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 ἡγημονικὸν 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.