*}?»*%,. q£»*A
ACCOUNT
OF THE
LIFE AND WRITINGS
OF
WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D.D. F.R.S.E.
LATE PRINCIPAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH,
AND HISTORIOGRAPHER TO HIS MAJESTY
FOR SCOTLAND.
£Read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh ]
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON:
Printed by A. Strain, Printers Street,
TOR T. CADELL JUN. AND W. DAVIES IN THE STRAND,
AND E. BALFOUR, EDINBURGH.
l802.
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Rzh Sty
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE principal authorities for the bio-
graphical details in the following pages were
communicated to me by Dr. Robertfon's
*" eldeft fori, Mr. William Robertfon, Advo-
>•
§ cate. To him I am indebted, not only for
CO
3 the original letters with which he has
enabled me to gratify the curiofity of my
iq Readers, but for every other aid which he
§ couid be prompted to contribute, either by
regard for his father's memory, or by
o friendfhip for myfelf.
o
o
JJ . My information with refpect to the
z:
3 earlier part of Dr. Robertfon's life was
derived almoft entirely from one of his
oldeft and mod valued friends, the Rev.
Dr. Carlyle of Inverefk.
It
,c. /* **4 ,r > O fa
44 1 liii^-i
( iv )
It is proper for me to add, that this
Memoir was read at different meetings of
the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; and was
deftined for a place in their Tranfa&ions.
The length to which it has extended, fug-
gefted the idea of a feparate publication,
and the addition of an Appendix.
During the long interval which has
elapfed fince it was compofed, a few fen-
tences have been occafionally inferted, in
which a reference is made to later criticifms
on Dr. Robertfon's writings. I mention
this circumftance, in order to account for
fome flight anachronifms.
DUGALD STEWART.
College of EDINBURGH,
16th May, i8o».
ACCOUNT
OF THE
LIFE AND WRITINGS
OF
WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D.D.
i
SECTION FIRST.
From Dr. Robertson's Birth till the Publication
of his Hi/lory of Scotland.
William Robertson, D.D. late
Principal of the Univerfity of Edin-
burgh, and Hiftoriographer to his Majefty
for Scotland, was the fon of the Reverend
William Robertfon, Minifter of the Old
Gray-Friar's Church, and of Eleanor Pit-
cairn, daughter of David Pitcairn, Efq. of
Dreghorn. By his father he was defcended
from the Robertfons of Gladney in the
county of Fife ; a branch of the refpeft-
b able
2 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
able family of the fame name, which has,
for many generations, pofTefTed the eftate of
Struan in Perthfhire.
He was born in 1721, at Borthwick (in
the county of Mid-Lothian), where his
father was then Minifter ; and received
the firft rudiments of his education at the
fckool of Dalkeith, which, from the high
reputation of Mr. Leflie as a Teacher, was
at that time reforted to from all parts of
Scotland. In 1733, ne a S a i n joined his
father's family on their removal to Edin-
burgh ; and, towards the end of the fame
year, he entered on his courfe of academical
ftudy.
From this period till the year 1759, when,
by the publication of his-Scottifh Hiftory,
he fixed a new ura in the literary annals
of his country, the habits and occurrences
of his life were fuch d& to fupply few ma-
terials for Biography ; and the imagination
is left to fill up a long interval fpent in the
lilent purfuit of letters, and enlivened by
the fecret anticipation of future eminence.
IJis genius was not of that forward and
irregular growth, which forces itfetf prema-
2 turely
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. J
turely on public notice ; and it was only a
few intimate and difcerning friends, who,
in the native vigour of his powers, and in
the patient culture by which he laboured to
improve them, perceived the earnefts of a
fame that was to laft for ever.
The large proportion of Dr. Robertfon's
life which he thus devoted to obfcurity will
appear the more remarkable, when con-
trafted with his early and enthufiaftic love
of ftudy. Some of his oldeft common-place
books, ftill in his fon's poflfeflion, (dated in
the years 1735, 1736, and 1737,) bear
marks of a perfevering affiduity, unexampled
perhaps at lb tender an age ; and the motto
prefixed- to all of them, (Vitajine Uteris mors
efl^) attefts how foon thofe views and fenti-
ments were formed, which, to his lateft
hour, continued to guide and to dignify his
ambition. In times fuch as the prefent,
when literary diftinction leads to other re-
wards, the labours of the ftudious are often
prompted by motives very different from the
hope of fame, or the infpiration of genius ;
but when Dr. Robertfon's career com-
menced,, thefe were the only incitements
b 2 which
4 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
which exifted to animate his exertions. The
trade of Authorlhip was unknown in Scot-
land ; and the rank which that country had
early acquired among the learned nations of
Europe, had, for many years, been fuftained
entirely by a fmall number of eminent men,
who diitinguilhed themfelvcs by an honour-
able and diiinterefted zeal in the ungainful
walks of abftracl fciencc.
Some prefages, however, of better times
were beginning to appear. The produc-
tions of Thomfon and of Mallet were al-
ready known and admired in the metro-
polis of England, and an impulfe had been
given to the minds of the rifing gene-
ration, by the exertions of a few able and
enlightened men, who rilled important
ftations in the Scottifh Univerfities. Dr.
Hutchefon of Glafgow, by his excellent
writings, and flill more by his eloquent
lectures, had diffufed, among a numerous
race of pupils, a liberality of fentiment, and
a refinement of tafte, unknown before in
this part of the ifland ; and the influence
or* his example had extended, in no incon-
fiderable degree, to that feminary where
Dr.
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 5
Dr. Robertfon received his education. The
Profeflorfhip of Moral Philofophy at Edin-
burgh was then held by Sir John Pringle,
afterwards Prefident of the Royal Society
of London ; who, if he did not rival Dr.
Hutchefon's abilities, was not furpafled by
him in the variety of his fcientific attain-
ments, or in a warm zeal for the encourage-
ment of ufeful knowledge. His efforts were
ably feconded by the learning and induftry
of Dr. Stevenfon, ProfeiTor of Logic ; to
whofe valuable prelections (particularly to
his illuftrations of Ariftotle's Poetics and of
Longinus on the Sublime) Dr. Robertfon
has been often heard to fay, that he confi-
dered himfelf as more deeply indebted, than
to any other circumftance in his academical
ftudies. The bent of his genius did not
incline him to mathematical or phyfical
purfuits, notwithstanding the ftrong recom-
mendations they derived from the popular
talents of Mr. Maclaurin ; but he could not
fail to receive advantage from the eloquence
with which that illuftrious man knew how
to adorn the mod abftracted fubjects, as well
as from that corre&nefs and purity in his
B 3 compo-
6 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
cornpofitions, which ftill entitle him to a
high rank among our beft writers, and which
no Scottifh author of the fame period had
been able to attain.
A number of other learned and refpe&able
men, of whofe names the greater part now
exift in tradition only, were then reildent in
Edinburgh. A club, or fociety of * thefe,
carried on for fome years a private corre-
fpondence with Dr. Berkeley, the celebrated
Biihop of Cloyne, on the fubject of his me-
taphyseal publications; and are faid to
have been numbered by him among the few
who completely comprehended the fcope of
his reafonings again ft the exiftence of mat-
ter. The influence of this fociety, in diffufing
that fpirit of philofophical refearch which
has fince become fo fafhionablc in Scotland,
has often been mentioned to me by thofe
who had the beft opportunities of obierving
the rife and progrefs of Scottish literature.
• Called the Ranlcman Club, from the name of the
pcrfon in whofe tavern its meetings were held. The
learned and ingenious Dr. Wallace, Author of the Differta-
tion on the Numbers of Mankind, ves one of the leading
members.
I have
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. J
I have entered into thefe details, partly
as they fuggeft fome circumftances which
confpired with Dr. Robertfon's natural
inclination in fixing his ftudious habits ;
and partly as they help to account for the
fudden tranfition which Scotland made,
about this period, from the temporary ob-
fcurity into which it had funk, to that fta-
tion which it has fince maintained in the
republic of letters. A great ftock both of
genius and of learning exifted in the coun-
try ; but the difficulty of overcoming the
peculiarities of a provincial idiom, feemed
to fhut up every avenue to fame by means
of the prefs, excepting in thofe departments
of fcience, where the nature of the fubject
is fuch as to difpenfe with the graces of com-
pofition.
Dr. Robertfon's ambition was not to be
checked by thefe obftacles ; and he appears,
from a very early period of life, to have
employed, with much perfeverance, the
moft efFe&ual means for furmounting them.
Among other expedients, he was accuftomed
to exercife himfelf in the practice of tranfla-
tionj and he had even gone fo far in the
B 4 cultivation
8 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
cultivation of this very difficult art, as to
have thought ferioufly of preparing for the
prefs a verfion of Marcus Antoninus, when
he was anticipated, by an anonymous pub-
lication at Glafgow, in the execution of his
defign. In making choice of this Author,
he was probably not a little influenced by
that partiality with which (among the
writings of the Heathen Moral i its) he
always regarded the remains of the Stoical
Philofophy.
Nor was his ambition limited to the at-
tainment of the, honours that reward the
induftry of the reclufe itudent. Anxious
to diftinguifh himfelf by the utility of his
labours in that profeiTion to which he had
refolved to devote his talents, and looking
forward, it is probable, to the active fhare
he was afterwards to take in the Ecclefiaf-
tical Policy of Scotland, he afpired to add
to the art of clafiicalcompofition, the powers
of a pcrfuafive and commanding fpeaker.
With this view, he united with fome of his
contemporaries, during the laft years of his
attendance at College, in the formation of
a Society, where their object was to culti-
vate
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 9
vate the ftudy of elocution, and to prepare
therafelves, by the habits of extemporary
difcuffion and debate, for conducting the
bufinefs of popular aflemblies. Fortunately
for Dr. Robertfon, he had here affociates to
contend with worthy of himfelf: among
others, Dr. William M'Ghie, an ingenious
young Phyfician, afterwards well-known
in London ; Mr. William Cleghorn, after-
wards Profeffor of Moral Philofophy in
Edinburgh ; Dr. John Blair, late Prebendary
of Weftminfter ; Dr. Wilkie, Author of the
Epigoniad ; and Mr. John Home, Author
of the Tragedy of Douglas.
His ftudies at the Univerfity being at
length finifhed, Dr. Robertfon was licenfed
to preach by the Prefbytery of Dalkeith
in 1 741, and in 1743 he was prefented to
the living of Gladfmuir in Eaft Lothian by
the Earl of Hopeton. The income was but
inconfiderable (the whole emoluments not
exceeding one hundred pounds a-year) : but
the preferment, fuch as it was, came to him
at a time fingularly fortunate ; for, not long
afterwards, his father and mother died
within a few hours of each other, leaving
a family
IO ACCOUNT 01 THE LIFE AND
a family of fix daughters and a younger
fon, in fuch circumftances as required every
aid which his flender funds enabled him to
be Row.
Dr. Robertfon's conduct in this trying
fituation, while it bore the mod honourable
teftimony to the generofity of his difpofi-
tions, and to the warmth of his affections,
was ftrongly marked with that manly deci-
fion in his plans, and that perfevering
fteadinefs in their execution, which were
characteriftical features of his mind. Un-
deterred by the magnitude of a charge,
which mull have appeared fatal to the pro-
fpects that had hitherto animated his ftu-
dies; and refolved to facrifice to a facred
duty all perfonal confiderations, he invited
his father's family to Gladfmuir, and con-
tinued to educate his fitters under his own
roof, till they were fettled refpectably in the
world. Nor did he think himfelf at liberty,
till then, to complete an union, which had
been long the object of his wifhes, and
which may be juftly numbered among the
moft fortunate incidents of his life. He
remained fimrle till 1771, when he married
his
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. II
hifi coufin Mifs Mary Nifbet, daughter of
the Reverend Mr. Nifbet, one of the Mi-
nifters of Edinburgh.
While he was thus engaged in the dis-
charge of thofe pious offices which had
devolved upon him by the fudden death
of his parents, the Rebellion of 1 745 broke
out in Scotland, and afforded him an op-
portunity of evincing the fincerity of that
zeal for the civil and religious liberties of
his country, which he had imbibed with
the firft principles of his education ; and
which afterwards, at the diftance of more
than forty years, when he was called on to
employ his eloquence in the national com-
memoration of the Revolution, feemed to
rekindle the fires of his youth. His fitua-
tion as a country Clergyman, confined,
indeed, his patriotic exertions within a
narrow fphere; but even here, his conduct
was guided by a mind fuperior to the
(cenc in which he acted. On one occafion,
(when the capital of Scotland was in dan-
ger of falling into the hands of the Rebels,)
the ftate of public affairs appeared fo cri-
tical, that he thought himfelf juftified in
laying
12 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
laying afide, for a time, the pacific habits of
his profeflion, and in quitting his pa-
rochial refidence at Gladfmuir, to join the
Volunteers of Edinburgh : and when, at
Jaft, it was determined that the citv mould
be furrendered, he was one of the fmall
band who repaired to Haddington, and
offered their fervices to the Commander of
his Majefty's forces.
The duties of his facred profeflion were,
in the mean time, difcharged with a
punctuality, which fecured to him the
veneration and attachment of his parifhio-
ners ; while the eloquence and tafte that
diftinguifhed him as a Preacher, drew the
attention of the neighbouring Clergy, and
prepared the way for that influence in the
Church which he afterwards attained. A
fermon which he preached in the year 1 755
before the Society for propagating Chriftian
Knowledge, and which was the earlieft of
all his publications, affords a fufficient proof
of the eminence he might have attained in
that fpecies of compofition, if his genius
had not inclined him more ftrongly to
other ftudies. This fermon, the only one
he
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 1 3
he ever publifhed, has been long ranked,
in both parts of the iiland, among the beft
models of pulpit eloquence in our language.
It has undergone five editions; and is well
known, in fome parts of the Continent, in
the German tranflation of Mr. Ebeling.
A few years before this period, he made
his firft appearance in the debates of the
General AfTembly of the Church of Scot-
land. The queftions which were then agi-
tated in that place have long ceafed to
be interefting ; but they were highly im-
portant at the time, as they involved, not
only the authority of the fupreme court
of ecclefiaftical judicature, but the general
tranquillity and good order of the country.
The principles which Dr. Robertfon held
on thefe fubjects, and which have, for
many years paft, guided the policy of the
Church, will again fall under our review,
before the conclufion of this narrative. At
prefent, it is fufficient to mention, that in
the Aflembly of 1751, when he firft fub-
mitted them to public difcuflion, they were
fo contrary to the prevailing ideas, that,
although he enforced them with extraor-
dinary
14 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
dinary powers of argument and eloquence,
and was moil ably fupported by the late
Sir Gilbert Elliot and Mr. Andrew Pringle,
(afterwards Lord Alemoor,) he was left in
a very fmall minority ; the houfe dividing,
two hundred againft eleven. The year fol-
lowing, by a fteady perfeverance in the
fame views, he had the fatisfacVion of
bringing over a majority to his fentiments,
and gave a beginning to that fyflem of
ecclefiaftical government which it was one
of the great objects of his life to carry into
effect, by the mofl: vigorous and decifive,
though the mod temperate and conciliatory
meafures. A paper which he drew up in
the courfe of thefe proceedings, and which
will be noticed in its proper place, explains
the ground-work of the plan which he and
his friends afterwards purfued.
The eftablifhment of the Selecl Society *
in Edinburgh in the year 1754, opened
another field for the difplay and for the cul-
tivation of his talents. Thisinftitution, in-
tended partly for philofophical inquiry, and
• Apf eadix, Nole A.
partly
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 1 5
partly for the improvement of the members
in public fpeaking, was projected by Mr.
Allan Ramfay the painter, and a few of his
friends ; but foon attracted fo much of the
public notice, that in the following year the
number of members exceeded a hundred,
including all the individuals in Edinburgh
and the neighbourhood who were moft
diftinguifhed by genius or by literary attain-
ments. In the lift of thofe who united
with Mr. Ramfay in the formation of this
fociety, we find the names of Dr. Robert-
fon, Mr. David Hume, Mr. Adam Smith,
Mr. Wedderburn (now Lord Chancellor),
-Lord Karnes, Mr. John Home, Dr. C&rlyle,
Mr. Andrew Stuart, Sir Gilbert Elliot, and
Lord Alemoor. The fociety fubfifted in
vigour for fix or feven years, and produced
debates, fuch as have not often been heard
in modern afTemblies ; — debates, where the
dignity of the fpeakers was not lowered by
the intrigues of policy, or the intemperance
of faction ; and where the moft fplendid
talents that have ever adorned this country
were roufed to their beft exertions, by the
liberal and ennobling difcuflions of litera-
ture
l6 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
ture and philofophy. To this inftitution,
while it lafted, Dr. Robertfon contributed
his mod zealous fupport ; feldom omitting
an opportunity of taking a (hare in its bufi-
nefs ; and deriving from it an addition to
his own fame, which may be eafily con-
ceived by thcfe who are acquainted with
his fubfeqnent writings, or who have wit-
nefied thofe powers of argument and illus-
tration which, in the ecclefiaftical courts,
he afterwards employed fo fuccefsfully, on
Subjects not fo fufceptible of the embel-
lishments of eloquence.
In thefe courts, indeed, during the very
period when the Select Society was contri-
buting fo much to the fame and to the
improvement of Scotland, there occurred
one fubject of debate, unconnected with
the ordinary details of church-government,
which afforded at once full fcope to Dr.
Robertfon's powers as a fpeakcr, and to a
difplay of that mild -atid conciliatory tem-
per, which was afterwards, for a long courfe
of years, fo honourably employed, in heal-
ing the divifions of a church torn with
faction, and in Smoothing the tranfition
from
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. IJ
from the feverity of puritanical mariners,
to habits lefs at variance with the genius of
the times. For this important and arduous
tafk he was fitted in an eminent degree by
the happy union he exhibited in his own
character, of that exemplary decency which
became his order, with all the qualities that
form the charm and the ornament of fociat
life. — The occurrence to which I allude
more particularly at prefent, was the flame
kindled among the Scottifh Clergy in the
year 1757, by the publication of the Tra-
gedy of Douglas, the Author of which,
Mr. John Home, was then Minifter of
Athelftonford. The extraordinary merits
of this performance, which is now become
to Scotchmen a fubject of national pride,
were not fufficient to atone for fo bold a
departure from the aufterity expected in - a
Prefbyterian divine; and the offence was
not a little exafperated by the conduct: of
fome of Mr. Home'i brethren, who, partly
from, curiofity, and partly from a friendly
wi(h to mare in the cenfure bellowed on
the Author, were led to witnefs the firft
reprefentation of the piece on the Edin-
c burgh
iS ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE ;\ND
burgh (rage. In the whole courfe of the
ecclefiaftical proceedings connected with
thefe incidents, Dr. Robertfon diftinguifhed
himfelf by the ableft and mod animated
exertions in defence of his friends ; and
contributed greatly, by his perfuaf- ve elo-
quence, to the mildnefs of that fentence in
which the profecution at laft terminated.
His arguments on this occafion had, it may
be prefumed, the greater weight, that he
had never himfelf entered within the
walls of a playhoufe ; a remarkable proof,
among numberlefs others which the hiflory
of his life affords, of that fcrupulous cir*
cumfpccYion in his private conduct, which,
while it added lb much to his ufefulnefs as
a Clergyman, was eflential to his influence
as the leader of a party ; and which fo often
enabled him to recommend fucceisfully to
others, the fame candid and indulgent lpirit
that was congenial to his own mind.
The flattering notice thefe exertions drew
to him from the public, and the riling in-
fluence he had already fecurcd among his
own order would have prefented to a tem-
per lefs a&ive and perfevering than his,
many
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 19
many feducYions to interrupt his ftudies. A
confiderable portion of his time appears, in
fact, to have been devoted, during this
period of his life, to the fociety of his
friends ; but, as far as his fituation enabled
him to command it, it was to a fociety
which amply compenfated for its encroach-
ment on his ftudious leifure, by what it
added to the culture and enlargement of his
mind. The improvement which, in thefe
refpe&s, he derived from the converfation of
Patrick Lord Elibank, he often recolle&ed
in his more advanced years with peculiar '
pleafure; and it affords no inconfiderable
proof of the penetration of that lively and
accompliihed Nobleman, that long before
the voice of the public could have given
any direction to his attachments, he had
ielected as the companions of his focial
hours, the Hiftorian of Queen Mary, and
the Author of the Tragedy of Douglas.
No feductions, however, could divert
Dr. Robertfon from the earlieft object of
his ambition; and in the midft of all his
avocations, his ftudies had been advancing
with a gradual progrefs. In the fpring of
c 2 the
20 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
the year which followed the debates about
Mr. Home's Tragedy, he went to London
to concert meafures for the publication of
his Hiftory of Scotland : — a work of which
the plan is faid to have been formed foon
after his fettlement at Gladfmuir. It was .
publimed on the firft of February 1759,
and was received by the world with
fuch unbounded applaufe, that before
the end of that month, he was defired
by his bookfeller to prepare for a fecond
edition.
From this moment the complexion of his
fortune was changed. After a long ftruggle,
in an obfcure though a happy and hofpitable
retreat, with a narrow income and an in-
creafing family, his profpedts brightened at
once. He faw independence and affluence
within his reach ; and flattered himfelf with
the idea of giving a ftill bolder flight to his
genius, when no longer depreffed by thofe
tender anxieties which fo often fall to the
lot of men, whole purfuits and habits,
while they heighten the endearments of
domeftic life, withdraw them from the
paths of intereft and ambition.
In
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 21
In venturing on a ftep, the fuccefs of
which was to be fo decifive, not only with
refpect to his fame, 1 but to his future com-
fort, it is not furprifing that he Ihould have
felt, in a more than common degree, " that
" anxiety and diffidence fo natural to an
" author in delivering to the world his firft
" performance." — " The time,"(heobferves
in his preface,) " which I have employed
" in attempting to render it worthy of the
M public approbation, it is perhaps prudent
" to conceal, till it fhall be known whether
" that approbation is ever to be bellowed."
Among the many congratulatory letters
addreiTed to him on this occafion, a few have
been accidentally preferved ; and, although
the contents of fome of them may not now
appear very important, they ftill derive a
certain degree of intereft from the names
and characters of the writers, and from the
fympathetic mare which a good-natured
reader cannot fail to take in Dr. Robertfon's
feelings, when he perceived the flrit dawn-
ing of his future fame.
In the extracts, however, which I mean
at prefent to produce from thefe letters, my
c 3 principal
22 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
principal object is to fhew, how very
ftrong an impreflion was made on the public
mind by this work at the time of its firft
appearance. It was then regarded as an
attempt towards a fpecies of compofition
that had been cultivated with very little
fuccefs in this ifland ; and accordingly it
entitles the Author, not merely to the praife
which would now be due to an Hiftorian
of equal eminence, but to a high rank
among thofe original and leading minds
that form and guide the tafte of a nation.
In this view, a juft eftimate of its peculiar
merits is more likely to be collected from
the teftimony of fuch as could compare it
only with the productions of former writers,
than from the opinions of critics familiarifed
in early life to all that has fince been done
to imitate or to rival its beauties.
A letter from Mr. Horace Walpole, to
whom lome fpecimens of the work had been
communicated during the Author's vifit to
London, is the-earlieft teitimony of this
kind which I have found among his papers.
It is dated January 18, 1759.
" I ex-
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 2$
" I expert with impatience your book,
" which you are fo kind as to fay you have
" ordered for me, and for which I already
" give you many thanks: the fpecimen I
" law convinces me that I do not thank
" you ra fhly. Good Hiftorians are the moft
" fcarce of all writers; and no wonder! a
" good ilyle is not very common; thorough
" information is ftill more rare : — and if
" thefe meet, what a chance that imparti-
" ality iliould be added to them ! Your ftyle,
" Sir, I may venture to iay, I faw was un-
" commonly good ; I have reafon to think
" your information fo: and in the few times
" I had the pleafure of converfing with you,
" your good ienfe and candour made me
" conclude, that even on afubjecl which we
" are foolifh enough to make party y you
." preferve your judgment unbiaffed. I fear
u I fhali not preferve mine fo ; the too
" kind acknowledgments that I frequently
" receive from Gentlemen of your country,
" of the ju(t praife that Ipaid to merit, will
" make me at leaft for the future not very
" unprejudiced. If the opinion of fo trifling
" a writer as I am was of any confequence,
c 4 "it
1\ ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" it would then be worth Scotland's while
" to let the world know, that when my book
" was written, I had no reafon to be partial
** to it :- — but, Sir, your country will truft
" to the merit of its natives, not to foreign
" teftimonials, for its reputation."
This letter was followed immediately by
another from Dr. Robertfon's Bookfeller,
Mr. Millar. It is dated 27th January 1759,
a few days before the publication of the
book, and conveys very flattering expref-
fions of approbation from Dr. Warburton
and Mr. Garrick, to both of whom copies
had been privately fent at the Author's
requeft : — expreflions, which, though they
cannot now add much to a reputation fo
folidly eftablifhed, were gratifying at the
time, and do honour to the candour and
difccrnment of the writers.
" 1 have received," (fays Dr. Warburton,
in a note addreffed to Mr. Millar,) " and
" read with great plealure, the new Hiftory
" of Scotland, and will not wait for the
" judgment of the public, to pronounce it a
" very excellent work. From the Author's
" apparent love of civil and religious liberty,
" I fin*
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 25
" I fuppofe, that were it not for fear of
*' offence, (which every wife man in his
*' iltuation would fear to give), he would
*' have fpoken with much more freedom of
u the Hierarchical principles of the infant
'* Church of Scotland,"
Mr. Garrick, befide writing to Millar,
addreffed himfelf directly to the Author,
" Upon my word, I was never more en~
M tertained in all my life ; and though I
" read it aloud to a friend and Mrs. Gar-
" rick, I fmiflied the three firft books at
" two fittings. I could not help writing
*' to Millar, and congratulating him upon
*' this great acquifition to his literary
fC treafures. — I will affure you that there
" is no love lojl (as the faying is) between
** you and Mrs. Garrick. She is refolvcd
f * to fee Scotland as foon as my affairs will
" permit : nor do I find her inclination in
" the leaft abated, though I read your
" Second Book (in which her religion is fo
*' exquifitely handled) with all the male-
" volent exertion I was mailer of — but it
* f would not do; fhe thinks you right even
H in that, and ftill refolves to fee Scotland.
" In
26 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" In fhort, if fhe can give up the Pope
a and his trumpery fo readily to you, what
" muft her poor hufband think ? I fhall
" keep in England, I aflure you ; for you
" have convinced me how difficult it is to
" contend with the Scots in their own
" country."
Thefe agreeable anticipations of the
public voice were, in a few weeks, fully
confirmed by a letter from Mr. Strahan, late
printer to his Majefty, and a partner of
Mr. Millar's in the property of the book.
It is the oldeft letter of Mr. Strahan's that
I have obferved among Dr. Robertfon's
papers. Many were afterwards written,
in the courfe of a correfpondence which
continued twenty years, and which Dr.
Robertfon always mentioned with much
pleafure, and with the (Ironged teftimonies
to the worth, the liberality, and the dif-
cernment of his friend. — The concluding
fentences exprefsflrongly the opinion which
this very competent judge had prcvioufly
i'ormed of the probable reception of a
Hiftory of Scotland.
" I
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 27
" I moil fincerely wifh you joy of
'* your fuccefs, and have not the leaft doubt
" but it will have all the good effects upon
" your future fortune which you could
" poflihly hope for or expect. — Much de-
" pended on the firft performance : that
" trial is now happily over, and henceforth
" you will fail with a favourable gale. In
" truth, to acquire fuch a flood of appro-
" bation from writing on a fubjeel: in itfelf
" fo unpopular in this country, is neither a
" cotnmonn or a contemptible conqueft *."
By the kindnefs of Mr. S'trahan's fon f I
am enabled to quote the following paffage
from Dr. Robertfon's anfwer to the fore-
going letter :
" When we took leave, on finishing the
" printing of my book, I had no cxpedta-
" tion that it was fo foon to come through
" your hands a fecond time. The rapidity
" of its fuccefs has not furprifed any man
" more than the Author of it. I do not
" affect to think worfe of it than is natural
* Sec Appendix, (B.)
■\ Andrew Stralian Efq. M. P.
for
2$ ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
M for him who made it ; and I never was
H much afraid of the fubjeft, which is
" interefting to the Englifh as well as
<c Scots ; but a much more moderate fuccefs
u was all I looked for. However, fince
" it has fo far outgone my hopes, I enjoy
f< it. I have flattered nobody in order to
" obtain it, and I have not fpared to fpeak
" truth of all factions and fe&s."
It would be tedious and ufelefs to tran-
fcribe the complimentary pafiages which
occur in various other letters from the
Author's friends. Lord Royfton, the late
Sir Gilbert Elliot, Dr. Birch, Dr. Douglas,
(now Bifhop of Salisbury,) and Dr. John
Blair, (late Prebendary of Weftminfter,)
were among the firft to perceive and to
predict the extent of that reputation he
was about to eftablifh. A few paffages
from the letters addreffed to him by Mr.
Walpole and Mr. David Hume, as they
enter more into detail concerning his merits
as a writer, may, I think, be introduced
into this memoir without impropriety.
" Having finifhed" (fays Mr. Walpole)
" the firft volume, and made a little pro-
" grefs
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 29
" grefs in the fecond, 1 cannot flay till I
" have finifhed the latter to tell you how
tt exceedingly I admire the work. Your
V modefty will make you perhaps fuppofe
" thefe are words of compliment and of
" courfe ; but as I can give you very good
" reafons for my approbation, you may
u believe that I no more natter your per-
" formance, than I have read it fuper-
" ficially, haftily, or carelefsly.
" The ftyle is moft pure, proper, and
" equal ; is very natural and eafy, except
" now and then where, as I may juftly call
" it, you are forced to tranflate from bad
-** writers. You will agree with me, Sir,
" that an hiftorian who writes from other
" authorities cannot poflibly always have
*' as flowing a ftyle as an author whofe
" narrative is dictated from his own know-
" ledge. Your perfpicuity is moft beau-
" tiful, your relation always interefting,
" never languid ; and you have very ex-
" traordinarily united two merits very
" difficult to be reconciled ; I mean, that,
" though you have formed your hiftory
" into pieces of information, each of which
1 " would
30 ACCOUNT OF THE LIEE AND
u would make a feparate memoir, yet the
" whole is hurried on into one uninter-
" rupted ftory. I allure you I value myfelf
"'on the firft diftincYion, efpecially as Mr.
" Charles Townfhend made the fame re-
mark. You have preferved the gravity
of Hiftory without any formality, and
you have at the fame time avoided what I
" am now running into, antithefis and
" conceit. In fhort, Sir, I don't know
" where or- what hiftory is written with
" more excellencies : — and when I fay this,
" you may be fure, I do not forget your
" impartiality. — But, Sir, I will not wound
" your bafhfulnefs with more encomiums ;
" yet the public will force you to hear
" them. I never knew juftice fo rapidly
" paid to a work of fo deep and ferious a
*' kind j for deep it is, and it muft be great
" fenfe that could penetrate fo far into
" human nature, confidering how little
" you have been con veil ant with the
" world."
The long and uninterrupted friendfhip
which fubfifted between Dr. Robertfon and
Mr. Hume is well known : anj it is cer-
tainly
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 31
tainly a circumftance highly honourable to
both, when we confider the wide diverfity
of their fentiments on the mod important
fubjects, and the tendency which the
coincidence of their hiftorical labours would
naturally have had to excite rival (hip and
jealoufy in lefs liberal minds. The paffages
I am now to quote from Mr. Hume's
letters place in a moft amiable light the
characters both of the writer and of his
correfpondent.
" You have very good caule to be fatif-
" fied with the fuccefs of your hiftory, as
* f far as it can be judged of from a few
w weeks' publication. I have not heard of
" one who does not praife it warmly; and
" were I to enumerate all thofe whole
" fufirages I have either heard in its favour,
" or been told of, I fliould fill my letter
" with a lift of names. Mallet told me
" that he was fure there was no Englifh-
" man capable of compofing fuch a work.
" The town will have it that you was
" educated at Oxford, thinking it impof-
" fible for a mere untravelled Scotchman to
" produce fuch language. In fhcrt, you
" may
^2 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
44 may depend on the fuccefs of your work,
" and that your name is known very much
" to your advantage.
44 I am diverting myfelf with the notion
44 how much you will profit by the applaufe
44 of my enemies in Scotland. Had you and
u I been fuch fools as to have given way to
" jealoufy, to have entertained animofity
44 and malignity againft each other, and
44 to have rent all our acquaintance into
44 parties, what a noble amufement we
44 fhould have exhibited to the blockheads,
44 which now they are likely to be difap-
44 pointed of. All the people whofe friend-
44 {hip or judgment either of us value, are
44 friends to both, and will be pleafed with
44 the fuccefs of both, as we will be with
44 that of each other. I declare to vou
j
44 I have not of a long time had a more
44 fenfible pleafure than the good reception
44 of your Hiftory has given me within this
44 fortnight."
I cannot deny myfelf the fatisfacYion of
tranfcribing a few paragraphs from another
letter of Mr. Hume's, dated the 20th of the
fame month. 44 I am afraid that my letters
44 will
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 33
" will be tedious and difagreeable to you by
" their uniformity. Nothing but continued
" and unvaried accounts of the fame thing
" rauft in the end prove difgufting. Yet
" fince you will hear me fpeak on this fub-
" jecl, I cannot help it, and muft fatigue
" your ears as much as ours are in this place
" by endlefs, and repeated, and noify praifes
" of the Hiftory of Scotland. Dr. Dou-
" glas told me yefterday that he had feen
" the Bifhop of Norwich, who had juft
" bought the book from the high com-
" mendations he heard of it from Mr.
" Legge. Mallet told me that Lord Manf-
" field is at a lofs whether he mall moft
" efteem the .matter or the ftyle. Elliot
" told me, that being in company with
" George Grenville, that Gentleman was
" fpeaking loud in the fame key. Our
" friend pretended ignorance ; faid he knew
a the Author, and if he thought the book
" good for any thing, would fend for it and
44 read it. Send for it by all means, (faid
" Mr. Grenville,) you have not read a better
" book of a long time. But, faid Elliot, I
D " fuppofe,
34 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" fuppofe, although the matter may be
" tolerable, as the Author was never on
" this fide of the Tweed till he wrote it, it
" muft be very barbarous in the expref-
" fion. By no means, cried Mr. Gren-
" ville ; had the Author lived all his life in
" London, and in the beft company, he
" could not have expreffed himfelf with
" greater elegance and purity. Lord Lyt-
" telton feems to think that fmce the time
" of St. Paul there fcarce has been a better
" writer than Dr. Robertfon. Mr. Wal-
" pole triumphs in the fuccefs of his fa-
" vourites the Scotch, &c. &c. &c.
" The great fuccefs of your book, befide
" its real merit, is forwarded by its pru-
" dence, and by the deference paid to
u eftablifhed opinions. It gains alfo by its
" being your firft performance, and by its
" furprifmg the public, who are not upon
" their guard againft it. By reafon of thefe
" two circumflances juflice is more readily
" done to its merit, which, however, is
" really fo great, that I believe there is
" fcarce
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 35
" fcarce another inftance of a firft perform-
" ance being fo near perfection *."
Of this work, fo flattering to the Author
by its firft fuccefs, no fewer than fourteen
editions were publifhed before his death,
and he had the fatisfaction to fee its popu-
larity increafe to the laft, notwithftanding
the repeated affaults it had to encounter
from various writers, diftinguifhed by their
controverfial acutenefs, and feconded by all
the prepofTemons which are likely to influ-
ence the opinions of the majority of read-
ers. The character of Mary has been deli-
neated anew, and the tale of her misfortunes
has again been told, with no common powers
of expreilion and pathos, by an Hiftorian
more indulgent to her errors, and more
undiftinguifhing in his praifc : but, after
all, it is in the Hiftory of Dr. Robertfon that
every one ftill reads the tranfacTions of her
reign ; and fuch is his fkilful contrail of
light and fhade, aided by the irrefiftihle
charm of his narration, that the (lory of the
beautiful and unfortunate Queen, as related
* Appendix, Note C.
d 2 by
$6 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
by him, excites on the whole a deeper
intereft in her fortunes, and a more lively
fympathy with her fate, than have been
produced by all the attempts to canonize
her memory, whether infpired by the fym-
pathetic zeal of the Romifh church, or the
enthufiafm of Scottifh chivalry.
In perufing the letters addrefTed to Dr.
Robertfon on the publication of this book,
it is fomewhat remarkable that I have not
found one in which he is charged with the
flighteft unfairnefs towards the Queen ; and
that, on the contrary, almoft all his cor-
refpondents accufe him of an undue pre-
pofTeflion in her favour. " I am afraid,"
(fays Mr. Hume,) " that you, as well as
" myfelf, have drawn Mary's character
" with too great foftenings. She was un-
" doubtedly a violent woman at all times.
" You will fee in Munden proofs of the
" utmoft rancour againft her innocent,
" good-natured, dutiful fon. She certainly
" difinherited him. What think you of a
" confpiracy for kidnapping him, and de-
" livering him a prifoner to the King of
" Spain, never to recover his liberty till he
8 " fhould
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 37
" mould turn Catholic ? Tell Goodall,
" that if he can but give me up Queen
" Mary, I hope to fatisfy him in every
" thing elfe ; and he will have the pleafure
" of feeing John Knox and the Reformers
" made very ridiculous."
" It is plain," (fays Mr. Walpole,) " that
" you wilh to excufe Mary ; and yet it is
" fo plain that you never violate truth in
" her favour, that I own I think ftill worfe
" of her than I did, fince I read your
" Hiftory ."
Dr. Birch expreffes himfelf much to the
fame purpofe. " If the fecond volume of
" the State Papers of Lord Burleigh,
" publifhed fince Chriftmas here, had ap-
" peared before your Hiftory had been
" finifhed, it would have furnifhed you
" with reafons for entertaining a lefs fa-
" vourable opinion of Mary Queen of Scots
" in one or two points, than you feem at
" prefent poflefTed of."
Dr. John Blair too, in a letter dated from
London, obferves to Dr. Robertfon, that
" the only general objection to his work
" was founded on his tendernefs for Queen
D 3 " Mary."
447334
38 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" Mary." « Lord Chefterfield," (fays he,)
** though he approves much of your Hif-
" tory, told me, that he finds this to be
" a bias which no Scotchman can get the
" better of."
