|
|
Front Page  Titles (by Subject) 104.: From DAVID HUME - Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence Vol. 6 Correspondence of Adam Smith
104.: From DAVID HUME - Adam Smith, Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence Vol. 6 Correspondence of Adam Smith [1740]Edition used:Correspondence of Adam Smith, ed. E. C. Mossner and I. S. Ross, vol. VI of the Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1987).
About Liberty Fund:Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright information:The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith and the associated volumes are published in hardcover by Oxford University Press. The six titles of the Glasgow Edition, but not the associated volumes, are being published in softcover by Liberty Fund. The online edition is published by Liberty Fund under license from Oxford University Press.
©Oxford University Press 1976. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be stored transmitted retransmitted lent or reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of Oxford University Press.
Fair use statement:
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
104.
From DAVID HUME
MS., RSE ii. 40; HL ii. 142–3. London, 13 June 1767 Dear Smith
The Count de Sarsfield is a good Acquaintance of mine from the time I saw him at Paris; and as he is really a Man of Merit, I have great Pleasure whenever I meet him here: My Occupations keep me from cultivating his Friendship as much as I should incline. I did not introduce him to Elliot, because I knew that this Gentleman’s Reserve and Indolence wou’d make him neglect the Acquaintance, and I did not introduce him to Oswald, because I fear that he and I are broke for ever: At least, he does not seem inclined to take any Steps towards an Accommodation with me. I am to tell you the strangest Story you ever heard of. I was dining with him above two Months ago, where among other Company was the Bishop of Raphoe. After dinner, we were disposed to me merry; I said to the Company that I had been very ill us’d by Lord Hertford: For that I always expected to be made a Bishop by him during his Lieutenancy, but he had given away two Sees from me, to my great Vexation and Disappointment. The Right Reverend, without any farther Provocation, burst out into the most furious, and indecent, and orthodox Rage, that ever was seen: Told me that I was most impertinent; that if he did not wear a Gown I durst not, no, I durst not have us’d him so; that none but a Coward woud treat a Clergyman in that manner; that henceforth he must either abstain from his Brother’s House or I must; and that this was not the first time he had heard this stupid Joke from my Mouth. With the utmost Tranquillity and Temper, I askd his Pardon; assurd him upon my honour that I did not mean him the least Offence; if I had imagind he coud possibly have been displeas’d I never shoud have mentiond the Subject; but the Joke was not in the least against him, but entirely against myself, as if I were capable of such an Expectation as that of being a Bishop; my Regard for himself and still more for his Brother, with whom I had long been more particularly connected, wou’d certainly restrain me from either Joke or Earnest, which coud be offensive to him: And that if I had ever touchd on the same Topick before, I had entirely forgot it; and it must have been above a twelvemonth ago. He was no wise appeas’d, ravd on in the same Style for a long time: At last, I got the Discourse diverted and took my Leave seemingly with great Indifference and even good humour. I was no wise surprizd nor concernd about his Lordship; because I had on other Occasions observ’d the same orthodox Zeal swell within him, and it was often difficult for him to converse with Temper when I was in the Company: But what really surprizd and vexd me, was, that his Brother kept Silence all the time; I met him in the Passage when I went away, and he made me no Apology; he has never since calld on me; and tho he sees, that I never come near his House, tho formerly I us’d to be three or four time a week with him, he never takes the least Notice of it: I own this gives me Vexation, because I have a sincere Value and Affection for him: It is only some Satisfaction to me to find, that I am so palpably in the right, as not to leave the least Room for Doubt or Ambiguity. Dr Pitcairne, who was in the Company, says, that he never saw such a Scene in his Life time. If I were sure Dear Smith that you and I shoud not one day quarrel in some such manner, I shoud tell you, that I am Yours very affectionately and sincerely
D. H.
|
