which however he soon recovered so far as to resume his Sunday
preachings. But the troubled times which followed on the death of the
Regent Murray denied to him in Edinburgh that repose which his
infirmities demanded, and in May, 1571, he was reluctantly induced to
retire from his ministry and again to seek a refuge in St. Andrew’s. Nor
was his residence in that city one of peace or ease, for he was troubled
by a party favourable to the Queen’s interests, especially by that
Archibald Hamilton who afterwards apostatised to the Roman Catholic
Church and became his bitter calumniator; and he was placed in
opposition to the Regent Morton with respect to the filling up of vacant
bishoprics and the disposal of church property, which, far from being
applied to the maintenance of religion and the diffusion of education,
was still in great measure monopolised by the nobility. In August, 1572,
his health being rapidly declining, he returned to Edinburgh at the
earnest request of his congregation, who longed to hear his voice in the
pulpit once more. He felt death to be nigh at hand, and was above all
things anxious to witness the appointment of a zealous and able
successor to the important station in the ministry which he filled. This
was done to his satisfaction. On Sunday, November 9, he preached and
presided at the installation of his successor, James Lawson, and he
never after quitted his own house. He sickened on the 11th, and expired
November 24, 1572, after a fortnight’s illness, in which he displayed
unmixed tranquillity, and assured trust in a happy futurity, through the
promises of the Gospel which he had preached. It is the more necessary
to state this, because his calumniators dared to assert that his death
was accompanied by horrid prodigies, and visible marks of divine
reprobation. The same tales have been related of Luther and Calvin.
Knox’s moral character we may safely pronounce to have been unblemished,
notwithstanding the outrageous charges of dissolute conversation which
have been brought by some writers against him,—calumnies equally
levelled against Beza, Calvin, and other fathers of the Reformation, and
which bear their own refutation in their extravagance. As a preacher, he
was energetic and effective, and uncommonly powerful in awakening the
negligent or the hardened conscience. As a Reformer and leader of the
Church, he was fitted for the stormy times and the turbulent and
resolute people among whom his lot was cast, by the very qualities which
have been made a reproach to him in a more polished age, and by a less
zealous generation. He was possessed of strong natural talents, and a
determined will which shunned neither danger nor labour. He was of
middle age when he began the study of Greek, and it was still later in
life when he acquired the Hebrew language,—tasks of no small difficulty
when we consider the harassed and laborious tenor of his life. No
considerations of temporising prudence could seduce him into the
compromise of an important principle; no thought of personal danger
could make him shrink when called to confront it. His deep sense and
resolute discharge of duty, coupled with a natural fire and impetuosity
of temper, sometimes led him into severity. But that his disposition was
deeply affectionate is proved by his private correspondence; and that
his severity proceeded from no acerbity of temper may be inferred from
his having employed his powerful influence as a mediator for those who
had borne arms against his party, and from his having never used it to
avenge an injury. The best apology for his occasional harshness is that
contained in the words of his own dying address to the elders of his
church as quoted by Dr. M’Crie. “I know that many have frequently
complained, and do still loudly complain, of my too great severity; but
God knows that my mind was always void of hatred to the persons of those
against whom I thundered the severest judgments. I cannot deny but that
I felt the greatest abhorrence at the sins in which they indulged; but
still I kept this one thing in view, that, if possible, I might gain
them to the Lord. What influenced me to utter whatever the Lord put into
my mouth so boldly, and without respect of persons, was a reverential
fear of my God, who called and of His grace appointed me to be a steward
of divine mysteries, and a belief that He will demand an account of the
manner in which I have discharged the trust committed to me, when I
shall at last stand before His tribunal.”
A list of Knox’s printed works, nineteen in number, is given by Dr.
M’Crie at the end of his notes. They consist chiefly of short religious
pieces, exhortations, and sermons. In addition to those more important
books which we have already noticed, his ‘History of the Church of
Scotland’ requires mention. The best edition is that printed at
Edinburgh in 1732, which contains a life of the author, the ‘Regimen of
Women,’ and some other pieces. Dr. M’Crie’s admirable ‘Life of Knox’
will direct the reader to the original sources of the history of this
period.
