690 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
noisy festival he had kept serenely apart from the assertion of authority, 
losing neither popularity nor dignity thereby. He is reported to have said 
that neither principle nor want of principle was involved. 
The method of teaching adopted in his class was mainly historical, 
analytical, and critical. Each lecture began with the giving out of a series 
of “ headings,” usually about a dozen in number. These were dictated 
slowly, and formed a complete summary of the subject of the day : then 
followed the lecture proper, delivered in an even, unpretentious manner, 
with many naive provincialisms, and now and then a sly pun or quaint 
conceit to enliven the presentation. Whether teaching Ethics or Political 
Economy or Theology, he retained this method to the end of his professorial 
career, attracting admirers by the bold yet carefully planned exposition of 
his reasonings, and also by the charm of his strong personality and trans- 
parent character, rather than by any arts of rhetoric. 
None of Professor Flint’s published works reproduce the matter of his 
St Andrews lectures. Those on Moral Philosophy were highly thought of, 
giving the judgment on centuries of human speculation by a capable, 
unprejudiced, and sagacious mind. A short course on Political Economy 
was considered at the time to be less weighty, and gave no indication of 
that deeper interest in Sociology which successfully occupied a much later 
phase of his intellectual activity. 
In 1876 he was transferred to the Chair of Divinity in the University 
of Edinburgh, repeating the experience of Dr Thomas Chalmers, who was 
his predecessor in both Chairs half a century earlier. His connection with 
this Society dates from his election as a Fellow in 1880. He took his place 
at the Council table in November 1883, and was Vice-President of the 
Society for three periods — from 1886 to 1892, from 1894 to 1899, and finally 
from 1902 to 1906. On this last occasion he did not complete the normal 
six years of office. He had already resigned his active work as Professor of 
Divinity ; his home was out of Edinburgh ; old friends, and among them 
Professor Tait, had passed away ; and with regret he expressed his desire to 
be relieved from any further duties on the Royal Society Council. 
Professor Flint did his full share of presiding at the meetings, and on 
two occasions, in 1887 and in 1898, he delivered the opening address from 
the chair, giving a clear account of the work of the preceding session and 
a brief obituary of the Fellows whom the Society had lost during the year. 
In addition to his duty as Vice-President, he attended all the meetings most 
faithfully, taking part in discussions when these fell within the range of 
his own special knowledge. Flint and Tait had a great regard, indeed 
affection, for each other. Both were strong intellectual men, whose opinions 
