II. fhould fail. Fergufon has very much polished S ECT and improved his treatife on Refinement*, and with fome amendments it will make an admirable book, and difcovers an elegant and a fingular genius. The Epigoniad, I hope, will do; but it is fomewhat up-hill work. As I doubt not but you confult the reviews fometimes at prefent, you will fee in the Critical Review a letter upon that poem; and I defire you to employ your conjectures in finding out the author. Let me fee a fample of your fkill in knowing hands by your gueffing at the perfon. I am afraid of Lord Kames's Law Tracts. A man might as well think of making a fine fauce by a mixture of wormwood and aloes, as an agreeable compofition by joining metaphyfics and Scotch law. However, the book, I believe, has merit; though few people will take the pains of diving into it. But, to return to your book, and its fuccefs in this town, I must tell you A plague of interruptions! I ordered myself to be denied; and yet here is one that has broke in upon me again. He is a man of letters, and we have had a good deal of literary converfation. You told me that you was curious of literary anecdotes, and therefore I fhall inform you of a few that * Published afterwards under the title of "An Effay on the Hiftory of Civil Society." SECT. have come to my knowledge. I believe I II. have mentioned to you already Helvetius's book de l'Esprit. It is worth your reading, not for its philosophy, which I do not highly value, but for its agreeable compofition. I had a letter from him a few days ago, wherein he tells me that my name was much oftener in the manufcript, but that the Cenfor of books at Paris obliged him to strike it out. Voltaire has lately published a final work called Candide, ou l'Optimisme. I thall give you a detail of it-But what is all this to my book? fay you.-My dear Mr. Smith, have patience: Compofe yourself to tranquillity. Shew yourfelf a philofopher in practice as well as profeffion: Think on the emptinefs, and rafhnefs, and futility of the common judgments of men: How little they are regulated by reafon in any fubject, much more in philofophical fubjects, which fo far exceed the comprehenfion of the vulgar. -Non fi quid turbida Roma, Elevet, accedas: examenve improbum in illa Caftiges trutina: nec te quæfiveris extra. A wife man's kingdom is his own breaft; or, if he ever looks farther, it will only be to the judgment of a felect few, who are free from prejudices, and capable of examining his work. Nothing indeed can be a stronger prefumption of falsehood than the approbation II. of the multitude; and Phocion, you know, sECT. always fufpected himself of fome blunder, when he was attended with the applaufes of the populace. "Suppofing, therefore, that you have duly prepared yourself for the worft by all these reflections, I proceed to tell you the melancholy news, that your book has been very unfortunate; for the public feem difpofed to applaud it extremely. It was looked for by the foolish people with fome impatience; and the mob of literati are beginning already to be very loud in its praifes. Three Bishops called yesterday at Millar's fhop in order to buy copies, and to ask questions about the author. The Bishop of Peterborough faid he had paffed the evening in a company where he heard it extolled above all books in the world. The Duke of Argyll is more decifive than he uses to be in its favour. I fuppofe he either confiders it as an exotic, or thinks the author will be ferviceable to him in the Glasgow elections. Lord Lyttleton fays, that Robertfon and Smith and Bower are the glories of English literature. Ofwald protefts he does not know whether he has reaped more inftruction or entertainment from it. But you may eafily judge what reliance can be put on his judgment who has been engaged all his life in public business, and who never fees any faults in his friends. Millar exults and brags II. SEC T. brags that two-thirds of the edition are already fold, and that he is now fure of fuccefs. You fee what a fon of the earth that is, to value books only by the profit they bring him. In that view, I believe it may prove a very good book. "Charles Townfend, who paffes for the clevereft fellow in England, is so taken with the performance, that he faid to Ofwald he would put the Duke of Buccleuch under the author's care, and would make it worth his while to accept of that charge. As foon as I heard this I called on him twice, with a view of talking with him about the matter, and of convincing him of the propriety of fending that young Nobleman to Glafgow: For I could not hope, that he could offer you any terms which would tempt you to renounce your Profefforship. But I miffed him. Mr. Townfend paffes for being a little uncertain in his refolutions; fo perhaps you need not build much on this fally, "In recompence for fo many mortifying things which nothing but truth could have. extorted from me, and which I could easily have multiplied to a greater number, I doubt not but you are fo good a Chriftian as to return good for evil; and to flatter my vanity by telling me, that all the godly in Scotland abuse me for my account of John Knox and the Reformation. I fuppofe you are glad to fee fee my paper end, and that I am obliged to SECT. conclude with Your humble fervant, DAVID HUME." II. SECT. III. From the Publication of The Theory of Moral Nations. AFTER the publication of the Theory of s E c T. Moral Sentiments, Mr. Smith remained four years at Glafgow, difcharging his official duties with unabated vigour, and with increafing reputation. During that time, the plan of his lectures underwent a confiderable change. His ethical doctrines, of which he had now published fo valuable a part, occupied a much smaller portion of the courfe than formerly and accordingly, his attention was naturally directed to a more complete illuftration of the principles of jurifprudence and of political economy. To this laft fubject, his thoughts appear to have been occafionally turned from a very early period of life. It is probable, that the uninterrupted friendship he had always maintained with his old companion Mr. Ofwald, had III. |