THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. AND AN HISTORICAL DISQUISITION CONCERNING ANCIENT INDIA, BY W. ROBERTSON, D. D. PRINCIPAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, ETC. AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D. D. THE curiosity, which most men feel, to become acquainted with the circumstances of the life of those who have rendered themselves illustrious, by the attainment of perfection in the various careers of human ambition, exists so naturally in all inquiring minds, and from its gratification so much instruction may be gained, that it would be deemed a reprehensible omission to send forth to the world an edition of the works of one of the most renowned of the British historians, without making some attempt towards delineating his private character and habits, towards tracing the steps by which he reached the high rank that he holds among the writers of his country, and towards exemplifying the success of industry accompanied with virtue. But concerning the author of the following volumes little can be gleaned, either from the traditions of his contemporaries, or the records left by his friends: much of his life seems to have passed in the bosom of domestic privacy. unheeded by the public eye, which naturally is attracted rather by the glare of political action, than by the soft light of social virtue; and Mr. Dugald Stewart, who, from his intimate connexion with the historian, may be supposed to be perfectly acquainted with his private life, seems to disdain that minuteness of detail which many regard as the most interesting part of biographical narrative. William Robertson was born on the eighth of September, 1721, according to the old style, at Borthwick, in the county of Mid Lothian, a parish of which his father was then minister: he was one of a family of eight children, of whom none but the historian rose to such eminence as to deserve commemoration, even could any facts be withdrawn from the darkness which generally envelops the memory of ordinary men after the tomb has closed on their remains. Robertson received the first rudiments of education at the parochial school of his native place; when he had attained the age generally deemed fit for entering on classic studies, his father, induced probably by the extended reputation of the head master, Leslie, placed him at the school of Dalkeith. Of his advancement under so skilful a tutor, I have been unable to collect any account; but it may be inferred from the observations of his friends, that he was remarkable rather by a patient and industrious culture of the mental powers which providence vouchsafed him, than by any extraordinary precocity of genius. Unlike those plants which one summer's sun brings to their full growth, whose splendid flowers burst quickly forth, and as quickly fade, his mind rather resembled the slow-growing oak, which, watered by the dews of many a spring, and fostered by the warmth of summer, rises at last the lord of the forest. many a In 1733, his father having been translated to the ministry of Old Gray Friars in Edinburgh, young Robertson quitted the school of Dalkeith, and again resided under the paternal roof. In the month of October of the same year he was admitted into the college and university of Edinburgh: he was then little more than twelve 40X1384 a years old. That at so tender an age he should have entered on his course of academical study will, perhaps, cause some surprise, particularly to those who are accustomed to regard collegiate education as the intermediate step from the discipline of the school to the independence of manhood: but it must be remembered that, as time advances, and the sphere of human knowledge becomes more extensive, changes must necessarily be made in the system of university education. Many of the elements of science and of literature, formerly considered as requiring the skill and authority of a public professor to develop and enforce, are now banished from the university to the school. That, even in the southern and more civilized parts of the island, academical education formerly commenced at a much earlier period than now, is sufficiently proved by the statutes of the two universities, which, in many cases, order corporeal chastisement to be inflicted on the delinquent, a punishment which, it is well known, Milton suffered at Cambridge. During Robertson's stay at the university, he appears to have pursued his studies with a perseverance and ardour astonishing in so young a person; Mr. Stewart informs us, that there still remain many of his commonplace books, dated 1735, 1736, 1737, which furnish proofs of indefatigable industry; each of them bears the epigraph, "Vita sine literis mors est;" from which we may infer, that he was incited to study, not so much by the ambition of literary applause, as by a conviction that the acquirement of true knowledge strengthens the soul in the practice of virtue. Not an inconsiderable portion of his attention seems to have been devoted towards the acquirement of a pure English style; a task, of which the difficulty must be greatly increased to one accustomed from his earliest years to the errors of a provincial dialect: for this purpose he industriously exercised himself in translating from the Latin and Greek authors; this practice has been often recommended to young men, and to it we are told that Pitt stood indebted for his noble powers of eloquence; Robertson had even begun, at a very early period, a version of the twelve books of Marcus Aurelius, which he had prepared for the press, when he was prevented by the publication of an anonymous translation at Glasgow. It has been said that he was induced to make choice of this author by the partiality with which he always regarded the remains of the stoical philosophy; the motives which induce a writer to undertake any work seldom stray beyond his own bosom, a pleasing surprise, however, is felt in learning that so young a student had voluntarily applied his attention to the meditations of this excellent philosopher, who, to use the words of Herodian, μόνος βασιλέων Φιλοσοφίαν οὐ λόγοις, οὐδὲ δογμάτων γνώσεσι, σεμνῷ δ ̓ ἤθει καὶ βίῳ σώφρονι ἐπιστώσατο. Robertson did not confine himself entirely to the acquisition of such talents as shed lustre on the writer only; he intended to devote himself to the service of the church of Scotland, and was too wise to disdain any ornament that might add to the attraction of the preacher, and, in