of Edinburgh, he therefore devoted himself to the ftudy of the Scotch laws, in which he made confiderable progrefs; but whether from that natural modefty, almost infeparably connected with great merit, a consciousness of his deficiency in elocution, the happy indolence of his temper, little fitted for the contentious bar, or any other fecret caufe, he never put on the gown, nor even took the introductory steps neceffary for that purpofe. Other ftudies attracted him.

The metaphyfical writings of Locke and Berkeley had turned all inquifitive men towards intellectual obje&s. The human mind fpent its force in contemplating itfelf; as if man had been born for thinking, not acting; as if ideas had, in fact, only been real; and the material world, as conjectured by the Bishop of Cloyne, but as a vifion. Mr. Hume had early applied himself to metaphyfical inquiries: he faw, or feemed to 'fee, the defects of the former fyltems, and published, in 1739, the two first volumes of his Treatife of Human Nature, and the third the following year.

This work, though not inferior to any thing of the moral or metaphyfical kind in any language, was entirely overlooked, or decried at the time of its publication, except by a few liberal-minded men, who had courage to throw afide their popular and literary prejudices, and to follow found reafoning without being afraid of any dangerous conclufion, or fatal difcovery; of feeing errors unveiled, however fanctified by years, or fupported by authorities: and the author made fenfibie, to the fevere difappointment of his youthful

hopes, that the tafte for fyftematical writing was on the decline, divided his treatife into feparate effays, and differtations, which he published, with improvements, al-' terations, and additions, at different periods of his life. His enemies, however, or men defirous of railing a reputation by expofing the mistakes of a great genius, have levelled all their arguments against this juvenile production, though never dignified with the author's name; and Dr. Beattie in particular, more than thirty years after the publication of that fceptical fyftem, has been fo fuccefsful as to obtain a penfion by his Effay on the Immutability of Truth; in which he difcovers al the violence of a fectary, and all the illiberality of a pedant, and rather abuses than confutes Mr. Hume.

As the Treatife of Human Nature is now very scarce, fome account of it may be agreeable to many readers. The author's purpose in that work, as he himself informs us, was, "to introduce the experimental method of reafoning into moral fubjects." The ability with which he has executed his defign, can only be fully discovered by an examination of the treatise itself; which, as a compofition, is admirable. The first volume treats of the understanding, the fecond of the paffions, the third of morals. Criticifm and politics were still neceffary to complete his plan, and would have been added fyftematically, if the fuccefs had, in any degree, been anfwerable to the merit of the work. He thus fpeaks of the fciences, that he meant to examine: "The fole end of logic is to explain the principles and operations of our reasoning faculty

and

liberties, that have an immediate relation to that enjoyment." So much good fenfe and found reasoning was never perhaps delivered in fo few words, on the subject of female virtue, by any writer ancient or modern yet this is an extract from the treatife, whofe confutation has been impudently attempted, more than once, by mere common fenfe, and childish declamation!

In the year 1742, Mr. Hume published two fmall volumes, confifting of effays, moral, political, and literary. These were better received than his former publication, but contributed little to his general reputation as an author, and ftill lefs to his profit; and his fmall patrimony being now almost fpent, he was glad to accept of the office of library keeper to the faculty of advocates. The falary annexed to this place is only fifty Founds per annum; but the opportunity which it afforded him of confulting, at his leifure, all the choice authors, and valuable papers in one of the best libraries in Europe, may be confidered as no inconfiderable circumftance in favour of Mr. Hume's literary cha. racter.

vid, whofe fentiments were too li beral for their narrow minds.

Thus baffled in his attempt to obtain an office for which he was eminently qualified, and in which perhaps he could have been of more fervice to his country than in any other, Mr. Hume devoted himself entirely to ftudy, and rested all his hopes of fame and fortune on his merit as an authorHe published in the years 1748 and 49 his Metaphyfical Effays nearly as they now ftand; a Differtation on the Paffions, alfo extracted from his Treatife of Human Nature; his Syftem of Morals, much altered and improved; and along with thefe feveral new moral, critical, and poli tical effays.

In 1746, he ftocd candidate for the chair of moral philofophy in the univerfity of Edinburgh, then vacant by the refignation of the prefent Sir John Pringle, appointed phyfician to the army. Every one was convinced of Mr. Hume's abilities, and his intereft was warmly furported by the nobility and gentry; but the Prefbytery of Edinburgh, having a right to object to one out of the three candidates named by the town council, they put their negative upon honest Da

From politics, in which he had now made confiderable progrefs, Mr. Hume turned his inquiries towards hiftory, and completed, in 1752, the hiftory of Britain under the Houfe of Stuart. The first vo

lume of this work had been published two years before, but was little noticed, and the fuccefs of the fecond was by no means confiderable; yet these two volumes are allowed to be equal to any part of his now justly-admired Hiftory of England, or rather of Britain; for he all along connects the ftory of the two kingdoms.

So fingular an inftance of public neglect cannot be well accounted for; efpecially as the ftyle is remarkably elegant, the period interefting, and the work full of new and important matter, anecdotes, and obfervations. The public, however, has fince amply repaid Mr. Hume for its ingratitude. His Hiftory of the Houfe of Stuart requires only to be read to be ad

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mired;

mired; and it no fooner fell into the hands of Mr. Millar, then at the head of the London bookfellers, than it became a favourite performance among the higher clafs of people.