[Illustration: [Knox’s House in the Canongate, Edinburgh.]]
[Illustration:
_Engraved by W. Holl._
ADAM SMITH.
_From a Medallion executed in the life time of A. Smith, by Tafsiel._
Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge.
_London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street._
]
[Illustration]
A. SMITH.
Adam Smith was born June 5, 1723, at Kirkaldy, in the county of Fife,
where his father held the place of comptroller of the customs. Being a
posthumous and only child, he became the sole object of his widowed
mother’s tenderness and solicitude; and this was increased by the
delicacy of his constitution. Upon her devolved the sole charge of his
education; and the value of her care may be estimated from the
uninterrupted harmony and deep mutual affection which united them,
unchilled, to the end of life. He was remarkable for his love of reading
and the excellence of his memory, even at the early age when she first
placed him at the grammar-school of Kirkaldy, where he won the affection
of his companions by his amiable disposition, though the weakness of his
frame hindered him from joining in their sports.
At the age of fourteen he was sent to the University of Glasgow, from
which, at the end of three years, he was removed to Baliol College,
Oxford, in order to qualify himself for taking orders in the English
Church. Mathematics and natural philosophy seem to have been his
favourite pursuits at Glasgow; but at Oxford he devoted all his leisure
hours to belles-lettres, and the moral and political sciences. Among
these political economy cannot be reckoned; for at that period it was
unknown even in name: still, in such studies, and by the sedulous
improvement of his understanding, he was laying the foundations of his
immortal work. He remained seven years at Oxford, without conceiving, as
may be inferred from some passages in the ‘Wealth of Nations,’ any high
respect for the system of education then pursued in the University; and,
having given up all thoughts of taking orders, he returned to his
mother’s house at Kirkaldy, and devoted himself entirely to literature
and science. In 1748 he removed to Edinburgh, where, under Lord Kames’s
patronage, he delivered a course of lectures on rhetoric and
belles-lettres. These were never published; and, with other papers, were
destroyed by Smith a short time before his death. Dr. Blair, in the
well-known course which he delivered ten years afterwards on the same
subject, acknowledges how greatly he was indebted to his predecessor,
and how largely he had borrowed from him.
In 1751 Mr. Smith was elected Professor of Logic in the University of
Glasgow, and in the following year he was transferred to the chair of
Moral Philosophy, which he filled during thirteen years. The following
account of his lectures is given by Professor Millar. “His course of
lectures on this subject was divided into four parts. The first
contained natural theology, in which he considered the proofs of the
being and attributes of God, and those principles of the human mind upon
which religion is founded. The second comprehended ethics, strictly so
called, and consisted chiefly of the doctrines which he afterwards
published in his ‘Theory of Moral Sentiments.’ In the third part he
treated more at length of that branch of morality which relates to
justice, and which, being susceptible of precise and accurate rules, is
for that reason capable of a full and particular explanation.... In the
last part of his lectures he examined those political regulations which
are founded, not on the principle of justice, but on that of expediency,
and which are calculated to increase the riches, the power, and the
prosperity of a state. Under this view, he considered the political
institutions relating to commerce, to finances, to ecclesiastical and
military establishments. What he delivered on these subjects contained
the substance of the work he afterwards published under the title of ‘An
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.’”
