The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface
• Key to Abbreviations and References
• Introduction
• 1.: The Manuscript
• 2.: The Lectures
• 3.: Considerations Concerning the First Formation of Languages
• 4.: Rhetoric and Literary Criticism
• 5.: System and Aesthetics
• Bibliographical Note
• Lectures On Rhetoric and Belles Lettres: Lecture 2D.
• Lecture 3D.: Of the Origin and Progress of Language 1
• Lecture 4tha
• Lecture 5. A
• Lecture 6.THA: Of What Is Called the Tropes and Figures of Speech. B
• Lecture. 7. A
• Lecture. 8. A
• Lecture. 9tha
• Lecture. 10tha
• Lecture. 11 a
• Lecture. 12.THA: Of Composition
• Lecture. 13 a
• | Lecture. 14 a
• Lecture 15tha
• Lecture. 16th. a
• Lecture XVII. A
• Lecture Xviii a
• Lecture. Xixth. a
• Lecture. XX.THA
• Lecture Xxist. a
• Lecture Xxiida
• Lecture Xxiiida
• Lecture Xxivtha
• Lecture XXV. A
• Lecture Xxvitha
• Lecture Xxvii a
• Lecture Xxviiitha
• Lecture Xxix a
• Lecture. Xxx a
• Considerations Concerning the First Formation of Languages,&c. &c.1
• Appendix 1 (see P. 32) the Bee, Or Literary Weekly Intelligencer, For Wednesday, May 11, 1791.
• Appendix 2 Table of Corresponding Passages

Lecture. XX.^tha

Wednesday. Jan. 12

The first Historians as well as the first Poets chose the marvellous for their Subject as that which was most likely to please a Rude and Ignorant People. Wonder is the passion ^b which in such a people will be most easily excited. Their Ignorance renders them Credulous and easily imposed on, and this Credulity makes them delighted with Fables that would not be relished by a [more] ^c people of more knowledge.—When therefore Knowledg<e> was improved and men were so far | 61 enlightined as to give little credit to those Fabulous relations which had been the entertainment of their Forefathers, the ^d Writers would find themselves obliged to take ^e some other Subject. For what has nothing to recommend it but its wonderfullness can no longer please than it is believ’d. In the same way as we now see that the Stories of withches and Fairies are swallowed greedily by the ignorant vulgar, which are ^f despised by the more knowing. As the marvellous could no longer please authors had recourse to that which they imagind would please and interest most; that is, to represent such actions and passions as, being affecting in themselves, or displaying the delicate feelings of the Human heart, were likely to be most interesting. Thus it was that tragedy succeded the Fabulous accounts of Heroes and centaurs and different monsters, the subject of the first Romances; and thus also, Novells which unfold | 62 the tender emotions or more violent passions in the characters they bring before us succeded the Wild and extravagant Romances which were the first performances of our ancestors in Europe.

The Historians again made it their aim not only to amuse but by ^g narrating the more important facts and those which were most concerned in the bringing about great revolutions, and unfolding their causes, to instruct their readers in what manner such events might be brought about or avoided. In this state it was that Tacitus found Historicall writing; He departed altogether from the plan of the former Historians and formed one of a very different sort for his own writings. He had observed that those passages of the historians were most interesting which unfolded the effects the events related produced on the minds of the actors or spectators of those; He imagined therefore that if one could write a history consisting entirely of | 63 such events as were capable of interesting ^h the minds of the Readers ⁱ by accounts of the effects they produced or were of themselves capable of producing this effect on the reader. ^j If we consider the State of the Romans ^k at the time Tacitus wrote and the dispositions of the People which it must necessarily occasion we will find this plan of Tacitus to be a very naturall one. The Roman <Empire> ^l was in the Reign of Trajan arrived to its greatest pitch of Glory, The people enjoyed greater internall Tranquillity and Security than they had done in any of the former reigns or indeed in the last 150 <years> of the Republick. Luxury, and Refinement of manners the naturall consequence of the former were then as far advanced as they could be in any state. Sentiment must bee what will chiefly interest such a people. They who live thus ^m in a great City where they have the free Liberty of disposing of their wealth in all the Luxuries and Refinement of Life; who are not called to any publick | 64 employment but what they inclined to ⁿ and obtained from the favour and Indulgence of the prince; Such a people, I say, having nothing to engage them in the hurry of life would naturally turn their attention to the motions of the human mind, and those events that were accounted for ^o by the different internall affections that influenced the persons concerned, would be what most suited their taste. The French monarchy is in much the same condition as the Romans under Trajan and we ^p find accordingly that those writers who have studied to be most agreable have made great use of Sentiment. {This is that in which the works of Marivaux and the younger Crebillon do excell} ^q Marivaux and <Crebillon> resemble Tacitus as much as we can well imagine in works of so conterary a nature. They are ^r Allways at great pains to account for every event by the temper and internall disposition ^s of the severall actors in disquisitions that approach near to metaphysicall ones.

