THE MORAL PHILOSOPHY CHAIR. 217 



fifty-eight in all. The rest of the course will embrace fifty lectures 

 respecting the duties of the human being. " I would fain hope that 

 something different from the common metaphysical lectures will 

 produce itself out of this plan." He will read on, and " attend most 

 religiously to the suggestions" of his friend. Let his friend mean- 

 time consider every thing, and remember how short the time is ; and 

 that unless he does great things for him, and work with him, the 

 Professor is lost. " I am never out of the house," he adds, " and 

 may not be till winter." He is very unwell, and has just got out 

 of bed ; " but the belief that you will certainly be here at the time I 

 fixed, and that you certainly will get me through, has enabled me 

 to rise." So the letter ends that day with a " God bless you!" 

 and the next begins with a recommendation to Blair to read Stew- 

 art's argument against the Edinburgh Reviewer's assertion, that 

 the study of Mental Philosophy has produced nothing, and imparted 

 no power. He thinks " that both Jefirey and Stewart are w T rong, 

 probably, however, Stewart most so ;" but Blair must examine it, 

 "for it is a subject on which you could at once see the truth." Let 

 hirn also see what Stewart says on the origin of knowledge, " which 

 seems worth reading;" "indeed," he adds, "these essays, though, 

 I believe, not generally so highly thought of, seem to me to be the 

 best of all Stewart's writings. But I am a miserable judge."* He 

 then goes on with the sketch of the course. "Man's relations to 

 God — Natural Theology, will require say eight lectures. Then his 

 relations to man, and first, the natural relations, say twelve lectures ; 

 then the relations of Adoption and Institution, not less than fifteen ; 

 this department to embrace discussions about Government, Punish- 

 ments, and Poor-laws. This gives us thirty-three lectures, leaving 

 seventeen for the discussion of Virtues and Vices, the different 

 Schemes of moral approbation, and other important questions ; lit- 

 tle enough space." These make up in all one hundred and eight 

 lectures, which he thinks will be about the number required. " I 

 have got notes," he says, " of Stewart's lectures, but they are dull ; 

 they are but feeble shadows of his published works, on which he 

 bestowed incredible pains." He inquires about Mylne's lectures. 



* This is one of many illustrations of the Professor's genuine humility. The egotism and Belf- 

 complacency of Christopher North were as ideal as that personage himself. He appears in truth 

 to have been, in metaphysics as in literature, a most acute critic; and some papers by him in 

 Blackwood, on Berkeley's Philosophy, were, I believe, referred to by Sir William Hamilton as 

 admirable specimens of metaphysical discussion. 



