early acquifitions, which not only added to the fplendor of his converfation, but enabled him to exemplify fome of his favourite theoties concerning the natural progrels of the mind in the inveftigation of truth, by the hiftory of those feiences in which the connection and fuccetiion of difcoveries may he traced with the greatest advantage. it I am not miftaken too, the influence of his early tafte for the Greek geometry may be remarked in the clementary clearnefs and fulnefs, bordering metimes upon prolixity, with which he frequently ftates his political reafonings.-The lectures of the profound and eloquent Dr. Hutchefon, which he had attended previous to his departure from Glasgow, and of which he always fpoke in terms of the warmeft admiration, had, it may be reafonably prefumed, a confiderable effect in directing his talents to their proper objects. I have not been able to collect any information with respect to that part of his youth which was fpent in England. I have heard him fay, that he employed himfelf frequently in the practice of tranflation, (particularly from the French), with a view to the improvement of his own ftyle: and he ufed often to exprefs a favourable opinion of the utility of fuch exercises, to all who cultivate the art of compofition. It is much to be regretted, that none of his juvenile attempts in this way have been preferved; as the few fpecimens, which his writings contain of his fkill as a tranflator, are fufficient to fhew the eminence he had attained in a walk of literature, which, in our country, has been fo little frequented by men of genius. It was probably alfo at this period of his life, that he cultivated with the greatest care the ftudy of languages. The knowledge he poffeffed of thefe, both ancient and modern, was uncommonly extenfive and accurate; and, in him, was fubfervient, not to a vain parade of taftelefs erudition, but to a familiar acquaintance with every thing that could illuftrate the inftitutions, the manners, and the ideas of different ages and nations. How intimately he had once been converfant with the more ornamental branches of learning; in particular, with the works of the Roman, Greek, French, and Italian poets, appeared fufficiently from the hold which they kept of his memory, after all the dif ferent occupations and inquiries in which his maturer faculties had been employed. In the English language, the variety of poetical paffages which he was not only accuftomed to refer to occafionally, but which he was able to repeat with correctnefs, appeared furprifing even to thofe, whofe attention had never been directed to more important acquifitions. After a refidence at Oxford of feven years, he returned to Kirkaldy, and lived two years with his mother; engaged in ftudy, but without any fixed plan for his future life. He had been originally deftined for the Church of England, and with that view had been fent to Oxford; but not finding the ecclefiaftical profeffion fuitable to his tafte, he chofe to confult, in this inftance, his own inclination, in preference to the wishes of his friends; and abandoning at once all the fchemes which their prudence had formed for him, he re [* C 4 ] folved to return to his own country, and to limit his ambition to the uncertain profpect of obtaining, in time, fome one of those moderate preferments, to which literary attainments lead in Scotland. In the year 1748, he fixed his refidence at Edinburgh, and, during that and the following years, read lectures on rhetoric and belles let tres, under the patronage of lord Kaimes. About this time, too, he contracted a yery intimate friendfhip, which continued, without interruption, till his death, with Mr. Alexander Wedderburn, now lord Loughborough, and with Mr. William Johnfione, now Mr. Pulteney. At what particular period his acquaintance with Mr. David Hume commenced, does not appear from any information that I have received; but from fome papers, new in the pofleflion of Mr. Hume's nephew, and which he has been fo obliging as to allow me to perufe, their acquaintance feems to have grown into friendthip before the year 1752. It was a friendship on both fides founded on the admiration of genius, and the love of fimplicity; and which forms an interefiing circumftance in the hiftory of each of thefe eminent men, from the ambition which both have fhewn to record it to pofterity. In 1751, he was elected profeffor of logic in the university of Glafgow; and, the year following, he was removed to the profefforfhip of moral philofophy in the fame univerfity, upon the death of Mr. Thomas Craigie, the immediate: fuccellor of Dr. Hutchefen. In this fituation, he remained thirteen years; a period he ufed frequently to look back to, as the most useful and hap py of his life. It was indeed a fitu ation in which he was eminently fitted to