We will find that Tacitus has exe| 65cuted his works in a manner most suitable to this design. We shall consider chiefly his annalls as it is in them that the character of Tacitus chiefly appears. We are told that his history was that which appeared first; perhaps he may have chosen to try first how a work would be relished in which his favourite plan was somewhat tempered with the usuall manner of writing <his>tories before he would risk one where he kept in view intirely the notion he had conceived of the beauty of writing History. ^t

The Period of Time that makes the subjects of both these works contains no remarkable revolutions; the only two of any consequences that happend in that time viz. the assassination of ^u{Caligula} and the expulsion of {Nero}^u have not come down to our time nor were these of a duration sufficient to fill above a book or two. None almost of the events he relates tended to produce any great chang<e>s in the state of | 66 publick affairs. He conjectured ^v however and I believe justly that the incidents of private life tho’ not so important would affect us more deeply and interest us more than those of a Publick nature. The Murther of Agrippina or the death of Germanicus Sons will perhaps affect us more than the Description of the battle in the night by Thucydides. 1 In Private calamities our passions are fixt on one, as it were concentrated and so become greatly Stronger than when seperated and distracted by the affecting circumstances that befell the severall persons involved in a common calamity. He describes all events rather by the internall effects and accounts for them in the same manner, and where he has an opportunity of displaying his talents in these respects and affecting our passions he is not greatly concerned whether the events ^w be important or not. Thus he gives us a full description of the Storm that attackd ^x fleet, the Sedition of the German Legions and the Buriall of Varrus soldiers 2 by Ger| 67manicus, altho in the first there <was> but a ship or two lost, the 2.^d was no more but a mob and the third was [of] still less important ^y than either of the former; Yet the method he describes these is so interesting, he leads us so far into the sentiments and mind of the actors that they are some of the most striking and interesting passages to be met with in any history. In describing the more important actions he does not give us an account of their externall causes, but only of the internall ones, and tho this perhaps will not tend so much to instruct us in the knowledge of the causes of events; yet it will be more interesting and lead us into a science no less usefull, to wit, the knowledge of the motives by which men act; a science too that could not be learned from ^z

The events he relates as they are of a private nature, as the intrigues of ministers, the deaths or advancement of particular men, so they | 68 are not connected together by any strong tie such as is necessary in the Series of a history of the common sort where the connection of one event with another must be clearly pointed out. But here they are thrown together without any connection unless perhaps that they happened at the same time.