any degree, promote the cause of truth and morality; he was aware that what is gained in wisdom is often lost in perspicuity of communication, and that the student who, by years of recluse application, has stored his mind with copiousness of ideas, and enriched his pen with the elegancies of language, often wants that readiness of application which, in general conversation and public speaking, frequently gives the power of persuasion to men of slender acquirements and feeble mind. Our author was probably more urgently induced to add to the purity of composition the powers of a ready and commanding orator, by the necessity of conforming to the practice of preaching without notes, then followed in the Scottish pulpits; indeed, to address an audience on the important truths of christianity, to recall, without written assistance, the proposed arguments of the discourse and the links of ratiocination, requires a strength of memory and a presence of mind that rarely fall to the lot of man, and can hardly be acquired with the utmost diligence of application; hence, I believe, it is, that in those communions of the christian church, in which custom forbids the use of any written assistance to the preacher, the sermons are mostly extemporary, and, by consequence, the rant of passion takes the place of calm persuasion and correct argument. Sensible of these difliculties, Robertson resolved, if possible, to surmount them by devoting some part of his attention to a course of practical elocution. For this purpose he united with some of his contemporaries during the last years of his residence in the university, in the formation of a society, the object of whose members was to cultivate the study of public speaking, and to prepare themselves, by the habits of extemporary discussion and debate, for conducting the business of popular assemblies. Stewart ascribes the entrance of Robertson into this society to a motive not less powerful, perhaps, than the wish to excel as a preacher: he looked forward, says his biographer, to the active share he was afterwards to take in the ecclesiastical policy of Scotland. At the completion of his academical studies, in 1741, he was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Dalkeith, although not yet of age; for in Scotland a license to preach is not accompanied with authority to administer the sacraments, or qualification to take the cure of souls. Two years afterwards he was enabled to perform the duties of a presbyterian minister, and was presented to the living of Gladsmuir in East Lothian, by the earl of Hopeton. The income derived from his benefice was inconsiderable, not exceeding one hundred pounds annually: slender as it was it enabled him to demonstrate his high sense of fraternal duty. His father and mother dying soon after his presentation, within a few hours of each other, and leaving a younger son and six daughters totally unprovided for, he took them all under his own roof at Gladsmuir, and continued to educate and support them until they were respectably settled in the world. In the rebellion that broke out in Scotland in 1745, he gave proof of his zeal in the support of the liberties, civil and religious, of his country. Being but a provincial clergymau his exertions were confined to a narrow sphere; but even here, says his friend and biographer, his conduct was guided by a mind superior to the scene in which he acted. When the capital was in danger of falling into the hands of the rebels, he laid aside the pacific habits of his profession, and quitted Gladsmuir to join the volunteers of Edinburgh: and when at last it was determined that the city should be surrendered, he was one of the small band who repaired to Haddington and offered their services to the commander in chief of his majesty's forces. As soon as peace was restored, he returned to his parochial duties; these he discharged with the punctuality of a true christian pastor, for which he was rewarded by the affection and respect uniformly paid him by his parishioners. We are told that he was distinguished by his eloquence and taste as a preacher; and, if we may judge from the only sermon he published, he received not less praise than he deserved'. At this period of his life he was accustomed to rise at a very early hour, and to read and write much before breakfast, devoting the rest of the day to the duties of his sacred profession; he is represented as having been diligent in visiting the poor and afflicted, and in catechising the youth of his parish. In 1751, having settled his orphan sisters, he thought himself at liberty to think of adding to his own comfort and happiness of life by marriage; he united himself to the daughter of the reverend Mr. Nisbet, one of the ministers of Edinburgh. This lady was his cousin, and had long been the object of his affections; with her he passed many years of domestic felicity. About this time he began to be conspicuous by the part he took in the debates of the general assembly of the church of Scotland. As this court was the most active scene in which Robertson had an opportunity to engage, it will not be impertinent to the purpose of this narrative to give an outline of its constitution, which differs considerably from that of the clerical convocations of other countries. I shall, therefore, insert the following description of the general assembly from the pen of a gentleman2, whose profession and country furnished him with every opportunity of giving correct information on the subject. "The general assembly of the church of Scotland is composed of representatives from the presbyteries; from the royal boroughs; from the four universities; and from the Scotch church of Campvere in Holland. The presbyteries send two hundred and ninety members, of whom two hundred and one are ministers, and The situation of the world at the time of Christ's appearance, and its connexion with the success of his religion, considered; a sermon, preached before the society in Scotland for propagating christian knowledge, January the sixth, 1755. This sermon was translated into German by Mr. Ebeling. 2 The reverend S. Hill, D. D. principal of St. Mary's college in the university of St. Andrew's; a gentleman, says Mr. Stewart, (from whose life of the historian the extract is taken,) intimately connected with Dr. Robertson by friendship, and highly respected by him for the talent and eloquence which he has for many years displayed in the ecclesiastical courts. a⭑ |