“There was no situation in which the abilities of Dr. Smith appeared to
greater advantage than as a professor. In delivering his lectures, he
trusted almost entirely to extemporary elocution. His manner, though not
graceful, was plain and unaffected; and as he seemed to be always
interested in the subject, he never failed to interest his hearers. Each
discourse consisted of several distinct propositions, which he
successively endeavoured to prove and to illustrate. These propositions,
when announced in general terms, had, from their extent, not
unfrequently something of the air of a paradox. In his attempts to
explain them, he often appeared at first not to be sufficiently
possessed of the subject, and spoke with some hesitation. As he
advanced, however, the matter seemed to crowd upon him, his manner
became warm and animated, and his expression easy and fluent. In points
susceptible of controversy, you could easily discern that he secretly
conceived an opposition to his opinions, and that he was led upon this
account to support them with greater energy and vehemence. By the
fulness and variety of his illustrations, the subject gradually swelled
in his hands, and acquired a dimension which, without a tedious
repetition of the same views, was calculated to seize the attention of
his audience, and to afford them pleasure as well as instruction in
following the same object through all the diversity of shades and
aspects in which it was presented, and afterwards in tracing it
backwards to that original proposition or general truth from which this
beautiful train of speculation had proceeded.”
“His reputation as a professor was accordingly raised very high, and a
multitude of students from a great distance resorted to the University
merely upon his account. Those branches of science which he taught
became fashionable at this place, and his opinions were the chief topics
of discussion in clubs and literary societies. Even the small
peculiarities in his pronunciation or manner of speaking became
frequently the objects of imitation.”
Smith published his ‘Theory of Moral Sentiments’ in 1759. The
fundamental principle of this work, we use the summary of Mr.
Macculloch, is that “_sympathy_ forms the real foundation of morals;
that we do not immediately approve or disapprove of any given action,
when we have become acquainted with the intention of the agent and the
consequences of what he has done, but that we previously enter, by means
of that sympathetic affection which is natural to us, into the feelings
of the agent, and those to whom the action relates; that having
considered all the motives and passions by which the agent was actuated,
we pronounce, with respect to the _propriety_ or _impropriety_ of the
action, according as we sympathise or not with him; while we pronounce,
with respect to the _merit_ or _demerit_ of the action, according as we
sympathise with the gratitude or resentment of those who were its
objects; and that we necessarily judge of our own conduct by comparing
it with such maxims and rules as we have deduced from observations
previously made on the conduct of others.” This theory, ingenious as it
is, is generally abandoned as untenable. Dr. Brown has argued, and the
objection seems fatal, that though sympathy may diffuse, it cannot
originate moral sentiments: at the same time he bears the strongest
testimony to the literary merits and moral tendency of the work.
In 1763 Smith received from the University of Glasgow the honorary
degree of Doctor of Laws, and he was offered, and accepted, the
situation of travelling tutor to the young Duke of Buccleugh. His long
residence in the populous and manufacturing metropolis of western
Scotland had enabled him to collect a rich hoard of materials for the
great work he had in view; and this new appointment changed the method,
rather than interrupted the course, of his studies. It afforded him the
means of examining the habits, institutions, and condition of man under
new forms, and in new countries, and he observed with his natural
acuteness and sagacity the influence of locality, of climate, and of
government. He no doubt derived considerable advantage from the society
of the distinguished men with whom he associated at Paris; among these,
Turgot, D’Alembert, Helvetius, Marmontel, Morellet, Rochefoucauld, and
Quesnay, were his intimate friends. So highly did he appreciate the
talents of the last-named person as an economist, that he had intended,
had Quesnay lived, to have acknowledged the debt he owed him by
dedicating to him his own great work on the ‘Wealth of Nations.’
Having spent two years on the Continent, Dr. Smith returned to England
with his pupil, and soon after joined his mother at Kirkaldy, where he
resided for about ten years almost entirely in seclusion, occupied in
the prosecution of his great work. It was published in 1776; and few
books have ever been given to the world tending more directly to destroy
the prejudices, develop the powers, and promote the happiness of
mankind. But the world at that time was not clear-sighted enough to
appreciate its merits. Dr. Smith however had the gratification to see
that, during fifteen years which elapsed between its publication and his
death, it had produced a considerable effect upon public opinion, and
that the eyes of men were beginning to be opened upon an object of such
importance to human happiness. In this country at least Dr. Smith was
the creator of the science of political economy, for he had only a chaos
of materials from which to form it. Some defects may be discovered in
his arrangement, and some errors detected in the principles as laid down
by him; for it is hardly given to human intellect, that the originator
of a science should also carry it to perfection. But Smith established
the foundation upon which all future superstructures must rest; and the
labours of Ricardo, Malthus, and some now living, eminent as they are,
instead of superseding their predecessor do but enhance his merit. With
all the progress which liberty of every kind has made since his time, no
one has maintained the freedom of industry in all its bearings more
forcibly than himself. The theories of rent, and of population, seem to
be the only important branches of the science, as it now stands, which
had escaped his observation.