I would not be underftood, by quoting
thefe paflages, to give any opinion upon
the fubject to which they refer. It is a
fubjecl: which I have never examined with
attention, and which, I muft confefs, never
excited my curiofity. Whatever judgment
we form concerning the points in difpute,
it leads to no general conclufion concerning
human affairs, nor throws any new light
on human character. Like any othei
hiftorical queftion, in which the evidence
has been induflrioufly darkened by the arts
of contending parties, the proofs of Mary's
innocence or guilt may furnifh an amufing
and harmlefs employment to the leifure
of the antiquary ; but, at this diftance of
time, it is difficult to conceive how preju-
dice or paflion mould enter into the dif-
cuflion, or fliould magnify it into an object
of important and ferious refearch. With
refpect to Dr. Robertfon's narrative, in
parti-;
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 39
particular, it is fufficiently manifeft, that
whatever inaccuracies may be detected in
it by the labours of fucceeding inquirers,
they can never furnifh to the partizans of
Mary, any ground for impeaching his
candour and good-faith as a Writer. All
his prepofTeflions (if he had any on this
fiibject) muft have been in favour of the
Queen ; for, it was chiefly from the power-
ful intereft excited by her ftory, that he
could hope for popularity with the multi-
tude ; and, it was only by the romantic
pictures which her name prefents to the
fancy, that he could accommodate to the
refinement of modern tafte, the annals of
a period, where perfidy, cruelty, and
bigotry, appear in all their horrors ; un-
embellifhed by thofe attractions which, in
other Rates 6f fociety, they have fo often
a(Tumed, and which, how much foever
they may afflict the moralift, yet facilitate
and adorn the labours of the Hiftorian.
Among the various circumftances that
diftinguifh Dr. Robertfon's genius and tafte
in the execution of this work, the addrefs
with which he interweaves the perfonal
D 4 hi ftory
40 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
hiftory of the Queen with the general
events he records, is not the leaft remark-
able. Indeed, without the aid of fo in-
teresting a character, the affairs of Scotland,
during the period he treats of, could not
have derived, even from his hand, a fuffi-
cient importance and dignity to engage the
curiofity of the prefent age.
Another difficulty ariling alfo from his
fubject, he appears to me to have fur-
mounted with exquifite (kill. In relating
the tranfa&ions of a foreign country, how-
ever remote the period, and however an-
tiquated the manners, it is eafy for an
Hiftorian to avoid in his narrative, whatever
might leflen the dignity of the adlors, or
lower the tone of his compofition. The
employment of expreffions debafed by
common and trivial ufe is fuperfeded by
the neceffity he is under to tranflate from
one language into another; and the mofl
infignificant of his details derive a charm
from the novelty of the fcenery. The
writer too, who, in this ifland, employs
his genius on the ancient hiftory of Eng-
land, addrefles himfelf to readers already
enamoured
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 41
enamoured of the fubject, and who Hften
with fond prepofTeflions to the recital of
facts confecrated in their imaginations by
the tale of the nurfery. Even a defcription
of old Englifli manners, expreffed in the
obfolete dialect of former centuries, pleafes
by its fimplicity and truth ; and while it
prefents to us thofe retrofpccts of the pad
on which the mind loves to dwell, has no
tendency to awaken any mean or ludicrous
images. But the influence of Scottifh aflb-
ciations, fo far as it is favourable to anti-
quity, is confined to Scotchmen alone, and
furnifhes no refources to the writer who
afpires to a place among the Englifh claflics.
Nay, fuch is the effect of that provincial
fituation to which Scotland is now reduced,
that the tranfactions of former ages are apt
to convey to ourfelves exaggerated con-
ceptions of barbarifm, from the uncouth
and degraded dialect in which they are
recorded. To adapt the hiftory of fuch a
country to the prefent ftandard of Britifh
tafte, it was neceflary for the Author, not
only to excite an intereft for names which,
to the majority of his readers, were for-
merly
42 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
merly indifferent or unknown, buf, what
was ftill more difficult, to unite in his por-
traits the truth of nature with the foften-
ings of art, and to reject whatever was
unmeaning or offenfive in the drapery,
without effacing the characteristic garb of
the times. In this talk of " conquering"
(as Livy expreffes it) *' the rudenefs of
" antiquity by the art of writing," they
alone are able to judge how far Dr. Robert-
fon has fucceeded, who have compared
his work with the materials out of which it
was formed.
Nor are thefe facrifices to modern tafte
inconfiftent with the fidelity of a hiftory
which records the tranfactions of former
ages. On the contrary, they aid the judg-
ment of the reader in forming a philofo-
phical eftimate of the condition and cha-
racter of our anceftors, by counteracting
that flrong bias of the mind which con-
founds human nature and human life with
the adventitious and ever-changing attire
which they borrow from faihion. When
wc read the compofitions of Buchanan in
his native tongue ; — abounding in idioms
which
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 43
which are now appropriated to the moft
illiterate clafles of the people, and accompa-
nied with an orthography which fuggefts the
coarfeft forms of Scottifh pronunciation ; —
how difficult do we find it to perfuade our-
felves, that we are converting with a writer,
wfrofe Latin productions vie with the beft
models of antiquity ! No fact can illuftrate
more ftrongly the neceffity of correcting our
common impreffions concerning the antient
ftate of Scotland, by tranflating, not only
the antiquated ftyle of our forefathers into
a more modern phrafeology, but by tranf-
lating (if I may ufe the expreflion) their
antiquated fafhions into the correfponding
fafhions of our own times.
The peculiar circumftances of Scotland
fmce the union of the crowns, are ex-
tremely apt to warp our ideas with- refpect
to its previous Hiftory. The happy but
flow effects produced by the union of the
kingdoms do not extend beyond the me-
mory of fome of our contemporaries ; and
the traditions we have received con-
cerning the condition of our immediate
predecerTors are apt to imprefs us with a
belief
44 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
belief that, at a ftill earlier period, the
gloom was proportionally more deep and
univerfal. It requires an effort of reflection
to conceive the effects which muft have
refulted from the refidence of a court j
and it is not, perhaps, eafy for us to avoid
under-rating the importance of that court
while it exiiled. During the long and
intimate intercourfe with England, which
preceded the difputed fucccflion between
Bruce and Baliol, it was certainly not with-
out its fhare of that " barbaric pomp"
which was then affe&ed by the Englifh
Sovereigns ; nor, under our later kings,
conne&ed as it was with the court of
France, could it be altogether untinctured
with thofe envied manners and habits, of
which that country has been always re-
garded as the parent foil, and which do not
fcem to be the native growth of either
part of our ifland. Thefe circumftances,
accordingly, (aided, perhaps, in no incon-
fiderable degree, by the field of ambition
prefented by an opulent Hierarchy,) ap-
pear to have operated powerfully on the
national fpirit and genius. The ftudies
which
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 45
which were then valued in other parts of
Europe, were cultivated by many of our
countrymen with diftinguifhed fuccefs. Nor
was their own vernacular tongue neglected
by thofe, whofe rank or fituatio.n deflined
them for public affairs. At the xra, more
particularly, when Dr. Robertibn's Hiftory
clofes, it was fo rapidly affuming a more
regular form, that, excepting by a different
fyftem of orthography, and a few incon-
fiderable peculiarities of dialect, the epifto-
lary ftyle of fome of our Scottifh ftatefmen
is hardly diftinguifhable from that of Queen
Elizabeth's Minifters.
This sera was followed by a long and
melancholy period, equally fatal to morals
and to refinement ; and which had fcarcely
arrived at its complete termination when
Dr. Robertfon appeared as an Author;
afpiring at once to adorn the monuments
of former times, when Scotland was yet a
kingdom, and to animate his countrymen
by his example, in reviving its literary
honours.
Before quitting this fir ft work of Dr.
Robertfon, I muft not omit to mention
(what
46 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
(what forms the ftrongeft teftimony of its
excellence) the fevere trial it had to un-
dergo in the public judgment, by appear-
ing nearly at the fame time with that
volume of Mr. Hume's hiftory, which
involves an account of Scottifh affairs
during the reigns of Q^ Mary and K.
James. — It is not my intention to attempt
a parallel of thefe two eminent writers :
nor, indeed, would the fmcerity of their
mutual attachment, and the lively recol-
lection of it which ftill remains with many
of their common friends, juftify me in
Hating their rcfpe&ive merits in the way
of oppofition. Their peculiar excellencies,
befides, were of a kind fo different, that
they might be juftly faid (in the language
which a Roman Critic employs in fpeaking
of Livy and Salluft) to be pares magls
quam funilcs. They divide between them
the honour of having fupplied an important
blank in EngliCh literature, by enabling
their countrymen to difpute the palm of
hiftorical writing with the other nations of
Europe. Many have fince followed their
example, in attempting to bellow intereft
and
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 47
and ornament on different portions of
Britifh ftory ; but the public voice fuffi-
ciently acquits me of any partiality when I
fay, that hitherto they have only been
followed at a diftance. In this refpect, I
may with confidence apply to them the
panegyric which Quincliiian pronounces
on the two great Hiftorians of Ancient
Greece ; — and, perhaps, if I were inclined
to characterife the beauties molt prominent
in each, I might, without much impro-
priety, avail myfelf of the contrail with
which that panegyric concludes.
" Hiftoriam multi fcripfere, fed nemo
" dubitat, duos longe caeteris prseferendos,
" quorum diverfa virtus laudem pene eft
" parem confecuta. Denfus et brevis et
" femper inftans fibi Thucydides. Dulcis
" et candidus et funis Herodotus. Ille
c * concitatis, hie remiilis affeclibus melior.
" Ille vi, hie voluptate."
48 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
SECTION II.
.
Progrefs of Dr. Robertfons Literary Plans
and Undertakings. — Hijlory of the Reign
of the Emperor Charles V,
Uuring the time that the Hiftory of
Scotland was in the prefs, Dr. Robertfon
removed with his family from Gladfmuir
to Edinburgh, in confequence of a prefent-
ation which he had received to one of the
chirrches of that city. His preferments
now multiplied rapidly. In 1759, he was
appointed Chaplain of Stirling Caflle ; in
1 76 1, one of his Majefty's Chaplains io
ordinary, for Scotland j and in 1762, he
was chofen Principal of this Univerfity.
Two years afterwards, the office of King's
Hiftoriographer for Scotland (with a falary
of two hundred pounds a-year) was revived
in his favour.
The
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 49
The revenue arifing from thefe different
appointments, though far exceeding what
had ever been enjoyed before by any Pref-
byterian Clergyman in Scotland, did not
fatisfy the zeal of fome of Dr. Robertfon's
admirers, who, mortified at the narrow
field which this part of the ifland afforded
to his ambition, wifhed to open to it the
career of the Englifh Church. References
to fuch a project, occur in letters addreffed
to him about this time by Sir Gilbert Elliot,
Mr. Hume, and Dr. John Blair. What
anfwer he returned to them, I have not
been able to learn ; but, as the fubject is
mentioned once only by each of thefe
Gentlemen, it is probable that his difap-
probation was expreffed in thofe decided
terms which became the confiftency and
dignity of his character.
Dr. Robertfon's own ambition was, in
the mean time, directed to a different object.
Soon after the publication of his Scottiih
Hiftory, we find him confulting his friends
about the choice of another hiflorical fub-
ject ; — anxious to add new laurels to thofe
E he
50 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
he had already acquired. Dr. John Blair
urged him ftrongly on this occafion to
■write a complete Hiftory of England ; and
mentioned to him, as an inducement, a
converfation between Lord Chefterfield and
Colonel Irwin, in which the former faid,
that he would not fcruple, if Dr. Robertfon
would undertake fuch a work, to move, in
the Houfe of Peers, that he fhould have
public encouragement to enable him to
carry it into execution. But this propofal
he was prevented from liftening to, by his
unwillingnefs to interfere with Mr. Hume ;
although it coincided with a favourite plan
which he himfelf had formed at a very early
period of his life. The two fubjects which
appear to have chiefly divided his choice
were, the Hiftory of Greece, and that of
the Emperor Charles the Fifth. Between
theie he hefitated long, balancing their
comparative advantages and difadvantages,
and availing himfelf of all the lights that
his correfpondents could impart to him.
Mr. Walpole and Mr. Hume took a more
peculiar intercft in his deliberations, and
diicuffcd the fubjecT: with him at length in
various
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 51
Various letters. I mall extract a few paf-
fages from thefe. The opinions of fuch
Writers upon fuch a queftion cannot fail
to be generally interefting ; and fome of
the hints they fuggeft may perhaps be ufe-
ful to thofe who, confcious of their own
powers, are difpofed to regret that the field
of hiftorical compofition is exhaufted.
The following pafTages are copied from
a letter of Mr. Walpole, dated 4th March
1759-
" If I can throw in any additional
" temptation to your difpofition for writ-
" ing, it is worth my while, even at the
" hazard of my judgment and my know-
" ledge, both of which however are fmall
" enough to make me tender of them.
" Before I read your Hiftory, I mould
" probably have been glad to dictate to
< c you, and (I will venture to fay it — it
" fatirizes nobody but myfelf ) mould have
" thought I did honour to an obfcure
" Scotch Clergyman, by directing his
* c ftudies with my fuperior lights and
" abilities. How you have faved me,
" Sir, from making a ridiculous figure,
E 2 "by
52 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" by making fo great an one yourfelf !
" But could I fufpefr, that a man I believe
" much younger, and whofe dialed): I
" fcarce underftood, and who came to mc
" with all the diffidence and modefty of a
" very middling author, and who I was
" told had palled his life in a fmall living
" near Edinburgh ; could I fufpect that he
" had not only written what all the world
<l now allows the beft modern hiftory, but
tC that he had written it in the pureft Eng-
" lim, and with as much feeming know-
" ledge of men and courts as if he had
" patted all his life in important embaflies ?
" In fhort, Sir, I have not power to make
" you, what you ought to be, a Minifter
" of State — but I will do all I can, I will
41 ftimulate you to continue writing, and
" I fhall do it without prefumption.
" I mould like either of the fubje&s you
" mention, and I can figure one or two
" others that would fhine in your hands.
" In one light the hiftory of Greece feems
" preferable. You know all the materials
" for it that can poffibly be had. It is
" concluded ; it is clear of all objections;
"for
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. $$
" for perhaps nobody but I fhould run
" wildly into paffionate fondnefs for li-
" berty, if I was writing about Greece.
" It even might, I think, be made agree-
" ably new, and that by comparing the
" extreme difference of their manners and
" ours, particularly in the article of
" finances, a fyftem almoft new in the
" world.
" With regard to the Hiftory of
" Charles V., it is a magnificent fubjecl,
" and worthy of you. It is more : it is
" fit for you ; for you have (hewn that
u you can write on ticklifh fubjedts with
" the utmoft difcretion, and on fubjedts
u of religious party with temper and
" impartiality. Befides, by what little I
" have fkimmed of Hiftory mylelf, I
" have (een how many miftakes, how
" many prejudices, may eafily be detedl-
" ed : and though much has been written
" on that age, probably truth ftill remains
" to be written of it. Yet I have an
" objection to this fubjecT:. Though
" Charles V. was in a manner the Em-
e 3 " peror
54 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" peror of Europe, yet he was a German
" or a Spaniard. Confider, Sir, by what
" you muft have found in writing the
" Hiftory of Scotland, how difficult it
" would be for the moft penetrating genius
<c of another country to give an adequate
" idea of Scottifli ftory. So much of all
" tranfactions muft take their rife from,
" and depend on, national laws, cuftoms,
" and ideas, that I am perfuaded a native
il would always difcover great miflakes in
" a foreign writer. Greece, indeed, is a
" foreign country ; but no Greek is alive
" to difprove one.
** There are two other fubjects which I
" have fometimes had a mind to treat my*
* felf ; though my naming one of them
" will tell you why I did not. It was the
" Hi/lory of Learning, Perhaps, indeed,
" it is a work which could not be exe-t
" cuted unlefs intended by a young man
" from his lirft looking on a book with
" reflection. The other is, the Hiftory of
" what I may in one light call the moft
" remarkable period of the world, by
fl containing a fuccefTion of five good
j 5 " Princes :
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 55
" Princes : I need not fay, they were
" Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, and the two
" Antonines. Not to mention, that no
u part almoft of the Roman Hiftory has
" been well written from the death of
" Domitian, this period would be the
" faireft pattern for ufe, if Hiftory can
" ever effect what fhe fo much pretends
" to, doing good. I fhould be tempted
** to call it the Hiftory of Humanity ; for
*' though Trajan and Adrian had private
" vices that difgraced them as men, as
41 Princes they approached to perfection.
*' Marcus Aurelius arrived ftill nearer,
a perhaps with a little orientation ; yet
" vanity is an amiable machine, if it ope-
" rates to benevolence. Antoninus Pius
" feems to have been as good as human
" nature royalized can be. Adrian's per-
** fecution of the Chriftians would be ob-
<c jecT:ed, but then it is much controverted.
" I am no admirer of elective monarchies ;
* s and yet it is remarkable, that when
** Aurelius's diadem defcended to his natu-
xi ral heir, not to the heir of his virtues, the
" line of beneficence was extinguifhed ; for
e 4 "I am
56 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
"I am forry to fay, that hereditary and
" bad are alrhoft fynonymous. — But I am
" fenfible, Sir, that I am a bad advifer for
" you ; the chaftity, the purity, the good
" fenfe and regularity of your manner, that
" unity you mention, and of which you
" are the greatefl; mafter, mould not be led
" aftray by the licentious franknefs, and,
" I hope, honefl indignation of my way
" of thinking. I may be a fitter compa-
" nion than a guide ; and it is with moft
" fincere zeal, that I offer myfelf to con-
" tribute any affiftance in my power to-
" wards polifhing your future work, what-
" ever it (hall be. You want little help ;
" I can give little; and indeed I, who am
" taxed with incorre&nefTes, mould not
•' afllime airs of a corrector. My Cata-
"Jogue I intended fhould have been exacl
" enough in ftyle : it has not been thought
" fo by fome : I tell you, that you may not
" trult me too much. Mr. Gray, a very
" perfect judge, has fometimes cenfured
" mc for parliamentary phrafes, familiar to
" mc, as your Scotch law is to you. I
" might plead for my inaccuracies, that
" the
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 57
■* the greateft part of my book was written
*' with people talking in the room ; but
" that is no excufe to myfelf, who in-
" tended it for correcl. However, it is
" eafier to remark inaccuracies in the work
" of another than in one's own; and, fince
" you command me, I will go again over
" your fecond volume, with an eye to the
" flips, a light in which I certainly did not
" intend my fecond examination of it."
In tranfcribing fome of thefe paragraphs,
as well as in the other extracts I have
borrowed from Mr. Walpole's letters, I
muft acknowledge, that I have been lefs
influenced by my own private judgment,-
than by my deference for the partiality
which the public has long entertained for
this popular and fafhionable Writer. Of
the literary talents of an author on whom
fo much flattery has been lavifhed, it does
not become me to fpeak difrefpeclfully ;
nor would I be underftood to detract from
his merits in his own peculiar and very
limited walk of hiftorieal difquifition : but
I fhould be wanting to myfelf, if I were
not to avow, that in the foregoing quota-
tion,
58 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
tion, my object was rather to gratify the
curiofity of others, than to record a tefti-
mony which I confider as of any import-
ance to Dr. Robertfon's fame. The value
of praife, befides, whatever be the abilities
of him who bellows it, depends on the
opinion we entertain of his candour and
fincerity; qualities which it will be dif-
ficult to allow to Mr. Walpole, after com-
paring the various paffages quoted in this
memoir, with the fentiments he exprefTes
on the fame fubject in his pofthumous
publication.
For the length of the following extract
from a letter of Mr. Hume's, no fuch apo-
logy is neceflary. The matter is valuable
in itfelf ; — and the objections ftated to the
age of Charles V. as a fubject for hiftory,
form the higheft poflible panegyrick on
the abilities of the Writer, by whom the
difficulties which appeared fo formidable
to Mr. Hume, were fo fuccefsfully fur-
mounted.
" I have frequently thought, and talked
" with our common friends upon the
" fubject of your letter. There always
" occurred
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 59
u occurred to us feveral difficulties with
" regard to every fubjedt we could pro-
" pofe. The Ancient Greek Hiftory has
" feveral recommendations, particularly the
" good authors from which it muft be
" drawn : but this fame circumftance be-
" comes an objection, when more narrowly
" confidered : for what can you do in
" mod places with thefe authors but tran-
" fcribe and tranflate them ? No letters or
" ftate-papers from which you could cor-
" rect their errors, or authenticate their
" narration, or fupply their defects. Be-
" fides Rollin is fo well wrote with re-
" fpect to ftyle, that with fuperficial people
" it paiTes for fufficient. There is one Dr.
" Leland, who .has lately wrote the life
" of Philip of Macedon, which is one of
" the beft periods. The book, they tell
" me, is perfectly well wrote ; yet it has
" had fuch fmall fale, and has fo little ex-
<l cited the attention of the public, that
*' the Author has reafon to think his la-
a bour thrown away. I have not read the
* l book; but by the fize, I mould judge it
" to be too particular. It is a pretty large
" quarto.
6o ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" quarto. I think a book of that fize fuf-
" ficient for the whole Hiftory of Greece
" till the death of Philip : and I doubt not
" but fuch a work would be fuccefsful,
" notwithftanding all thefe difcouraging
" circumftances. The fubjecl: is noble, and
" Rollin is by no means equal to it.
" I own, I like ftill lefs your project of
" the Age of Charles the Fifth. That
M fubjecl is disjointed ; and your Hero,
" who is the fole connection, is not very
" interefting. A competent knowledge at
" leaft is required of the ftate and confti-
" tution of the Empire ; of the feveral
" kingdoms of Spain, of Italy, of the
" Low Countries ; which it would be the
" work of half a life to acquire ; and,
41 though fome parts of the ftory may be
"entertaining, there would be many dry
*' and barren ; and the whole feems not to
" have any great charms.
" But I would not willingly ftart ob-
" jections to thefe fchemes, unlefs I had
*' fomething to propofe, which would be
" plaufible ; and I fhall mention to you
" an idea which has fometimes pleafed
44 me.
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 6l
" me, and which I had once entertained
" thoughts of attempting. You may ob-
" ferve that among modern readers, Plu-
" tarch is in every tranflation the chief
" favourite of the Ancients. Numberlefs
" tranflations, and numberlefs editions have
" been made of him in all languages ;
" and no tranflation has been fo ill done
" as not to be fuccefsful. Though thofe
" who read the originals never put him
" in comparifon either with Thucydides
" or Xenophon, he always attaches more
" the reader in the tranflation ; a proof
" that the idea and execution of his work
" is, in the main, happy. Now, I would
" have you think of writing modern lives,
" fomewhat after that manner : not to
" enter into a detail of the actions, but
" to mark the manners of the great Per-
" fonages, by domeftic (lories, by remark-
" able fayings, and by a general fketch of
" their lives and adventures. You fee that
" in Plutarch the life of Csefar may be read
*■ in half an hour. Were you to write
" the life of Henry the Fourth of France
" after that model, you might pillage all
" the
62 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" the pretty {lories in Sully, and fpeak
" more of his miftrefles than of his
" battles. In fhort, you might gather the
" flower of all Modern Hiftory in this
" manner : The remarkable Popes, the
" Kings of Sweden, the great difcoverers
" and conquerors of the New World ;
" even the eminent men of letters might
" furnifh you with matter, and the quick
" difpatch of every different work would
" encourage you to begin a new one. If
" one volume were fuccefsful, you might
" compofe another at your leifure, and
u the field is inexhauftible. There are
" perfons whom you might meet with in
" the corners of Hiftory, fo to fpeak, who
would be a fubjedt of entertainment
quite unexpected ; and as long as you
live, you might give and receive amufe-
" ment by fuch a work. Even your ion,
" if he had a talent for hiftory, would
" fucceed to the fubject, and his fon to
" him. I fhall infift no farther on this
" idea ; becaufe, if it ftrikes your fancy,
** you will eafily perceive all its advan-
" tages,
«c
41
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 63
" tages, and, by farther thought, all its
" difficulties."
After much deliberation, Dr. Robert-
fon refolved to undertake the Hiftory of
Charles V. — a determination not lefs for-
tunate for the public than for his own
fame ; as it engaged him, unexpectedly
perhaps, in a train of refearches not con-
fined to the period, or to the quarter of
the globe that he had originally in view ;
but which, opening as he advanced, new
and more magnificent profpe&s, attracted
his curiofity to two of the greateft and
moft interefting fubje&s of fpeculation in
the Hiftory of Human Affairs ; — the enter-
prifes of modern ambition in the Weftern
World, and the traces of ancient wifdonx
and arts exifting in the Eaft.
The progrefs of the work, however, was
interrupted for fome time, about a year
after its commencement, by certain cir-
cumftances which induced him to liften
more favourably than formerly to the
entreaties
64 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
entreaties of thofe friends who urged him
to attempt a Hiftory of England. The
motives that weighed with him on this
occafion are fully explained in a corre-
fpondence Hill extant, in which there are
various particulars tending to illuftrate his
character and his literary views.
From a letter of the late Lord Cathcart
to Dr. Robcrtfon, (dated 20th July 1761,)
the revival of this project would appear to
have originated in a manner not a little
flattering to the vanity of an author.
" Lord Bute told me the King's
" thoughts, as well as his own, with re-
" fpect to your Hiftory of Scotland, and a
" wifh his Majefty had exprefied to fee a
" Hiftory of England by your pen. His
" Lordfhip aflured me, every fource of
" information which Government can
u command would be opened to you ; and
" that great, laborious, and cxtenfive as
* the w r ork muft be, he would take care
" your encouragement mould be propor-
" tioned to it. He feemed to be aware of
" fome objections you once had, founded
" on the apprehenlion of clafhing or inter-
" ferine
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 6$
" fering with Mr. David Hume who is
" your friend ; but as your performance
" and his will be upon plans fo different
" from each other, and as his will, in
" point of time, have fo much the ftart
" of yours, thefe objections did not feem
" to him fuch as, upon reflection, were
" likely to continue to have much weight
" with you. • •
...... " I muft add, that though I
" did not think it right to enquire particu-
" larly into Lord Bute's intentions before
" I knew a little of your mind, it appeared
" to me plain, that they were higher than
w any views which can open to you in
" Scotland, and which, I believe, he
" would think inconfiftent with the atten-
" tion the other fubject would neceflarily
" require.
A paper which has been accidentally
preferved among the letters addreffed to
Dr. Robertfon by his friends, enables me
to ftate his fentiments with refpect to the
foregoing propofal, in his own words. It
is in Dr. Robertfon's hand-writing, and is
marked on the back as " An imperfect
f " Sketch
66 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" Sketch of his Anfwer to Lord Cathcart's
<f letter of July 20th." The following ex-
tracts contain all thofe parts of it which
are connected with the project of the Eng-
lifh Hiftory.
«...." After the firft publication of
" the Hiftory of Scotland, and the favour-
" able reception it met with, I had both
" very tempting offers from bookfellers,
" and very confident aflurances of public
** encouragement, if I would undertake the
" Hiftory of England. But as Mr. Hume,
" with whom, notwithstanding the con-
" trariety of our fentiments both in reli-
u . gion and politics, I live in great friend-
*' (hip, was at that time in the middle of
" the fubject, no confideration of intereft
<{ or reputation would induce me to break
" in upon a field of which he had taken
" prior pofleffion ; and I determined that
" my interference with him ftiould never
" be any obftruction to the fale or fuccefs
" of his work. Nor do I yet repent my
41 having refilled many folicitations to alter
" this refolution. But the cafe I now
" think is entirely changed. His Hiftory
« will
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 67
" will have been publifhed feveral years
" before any work of mine on the fame
" fubjedr can appear ; its firft run will not
" be marred by any juftling with me, and
" it will have taken that ftation in the
" literary fyftem which belongs to it. This
" objection, therefore, which I thought,
" and ftili think, fo weighty at that time,
" makes no impreffion on me at prefent,
" and I can now juftify my undertaking
" the Englifli Hiftory to myfelf, to the
44 world, and to him. Befides, our man-
" ner of viewing the fame fubject is fo
" different or peculiar, that (as was the cafe
" in our laft books) both may maintain
" their own rank, have their own parti-
" fans, and poffefs their own merit, with-
" out hurting each other.
" I am fenfible how extenfive and
" laborious the undertaking is, and that I
" could not propofe to execute it in the
" manner I could wifh, and the public will
" expedfc, unlefs I fhall be enabled to con-
" fecrate my whole time and induftry to
" it. Though I am not weary of my pro-
" feflion, nor wifli ever to throw off my
f 2 " eccle-
68 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE ANf>
" ecclefiaftical character, yet I have often'
* l wifhed to be free of the labour of daily
" preaching, and to have it in my power
,e to apply myfelf wholly to my ftudies.
" This the encouragement your Lordfhip
M mentions will put in my power. But as
*' my chief refidence muft ftill be in Scot-
u land, where I would choofe, both for
" my own fake and that of my family, to
" live and to compofe ; as a vifit of three
*' or four months now and then to England
" will be fully fufficient for confulting fuch
" manufcripts as have never been publifhed ;
u I fhould not wifh to drop all connection
" with the church of which I am a mem-
" ber, but ftill to hold fome ftation in it,
" without being reduced entirely to the
" profeflion of an Author.
" Another circumftance muft be men-
" tioned to your Lordfliip. As I have
" begun the Hiftory of Charles V. and
" have above One-third of it finifhed, I
" would not choofe to lofe what 1 have
" done. It will take at leaft two years to
" bring that work to perfection j and after
" that I fhall begin the other, which wag
14 " my
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 69
*' my firft choice, long before Mr. Hume
u undertook it, though I was then too dif-
* 4 fident of myfelf, and too idle to make any
f4 progrefs in the execution of it, farther
" than forming fome general ideas as to
44 the manner in which it fhould be pro-
44 fecuted.
44 As to the eftablifhment to be made in
44 my favour, it would ill become me to fay
44 any thing. Whether the prefent time
44 be a proper one for fettling the matter
44 finally I know not. I beg leave only to
<l fay, that however much I may wifh
44 to have a point fixed fo much for my
44 honour, and which will give fuch ftabi-
41 lity to all my future fchemes, I am not
44 impatient to enter into pofleffion, before I
44 can fet to work with that particular talk
44 for which my appointments are to be
44 given."
In a letter addreffed to Mr. Baron Mure,
(dated Nov. 25, 1761,) Dr. Robertfon has
explained himfelf ftill more fully on fome
points touched on in the forgoing corre-
fpondence.
f 3 4< I need
70 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" I need fay no more of my reafons for
" not undertaking the Hiftory of England
" immediately after the publication of my
" laft book, or the circumftances which
" induce me to think that I may now
" engage in it with propriety. Thefe I
" have already explained, and I hope they
" are approved of. The only thing about
" which I have any difficulty is, the pro-
" pofal of my refiding in London with
" my family during the time I fhall be
" employed in my intended work. If
" fuch a profpect had opened to me a
" dozen of years ago, I mould have
" reckoned it a very fortunate accident,
" and would have embraced it without
" hefitation. But, at my time of life,
" accuftomed to the manners of my own
" country, and living with eafe and credit
" and in good company here, I am un-
" willing to think of entering upon new
" habits, of forming new connections and
" friendlhips, and of mingling with a
" fociety which, by what 1 have feen of
" it, I do not relifh fo much as that to
" which I am more familiar. This is the
" light
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 71
" iight in which, if I were ftill a Tingle
" man, I mud have viewed the matter.
" But in my prefent fituation, with a wife
" and four children, my difficulties in-
" creafe ; and I muft confider not only
" what would be agreeable to myfelf, but
" what may be of advantage to them.
" You know how greatly the expence of
" houfe-keeping at London exceeds that at
M Edinburgh, and how much the charge of
"educating children increafes. You know
" with what eafe women of a middling
" fortune mingle with good company in
" Edinburgh j how impoffible that is in
" London ; and even how great the ex-
" pence is of their having any proper
" fociety at all. As I happen to have
" three daughters, thefe circumftances muft
" occur to me, and have their own weight.
* c Befides this, if it fhall pleafe God to
" fpare my life a few years, I fhall be
a able to leave my family, if it continue in
" Scotland, in a fituation more independent
" than I could ever expect from any fuc-
" cefs or encouragement, if they fhall fettle
" in England.
f 4 " Were
72 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
»
;..... " Were I to carve ou f . my
" own fortune, I fhould wifh to continue
" one of his Majefty's Chaplains for Scot-
" land, but to refign my charge as a
" Minifter of Edinburgh, which engrofTes
" more of my time than one who is a
" ftranger to the many minute duties of
" that office can well imagine. I would
" wifh to apply my whole time to literary
" purfuits, which is at prefent parcelled
" out among innumerable occupations. In
" order to enable me to make this refig-
" nation, fome appointment muft be
affigned me for life. What that fhould
be, it neither becomes me, nor do I pre-
tend to fay. One thing, however, I wifh
£ with fome earneftnefs, that the thing
" might be executed foon, both as it will
" give me great vigour in my ftudies to
" have my future fortune afcertained in
*' fuch an honourable manner, and becaufe,
" by allowing me to apply myfelf wholly
" to my prefent work, it will enable me to
" finifh it in lefs time, and to begin fo much
P the fooner to my new tafk."
In
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 73
In what manner this plan, after being fo
far advanced, came to be finally abandoned,
I have not been able to difcover. The letters
from which the foregoing extracts are taken,
feem to have been preferved by mere acci-
dent ; and after the date of the laft, I find
a blank till 1763 in Dr. Robertfon's cor-
refpondence with Lord Gathcart. Some let-
ters which paffed between them about that
time are now in my pofTeffion. They
relate chiefly to a fcheme which was then
in agitation, and which was foon after
accomplifhed, of reviving in Dr. Robert-
fon's favour the office of Hiftoriographer
for Scotland ; but from various [incidental
paiTages in them, it appears clearly that he
iltill looked forwards to a Hiftory of Eng-
land as the next fubjecT: he was to undertake
after that of Charles V. It is not impof-
fible, that the refignation of Lord Bute in
1764 may have contributed fomewhat to
alter his views, by impofing on him the
neceflity of a new negociation through a
different channel. The Hiftory of Charles V.
befides, employed him much longer than
he
74 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
he forefaw ; partly in confequence of his
avocations as Principal of the Univerfity,
and partly of thofe arifing from his con-
nection with the church, in which, at that
period, faction ran high. In the'execution
too of this work, he found that the tranfac-
tions relating to America, which he had
originally intended as the fubject of an
epifode, were of fuch magnitude as to re-
quire a feparate narrative : and when at laft
he had brought to a termination the long
and various labours in which he was thus
involved, hisliealth was too much impaired,
and his life too far advanced, to allow him
to think of an undertaking fo vaft in itfelf,
and which Mr. Hume had already executed
with fo fplendid and fo merited a repu-
tation.
The delays which retarded the publica-
tion of the Hiftory of Charles V. together
with the Author's eftablifhed popularity as
a writer, had raifed the curiofity of the
public to a high pitch before that work
appeared j and perhaps there never was a
book, unconnected with the circumftances
of the times, that was expected with more
general
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 75
general impatience. It is unneceffary for
me to fay, that thefe expectations were not
difappointed j nor would it be worthwhile
to fwell this memoir with a repetition of
the eidogiums lavifhed on the Author in the
literary journals of the day. The fentiments
of his own perfonal friends, as expreffed in
the opennefs and confidence of a private
epiftolary correfpondence, cannot fail to be
more interefting ; and I fhall accordingly,
on this, as on other occalions, avail myfelf
of whatever pafTages in his papers appear
to me to be ufeful, either for illuftrating his
literary progrefs, or his habits and connec-
tions in private life.
The paragraphs which immediately fol-
low are part of a letter from Mr. Hume,
without any date ; but written, as appears
from the contents, while the Hiftory of
Charles V. was ftill in the prefs. The levity
of the ftyle forms fuch a ftriking contrail
to the character which this grave and phi-
lofophical Hiftorian fuftains in his publica-
tions, that I have fometimes hefitated about
the propriety of fubjecting to the criticifms
of the world fo carelefs an effufion of gaiety
and
76 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
and afFe&ion. I truft, however, that to
fome it will not be wholly uninterefting to
enjoy a glimpfe of the Writer and his cor-
refpondent in the habits of private inter-
courfe; and that to them the playful and
good-natured irony of Mr. Hume will fug-
geft not unpleafing pictures of the hours
which they borrowed from bufinefs and
ftudy. Dr. Robertfon ufed frequently to
fay, that in Mr. Hume's gaiety there was
fomething which approached to infantine ;
and that he had found the fame thing fo
often exemplified in the circle of his other
friends, that he was almoft difpofed to
confider it as charadteriftical of genius. It
has certainly lent an amiable grace to fome
of the moft favourite names in Ancient
Story.
Atqui
Primores Populi arripuit, Populumque tributim— -
Quin ubi fe a vulgo et fcena in fecreta remorant
Virtus Scipiadae et mitis fapientia Lxli,
Nugari cum illo et difcint~tf ludere, donee
Decoqueretur olus, foliti.
" I got yefterday from Strahan about
a thirty (heets of your Hiftory to be fent
" over
WAITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 77
" over to Suard, and laft night and this
" morning have run them over with great
'• avidity. I could not deny myfelf the
" fatisfacYion (which I hope alfo will not
u difpleafe you) of expreffing prefently my
" extreme approbation of them. To fay
" only they are very well written, is by
" far too faint an expreffion, and much
u inferior to the fentiments I feel : they
<c are compofed with noblenefs, with dig-
" nity, with elegance, and with judgment,
" to which there are few equals. They
" even excel, an,d, I think, in a fenfible
" degree, your Hiftory of Scotland. I
" propofe to myfelf great pLeafure in being
" the only man in England, during fome
41 months, who will be in the fituation of
" doing you juftice, after which you may
" certainly expect that my voice will be
" drowned in that of the public.