excel, and in which the daily labours of his profeflion were conftantly recalling his attention to his favourite purfaits, and familiarifing his mind to thofe important fpeculations he was afterwards to communicate to the world. In this view, though it afforded, in the mean time, but a very narrow scene for his ambition, it was probably irftrumental, in no incontiderable degree, to the future eminence of his literary character. Of Mr. Smith's lectures, while a profeflor at Glafgow, no part has been preferved, excepting what he himfelf publified in the Theory of Moral Sentiments and in the Wealth of Nations. The fociety therefore, I am perfuaded, will liften with pleafure to the following fhort account of them, for which I am indebted to a gentleman who was formerly one of Mr. Smith's pupils, and who continued to his death to be one of his moft intimate and valued friends, In the profefforship of logic. to which Mr. Smith was appointed on his firft introduction into this univerfity, he foon faw the neceffity of departing widely from the plan that liad been followed by his predeceffors, and of directing the attention of his pupils to ftudies of a more interefting and useful nature than the logic and metaphyfics of the fchools. Accordingly, after exhibiting a general view of the powers of the mind, and explaining To much of the ancient logic as was requifite to grat fy curiofity, with refpect to an artificial method of reafoning, which had once occupied the univerfal attention of the learned, he dedicated all the reft of .. bis. his time to the delivery of a system of rhetoric and belles lettres. The belt method of explaining and illuftrating the various powers of the human mind, the moft ufeful part of metaphyfics, arifes from an examination of the feveral ways of communicating our thoughts by fpeech, and from an attention to the principles of thofe literary compofitions, which contribute to peruafion or entertainment. By thefe arts, every thing that we perceive or feel, every operation of our minds, is exprefied and delineated in fuch a manner, that it may be clearly diftinguithed and remembered. There is, at the fame time, no branch of literature more fuited to youth, at their firft entrance upon philofophy, than this, which lays hold of their tafte and their feelings. It is much to be regretted, that the manufcript containing Mr. Smith's lectures on this fubject was deftroyed before his death. The first part, in point of compofition, was highly finifhed; and the whole difcovered ftrong marks of tafie and original genius. From the permiffion given to students of taking notes, many obfervations and opimons, contained in thefe lectures, have either been detailed in feparate differtations, or ingroffed in general collections, which have fince been given to the public. But thefe, as might be expected, have loft the air of originality and the diftinctive character which they re ceived from their fift author, and are often obfcured by that multiplicity of common-place matter in which they are funk, and involved. About a year after his appoint ment to the profellorthip of logic, Air. Smith was elected to the chair of moral philofophy. His courfe of lectures on this fubject was divided into four parts. The first contained natural theology; in which he confidered the proofs of the being and attributes of God, and thofe principles of the human mind upon which religion is founded. The fecond comprehended Ethics, ftrictly fo called, and confifted chiefly of the doctrines which he afterwards pub, lifhed in his Theory of Moral Sentiments. In the third part, he treated at more length of that branch of morality which relates to justice, and which, being fufceptible of precife and accurate rules, is, for that reafon, capable of a full and parti cular explanation," Upon this fubject, he followed the plan that feems to be fuggefted by Montefquieu; endeavouring to trace the gradual progrefs of jurif prudence, both public and private, from the rudeft to the moft refined ages, and to point out the effects of thofe arts which contribute to fub fifience, and to the accumulation of property, in producing correfpond." ent improvements or alterations in law and government. This im portant branch of his labours he allo intended to give to the public, but this intention, which is mentioned in the conclution of the Theory of Moral Sentiments, he did not live to fulfil. In the last part of his lectures, he examined thote political regulations which are founded, not upon the principle of justice, but that of expediency, and which are calcu lated to increate the riches, the power and the profperity of a state, Under this view, he confidered the political inftitutions relating to commerce, to finances, to ecclefiaftical and military establishments. What he delivered on thele fubjects con