In 1778 Dr. Smith was appointed Commissioner of the Customs for
Scotland. The duties of his office obliged him to quit London, where he
had resided for two years subsequent to the publication of the ‘Wealth
of Nations,’ and where his society had been courted by the most
distinguished characters; and he took up his abode in Edinburgh,
accompanied by his aged mother. In 1787 he was elected Rector of the
University of Glasgow; a compliment which gave him great pleasure, as he
was much attached to that body, and grateful for the services it had
rendered him in his youth, and the honours it had conferred on him at a
more advanced age.
His mother died in 1784, and his grief on this occasion is supposed to
have injured his health, and his constitution, which had never been
robust, began to give way. He suffered another severe privation in the
death of his cousin, Miss Douglas, who had managed his household for
many years, since the infirmities of his parent had disqualified her for
that employment. He survived Miss Douglas only two years, and died in
1790 of a tedious and painful illness, which he bore with patience and
resignation.
Adam Smith’s private character is thus summed up by his friend Mr.
Dugald Stewart: “The more delicate and characteristical features of his
mind it is perhaps impossible to trace. That there were many
peculiarities both in his manners and in his intellectual habits was
manifest to the most superficial observer; but, although to those who
knew him, these peculiarities detracted nothing from the respect which
his abilities commanded; and although, to his intimate friends, they
added an inexpressible charm to his conversation, while they displayed
in the most interesting light the artless simplicity of his heart, yet
it would require a very skilful pencil to present them to the public
eye. He was certainly not fitted for the general commerce of the world,
or for the business of active life. The comprehensive speculations with
which he had been occupied from his youth, and the variety of materials
which his own inventions continually supplied to his thoughts, rendered
him habitually inattentive to familiar objects and to common
occurrences; and he frequently exhibited instances of absence which had
scarcely been surpassed by the fancy of La Bruyère. Even in company he
was apt to be engrossed with his studies, and appeared, at times, by the
motion of his lips, as well as by his looks and gestures, to be in the
fervour of composition. I have often however been struck, at the
distance of years, with his accurate memory of the most trifling
particulars; and am inclined to believe, from this and some other
circumstances, that he possessed a power, not perhaps uncommon among
absent men, of recollecting, in consequence of subsequent efforts of
reflection, many occurrences which, at the time when they happened, did
not seem to have sensibly attracted his notice.
“To the defect now mentioned, it was probably owing, in part, that he
did not fall in easily with the common dialogue of conversation, and
that he was somewhat apt to convey his own ideas in the form of a
lecture. When he did so however, it never proceeded from a wish to
engross the discourse, or gratify his vanity. His own inclination
disposed him so strongly to enjoy in silence the gaiety of those around
him, that his friends were often led to concert little schemes, in order
to engage him in the discussions most likely to interest him. Nor do I
think I shall be accused of going too far, when I say that he was
scarcely ever known to start a new topic himself, or to appear
unprepared upon those topics that were introduced by others. Indeed, his
conversation was never more amusing than when he gave a loose to his
genius, upon the very few branches of knowledge of which he only
possessed the outlines.
“In his external form and appearance there was nothing uncommon. When
perfectly at ease, and when warmed with conversation, his gestures were
animated, and not ungraceful; and in the society of those he loved, his
features were often brightened with a smile of inexpressible
benignity.... He never sat for his picture, but the medallion by Tassie
conveys an exact idea of his profile, and of the general expression of
his countenance.” It is from this that our portrait of him is engraved.