" You know that you and I have always
" been on the footing of finding in each
" other's productions fomething to blame^
" and fomething to commend; and therefore
" you may perhaps expect; alfo fome fea-
" foning of the former kind"; but really
" neither
7» -ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" neither my leifure nor inclination allowed
" me to make fuch remarks, and I fincerely
" believe you have afforded me very fmall
44 materials for them. However, fuch par-
44 ticulars as occur to my memory I (hall
" mention. Maltreat is a Scotticifm which
44 occurs once. What the devil haj you
44 to do with that old-fafhioned dangling
44 word wherewith? I mould as foon take
44 back whereupon, whereunto, and where-
44 withal. I think the only tolerable,
44 decent gentleman of the family is
44 wherein; and I mould not chufe to be
41 often feen in his company. But I know
44 your affeclion for wherewith proceeds
44 from your partiality to Dean Swift,
44 whom I can often laugh with, whofe
44 ftyle I can even approve, but furely can
44 never admire. It has no harmony, no
44 eloquence, no ornament ; and not much
44 correctnefs, whatever the Englifh may
44 imagine. Were not their literature ftill
44 in a fomewhat barbarous ftate, that
44 Author's place would not be fo high
41 among their claiTics. But what a fancy
44 is this you have taken of faying always
44 an
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 79
" an band, an heart \ an head? Have you
" an ear ? Do you not know that this (n)
" is added before vowels to prevent the
" Cacophony, and ought never to take
" place before (h) when that letter is
" founded ? It is never pronounced in thefe
" words : why mould it be wrote ? Thus,
" I fhould fay, a hifory, and an hijlorian;
" and fo would you too, if you had any
" fenfe. But you tell me, that Swift does
" otherwife. To be fure there is no reply
" to that ; and we muft fwallow your hath
" too upon the fame authority. I will fee
" you d d fooner. — But I will endea-
" vour to keep my temper.
<c I do not like this fentence in page
" 149. This Jlep was taken in confequence
*' of the treaty Wolfey had concluded with
" the Emperor at Brujfels, and which had
" hitherto been kept fecret. Si fie omnia
" dixiffes, I mould never have been
" plagued with hearing your praifes io
" often founded, and that fools preferred
" your ftyle to mine. Certainly it had been
" better to have faid, which Wolfey, &Y.
" That relative ought very feldom to be
" omitted,
8o ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" omitted, and is here particularly requifite
T to preferve a fymmetry between the two
" members of the fentence. You omit the
" relative too often, which is a colloquial
" barbarifm, as Mr. Johnfon calls it.
" Your periods are fometimes, though
• e not often, too long. Suard will be
" embarrafled with them, as the modifh
• French ftyle runs into the other ex-
u treme." *
Another letter of Mr. Hume's, (dated
28th March 1 769^) relates to the fame
fubject. " I find then that you are not
* Confidering the critical attention which Mr. Hume
appears to have given to the minutla of ftyle, it is fome-
what furprifing that he fhould himfelf fail fo fre-
quently both in purity and grammatical corre&nefs. In
thefe refpefts, his hiftorical compofitions will not bear a
comparifon with thofe of Dr. Robertfon ; although they
abound, in every page, with what Mr. Gibbon calls
*' carelefs, inimitable beauties." In his familiar letters
the inaccuracies are more numerous than might have
been expected from one accuftomed fo much to write
with a view to publication ; nor are thefe negligences
always compenfated by that happy lightnefs and eafe
which he feems to have been ftudious to attain.
<t
con-
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 8l
"contented without a particular detail of
" your own praifes, and that the very {hort
" but pithy letter I wrote you gives you
" no fatisfaction. But what can I fay more ?
" The fuccefs has anfwered my expecl-
" ations : and I, who converfe with the
" Great, the Fair, and the Learned, have
" fcarcely heard an oppofite voice, or even
" whifper, to the general fentiment. Only
" I have heard that the Sanhedrim at Mrs.
" Macaulay's condemns you as little lefs a
" friend to Government and Monarchy
" than myfelf."
Mr. Walpole's congratulations on this
occafion were no lefs warm than Mr.
Hume's ; but as they are exprefTed in
more general terms, they do not fupply
materials equally interefting for a quotation.
The only letter, befides, from Mr. Walpole
relative to Charles V. that has come into
my hands, was written before he had pro-
ceeded farther in the perufal than the firft
volume. What the impreffions were which
that part of the work had left upon his
mind, may be judged of from the following
paragraph :
g " Give
82 ACCOUNT OF THE'LlfE -AND •
u
Give me leave, Sir, without flattery,
" to obferve to yourfelf, what is very
" natural to fay to others* You are almoft
" the fingle, certainly the greateft inftance,
u that found parts and judgment can attain
" every perfection of a writer, though it
" be buried in the privacy of retired life
" and deep ftudy. You have neither the
" prejudices of a reclufe, nor want any of
" the tafte of a man of the world. Nor is
" this polifhed eafe confined to your works,
" which parts arid imitation might pofhbly
" feize. In the few hours I pafled with
u you laft fummer I was ftruck with your
" familiar acquaintance with men, and
" with every topic of converfation. Of
u your Scottifh Hiftory I have often faid,
" that it feemed to me to have been written
" by an able Ambaflador, who had iecn
** much of affairs. I do not expect to find
" lefs of that penetration in your Charles.
" Why fhould I not fay thus much to
" you? Why fhould the language of fiat-
" tery forbid truth to fpeak its mind,
" merely becaqfe flattery has ftolen truth's
" expreihons ? Why fhould you be de-
" privcd
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 83
ct prived of the fatisfa&ion of hearing the
" impreffion your merit has made ? You
" have fenfe enough to be confcious that
" you deferve what I have faid ; and
" though modefty will forbid you to fub-
" fcribe to it, juftice to me and to my
" character, which was never that of a flat-
<c terer, will oblige you filently to feel, that
" I can have no motive but that of paying
" homage to fuperior abilities."
Lord Lyttleton was another correfpond-
ent with whom Dr. Robertfon had occa-
fional communications. The fir ft of his
letters was an acknowledgment to him
for a prefent of Charles V. ; and is valuable
on account of its coincidence with a letter
of Mr. Hume's formerly quoted, in which
he recommended to Dr. Robertfon to write
lives in the manner of Plutarch.
" I don't wonder that your fenfe of the
" public expectation gives you fome appre-
" henfions ; but I know that the Hiftorian
" of Mary Queen of Scots cannot fail to
" do juftice to any great fubjecl: ; and no
" greater can be found in the records of
" mankind than this you have now
g 2 " chofen,
((
84 ACCOUNT OY THE LIFE AND
" chofen. Go on, dear Sir, to enrich the
; Englifh language with more tracts of
" modern Hiftory. We have nothing good
" in that way, except what relates to the
" ifland of Great Britain. You have talents
" and youth enough to undertake theagree-
" able and ufeful tafk of giving us all the
" lives of the mod illuftrious Princes who
" have flourifhed fince the age of Charles V.
" in every part of the world, and com-
" paring them together, as Plutarch has
u done the moft celebrated Heroes of
" Greece and Rome. This will difrufe
t! your glory as a Writer farther than any
" other work. All nations will have an
" equal intereft in it ; and feel a gratitude
" to the ftranger who takes pains to im-
" mortalize the virtues of thofe to whom
" he is only related by the general fympa-
" thy of fentiment and efteem. Plutarch
" was a Greek, which made him lefs im-
" partial between his countrymen and the
" Romans in weighing their comparative
" merit, than you would be in contrafling
" a Frenchman with a German, or an
"Italian with a Spaniard, or a Dutchman
*' with
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 85
" with a Swede. Select, therefore, thofe
" great men out of different countries,
" whofe characters and a&ions may be
" belt compared together, and prefent them
" to our view, without that difguife which
" the partiality of their countrymen or the
" malice of their enemies may have thrown
" upon them. If I can animate you to
41 this, pofterity will owe me a very great
" obligation."
I fhali clofe thefe extracts with a fhort
letter from Voltaire, dated 26th February
1 770, from the Chateau de Ferney,
44 II y a quatre jours que j'ai rec"u Ie
14 beau prefent dont vous m'avez honore.
" Je le lis malgre les fluxions horribles
" qui me font craindre de perdre entiere-
" ment les yeux. II me fait oublier tous
" mes maux. C'eft a. vous et a M. Hume
44 qu'il appartient d'ecrire l'Hiftoire. Vous
4< etes eloquent, favant, et impartial. Je
44 me joins a l'Europe pour vous eftimer."
G 3 While
86 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
While Dr. Robertfon's fame was thus
rapidly extending wherever the language
in which he wrote was underftood and
cultivated, he had the fincular good fortune
to find in M. Suard, a waiter fully capable
of transfufing into a language ftill more
univerfal, all the fpirit and elegance of the
original. It appears from a letter preferved
among Dr. Robertfon's papers, that M. Suard
was {elected for this undertaking, by the
well-known Baron d'Holbach. He has fince
made ample additions to his fame by his
own productions ; but, if I am not mis-
taken, it was his tranflation of Charles V.
which firft eftablifhed his reputation, and
procured him a feat in the French Aca-
demv *.
The high rank which this fecond pub-
lication of Dr. Robertfon's has long main-
tained in the lift of our Englim Claflics,
is fufficient to juftify the warm encomi-
ums I have already tranfcribed from the
letters of his friends. To the general ex-
• Appendix, Note D.
prefiions
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 87
preflions of praife, however, which they
have beftowed on it, I fhall take the
liberty of adding a few remarks on fome
of thofe fpecific excellencies by which it
appears to me to be more peculiarly diftin-
guifhed.
Among thefe excellencies, a moft im-
portant one arifes from the addrefs dis-
played by the Author in furmounting a
difficulty, which] has embarrafied, more or
lefs, all the Hiftorians who have attempted
to record the tranfactions of the two laft
centuries. In confequence of thofe rela-
tions which connect together the different
countries of modern Europe as parts of one
great fyftem, a general knowledge of the
contemporary Situation of other nations
becomes indifpenfable to thofe who would
fully comprehend the political transactions
of any one Hate at a particular period. In
writing the hiflory of a great nation,
accordingly, it is necefFary to conned: with
the narrative, occafional epifodes with re-
fpect to fuch foreign affairs as had an
influence on the policy of the Government,
or on the fortunes of the people. To ac-
G 4 complifh
83 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
complifh this with fuccefs, by beftowing
on thefe digreilions, perfpicuity and intereft,
without entering into that minutenefs of
detail which might miflead the attention of
the reader from the principal fubjecl:, is
unqueftionably one of the mod difficult
tafks of an Hiftorian ; and in executing
tills tafk, Dr. Robertfon's judgment and
fkill will not fuffer by a comparifon with
thofe difplayed by the mod illuftrious of
his rivals.
In the work, however, now under our
confideration, he has aimed at fomething
more ; for while he has recorded, with
admirable diftinttnefs, the tran factions of
a particular reign, (preferving his epifodes
in fo juft a fubordination to his main
defign, that they feldom produce any in-
convenient diftrac~tion of attention or of
intereft,) he has contrived, by happy tran-
sitions, to interweave fo many of the
remarkable events which happened about
the fame time in other parts of Europe,
a r j to render his Hiftory of Charles V. the
in oft inftructive introduction that has yet
appeared to the general hiftory of that
age-
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 89
age. The advantage of making the trans-
actions of a particular nation, and flill more
the reign of a particular fovereign, a ground-
work for fueh comprehenfive views of hu-
man affairs, is fufficiently obvious. By-
carrying on a connected feries of important
events, and indicating their relations to the
contemporary hiftory of mankind, a meri-
dian is traced (if I may ufe the expreffion,)
through the vaft and crowded map of time;
and a line of reference is exhibited to the
mind, for marking the bearings of thofe
fubordinate occurrences, in the multiplicity
of which its powers would have been
loft.
In undertaking a work on a plan fo
philofophical in the defign, but fo difficult
in the execution, no period, perhaps, in
the hiftory of the world, could have been
more happily chofen than that which com-
mences with the fixteenth century ; in the
courfe of which, (as he himfelf obferves,)
" the feveral powers of Europe were
" formed into one great political fyftem,
" in which each took a ftation, wherein
* c it has fince remained with lefs altera-
" tion
go ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" tion than could have been expected, after
" the fhocks occafioned by fo many in-
u . ternal revolutions and fo many foreign
M wars.
Mr. Hume, in a letter which I had occa-
fion already to quote, objects to him that
" his Hero is not very interefting," and it
mull undoubtedly be acknowledged, that
the characteriflical qualities of his mind
were lefs thofe of an amiable man than of
a great Prince. His character, however,
on the whole, was fingularly adapted to
Dr. Robertfon's purpofe ; not only as the
afccndant it fecured to him in the political
world marks him out indifputably as the
principal figure in that illuftrious groupe
which then appeared on the Theatre of
Europe, but as it everywhere difplays that
deep and fagacious policy, which, by fyf-
tematizing his counfels, and linking together
the great events of his reign, infpires a
conftant intereft, if not for the perfonal
fortunes of the man, at leaft for the mag-
nificent projects of the politician. — Nor is
the character of Charles, however unami-
able, without a certain fpecies of attraction.
The
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. Ql
The reader who is previoufly acquainted
with the laft fcenes of his enterprifing
and brilliant life, while he follows him
through the fplendid career of his ambition,
can fcarcely avoid to indulge occafionally
thofe moral fympathies which the contraft
awakens ; and to borrow from the folitude
of the cloifter fome prophetic touches, to
foften the fternnefs of the Warrior and
the Statefman>
With a view to facilitate the ftudy of
this important portion of modern hiftory,
Dr. Robertfon has employed a preliminary
volume in tracing the progrefs of fociety
in Europe, from the fubverfion of the
Roman Empire to the sera at which his
narrative commences. In this inftance, as
well as in the firft book of his Scottifh
Hiftory, he has fancYioned by his example
a remark of Father Paul, that an hiftorical
compofition mould be as complete as pof-
iible in itfelf j exhibiting a feries of events
intelligible to every reader, without any
reference to other fources of information.
On the minutenefs and accuracy of Dr.
Robertfbn's refearches concerning the ftate
13 of
92 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
of Europe during the middle ages, I do not
prefume to offer an opinion. They certainly
exhibit marks of very extenfive and various
reading, digefted with the founded judg-
ment ; and of which the refults appear to
be arranged in the mod diftindr. and lu-
minous order. At the time when he wrote,
fuch an arrangement of materials was the
grand defideratum^ and by far the moft
arduous tafk ; nor will the merit of having
firft brought into form a mafs of inform-
ation ib little acceffible till then to ordinary
readers, be ever affected by the contro-
verfies that may arifc concerning the juftnefs
of particular conclusions. If, in fome of
thefe, he has been cenfured as hafty by
later writers, it muft be remembered how
much their labours were facilitated by what
lie did to open a field for their minuter
diligence ; and that, by the fcrupulous ex-
a&ncfs with which he refers to his autho-
rities, he has himfelf furnifhed the means
of correcting his errors. One thing is
certain, (and it affords no inconfiderable
teftimony both to the felicity of his choice
in the various hiftorical fubjects he under-
took,
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 93
took, and to the extent of his refearches
in the inveftigation of fads,) that the mod
acute and able of all his adverfaries * was
guided by Dr. Robertfon's example in
almoft all his literary undertakings ; and
that his curiofity has feldom led him into
any path, where the genius and induftry
of his predeceffor had not previoufly cleared
the way.
In no part of Dr. Robertfon's works has
he difplayed more remarkably than in this
introductory volume, his patience in re-
fearch ; his penetration and good fenfe in
fele&ing his information ; or that compre-
henfion of mind, which, without being
milled by fyftem, can combine, with di£-
tinctnefs and tafte, the dry and fcattered
details of antient monuments. In truth,
this DilTertation, under the unafluming
title of an Introduction to the Hiftory of
Charles V. may be regarded as an intro-
duction to the Hiftory of Modern Europe.
It is invaluable, in this refpect, to the hifto-
rical ftudent ; and it fuggefts, in every page,
* Dr. Gilbert Stuart.
matter
94 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
matter of fpeculation to the politician and
the philofopher.
It will not, I hope, be imputed to me as
a blameable inftance of national vanity, if I
conclude this Section with remarking the
rapid progrefs that has been made in our
own country during the lad fifty years, in
tracing the origin and progrefs of the prefent
eftablifhments in Europe. Montefquieu un-
doubtedly led the way ; but much has been
done fince the publication of his works, by
authors whofe names are enrolled among the
members of this fociety. " On this intereft-
" ingfubjecV' (fays Mr. Gibbon,) "aftrong
K ray of philofophic light has broke from
" Scotland in our own times ; and it is with
" private as well as public regard, that I
" repeat the names of Hume, Robertfon,
" and Adam Smith *." It was, indeed, a
fubjcct worthy of their genius ; for, in the
whole hiftory of human affairs, no fpectacle
occurs fo wonderful in itfelf, or fo moment-
ous in its effects, as the growth of that fyf-
tem which took its rife from the conquefls
• Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. lxi.
Of
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 95
of the Barbarians. In confequence of thefe,
the weftern parts of Europe were overfpread
with a thick night of fupcrftition and igno-
rance, which lafted nearly a thoufand years ;
yet this event, which had at firft fo unpro-
mifing an afpect, laid the foundation of a
ftate of fociety far more favourable to the
general and permanent happinefs of the
human race than any which the world had
hitherto feen ; — a ftate of fociety which re-
quired many ages to bring it to that condition
which it has now attained, and which will
probably require ages more to bellow on it
all the perfection of which it feems to be
gradually fufceptible. By dividing Europe
into a number of large monarchies, agreeing
with each other in their fundamental infti-
tutions, but differing in the nature both of
their moral and phyfical advantages ; and
poflefling, at the fame time, fuch meafures
of relative force as to render them objects of
mutual refpect ; it multiplied the chances of
human improvement; — fecured a mutual
communication of lights among vaft political
communities, all of them fitted to contribute
their
96 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
their refpe&ive (hares to the common ftock
of knowledge and refinement: — and me-
tered fcience and civilization, till they had
time to firike their roots fo deep, and to
fcatter their feeds fo wide, that their final
progrefs over the whole globe can now be
checked only by fome calamity fatal to the
fpecies.
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 97
SECTION III.
Continuation of the fame Stibjeff*—
History of America.
ilFTER an interval of eight years from
the publication of Charles the Fifth, Dr.
Robertibn produced the Hiftory of Ame-
rica ; — a work which, by the variety of
refearch and of fpeculation that it exhibits,
enables us to form a fufficient idea of the
manner in which he had employed the
intervening period.
In undertaking this tafk, the Author's
original intention was only to complete his
account of the great events connected with,
the reign of Charles V. ; but perceiving, as
he advanced, that a Hiftory of America,
confined folely to the operations and con-
cerns of the Spaniards, would not be likely
to excite a very general intereft, he refolved
to include in his plan the tranfactions of
H all
98 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE ANI>
all the European nations in the New World.
The origin and progrefs of the Britifh Em-
pire there, he deflined for the fubject of
one entire volume ; but afterwards aban-
doned, or rather fufpended the execution
of this part of his defign, for reafons men-
tioned in his Preface.
In the view which I have hitherto given
of Dr. Robertfon's literary purfuits, I have
endeavoured not only to glean all the fcanty
information which his papers fupply, con-
cerning the progrefs of his ftudies, but to
collect whatever memorials they afford of
his intercourfe with thofe, to whom he
appears to have been more peculiarly
attached by fentiments of efteem or of
friendmip. In following this plan, while I
have attempted (in conformity to the pre-
cept of an eloquent Critic*) to add to
the intereft of my narrative " by furround-
" ing the fubject of it with his Contem-
" poraries," I have aimed alfo to fclect fuch
paflages from the letters of his correfpond-
ents, as were at once calculated to illuftrate
* Abbe Maury..
7 the
WAITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 99
the characters of the writers, and to reflect
fome light on that of the perfon to whom,
they are addreffed. It appeared to me to
be poflible to convey in this manner a
livelier and jufter idea of the more delicate
features of their minds, than by any de-
fcription however circumftantial ; and at
the fame time, to avoid, by a proper dif-
crimination in the feleclion of materials,
thofe frivolous or degrading details, which,
in the prefent times, are fo frequently pre-
fented to the public by the indifcretion of
editors. The epiftolary fragments, accord-
ingly, interwoven with my own compofi-
tion have all a reference to the peculiar
object of this Memoir; and I cannot help
indulging a hope, that they will amply
compenfate, by the value they pollefs as
authentic relics of the individuals whofe
friendfhips they record, for the trefpaffes
they have occafioned againft that unity
of ftyle wljich the rules of criticifm
enjoin.
In the farther profecution of this fubject,
I fhall adhere to the fame general plan ;
without, however, afTecting that minutenefs
H 2 of
IOO ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
of illuftration which I was anxious to be-
llow on the firft fteps of Dr. Robertfon's
literary progrefs. The circle of his acquaint-
ance, befides, was now fo extended, and the
congratulations which his works drew to
him fo multiplied, that my choice mud
neceflarily be limited to the letters of thofe
whofe names render their judgments of men
and books objects of public curiofity. The
Society will regret with me, that among
thefe corrcfpondents the name of Mr.
Hume is not to be found. He died in the
year 1776; the year immediately preceding
that in which the Hiftory of America was
publifhed *.
Mr. Gibbon made his firft appearance
as an Hiftorian a few months before Mr.
Hume's death, and began a correfpondence
with Dr. Robertfon the year following. A
letter, dated from Paris, 14th July 1777,
in acknowledgment of a prefent of Dr.
Robertfon's book, appears plainly from the
contents to have been one of the firft that
paffed between them.
* Appendix, Note E.
"When
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. IOI
" When I ventured to aflume the cha-
** racier of Hiftorian, the firft, the moft
*' natural, but at the fame time the moft
" ambitious wifh which I entertained was
" to deferve the approbation of Dr. Robert-
" fon and Mr. Hume, two names which
" friendfhip united, and which pofterity
*' will never feparate. I fhall not therefore
" attempt to diffemble, though 1 cannot
*' eafily exprefs, the honeft pleafure which
" I received from your obliging letter, as
" well as from the intelligence of your
" moft valuable prefent. The fatisfaclion
" which I mould otherwife have enjoyed
" in common with the public, will now be
" heightened by a fentiment of a more
" perfonal and flattering nature ; and I
" fliall often whifper to myfelf that I have
" in fome degree obtained the efteem of the
" Writer whom I admire.
" A fhort excurfion which I have made
" to this place during the fummer months,
" has occafioned fome delay in my receiv-
" ^ n S y our letter, and will prevent me
" from poffeiTing, till my return, the copy
h 3 4 "of
1PZ ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" of your Hiftory, which you fo politely
" defired Mr. Strahan to fend me. But
M I have already gratified the eagernefs
" of my curiofity and impatience ; and
" though I was obliged to return the book
" much fooner than I could have wifhed,
" I have feen enough to convince me that
'* the prefent publication will fupport, and,
fi if poffible, extend the fame of the Au-
" thor ; that the materials are collected
" with care, and arranged with fkill ; that
" the progrefs of difcovery is difplayed
*' with learning and perfpicuity ; that the
" dangers, the achievements, and the
" views of the Spanifh adventurers, are
" related with a temperate fpirit ; and that
" the moft original, perhaps the mofl
" curious portion of human manners, is
" at length refcued from the hands of
" fophifts and declaimers. Lord Stormont,
t* and the few in this capital who have had
" an opportunity of perufmg the Hiftory
" of America, unanimoufiy concur in the
f l fame fentiments ; your work is already
f* become a favourite fubject of converfa-
** tion,
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 103
u tion, and M. Suard is repeatedly preffed,
** in my hearing, to fix the time when his
" tranflation will appear "V
In mod of the other letters received by
Dr. Robertlbn on this occafion, I have not
remarked any thing very interesting. Mr.
Walpole is liberal, as formerly, in his
praife, but does not enter fo much into
particular criticifms ; and as for his other
correfpondents (among whom were various
names of the firft diitinction in the king-
dom,) the greater part of them were pro-
bably reftrained, by motives of delicacy,
from offering any thing more than general
expressions of admiration, to a Writer whofe
fame was now fo fully eftablifhed. A letter
from William Lord Mansfield, though it
bears no marks of the fuperior mind of that
eminent man, is valuable at leaft as a tefti-
mony of his refpecl for Dr. Robertfon : nor
* The letter from which the foregoing paffage is ex-
tracted has been already publifned by Lord Sheffield in
the pofthumous works of Mr. Gibbon. As the copy found
among Dr. Robertfon's papers correfponds verbatim with
that which Mr. Gibbon appears to have retained in his own
pofleffion, it affords a proof of the care which he bellowed
on his epiftolary cornpofkions.
H 4 will
104 ACCOUNT Of THE LIFE AND
will it, perhaps, when contrafted with the
fplendor of his profeflional exertions, be
altogether unacceptable to thole who have
a pleafure in ftudying. the varieties and the
limits of human genius.
" I delayed returning you my warmeft
" acknowledgments for your moil valuable
" prefent, till I could fay that I had enjoyed
" it. Since my return from the circuit I
" have read it with infinite pleafure. It
" is inferior to none of your works, which
" is faying a great deal. No man will now
" doubt but that you have done judicioufly
" in making this an entire feparate work,
" and detaching it from the general Hiftory.
*' Your account of the fcience of Naviga-
" tion and Naval difcovery is admirable,
" and equal to any Hiftorical Map of the
" kind. If I knew a pen equal to it, I
" would advife the continuation down to
'* the next arrival of Captain Cook.
" Nothing could be more entertaining or
" more inftructivc. It is curious that all
" great difcovcries are made, as it were by
" accident, when men are in fearch of
f* fomething elfe. I learn from you that
" Columbus
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 105
" Columbus did not, as a philofopher, de-
" monftrate to himfelf that there muft be
" fuch a portion of the earth as America
" is, but that meaning to go to the Eafl
" Indies, he flumbled on the Weft. It is
" a more interefting fpeculation to confider
" how little political wifdom had to do,
" and how much has arifen from chance,
" in the peopling, government, laws, and
" conftitution of the New World. You
" fhew it ftrongly in the revolutions and
" fettlement of Spanifh America. I hope
" the time will come for fulfilling the en-
" gagement you allude to in the begin-
" ning of the preface. You will then fhew
" how little political wifdom had to do
" in forming the original fettlements of
" Englifh America. Government left pri-
" vate adventurers to do as they pleafed,
" and certainly did not fee in any degree
" the confequence of the object."
One letter containing the judgment of
an Author who is fuppofed to have em-
ployed his own abilities in a very mafterly
fketch on the fame fubjedt, I fhall publiih
en;
106 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
entire. It is long for a quotation ; but I
will not mutilate what comes from the pen
of Mr. Burke.
" I am perfectly fenfible of the very
" flattering diftinction I have received in
" your thinking me worthy of fo noble a
" prefent as that of your Hiftory of Ame-
" rica. I have, however, fufFered my gra-
" titude to lie under fome fufpicion, by
" delaying my acknowledgment of fo great
" a favour. But my delay was only to
" render my obligation to you more com-
" plete, and my thanks, if poflible, more
" merited. The clofe of the feffion brought
" a great deal of very troublefome, though
" not important bufinefs on me at once.
" I could not go through your work at one
" breath at that time, though I have done
" it fince. I am now enabled to thank
" you, not only for the honour you have
" done mc, but for the great fatisfaction,
" and the infinite variety and compafs of
" inftruction I have received from your
" incomparable work. Every thing has
" been done which was fo naturally to be
" expected from the Author of the Hiftory
"of
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I07
" of Scotland, and of the age of Charles
*' the Fifth. I believe few books have
" done more than this, towards clearing
" up dark points, correcting errors, and
" removing prejudices. You have too
" the rare fecret of rekindling an intereft
" on fubje&s that had fo often been treated,
" and in which every thing which could
" feed a vital flame appeared to have been
" confumed. I am fure I read many parts
a of your Hiftory with that frefh concern
" and anxiety which attend thofe who are
" not previoufly apprifed of the event.
" You have befides, thrown quite a new
M light on the prefent ftate of the Spanifh
< £ provinces, and furnifhed both materials
" and hints for a rational theory of what
" may be expected from them in future.
" The part which I read with the greater!
" pleafure is, the difcuflion on the man-
" ners and character of the inhabitants of
" that New World. I have always thought
" with you, that we poffels at this time
*' very great advantages towards the know-
" ledge of human nature. We need no
" longer go to Hiftory to trace it in all
" ftages
Io8 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" ftages and periods. Hiftory, from its
" comparative youth, is but a poor in-
" ftrudor. Whea the Egyptians called
" the Greeks Children in Antiquities, we
" may well call them Children ; and fo we
" may call all thofe nations which were
" able to trace the progrefs of fociety only
" within their own limits. But now the
" great Map of Mankind is unrolled at
" once, and there is no (late or gradation
" of barbarifm, and no mode of refine-
" ment which we have not at the fame
" moment under our view : the very dif-
" ferent civility of Europe and of China ;
" the barbarifm of Perfia and of Abyfiinia ;
" the erratick manners of Tartary and of
" Arabia ; the favage Mate of North Ame-
" rica and of New Zealand. Indeed you
" have made a noble ufe of the advan-
" tages you have had. You have employed
" philofophy to judge on manners, and
" from manners you have drawn new
" refources for philofophy. I only think
" that in one or two points you have
" hardly done juftice to the favage cha-
" radcr.
u There
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I09
" There remains before you a great field.
" Periculofa plenum opus alecs TracJas, et
" incedis per ignes, Suppofitos cineri dolofo.
" When even thofe afhes will be fpread
" over the prefent fire, God knows. I am
" heartily forry that we are now fupplying
" you with that kind of dignity and con-
" cern, which is purchafed to Hiftory at
" the expence of mankind. I had rather
" by far that Dr. Robertfon's pen were
" only employed in delineating the humble
" fcenes of political ceconomy, than the
" great events of a civil war. However,
" if our ftatefmen had read the book of
" human nature inftead of the Journals of
" the Houfe of Commons, and Hiftory
" inftead of Acts of Parliament, we mould
" not by the latter have furnifhed out fo
" ample a page for the former. For my
" part, I have not been, nor am I very
" forward in my fpeculations on this fub-
" je<St. All that I have ventured to make
" have hitherto proved fallacious. I con-
" fefs, I thought the Colonies left to them-
" felves could not have made any thing
" like the prefent refiftance to the whole
" power
IIO ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AN0
" power of this country and its allies. I
*' did not think it could have been done
" without the declared interference of the
" Houfe of Bourbon. But I looked on it
" as very probable that France and Spain
" would before this time have taken a
" decided part. In both thefe conjectures
" I have judged amifs. — You will fmile
" when I fend you a trifling temporary
" production, made for the occafion of a
" day, and to perifh with it, in return for
" your immortal work. But our exchange
" refembles the politics of the times. You
" fend out folid wealth, the accumulation
" of ages, and in return you get a few
" flying leaves of poor American paper.
" However, you have the mercantile com-
" fort of finding the balance of trade
" infinitely in your favour ; and I confole
" myfelf with the fnug confideration of
" uninformed natural acutenefs, that I
" have my warehoufe full of goods at
" another's expence.
" Adieu, Sir, continue to inftruct the
" world ; and whilft we carry on a poor
" unequal conflict with the paffions and
" prejudices
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. Ill
" prejudices of our day, perhaps with no
" better weapons than other paffions and
" prejudices of our own, convey wifdom
" at our expence to future generations."
After thefe teflimonies to the excellence
of the American Hiftory, joined to twenty
years' pofTefTion of the public favour, it
may perhaps be thought prefumption in
me to interpofe my own judgment with
refpect to its peculiar merits. I cannot help,
however, remarking (what appears flill
more chara&eriftical of this than of any
of Dr. Robertfon's other works) the com-
prehenfive furvey which he has taken of his
vaft and various fubjecl, and the fkilful
arrangement by which he has beltowed
connection and fymmetry on a mafs of
materials fo fhapelefs and disjointed. The
penetration and fagacity difplayed in his
delineation of favage manners, and the
unbiafTed good fcnfe with which he has
contrafted that (rate of focietv with civilized
life, (a fpeculation in the profecution of
which fo many of his predecefTors had loft
themfelves in vague declamation or in
paradoxical refinement,) have been much
and
112 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
and defervedly admired. His induftry alfo
and accuracy in collectipg information with
refpect to the Spaniih Tyftern of colonial
policy, have received warm praife from his
friends and from the public. But what
perhaps does no lefs honour to the powers
of his mind than any of thefe particulars
is, the ability and addrefs with which he
has treated fome topics that did not fall
within the ordinary fphere of his fludies •
more efpecially thofe which border on the
province of the natural hiftorian. In the
confideration of thefe, although we may
perhaps, in one or two inftances, have
room to regret that he had not been ftill
more completely prepared for the under-
taking by previous habits of fcicntific dif-
quifition, we uniformly find him interefting
and inflructive in the information he con-
veys; and happy, beyond moft Englifli
Writers, in the defcriptive powers of his
ftyle. The fpecies of defcription too in
which he excels is peculiarly adapted to
his fubjecT:; diftinguifhed, not by thofe
picturefque touches which vie with the
effects of the Pencil in prefenting local
fcenery
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 113
fcenery to the mind, but by an expreffion,
to which Language alone is equal, of the
grand features of an unfubdued "World.
In thefe paffages he difcovers talents,
as a Writer, different from any thing
that appears in his other publications ; a
compafs and richnefs of diction the more
furprifing, that the objects defcribed were
fo little familiarized to his thoughts, and,
in more than one inftance, rivalling the
majeflic eloquence which deftined Buffon
to be the Hiftorian of Nature.
After all, however, the principal charm
of this, as well as of his other Hiftories,
arifes from the graphical effect of his nar-
rative, wherever his fubject affords him
materials for an interefting picture. What
force and beauty of painting in his circum-
ftantial details of the voyage of Columbus ;
of the firft afpect of the New Continent ;
and of the interviews of the natives with
the Spanifh adventurers ! With what ani-
mation and fire does he follow the fteps of
' Cortes through the varying fortunes of his
vaft and hazardous career ; yielding, it mud
be owned, fomewhat too much to the in-
1 fluence
114 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
fluence of the paffions which his hero felt ;
but beftowing, at the fame time, the warm
tribute of admiration and iympathy on the
virtues and fate of thofe whom he fubdued ?
The arts, the inftitutions, and the manners
of Europe and of America ; but above all,
the fplendid characters of Cortes and of
Guatimozin, enable him, in this part of
his work, to add to its other attractions
that of the fineft contrails which occur in
Hiftory.
On thefe and fimilar occafions, if I may
be allowed to judge from what I expe-
rience in myfelf, he feizes more completely,
than any other modern Hiitorian, the atten-
tion of his reader, and tranfports him into
the midit of the tranfactions which he
records. His own imagination was warm
and vigorous ; and, although in the con-
duel: of life it gave no tincture of enthu-
fiafm to his temper, yet, in the iblitude of
the clofetj it attached him peculiarly to thofe
paiTages of hiftory which approach to the
romantic. Hence many of the character-
iftical beauties of his writings; and hence
too, perhaps, fome of their imperfections.
A cold
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 1 15
A cold and phlegmatic hiftorian, who fur-
veys human affairs like the inhabitant of a
different planet, if his narrative mould
fometimes languifh for want of intereft,
will at leaft avoid thofe prepoffeflions into
which the Writer rauft occafionally be
betrayed, who, mingling with a fympathetic
ardour among the illuflrious perfonages
whofe ftory he contemplates, is liable,
while he kindles with their generous emo-
tions, to be infected by the contagion of
their prejudices and paflions.
Thefe effects, refulting naturally from
a warm imagination, were heightened in
Dr. Robertfon by the vigour of an active
and afpiring mind. It was not from the
indifference produced by indolence or ab-
ftraction that he withdrew from the bufi-
nefs of life to philofophy and letters. He
was formed for action no lefs than fpecu-
lation ; and had fortune opened to him a
field equal to his talents, he would have
preferred, without hefitation, (if I do not
greatly miftake his character,) the purfuits
of the former to thofe of the latter. His
ftudies were all directed to the great fcenes
1 2 of
1 1 6 ACCODNT OP THE LIFE AND
of political exertion ; and it was only be-
caufe he wanted an opportunity to fuftain
a part in them himfelf, that he fubmitted
to be an Hiftorian of the actions of others.
In all his writings the influence of the cir-
cum (lances which I have now fuggefted
may, I think, be traced ; but in none of
the*m is it fo ftrongly marked as in the
Hiftory of America. There he writes with
the intereft of one who had been himfelf an
actor on the fcene ; giving an ideal range to
his ambition among the aftonifhing events
which he defcribes.
Perhaps, indeed, it muft be owned, on
the other hand, that if the excellencies of
this performance are on a fcale commen-
furate to the magnitude of the lubje&, it is
in fome refpetts more open to cenfure than
any of his other productions. A partiality
for the charms of eloquence and the origin-
ality of fyftem difplayed in the writings of
BufFon and de Paw ; — a partiality natural
to the enthufiafm of a congenial mind, has
unqueftionably produced a facility in the
admiflion of many of their afTertions which
are now clalTed with the prejudices of for-
mer
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 1 1 7
mer times. After allowing, however, to tins
charge all the weight it pofTefTes, it ought
to be remembered, in juftice to Dr. Robert-
fon, what important additions have been
made, fince the time he wrote, to our
knowledge both of America and of its
aboriginal inhabitants ; and that it is not
from our prefent flock of information, but
from what was then current in Europe,
that an eftimate can fairly be formed of the
extent and accuracy of his refearches. When
he hazarded himfelf, like Columbus, in
traverfing an unknown ocean, and in
furveying a New World, much, it might
be expected, would be left to reward the
induftry of future adventurers.— The dif-
pofition he has fhewn to palliate or to veil
the enormities of the Spaniards in their
American conquefts, is a blemifh of a deeper
and more ferious nature, to the impreffion
of which I mud content myfelf with
oppofing thofe warm and enlightened fen-
timents of humanity which in general ani-
mate his writings. A late candid and
well-informed Author, accordingly, after
aflerting that the conqueft of the New
1 3 World
Il8 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
World was effe&ed (on a low eftimate)
by the murdering of ten millions of the
fpecies, and that the accounts of this car-
nage are authenticated beyond the poffibi-
lity of difpute, fuggefts an apology for Dr.
Robertfon by remarking, w That this is one
" of thofe melancholy paflages in the
" hiftory of human nature, where a bene-
" volent mind, fhrinking from the con-
* templation of fads, wifhes to refift
" conviction, and to relieve itfelf by incre-
« dulity * "
The Spanifh nation were not infenfible
of what they owed to Dr. Robertfon for
" the temperate fpirit" (as Mr. Gibbon
exprefTes it) with which he had related this
portion of their ftory. " On the 8th of
" Auguft 1777, he was unanimoufly elected
" a member of the Royal Academy of Hit-
" tory at Madrid ; in teftimony of their ap-
H probation of the induftry and care with
" which he has applied to the ftudy of
" Spanifh Hiftory, and as a recompence
M for his merit in having contributed fo
• Uryan Edwards— Hiftory of the Well Indies.