The Reflections he makes on the different events are such as we might call observations on the conduct of the men <rather> than any generall maxims deduced from particular instances such as those of ^a In his history he gives us indeed some more insight into the causes of events, and keeps up a continued series of events; But even here he so far neglects connection as to pass over intirely those connecting circumstances that tend to no other purpose. Of this we saw an instance already in the retreat of the Army of Cecina ^b after they had defeated the Germans. 3 The circumstances [of] | 69 which intervened betwixt that defeat and the Crossing of the Rhine were probably such as would have afforded no room for those descriptions or affecting narrations in which he thought the chief beauty of writing consisted. ^c

{Such is the true Character of Tacitus which has been misrepresented by all his commentators from Boccalini ^d down to Gordon 4 } — — —

Machiavell and Guichardin ^e are the two most famous modern Italian historians. 5 The former ^f seems to have had ^g chiefly in his view to prove certain maxims which he had laid down, as the impolitickness of keeping up a standing army, ^h and others of the same sort, generally Contradictory to the received politicks of the times. The different courts of Italy ⁱ at that time piqued themselves greatly on a refined and | 70 subtle politicks; nothing could then be a greater reproach to a man of genius than that he was of an open and undesigning character. But these politicks he seems to have altogether despised and has therefore given little attention to them or represented them as of no great moment. He is to be commended above most modern writers on one account, as he does not seem to favour any one party more than ^j another and therefore is generally very candid in his relation {which is the scheme of Lord Clarendon and Bishop Burnet.}

{Machiavel is of all modern Historians the only one who has contented himself with that which is the chief purpose of History, to relate Events and connect them with their causes without becoming a party on ^k either side}

Guichardin ^l on the other hand seems as much to have esteemd the Politicks then in fashion as Machiavel^l dispised them and is therefor at great pains to explain[s] the schemes that brought about the severall events of importance. {His whole History is a criticall dissertation on the Schemes, the little and often crooked artifices of the times.} ^m In his account of his own country Florence he often dwells on particulars of very little moment, which makes Boccalini in his advices from Parnassus 6 cause Apollo condemn <one> to Read his accoun<t> of the disputes betwixt Florence and Pisa | 71 which he receives as a very hard task. ⁿ

Clarendon and Burnet are the two English authors who have signalized themselves chiefly in writing history.

As the thing he 7 had in view was to represe<n>t the bad disposition of the one party ^o and justify the conduct of the other, so it is not those events which were of the greatest importance and tended most to produce a memorable change on which he insists but such as tend most to unfold the dispositions of the different parties. In this manner it is that he discusses in two or three sentences all the actions of Montrose in Scotland tho’ of the Greatest importance, and on the other hand relates at length the whole proceeding of one of the Keepers of the great Seal ^p Lord Littletons flight to the King ^q tho’ it producd nothing but a new Seal and a new keeper, and two protest which he is at the Pains to tell us at full length.

For ^r | 72 the same reason it is that he is <at> such pains in describing characters; not to explain the transactions but to display the characters of the parties, by shewing that of individualls; and for this reason ^s there is hardly a footman brings a message but what he gives us an account of his character. By crouding in so many trifling circumstances he has swelled the history of 18 years at most to the size of 3 folio volumes. ^t

Burnet again delivers his narration not as a Compleat history of the times but only as an account of those facts that had come to his knowledge. His business plain<l>y appears to have been to set the one party in as black a light as he could and justify the other, so that he is to be con<si>dered rather as party writer 8 than as a candid historian. His manner is lively and spirited ^u , his Stile very plain, but his language and expression is low and such as we would expect from an old nurse rather than from a gentleman. It has been the fate of | 73 all modern histories ^v to be wrote in a party spirit for reasons already mentioned. Rapin 9 seems to be the most candid ^w of all those who have wrote on the affairs of England. Yet he has entered too much into the private affairs of the monarchs and the parties amongst the severall great men concern’d, so that his history as many others is rather an account of the Lives of the princes than of the affairs of the body of the people.

[a]MS XIXth

[b]to deleted

[c]added above the line

[d]Historians deleted

[e]the pr deleted

[f]replaces would be

[g]the deleted

[h]replaces Producing these effects on the

[i]to the deleted

[j]last ten words deleted in MS

[k]Empire deleted, s added to Roman

[l]supplied conjecturally; see previous note

[m]or then?

