XXX. Critical Examination of a Sermon of Bishop Atterbury's 292 XXXI. Conduct of a Discourse in all its Parts-Introduction- Division-Narration and Explication XXXII. Conduct of a Discourse-The Argumentative Part-The XXXIII. Pronunciation or Delivery XXXIV. Means of improving in Eloquence XLIII. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey-Virgil's Eneid XLIV. Lucan's Pharsalia-Tasso's Jerusalem-Camoens's Lu- THE LIFE OF DR. HUGH BLAIR. DR. HUGH BLAIR was born in Edinburgh on the 7th of April, 1718. He was descended from the ancient and respectable family of Blair, in Ayrshire. His great grandfather, Mr. Robert Blair, minister of St. Andrews, and chaplain to Charles I. was distinguished by his firm attachment to the cause of freedom, and his zealous support of the Presbyterian form of church government, in the time of the civil wars. The talents of this worthy man seem to have descended as an inheritance to his posterity. Of the two sons who survived him, David the eldest, was one of the Ministers of the Old Church in Edinburgh, and father of Mr. Robert Blair, minister of Athelstaneford, the celebrated author of the poem entitled "The GRAVE," and grandfather of Lord President Blair, distinguished by his masculine eloquence, profound knowledge of law, and hereditary love of literature. From his youngest son Hugh, sprung Mr. John Blair, who was a respectable merchant, and one of the Magistrates of Edinburgh. He married Martha Ogston; and the first child of this marriage was the excellent person who is the subject of this narrative. In consequence of some misfortunes in trade, his father retired from mercantile business, and obtained an office in the excise; yet his fortune was not so much impaired as to prevent him from giving his son a liberal education. From his earliest youth his views were turned towards the clerical profession, and his education received a suitable direction. After going through the usual grammatical course at the High-school, he entered the Humanity class, in the University of Edinburgh, in October, 1730, and spent eleven years in that celebrated seminary in the study of literature, philosophy, and divinity. In all the classes he was distinguished among his companions, both for diligence and proficiency; but in the Logic class he attained particular distinction, by an Essay On the Beautiful; which had the good fortune to attract the notice of Professor Stevenson, and was appointed to be read publicly at the end of the session, with the most flattering marks of the Professor's approbation. This mark of distinction made a deep impression on his mind, and determined the bent of his genius towards polite literature. At this time he formed a plan of study which contributed much to the accuracy and extent of his knowledge. It consisted in making abstracts of the most important works which he read, and in digesting them according to the train of his own thoughts. History, in particular, he resolved to study in this manner, and constructed a very comprehensive scheme of chronological tables for receiving into its proper place every important fact that should occur. This scheme has been given to the world in a more extensive and correct form by his learned friend Dr. John Blair, Prebendary of Westminster, in his "Chronology and History of the World." In 1739, he took the degree of Master of Arts; and on that occasion, printed and defended a thesis, De fundamentis et obligatione Legis Natura, which exhibits an outline of the moral principles by which the world was afterward to profit in his Sermons. At this period he was engaged as a tutor in the family of Lord Lovat, and spent one summer in the north country attending his Lordship's eldest son, afterward General Fraser. When his pupil was appointed to the command of the 71st Regiment, he testified his respect for his old tutor, by making him chaplain to one of its battalions. On the completion of his academical course, he was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, on the 21st of October, 1741. His first appearances in the pulpit fully justified the expectations of his friends, and, in a few months, the fame of his eloquence procured for him a presentation to the church of Colessie, in Fifeshire, where he was ordained minister on the 23d September, 1742. He was not permitted to remain long in the obscurity of a country parish. In consequence of a vacancy in the second charge of the Cannongate of Edinburgh, which was to be supplied by popular election, his friends were enabled to recall him to a station more suited to his talents. Though Mr. Robert Walker, a popular and eloquent preacher, was his competitor, he obtained a majority of votes, and was admitted on the 14th of July, 1743. In this station he continued eleven years assiduously devoted to the attainment of professional excellence, and the regular discharge of his parochial duties. In 1748, he married his cousin, Catharine Bannatyne, daughter of the Rev. James Bannatyne, one of the