tained the fubftance of the work he 7 that original propofition or general truth, from which this beautiful train of fpeculation had proceeded. His reputation as a profetor was accordingly railed very high, and a multitude of ftudents from a great diftance reforted to the uni verfity, merely upon his account. Thole branches of fcience which he taught became fashionable at this place, and his opinions were the chief topics of difcuffion in clubs Even the and literary focieties. fmall peculiarities in his pronunciation, or manner of speaking became frequently the objects of imitation. While Mr. Smith was thus diftinguishing himfelf by his zeal and ability, as a public teacher, he was gradually laying the foundation of a more extentive reputation, by preparing for the prefs his fyftem of morals. The first edition of this work appeared in 1759, under the title of "The Theory of Moral Sentiments." Hitherto Mr. Smith had re mained unknown to the world as an author; nor have I heard that he had made a trial of his powers in any anonymous publications, except in a periodical work called the Edinburgh Review, which was beg in the year 1755, by fome gentle men of diftinguished abilities, bat which they were prevented by ether engagements from carrying farther than the two firft numbers. To this work Mr. Smith contributed a review of Dr. Johnson's dictionary of the English language, and alfo a letter, addreffed to the editors, containing fome general obfervations on the ftate of literature in the different countries of Europe. In the former of thefe papers, he points out fome defects in Dr. Johnson's plan, which he cenfures as not fufficiently gram matical. matical. The different fignifications of a word (he obferves) are indeed collected; but they are feldom digetted into general claffes, or ranged under the meaning which the word principally exprefles and fufficient care is not taken to diftinguith the words apparently fynonimous." To illuftrate this criticifin, he copies from Dr. Johnfon the articles but and humour, and oppofes to them the fame articles digefted agreeably to his own ideas. The various fignifications of the word but are very nicely and happily difcriminated. The other article does not feem to have been executed with equal care. The obfervations on the state of learning in Europe are written with ingenuity and elegance; but are chiefly interefting, as they fhew the attention which the author had given to the philofophy and literature of the continent, at a peried when they were not much fludied in this island. In the fame volume with the Theory of Moral Sentiments, Mr. Smith publifhed a differtation "on the Origin of Languages, and on the different Genius of thofe which are original and compounded." I fhall fubjoin an original letter of Mr. Hume's, addreffed to Mr. Smith foon after the publication of his Theory. It is ftrongly marked with that eafy and affectionate pleafantry which diftinguifhed Mr. Hume's epiftolary correfpondence, and is entitled to a place in this memoir, on account of its connexion with an important event of Mr. Smith's life, which foon after removed him into a new fcene, and influenced, to a confiderable degree, the fubfequent fource of his ftudies. The letter is dated from London, 12th April, 1759. "I give you thanks for the agree able prefent of your Theory. Wed derburn and I made prefents of our copies to fuch of our acquaintances as we thought good judges, and proper to fpread the reputation of the book. I fent one to the duke of Argyle, to lord Lyttleton, Horace Walpole, Soame Jennyns, and Burke, an Irish gentleman, who wrote lately a very pretty treatite on the Sublime. Millar defired my permiffion to fend one in your name to Dr. Warburton. I have delayed writing to you till I could tell you fomething of the fuccefs of the book, and could prognofticate with fome probability, whether it thould be finally damned to oblivion, or fhould be registered in the temple of immortality. Though it has been publifhed only a few weeks, I think there appear already fuch strong fymptoms, that I can almost venture to foretell its fate. It is in fhort this; but I have been interrupted in my letter by a foolish impertinent vifit of one who has lately come from Scotland. He tells me that the university of Glafgow intend to declare Ronet's office vacant, upon his going abroad with lord Hope. I queftion not but you will have our friend Ferguson in your eye, in cafe another project for procuring him a place in the univerfity of Edinburgh Thould fail. Fergufon has very much polifhed and improved his Treatile on Refinement, and with fome amendments it will make an admirable book, and discovers an elegant and a fingular genius The Epigoniad, I hope, will do: but it is fomewhat up-hill work. As I doubt not but you confult the reviews fometimes |