" much
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I I r>
" much to illuftrate and fpread the know-
" ledge of it in foreign countries." The
Academy, at the fame time, appointed one
of its members to tranflate the Biftory of
America into Spanifh ; and it is believed
that considerable progrefs had been made in
the tranflation, when the Spanifh Govern-
ment, judging it inexpedient that a work
mould be made public, in which the nature
of the trade with America, and the fyftem
of Colonial adminiftration were fo fully
explained, interpofed its authority to flop
the undertaking.
As the volumes which have been now
under our review did not complete Dr.
Robertfon's original defign, he announced
in the preface his intention to refume the
fubjecT: at a future period ; fufpending,
in the mean time, the execution of that
part of his plan which related to the Britifh
fettlements, " on account of the ferment
" which then agitated our North American
" Colonies." A fragment of this intended
work, which has been publifhed fmce his
death, while it illuftrates the perfevering
I 4 ardor
120 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
ardor of his mind, muft excite a lively
regret in all who read it, that a Hiftory fo
peculiarly calculated by its fubject to co-
extend his tame with the future progrefs of
our language in the regions beyond the
Atlantic, had not been added to the other
monuments of his genius,
The caution which Dr. Robertfon ob-r
ferved in his expreffions concerning the
American war, fuggefls fome doubts about
his fentiments on that fubject. In his letters
to Mr. Strahan he writes with greater
freedom, and fometimes ftates, without
referve, his opinions of men and meafures.
One or two of thefe paflages (which I
tranfcribe without any comment) appear
to me to be objects of curiofity, as they
illuftrate Dr. Robertfon's political views ;
and I flatter myfelf they will now be read
without offence, when the factions to which
they allude are almoft effaced from our
recollection by the more interesting events
of a later period. I need fcarcely pre-
mife,
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 121
mife, that in quoting Dr. Robertfon's opi-
nions I would by no means be underftood
to fubfcribe to them as my own.
In a letter, dated Odober 6, 1775, he
writes thus : "I agree with you in fenti-
" ment about the affairs of America. Inca-
" pacity, or want of information, has led
" the people employed there to deceive Mi-
" niftry. Trufting to them, they have been
" trifling for two years, when they mould
" have been ferious, until they have ren-
" dered a very fimple piece of bufinefs
" extremely perplexed. They have per-
" mitted colonies disjoined by nature and
" fituation to confolidate into a regular
" fyftematical confederacy ; and when a
" few regiments ftationed in each capital
" would have rendered it impoflible for
" them to take arms, they have fuffered
" them quietly to levy and train forces, as
" if they had not known and feen againft
" whom they were prepared. But now
" we are fairly committed, and I do think
" it fortunate that the violence of the Ame-
" ricans has brought matters to a crifis too
" foon for themfelves. From the beginning
"of
122 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" of the conteft I have always afferted that
" independence was their object. The
" diftinclion between taxation and regit-
" lation is mere folly. There is not an
" argument againft our right of taxing that
" does not conclude with tenfold force
" againft our power of regulating their
" trade. They may profefs or difclaim
" what they pleafe, and hold the language
" that beft fuits their purpofe ; but if they
" have any meaning, it mult be that they
" mould be free ftates, connected with us
" by blood, by habit, and by religion, but
" at liberty to buy and fell and trade where
" and with whom they pleafe. This they
" will one day attain, but not juft now,
" if there be any degree of political wif-
" dom or vigour remaining. At the fame
" time one cannot but regret that pro-
" fperous and growing ftates mould be
" checked in their career. As a lover of
" mankind I bewail it ; but as a fubjecl: of
" Great Britain, I muft wilh that their
" dependence on it mould continue. If
" the wifdom of Government can termi-
M nate the conteft with honour inftantly,
" that
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 123
<c that would be the moft defirable iffue.
" This, however, I take to be now im-
" poffible ; and I will venture to foretel,
" that if our leaders do not at once exert
" the power of the Britifh Empire in its
" full force, the ftruggle will be long, du-
" bious, and difgraceful. We are paft the
" hour of lenitives and half exertions. If
" the conteft be protracted, the fmalleft
" interruption of the tranquillity that now
" reigns in Europe, or even the appearance
" of it, may be fatal.
" It is lucky that my American Hiftory
" was not finifhed before this event. How
" many plaufible theories that I mould
" have been entitled to form, are contra-
" dieted by what has now happened !"
To this extract, I fhall only add a few
fentences from a letter written to the fame
correfpondent about the affairs of Ame-
rica, nine years before, at the time of the
repeal of the Stamp-Act.
" I am glad to hear the determination
" of the Houfe of Commons concerning
a the Stamp-Act. I rejoice, from my
124 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" love of the human fpecies, that a million
" of men in America have fome chance of
" running the fame great career which
" other free people have held before them.
" I do not apprehend revolution or inde-
" pendence fooner than thefe muft and
" fliould come. A very little fkill and
" attention in the art of governing may
u preferve the fupremacy of Britain as long
" as it ought to be preferved. You can do
" me no favour more obliging, than that of
" writing me often an account of all oc-
" currences in the debates on this affair.
" I am much interefted in the fubjeft ;
" very little in the men who aft on either
" fide. I am not weak enough greatly to
" admire their virtues, nor fo faftious as
" to adopt their paffions."
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 125
SECTION IV.
Continuation of the fame Subjecl — Histo-
rical Disquisition concerning
India.— General Remarks on Dr, Robert-
fons Merits as an Hiftorian.
JL n confequence of the interruption of Dr.
Robertfon's plans produced by the Ame-
rican Revolution, he was led to think of
fome other fubjecl: which might, in the
mean time, give employment to his ftudious
leifure. A letter, dated July 1778, to his
friend the Rev. Mr. Waddilove, (now
Dean of Rippon,) contains fome important
information with refpect to his defigns at
this period.
" The ftate of our affairs in North Ame-
" rica is not fuch as to invite me to go on
" with my Hiftory of the New World.
" I muft wait for times of greater tran-
" quillity,
126 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" quillity, when I can write and the public
" can read with more impartiality and bet-
" ter information than at prefent. Every
" perfon with whom I converfed in Lon-
" don confirmed me in my refolution of
" making a paufe for a little, until it lhall
'• be known in what manner the ferment
" will fubfide. But as it is neither my
" inclination nor intereft to be altogether
" idle, many of my friends have fuggefted
" to me a new fubjecT:, the Hiftory of
" Great Britain from the Revolution to
" the Acceflion of the Houfe of Hanover.
" It will be fome fatisfaction to me to
" enter on a domeftic fubjecl, after being
" engaged fo long on foreign ones, where
" one half of my time and labour were
" employed in teaching myfelf to under-
" ftand manners, and laws, and forms
u which I was to explain to others. You
" know better than any body how much
" pains I beftowed in ftudying the confti-
" tution, the manners, and the commerce
" of Spanifti America. The Review con-
u tained in the firft volume of Charles V.
" was founded on refearches ftill more
" laborious.
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 127
" laborious. I fhall not be involved in
" the fame painful enquiries, if I under-
" take the prefent work, I poflefs already
" as much knowledge of the Britifh govern-
" ment and laws as ufually is poflefled by
" other perfons who have been well edu-
" cated and have lived in good company.
" A minute inveftigation of facts will be
" the chief object of my attention. With
" refpect to thefe, I fhall be much aided by
" the original papers publifhed by Sir John
" Dalrymple and Macpherfon, and lately
" by Lord Hardwicke. The Memoirs of
" Noailles, concerning the French nego-
" tiations in Spain, contain very curious
" information. I have got a very valuable
" collection of papers from the Duke of
" Montague, which belonged to the Duke
" of Shrewfbury, and I am promifed the
" large colledion of the Duke of Marl-
" borough, which were formerly in the
" hands of Mr. Mallet. From thefe and
" other materials I hope to write a Hif-
" tory which may be both entertaining
" and inftrudive. I know that I fhall
" get upon dangerous ground, and muft
" relate
128 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" relate events concerning which our poll-
" tical factions entertain very different fen-
" timents. But I am little alarmed with
" this. I flatter myfelf that I have temper
" enough to judge with impartiality ; and
" if, after examining with candour, I do
" give offence, there is no man whofe
" fituation is more independent."
Whatever the motives were which in-
duced him to relinquish this project, it is
certain that it did not long occupy his
thoughts. From a letter of Mr. Gibbon,
it would appear to have been abandoned
before the end of the year 1779. The
paffage is interefting, not only as it ferves
to afcertain the fact, but as it fuggefts a
valuable hint with refpect to a different
hiltorical fubject.
" I remember a kind of engagement yon
had contracted to repeat your vifit to
M London every fecond year, and I look
" forwards with pleafure to next fpring
M when your bond will naturally become
" due. I mould almoft hope that you
" would bring with you fome fruits of
" your lcifure, had I not been informed
1 " that
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 129
" that you had totally relinquished your
" defign of continuing Mr. Hume's Hif-
" tory of England. Notwithstanding the
" juft and deep fenfe which I muft entertain
" (if the intelligence be true) of our public
" lofs, I have fcarcely courage enough to
" blame you. The want of materials and
" the danger of offence are two formidable
" obftacles for an Hiftorian who wifhes to
" inftrucl, and who is determined not to
" betray his readers. — But if you leave the
" narrow limits of our ifland, there ftili
" remain, without returning to the troubled
" fcene of America, many fubjects not
" unworthy of your genius. Will you
" give me leave, as a vague and indigefted
" hint, to fuggeft the Hiftory of the Pro-
" teftants in France ; the events are im-
" portant in themfclves, and intimately
" connected with the great Revolutions of
<( Europe : fome of the boldeft or moft
u amiable characters of modern times, the
" Admiral Coligny, Henry IV. &c. would
"be your peculiar heroes; the materials
" are copious, and authentic, and acceflible ;
" and the objeds -appear to ftand at that
K " juft
130 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" juft diftance which excites curiofity with-
" out infpiring paflion. Excufe the free-
" dom, and weigh the merits (if any) of
" this propofal *J*
As I have had very little accefs to fee any
of Dr. Robertfon's anfwers to the letters of
his correfpondents, I am ignorant what
reply he made to this fuggeftion of Mr.
Gibbon, as well as of the circumftances
that induced him to lay afide his plans
with refped to the Hiftory of England.
It is impoflible, however, not to feel much
regret that he did not carry them into
execution. In fpite of the obflacles which
Mr. Gibbon mentions, there can be little
doubt that the work would have been an
important acceffion to Englifh literature ;
and, in all probability, from the intercfting
nature of the fubjec"t, the moft popular of
his performances. The intrigues of the dif-
ferent factions during the reign of Queen
Anne would have afforded an ample field
for the exercife of his cool and difcrimi-
nating judgment ; the campaigns of Marl-
* Appendix, Note F.
borough
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 13I
borough deferved fuch an Hiftorian ; while
the literature and philofophy of that me-
morable period would have given full em-
ployment to thofe critical powers which
he fo eminently poffefTed, and of which he
has unfortunately left no monument behind
him. The flight fketches of this kind,
interfperfed with the narrative of Mr.
Hume's Hiftory, have always been fa-
vourite paffages with readers of tafte; and,
if I may be permitted to judge from Dr.
Robertfon's converfation, he would not, in
this fpecies of compofition, have been
furpafTed by any of his contemporaries.
I have not heard of any other work that
he projected after this period. He fecms
indeed foon to have abandoned all thoughts
of writing any more for the public, and to
have indulged the idea of profecuting his
ftudies in future for his private amufement.
His circumftances were independent : he
was approaching to the age of fixty, with
a conftitution confiderably impaired by a
fedentary life ; and a long application to
K 2 the
X32 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
the compofitions he had prepared for the
prcfs, had interfered with much of the
gratification he might have enjoyed, if he
had been at liberty to follow the impulfe of
his Own tafte and curiofity. Such a facri-
fice mufl: be more or lefs made by all who
devote themfelves to letters, whether with
a view to emolument or to fame; nor would
it perhaps be eafy to make it, were it not
for the profpect (feldom, alas I realized,)
of earning by their exertions, that learned
and honourable leilure which he was fo
fortunate as to attain. He retired from the
bufinefs of the ecclefiaftical courts about
the fame time; and, for {even or eight
years, divided the hours which he could
fpare from his profeflional duties, between
the luxury of reading and the converfation
of his friends.
The activity of his mind, in the mean
time, continued unimpaired ; and the habits
of ftudy he had fo long been accuftomed
to, gave a certain fcope and connection
even to his hiftorical recreations. To one of
thefe, which, from its accidental connection
with
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I 33
with fome of his former works, engaged
his attention more clofely than his ordinary
purfuits, the public is indebted for a valu-
able performance, of which the materials
feem almoft infenfibly to have fwelled to a
volume, long after his mod intimate friends
imagined that he had renounced all thoughts
of the prefs. The Difquifition concerning
Ancient India, which clofed his hiftorical
labours, took its rife (as he himfelf informs
us) " from the perufal of Major Rennell's
" Memoir for illustrating his Map of In-
" doftan. This fuggefted to him the idea
" of examining, more fully than he had
" done in the introductory book to his
" Hiftory of America, into the knowledge
" which the Ancients had of that country,
" and of confideringf what is certain, what
" is obfcure, and w r hat is fabulous, in the
" accounts of it which they have handed
" down to us," — " In undertaking this
*' enquiry," (he adds,) " he had originally
" no other object than his own amufement
" and inftrudtion; but in carrying it on,
" and confulting with care the authors of
*' antiquity, fome fads hitherto unobferved,
K 3 " and
134 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" and many which had not been examined
" with proper attention, occurred ; new
" views opened ; his ideas gradually ex-
" tended, and became more interefting ;
" till at length he imagined that the remit
" of his refearches might prove amufing
" and inftruclive to others."
Such is the account given by himfelf of
the origin and progrefs of a difquifition be-
gun in the fixty-eighth year of his age, and
in twelve months brought to a conclulion ;
exhibiting, neverthelefs, in every part, a
diligence in refearch, a foundnefs of judg-
ment, and a perfpicuity of method, not
inferior to thofe which diftinguifh his other
performances. From the nature of the fub-
jecl: it was impoflible to render it equally
amufing to ordinary readers, or to beftow
on his language the fame fplendor and
variety ; but the ftyle poiTelTes all the
characleriftical beauties of his former com-
pofitions, as far as they could with pro-
priety be introduced into a difcourfe, of
which the general deflgn excluded every
fuperfluous and ambitious ornament. The
obfervations in the Appendix, upon the
character,
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I 35
chara&er, the manners, and the inftitutions
of the people of India, prefent a valuable
outline of all the mod important inform-
ation concerning them, which was then
accefiible to the philofophers of Europe ;
and, if they have already loft part of their
intereft, in confequence of the aftonifhing
difcoveries which have been (Ince brought
to light in Afia, by a fortunate and unex-
ampled combination of genius, learning, and
official rank, in a few individuals whofe
names do honour to this country ; they, at
leaft, evince that ardent and enlightened
curiofity which animated the Author's en-
quiries in his mod advanced years; and
afford a proof, that his mind kept pace,
to the laft, with the progrefs of hiftorical
knowledge.
In thefe obfervations too, we may occa-
fionally trace the influence of ftill higher
motives ; to which he has himfelf alluded,
with an affecting folemnity, in the laft
fentcnces which he addrelfed to the public.
" If I had aimed" (fays he) " at nothing
" elfe than to defcribe the civil polity, the
" arts, the fciences, and religious inftitu-
K 4 " tions,
I36 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" tions, of one of the moft ancient and moft
" numerous races of men, that alone would
M have led me into enquiries and difcuflions
*' both curious and inftru&ive. 1 own,
" however, that I have all along kept in
" view an object, more interefting, as well
" as of greater importance; and entertain
" hopes, that if the account which I have
M given of the early and high civilifation
" of India, and of the wonderful progrefs
" of its inhabitants in elegant arts and
" ufeful fcience, fhall be received as juft
" and well eftablifhed, it may have fome
" influence upon the behaviour of Eu-
" ropeans towards that people. It was by
" an impartial and candid enquiry into
" their manners, that the Emperor Akber
" was led to confider the Hindoos as no
" lefs entitled to protection and favour than
*• his other fubje&s ; and to govern them
" with fuch equity and mildnefs, as to
>' merit from a grateful people the honour-
" able appellation of * the Guardian of
" Mankind.' If I might prefume to hope,
fl that the defcription I have given of the
M mappers and inftitutions of the people
"of
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I37
" of India could contribute in the fmalleft
" degree, and with the mod remote influ-
" ence, to render their character more
" refpe&able, and their condition more
M happy, I mould clofe my literary labours
" with the fatisfaction of thinking that I
ft have not lived or written in vain *."
In concluding this general review of
Dr. Robertfon's publications, our attention
is naturally led, in the firft place, to the
extent and variety of his hiftorical re-
fearches. In this refpect, he has certainly
not been furpafled by any writer of the
prefent times ; nor would it perhaps be
eafy to name another who has united to fo
luminous an arrangement of his materials,
and fuch mafterly fkill in adorning them,
an equal degree of induftry and exactnefs
in tracing them to their original fources.
After a minute examination of the molt
difputed paffages of his firft performance,
* Appendix, Note G.
a late
I38 ACCOUNT OJF THE LIFE AKD
a late author * has ventured to pronounce
him, " the mod faithful of Hiftorians ;"
and I have no doubt that this honourable
appellation will be fanclioned by thofe who
fhall examine his other works with the fame
acutenefs, accuracy, and candour.
In the art of narration too, which, next
to correttnefs in the ftatement of fads, is
the raoft elfential qualification of an Hifto-
rian, Dr. Robertfon's fkill is pre-eminent:
perhaps I might venture to fay, that in
this art, his chief and chara fieri ftical excel-
lence as an Hiftorian confifts. I do not, at
prefent, allude merely to the richnefs of
colouring with which he occafionally
arrefls the attention ; but to the diftinct-
nefs, perfpicuity, and fulnefs, with which
he uniformly communicates hiftorical in-
formation ; carefully avoiding every refer-
ence to whatever previous knowledge of
the fubjecl: his reader may accidentally
pofTefs. In this diftinctnefs and perfpi-
cuity, fo confpicuous in the great models
* Mr. Laing.
of
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 139
of antiquity, fome modern writers of un-
questionable talents have failed to a degree
which renders all their other merits of
little value ; — a failure more particularly
obfervable, fince it became fafhionable,
after the example of Voltaire, to connect
with the view of political tranfactions,
an examination of their effects on the
manners and condition of mankind, and
to blend the lights of philofophy with the
appropriate beauties of hiftorical compo-
fition. In confequence of this innovation,
while the province of the Hiftorian has
been enlarged and dignified, the difficulty
of his talk has encreafed in the fame pro-
portion ; reduced, as he muft frequently
be, to the alternative, either of interrupting
unfeafonably the chain of events, or, by
interweaving difquifition and narrative to-
gether, of facrificing clearnefs to brevity.
By few writers of the prefent age has this
combination of philofophy with hiftory
been more frequently attempted than by
Dr. Robertfon; and by none have the
inconveniences which it threatens been
more
I40 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
more fuccefsfully avoided. In the former
refpect his merit is great ; but in the latter,
he may be fafely propofed as a pattern for
imitation.
Nor does the beauty of his narrative
confift only in the luminous diftinctnefs,
and pi&urefque felection of his details.
In a paflage formerly quoted from one of
Mr. Walpole's letters, it is mentioned,
among the other recommendations of the
Hiftory of Scotland, that, " although com-
u pofed of pieces of information, each of
u which would make a feparate memoir,
" yet the whole is hurried on into one
" uninterrupted ftory." The remark is
juft, and it points at an excellence of the
higheft order, confpicuous in all Dr.
Robertfon's publications ; the continuity
which unites together the different parts
of his fubject, in confequence of the
addrefs and felicity difplayed in his tran-
fitions. It is this laft circumftance which
beftows on his works that unceafing intereft
which constitutes one of the principal
charms in tales of fiction ; an intereft
eafy to fupport in relating a feries of ima-
ginary
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 141
ginary adventures, but which, in hiftorical
compofition, evinces, more than any thing
elfe, the hand of a mafter.
The attainment of thefe different per-
fections was undoubtedly much facilitated
by the plan which he adopted, of throwing
into the form of Notes and Illuftrations,
whatever critical or fcientific difcuffions ap-
peared to him to interfere with the peculiar
province of hiftory. In one of the laft con-
ventions I had with him, he mentioned
this as an improvement of confiderable
importance in hiftorical writing ; and his
final judgment on the fubject will be
allowed to have great weight in favour of
that mode of arrangement which he adopted.
On this point, I know, there is a wide di-
verfity of opinion : nor do I think myfelf
entitled to pronounce with confidence upon
either fide, where the beft judges have
hefitated in their decifion. Our late ex-
cellent colleague Mr. Smith carried to fuch
a length his partiality to the ancient forms
of claffical compofition, that he confidered
every fpecies of note as a blemifh or imper-
fection ;
I42 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
fe&ion ; indicating, either an idle accumu-
lation of fuperfluous particulars, or a want
of {kill and comprehenficn in the general
defign. Dr. Douglas too, the prefent Bifhop
of Salifbury, in a letter addrefled to Dr.
Robertfon on occafion of his American
Hiftory, appears diflatisfied with the local
feparation of the notes from the text ;
without, however, difputing the general
principle on which the arrangement of
his materials proceeds. " I think," (fays
he,) " that your notes and illuftrations
" very frequently contain matter of the
" greateft importance to the ftrengthening
u the arguments and concluficns you adopt
u in the body of the book ; and they arc
" fo widely feparated by the mode of your
" publication, that the reader cannot fee,
u at one view, the great merit of your
" work. Mr. Gibbon adopted this method,
" in imitation of your Charles V. ; but I
" believe he has found the wifhes of the
" public in favour of another arrangement j
" for I underftand, in a new edition of his
" Hiftory which we are foon to have, the
4 " notes
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 14.3
<{ notes and illuftrations are to be put at
" the bottom of the pages to which they
" refer. — I know you will excufe this
*' liberty ; and very probably, as you have
" confidered the matter more accurately
" than fuch readers as I am, you can give
" very fubftantial reafons for preferring the
" plan of throwing the notes and illuftra-
" dons to the end of the volume."
On a queftion of this fort, the fuggeftions
of fo learned and judicious a critic are
undoubtedly entitled to peculiar deference :
but I muft be permitted to exprefs my
doubts whether he has added to their
weight, by appealing to the arrangement
of Mr. Gibbon ; which, in this inftance,
has always appeared to me to be incon-
venient in the extreme. In no fpecies of
writing is it agreeable to have the attention
fo frequently withdrawn from the text; but
in hiftorical writing it is impofTible to devife
a more effectual expedient for counteracting
the effects of the author's art. The curious
refearch and the epigrammatic wit fo often
difplayed in Mr. Gibbon's notes, and which
fometimcs
244 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
fometimes render them more amufing than
even the eloquent narrative which they are
meant to illuftrate, ferve only to add to
the embarraflment occafioned by this un-
fortunate diftribution of his materials. He
feems, indeed, from a letter publifhed in his
pofthumous works, to have been fully fatis-
fied, after a trial of both plans, that the
preference was due to that which, after
Dr. Robertfon's example, he had originally
purfued. " I cannot be difpleafed" (he
obferves) " with the two numerous and
" correct impreffions which have been
" publifhed for the ufe of the Continent
" at Bafil in Switzerland. Of their four-
41 teen octavo volumes, the two Iaft include
" the whole body of the notes. The public
" importunity had forced me to remove
" them from the end of the volume to
" the bottom of the page ; but I have often
u repented of my compliance *."
It is remarkable that no alternative
fhould have occurred to Mr, Gibbon
• Vol. i. p. J 78.
between
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 145
between placing all his notes at the bottom
of the page, or collecting them all in the
form of an Appendix. In the firft edition
of his firft volume, he followed Dr. Ro-
bertfon implicitly in adopting the latter
method ; which, although by far the more
unexceptionable of the two, might be ob-
vioufly improved by fome limitations. Mr.
Hume, in a letter to Mr. Strahan, obje&s
to it ftrongly. " One is plagued with
" Gibbon's notes, according to the prefent
" method of printing the book. When a
" note is announced, you turn to the end
" of the volume, and there you often find
<c nothing but a reference to an authority.
*' All thefe authorities ought only to be
" printed at the margin or the bottom of
" the page *."
What Mr. Hume here remarks con-
cerning references to authorities, may
be extended to thofe fhort explanatory
fentences, which, being intended to facili-
tate the reader's progrefs, mould unques-
tionably be brought under his eye, at the
* Gibbon's Poft. Works, vol. i. p. 500.
l fame
146 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
fame time with the pafiage they are intend-
ed to elucidate. Dr. Robertfon, as well as
Mr. Gibbon, feems to have overlooked this
diftinclion between explanatory hints, and
notes intended for the gratification of the
curious ; and hence have arifen (at leaft in
part) thofe inconveniences in the technical
arrangement of his volumes, of which Dr.
Douglas was led to complain.
A ftill more important blemi(h, however,
it mud be confeiTed, than what this refpedt-
able correfpondent has fpecified, is fome-
times the real fource of the imperfection
he has remarked ; I mean, that a confider-
able portion of the matter which is par-
celled .out among the notes, ought to have
been incorporated with the text. Where a
writer finds it necefiary to enter into
fpeculation and difcufhon, the whole of his
argument fhould undoubtedly be dated at
once, and not broken down into fragments,
which the reader is to collect from differ-
ent parts of the book. In thofe diiTertations,
therefore, which form fo confiderable a part
both of the Hiftory of Charles V. and of
America, it would perhaps have been better,
if
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 147
if the Author had adhered lefs clofely to
the plan which he has fo judicioufly adopted
in his hiftorical narrative. The arguments
which recommend it in the latter fpecies of
compofition, it is iufficiently evident, do
not apply to it when introduced into the
former.
After all, whoever attempts to inftruct
the world by any, literary undertaking,
whether hiftorical or fpeculative, will find
it neceffaryj for the complete fatisfaction of
accurate inquirers, to engage in occafional
difcuffions which could not be introduced
into the body of the work, without digref-
fions inconfiftent with a fimple and diftincl:
' arrangement ; nor comprefTed into notes at
the bottom of the page, without flopping
the reader's progrefs and mifleading his
attention. No writer has been more com-
pletely aware of this than Mr. Hume, who,
in all his publications, both hiftorical and
philofophical, has diftinguiihed carefully
thofe incidental fuggeftions which are ne-
ceftary to prevent any hefitation about the
text from the critical difquifitions ufeful for
fatisfying men of curious refearch, or for
1 2 obvi-
I48 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
obviating the doubts of more refined fpecu-
lation. Dr. Robertfon's fubjects, in all his
Hiftories excepting that of Scotland, en-
gaged him in inquiries more open to
controverfy, and in arguments refting upon
information lefs acceflible to ordinary
readers, than thofe of Mr. Hume. His
proofs and illuftrations, accordingly, bear a
far greater proportion to the fize of his
volumes ; but I am inclined to think that,
if examined with proper attention, the
arrangement of them will be found (with
a few exceptions) to reflect no lefs honour
on his tafte and difcernment.
The flrefs which Dr. Robertfon himfelf ,
laid on this peculiarity in his mode of
compofition, added to the indecifion of Mr.
Gibbon with refpect to its propriety, will,
I hope, apologize fuffiYiently for the mi-
nutenefs with which fome of the foregoing
particulars are ftated. — The general queftion
concerning the expediency of imitating the
ancients, in limiting an author's intercourfe
with his readers, to what is conveyed in
the text, does not feem to me to admit of
difcufTion. Confidered as fources of authen-
4 tic
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 149
tic and of accurate information, the value of
the claflics is infinitely diminimed by this
.very circumftance ; and few, I believe,
have ftudied Mr. Smith's works, (parti-
cularly his Inquiry into the Nature and
Caufes of the Wealth of Nations,) without
regretting, on fome occafions, the omirTion
of his authorities; and, on others, the
digreffions into which he has been led, by
conforming fo fcrupuloufly to the example
of antiquity.
Of Dr. Robertfon's merits as an Hifto-
rian, as far as they are connected with the
genius of the language in which he wrote,
it does not become a native of this part of
the ifland to exprefs a decided opinion.
And, accordingly, in the few remarks which
I am to hazard on that fubjecT:, although I
fhall ftate my own judgment with freedom,
I would be underftood to write with all
poffible diffidence.
The general ftrain of his compofition is
flowing, equal, and majeftic ; harmonious
beyond that of moft Englim writers, yet
L 3 feldom
I50 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
feldom deviating, in queft of harmony, into
inveriion, redundancy, or affectation. If,
in fome paffages, it may be thought that
the effect might have been heightened by
fomewhat more of variety in the ftructure
and cadence of his periods, it muft be
recollected that this criticifm involves an
encomium on the beauty of his ftyle ; for
it is only where the ear is habitually gra-
tified, that the rythm of compofition be-
comes an object of the reader's attention.
In comparing his turn of expreflion with
that of the Claffical Writers of England, a
difference may, I think, be perceived ;
originating in the provincial fituation of
the country where he received his education
and fpent his life : and, if I am not much
miftaken, the fame obfervation may be ex-
tended, in a greater or lefs degree, to moft
of our contemporaries who have laboured
under fimilar difadvantages. I do not
allude, at prefent, to what are commonly
called Scotticifms ; for, from thefe Dr. Ro-
bertfon's works have been allowed, by the
moll competent judges, to be remarkably
free ; but to an occafional fubftitution of
general
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 15!
general or of circuitous modes of exprefhon
inftead of the iimple and fpecific Englifti
phrafe. An author who lives at a diftance
from the acknowledged ftandard of elegance,
writes in a dialect different from that in
which he is accuftomed to fpeak ; and is
naturally led to evade, as much as poffjble,
the hazardous ufe of idiomatical phrafes,
by the employment of fuch as accord with
the general analogy of the language.
Hence, in all the lighter and more familiar
kinds of writing, the rifk of facrificing eafe
and vivacity, and what Dr. Johnfon calls
genuine Angliclfrn *, in order to fecure cor-
rectnefs and purity ; and hence the diffi-
culties with which thofe of our countrymen
have had to ftruggle, who have aimed at
the freedom of the epiftolary ftyle, or who
have attempted to catch the fhadowy and
fleeting forms of Comic Dialogue. The
peculiarity in the manner of Livy, cenfured
by Afinius Pollio, was probably of a fimilar
ddcription ; arifing lefs from an admixture
* " If Addifon's language had been lefs idiomatical,
" it would have loft fomething of its genuine Angli-
" cifm." Lives of the Poets.
L 4 Of
IJ2 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
of Paduan idioms than from the abfence of
fuch as marked the dialect of Rome, " In
u Tito Livio," (fays Quinttilian) " miras
" facundise viro, putat inerTe Pollio Alinius
w quandam Patavinitatem. Quare, fi fieri
w poteft, et verba omnia, et vox, hujus
" alumnum Urbis oleant ; ut oratio Romana
" plane videatur, non civitate donata*."
If, however, in thefe and a few other
refpetts, important advantages are pofTefTed
by thofe whofe flandard of propriety is
always before them in their ordinary habits
of converfation and of bufinefs, it muft
perhaps be granted, on the other hand, that
an ear thus familiarized from infancy to
phrafes which it has been accuftomed to
retain, without any felection, or any refer-
ence to general principles, can fcarcely fail
to have fome effect in blunting an author's
difcriminationbetween the eftablifhed modes
of claflical expreflion and the accidental jar-
gon of the day. llluftrations of this remark
might be eafily collected from writers of
the higheft and mod deferved reputation ;
* Quinftil. 1. viii. c. I.
more
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I53
more particularly from fome who have
cultivated, with the greateft fuccefs, the
appropriate graces of the Englifti tongue. — •
Even the works of Dr. Middleton, which
have been often recommended to Scotch-
men as the fafeft models for their imita-
tion, abound with inftances of colloquial
language, fanctioned probably by the autho-
rity of the fafhionable fpeakers of his time,
but which, I mould fuppofe, would now
be confidered as vulgarifms, by fuch of his
countrymen as have formed their tafte on
the compofitions either of an earlier or of
a later period.
In guarding again ft thefe temporary
modes of fpeech, the provincial refidence
of a Scotchman may fometimes have its ufe,
by teaching him to diftruft his ear as an
arbiter of elegance, and to appeal on every
questionable point to the practice of thofe
whofe eftabliuhed reputation gives the ftamp
of propriety to the phrafeology they have
employed. If his compofition be deficient
in eafe, it may be expected not to fall under
the ordinary ftandard, in point of purity :
nay, it is not impoflible, that in his folicitude
to
IJ4 ACCOUNT Ol THE LIFE AND
to avoid idiomatical phrafes, he may be
occafionally led to animate and to ennoble
his diction; or, by uncommon and for-
tunate combinations of words, to give to
familiar ideas the charm of novelty.
The fpecies of compofition to which
Dr. Robertfon directed his ftudies, was
peculiarly adapted to his local fituation,
by affording him an opportunity of dis-
playing all the talents he pofieiTed, without
impoiing on him a trial of his powers in
thofe kinds of writing where a Scotch-
man is moft likely to fail. In delineating
the characters of Princes, Statefmen, and
Warriors, or in recording events that have
happened on the great theatre of public
affairs, a certain elevation of language is
naturally infpired by the magnitude of the
fubject. The engaging and pathetic details
of domeftic life vanifh before the eye
which contemplates the fortunes of nations,
and the revolutions of Empire ; and there
is even a gravity of manner, exelufive of
every thing familiar or flippant, which
accords with our idea of him who fits in
judgment on the generations that are pad.
It
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 1$$
It may, perhaps, be queftioned by fome,
whether Dr, Robertfon has not carried to
an extreme, his idea of what he has himfelf
called the dignity of hijlory ; but, whatever
opinion we form on this point, it cannot
be difputed, that his plan of feparating the
materials of hiftorical compofition from
thofe which fall under the provinces of the
Antiquary, and of the writer of Memoirs,
was on the whole happily conceived ; and
that one great charm of his works arifes
from the tafte and judgment with which
he has carried it into execution.— r-Nor has
he fufTered this fcrupulous regard to the
unity of hiftorical ftyle to exclude that
variety which was neceflary for keeping
alive the reader's attention. Whenever his
fubjedt admits of being enriched or adorned
by political or philofophical difquifition,
by picturefque defcription, or by the inte-
refting details of a romantic epifode, he
fcruples not to try his ftrength with thofe
who have excelled the moft in thefe dif-
ferent departments of literature ; uniformly,
however, avoiding to mingle in the humble
fcenes of ordinary life, or to meet his rivals
on
I56 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
on any ground where he did not feel him-
felf completely their equal.
To this fyflematical felecYion of the
more regular and analogical forms of con-
ftru&ion, is to be afcribed, in a considerable
degree, his popularity among foreigners,
who unite in efteeming him, not only as
one of the mod eloquent, but as one of
the moil intelligible of our writers. And,
it may be prefumed, the fame circumftance
will fecure in his favour the fuiFrages of
pofterity, when the palling idioms gene-
rated by the capricious modes of our own
times, fhall be antiquated or forgotten *.
I have only to add, that fome of the
foregoing obfervations apply more flrongly
to Dr. Robertfon's earlier than to his later
publications. In the Hiftory of Charles V.
and ftill more in that of America, he ven-
tures on expreffions which he would not
have hazarded before the eftabliihment of
his literary name ; and accordingly, it may
be doubted, whether, in confequence of
this circumftance, he did not lofe in purity
• Appendix, Note H.
Of
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 157
of diction what he gained in eafe and free-
dom. Perhaps, on the whole, it will be
found that of all his performances Charles V.
is that which unites the various requifites of
good writing in the greateft degree. The
ftyle is more natural and flowing than that
of the Hiftory of Scotland ; while, at the
fame time, idiomatical phrafes are intro-
duced with fo fparing and timid a hand,
that it is eafy to perceive the Author's
attention to corre£tnefs was not fenfibly
diminifhed. In the Hiftory of America,
although it contains many paflages equal,
if not fuperior, to any thing elfe in his
writings, the compofition does not feem
to me to be fo uniformly polifhed as that
of his former works ; nor does it always
poflefs, in the fame degree, the recommend-
ations of concifenefs aqd fimplicity.
I58 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
ffi
SECTION V.
Review of the more aclive Occupations of
Dr. Robertfons Life — Conclufion of the
Narrative — Sketch of his Character*
-
J.N reviewing the Hiftory of Dr. Robert-
fon's Life, our attention has hitherto been
confined to thofe purfuits which formed
the habitual occupation of his mind ; and
which have left behind them unperifhable
monuments. His life, however, was not
devoted wholly to the cultivation of letters.
His talents fitted him in an eminent degree
for the bufinefs of the world ; and the
ftation in which Providence placed him
opened to him a field, which, however
unequal to his ambition or to his genius,
afforded him the means of evincing what
he might have accomplifhed, if his fphere
of exertion had been more extenfive and
brilliant.
Among
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I59
Among the active fcenes in which he
had ari opportunity to engage, the moil
confpicuous was prefented to him by the
Supreme Ecclefiaftical Court in Scotland.
Of the conftitution of this court, accord-
ingly, which differs in fome remarkable
particulars from the clerical convocations
in other Chriftian countries, a general
outline is neceflary, in order to convey a
juft idea of the abilities, which fecured
to him, for a long courfe of years, an
unrivalled influence in guiding its deli-
berations.
" The
• For the materials both of this outline and of the
fubfequent view of Dr. Robertfon's fyftem of ecclefiaiti-
cal policy, I am indebted to a paper drawn up (at the
requeft of Dr. Robertfon's foil,) by the Rev. George
Hill, D. D. Principal of St. Mary's College in the Uni-
verfity of St. Andrews ; a gentleman intimately con-
nected with Dr. Robcrtfon by friendship, and highly
refpc£ted by him for the talents and eloquence which he
has for many years diiplayed in the ecclefiaftical courts.