ministers of Edinburgh; a woman distinguished for the strength of her understanding, and the prudence of her conduct. In consequence of a call from the Town Council of Edinburgh, he was translated from the Cannongate to Lady Yester's church, in the city, on the 11th of October, 1754 ; and from thence to the first charge in the High Church, on the 15th of June, 1758, the most respectable clerical situation in the kingdom. The uniform prudence, ability, and success, which for a period of more than fifty years, accompanied all his ministerial labours in that conspicuous and difficult charge, sufficiently evince the wisdom of their choice. His discourses from the pulpit were composed with uncommon care, and attracted universal admiration. In June, 1757, the University of St. Andrews showed its discernment by conferring on him the degree of Doctor in Divinity; an academical honour which at that time was very rare in Scotland. His fame as a preacher was by this time established, but no production of his pen had yet been given to the world except two Sermons, preached on particular occasions, some translations, in verse, of passages of Scripture for the Psalmody of the church, and the article on Dr. Hutcheson's "System of Moral Philosophy," in the "Edinburgh Review;" a periodical work begun in 1755. Of this paper two numbers only appeared, in which his learned friends Dr. Adam Smith, Dr. Robertson, and Mr. Wedderburn, afterward Earl of Roslin, had a principal share. At an early period of his life, while he and his cousin Mr. George Bannatyne, were students in Divinity, they wrote a poem entitled The Resurrection, copies of which were handed about in Manuscript. No one appearing to claim the performance, an edition of it was published in 1749, in folio, to which the name William Douglas, M.D.. was appended as the author. Besides the compositions above mentioned, he was supposed to bave repelled an attack on his friend Lord Kaimes, by Mr. George Anderson, in his “ Analysis of the Essays on Morality," &c. in a pamphlet entitled Observations on the Analysis, &c. 8vo. 1755, and was believed likewise to have lent his aid in a formal reply made by Lord Kaimes himself, under the title of Observations against the Essays on Morality and Natural Religion, examined, 8vo. 1756.* Having now found sufficient leisure, from the laborious dutics of his profession, to turn his attention to general literature, he began seriously to think on a plan for teaching to others that art which had contributed so much to the establishment of his own fame. Encouraged by the success of bis predecessors, Dr. Smith, and Dr. Watson, and the advice of his friend Lord Kaimes, he prepared with this view, a course of Lectures on Composition, and having obtained the approbation of the University, he began to read them in the College on the 11th of December, 1759. To this undertaking he brought all the qualifications requisite for executing it well; and along with them a weight of reputation which could not fail to give effect to the lessons he should teach. Accordingly, his first course of Lectures was well attended, and received with great applause. In August, 1760, the Town Council of Edinburgh instituted a Rhetorical class in the University under his direction, as an addition to the system of academical education. Aud, in April, 1762, on a representation to his Majesty, setting forth the advantages of the institution, as a branch of academical education, the King, "in consideration of his approved qualifications," crected and endowed his establishment in the * Lord Woodhousejee's Life of Lord Kaimes, Vol. In 112 1 University, by appointing him the first Regius Professor of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, with a salary of 701. In 1760, he was made the instrument of introducing into the world, "Fragments of Ancient Poetry, collected in the Highlands of Scotland, and translated from the Gaelic or Erse language," 12mo. to which he prefixed a Preface. These "Fragments" were communicated by Mr. Macpherson, and followed in the same year, by “Finga!” and "Temora," published by him as translations of complete and regular epic poems, the production of Ossian, a highland bard, of remote antiquity. Being himself persuaded of their being completely genuine, he published in 1762, A Critical Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian, &c. 4to. in proof of their antiquity, and illustrative of their beauties, which spread the reputation of its author throughout Europe. Of those who attended to the subject, a greater number were disposed to agree with him as to the beauty of the Poems, than to their authenticity. At the head of this set of critics was Dr. Johnson, who in his "Journey to the Western Islands," strenuously maintained their being altogether a forgery. Mr. Macpherson, the pretended translator, carefully reserved his latent claims to the rank and merit of an original poet, and did not conceal from those with whom he was particularly intimate, that