[n]to written above from

[o]last three words replace lead them most into these causes that

[p]will deleted

[q]Hand B; Hand A here left a blank with and in middle; another hand (not B) inserted Marivaux in first space, then line was drawn through all. In the following line. Crebillon is supplied conjecturally on the strength of Hand B’s note

[r]full of deleted

[s]last two words replace intellectuall (?) motion

[t]added by Hand B in space at end of line after full stop

[u–u]Hand B in two blanks left

[v]MS conjactured

[1 ]Annales, XIV.i–xiii; VI.xxiii–xxiv. For Thucydides cf. ii.23 n.5 above.

[w]MS evints

[x]blank of ten letters in MS

[2 ]The fleet of Germanicus, Annales, II.xxiii–xxiv; German legions, I.xxxi–xlix; soldiers of Varus, I.lxi–lxii (cf. ii.50 n.3 above).

[y]replaces interesting

[z]blank of five letters in MS, followed by blank of two and a half lines; then, in inner margin, a pattern of dots apparently a caricature of a face in profile, to which Hand B added this is a picture of uncertainty

[a]blank of ten letters in MS

[b]Hand B’s correction of Hand A’s Socina (deleted)

[3 ]Cf. ii.36 n.5 above.

[c]blank of three and a half lines

[d]replaces (in Hand B?) Machiavell

[4 ]See ii.26 n.9 and 20 n.3 above. Gordon discusses ‘the foolish censure of Boccalini and others upon Tacitus’ in The Works of Tacitus, i (1728), Political Discourse 2, sec. xi.

[e]Hand B in blank left

[5 ]Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527); principal historical work, Historie fiorentine, 1525 (cf. ii.18 n.2 above). Most of the works of Francesco Guicciardini (1483–1540) were published posthumously. The most notable are the political and social maxims based on his historical studies, Ricordi politici e civili (written 1528–30, published 1576) and Storia d’Italia (written 1536, published 1561). In Considerazioni sui Discorsi del Machiavelli (written 1529) he disagreed with Machiavelli’s interpretations of Roman history as basis for political thought.

[f]first half deleted

[g]it deleted

[h]blank line

[i]seem’d deleted

[j]the deleted; and . . . relation is squeezed in between this line and next, and overflows to v.69

[k]MS or. This interpolation, Machiavel . . . side, is in Hand B, above Hand A’s addition which . . . Burnet

[l–l]Hand B in two blanks left

[m]Hand B, keyed in after of importance

[6 ]De’ Ragguagli di Parnaso (adjudications or notifications from Parnassus, by Apollo) appeared in two ‘centuries’ in 1612 and 1613. The sentence passed on a Laconic for using three words instead of two is in Century i, no 6. The work was immensely popular and influential in the seventeenth century; under various titles (‘Newes’, ‘The New–Found Politicke’, ‘Advertisements’, ‘Advices’) it appeared in six different English translations between 1622 and 1727, Advices from Parnassus in 1706. Among its progeny were ‘Sessions of the Poets’, or imaginary trials of writers for their misdeeds, before assessors and jurors. The Great Assises Holden in Parnassus by Apollo and his Assessors (1645; Luttrell Soc. Reprint 6, 1948) arraigns newspapers and their editors. For Boccalini see ii.26 n.9 above.

[n]one blank line

[7 ]i.e. Clarendon: references to his History of the Rebellion, Books viii–ix and v respectively.

[o]last seven words replace in as Black a light as possible the one party (last three words not deleted)

[p]been deleted

[q]last six words inserted by Hand B in blank left

[r]scribe started 72 with Burnet, by anticipation

[s]it is that deleted

[t]one blank line

[8 ]Burnet’s views on political and ecclesiastical affairs were broad church, and often too liberal for his own good. See i.v.199 n.11 above.

[u]but deleted

[v]replaces governments

[9 ]See ii.34 n.3 above. The marginal note no doubt refers to the History of Great Britain [later England] by Smith’s friend David Hume, which appeared in six volumes in 1754, 1757, 1759, 1762.

[w]note in inner margin: so (or 10?) years ago. a better now