In general I have tranferibed Dr. Hill's words, taking
the liberty occaflonally to make fuch flight alteration.-!
on the language as were neceffary for pieferving fome
degree of uniformity in the ftyle of my narrative ; and
a few retrenchments, which the plan of this Memoir
rendered unavoidable. That the public, however, may
not lofe any jpart of fo valuable a communication, I have
inferted
l6o ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" The General Airembly of the church
of Scotland is compofed of reprefentatives
from the prefbyteries ; from the royal
boroughs ; from the four univerfities ; and
from theScotch church of Campvere in Hol-
land. The prefbyteries fend two hundred
and ninety members, of whom two
hundred and one are minifters, and eighty-
nine lay-elders; the royal boroughs fend
fixty-feven members, all of whom are lay-
men ; the univerfities fend five members,
who may be either laymen, or minifters
holding an office in the univerfity ; and
the church of Campvere fends two mem-
bers, one minifter and one lay-elder. The
inferted in the Appendix, the paragraphs which are here
omitted.
As Dr. Hill's paper was fubraitted to the examination,
and received the unqualified approbation of three of Dr.
. Robeitfon's mod confidential friends (l) it may be re-
garded as an authentic ftatement of his general prin-
ciples of church government. For the fake of connection,
I have adopted into this Section fuch parts of it as
feemed to me to be necefTary for completing the hiftory
of his life ; abilaiuing, however, fcrupuloufly from
hazarding any ideas of my own, on the fubjefV to
which it relates.
(i) Dm. RUir, Carlyle, »nd Critve.
whole
WRITINGS OF X)R. ROBERTSON. l6l
whole number is three hundred and fixty-
four, of whom two hundred and two are
minifters, and one hundred and fixty-two
laymen $-. including in the latter clafs the
members from the univerfities. The annual
fittings of the AiTembly continue only for
ten days ; but a committee of the whole
Houfe (called the Commiflion) has four
ftated meetings in the year, for the difpatch
of whatever bufinefs the General Aflembly
has been unable to overtake *;
In fubordination to this fupreme court,
there is a feries of inferior judicatories
rifing, one above another, in authority. —
The loweft of thefe is the Kirk-SeJJions^ or
Parochial Confiftories; compofed of the
minifters, together with the lay-elders of
their refpe&ive parifhes. The minifters
of a number of contiguous parifhes, toge-
ther with certain reprefentatives from the
Kirk-Seflions, form a Prejbytery; and a
plurality of prefbyteries (differing in num-
ber according to accidental circumftances)
form a provincial Synod.
• Appendix, Note I.
m While
i6i Account of the life and
While the conftitution of the Scottifh
church admits of no fuperiority of one
minifter above another, it requires from
all its individual members, and from all its
inferior judicatories, ftrict obedience to
thofe who are placed in authority over
them. Every court is bound to lay the
record cf all its proceedings from time
to time before the tribunal which is its
immediate fuperior ; any part of its pro-
ceedings may be brought, by appeal or
complaint, under the review of a higher
jurifdiction ; and every minifter, when he
receives orders, comes under a folemn
engagement, " to afTert, maintain, and
" defend the doctrines, difcipline, and
" government of the church ; and never
" to attempt any thing, directly or indi-
" reclly, which may tend to its fubverilon
" or prejudice." . •
In confequence of this fubordination of
judicatories, the General AfTembly deter-
mines, as the court of laft refort, ail the
caufes brought under its review, and has
the power of enforcing without controul,
obedience to its decrees. It poffeires alfo
extenfive
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 163
extenfive legiflative powers, as it may,
with the concurrence of a majority of
prefbyteries, enact laws for the government
of the whole church.
By the Act of 1592, which gave a legal
eftablifhmentto the form of church govern-
ment now delineated, the patron of a vacant
parifli was entitled to prefent to the prefby-
tery a perfon properly qualified \ and the
prefbytery were required, after fubjecting
the prefentee to certain trials and examina-
tions, of which they were conftituted the
judges, " to ordain and fettle him as mi-
" nifter of the pariih, provided no relevant
" objection mould be ftated to his life,
" doctrine, and qualifications." This right
of prefentation, however, although con-
ferred by the fundamental charter of
Pnfbyterian government in Scotland, was
ea.*ly complained of as a grievance ; and
ac:ordingly, it was abolimed by an act
pgfled under the Ufurpation. At the Re-
iteration it was again recovered, but it was
retained only for a few years ; the Revolu-
tion having introduced a new fyftein, which
T efted the right of election in the heritors,
M 1 elders,
164 ACCOUNT OF THE life and
ciders, and heads of families in the parifh.
The 10th of Queen Anne at lad reftored
the rights of patrons ; but the exercife of
thefe rights was found to be fo extremely
unpopular, that minifters were generally
fettled, till after the year 1730, in the
manner prefcribed by the Ad of King
William.
During this long period, an averfion to
the law of patronage took deep root in the
minds of the people; and the circum-
ftances of the times were fuch as to render
it inexpedient for the church courts to
contend with a prejudice fo inveterate and
univerfal.
When the Prefbyterian eftablifhment fell
a facrifice to the policy introduced at the
Rcftoration, the minifters who refufed to
conform to prelacy were ejected from their
churches, and underwent a fevcrc perte-
cation. The firmnefs which they difplaycd
on this occafion exhibits a ftrength of cla-
l.iclcr which has never been fu r patted ; bit
Iheif fituation, while deprived of the cour-
tcnance of law, and left entirely to tie
guidance of private conference, was necei-
farilr
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 165
farily fuch, as to infpire independant princi-
ples inconfiftent with regular fubordination
and difcipline ; and, accordingly, at the
Revolution, when the Prefbyterian govern-
ment was re-eftablifhed, and many of the
ejected minifters reftored to their pulpits,
they brought along with them into the
church a fpirit fcarcely compatible with
the connection in which it flood with the
paramount authority of the ftate. Their
fucceflbrs, trained in the fame fentiments,
faw the right of patronage revived in times
which they regarded with a jealous eye;
and, without allowing themfelves to weigh
the expediency of that mode of fettlement,
they confidered it as an appendage of
epifcopacy which it was the duty of every
good Prefbyterian to oppofe. — While the
people, therefore, refilled with violence the
iirft attempt which was made about the
year 1730 to exercife this right, the church
courts, although they could not entirely
difregard the law, contrived, in many
inftances, to render it ineffectual ; and
functioned by their authority the prevailing
prejudices againft it. They admitted it as
m 3 an
l66 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
jfB uncontrovertible principle in Prefbyterian
church government, that a prefentee, al-
though perfectly well qualified, and unex-
ceptionable in life and doctrine, was never-
thelefs inadmiflible to his clerical office, till
the concurrence of the people who were to
be under his miniftry had been regularly
afcertained. The form of expreffing this
concurrence was by the fubfcription of a
paper termed a Call ; which was confidered
as a ftep fo indifpenfable towards conftitut-
ing the paftoral relation, that the church-
courts, when diflatisfied with it as an ex-
preffion of the general wiflies of the parilh,
iometimes fet afide the prefentee altogether;
and when they did authorife a fettlement,
proceeded in a manner which fufficiently
implied a greater refpedt for the call than
for the prefentation.
The circumftances underftood to be
necelfary for conftituting an adequate call y
w r cre uniufceptible of a precife definition.
The unanimous confent of land-holders,
ciders, and heads of families, was feldom
to be looked for; nor was even an abfo-
lutc majority confidered as indifpenfable,
if
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 167
if the concurrence afforded a reafonable
profpect of an harmonious and ufeful
fettlement. This principle of decifion was
fo vague in itfelf, and fo arbitrary in its
application, that much was left in the
church-courts to the private judgment of
individuals, and much to their prejudices
and pafhons ; while the people, finding that
a noify and ftrenuous oppofition feldom
failed of fuccefs, were encouraged to pro-
fecute their object by tumult and violence.
Many of the clergy, confidering it as a
matter of confcience not to take any (hare
in the fettlement of an obnoxious preientcc,
refufed on fuch occafions to carry into
execution the orders of their fuperiors ;
and fuch was the temper of the times,
that the leading men of the Alfembly,
although they wifhed to fupport the law
of the land, found themfelves obliged to
have recourfe to expedients ; impofing
flight cenfures on the difobedient, and
appointing fpeciai committees (whom it
was found fometimes neceffary to protect
by a military force), to difcharge the duties
which the others had declined.
m 4 Meafures
l68 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
Meafures of this kind, puriued with little
variation for about twenty years, had fo
relaxed the difcipline of the church, that
individuals openly claimed it as a right to
diibbey its fentences, whenever their dif-
obedience was juftified, according to the
bed of their judgment, by a principle of
confeience.
Such was the Mate of the ecclefiaftical
eflabliihment in Scotland when Dr. Robcrt-
fon and his friends began to take an a&ive
mare in its bufinefs. Diflatisfied with the
fyftcm adopted by his predeceflbrs, and
convinced that the more free any confli-
tution is, the greater is the danger of violat-
ing its fundamental laws, his vigorous and
enlightened mind fuggefted to him the
neceffity of oppofing more decifive mea-
fures to thefe growing diforders, and of
maintaining the authority of the church by
enforcing the fubmiflion of all its members.
The two capital articles by which he con-
ceived prefbytery to be diilinguifhed from
every other ccclcliadical eflablifhment, were
the parity of its minifters, and the fubor-
dination of its judicatories.-— " Wherever
" there
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 169
** there is a fubordination of courts," (as
he has himfelf obferved in an authentic
document of his ecclefiaftical principles,)
" there is one court that muft be fupreme ;
" for fubordination were in vain, if it did
" not terminate in fome laft refort. Such
" a fupreme judicature is the General
" Aflembly of the church of Scotland ;
** and therefore, if its decifions could be
" difputed and difobeyed by inferior courts
" with impunity, the Prefbyterian confti-
4< tution would be entirely overturned. On
iC this fuppofition, there is no occaiion for
" the church of Scotland to meet in its
" General AlTemblies any more ; its
" government is at an end ; and it is
" expofed to the contempt and fcorn of
" the world, as a church without union,
" order, or difcipline ; deftitute of ftrength
" to fupport its own conftitutions, and
" falling into ruins by the abufe of
H liberty."
A queftion which came under the confe-
deration of the iVflembly in the year 1751,
when he fpoke for the flrft time in that'
fupreme court, afforded him an opportu-
nity
I70 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
nity of unfolding his general principles of
ecclefiaftical government. The conduct of
a clergyman, who had difobeyed a fentence
of a former AfTembly, gave rile to a warm
difcuffion; in the courfe of which, Dr.
Robertfon, fupported by a few of his
friends, contended for the expediency of a
ievere and exemplary fentence. But this
doctrine was then fo little underftood or
relimcd, that he was left in an inconfider-
able minority.
The Commiffion of that AfTembly, at their
meeting, in November 1751, ordered the
Prefbytery of Dunfermline, which had
already been guilty of difobedience, to
admit Mr. Richardfon as minifter of
Invcrkeithing ; intimating to them, at the
fame time, that in cafe of their continued
contumacy, the Commiffion was to proceed,
at their next meeting in March, to a very
high cenfure. The prefbytery again dif-
obeyed ; and yet the Commiffion, with a
prepofterous lenity, fuffered their conduct
to pafs with impunity. The inconfiftency
and inexpediency of this fentence were
urged ftrenuoufly by Dr. Robertfon and
his
WRITINGS QF DR. ROBERTSON. 171
his friends, who in their dijfent^ or proteft
asainft it, have left a valuable record of the
general principles on which they a&ed.
The paper is ftill extant, and though evi-
dently a hafty compofition, bears, in va-
rious paflages, the marks of Dr. Robertfon's
hand *.
Dr: Robertfon argued this caufe in the
General AfTembly 1752; and, fuch was
the impreffion made by the argument
contained in the proteft, and more fully
illuftrated in his fpeech, that the . fupreme
court reverfed the judgment of the Com-
miffion, and depofed one of the minifters
of the prefbytery of Dunfermline, for dis-
obeying the orders of his fuperiors.
This decifion was the complete triumph
of the principles for which Dr. Robertfon
and his friends had ftruggled. It put an
end to thofe temporary expedients and
devices which had hitherto been adopted
in the fettlement of parifhes : it put an end
tc thofe extraordinary committees which
Affemblies had been in ufe to appoint for
* Appendix, Note K.
relieving
1J2 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
relieving difobcdient prcfbyteries from their
duty ; and it adminiftered to the inferior
judicatories, as well as to individuals, an
ufeful lefibn of that fubordination which the
peace of fociety requires.
The fuccefs of thefe attempts had pro-
bably fomeefFect in determining Dr. Robert-
fon to continue his attention to the affairs
of the church ; more efpecially, after his
office in the Univerfity put it in his power
to be returned annually as a reprefentative
to the General Aflembly. By an unin-
terrupted attendance in that court for nearly
twenty years, he acquired an intimate ac-
quaintance with the whole train of its
bufinefs; while the influence which he
thus fecured was increafed and confirmed
by his conciliating manners ; by the charms
of his converfation ; and by the celebrity
of his name. He had the happinefs alfo of
being, warmly fupported ,by moft of the
friends who joined him in the Aflembly
1 75 1 ; and who, without any jealoufy of
the afcendant which he poflefled, arranged
themfelveswith cordiality under his ftandard.
The
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. X?3
The period from his appointment as Prin-
cipal of the Univerfity till his retreat from
puhlic life, came, accordingly, to be dis-
tinguished by the name of Dr. Robertfon's
admlnijl ration : a name which implied, not
any appointment from Government, nor
any power in the difcribution of faA r ours;
but merely the weight he derived from the
confidence of a great majority of his
brethren, who approved of the general
principles on which he acted.
The circumftances which chiefly difc-
tinguifhed his fyftem of policy were, Jirjl^
a fteady and uniform fupport of the law
of patronage ; and, Jecondly^ an impartial
exercife of the judicial power of the
church *.
In the former of thefe refpecls, his
exertions are fuppofed, by his friends, not
only to have produced in the ecclefiaftical
eftablifhment a tranquillity unknown in
former times ; but to have contributed, in
no fmall degree, to the peace and good
order of the country. The public language
* Appendix, Note L.
of
174 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
of the church feems to bear testimony to
the prevalence of thefe ideas. For a long
feries of years annual instructions had been
given to the Commifflon^ " to make due
" application to the King and Parliament,
" for redrefs of the grievance of patronage,
" in cafe a favourable opportunity for
" doing fo mould occur." But thefe in-
structions were omitted in 1784, foon after
Dr. Robertfon retired from the bufmefs
of the AfTembly ; and they have never fince
been renewed.
A fyftematical regularity, to which the
church of Scotland had been little accuf-
tomed, in the exercife of its judicial power,
was another effect of the afcendant which
Dr. Robertfon pofleffed in the conduct of
its bufmefs.
A court fo popular in its constitution as
the General AsTembly, is but ill calculated
for the patient and difpaffionate investiga-
tion necesTary for the administration of
justice. As its annual fittings, too, continue
only for a few days, its mode of procedure
(irregular and loofe as it is in many re-
fpecls) is very imperfectly understood by
the
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 1 75
the great majority of -clerical members, who
enjoy a feat in it only once in four or five
years : hence, an inattention to forms ;
and a difpoiition to undervalue their im-
portance, when they appear to ftand in the
way of immediate expediency. To correct,
as far as poffible, this unfortunate bias,
inherent in the coniHtution of all popular
tribunals, Dr. Robertfon felt it to be his
duty to employ all his abilities ; convinced,
that a wife and impartial adminiftration
•of juftice can only be effectually fecured by
a Ariel: adherence to eftablifhed rules. A
complete acquaintance with thefe, which
he foon acquired from his regular attend-
ance on the deliberations of the Affembly,
gave him a decided fuperiority over thofe
who were only occafionally members ; and
he was enabled gradually to enforce their
ftrict obfervance by the confidence which
was generally repofed in his principles and
his talents.
Such were the objects which Dr. Robert-
fon had chiefly in view as an ecclefiaftical
leader, and which he profecuted, during
thirty years, with {o great fteadinefs and
4 fuccefs,
1-jS ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
iuccefs, that not only the fyftem introduced
by him continues ftill in vigor, but the
decifions which he dictated form a fort of
Common Law of the church *." — With
iefpedt to the various incidental difcumons
in which he was, on different occafions,
called on to take an active concern, it is
impoflible for me to enter into details. One
of thefe, however, which occurred towards
the clofe of his public life, is of too me-
morable a nature to be paffed over in
filence. —
The difturbances occafioned in Scotland
in 1779, by the propofed extenfion to that
part of the kingdom of the repeal of the
penal laws again ft Roman Catholics, are
well known to all who have the flighteft
acquaintance with the hiftory of that
period ; and are flill frefli in the recol-
lection of the greater part of this Society.
Some of us too are able to bear teftimony,
from what fell under our own immediate
obfervation, to the firmnefs and tranquillity
* Thus far I have availed n.vfelf of Dr. Hill's com-
munication. A more full illudration of fome of the par-
ticulars here fluted, will be four.d in the Appendix.
which
WRITINGS OFDR. ROBERTSON. I77
which- Dr. Robertfon difplayed at a very-
critical juncture; when, after repeated acts
of fuccefsful and unpunifhed outrage, com-
mitted in different parts of this city, a
furious populace threatened an attack on his
houfe, and were only reftrained by a mili-
tary force, from facrificing his life to their
vengeance.
The leading principles which on that
occafion directed his conduct in the church
courts, will be beft underftood from a
ftatement of facts, which formed part of
one of his fpeeches in the fubfequent Af-
fembly *.
" The firft intimation I had of any
" intention to grant relief to Papifts from
" the rigor of penal ftatutes, was in the
* The following extract is tranfcribed, with fome
trifling verbal corrections, from an account of the pro-
ceedings of the General Aflembly, publifhed in the Scots
Magazine for 1779. As the account in general (I am
allured) is executed with corre&nefs aud impartiality,
the fubjlance of Dr. Robertfon's fpeech may be prefumed
to be faithfully ftated ; but, in other refpedls, ample
allowances muft be made for the inaccuracies to be
expected from an anonymous reporter, wnting (as is
probable) from memory, or from imperfect notes.
N " news-
178 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" news-papers. Though I had obferved
" with pleafure, the rapid progrefs of
" liberal fentiments in this enlightened
" age ; though I knew that fcience and
" philofophy had diffufed the fpirit of
" toleration through almoft every part of
" Europe ; yet I was fo well acquainted
" with the deep-rooted averfion of Britons
" to the doctrines and fpirit of Popery,
" that I fufpeeted this motion for giving
" relief to Papifts to be premature. I
" was afraid, on the one hand, that the
" liberal fentiments of thofe by whom it
" was made might induce them to grant
" too much. I dreaded, on the other, that
paft offences might be imputed to the
" Catholics of the prefent age, and exclude
" them from that degree of indulgence,
" which I confidered as no lefs beneficial
" to the nation, than fuitable to the fpirit
" of the Gofpel. But when I obferved
" the uncommon unanimity w T ith which
a the bill was carried through both Houfesj
" when I faw Miniftry and Oppofition
" vying with each other in activity to
" forward it ; when I beheld that refpett-
" able
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 1 79
" able body who afTume to themfelves the
" diftinguifhing appellation of Old Whigs
" taking the lead avowedly in fupporting
" it; when I obferved a Bench of Bifhops,
" of whom I may juftly fay, that, in learn-
" ing, in decency of manners, and in zeal
" for the Proteftant religion, they are not
" inferior to any of their predeceffors,
" co-operating heartily with the other pro-
" moters of that bill, my curiofity to know
" precifely the nature and extent of the
" indulgence granted, became very great.
" Upon perufmg the bill itfelf, all my
" apprehenfions vanifhed ; the relief given
" to Papifts appeared neither too great nor
" too little. By the ftatute of laft feffion,
" no political power is conferred on Papifts.
" They are not entitled to hold any public
" office. They can neither elect, nor be
" elected members of any corporation ;
" far lefs can they chufe, or be chofen,
" members of the Houfe of Commons. In
" confequence of this ftatute, an Englifh
" Papift has not acquired the privileges
" of a citizen ; he is reftored only to the
" rights of a man. By a law parted in a
N 2 " feafon
l8o ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" feafon of jealoufy, alarm, and fa&ion,
" Papifts were rendered incapable of in-
" heriting property by fucceflion or con-
" veyance, of tranfmitting it to others, or
" of acquiring it by purchafe ; and the
** ecclefiaftics of that religion who mould
" take upon them the education of youth,
" were to be punifhed with perpetual im-
" prifonment. It is from thefe penalties
" and difabilities alone, that they are now
" relieved. They may now inherit, they
41 may devife, they may purchafe. For-
" merly they were in a ftate of profcription
" and incapacity: now they are rendered
"what the law calls perfonce ; capable of
" legal functions in the pofTeflion and dif-
" pofal of their own property. Nor are
" thefe conceflions gratuitous. Before a
" Papift can enjoy the benefit of them, he
" mull fwear allegiance to our gracious
u Sovereign ; he muft abjure the Pre-
ct tender j he muft reject as an impious
" pofition, that it is lawful to murder or
" deftroy any perfon under pretence of
" their being heretics ; he muft declare it
" to be an unchriftian principle, that faith
is
u
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. l8l
" is not to be kept with heretics ; he muft
" difclaim the power of the Pope to dif-
" penfe with the obligation of an oath ;
" he muft fwear, that it is no article of his
" faith that a Pope or Council can either
" depofe princes, or exercife any civil or
ic temporal jurifdiclion within this realm :
" in fhortj he muft give every fecurity that
" the moft fcrupulous anxiety could devife,
" to demean himfelf as a loyal and peace-
" able fubject. Thefe flender rights, the
" loweft a man can claim or enjoy in a focial
" ftate, are the amount of all the mighty
" and dreaded acquifitions made by Papifts
" in virtue of this law. I rejoiced in the
" temperate wifdom of the legislature, and
u forefaw, that a wealthy body of Subjects
" in England, and a very numerous one in
" Ireland, would, inftead of continuing
*' adverfe to a government which treated
" them with rigour, become attached to
" their king and country by the moft
" powerful of all ties, gratitude for favours
" received, and defire of fecuring the con-
" tinuance of favour by dutiful conduct.
" With fuch views of the falutary effects
n 3 "of
l82 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" of the repeal, it was impoflible not to
" wifh that the benefit of it might be
" extended to the Roman Catholics in
" Scotland. ^ ^ #
9 ^f 9 ' 9.
" As foon, however, as I perceived the
" extent and violence of the flame which
" the difcuflion of this fubject had kindled
" in Scotland, my ideas concerning the
" expedience at this juncture of the mea-
" fure in queftion, began to alter. For,
" although I did think, and I do (till be-
" lieve, that if the Protectants in .this
" country had acquiefced in the repeal as
" quietly as our brethren in England and
u Ireland, a fatal blow would have been
" given to Popery in the Britim dominions ;
" I knew, that in legiflation, the fenti-
" ments and difpofitions of the people for
u whom laws are made fhould be attended
a to with care. I remembered that one
" of the wifeft men of antiquity declared,
" that he had framed for his fellow-citizens
" not the beft laws, but the beft laws
" which they could bear. I recollected
" with
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 183
u with reverence, that the Divine Legif-
" lator himfelf, accommodating his dif-
" peniations to the frailty of his fubje&s,
" had given the Ifraelites for a feafon,
" Jlatutes which were not good. Even the
" prejudices of the people are, in my
" opinion, refpeclable ; and an indulgent
" legiflature ought not unneceffarily to run
" counter to them. It appeared manifeftly
" to be found policy, in the prefent tem-
" per of the people, to foothe rather than
** to irritate them ; and however ill-
" founded their apprehenflons might be,
" fome conceffion was now requifite in
" order to remove them; In every argu-
" ment againft the repeal of the penal
" laws, what feemed chiefly to alarm my
" brethren who were adverfe to it, was
" the liberty which, as they fuppofed, was
" given by the acl: of laft fefhon to Popifh
" ecclefiailics to open fchools, and take
" upon them, the public inftruclion of
" youth. In order to quiet their fears
" with refpecl: to this, I applied to his Ma-
" jelly's Advocate and Solicitor-General,
N 4 " and
184- ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" and by their permiflion, I propofed to
" a refpectable minifter and elder of this
" church, who defervedly poflefs much
" credit with the oppofers of this repeal,
" that fuch provifos fhould be inferted in
" the bill which was to be moved in Par-
" liament, for reftraining the Popifh clergy
" in this point, as would obviate every
M danger apprehended. Thefe gentlemen
" fairly told me, that, if fuch a propofition
" had been made more early, they did not
" doubt that it might have produced good
" effects; but, now matters were gone fo
" far, that they were perfuaded nothing
" lefs would fatisfy the people than a
" refolution to drop the bill altogether.
" Perfuaded of the truth of what they
" reprefented, feeing the alarm fpread
" rapidly in every quarter, and knowing
" well how imperfectly t ran factions in this
" country are underftood in the other part
" of the ifland, I confidered it as my duty
" to lay before his Majefty's fervants in
" London, a fair ftate of the fentiments
" of the people in Scotland. My ftation
"in
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 185
" in the church, I thought, intitled me to
" take this liberty in a matter purely
" ecclefiaftical. I flattered myfelf, that
" my avowed approbation and ftrenuous
" fupport of a meafure which had been
" unhappily fo much mifunderftood,
" might give fome weight to my repre-
" fentations. I informed them, that the
" defign of extending the repeal of the
" penal ftatutes of King William to
" Scotland, had excited a very general
" alarm : that the fpirit of oppofition to
" this meafure fpread among the King's
" moft loyal and attached fubjecls in this
" country : that nothing would calm and
" appeafe them, but the relinquifhing all
" thoughts of fuch a bill : that the pro-
" curing of the intended relaxation for a
" handful of Catholics, was not an advan-
" tage to be put in competition with the
" imprudence of irritating fo great a body
" of well-affected fubjetlis : that if the
" meafure were perfifted in, fatal effects
" would follow ; and no man, how great
" foever his fagacity might be, could ven-
" ture to foretel what would be the extent
"of
l86 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE MiD
" of the danger, and what the violent
" operations of an incenfed populace :
** that, groundlefs as the fears of the people
" might be, it was prudent to quiet them :
u and that the fame wifdom and modera-
" tion which had induced Government,
" fome years ago, to repeal the Act: for na-
** turalizing the Jews, in confequence of
" an alarm, as ill-grounded in the fouthern
" parts of the ifland, ought now to make
" a fimilar conceflion, from indulgence to
t{ the prejudice of the people on this fide
u of the Tweed.
<c Such has been the tenor of my con-
" duel. While I thought a repeal of the
" penal ftatutes w T Ould produce good effects,
" I fupported it openly : when I forefaw
" bad confequences from perfifting in a
" meafure which I had w r armly approved,
" I preferred the public good to my own
" private fentiments ; I honeftly remon-
u ftrated againft it; and I have the fatif-
" faction to think, that I am the only
" private perfon (as far as I know) in
" Scotland, who applied to thofc in power,
"in
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 187
" in order to prevent this much dreaded
M repeal, which has been reprefented as
" the fubverfion of every facred right for
" which our anceftors contended and
" fuffered."
w 3f ^f 3£
The laft Affembly in which Dr. Robert-
fon fat was that of 1780. While his fa-
culties were yet vigorous, his conftitution
unbroken, and his influence undiminished,
he chofe to withdraw from the active fcenes
in which he had fo long borne a part, and
to confecrate the remainder of his life to
the quiet purfuits of ftudy, and to the
paftoral duties of his profeflion. His retreat
was deeply regretted and fincerely felt by
his friends ; nor was it lefs lamented by
many individuals of the oppofite party in
the church, who, while they refifted his
principles of ecclefiaflical policy, loved his
candour, and refpected his integrity *.
Among thefe, there is one, whofe liberal
and affectionate zeal in embalming the me-
* Appendix, Note M.
mory
l88 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
mory of a political antagonift, recalls to
our recollection, amidft the unrelenting
rancour which difgraces the factions of
modern times, the memorable tribute
which Metellus paid to the virtues of
Scipio on the day of his funeral : Ite^ Fillip
celebrate exequias ; nunquam Civis majoris
funus videbitis *. — I need fcarcely, after
what I have hinted, mention to the Society
the name of Dr. Erfkine ; of whofe Ser-
mon on the death of his colleague, it is
difficult to fay, whether it reflects greater
honour on the character of the Writer,
or of him whom it commemorates. The
Author will, I hope, pardon me for tran-
fcribing one pafTage, which is intimately
connected with this part of my fubject,
and which combines, with a teftimony of
ineftimable value to Dr. Robertfon's fame,
fome important information which I could
not fupply from any fource of equal
authority.
" His fpeeches in church courts were
" admired by thofe whom they did not
• Plin. Hill. Nat. ?ii. 44.
cc
convince.
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 189
" convince, and acquired and preferved
" him an influence over a majority in
" them, which none before him enjoyed :
" though his meafures were fometimes
" new, and warmly, and with great
" ftrength of argument oppofed, both
" from the prefs, and in the General
" Aflembly. To this influence many
" caufes contributed : — his firm adherence
" to the general principles of church
" policy, which he early adopted ; his
" fagacity in forming plans ; his fteadi-
" nefs in executing them; his quick dif-
" cernment of whatever might hinder or
" promote his defigns ; his boldnefs in
" encountering difficulties ; his prefence
" of mind in improving every occafional
" advantage ; the addrefs with which,
" when he faw it neceflary, he could
" make an honourable retreat; and his
<c (kill in ftating a vote, and feizing the
" favourable moment for ending a debate,
" and urging a decifion. He guided and
" governed others, without feeming to
Xi aflume any fuperiority over them : and
41 fixed and ftrengthened his power, by
is " often.
I90 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" often, in matters of form and expediency,
" preferring the opinions of thofe with
" whom he acted, to his own. In former
" times, hardly any rofe up to fpeak in
<c the General Aflembly, till called upon
" by the Moderator^ unlefs men advanced
" in years, of high rank, or of eftablifhed
a characters. His example and influence
" encouraged young men of abilities to
take their fhare of public bufinefs; and
thus deprived Moderators of an engine
for preventing caufes being fairly and
" impartially difcuffed. The power of
" others, who formerly had in fome mea-
<c lure guided ecclefiaftical affairs, was
" derived from minifters of date, and
" expired with their fall. His remained
" unhurt amidft frequent changes of ad-
" miniftration. Great men in office were
" always ready to countenance him, to
" co-operate with him, and to avail them-
" felves of his aid. But, he judged for
" himfelf, and fcorned to be their flave ;
" or to fubmit to receive their inftructions.
" Hence, his influence, not confined to
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. I9I
" men of mercenary views, extended to
" many of a free and independent fpirit,
" who fupported, becaufe they approved,
" his meafures ; which others, from the
" fame independent fpirit, thought it their
" duty fteadily to oppofe.
" Deliberate in forming his judgment,
" but, when formed, not eafily moved to
" renounce it, he fometimes viewed the
" altered plans of others with too fufpicious
" an eye. Hence, there were able and
" worthy men, of whom he exprefled
" himfelf lefs favourably, and whofe latter
" appearances in church judicatories, he
" cenfured as inconfiftent with principles
" which they had formerly profeiTed :
ct while they maintained, that the fyftem
" of managing church affairs was changed,
" not their opinions or conduct. Still,
" however, keen and determined oppofition
" to his fchemes of ecclefiaftical policy,
" neither extinguifhed his efteem, nor for-
" feited his friendly offices, when he faw
" oppofition carried on without rancour,
" and when he believed that it originated
" from confcience and principle, not from
" perfonal
I92 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
" perfonal animofity, or envy, or ara-
" bition * "
I mall not prefume to add any thing in
illuftration of thefe remarks. The greater
part of them relate to tranfacYions of
which I had no immediate knowledge, and
of which I am not a competent judge ;
and, at any rate, no teftimony of mine
could increafe the value of praife from fo
able and fo impartial a hand. Of cne qua-
lity, however, afcribed to Dr. Robertfon
by his colleague, — his ability in debate, —
I may be allowed to exprefs my own opi-
nion ; as I was often led by curiofity, in
my early years, to witnefs the proceedings
of the court where it was principally dis-
played ; and which, fince the union of the
kingdoms, is all that exifts in Scotland, to
preferve the femblance of popular delibera-
tion. This part of his fame will foon reft
on tradition only ; but by many who are
dill able to judge from their own recol-
lection, 1 fhall not be accufed of exag-
geration, when I fay, that mfome of the
* Difcourfcs, &c. by John Erfkinc, D.D. p. 271.
moft
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERT80N. I93
moft eflential qualifications of a fpeaker,
he was entitled to rank with the firft names
which have, in our times, adorned the
Britifh Senate. — Nor was the oppofition
with which he had to contend unworthy
of his exertions ; formidable as it long was
in zeal and numbers, and aided by a com-
bination of talents which will not eafily be
equalled ; the copious and fervid declama-
tion of Crojbie ; the claffical, argumentative,
and commanding eloquence of Dick; and
the powerful, though coarfe, invective of
Freebairn, whofe name would, in a different
age, have been tranfmitted to pofterity with
thofe of the ruftic and intrepid apoftles who
freed their country from the hierarchy of
Rome *.
The chara&eriftic of Dr. Robertfon's
eloquence was perfuafton ; — mild, rational,
and conciliating, yet manly and dignified.
In early life, when forced as a partifan to
* Andrew Crofbie Efq. Vice-Dean of .'the faculty of
Advocates. Robert Dick, D. D. que of the Minifter*
of Edinburgh. The Rev. Mr. Freebairn, Minifter of
Dunbarton, All of them Qied. many years before Dr.
Rqbertfon.
o expofe
194 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
expofc himfelf to the contentious heat of
popular difcuflion, he is faid to have been
diflinguifhed by promptitude and animation
in repelling the attacks which he occafionally
encountered ; but long before the period
during which I knew him, he had become
the acknowledged head of his party, and
generally fpoke laft in the debate ; renam-
ing the arguments on both fides, with fuch
perfpicuity of arrangement and expreffion ;
fuch refpect to his antagonists ; and fuch
an air of candour and earneftnefs in every
thing he faid, that he often united the fuf-
frages of the Houfe in favour of the con-
clufions he wifhed to eflablifh.
His pronunciation and accents were
ftrongly marked with the peculiarities of
his country ; nor was this defect compen-
fated by the graces of his delivery. His
manner, however, though deficient in eafe,
was interefting and impreiTive ; and had
fomething in its general effect, neither
unfuitable to his profeffional flation, nor to
the particular ftyle of his eloquence. His
diction was rich and fplendid, and abounded
with
WRITINGS OF DR.' ROBERTSON. 195
with the fame beauties that characterife his
writings.
In thefe details with refpect to his ecclc-
fiaftical politics, I may perhaps be thought
by fome to have been more circumftantial
than was neceffary ; but, as he himfelf
always dwelt on that fubject with peculiar
fatisfaction, I could not pafs it over more
flightly than I have done. Nor is it fo
foreign, as it may at firft appear, to his
character as an Hiftorian ; for, narrow and
obfcure as his field of action was, it afforded
him a clofer view than mod authors have
enjoyed, of the intrigues of contending
factions ; and an opportunity of ftudying,
though on a fcale comparatively fmall, the
paffions that decide the fate of nations. In
tracing, accordingly, the fprings of human
conduct, his fagacity is ftrongly impreffed
with that knowledge of the world, which
experience alone can communicate ; and,
even in thofe characteriftical portraits, on
which he has lavifhed all the decorations of
his ftyle, he is feldom if ever milled, either
by the affectation of eloquence, or of meta-
o 2 phyfical
196 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
phyfical refinement, from a faithful adher-
ence to truth and nature.
I would willingly enlarge on his merits
in a different department of his profef-
fional employments, of which I am more
competent to judge from perfonal know-
ledge, were I not afraid, that my own aca-
demical habits might lead me to attach
an intereft to what would appear of little
moment to others. I fhall therefore only
remark, in general, his ainduous attention,
amidft his various occupations, both fpecu-
lative and active, to the minuteft duties
of his office as Plead of the Univerfity ;
duties, which nothing but his habits of
arrangement and the fevered: ceconomy of
his time, could have enabled him to dis-
charge with (a little appearance of hurry or
inconvenience. The valuable acceffion of
books which the public library received
while under his adminiitration, was chiefly
owing to his prudent and exact application
of the very (lender funds appropriated to
that eftablifhment ; the various focietie?,
both literary and medical, which, in this
place,
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 197
place, have long contributed fo eflentially
to the improvement of the rifing genera-
tion, were, moft of them, either planned or
reformed under his direction and patron-
age ; and if, as a feat of learning, Edin-
burgh has, of late more than formerly,
attracted the notice of the world, much
muft be afcribed to the influence of his
example, and to the luftre of his name.
The good fenfe, temper, and addrefs, with
which he prefided for thirty years in our
Univerfily meetings, were attended with
effects no lefs eflential to our profperity ;
and are attefted by a fact which is perhaps
without a parallel in the annals of any other
literary community ; that during the whole
of that period, there did not occur a fingle
queftion which was not terminated by an
unanimous decifion.
In confequence of the various connexions
with fociety, which arofe from thefe profef-
fional duties, and from the intereft which
he was led to take, both by his official
fituation, and the activity of his public
O 3 fpirit,
198 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
fpirit, in the literary or the patriotic
undertakings of others *, a confiderable
portion of Dr. Robertfon's leifure was
devoted to converfation and company. No
man enjoyed thefe with more relifh ; and
few have porTefled the fame talents to add
to their attractions.
A rich flock of mifcellaneous informa-
tion, acquired from books and from an
extenfive intercourfe with the world, toge-
ther with a perfect acquaintance at all times
with the topics of the day, and the foundeft
fagacity and good fenfe applied to the oc-
currences of common life, rendered him the
moft agreeable and inftrudtive of compa-
nions. He feldom aimed at wit ; bur, with
his intimate friends, he often indulged a
fportive and fanciful fpecies of humour. He
delighted in good-natured, chara&criftical
anecdotes of his acquaintance, and added
powerfully to their effect by his own en-
joyment in relating them. He was, in a
remarkable degree, fufceptible of the ludi-
• Appendix, Note N.
crous :
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. r0,9
crous : but, on no occafion, did he forget
the dignity of his character, or the decorum
of his profeflion ; nor did he even lofe
fight of that claffical tafte which adorned
his compofitions. His turn of expreflion
was correct and pure ; fometimes, perhaps,
inclining more than is expe&ed, in the
careleflhefs of a focial hour, to formal and
artificial periods ; but it was (tamped with
his own manner no lefs than his premedi-
tated ftyle : it was always the language of a
fuperior and a cultivated mind, and it em-
bellished every fubject on which he fpoke.
