HUME. 205 



the world. The peculiar felicity of the author in distri- 

 buting his doctrines as the subjects of separate essays, 

 whereby he avoided the repulsive forms of a treatise, 

 and yet moulding these separate treatises into one 

 body and one harmonious system, cannot be too much 

 admired. We read them as different and as short 

 works on various subjects ; but we perceive at each 

 step that we are guided by the same genius, that one 

 spirit of inquiry pervades the whole one view of 

 human society and of national interests is taken 

 throughout one sagacious unfolder of truth, one 

 accurate and bold discoverer of popular error, is at 

 work in each discourse ; and it is certain that Dr. 

 Smith's celebrated work, with all its great merits, is 

 less of a regular system than the detached essays of 

 Mr. Hume. The originality of the latter's opinions is 

 wholly undeniable : they were published full fourteen 

 years before the * Wealth of Nations/ 



As for his ' Inquiry concerning the Principles of 

 Morals,' of which he had himself formed so high an 

 estimate, this is indeed a very excellent work, and ap- 

 pears well to deserve the opinion pronounced upon it 

 by the author, although his ' Political Discourses' 

 may be superior in the originality and importance of 

 their views. But the composition of the * Inquiry* is 

 more careful and better elaborated than that of his 

 other philosophical writings, at the same time that 

 it loses none of the ease or grace by which his man- 

 ner is always so remarkably distinguished. There is 

 in this treatise a copiousness and felicity of illus- 

 tration rarely anywhere else to be found ; and it is 

 full of learned allusions and references, showing 