To those of Smith’s works of which we have already spoken, we have to
add two articles in a short-lived periodical publication, called the
‘Edinburgh Review,’ for 1755, containing a review of Johnson’s
Dictionary, and a letter on the state of literature in the different
countries of Europe; an ‘Essay on the Formation of Languages;’ and
Essays, published after his death by his desire, with an account of his
life and writings prefixed, by Dugald Stewart, on the Principles which
lead and direct Philosophical Inquiries; on the nature of the Imitation
practised in the Imitative Arts; on the affinity between certain English
and Italian verses; and on the External Senses. To that account of his
life we may refer for an able analysis of his most important writings,
as well as to the memoir prefixed to Mr. Macculloch’s edition of the
‘Wealth of Nations,’ from which this sketch is principally taken.
[Illustration:
_Engraved by T. Woolnoth._
CALVIN.
_From a Print engraved by C. Dankertz._
Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge.
_London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street._
]
[Illustration]
CALVIN.
John Cauvin (afterwards called Calvin) was born of humble parents, his
father following the trade of a cooper, at Noyon in Picardy, July 10,
1509. He was intended in the first instance for the profession of the
church, and two benefices were already set apart for him, when, at a
very early age, from what motive is not exactly known, his destination
was suddenly changed, and he was sent, first to Orleans and then to
Bourges, to learn under distinguished teachers the science of
jurisprudence. He is said to have made great proficiency in that study;
but nevertheless, he found leisure to cultivate other talents, and made
himself acquainted with Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac, during his residence
at Bourges. His natural inclination seems ever to have bent him towards
those pursuits to which his earliest attention was directed; and though
he never attended the schools of theology, nor had at any time any
public master in that science, yet his thoughts were never far away from
it; and the time which he could spare from his professional labours was
employed on subjects bearing more or less directly upon religion.
Thus it was, that he failed not to take part in the discussions, which
arose in France during his early years, respecting the principles of the
Reformation; and it may be, that his happy escape from theological
tuition made him more disposed to embrace them. It is certain that his
opposition to the Church of Rome became very soon notorious, and made
him, young as he was, an object of jealousy to some of its powerful
adherents. Even the moderate Erasmus viewed his aspiring talents and
determined character with some undefined apprehension; and he is related
(after a conversation with Calvin at Strasbourg) to have remarked to
Bucer, who had presented him,—“I see in that young man the seeds of a
dangerous pest, which will some day throw great disorder into the
Church.” The weak and wavering character of Erasmus renders it difficult
for us to understand what sort of disorder it was that he anticipated,
or what exactly was the _Church_ on which the apprehended mischief was
to fall. In 1535 Calvin published his great work, the ‘Christian
Institute,’ which was intended as a sort of confession of faith of the
French reformers, in answer to the calumnies which confounded them with
the frantic Anabaptists of Germany.
In 1536, finding that his person was no longer secure in France, Calvin
determined to retire into Germany, and was compelled by accident to pass
through Geneva. He found this city in a state of extreme confusion. The
civil government was popular, and in those days tumultuous: the
ecclesiastical had been entirely dissolved by the departure of the
bishops and clergy on the triumph of the Reformation, and only such laws
existed as the individual influence of the pastors was able to impose
upon their several flocks. It was a tempting field for spiritual
ambition, and Calvin was readily persuaded to enter into it. He decided
to remain at Geneva, and forthwith opened a theological school.
In the very year following his arrival, he formed the design of
introducing into his adopted country a regular system of ecclesiastical
polity. He assembled the people; and, not without much opposition,
prevailed on them at length to bind themselves by oath; _first_, that
they would not again, on any consideration, ever submit to the dominion
of Rome; _secondly_, that they would render obedience to a certain code
of ecclesiastical laws, which he and his colleagues had drawn up for
them. Some writers do not expressly mention that this second proposition
was accepted by the people—if accepted, it was immediately violated: and
as Calvin and his clerical coadjutors (who were only two in number)
refused with firmness to administer the holy communion to such as
rejected the condition, the people, not yet prepared to endure that
bondage, banished the spiritual legislators from the city, in April,
1538.