In the company of ftrangers, he increafed
his exertions to amufe and to inform ; and
the fplendid variety of his converfation was
commonly the chief circum fiance on which
they dwelt in enumerating his talents; —
and yet, I mud acknowledge, for my own
part, that much as I always admired his
powers when they were thus called forth,
I enjoyed his fociety lefs, than when I faw
him in the circle of his intimates, or in the
bofom of his family.
It only now remains for me to mention
his exemplary diligence in the difcharge
04 of
200 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
of his paftoral duties ; a diligence which,
inftead of relaxing as he advanced in life,
became more confpicuous, when his grow-
ing infirmities withdrew him from bufmefs,
and lefTened the number of his active en-
gagements. As long as his health allowed
him, he preached regularly every Sunday ;
and he continued to do fo occafionally, till
within a few months of his death.
The particular ftyle of his pulpit elo-
quence may be judged of from the fpe-
cimen which has been long in the hands of
the public ; and it is not improbable, that
the world might have been favoured with
others of equal excellence, if he had not
loft, before his removal from Gladfmuir,
a volume of fermons which he had com-
pofed with care. The facility with which
he could arrange his ideas, added to the
correc~t,nefs and fluency of his extemporary
language, encouraged him to lay afide the
practice of writing, excepting on extraor-
dinary occafions ; and to content himielf,
in general, with fuch fhort notes as might
recal to his memory the principal topics on
which he meant to enlarge. To the value,
however,
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 201
however, and utility of thefe unpremedi-
tated iermons we have the honourable
teftimony of his learned and excellent col-
league, who heard him preach every week
for more than twenty years. " His dif-
*' courfes from this place," fays Dr. Erikine,
" were fo plain, that the moft illiterate
** might eafdy underftand them, and yet
M fo Correct and elegant that they could
" not incur their cenlure, whofe tafte was
" more refined. For feveral years before
" his death, he feldom wrote his fermons
'* fully, or exactly committed his older
" fermons to memory ; though, had I not
" learned this from himfelf, I fhould not
* c have fufpecTied it ; fuch was the variety
fC and fitnefs of his ill u orations, the accu-
" racy of his method, and the propriety
"ofhisftyle."
His health began apparently to decline
in the end of the year 1791. Till then, it
had been more uniformly good than might
have been expe&ed from his fludious habits;
but, about this period, he fuddenly difco-
vered flrong fymptoms of jaundice, which
gradually undermined his constitution, and
terminated
202 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
terminated at length in a lingering and fatal
illnefs. He had the profpect of death long
before him ; a profpecl: deeply afflicting
to his family and his friends; but of which,
without any vifible abatement in his fpirits,
he happily availed himfelf, to adorn the
doctrines which he had long taught, by
an example of fortitude and of Chriftian
refignation. In the concluding ftage of his
diforder, he removed from Edinburgh to
Grange Houfe in the neighbourhood, where
he had the advantage of a freer air, and a
more quiet fituation, and (what he valued
more than mod men) the pleafure of rural
objects, and of a beautiful landfcape. While
he was able to walk abroad, he commonly
pafied a part of the day in a fmall garden,
enjoying the fimple gratifications it afford-
ed with all his wonted relifh. Some who
now hear me will long remember, — among
the trivial yet interefting incidents which
marked thefe laft weeks of his memorable
life, — his daily vifits to the fruit-trees
(which were then in bloflbm), and the
fmile with which he, more than once, con-
traded the intereft he took in their progrefs,
with
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 203
with the event which was to happen before
their maturity. At his particular defire, I
law him (for the lad time) on the 4th of
June 1793, when his weaknefs confined
him to his couch, and his articulation was
already beginning to fail : and it is in
obedience to a requeft with which he then
honoured me, that I have ventured, without
confulting my own powers, to offer this
tribute to his memory. He died on the
nth of the fame month, in the 71ft year
of his age.
I have already hinted at his domeftic
happinefs. Nothing was wanting to render
it perfect while he lived ; and, at his
death, he had the fatisfadtion to leave, in
profperous circumftances, a numerous
family, united to each other and to their
excellent mother by the tendereft affection.
His eldeft fon, an eminent lawyer at the
Scotch bar, has been only prevented by the
engagements of an active profeflion, from
fuftaining his father's literary name ; while
his two younger fons, both of whom very
early embraced a military life, have carried
his vigour and enterprize into a different
career
204 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
career of ambition *. His eldeft daughter
is married to Mr. Brydone, the well-known
author of one of our moft elegant and
popular books of Travels. Another is the
widow of the late John Rulfell Efq. Clerk
to the Signet, and one of the members of
this Society.
The general view which has been already
given of Dr. Robertfon's occupations and
habits, fuperfedes the neceflity of attempting
a formal delineation of his character. To
the particulars, however, which have been
incidentally mentioned in the courfe of
this biographical fketch, it may not be
unimportant to add, that the fame fagacity
and good-fenfe which (b eminently distin-
guished him as a Writer, guided his con-
duct in life, and rendered his counfels of
ineftimable value to his friends. He was
not forward in offering advice ; but when
confulted, as he was very frequently, by his
younger acquaintance, he entered into their
concerns with the moft lively intereft, and
feemed to have a pleafure and a pride in
* Appendix, Note O.
3 imparting
WRITINGS £>F DR. ROBERTSON. 205
imparting to them all the lights of his expe-
rience and wiidom. Good-fenfe was indeed
the moil prominent feature in his intel-
lectual character ; and it is unqueftionably
of all the qualities of the underftanding,
that which eiTentially conuHtutes fuperiority
of mind : fpr, although we are fometimes
apt to appropriate the appellation of genius
to certain peculiarities in the intellectual
habits, it is he only who diftinguifhes him-
felf from the reft of mankind, by thinking
better than they on the fame fubjects, who
fairly brings his powers into comparifon
with others. This was in a remarkable
degree the cafe with Dr. Robertfon. He
was not eminent for metaphyseal acute-
nefs ; nor did he eafily enter into fpecula-,
tions involving mathematical or mechanical
ideas ; but, in thofe endowments which
lay the foundation of fuccefsful conduct,
and which fit a man to acquire an influence
over others, he had no fuperior. Among
thofe who have, like him, devoted the
greater part of life to ftudy, perhaps it
would be difficult to find his equal.
His
2Q6 account of the life and
His practical acquaintance with human
nature was great, and he pofleffed the
founded and mod accurate notions of the
characters of thofe with whom he was ac-
cuftomed to aflbciate. In that quick pene-
tration, indeed, which reads the foul, and
eftimates the talents of others by a fort of
intuition, he was furpaffed by many ; and
I have often known him milled by firft
impreflions : but where he had an opportu-
nity of continuing his obfervations for a
length of time, he feldom failed in forming
conclufions equally juft, refined, and pro-
found. In a general knowledge of the
world, and of the ways of men, his fupe-
riority was ftriking and indifputable ; ftill
more fo, in my opinion, than in the
judgments he formed of individuals. Nor
is this furprifing, when we confider the
joint influence of his habits as an hiftorian,
and as a political leader.
Too much cannot be faid of his moral
qualities. Exemplary and amiable in the
offices of private life, he exhibited in his
public conduct, a rare union of political
firmnefs
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 207
iirmnefs with candour and moderation. —
" He enjoyed," fays Dr. Erfkine, " the
" bounties of Providence without running
" into riot ; was temperate without aufte-
" rity j condefcending and affable without
" meannefs ; and in expence neither fordid
" nor prodigal. He could feel an injury,
" and yet bridle his paflion ; was grave, not
" fullen ; fteady, not obftinate ; friendly,
" not officious ; prudent and cautious, not
" timid." — The praife is liberal ; and it
is expreffed with the cordial warmth of
friendfhip ; but it comes from one who
had the beft opportunity of knowing the
truth, as he had enjoyed Dr. Robertfon's
intimacy from his childhood, and was
afterwards, for more than twenty years,
his colleague in the fame church ; while
his zealous attachment to a different fyftem
of ecclefiaftical government, though it
never impaired his affection for the compa-
nion of his youth, exempts him from any
fufpicion of undue partiality.
In point of ftature Dr. Robertfon was
rather above the middle fize j and his form,
though
#
208 ACCOUNT OF THE LIPE AND
though it did not convey the idea of much
activity, announced vigour of body and a
healthful conftitution. His features were
regular and manly ; and his eye fpoke at
ence good fen fe and good-humour. He
appeared to greateft advantage in his com-
plete clerical drefs ; and was more remark-
able for gravity and dignity in difcharging
the functions of his public Marions, than for
eafe or grace in private fociety. His portrait
by Reynolds, painted about twenty years
ago, is an admirable likenefs ; and for-
tunately, (for the colours are already much
faded,) all its ipirit is preferved in an ex-
cellent mezzotinto. At the requeft of his
colleagues in the Univerfity *, who were
anxious to have fome memorial of him
placed in the public library, he fat again,
a few months before his death, to Mr.
Raeburn ; at a time when his altered and
fickly afpecr. rendered the talk of the artift
peculiarly difficult. The picture, however,
is not only worthy, in every refpect, of
• Appendix, Note P.
Mr.
WRITINGS OF DR. ROBERTSON. 209
Mr. Raeburn's high and deferved repu-
tation, but to thofe who were accuftomed
to fee Dr. Robertfon at this interefting
period, derives an additional value from
an air of languor and feeblenefs, which
ftrongly marked his appearance during his
long decline.
I fhould feel myfelf happy, if, in con-
cluding this Memoir, I could indulge the
hope, that it may be the means of com-
pleting and finifhing that picture which
his writings exhibit of his mind. In
attempting to delineate its characteriftic
features, I have certainly pofleffed, one
advantage ; — that I had long an opportu-
nity of knowing and ftudying the ori-
ginal ; and that my portrait, fuch as it is,
is correctly copied from my own iuipref-
fions. I am fenfible, at the fame time,
that much more might have been accom-
plished by a writer whofe purfuits were
more congenial than mine to Dr. Robert-
fon's : nor would any thing have induced
me to depart, fo far as I have now done,
p from
.
210 ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE, &C.
from the ordinary courfe of my own ftudies,
but my refpecl: for the laft wifh of a much
lamented friend, exprefled at a moment
when nothing remained for me but filent
acquiefcence.
•
APPENDIX.
NOTE A. p. 15.
HP HE information contained in the following
note, (for which I am indebted to the
friendfhip of Dr. Carlyle,) cannot fail to be ac-
ceptable to thofe, to whom the Literary Hiftory
of Scotland is an object of curiofity.
" The SeleSi Society owed its rife to the in-
" genious Allan Ramfay, (fon of the Poet of
" that name,) and was intended for Philofophical
Ci Inquiry, and the improvement of the Mem-
< £ bers in the Art of Speaking. They met for
u the firft time in the Advocates* Library, in
" May 1754, and confided only of fifteen,
" who had been nominated and called together
<e by Mr. Ramfay and two or three of his
" friends. At tr^at meeting they formed them-
" felves into a fociety, into which the Members
* c were ever after ele&ed by ballot, and who met
" regularly every Friday evening, during the
" fittings of the Court of Seflion, both in fum-
" mer and winter.
p 2 " This
212 APPENDIX.
" This Society continued to flourifh for feveral
years, and became fo fafhionable, that, in
1759, their number amounted to more than
130; which included all the Literati of Edin-
burgh and its neighbourhood, and many of
the Nobility and Gentry, who, though a few
of them only took any (hare in the debates,
thought themfelves fo well entertained, and
inflrucled, that they gave punctual attendance.
In this Society, which remained in vigour for
fix or feven years, Dr. Robertfon made a con-
fpicuous figure. By his means it was, and by
the appearances made by a few of his brethren,
that a new luftre was thrown on their order.
From the Revolution, (when the Church had
been chiefly filled with incumbents that were
ill-educated,) down to this period, the Clergy
of the Eftablifhed Church had always been
confidered in a fubordinate light, and as far
inferior to the Members of the other Learned
Profeflions, in knowledge and liberal views.
But now, when compared together, on this
theatre for the exhibition of talents, they were
found to be entitled to at leaft an equal fhare
of praife ; and having been long deprefled,
thty were, in compenfation, as ufual, raifed
lull as high as they deferved. When the Seleft
Society commenced, it was not forefeen that
" the
APPENDIX. 213
" the Hiftory of Scotland during the reign of
" Mary, the Tragedy of Douglas, and the
" Epigoniad, were to ifiue fo foon from three
" Gentlemen of the Ecclefiaflical Order.
" W- n the Society was on the decline, by
" the arocaaons of many of its molt diflin-
" guifhed members, and the natural abatement
" of that ardor which is excited by novelty and
" emulation, it was thought proper to elect fixed
" prefidents to prefide in their turns, whofe duty
" it was to open the queftion to be debated upon,
" that a fair field might be laid before the
" Speakers. It was obferved of Dr. Robertfon,
" who was one of thofe Prefidents, that whereas
" moft of the others in their previous difcourfes
" exhaufted the fubjecl fo much that there was
" no room for debate, he gave only fuch brief,
" but artful fketches, as ferved to fugged ideas,
" without leading to a decifion.
" Among the moft diftinguimed Speakers in
" the Select Society were Sir Gilbert Elliott,
" Mr. Wedderburn, Mr. Andrew Pringle, Lord
" Kaims, Mr. Walter Stewart, Lord Elibank,
" and Dr. Robertfon. The Honourable Charles
" Townlhend fpoke once. David Hume and
" Adam Smith never opened their lips.
" The Society was alfo much obliged to
" Dr. Alexander Monro, Senior, Sir Alexander
p 3 " Dick,
i
214 APPENDIX.
14 Dick, and Mr. Patrick Murray, Advocate,
•' who, by their conftant attendance and readi-
" nefs on every fubject, fupported the debate
" during the firft year of the eftablimment, when
" other wife it would have gone heavily on. The
" fame part was afterwards more ably performed
" by Lord Monboddo, Lord Elibank, and the
" Reverend William Wilkie, all of whom had
" the peculiar talent of fupporting their para-
" doxical tenets by an inexhauftible fund of
41 humour and argument."
A printed Lift of the Members having been
accidentally preferred by Dr. Carlyle, I need
make no apology for giving ft a place in thr,
Appendix, as a memorial of the date of Literary
Society in Edinburgh, forty years ago.
List of the Members of the Select Society,
17th October, 1759.
Rev. John Jardine, Minifter in Edinburgh:.
Francis Home, M. D.
Adam Smith, ProfefTor of Ethics at Glafgovv.
Alex. Wedderburn (now Lord Chancellor).
Allan Ramfay (afterwards Pointer to His
Majefty).
James
%
APPENDIX. 215
James Burnet, Advocate (afterwards Lord
Monboddo).
John Campbell, Advocate (now Lord Stone-
field),
Rev. Alex. Carlyle, Minifter at Inverefk.
"William Johnfton, Advocate (now Sir Wil-
liam Pulteney).
James Stevenfon Rogers, Advocate.
David Hume.
John Swinton, Advocate (afterwards Lord
Swinton).
Patrick Murray, Advocate.
Patrick Hume of Billy, Advocate.
Alex. Stevenfon, M. D.
Walter Stewart, Advocate.
John Home (Author of Douglas).
Robert Alexander, Merchant.
James Ruflell (afterwards Profeffor of Na-
tural Philofophy).
George Cockbunij Advocate.
David Clerk, M. D.
George Brown (Lord Cclfton).
Rev. Will. Robertfon, Minifter in Edin-
burgh.
John Fletcher (now Gen. Fletcher Camp-
bell).
Alex. Agnew, Advocate.
John Hope, M. D.
P4 Sir
2l6 APrENDIX.
Sir David Dalrymple, Advocate (afterwardj
Lord Hailes).
Gilbert Elliot, one of the Lords Commif-
fioners of the Admiralty.
Sir Harry Erfldne, Bart. '
Rev. Hugh Blair, one of the Minifters of
Edinburgh.
Andrew Stewart (now M. P. for Weymouth)*
Charles Fyfch Palmer-
George Morrifon,. Advocate.
Andrew Pringle (Lord Aylmoor).
Alex. Monro, Sen. M. D.
David Rofs, Advocate (now Lord Anker-
ville).
Right Hon. Patrick Lord Elibank.
3 r .arl of Glafgow.
Sir Alex. Dick, Bart.
Robert Arbuthnot (now Secretary to the
Board of Truftees for Manufactures, &c).
Adam Fairholme, Merchant in Edinburgh.
Major James Edmonftone.
Charles Hamilton Gordon, Advocate.
James Ferguflbn of Pttfour, Jiin. Advocate.
David Kennedy, Advocate (afterwards Earl
of Caffiis).
John Dalrymple, Advocate (now Baron of
Exchequer). /
Major Robert Murray (afterwards Sir Robert)
Murray).
Rev.
APPENDIX. 217
Rev. Rob. Wallace, Minifter in Edinburgh.
John Gordon, Advocate.
Alex. Maxwell, Merchant in Edinburgh.
John Coutts, Merchant in Edinburgh.
Will. Tod, Merchant in Edinburgh.
Thomas Millar (afterwards Prefident of the
Court of Seflion).
Robert Chalmers.
Mr. Baron Grant.
Captain James Stewart.
Sir John Stewart, Advocate.
James Guthrie, Merchant.
Charles Congalton, Surgeon in Edinburgh.
Rev. Will. Wilkie, Minifter at Ratho.
John Monro, Advocate.
Captain Robert Douglas.
Alex. Tait, Writer in Edinburgh.
George Chalmers, Merchant in Edinburgh.
Colonel Oughton (afterwards Sir Adolphus
Oughton).
John Adam, Architect.
Robert White, M. D.
Henry Home (Lord Kaims).
James Montgomery, Advocate (now Chief
Baron of Exchequer).
David Dalrymple, Advocate (afterwards
Lord Wefthall).
Rev. George Kay, Minifter in Edinburgh.
George
2l8 APPENDIX.
i
George Muir, Clerk of Judiciary.
George Clerk (afterwards Sir George
Clerk).
Lieut. Col. Archibald Montgomery (after*
wards Earl of Eglinton).
Right Honourable Lord Defkfoord.
Robt. Berry, Advocate.
Adam Auflin, M. D.
Lieut. Col. Morgan.
George Drummond (Lord Provoft of Edin<
burgh). ■
The Earl of Lauderdale.
Alex. Bofwell (Lord Auchinleck).
Alex. Udney, Commifiioner of Excife.
Rev. George Wifhart, Minifter in Edin*
burgh.
Right Honourable Lord Belhaven.
Francis Garden, Advocate (afterwards Lord
Gardenftone).
David Rae, Advocate (now Lord Juftice
Clerk).
Mansfield Cardonnel, Commifiioner of
Excife.
Right Honourable Lord Aberdour.
John Murray of Philiphaugh, Advocate.
Will. Tytler, Writer to the Signet (Author
of the Vindication of CX Mary).
Colin Drummond, M. D.
Robert
APPENDIX. 219
Robert Dundas (afterwards Prefident of the
Court of Sefiion).
Stamp Brookibanks.
Wm. Nairne, Advocate (now Lord Dun-
finan).
James Adam, Architect.
Captain Charles Erfkine.
Hugh Dalrymple, Advocate (Author of
Rodondo).
James Hay, Surgeon.
Mr. Baron Erfkine (afterwards Lord Alva).
John Clerk (Author of Naval Tactics).
John MacGowan, Jun. Writer in Edinburgh.
Earl of Galloway.
John Graham of Dougaldfton.
James Carmichael, Writer to the Signet.
Adam FergufTon (afterwards Profeflcr of
Moral Philofophy).
George Drummond of Blair.
Will. Cullen, M.D.
Hay Campbell, Advocate (now Prefident of
the Court of Seffion).
Alex. Murray, Advocate (afterwards Lord
Henderland).
Rev. Robert Dick.
Right Honourable Lord Gray.
Earl of Errol.
James
220 APPENDIX.
James Dewar, Advocate.
Captain David Wedderburn.
Major James Dalrymple.
Archibald Hamilton, M. I>.
Andrew Cheap.
Andrew Crofbie, Advocate.
Earl of Aboyne.
Adam FerguiTon, Advocate (now Sir Adam
FerguiTon).
Earl of Selkirk.
John Turtbn.
Cofmo Gordon (afterwards one of the
Barons of Exchequer).
Right Honourable Lord Gairlies.
Earl of Sutherland.
Captain Dougald Campbell.
Honourable George Ramfay, Advocate.
Earl of Rofeberry.
Earl of Caffils.
William Graham, Advocate.
John Pringle of Crichton.
Right Honourable Charles Townfhend.
George Wallace.
APPENDIX. 221
NOTE (B), p. 27.
From William Strahan, Efq.
to Dr. Robertson.
Rev. Sir, London, Feb. 28, 1759.
WHEN I received your farewell letter on the
conclufion of your hiftory, I was determined not
to anfwer it till I could tell you, with cer-
tainty, and from my own peiTonal knowledge,
what reception it met with in this place. And
what I am going to tell you, I dare fay you have
had from many of your friends long ago. No
matter for that. Every man, and efpecially one
in my way, has an opportunity to hear the
public fentiments through many different channels.
I have now waited till I could be fully informed ;
and as I have been particularly folicitous to pro-
cure authentic intelligence, you will not be dif-
pleafed at my confirming what you have heard
before, as we love to fee a piece of good news in
the Gazette (excufe the vanity of the comparifon)
even though we have read it a month before in all
the other papers. — I don'c remember to have
heard any book fo univerfally approved by the
befl judges, for what are fold yet, have been
only to fuch. The people in the country know
nothing of it, unlefs from the advertifements ;
and a Hi/lory of Scotland 'is no very enticing title.
—But
332 APPENDIX.
— But many of the firit diftinclion in town have
perufed it with great fatisfa&ion. They wonder
how a Scotch parfon, and who had never been
out of Scotland, could be able to write in fo
correct, fo clear, fo manly, and fo nervous a
flyle. The Speaker of the Houfe of Commons,
in particular, prefers the flyle to that of Boling-
broke, and every body that I have either feen or
heard of, think it one of the very bell perform-
ances that has been exhibited for many years. As
thefe are not fuperncial judges, you may be
allured that the fame you have acquired will be
permanent, and not only permanent, but extend-
ing daily. Next week you will fee fome ex-
tracts from it in the Chronicle, which will ferve
to give the people at a diflance from town fome
idea of its excellence ; but without that, or any
thing elfe, the report of thofe who have read it
in London, will foon fpread its reputation ; for
the capital always gives the lead this way as
well as in mod other cafes. The impreffion,
therefore, certainly will be gone before another
can be got ready. Mr. Millar has wrote to
you already about revifing it for another edition,
and I think the fooner you fend up fome of the
meets, the better, that no time may be loft.
Does not this anfwer your moll fanguine expecta-
tions ? For indeed, a more favourable reception
14 could
APPENDIX. 22$
could not be hoped for. I moft fincerely wifh
you joy of your fuccefs, and have not the lead
doubt but it will have all the good effe&s upon
your future fortune which you could pofiibly
hope for, or expect. Much depended upon the
firil performance ; that triaj is now happily over,
and henceforth you will fail with a favourable
gale. In truth, to acquire fuch a flood of reputa-
tion from writing on a fubjecl: in itfelf fo unpo-
pular in this country, is neither a common, nor
a contemptible conqueft. — I will not trouble you
more on a fubjecl: of which you mud needs
have heard a great deal from hence lately. I
rejoice in your good fortune, and am with much
efteem and fmcerity, Dear Sir,
Your moft obedient fervant,
WILL. STRAHAN.
The following Letter from Mr. Strahan's fon,
forms an interefting counterpart to the fore-
going article.
From Andrew Strahan, Efq.
to Dr. Robertson.
Deal" Sir, London, 19th November, 1 792.
BEING at the fea-fide in Suffex when I re-
ceived your favour of the 26th ult. I have had
no opportunity till now of acknowledging it,
and
224 APPENDIX.
and at the fame time informing myfelf of the ftate
of the Edition, fo as to anfwer your queftion.
Mr. Cadell (who is now with me, and who
defires to be affectionately remembered) is of
opinion with me, that we fhould take the enfu-
ing feafon of mips failing to India to reduce the
quartos. — But we will print an edition in o&avo,
next fummer, whatever may then be the ftate of
the former, and we will thank you for a correct
copy at your leifure.
The fourteenth Edition of your " Scot/and'*
will be publifhed in the courfe of the winter, dur-
ing which it is our intention to advertife all your
works ftrongly in all the papers. — And we have
the fatisfa&ion of informing you, that if we may
judge by the fale of your writings, your literary
reputation is daily increafmg.
I am, with much efteem, &c.
APPENDIX. 2 25
NOTE C. p. 35.
The praife contained in the following letter,
(though lefs profufely bellowed than by fome
other of Dr. Robertfon's corefpondents,)
will not appear of fmall value to thofe who are
acquainted with the character of the writer,
and with his accurate refearches into the anti-
quities of Scotland.
From Sir David Dalrymple
to Dr. Robertson.
Dear Sir, Edinburgh, 20th Feb. 1776.
I AM very happy in your iuvourable accept-
ance of the Annals of Scotland. Even your opi-
nion is not enough to make me think of go-
ing beyond the Reftoration of James I. Your
Sketch of the Hiflory from that time to the
death of James V. is of itfelf fufficient to deter
me. It is very poflible that in your delineation
of the hiflory of the five Jamefes, there may
be errors and omiffions, but you have drawn all
the characters with fuch hiftorical truth, that if I
were to work on the fame ground, I might f'poil
and over-charge the canvas ; at the fame time,
the reader would not fee himfelf in a ftrange
country — every object would be familiar to him.
q_ There
226 APPENDIX.
There is another reafon, and that is a political
one, for my flopping fhort. Many readers might
take it for granted that I would write disfavour-
ably of the Stewarts, from prejudice of educa-
tion orfamily. Other readers might fufpec~l my
impartiality, and thus, there would be little pro-
fpect of my being favourably heard. If I have
health to finifh my plan, I propofe to go back
into the laws of Scotland. That is a work of
which I muil not lofe fight, after I have laboured
fo long upon it *.
I fend you a book which I have re-publifhed»
and beg your acceptance of it. I am,
Dear Sir,
Your moft obedient
and obliged humble fervant*
DAV. DALRYMPLE.
* It is much to be regretted that the work here alluded
to by Lord Hailcs was never carried into complete execu-
tion. The fragments, however, of fuch a writer relative
to a fubjeft on which he had fo long beftowed attention,
could not fail to be of great value ; and it is to be hoped'
that they will one day be communicated to the public.
APPENDIX. 217
The following Letters, which have been kindly
communicated to me by a friend of Lord
Hailes, afcertain fome important dates with
refpect to the progrefs of Dr. Robertfon's
ftudies.
Dr." Robertson to Lord Hailes.
Sir, Gladfmuir, 2 2d 061. 1753.
I INTEND to employ fome of the idle time
of this winter in making a more diligent enquiry
than ever I have done into that period of Scots
Hiftory from the death of King James V. to the
death of Queen Mary. I have the more com-
mon hiflories of that time, fuch as Buchanan,
Spottifwood, and Knox, but there are feveral
collections of papers by Anderfon, Jebb, Forbes,
and others, which I know not how to come at.
I am perfuaded you have mofl of thefe books in
your library, and I flatter myfelf you will be fo
good as to allow me the ufe of them. You know
better what books to fend me, and what will
be neceffary to give any light to this part of hiitory,
than I do what to afk, and therefore I leave
the particular books to your own choice, which
you'll pleafe order to be given to my fervant.
Whatever you fend me, fhall be ufed with much
care, and returned with great punctuality. — I
CL2 beg
228 APPENDIX.
beg you may forgive this trouble. I am with
great refpeft, &c.
Dr. Robertson to Lord Hailes.
Sir, Gladfmmr, 26th July, 1757.
I HAVE now got forward to the year 1660,
and as it will be impoflible for me to fteer
through Gowrie's confpiracy without your guid-
ance, I mufl take advantage of the friendly offer
you was pleafed to make me, and apply to you
for fuch books and papers as you think to be
neceflary for my purpofe. — I would wifh to
give an accurate and rational account of the mat-
ter, but not very minute. I have in my pofleflion
Calderwood's MSS. and all the common primed
hiflories ; but I have neither Lord Cromarty's ac-
count, nor any other piece particularly relative
to the confpiracy. I beg you may fupply me
with as many as you can, and direct me to any
thing you think may be ufeful. The papers you
are pleafed to communicate to me, (hall be fhewn
to no human creature, and no farther ufe fhall
be made of them than you permit. My fer-
vant will take great care of whatever books or
papers you give him. I need not fay how fen-
fible I am of the good will with which you are
pleafed to inftruct me in this curious point of
hiftory, nor how much I expect to profit by it.
I ever am, &o
APPENDIX.
229
Dr. Robertson to Lord Hailes.
Sir, Edinburgh, 8th Nov. 1758.
I HAVE taken the liberty to fend you in-
clofed a Preface to my book, which I have jufl
now written. I find it very difficult for a man
to fpeak of himfelf with any decency through
three or four pages. Unluckily I have been
obliged to write it in the utmoft hurry, as
Strahan is clamouring for it. I think it was ne-
cefTary to fay all in it that I have faid, and yet it
looks too like a puff. I fend it to you, not only
that you may do me the favour to correct any
inaccuracies in the compofition, but becaufe there
is a paragraph in it which I would not prefume
to publifh without your permiffion, though I have
taken care to word it fo modeftly that a man
might have faid it of himfelf. As I mud fend
off the Preface by to-morrow's pod, I muff beg
the favour that you would return it with your
remarks to-morrow morning., x would wifh, if
poffible, that I had time to fhew it to Blair. I
am with great refpecl, &c.
<U The
2J0 APPENDIX.
The Letters which follow, (although written
many years afterwards,) may, without impro-
priety, be introduced here, as they all relate,
more or lefs, to the Hiftory of Scotland.
Dr. Robertson to Lord Hailes.
My Lord, College, Feb. 10, 1776.
I HOPE your Lordfhip will forgive me for
having deferred fo long to return you my beft
thanks for the very acceptable prefent which you
were pleafed to fend me. Previous to doing this,
I wifhed to have the fatisfattion of perufing the
Annals again, and the opinion I had formed of
their merit, is in no degree diminifhed by an at-
tentive review of them in their prefent drefs.
You have given authenticity and order to a
period of our Hiftory, which has hitherto been
deftitute of both, and a Scotchman has now the
pleafure of being able to pronounce what is true,
and what is fabulous, in the early part of our
national flory. As I have no doubt with refpect
to the reception which this part of the Annals,
though perhaps the lead interesting, will meet
with, I flatter myfelf that your Lordfhip will go
on with the work. Allow me, on the public
account, to hope that you have not fixed the
Accejfion
APPENDIX. 23I
Acceffion of James I. as an impaflable boundary
beyond which you are not to advance. It is at
that period, the more interefting age of our hiftory
commences. From thence the regular feries of
our laws begins. During the reign of the
Jamefes, many things dill require the inveftigation
of fuch an accurate and patient enquirer as your
Lordfhip. I hope that what I have done in my
review of that period, will be no reftraint on your
Lordfhip in entering upon that field. My view
of it was a general one, that did not require the
minute accuracy of a chronological refearch, and
if you difcover either omiffions or miftakes in it,
(and 1 dare fay you will difcover both,) I have no
objection to your fupplying the one, and correct-
ing the other. Your ftricliures on me will not be
made with a hoftile hand, and I had much
rather that thefe were made, than be deprived of
the advantage that I mall reap from your com-
pleting your work. As far as I can judge by
the opinion of thofe with whom I converfe, the
public wifh is, that you fhould continue your
Annals at leaft to the death of James V. I moft
heartily join my voice to this general defire, and
wifh you health to go on with what will be fo
much for the honour of your country. I am
with great truth and refpect, my Lord,
Your Lordfhip's moft obedient
and moft humble fervant.
<L4
232 APPENDIX.
Dr. Robertson to Lord Hailes.
My Lord, College, March 13th, 1776.
WHEN I took the liberty of applying to your
Lordftiip laft week, I unluckily did not advert
to the hurry of bufinefs during the laft week of
the Sefiion. In compliance with your requeft,
I fhall, without preamble or apology, mention
what induced me to trouble your Lordfhip.
I am now in the twenty-eighth year of my
authorfhip, and the proprietors of the Hiflory of
Scotland purpofe to end the fecond fourteen
years of their copyright fplendidly, by publifh-
ing two new editions of that Book, one in quarto,
and another in octavo. This has induced me
to make a general review of the whole work,
and to avail myfelf both of the remarks of
my friends, and the flridures of thofe who differ
from me in opinion. I mean not to take the
field as a controverfial writer, or to (late my-
felf in oppofition to any antagonift. Where-
ever I am fatisfied that I have fallen into errors,
I fhall quietly, and without reluctance, correct
it. Wherever I think my fentiments right and
well eftablifhed, they (hall ftand.— -In fome few
places, I lhall illuftrate what I have written, by
materials and fafts which I have difcovered fince
the firft publication of my book. Thefe addi-
tions will not, I hope, be very bulky, but they
will
APPENDIX. 233
will contribute, as I imagine, to throw light on
feveral events which have been miftaken, or
mifreprefented. I (hall take care, on account of
the purchafers of former editions, that all the
additions and alterations of any importance, fhall
be publifhed feparately, both in quarto and
octavo.
As I know how thoroughly your Lordfhip
is acquainted with every tranfaction in Q^ Mary's
reign, and with how much accuracy you are
accuftomed to examine hiftorical fads, it was
my intention to have requeued of you, that
if any error or omiffion in my book had oc-
curred to you in the perufal of it, you would
be fo obliging as to communicate your fenti-
ments to me. I fhall certainly receive fuch
communications with much attention and grati-
tude. — You have fet me right with refpeft to the
act 19th April 1567, but I think that I can fatisfy
your Lordfhip that it was efteemed in that age,
and was really a conceflion of greater import-
ance to the reformed than you feem to ap-
prehend. I beg leave to delire that, if you have
any remarks to communicate, they may be fent
foon, as the Bookfellers are impatient. I truft your
Lordfhip will pardon the liberty I have taken.
I have the honour to be, my Lord,
Your mod obedient and mod humble fervant.
234 APPENDIX.
Dr. Robertson to Lord Haii.es.
My Lord College of Edinburgh,
* ' March 20, 1786.
I CONSIDER it as an unfortunate accident
for me, that your Lordfhip happened to be fo
much pre-occupied at the time when I took the
liberty of applying to you. I return you thanks
for the communication of your notes on the acts
of parliament. Befides the entertainment and
inftruction I received from the perufal of them,
I found fome things of ufe to me, and I have
availed myfelf of the permiflion you was pleafed
to give me.
I mentioned to your Lordfhip that I differed
little from you about the effect of the aft, April
19, 1567. I inclofe a copy both of the text,
corrected as I intend to publifh it in the new
edition, and of a note which I (hall add to
explain my idea of the import of the act. I
requefl of your Lordfhip to perufe it, and if in
any part it. meets not with your approbation,
be fo good as to let me know. Pleafe to
return it as foon as you can, that I may com-
municate it, and any other additions and alter-
ations, to Mr. Davidfon, who has promifed to
revife them.
In 1776 your Lordfhip publifhed the Secret
Correfpondence of Sir R. Cecil with James VI.
I have
APPENDIX. 21,$
I have not a copy of it, and have been unfuc-
cefsful in my application for one to fome of my
friends. If you have a copy, and will be fo good
as to allow me the ufe of it, I mail return it with
the greateft care, as I do herewith the notes I
received from your ^ordfhip. I have attended
to the notes in Bannatyne's poems. I have the
Hamilton MSS. in three volumes folio. They
are curious.
I have the honour to be, &c.
I (hall fubjoin fome extracts from Mr. Hume's
letters to Dr. Robertfon, written about this
period, and a few other paflages from dif-
ferent correfpondents. They feem to me
worthy of prefervation, although the ex-
traneous matter they contain rendered it
impoflible for me to incorporate them with
my Narrative.
Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
London, Lifle Street,
My dear Sir, 18th Nov. 1758.
ACCORDING to your permiffion I have
always got your corre&ed meets from Strahan ;
and am glad to find, that we mall agree in almoft
all the material parts of our Hiflory. Your
refo-
236 APPENDIX.
refolution to aflert the authenticity of Mary's let-
ter to Bothwell, with the confequence which
muft neceflarily follow, removes the chief point,
in which, I apprehend, we mould differ. There
remain however two other points where I have
not the good fortune to agree with you, viz.
The violation of the treaty of Perth by Mary of
Guife, and the innocency of Mary with regard
to Babington's confpiracy : but as I had written
notes upon thefe paflages, the public muft judge
between us. Only allow me to fay, that even
if you be in the right with regard to the lad, (of
which, notwithftanding my deference to your
authority, I cannot perceive the lead appear-
ance,) you are certainly too fhort and abrupt in
handling it. I believe you go contrary to re-
ceived opinion ; and the point was of confequence
enough to merit a note or a diilertation.
There is Hill another point in which we differ,
and which reduced me to great perplexity. You
told me, that all hiftorians had been miftaken
with regard to James's behaviour on his mo-
ther's trial and execution ; that he was not really
the pious fon he pretended to be ; that the ap-
pearances which deceived the world, were put
on at the folicitation of the French AmbafTador,
Courcelles ; and that I mould find all this proved
by a manufcript of Dr. Campbell's. I accord-
ingly fpoke of the matter to Dr. Campbell,
who
APPENDIX. 237
who confirmed what you faid, with many ad-
ditions and amplifications. I defired to have
the manufcript, which he fent me. But great
was my furprize, when I found the contrary in
every page, many praifes bellowed on the King's
piety both by Courcelles and the French Court ;
his real grief and refentment painted in the
ftrongeft: colours ; refolutions even taken by
him to form an alliance with Philip of Spain,
in order to get revenge ; repeated advices given
him by Courcelles and the French Minifters,
rather to conceal his refentment, till a proper
opportunity offered of taking vengeance. What
moft difpleafed me in this affair was, that as I
thought myfelf obliged to follow the ordinary
tenor of the printed hiftorian, while you ap-
pealed to manufcript, it would be neceffary for
me to appeal to the fame manufcripts, to give
extracts of them, and to oppofe your conclufions.
Though I know that I could execute this matter
in a friendly and obliging manner for you, yet I
own that I was very uneafy at finding myfelf
under a neceffity of obferving any thing which
might appear a miftake in your narration. But
there came to me a man this morning, who,
as I fancied, gave me the key of the difficulty,
but without freeing me from my perplexity.
