity"] - - Page 333: '_If the idea of cause and effect is nothing but - vicinity_,'[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 391: subscription for supporting[original has - "suppporting"] him during five years - - Page 400: it has frequently been the means[original has - "mean"] of throwing - - Page 427: if this were necessary!"[quotation mark missing in - original] - - Page 431: and he[original has "be"] brought before the - Presbytery of Edinburgh - - Page 457: le dessein de traduire l'ouvrage[original has - "l'ourage"] - - Page 458: J'ai[original has "Jai"] l'honneur d'etre, &c. - - Page 472: necessity of that precaution,[comma missing in - original] any man - - Page 480: never approaches a hair's breadth[original has - "hair'sbreadth"] nearer - - [257:1] [original has extraneous double quote]Sir T. Robinson - was a tall uncouth man - - [325:1] La Perpetuite de la Foi, de l'Eglise[original has "l' - Eglise"] Catholique - - [353:1] into which they had been admitted."[original has - single quote] - - [365:3] Discours Politiques traduits de L'Anglais[original - has "L' Anglois"] - - [434:1] epitres[original has "epitres"] de Ciceron - - [434:1] les Bourgmestres de la ville de Rome."[quotation mark - missing in original] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life and Correspondence of David Hume, -Volume I (of 2), by John Hill Burton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID HUME, VOLUME I *** - -***** This file should be named 42843.txt or 42843.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/8/4/42843/ - -Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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