But Mr. Hume's reputation as an hiftorian was not complete, till the publication of his Hiftory of the House of Tudor, in 1758. About the fame time was published Dr. Robertfon's History of the Reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her Son James, till his Acceffion to the Throne of England; a work which was admired, even to enthufiafm, by perfons of all ranks. Many of the fame fubjects are treated by both writers, and at equal length. A comparifon neceffarily followed; and all intelligent men became fenfible, after the most critical examination, that the philofophic dignity, the logical difpofition, the force of diction, the just concatenation of circumftances, the lively pictures of manners, the comprehenfive, yet diftinct views of the interests of nations, and the intrigues of courts, independent of the many valuable difquifitions, which fo eminently diftinguish Mr. Hume's work, were at least a balance for the claffical purity of ftyle, the happy felection of incidents, the keen difcernment of motives, and the fine delineation of character, no lefs confpicuous in the other, which render the Hiftory of Mary one of the moft captivating books in our language.

Thus encouraged by the public approbation, Mr. Hume prepared for the prefs, with all expedition, the more early part of his Hiftory of England, from the invafion of Julius Cæfar to the acceffion of

the House of Tudor; which, with the volumes formerly published, bring down the progrefs of the English conftitution, and the civil and military tranfactions of Britain, to the Revolution in 1688, an æra when the government of this country was fixed on the bafis, where it continues to reft. Yet it is to be lamented that Mr. Hume did not bring down his history to the death of Q Anne, when the manners, the literature, and the military reputa tion of England, and of Europe, were at an height, and when the acceffion of a new family gave a new direction to British policy. But fuch as it is, taken as a whole, it may be confidered as one of the most excellent productions of human genius, and is certainly the greatest hiftorical work of modern times.

Mr. Hume's reputation was now complete. He was confidered as the greateft writer of the age: his moft infignificant performances were fought after with avidity; and Lord Bute, who, whatever errors he may have been guilty of as a politician, will ever be honoured as a patron of letters, procured for Mr. Hume a confiderable penfion.

But it was not enough that the philofophic David fhould be en. abled, in his latter years, to eat the bread of idleness, as the reward of his many laborious researches ; his political writings affording reafon to believe, that he might be of ufe to the ftate, he was appointed fecretary to Lord Hertford, ambaffador at the court of France, and afterwards refident in the absence of that nobleman.

In France, Mr. Hume's writings had long been known and admir. ed; fo that he there found himself

of

of ftill more confequence by his character than his office. He was univerfally careffed. Even the ladies are faid to have loaded him with their favours. But of all Mr. Hume's adventures, during his refidence in France, or in his own country, there is none fo remarkable as that which took its rife from his acquaintance with the celebrated John James Rouffeau, whom he brought over to England with him in 1766, and for whom he procured the offer of a penfion from his Majefty.

The particulars of that affair have been already published, and are too numerous and complicated to enter into fuch a fketch as the prefent: it will therefore be fufficient here to obferve, that Mr. Hume, understanding that M. Rouffeau, perfecuted every where on the continent, meant to take refuge in England, generously conducted him over, procured him a commodious retreat, and afterwards the offer of a penfion; but that the jealous and peevish temper of Rouffeau, led him to reject the laft, abandon the first, and abuse Mr. Hume as a person who had confpired the ruin of his character, under an appearance of ferving him; though every precaution, which the most refined delicacy could fuggeft, had been taken in order to fpare the pride of that fingular man, by the manner of conferring those obligations.

An anecdote or two will fufficiently fhew the jealous and even fufpicious temper of M. Rouffeau, and the generofity and candour of Mr. Hume. On their journey to England, they happened one night to lie in the fame chamber; and during the feafon devoted to fleep,

M. Rouffeau heard, or imagined he heard, Mr. Hume cry feveral times, with great vehemence"Rouffeau, I have you!" These words, though in themselves equivocal, and though M. Rouffeau owns he does not know whether Mr. Hume uttered them when afleep or awake, roufed his fufpicions, which it appears were never afterwards entirely laid. The question which honeft David asks on this occafion is equally pertinent and candid." As M. Rouffeau is not certain whether Mr. Hume was afleep or awake, is he fure that he was awake him felf?"

M. Rouffeau's fufpicion of Mr. Hume's treachery rofe in propor-tion to the benefits conferred upon him, and at laft broke out in perfect peevishness on the flighteft occafion imaginable. Mr. Davenport, a gentleman diftinguished by his birth, his fortune, and his merit, had granted to M. Rouffeau and his governante, the ufe of his houfe called Wooton, in Derby. fhire (where he feldom refided), with all other things neceffary for a livelihood; but in order to prevent Rouffeau's pride from being hurt by fuch a benefit, he agreed to receive, in return, a trifling fum annually. He also generously pretended, as he had reafon to think M. Rouffeau's finances were not very high, that he had found a post-chaile, on its return to Wooton, which would carry the philofopher fafely, and at fmall expence, to his retreat. Rouffeau fufpected the benevolent artifice, and accufed Mr. Hume of being an accomplice in it. Mr. Hume protefted his innocence, and endeavoured to fhift the fubject. After a farcaftical reply, Rousseau