This was a man commonly employed by Millar
and Strahan to decypher manufcripts. He
broueht
238 APPENDIX.
brought me a letter of yours to Strahan, where
you defired him to apply to me in order to point
out the paflages proper to be inferted in your
Appendix, and proper to prove the aflertion of
your text. You add there, thefe letters are in
the French language. I immediately concluded
that you had not read the manuscripts, but had
taken it on Mr. Campbell's word : for the letters
are in Englifh, tranflated by I know not whom
from the French. I could do nothing on this
occafion but defire Strahan to flop the prefs in
printing the Appendix, and flay till I wrote to
you. If I could perfuade you to change the
narration of the text, that meet could be eafily
cancelled, and an appendix formed proper to
confirm an oppofite account. If you ftill perfift
in your opinion, fomebody elfe whom you trufted,
might be employed to find the proper paflages ;
for I cannot find them.
There is only one paffage which looks like
your opinion, and which I fhall tranfcribe to you.
It is a relation of what parted between James and
Courcelles upon the firft rumour of the difcovery
of Babington's confpiracy, before James appre-
hended his mother to be in any danger. " The
" King faid he loved his mother as much as na-
" ture and duty bound him ; but he could not
" love her : For he knew well
" me bore him no more good-will than fhe did
" to
APPENDIX. 239
" to the Queen of England : That he had feen
** with his own eyes, before Foulnaye's depar-
" ture out of Scotland, a letter to him, whereby
" fhe fent him word, that if he would not con-
" form himfelf to her will, and follow her coun-
<c fels and advice, that he fhould content himfelf
*' with the lordfhip of Darnley, which was all
" that appertained unto him by his father :
" Farther, that he had feen other letters under
" her own hand, confirming her evil towards
" him : Befides, that fhe had oftentimes gone
" about to make a regency in Scotland, and to
" put him befides the Crown ; that it behoved
" him to think of his own affairs, and that he
" thought the Queen of England would attempt
<c nothing againfl her perfon without making
" him acquainted : That his mother was hence-
" forward to carry herfelf both towards him and
" the Queen of England after another fort,
" without bending any more upon fuch practices
" and intelligences as fhe had in former times :
*' That he hoped to fet fuch perfons about her
" as" (Here themanufcript is not farther legible.)
But though fuch were James's fentiments before
he apprehended his mother to be in danger, he
adopted a directly oppofite conduct: afterwards,
as I told you. I can only exprefs my wifhes that
you may fee reafon to conform your narrative in
vol,
240 APPENDIX.
vol. ii. p. r39, 140. to this account, or omit
that Appendix altogether, or find fome other
perfon who can better execute your intentions
than it is poffible for me to do.
Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
My dear Sir, 25th January, 1759.
WHAT I wrote you with regard to Mary's
concurrence in the confpiracy againft Queen
Elizabeth, was from the printed hiftories of
papers ; and nothing ever appeared to me more
evident. Your chief objection, I fee, is derived
from one circumflance, that neither the fecretaries
nor confpirators were confronted with Mary ; but
you mud confider that the law did not then re-
quire this confrontation, and it was in no cafe the
practice. The Crown could not well grant it in
one cafe without granting it in all, becaufe the
refufmg of it would then have been a ftrong pre-
emption of innocence in the prifoner. Yet
as Mary's was an extraordinary cafe, Elizabeth
was willing to have granted it. I find in Forbes's
MS. papers, fent me by Lord Royfton, a letter
of hers to Burleigh and Walfingham, wherein
me tells them, that, if they thought proper, they
might carry down the two fecretaries to Fotherin-
gay, in order to confront them with her. But
they reply, that they think it needlefs.
4 But
APPENDIX. 241
But I am now forry to tell you, that by
Murden's State Papers, which are printed, the
matter is put beyond all queftion. I got thefe
papers during the holidays by Dr. Birch's means ;
and as foon as I had read them, I ran to Millar,
and defired him very earneftly to (top the pub-
lication of your Hiftory till I mould write to you,
and give you an opportunity of correcting a mif-
take of fo great moment ; but he abfolutely
refufed compliance. He faid that your book was
now finimed, that the copies would be fhipped
for Scotland in two days, that the whole nar-
ration of Mary's trial muft be wrote over again;
that this would require time, and it was uncer-
tain whether the new narrative could be brought
within the fame compafs with the old ; that
this change, he faid, would require the cancelling
a great many meets ; that there were fcattered
paflages through the volumes founded on your
theory, and thefe muft alfo be all cancelled, and
that this change required the new printing of a
great part of the edition. For thefe reafons,
which do not want force, he refufed, after deli-
beration, to flop his publication, and I was
obliged to acquiefce. Your bed apology at
prefent is, that you could not poffibly fee the
grounds of Mary's guilt, and every equitable
perfon will excufe you,
r lam
HI APPENDIX.
I am forry, on many accounts, that you did
not fee this Collection of Murden'ts. Among
other curiofities, there are feveral inftru&ions to
H. Killigrew, dated ioth Sept. 1572. He was
then fent into Scotland. It there appears, that
the Regents, Murray and Lennox, had defired
Mary to be put into their hands, in order to try
her and put her to death. Elizabeth there offers
to Regent Mar to deliver her up, provided good
fecurity were given, " that (lie mould receive
" that fhe hath deferved there by order of
" Juftice, whereby no further peril mould enfue
" by her efcaping, or by fetting her up again."
It is probable, Mar refufed compliance, for no
fteps were taken towards it.
I am nearly printed out, and (hall be fure to
fend you a copy by the ftage-coach, or fome
other conveyance. I beg of you to make re-
marks as you go along. It would have been
much better had we communicated before print-
ing, which was always my defire, and was mod
fuitable to the friendfhip which always did, and I
hope always will, fubfilt between us. I fpeak
this chiefly on my own account. For though I
had trie perufal of your fheets before I printed,
I was not able to derive fufiicient benefits from
them, or indeed to make any alteration by their
afliflance. There (till remain, I fear, many
errors.
APPENDIX. 243
errors, of which you could have convinced me,
if we had canvaffed the matter in converfation.
Perhaps I might alfo have been fometimes no lefs
fortunate with you. Particularly I could almofl
undertake to convince you, that the Earl of
Murray's conduct with the Duke of Norfolk was
no way difhonourable.
I have feen a copy of your Kiftory with
Charles Stanhope. Lord Willoughby, who had
been there reading fome paflages of it, faid, that
you was certainly miftaken with regard to the
act palfed in the laft parliament of Mary, fettling
the Reformation. He faid that the act of par-
liament the firft of James was no proof of it :
for though that ftatute contains a flatute where
the Queen's name was employed, yet that is
always the cafe with the bills brought into parlia-
ment, even though they receive not the Royal
Aflent, nor perhaps pafs the Houfes. I wifh this
be not the cafe, confidering the teftimony of
Buchanan, Calderwood, and Spotfwood, Befides,
if the bill had before received the Royal ArTent,
what neceflity of repeating it, or palling it again?
Mary's title was more undifputable than James's.
Dr. Blair tells me, that Prince Edward is
reading you, and is charmed. I hear the fame
of the Princefs and Prince of Wales. But what
will really give you pleafure, I lent my copy to
R 2 Elliot
144 APPENDIX.
Elliot during the holidays, who thinks it one of
the fined performances he ever read ; and though
he expected much, he finds more. He remarked,
however, (which is alfo my opinion,) that in
the beginning, before your pen was fufficiently
accuftomed to the hiftoric flyle, you employ
too many digreflions and reflections. This was
alfo fomewhat my own cafe, which I have cor-
rected in my new edition.
Millar was propofing to publifh me about the
middle of March, but I mall communicate to
him your defire, even though I think it entirely
groundlefs, as you will likevvife think after you
have read my volume. He has very needlefsly
delayed your publication till the firft of February,
at the defire of the Edinburgh bookfellers, who
could no way be affected by a publication in
London. I was exceedingly forry not to be able
to comply with your defire, when you exprefied
your wifli, that I mould not write this period.
I could not write downward. For when you
find occafion, by new difcoveries, to correct
your opinion with regard to facts which patted
in Queen Elizabeth's days ; who, that has not
the belt opportunities of informing himfelf, could
venture to relate any recent tranfactions ? I
muft therefore have abandoned altogether^ this
fcheme of the Englifh Hiftory, in which I had
proceeded
APPENDIX. 245
proceeded fo far, if I had not afted as I did.
You will fee what light and force this Hiftory of
the Tudors bellows on that of the Stewarts.
Had I been prudent, I fhould have begun with it.
I care not to boafl, but I will venture to fay,
that I have now effectually flopped the mouths of
all thofe villanous Whigs who railed at me.
You are fo kind as to afk me about my com-
ing down. I can yet anfvver nothing. I have the
flrangefl reluctance to change places. I lived
feveral years happy with my brother at Nine-
wells, and had not his marriage changed a little
the flate of the family, I believe I fhould have
lived and died there. I ufed every expedient to
evade this journey to London, yet it is now
uncertain whether I fhall ever leave it. I have
had fome invitations, and fome intentions of
raking a trip to Paris ; but I believe it will be
fafer for me not to go thither, for I might pro-
bably fettle there for life. No one was ever
endowed with fo great a portion of the vis inertia.
But as I live here very privately, and avoid as
much as poffible (and it is eafily pofllble) all
connexions with the Great, I believe I fhould
be better at Edinburgh. * * *
246 APPENDIX.
Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
London, 8th Feb. 1759.
« * AS to the Age of Leo the Tenth, it was
Warton himfelf who intended to write it ; but
he has not wrote it, and probably never will.
If I underftand your hint, I fhould conjecture,
that you had fome thoughts of taking up the
fubject. But how can you acquire knowledge
of the great works of Sculpture, Architecture,
and Painting, by which that age was chiefly
diftinguifhed ? Are you verfed in all the anec-
dotes of the Italian Literature? Thefe queflions
I heard propofed in a company of Literati when
I enquired concerning this defign of Warton.
They applied their remarks to that gentleman,
who yet, they fay, has travelled. I vvifh they
do not all of them fall more fully on you.
However, you mud not be idle. May I ven-
ture to fuggeft to you the Ancient Hiftory,
particularly that of Greece ? I think Rollin's
fuccefs might encourage you, nor need you be
in the lead intimidated by his merit. That
author has no other merit but a certain facility
and fweethefs of nai ration, but has loaded h«
work with fifty puerilities.
Our
APPENDIX. 247
Our friend, Wedderburn, is advancing with
great ftrides in his Profeflion. * * «
I defire my compliments to Lord Elibank.
I hope his Lordfhip has forgot his vow of an-
fwering us, and of warning Queen Mary white.
I am afraid that is impoffible ; but his Lordfhip
is very well qualified to gild her.
I am, &c.
Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
* # # # #
I forgot to tell you, that two days ago I was
in the Houfe of Commons, where an Englifh
gentleman came to me, and told me, that he
had lately fent to a grocer's fhop for a pound of
raifins, which he received wrapt up in a paper
that he mewed me. How would you have
turned pale at the fight ! It was a leaf of your
Hiflory, and the very character of Queen Eliza-
beth, which you had laboured fo finely, little
thinking it would fo foon come to fo difgraceful
an end. — I happened a little after to fee Millar,
and told him the ftory ; confulting him, to be
fure, on the fate of his new boafled Hiftorian,
of whom he was fo fond. But the ftory proves
n 4 more
248 ATPENDIX.
more ferious than I apprehended. For he told
Strahan, who thence fufpe&s villany among his
prentices and journeymen; and has fent me
very earneftly to know the gentleman's name,
that he may find out the grocer, and trace the
matter to the bottom. In vain did I remonftrate
that this was fooner or later the fate of all
Authors, ferius, ocyus 9 fors exitura. He will not
be fatisfied ; and begs me to keep my jokes for
another occafion. But that I am refolved not to
do ; and therefore, being repulfed by his pafiion
and ferioufnefs, I direct them againft you.
Next week, I am publifhed ; and then, I
expect a conftant companion will be made
between Dr. Robertfon and Mr. Hume. I
fhall tell you in a few weeks which of thefe
Heroes is likely to prevail. Meanwhile , I can
inform both of them for their comforts, that
their combat is not likely to make half fo much
noife as that between Broughton and the one-
eyed coachman. Vanitas vanitatum, at que omnia
vanitas. I fhall ftill except, however, the
friendfhip and good opinion of worthy men.
I am, &c.
.VPl'ENDIX. '249
Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
My Dear Sir, London, 12th March, 1759.
I BELIEVE I mentioned to you, a French
Gentleman, Monfieur Helvetius, whofe book,
De l'Efprit, was making a great noife in Europe.
He is a very fine genius, and has the character
of a very worthy man. My name is mentioned
feveral times in his work with marks of efteem ;
and he has made me an offer, if I would trans-
late his work into Englifh, to tranflate a-new
all my philofophical writings into French. He
fays, that none of them are well done, except
that on the Natural Hiftory of Religion, by
Monfieur Matigny, a Counfellor of State. He
added, that the Abbe Prevot, celebrated for the
Memoires d'un Homme d'Honneur, and other
entertaining books, was juft now tranflating my
Hiftory. This account of Helvetius engaged
me to fend him over the new editions of all
my writings ; and I have added your Hiftory,
which, I told him, was here pubiifhed with great
applaufe ; adding, that the fubjecl: was intereft-
ing and the execution mafterly 5 and that it was
probable fome man of letters at Paris may think
that a tranftation of it would be agreeable to
the
25© APPENDIX.
the public. I thought that this was the beft
method of executing your intentions. I could
not expect that any Frenchman here would be
equal to the work. There is one Carracioli,
who came to me and fpoke of tranflating my
new volume of Hiftory; but as he alfo men-
tioned his intentions of tranflating Smollet, I
gave him no encouragement to proceed. The
fame reafon would make me averfe to fee you in
his hands.
But though I have given this character of
your work to Monfieur Helvetius, I warn you,
that this is the laft time, that, either to French-
man or Englimman, I fhall ever fpeak the ieaft
good of it. A plague take you ! Here I fat
near the hiftorical fummit of Parnaflus, imme-
diately under Dr. Smollet ; and you have the
impudence to fqueeze yourfelf by me, and place
yourfelf directly under his feet. Do you ima-
gine that this can be agreeable to me? And
muft not I be guilty of great Simplicity to con-
tribute by my endeavours to your thrufting me
out of my place in Paris as well as at London ?
But 1 give you warning that you will find the
matter fomewhat difficult, at lead in the former
city. A friend of mine, who is there, writes
home to his father, the ftrangeft accounts on
that head ; which my modefty will not permit
me
APPENDIX. 251
me to repeat, but which it allowed me very
delicioufly to fwallow.
I have got a good reafon or pretence for ex-
cufing me to Monfieur Helvetius with regard to
the tranflating his work. A tranflation of it was
previoufly advertifed here. I remain, &c.
Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
My Dear Sir, London, 29th May 1759.
I HAD a letter from Helvetius lately, wrote
before your book arrived at Paris. He tells me,
that the Abbe Prevot, who had juft finifhed the
tranflation of my Hiftory, paroit tres-difpofi a
traduire PHi/ioire d'Ecqffe que vient de fairc
Monfieur Robert/on. If he be engaged by my
perfuafion, I fhall have the fatisfa&ion of doing
you a real credit and pleafure : for he is one of
the beft pens in Paris.
I looked with great impatience in your new
edition for the note you feemed to intend with
regard to the breach of the capitulation of Perth ;
and was much difappointed at miffing it. I own
that I am very curious on that head. I cannot
fo much as imagine a colour upon which their
accufations could pombly be founded. ' The
articles were only two ; indemnity to the inha-
bitants,
Z$2 APPENDIX.
bitants, and the cxclufion of French foldiers —
now that Scotch national troops were not
Frenchmen and foreigners feems pretty ap-
parent : and both Knox and the manifcfto of
the Congregation acquit the Queen-Regent of
any breach of the firft article, as I had obferved
in my note to page 422. This makes me fufpecl
that fome racls have efcaped rfte ; and I beg you
to indulge my curiofity by informing me of
Ithem.
* # ♦ * *
Our friend Smith f is very fuccefsful here,
and Gerard J is very well received. The Epi-
goniad I cannot fo much promife for, though
I have done all in my power to forward if,
particularly by writing a letter to the Critical
Review, which you may perufe. I find, how-
ever, fome good judges profefs a great efteem
for it, but habcnt et fun fata libelli : however,
if you want a little flattery to the author,
(which I own is very refrefhing to an author,)
you may tell him that Lord Chefterfield faid
to me he was a great Poet. I imagine that
Wiikie will be very much elevated by praife
from an Englifh Earl, and a Knight of the
Garter, and an Ambaflador, and a Secretary
f Theory of Moral Saitimcnts. \ EfTay on Taftc.
of
APPENDIX. 253
of State, and a man of fo great reputation. For
I obferve that the greateft: nifties are commonly
mod affected with fuch circumftances.
Fergufon's book f has a great deal of genius
and fine writing, and will appear in time. *
From Dr. Birch to Dr. Robertson.
Dear Sir, London, Feb. 8th, 1 759.
I HAVE juft read over the fecond volume
of your excellent Hiftory ; and the fatisfa&ion
which I have received from the perufal of it,
and the gratitude which I owe you for the honour
done me in it, as well as for fo valuable a
prefent, will not permit me to lofe one pod in
returning you my fmcereft acknowledgments.
My Lord Royfton likewife defires me to tranf-
mit to you his thanks and compliments in the
ftrongefl: terms.
Though your work has been fcarce a fort-
night in the hands of the public, I can already
inform you, upon the authority of the beft
judges, that the fpirit and elegance of the com-
pofuion, and the candour, moderation, and
f Eflay on the Hiftory of Civil Society.
J * humanity.*
254 APPENDIX.
humanity, which run through it, will fecure
you the general approbation both of the prefent
age and pofterity, and ratfe the character of
our country in a fpecies of writing, in which of all
others it has been moft defective.
If the fecond volume of the State Papers of
Lord Burghley, publifhed fince Chriftmas here,
had appeared before your Hiftory had been
finimed, it would have furnifhed you with reafons
for entertaining a lefs favourable opinion of Mary
Queen of Scots in one or two points, than you
feem at prefent poflefled of. The principal is
with regard to her laft intrigues and correfpond-
ences which were the immediate caufe of her
death. And I could wifh you had likewife feen
a manufcript account of her trial in Lord
Royfton's pofifeffion. This account is much
fuller than Camden's, whofe Hiftory is juftly to
be fufpecled in every thing relating to her ; or
than any other, that has yet feen the light. It
contains fo ample a ftate of the evidence pro-
duced of her guilt, as, I think, leaves no doubt
of it ; notwithstanding that the witnefles were
not confronted with her ; a manner of proceed-
ing, which, though certainly due to every per fan
accuftd, was notufual either before her time or
long after.
You
APPENDIX. 255
You conclude in the Note, vol. i. p. 307, in
favour of her innocence from any criminal
intrigue with Rizzio, from the filence of
Randolph on that head. But I apprehend, that
in oppofition to this allegation you may be urged
with the joint letter of that gentleman and the
Earl of Bedford of 27th March 1566, in your
Appendix, No. xv. p. 22.
I defire you to make my compliments accept-
able to Sir David Dalrymple and Mr. Davidfon,
and believe me to be, &c.
THOMAS BIRCH.
From Sir Gilbert Elliot to Dr. Ro-
bertson.
Dear Sir, Admiralty, January 20th, 1759.
MILLAR has juft fent me the Hiftory of
Scotland. I cannot imagine why he fhould
delay the publication fo long as the firft of
February, for I well know that the printing has
been completed a great while. You could have
fent me no prefent, which on its own account
I fhould have efteemed fo much ; but you have
greatly enhanced its value, by allowing me to
accept
256 APPENDIX.
accept it as a memorial and teftimony of a friend-
fhip which I have long cultivated with equal fatif-
fa&ion and fincerity. I am no ftranger to your
book, though your copy is but juft put into
my hands : David Hume fo far indulged my
impatience, as to allow me to carry to the
country during the holydays, the loofe fheets,
which he happened to have by him. In that
condition I read it quite through with the
greatefl fatisfaclion, and in much lefs time than
I ever employed on any portion of hiflory of
the fame length. I had certainly neither leifure
nor inclination to exercife the function of a
Critic ; carried along with the ftream of the
narration, I only felt, when I came to the con-
clusion, that you had greatly exceeded the ex-
pectations I had formed, though I do aflure you
thefe were not a little fanguine. If, upon a
more deliberate perufal, I difcover any blemifh,
I (hall point it out without any fcruple : at
prefent, it feems to me that you have rendered
the period you treat of as interefting as any
part of our Britifh ftory ; the views you open
of policy, manners, and religion, are ingenious,
folid, and deep. Your work will certainly be
ranked in the higheft hiftorical clafs ; and for
my own part, I think it befides* a compofition
of
APPENDIX. 257
of uncommon genius and eloquence. — I was
afraid you might have been interrupted by the
Reformation, but I find it much otherwife ; you
treat it with great propriety, and, in my opinion,
with fufficient freedom. No revolution, whether
civil or religious, can be accomplifhed without
that degree of ardour and paffion, which, in a
later age, will be matter of ridicule to men who
do not feel the occafion, and enter into the fpirit
of the times. But I mud not get into diiTert-
ations; — I hope you will ever believe me, with
great regard,
Dear Sir,
Your moll obedient and faithful Servant,
GILB. ELLIOT.
NOTE D. p. 86.
From Baron d'Holbach to Dr. Robertson.
Sir, Paris, the 30th of May 1768.
I RECEIVED but a few days ago the favour
of your letter, fent to me by Mr. Andrew Stuart ;
I am very proud of being inftrumental in contri-
buting to the tranflation of the valuable work
you are going to publifh. The excellent work
you have publifhed already is a fure Ilgn of the
s reception
2$$ APPENDIX.
reception your Hiftory of Charles V. will meet
with in the Continent ; fuch an interefting fub-
ject deferves undoubtedly the attention of all
Europe. You are very much in the right of
being afraid of the hackney tranflators of Hol-
land and Paris j accordingly I thought it my duty
to find out an able hand capable of anfwering
your defire. M. Suard, a gentleman well known
for his ftyle in French, and his knowledge in
the Englifh language, has, at my requeft, un-
dertaken the tranflation of your valuable book ;
I know nobody in this country capable of per-
forming better fuch a grand defign. Confe-
quently the bed way will be for your bookfeller,
as foon as he publishes one meet, to fend it im-
mediately a Monficur M. Suard, DirecJeur de la
Gazette de France, rue St. Roch a Paris. By
means of this the fheets of your book will be
tranflated as foon as they come from the prefs,
provided the bookfeller of London is very ftricl
in not (hewing the fame favour to any. other man
upon the Continent.
I have the honour to be,
With great confederation,
Sir,
Your mofl obedient and humble Servant,
D'HOLBACH.
APPENDIX. 259
NOTE E. p. 100.
THE following Letters have no immediate
connexion with thehiftory of Dr. Robertfon's
Life, but, I truft, that no apology is neceflary
for their infertion here.
From Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
Dear Robertfon, Paris, ift December, 1763.
AMONG other agreeable circumftances,
which attend me at Paris, I mud mention that
of having a Lady for a tranflator, a woman of
merit, the widow of an advocate. She was
before very poor, and known but to few ; but
this work has got her reputation, and procured
her a penfion from the Court, which fets her at
her eafe. She tells me, that fhe has got a
habit of induftry j and would continue, if I
could point out to her any other Englifh book
fhe could undertake, without running the rifque
of being anticipated by any other tranflator.
Your Hiftory of Scotland is tranflated, and is
in the prefs : but I recommended to her your
Hiftory of Charles V. and promifed to write to
s 2 you,
26o APPENDIX*
yoir, In order to know when it would be- printed,
and to defire you to fend over the iheets from
London as they came from the prefs ; I mould
put them into her hands, and fhe would by that
means have the ftart of every other tranflator.
My two volumes laft publifhed are at prefent in
the prefs. She has a very eafy natural ftyle:
fometimes fhe miftakes the fenfe; but I now
correct her manufcript ; and mould be happy
to render you the fame fervice, if my leifure
permit me, as I hope it will. Do you afk me
about my courfe of life ? I can only fay, that I
eat nothing but ambrofia, drink nothing but
ne&ar, breathe nothing but incenfe, and tread
on nothing but flowers. Every man I meet,
and dill more every lady, would think they
were wanting in the moil indifpenfable duty, if
they did not make to me a long and elaborate
harangue in my praife. What happened laft
week, when I had the honour of being prefented
to the D n's children at Verfailles, is one
of the mod curious fcenes I have yet parTed
through. The Due de B. the eldeft, a boy of
ten years old, Itepped forth, and told me how
many friends and admirers I had in this country,
and that he reckoned himfelf in the number,
from the pleafure he had received from the
reading
APPENDIX. 26l
reading of many paflages in my works. When
he had finifhed, his brother, the Count de P.
who is two years younger, began his difcourfe,
and informed me, that I had been long and
impatiently expected in France ; and that he
hi mfelf expected foon to have great fatisfaction
from the reading of my fine Hiftory. But what
is more curious; when I was carried thence
to the Count d'A. who is but four years of age,
I heard him mumble fomething, which, though
he had forgot it in the way, I conjectured from
fome fcattered words, to have been alfo a pane-
gyric dictated to him. Nothing could more fur-
prife my friends, the Parifian Philofophers, than
this incident. * # *
# # * # #
* # It is conjectured that this honour
was payed me by exprefs order from the D.
who, indeed, is not, on any occafion, fparing
in my pfaife.
All this attention and panegyric was at firft
opprefiive to me; but now it fits more eafy.
I have recovered, in fome meafure, the ufe of
the language, and am falling into friendihips,
which are very agreeable ; much more fo than
filly, diftant admiration. They now begin to
banter me, and tell droll ftories of me, which
s 3 they
262 APPENDIX.
they have either obferved themfelves, or have
heard from others ; fo that you fee I am be-
ginning to be at home. It is probable, that this
place will be long my home. I feel little in-
clination to the factious barbarians of London j
and have ever defired to remain in the place
where I am planted. How much more fo, when
it is the bed place in the world f I could here
live in great abundance on the half of my
income ; for there is no place where money is
fo little requifite to a man who is diflinguifhed
either by his birth or by perfonal qualities. I
could run out, you fee, in a panegyric on the
people ; but you would fufpecl, that this was
a mutual convention between us. However, I
cannot forbear obferving, on what a different
footing learning and the learned are here, from
what they are among the factious barbarians
above mentioned.
I have here met with a prodigious hiftorical
curiofity, the Memoirs of King James II. in four-
teen volumes, all wrote with his own hand, and
kept in the Scots College. I have looked into
it, and have made great difcoveries. It will be
all communicated to me ; and I have had an
oftcr of accefs to the Secretary of State's office,
if I want to know the difpatches of any French
Minifler
APPENDIX. 263
Minifter that refided in London. But thefe
matters are much but of my head. I beg of
you to vifit Lord Marifchal, who will be pleafed
with your company. I have little paper re-
maining and lefs time ; and therefore conclude
abruptly, by afluring you that 1 am,
Dear Doctor,
Yours fincerely,
DAVID HUME.
From Mr. Hume to Dr. Robertson.
My dear Sir, London, 19th March, 1767.
YOU do extremely right in applying to me
wherever it is the leaft likely I can ferve you or
any of your friends. I confulted immediately
with General Conway, who told me, as I
fufpe&ed, that the chaplains to forts and gar-
rifons were appointed by the War Office, and
did not belong to his department. Unhappily
I have but a flight acquaintance with Lord Bar-
rington, and cannot venture to a(k him any
favour; but I mall call on Pryce Campbell,
though not of my acquaintance, and mall en-
quire of him the canals through which this affair
s 4 may
20*4 APPENDIX.
may be concluded : perhaps it may lie in my
power to facilitate it by fome means or other.
I {hall endeavour to find out the unhappy
philofopher you mention, though it will be
difficult for me to do him any fervice. He
is an ingenious man, but unfortunate in his
conduct, paiticularly in the early part of his
life. The world is fo cruel as never to over-
look thofe flaws ; and nothing but hypocrify
can fully cover them from obfervation. There
is not fo effectual a fcourer of reputations in
the world. I wifh that I had never parted with
that Lixivium, in cafe I mould at any future
time have occafion for it.
* * * • #
* * A few days before my arrival
in London, Mr. Davenport had canied to Mr.
Conway a letter of Roufleau's, in which that
philofopher fays, that he had never meant to
refufe the King's bounty, that he would be
proud of accepting it, but that he would owe it
entirely to his MajeftVs generofity and that of
his Minifters, and would icfufe it if it came
through any other canal whatfoever, even that
of Mr. Davenport. Mr. Davenport then ad-
dreflcd himfelf to Mr. Conway, and afked whe-
ther
APPENDIX. 265
ther it was not poffible to recover what this
man's madnefs had thrown away ? The Secre-
tary replied, that I mould be in London in a
few days, and that he would take no fteps in the
affair but at my defire and with my approbation.
When the matter was propofed to me, I exhorted
the General to do this aft of charity td a man
of genius, however wild and extravagant. The
King, when applied to, faid, that fince the
penfion had once been promifed, it mould be
granted notwithftanding all that had paffed in
the interval. And thus the affair is happily
finifhed, unlefs fome new extravagance come
acrofs the philofopher, and engage him to reject
what he has a-new applied for. If he knew my
fituation with General Conway he probably
would ; for he mud then conjecture that the
affair could not be done without my confent.
Fergufon's book goes on here with great
fuccefs. A few days ago I faw Mrs. Montague,
who had juft finiihed it with great pleafure:
I mean, (lie was forry to finilh it, but had read
it with great pleafure. 1 afked her, Whether
fhe was fatisfied with the ftyle? Whether it did
not favour fomewhat of the country ? O yes,
faid fhe, a great deal : it feems almofl impoflible
that any one could write fuch a flyle except a
$cotfman,
I find
266 APPENDIX.
I find you prognofticate a very fhort date to
my admira'ftration : I really believe that few
(but not evil) will be my days. My abfence
will not probably allow my claret time to ripen,
much lefs to four. However that may be, I
hope to drink out the remainder of it with
you in mirth and jollity. I am fmcerely yours
ufque ad aras.
DAVID HUME.
In comparing the amiable qualities difplayed
in Mr. Hume's familiar letters, and (according
to the univerfal teftimony of his friends) exhi.
bifed in the whole tenor of his private conduct,
with thofe paflages in his metaphyfical writings
which ftrike at the root of the moral and reli-
gious principles of our nature, I have fometimes
pleafed myfelf with recollecting the ingenious
argument againft the theories of Epicurus, which
Cicero deduces from the hiftory of that philo-
fopher's life. " Ac mihi quidem, quod et ipfe
" vir bonus fuit, et multi Epicurei fuerunt et
" hodie funt et in amicitia fideles, et in omni
" vita conftantes et graves, nee voluptate fed
" officio confilia moderantes, hoc videtur major
" vis honeftatis et minor voluptatis. Ita enim
" vivunt quidam, ut eorum vita refellatur oratio.
" Atque
APPENDIX. 267
" Atque ut ceteri exiftimantur dicere melius
M quam facere, fie hi mihi videntur facere melius
*' quam dicere,"
NOTE F. p. 130.
I have allotted this Note for fome Letters from
Mr. Gibbon to Dr. Robertfon, which appeared
to me likely to intereft the public curiofity.
Mr. Gibbon to Dr. Robertson.
Bentinck Street, Nov. the 3d, 1779.
* * • * #
WHEN I exprefs my ftrong hope that you
will vifit London next fpring, I muft acknow-
ledge that it is of the mod interefting kind.
Befides the pleafure which I (hall enjoy in your
fociety and converfation, I cherifh the expect-
ation of deriving much benefit from your candid
and friendly criticifm. The remainder of my
firft period of the Decline and Fall, &c. which
will end with the ruin of the Weftern Empire,
is already very far advanced; but the fubject
has already grown fo much under my hands,
that it will form a fecond. and third volume in
quarto, which will probably go to ,the prefs
<
in
the
268 APPENDIX.
the courfe of the enfuing fummer. — Perhaps you
have feen in the papers, that I was appointed
fome time ago one of the Lords of Trade ;- but
I believe you are enough acquainted with the
country to judge, that the bufinefs of my new
office has not much interrupted the progrefs of
my ftudies. The attendance in Parliament is
indeed more laborious j I apprehend a rough
feflion, and fear I that a black cloud is gathering
in Ireland.
Be fo good as to prefent my fmcere compli-
ments to Mr. Smith, Mr. Fergufon, and if he
fhould (till be with you, to Dr. Gillies, for
whofe acquaintance 1 efteem myfelf much in-
debted to you, I have often confidered, with
fome fort of envy, the valuable fociety which
you poffefs in fo narrow a compafs.
I am, Dear Sir,
With the higheft regard,
Mod faithfully yours,
E. GIBBON.
Mr. Gibbon to Dr. Robertson.
JLiear Oir, London, September I, 17&3.
YOUR candid and friendly interpretation will
afcribe to bufinefs, to ftudy, to pleafure, to
conftitutional
APPENDIX. 269
conftitutional indolence, or to any other venial
caufe, the guilt of neglecting fo valuable a cor-
refpondent as yourfelf. I mould have thanked
you for the opportunities which you have afforded
me of forming an acquaintance with feveral mea
of merit who deferve your friend (hip, and whofe
character and converfation fugged a very pleafing
idea of the fociety which you enjoy at Edin-
burgh.— I mufl at the fame time lament, that
the hurry of a London life has not allowed me
to obtain fo much as I could have wifhed, of
their company, and mud have given them an>
unfavourable opinion of my hofpitality, unlefs
they have weighed with indulgence the various
obftacles of time and place. Mr. Stewart I
had not even the pleafure of feeing ; he paffed.
through this city in his way to Paris, while I
was confined with a painful fit of the gout, and
in the fhort interval of his flay, the hours of
meeting which were mutually propofed, could
not be made to agree with our refpe&ive en-
gagements. Mr. Dalzel, who is undoubtedly a
modefl and learned man, I have had the pleafure
of feeing ; but his arrival has unluckily fallen
on a time of year, and a particular year, in which
I have been very little in town. I mould rejoice
if I could repay thefe loffes by a vifit lo Edin-
2 burgh,
270 APPENDIX.
burgh, a more tranquil fcene, to which yourfelf,
and our friend Mr. Adam Smith, would power-
fully attract me. But this project, which, in a
leifure hour has often amufed my fancy, muft
now be refigned, or muft be poftponed at leaft
to a very diftant period. In a very few days,
(before I could receive the favour of an anfwer,)
I fhall begin my journey to Laufanne in Switzer-
land, where I fhall fix my refidence, in a de-
lightful fituation, with a dear and excellent
friend of that country ; ftill mindful of my
Britifh friends, but renouncing, without reluct-
ance, the tumult of parliament, the hopes and
fears, the prejudices and paflions of political
life, to which my nature has always been averfe.
Our noble friend Lord Loughborough has en-
deavoured to divert me from this refolution ; he
rifes every day in dignity and reputation, and if
the means of patronage had not been fo ftrangely
reduced by our modern reformers, I am per-
fuaded his conftant and liberal kindnefs would
more than fatisfy the moderate defires of a
philofopher. What I cannot hope for from the
favour of Minifters, I muft patiently expect from
the courfe of nature ; and this exile, which I
do not view in a very gloomy light, will be ter-
minated in due time, by the deaths of aged
ladies,
APPENDIX. 27I
ladies, whofe inheritance will place me in an
eafy and even affluent fituation. But thefe par-
ticulars are only defigned for the ear of friend-
fhip.
I have already difpatched to Laufanne, two
immenfe cafes of books, the tools of my hifto-
rical manufacture ; others I fhall find on the
fpot, and that country is not deftitute of public
and private libraries, which will be freely opened
for the ufe of a man of letters. The tranquil
leifure which I fhall enjoy, will be partly em-
ployed in the profecution of my hiftory ; but
although my diligence will be quickened by the
profpeft of returning to England, to publifh
the laft volumes (three, I am afraid) of this
laborious work, yet I fhall proceed with cau-
tious fleps to compofe and to correct, and the
drynefs of my undertaking will be relieved by
mixture of more elegant and claffical ftudies,
more efpecially of the Greek authors. Such
good company will^ I am fure, be" pleafant to
the Hiftorian, and I am inclined to believe
that it will be beneficial to the work itfelf. I
have been lately much flattered with the praife
of Dr. Blair, and a cenfure of the Abbe de
Mably j both of them are precifely the men
from whom I could wifh to obtain praife and
cenfure,
272 APPENDIX.
cenfure, and both thefe gratifications I have the
pleafure of (baring with yourfelf. The Abbe'
appears to hate, and affects to defpife, every
writer of his own times, who has been well
received by the public ; and Dr. Blair, who
is a matter in one fpecies of compofition, has
difplayed, on every fubjecl:, the warmed feeling,
and the mod accurate judgment. — I will frankly
own that my pride is elated, as often as I find
myfelf ranked in the triumvirate of Britifh
Hiftorians of the prefent age, and though I feel
myfelf the Lepidus, I contemplate with pleafure
the fuperiority of my colleagues. Will you be
fo good as to affure Dr. A. Smith of my regard
and attachment. I confider myfelf as writing
to both, and will not fix him for a fcparate
anfwer. My direction is, A Monfieur Monfieur
Gibbon a Laufanne en Suifle. I (hall often
plume myfelf on the friendfhip of Dr. Robert-
fon, but muft I tell foreigners, that while the
meaner heroes fight, Achilles has retired from
the war ? I am,
My Dear Sir,
Moft affectionately yours,
E. GIBBON.
APPENDIX. 273
From Mr. Giebon to Dr. Robertson.
_ _,. Lord Sheffield's, Downing Street,
Dear Sir, ., , , '
' March 26, 1788.
AN error in your direction (to Wimpole Street,
where I never had an houfe) delayed fome time
the delivery of your very obliging letter, but
that delay is not fufficient to excufe me for not
taking an earlier notice of it. Perhaps the
number of minute but indifpenfible cares that
feem to multiply before the hour of publication,
may prove a better apology, efpecially with a
friend who has himfelf pafled through the fame
labours to the fame confummation. The im-
portant day is now fixed to the eighth of May,
and it was chofen by Cadell, as it coincides with
the end of the fifty-firfl year of the Author's
age. That honeft and liberal Bookfeller has
invited me to celebrate the double feftival, by
a dinner at his houfe. — Some of our common
friends will be prefent, but we mail all lament
your abfence, and that of Dr. Adam Smith
(whofe health and welfare will always be moft
interefting to me) ; and it gives me real concern
that the time of your vifits to the metropolis,
has not agreed with my tranfient refidence in
my native country. I am grateful for the op-
t portunity
274 ATPENDIX.
portunlty with which you furnifh me of again
perufmg your works- in their mofl improved
ftate ; and I have defired Cadell to difpatch, for
. the ufe of my two Edinburgh friends, two copies
of the la ft three volumes of my Hiftory. What-
ever may be the inconftancy of tafle or fafhion,
a rational lover of fame may be fatisfied if he
deferves and obtains your approbation. The
praife which has ever been the mofl: flattering
to my car is, to find my name aflbciated with
the names of Robertfon and Hume ; and pro-
vided I can maintain my place in the triumvirate,
I am indifferent at what diftance I am ranked
below my companions and mafters.
With regard to my prefent work, I am in-
clined to believe, that it furpafles in variety
and entertainment at lead the fecond and third
volumes. A long and eventful period is com-
prefled into a fmaller fpace, and the new bar-
barians who now aflautt and fubvert the Roman
Empire, enjoy the advantage of fpeaking their
own language, and relating their own exploits.
After the publication of thefe laft volumes,
which extend to the fiege of Conftantinople,
and coinprife the ruins of Ancient Rome, I
mall retire (in about two months) to Laufanne,
and my friends will be pleafed to hear that I
enjoy in that retreat, as much repofe, and even
7 happinefs>
APPENDIX. 275
happinefs, as is confident, perhaps, with the
human condition. At proper intervals, I hope
to repeat my vifits to England, but no change
of circumftance or fituation will probably tempt
me to defert my Swifs refidence, which unites
almoli every advantage that riches can give, or
fancy defire. With regard to my future literary
plans, I can add nothing to what you will foon
read in my Preface. But an hour's converfation
with you, would allow me to explain fome
vifionary defigns which fometimes float in my
mind ; and, if I mould ever form any ferious
refolution of labours, I would previoufly, though
by the imperfect mode of a letter, confult you
on the propriety and merit of any new under-
takings. I am, with great regard,
Dear Sir,
Moft faithfully yours,
E. GIBBON.
NOTE G. p. 137.
As Dr. Robertfon received particular fatif-
faclion from the approbation of the gentleman
whole geographical refearches fuggefted the firft
idea of this Difquifition, I flatter myfelf that no
apology is neceiTary for the liberty I take in quot-
ing a fhort Extract from one of his letters.
t 2 From
Ij6 APPENDIX.
From Major Rennell to Dr. Robertson*.
London, 2d July, 1791.
* * * After reading your
Book twice, I may with truth fay, that I was
never more inftructed or amufed than by the
perufal of it ; for although a great part of its
fubjett had long been revolving in my mind,
yet I had not been able to concentrate the matter
in the manner you have done, or to make the
different parts bear on each other.
The fubjecl: of the Appendix was what in-
terefted the public greatly ; and was only to be
acquired (if at all) by the ftudy or perufal of a
great number of different tracts ; a tafk not to be
accomplished by ordinary readers.
It gives me unfeigned pleafure to have been
the inftrument of fuggefting fuch a tafk to you ;
and I fhall reflect with pleafure, during my life,
that I fhall travel down to pofterity with you - r
you, in your place, in the great road of Hiftory ;
whilft I keep the Jidc-pai/j of Geography. Since
I underflood the fubjecl, I have ever thought,
that the befl hiftorian is the befl geographer ;
and if hidorians would direct a proper perfon,
fkilled in the principles of geography, to
embody (as I may fay) their ideas for them, the
hiftorian
APPENDIX. 277
hiftorian would find himfelf better ferved, than
by relying on thofe who may properly be ftyled
?nap-makers. For after all, whence does the
geographer derive his materials but from the
labours of the hiftorian ? * * *
NOTE H. p. 156.
SINCE thefe remarks on Dr. Robertfon's ftyie
were written, I have met with fome critical re-
flections on the fame fubjecl: by Mr. Burke, too
honourable for Dr. Robertfon to be fuppreffed
in this publication, although, in fome particulars,
they do not coincide with the opinion I have
prefumed to flate f.
" There is a ftyle," ("fays Mr. Burke, in a
letter addreifed to Mr. Murphy on his Trans-
lation of Tacitus,) " which daily gains ground
" amongft us, which I mould be forry to fee
" further advanced by a writer of your juft
il reputation. The tendency of the mode to
" which I allude is, to eftablifh two very
e; different idioms amongft us, and to introduce
•j- It is proper for me to mention, that I have no
authority lor the authenticity of the following paiTage
hut that of a London neivfpaper, in which it appeared
fome years ago. 1 do not find, however, that it has heen
ever called in queftion.
T 1 " a marked
278 APPENDIX.
" a marked diftinclion between the Englifh that
" is written and the Englifh that is fpoken.
" This practice, if grown a little mote general,
" would confirm this diftemper, fuch I muft
" think it, in our lauguage, and perhaps ren-
" der it incurable.
" From this feigned manner of falfetto, as I
" think the muficians call fomething of the fame
" fort in finging, no one modern Hiftorian,
" Robertfon only excepted, is perfectly free. It
** is affumed, I know, to give dignity and variety
" to the ftyle. But whatever fuccefs the attempt
" may fometimes have, it is always obtained at
" the expence of purity, and of the graces that
" are natural and appropriate to our language.
" It is true that when the exigence calls for
" auxiliaries of all forts, and common language
" becomes unequal to the demands of extraor-
" dinary thoughts, fomething ought to be con-
" ceded to the necefiities which make c ambition
" virtue.' But the allowances to necefllties
" ought not to grow into a practice. Thofe
" portents and prodigies ought not to grow too
" common. If you have, here and there (much
" more rarely, however, than others of great
" and not unmerited fame) fallen into an error,
" which is not that of the dull or carelefs, you
" have an Author who is hitnfelf guilty, in his
" own
APPENDIX. 279
" own tongue, of the fame fault, in a very high
" degree. No author thinks more deeply, or
" paints more ftrongly ; but he feldom or ever
" expreffes himfelf naturally. It is plain, that
" comparing him with Plautus and Terence, or
" the beautiful fragments of Publius Syrus, he
" did not write the language of good converfa-
" tion. Cicero is much nearer to it. Tacitus,
* 6 and the writers of his time, have fallen into
" that vice, by aiming at a poetical ftyle. Ic
" is true, that eloquence in both modes of
" rhetorick is fundamentally the fame ; but the
" manner of handling it is totally different, even
" where words and phrafes may be transferred
" from the one of thefe departments of writing
" to the other. "
For this encomium on Dr. Robertfon's ftyle
when confidered in contrail with that of Mr.
Gibbon, (to whom it is probable that Mr.
Burke's flri&ures more particularly refer,) there
is unqueftionably a very folid foundation j but
in eftimadng the merits of the former as an
Englifh Writer, I mud acknowledge that I mould
never have thought of fingling out among his
characteriftical excellences, an approach to the
language of good converfation. It is indeed
furprifing, when we attend to the elevation of
that tone which he uniformly fuftains, how very
T 4 feldom
250 APPENDIX.
feldom his turn of expreflion can be cenfured as
unnatural or affected. The graces of his com-
pofition, however, although great and various,
are by no means thofe which are appropriate to
cur language ; and, in fact, he knew too well the
extent and the limits of his own powers to attempt
them. Accordingly he has aimed at perfections of
a {till higher order, the effect of which is fcarcely
diminished,- when we contemplate them through
the medium of a foreign tranflation.
Lord Chefterfield's judgment with refpect to
Dr. Robertfon, while it is equally flattering with
that of Mr. Burke, appears to me more precife
and juft. " There is a Hiftory lately come out,
" of the reign of Mary Queen of Scots and her
" fon King James, written by one Robertfon a
" Scotchman, which for clearnefs, purity, and
" dignity, I will not fcruple to compare with the
" bed Hiftorians extant, not excepting Davila,
" Guicciardini, and perhaps Livy."
May I be permitted to remark, that in the
oppofite extreme to that fault which Mr. Burke
has here fo juflly cenfared, there is another
originating in too clofe an adherence to what
he recommends as the model of good writing,
the eafe and familiarity of colloquial difcourfe.
In the productions of his more advanced years,
he has occafionally fallen into it himfelf, and
has
APPENDIX. 28l
has fan&ioned it by his example, in the nu-
merous herd of his imitators, who are incapable
of atoning for it, by copying the exquifite and
inimitable beauties which abound in his com-
pofitions. For my own part, I can much more
eafily reconcile myfelf, in a grave and dignified
argument, to the dulcia vitia of Tacitus and of
Gibbon, than to that affectation of cant words
and allufions which fo often debafes Mr. Burke's
eloquence, and which was long ago ftigmatized
by Swift as " the mod ruinous of all the cor-
" ruptions of a language."
NOTE I. p. 161.
" THE mixture of Ecclefiaftical and Lay-
" members in the Church Courts is attended
" with the happiefl effects. It corrects that efprit
Ci dc corps which is apt to prevail in all affemblies
" of profeffional men. It affords the principal
" Nobility and Gentry of Scotland an oppor-
" tunity of obtaining a feat in the General
" Affembly when any interefting object calls for
" their attendance ; and although in the factious
" and troublefome times which our anceftors
" faw, the General Affembly, by means of this
" mixture, became a fcene of political debate,
" this accidental evil is counterbalanced by
" permanent
282 APPENDIX.
" permanent good : for the prefence of thofe
" lay-members of high rank, whofe names are
" ufually found upon the Roll of the Afiembly,
" has a powerful influence in maintaining that
" connection between Church and State which
" is neceflary for the peace, fecurity, and welfare
" of both." #
NOTE K. p. 171.
THE paper referred to in the Text is entitled
" Reafons of Diffent from the Judgement and
" Refolution of the Commiflion, March 11,
" 1752, refolving to inflict no Cenfure on the
" Prefbytery of Dumfermline for their Difobe-
" dience in relation to the Settlement of Inver-
" keithing." It is fubfcribed by Dr. Robertfon,
Dr. Blair, Mr. John Home, and a few of their
friends. I (hall fubjoin the two firfl: Articles.
1. " BECAUSE we conceive this fentence
" of the Commiflion to be inconfiftent with the
" nature and firft principles of fociety. When
" men are confidered as individuals, we acknow-
" ledge that they have no guide but their own
" underftanding, and no judge but their own
" confcience. But we hold it for an undeniable
* MS. of Dr. Hill.
" principle,
APPENDIX. 283
principle, that as members of fociety, they are
bound in many inftances to follow the judg-
ment of the fociety. By joining together in
fociety, we enjoy many advantages, which we
could neither purchafe nor fecure in a dis-
united (late. In confideration of thefe, we
confent that regulations for public order fhall
be eftablifhed ; not by the private fancy of
every individual, but by the judgment of the
majority, or of thofe with whom the fociety
has confented to intruft the legiflative power.
Their judgment muft necefiarily be abfolute
and final, and their decifions received as the
voice and inftru&ion of the whole. In a
numerous fociety it feldom happens that all
the members think uniformly concerning the
wifdom and expedience of any public regula-
tion ; but no fooner is that regulation enacted,
than private judgment is fo far fuperfeded that
even they who disapprove it, are notwithftand-
ing bound to obey it, and to put it in execution
if required ; unlefs in a cafe of fuch grofs
iniquity and manifeft violation of the original
defign of the fociety as juftifies refinance to
the fupreme power, and makes it better to
have the fociety diifolved than to fubmit to
eftablifhed iniquity. Such extraordinary cafes
we can eafily conceive there may be, as will
" give
284 APPENDIX.
give any man a juft title to feek the diffo-
lution of the fociety to which he belongs, or
at lead will fully juftify his withdrawing from
it. But as long as he continues in it, pro-
feffes regard for it, and reaps the emoluments
of it, if he refufes to obey its laws, he ma-
nifeftly acts both a diforderly and difhoneft
part : he lays claim to the privileges of the
fociety while he contemns the authority of it ;
and by all principles of equity and reafon is
juftly fubje&ed to its cenfures. They who
maintain that fuch difobedience deferves no
cenfure, maintain, in effect, that there fhould
be no fuch thing as government and order.
They deny thofe firft principles by which men
are united in fociety; and endeavour to
eftablifh fuch maxims, as will juftify not only
licentioufnefs in ecclefiaftical, but rebellion
and diforder in civil government. And there-
fore, as the Reverend Commiffion have by
their fentence declared, that difobedience to
the fupreme judicature of the Church neither
infers guilt, nor deferves cenfure ; as they
have furrendered a right eflential to the nature
and fubfiftence of every fociety ; as they have
(fo far as lay in them) betrayed the privileges
and deferted the orders of the conflitution ;
we could not have acted a dutiful part to the
" Church,
APPENDIX. a$5
" Church, nor a fafe one to ourfelves, unlefs
•' we had diffented from this fentencej and
" craved liberty to reprefent to this venerable
" Affembly that this deed appears to us to be
" manifeftly beyond the powers of a Com-
" million.
2. " Becaufe this fentence of the Commiffion
" as it is fubverfive of fociety in general, fo, in
" our judgments, it is abfolutely inconfiftent
" with the nature and prefervation of ecclefi-
" aftical fociety in particular. — The characters
" which we bear, of Minifters and Elders of
" this Church, render it unneceifary for us to
" declare, that we join with all Proteftants in
" acknowledging the Lord Jefus Chrifl: to be
" the only King and Head of his Church. We
" admit that the church is not merely a volun-
" tary fociety, but a fociety founded by the laws
" of Chrifl:. But to his laws we conceive it to
" be mod agreeable, that order mould be pre-
" ferved in the external adminiflration of the
" affairs of the church. And we contend, in
" the words of our Confeffion of Fatih, ' That
" there are fome circumftances concerning the
" worfhip of God, and the government of the
" church, common to human actions and fo-
" cieties, which are to be ordered by the light
" of nature and Chriflian prudence according
" to
286 APPENDIX.
" to the general rules of the word, which are
" always to be obferved.' It is very evident
" that unlefs the church were fupported by
" continual miracles, and a perpetual and ex-
" traordinary interpofition of Heaven, it can
" only fubfift by thofe fundamental maxims by
" which all fociety fubfifts. A kingdom divided
tc againfl itfelf cannot ftand. There can be no
" union, and by confequence there can be no
" fociety, where there is no fubordination ;
" and therefore fince miracles are now ceafed,
" we do conceive that no church or ecclefiafti-
" cal fociety can exift without obedience
<c required from its members, and inforced by
" proper fanctions. Accordingly, there never
" was any regularly conftituted church in the
" Chriftian world, where there was not at the
" fame time fome exercife of difcipline and
" authority. It has indeed been afierted, £ That
" the cenfures of the church are never to be
" infiicl;ed, but upon open tranfgreflbrs of the
" laws of Chrift himfelf ; and that no man is to
" be constructed an open tranfgrefTor of the laws
" of Chrift for not obeying the commands of
" any aflembly of fallible men, when he declares
" it was a confcientious regard to the will of
" Chrift that led him to this difobedience.*—
" This is called averting liberty of confeience,
" and
APPENDIX. 287
" and fupporting the rights of private judg-
" ment ; and upon fuch reafonings the Re-
" verend Commiffion proceeded in coming to
" that decifion of which we now complain. But
" we think ourfelves called on to fay, and we
" fay it with concern, that fuch principles as
" thefe appear to us calculated to eflablifh the
" mod extravagant maxims of Independency,
" and to overthrow from the very foundation
" that happy ecclefiaftical conflitution which
" we glory in being members of, and which we
" are refolved to fupport. For upon thefe
" principles, no church whatever, confiding, as
" every church on earth mud confift, of fallible
" men, has right to inflift any cenfure on any
" difobedient perfon. Let fuch perfon only
" think fit boldly to ufe the name of confcience,
" and fheltered under its authority, he acquires
" at once a right of doing whatfoever is good in
" his own eyes. If anarchy and confufion fol-
" low, as no doubt they will, there is, it feems,
" no remedy. We are forry to fay, that brethren
" who profefs to hold fuch principles, ought to
" have acled more confidently with them, and
" not to have joined themfelves to any church
" till once they had found out an affembly of
" infallible men, to whofe authority they would
" have acknowledged fubmiffion to be due.
" We
288 APPENDIX.
" We allow to the right of private judgment
" all the extent and obligation that reafon or
" religion require ; but we can never admit,
" that any man's private judgment gives him
" a right to diflurb, with impunity, all public
" order. We hold, that as every man has a
" right to judge for himfelf in religious matters,
<e fo every church, or fociety of Chriftians, has
" a right to judge for itfeff, what method of
" external adminiftration is mod agreeable to
" the laws of Chrift ; and no man ought to
* c become a member of that church, who is not
" refolved to conform himfelf to its adminiftra-
" tion. We think it very confident with con-
" fcience for inferiors to difapprove, in their
" own mind, of a judgment given by a fuperior
U court, and yet to put that judgment in
<c execution as the deed of their fuperiors for
" confcience fake; feeing we humbly conceive
* c it is, or ought to be, a matter of confcience
" with every member of the church, to fupport
" the authority of that church to which he
" belongs. Church-cenfures are declared by
" our Confeffion of Faith to be ' neceffary, not
" only for gaining and reclaiming the offending
" brethren, but alfo for deterring of others
a from the like offences, and for purging out the
" leaven which might leaven the whole lump/
" What
APPENDIX. 289
** What thefe ccnfures are, and what the crimes
" agaiafl which they are directed, is eafily to
" be learned from the conftitution of every
" church, and whoever believes its cenfure to
" be too fevere, or its known orders and laws
" to be in any refpect iniquitous, fo that he
" cannot in confcience comply with them, oughr.
" to beware of involving himfelf in fin by enter-
" ing into it ; or if he hath rafhly joined himfelf,
" he is bound, as an honeft man and a good
" Chriflian, to withdraw, and to keep his con-
" fcience clear and undefiled. But on the other
" hand, if a judicature, which is appointed to be
" the guardian and defender of the laws and
" orders of the fociety, fhall abfolve them who
" break their laws, from all cenfure, and by
C{ fuch a deed encourage and invite to future
" difobedience, we conceive it will be found,
" that they have exceeded their powers, and
t; betrayed their truft in the mod elfential
" inftance.'*
NOTE L. p. 173.
" Dr. ROBERTSON'S fyftem with refpeft
u to the Law of Patronage proceeded on the
u following principles : That as patronage is the
u " law
290 APPENDIX.
" law of the land, the courts of a national
" church cftablifhed and protected by law, and
" all the individual ministers of that church are
" bound, in as far as it depends upon exertions
" arifing from the duties of their place, to give
" it effecT: : that every oppofition to the legal
" rights of patrons tends to diminifh that reve-
" rence which all the fubjects of a free govern-
" ment ought to entertain for the law; and
" that it is dangerous to accuftom the people to
" think that they can elude the law or defeat its
" operation, becaufe fuccefs in one inftance leads
" to greater licentioufnefs. Upon thefe prin-
** ciples Dr. Robertfon thought that the church
" courts betrayed their duty to the conftitution,
<£ when the fpirit of their decifions, or negli-
" gence in enforcing obedience to their orders,
" created unnecefiary obfracles to the exercife
" of the right of patronage, and fettered in
" the minds of the people the falfe idea that
'* they have a right to chufe their own minifters,
" or even a negative upon the nomination of
" the patron. He was well aware that the fub-
" jecls of Great Britain are entitled to apply in
" a conftitutional manner for the repeal of every
" law, which they confider as a grievance. But
11 while he fupported patronage as the exifting
" law, he regarded it alfo as the mod expedient
" method
APPENDIX. 29I
" method of fettling vacant pariflies. It did not
" appear to him that the people are competent
" judges of thofe qualities which a minifler
" mould polTefs in order to be a ufeful teacher
** either of the doctrines of pure religion, or of
" the precepts of found morality. He fufpe&ed
" that if the probationers of the church were
" taught to confider their fuccefs in obtaining
" a fettlement as depending upon a popular
" election, many of them would be tempted to
" adopt a manner of preaching more calculated
" to pleafe the people than to promote their
tc edification. He thought that there is little
* e danger to be apprehended from the abufe of
* c the law of patronage, becaufe the prefentee
<c muft be chofen from amongft thofe whom
" the church itfelf had approved of, and had
" licenfed as qualified for the office of the
" miniftry ; becaufe a prefentee cannot be ad-
" mitred to the benefice, if any relevant charge
" as to his life or doctrine be proved againft
" him : and becaufe, after ordination and
" admiflion, he is liable to be depofed for
" improper conduct. When every poffibJe
" precaution is thus taken to prevent unqua-
" lified perfons from being introduced into the
tc church, or thofe who afterwards prove un-
" worthy from remaining in it, the occafional
u 2 '* evils
2§1 APPENDIX.
" evils and abufes from which no human infti-
" tution is exempted, could not, in the opinion
" of Dr. Robertfon, be fairly urged as reafons
" againft the law of patronage."
*****
" Such was the fyftem which, in conjunction
" with the friend of his youth, Dr. Robertfon
" ably fupported for thirty years after his firft
" appearance in the General Aflembly. In
" fpeaking upon a particular queftion, he fome-
" times gave the outlines of this fyftem for the
" fatisfaclion of the Houfe in general, and the
" inftruction of the younger members. The
" decifions which for a long courfe of years he
" dictated, forma common law of the church in
" which the fyftem is unfolded. His converfa-
" tion imprinted upon the minds of thofe who
" were admitted to it during the courfe of the
'• Aflembly, the principles which pervaded his
" decifions : and thus were diffufed throughout
" the church the rational and conTiftent ideas
" of Prefbyterian government upon which he
" and his friends uniformly a&ed.
" Thefe ideas continue to direct the General
" Aflemblies of the Church of Scotland. For
" although it is not likely that any member of
" that Houfe will ever poflefs the unrivalled
" undifputed influence with his brethren to
" which
APPENDIX. 293
** which peculiar advantages of character and
" fituation conducted Dr. Robertfon, his prin-
" ciples are fo thoroughly underftood, and fo
" cordially approved by the great majority of
" the Church of Scotland, that by means of
" that attention to the bufmefs and forms of
" the Houfe which is paid by fome of his early
" friends who yet furvive, and by. a fucce/lion
" of younger men trained in his fchool, the
" Ecclefiaftical affairs of Scotland proceed on
<c the fame orderly fyftematical plan which was
" firft introduced by the ability, the prudence,
tx the firmnefs, the candour] and moderation
" which he difplayed upon every occafion,"
NOTE M. p. 187.
A FEW particulars, " in addition to Dr.
** Erikine's funeral fermon on the death of
" Dr. Robertfon," have been kindly commu-
nicated to me by my friend the Rev. Sir Henry
MoncreiffWellwood, Bart. The teltimony which
they contain to Dr. Robertfon's merits as an
ecclefiaftical leader will have no fmall weight
with thofe who are acquainted with the worth and
the talents of the Writer.
tc In mentioning the character of Dr. Robert-
" fon as a leader of the prevailing party in the
u 3 " church,
294 APPENDIX.
" church, there is a circumftance which ought
" not to be omitted, by which he diftinguifhed
<c himfelf from all his predeceffors who had held
ft the fame fituation. Before his time, thofe of
<e the clergy who pretended to guide the deli-
" berations of the General Affembly, derived
" the chief part of their influence from their
" connection with the men who had the ma-
" nagement of Scots affairs. They allowed
c< themfelves to receive inftru&ions from them,
* c and even from thofe who a&ed under them.
" They looked up to them as their patrons,
M and ranged themfelves with their dependants.
'* Their influence, of confequence, fubfifted no
" longer than the powers from which it was de-
" rived. A change in the management of Scots
" affairs either left the prevailing party in the
" church without their leaders, or obliged their
" leaders to fubmit to the meannefs of receiving
" inftru&ions from other patrons. — Dr. Robert*
'*. fon, from the beginning, difengaged himfelf
" completely from a dependance which was
" never refpe&able, and to which he felt him-
" felf fuperior. He had the countenance of
" men in power ; but he received it as a man
" who judged for himfelf, and whofe influence
" was his own. The political changes of his
" time did not affeft his fituation. The dif-
" ferent
APPENDIX. 295
t( ferent men who had the management of Scots
" affairs uniformly co-operated with him — but
" though they affifted him, they looked up to
,f his perfonal influence in the church, which no
" man in the country believed to be derived
ft from them.
" Thofe who differed mod in opinion with
" Dr. Robertfon, but who are fincerely attached
" to the interefts and to the integrity of the
cc church, muft allow this conduct to have
ft been both refpectable • and meritorious. It
<f will always reflect honour on his memory, and
" has left an important leffon to his fucceffors.
" It is not ufelefs to mention his fairnefs in
" the debates of the Affembly. Whether his
tf opponents were convinced by his arguments
" or not, they were commonly fenfible of the
" candour with which he ftated them, and of
" the perfonal refpecl; with which they were
" treated by him. And though the concef-
" fions which he was always ready to make to
" them when they did not affect the fubftance
" of his own argument, might be imputed to
Cf political fagacity as well as to candour, there
" was uniformly an appearance of candour in
" his manner, by which he preferved their good
" opinion, and which greatly contributed to
" extend his influence among his own friends.
u 4 " Like
296 APPENDIX.
*,' Like all popular meetings, the General AfFem-
44 bly fometimes contains individuals, who have
44 more acutenefs than delicacy, and who allow
44 themfelves to eke out their arguments by
44 rude and perfona} invedives. Dr. Robertfon
44 had a fuperior addrefs in replying to men
44 of this caft, without adopting their afperity,
44 and often made them feel the abfurdity of
" the perfonal attack, by the attention which
44 he feemed to beflow on their argument.
44 It fhould be mentioned alfo, that Dr. Rc-
44 bertfon's early example, and his influence in
44 more advanced life, chiefly contributed to ren-
44 der the debates in the Aflembly interefting and
44 refpectabie, by bringing forward all the men
,c of abilities to their natural (hare of the public
*' bufmefs. Before his time, this had been
" almoft entirely in the hands of the older
" members of the church, who were the only
*• perfons that were thought entitled to deliver
" their opinionSj and whofe influence was often
" derived more from their age than from their
" judgment or their talents.
" I do not know whether the reafons, which
" led Dr. Robertfon to retire from the AfTembly
44 after 1780, have ever been thoroughly under-
44 flood. — They were not fuggefted by his age,
44 for he was then only fifty-nine ; nor by any
44 diminution
APPENDIX. 297
^ diminution of his influence, for, in the appre-
*.* henfion of the public, it was at that time as
" great as it had ever been. It is very pro-
" bable that he anticipated a time when a
" new leader might come forward j and thought
" it better to retire while his influence was
" undiminished, than to run the rifque, in the
" end of his life, of a druggie with younger
" men, who might be as fuccefsful as he had
" been. — But I recoiled diftinctly, what he
" once faid to myfelfon the fubject, which I am
c£ perfuaded he repeated to many others. He
c ' had been often reproached by the more vio-
" lent men of his party for not adopting Stronger
f< meafures, than lie thought either right or
" wife. He had yielded to them many points
" againfl: his own judgment ; but they were
u not fatisfied : he was plagued with letters of
<c reproach and remonftrance on a variety of
" fubjecls, and he complained of the petulance
" and acrimony with which they were written.
" But there was one fubje£l which for fome
" years before he retired had become parti-
t( cularly uneafy to him, and on which he faid
ci he had been more urged and fretted than
i( on all the other fubjecls of contention in the
cc church ; the fcheme into which many of his
" friends entered zealoufly for abolifhing fub-
" fcription
298 APPENDIX.
" fcf iption to the Confeflion of Faith and
<4 Formula. This he exprefsly declared his
*' refolution to refill in every form. — But he
* f was fo much teazed with remonftrances on
" the fubject, that he mentioned them as hav-
" ing at lead confirmed his refolution to retire.
• c He claimed to himfelf the merit of having
" prevented this controverfy from being agitated
" in the Aflemblies ; but warned me as a young
ct man that it would become the chief contro-
" verfy of my time, and dated to me the
*' reafons which had determined his opinion on
'• the fubjecl. The converfation was probably
" about 1782 0x1783.— I have a diftincl: recol-
" lection of it; though I have no idea that his
•• prediction will be verified, as the controverfy
4< feems to be more afleep now than it was a
" few years ago."
NOTE N. p. 198.
THE zeal with which Dr. Robertfon pro-
moted the execution of the ftatiftical accounts
of Scotland has been publickly acknowledged by
Sir John Sinclair; and I have frequently heard
Dr. Robertfon exprefs, in the ftrongefl terms,
his fenfe of the obligations which the country
lay under to the projector and conductor of that
great national work ; and the pride with which
he
APPENDIX. 299
he reflected on the monument which was thus
raifed to the information and liberality of the
Scottifli clergy.
From the following letters it would appear,
that he had contributed fome aid to the ex-
ertions of thofe who fo honourably diftinguifhed
themfelves a few years ago in the parliamentary
difcuffions about the African Trade. His own
fentiments on that fubjecl were eloquently flated
thirty years before, in the only fermon which he
ever publifhed.
From Mr. Wilberforce to Dr. Robertson.
Sir, London, 25th January, 1788.
I SHALL not begin by apologizing to you
for now preiuming to intrude myfelf on you
without introduction, but with condemning
myfelf for not having done it fooner. The fub-
jecl: which is the occafion of my troubling you
with this letter, that of the Slave Trade, is one
on which I am perfuaded our fentiments coincide,
and in calling forth your good offices in fuch a
caufe I truft you will think that whilfl I incur I
alfo beftow an obligation. — What I have to
requeft is, that you will have the goodnefs to
communicate to me fuch facls and obfervations
as may be ufeful to me in the important talk I
have
300 APPENDIX.
have undertaken, of bringing forward into par-
liamentary difcuffion, the fituation of that much
injured part of the fpecies, the poor Negroes :
in common with the reft of my countrymen I
have to complain, that I am under the neceflity
of betaking myfelf dire&ly to you for the in-
formation I folicit : an application to my book-
feller ought to have fupplied it : but if there
be fome ground of charge againft you for having
failed in your engagements to the public in this
particular, it is the rather incumbent on you
to attend to the claim of an individual ; con-
fider it as a fort of expiation for your offence,
and rejoice if fo weighty a crime comes off with
fo light a punifhment. — Though the main object
I have in view, is the prevention of all further
exports of Slaves from Africa, yet their (tare in
the Weft Indies, and the moft practicable mode
of meliorating it, the effects that might follow
from this change of fyftem in all its extended
and complicated connections and relations, both
in Africa and the Weftern World, and this not
only in our own cafe but in thofe of other
European nations, who might be induced to
follow our example ; all thefe come into quef-
tion, and conftitute a burthen too heavy for
one of powers like mine to bear, without my
calling for help where it may be fo abundantly
afforded :
APPENDIX. 30I
afforded: let me add alfo, that I mould be ex-
tremely thankful for any intelligence refpecting
the inftitutions of the Jefuks in Paraguay, which,
it has long (truck me, might prove a moft ufeful
fubject of investigation to any one who would
form a plan for the civilization of Africa. —
Allow me to add, that I fhall wait to hear from
you with anxiety, becaufe the bufinefs mult
be brought into the Houfe foon after the meet-
ing. — I will not wafte your valuable time by
excufes for this letter, if they are neceflary, but
once more I will venture to allure myfelf that
vou will not think them fo.
I have the honour to be, &c.
W. WILBERFORCE.
From Mr. Wilberforce to Dr. Robertson.
Sir, Hampftead, 20th February, 1788.
I HAVE been honoured with your packets
by the poft, as well as with your Sermon, and
return you my fincereft thanks for your very
obliging attention to my requefl: ; I am fully
fenfible to the value of the favourable fentiments
you exprefs concerning me, and as one coiiceffion
always produces a new demand, perhaps you will
not be furprized at my now taking the liberty of
intimating a hope that I may confider what has
palled
3©2 APPENDIX.
pa(Ted as conftituting a fort of acquaintance
between us, which it will give me particular
pleafure to indulge an expectation of cultivating,
when any opportunity fhall allow.
I remain, with great lefpect and efteem, &c.
W. WILBERFORCE.
NOTE O. p. 204.
Dr. ROBERTSON'S fecond fon is now
Lieutenant Colonel of the 9 2d regiment. His
name is repeatedly mentioned with diftinttion in
the Hiflory of Lord CornwalhYs military opera-
tions in India ; particularly in the general .orders
after the fiege of Nundydroog, where he com-
manded in the European flank company that
led the aflault. The following paragraph from
Colonel Dirom's Narrative contains a teftimony
to his conduct on this occafion, which would
have been grateful to the feelings of his father
had he furvived to perufe it.
" The carnage which mud have enfued in
" clearing the fort of the enemy, was prevented
■■ partly by a number of the garrifon efcaping
•• by ropes and ladders over a low part of the
•« wall ; but chiefly by the exertions of Captain
•« Robertfon j who feeing the place was car-
" ried,
APPENDIX. 3O3
" ried, turned all his attention to preferving
tf order, and preventing the unnecefiary effu-
" fion of blood. To his humanity the bukfhey
<c and killedar owed their lives ; and of the
" garrifon there were only about forty men
" killed and wounded.'*
Dr. Robertlbn's youngefl: fon is Lieutenant-
Colonel of a regiment ferving in Ceylon, and
Deputy Adjutant-General of his Majefty's forces
in that ifland. An account of Ceylon, which he
has communicated in manufcript to fome of his
friends, is faid to do great honour to his abilities.
N.OTE P. p. 208.
THIS requeft was conveyed to Dr. Robertfon
by Mr. Dalzel, and was received by him with
much fenfibility, as a mark of the efteem and
approbation of a Society over which he had pre-
fided for thirty years.
I neglected to mention in a former note the
Latin Difcourfes which Dr. Robertfon pro-
nounced annually before the Univerfity, in
compliance with the eftablifhed practice among
his predeceflbrs in office. The firft of thefe
was read on the third of February 1763. Its
object was to recommend the ftudy of clafficai
learning ; and it contained, among a variety of
other fplendid paffages, a beautiful panegyric on
the Stoical Philofophy. His fecond Difcourfe
*4 (nth
3°4 APPENDIX.
(9th of February 1764,) confided chiefly of
moral and literary obfervations, adapted to the
particular circumftances of youth. My friend
Mr. Dalzel, who has lately perufed thefe Latin
manufcripts with care, obferves of this Oration,
" that the ftyle is uncommonly elegant and
" impreffive, and pofleffes all the diftinguifhing
" characterifticsofDr. Robertfon's Englifh com-
" pofitions."
A third Difcourfe was pronounced on
February 14th, 17655 and a fourth on
February 20th, 1766. The fubjett of both
is the fame ; the queftion concerning the com-
parative advantages of public and private edu-
cation. The execution is fuch as might be ex-
pected from the abilities of the Author, exerted
on a topic on which he was fo eminently fitted
to decide, not only by his profeffional fituation
and habits, but by an extenfive and difcriminat-
ing knowledge of the world.
Thefe annual difcourfes (which never failed to
produce a flrong and happy impreflion on the
mind of his young hearers) he was compelled,
after this period, to discontinue by his avocations
as an Author, and by other engagements which
he conceived to be of dill greater importance. —
It is indeed aftonifhing that he was able to devote
fo much time as he did to his academical duties j
particu-
APPENDIX. 305
particularly when we confider that all his works
were at firft committed to writing in his own
hand, and that he feldom, if ever, attempted to
dictate to an amanuenfis. — It may be gratifying
to thofe to whom the literary habits of authors
are an object of curiofity to add, that his practice
in composition was (according to his own ftate-
ment in a letter to Mr. Strahan,) " to finifli as
" near perfection as he was able, fo that his
" fubfequent alterations were inconfiderable."
IT might be confidered by fome as a blame-
able omiflion, if I were to overlook, in this Me-
moir, the marks of regard which Dr. Robertfon
received from different literary Academies on the
Continent. I have already taken notice of the
honour conferred on him by the Royal Academy
of Hiftory at Madrid ; but I forgot to mention,
in the proper place, that in 1781, he was elected
one of the Foreign Members of the Academy
of Sciences at Padua; and in 1783, one of the
Foreign Members of the Imperial Academy of
Sciences at St. Peterfburgh.
From the laft of thefe cities, he was honoured
with another very flattering diftinction ; the
intelligence of which was conveyed to him by
^X his
$06 APPENDIX.
his friend Dr. Rogerfon, in a letter from which
the following paffage is tranfcribed.
" Your Hiftory of America was received and
«' perufed by her Imperial Majefty with fingular
" marks of approbation. All your hiftorical pro-
" ductions have been ever favourite parts of her
** reading. Not long ago, doing me the honour
" to converfe with me upon hiftorical compofi-
•' tion, fhe mentioned you with particular dif-
•' tin&ion, and with much admiration of that
" fagacity and difcernment difplayed by you in
" painting the human mind and character, as
" diverfified by the various caufes that operated
" upon it, in thofe seras and dates of fociety
" which your fubjecl: led you to treat. She
*• affigned you the place of firfl model in that
•• fpecies of compofition. As to the Hiftory of
" Charles V. fhe was pleafed to add, c*e/i Ic
" compagnon conjlant de tous mes voyages ; je ne
c< me lajfe jamais a le lire, Eff particulierement 1c
" premier volume."
M She then prefented a very handfome gold
" enamelled fnuff-box, richly fet with diamonds,
M ordering me to tranfmit it to you, and to de-
" fire your acceptance of it as a mark of her
" efteem, obferving, at the fame time, moft
" gracioufiy, that a perfon whofe labours had
7 " afforded
APPENDIX. 307
<e afforded her fo much fatisfa&ion, merited fome
" attention from her."
THE active part which Dr. Robertfon took in
the foundation of the Society before which the
foregoing Memoir was read, is fo well known to
all the members, that it did not appear necef-
fary to recal it to their recollection. For the
information of others, however, it may be proper
to mention, that the firft idea of this eftablifh-
ment, and of the plan adopted in its formation,
was fuggefted by him; and that, without his
zealous co-operation, there is little probability
that the defign would ever have been carried into
execution.
THE END.
ERRATUM.
P*gc 132. line 2. fcr 1776 read 1/85.
Lately publifhed,
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