the poems were entirely his own composition. * In 1773, it fell to his share to form the first uniform edition of the Works of the British Poets, which appeared in these kingdoms, printed at Edinburgh, in 42 vols. 12mo. for Messrs. Creech and Balfour. The elegance of this edition is no compensation for its incompleteness; the contracted list of authors, marked out by the editor, including none of those who have been denominated our older classics, except Milton and Cowley. His industry and taste were also exercised, about this time, in superintending an edition of the Works of Shakspeare, printed at Edinburgh, by Martin and Wotherspoon, in 10 vols. 12mo. Though his productions for the pulpit had long furnished instructions and delight to his own congregation, yet it was not till the year 1777 that he gave to the world the first volume of his Sermons, which was printed at London in 8vo. for Messrs. Strahan and Cadell, London, and had a very extensive sale. It is remarkable, that when he transmitted his manuscript to Mr. Strahan the printer, after keeping it by him for some time, he wrote a letter to him, declining the publication. Having, however, sent one of the sermons to Dr. Johnson, for the sake of his opinion, he received from him, after the unfavourable letter was despatched, the following note: "I have read over Dr. Blair's first Sermon with more than approbation; to say it is good is to say too little. It is excellently written, both as to doctrine and language." Soon after, Mr. Strahan had a conversation with Dr. Johnson concerning the publication, and very candidly wrote again to Dr. Blair, enclosing Dr. Johnson's note, and agreeing to purchase the volume for one hundred pounds. This volume of discourses was followed, at different intervals, by three other volumes, each succeeding volume increasing the sale of the former volumes. One hundred pounds were given for the first volume, which, in consequence of the extensive sale, the proprietors doubled. They gave him 300l. for the second, and 6001. for each of the third and fourth volumes. These discourses experienced a success unparalleled in the annals of pulpit eloquence. They circulated rapidly and widely wherever the English tongue extends, were soon translated into almost all the languages of Europe, and were judged worthy of a public reward by his Majesty, who, in the year 1780, was graciously pleased to grant the author a pension of 2001. which continued till his death. It is said, that they were read to the Royal family by the Earl of Mansfield, and that her Majesty honoured them with her approbation, and took an active part in procuring him this proof of the Royal favour. Hitherto, the writers of sermons among the Scottish preachers, had produced no models of a refined and polished eloquence. Their discourses abounded in cold divisions, metaphysical discussion, or loose and incoherent declamation. Among his contemporaries, some preachers had distinguished themselves by the good sense, sound reasoning, and manly simplicity of their pulpit compositions. "But the polish of Dr. Blair, which gave elegance to sentiments not too profound for common comprehension, nor too obvious to be uninteresting, was wanting to render this species of composition popular, and generally pleasing. By employing the utmost exertions * Anderson's Life of Johnson, 3d edition, p. 342. Boswell's Life of Johnson, vel. III. p. 100. of a vigorous mind, and of patient study, to select the best ideas, and to prune off every superfluous thought, by taking pains to embellish them by all the beauties of language and elegant expression, and by repeatedly examining, with the severity of an enlightened critic, every sentence, and erasing every harsh and uncouth phrase, he has produced the most elegant models of pulpit composition that have yet appeared in these kingdoms."* In the enjoyment of the praise of polished eloquence, there are other men who participate with Dr. Blair; but in the application of talents and of learning, to render mankind wiser or better, there are few literary characters who can claim an equal share; and though the highest praise is due to his compositions for the pulpit, considered as the productions of genius and of taste, yet, when they are regarded in this more important light, they entitle him to that still more honourable fame, which is the portion of the wise and good alone, and before which all literary splendour disappears. After reading his course of Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres in the University above twenty years, he retired from the discharge of his academical duties in 1783. His academical prelections constitute an era in the history of the progress of taste and elegance in Scotland. His classical taste, his aversion from refinement and skepticism, his good intentions, his respect for received opinions, his industry, and his experience in the art of teaching, enabled him to present to young men, aiming at literary composition, a most judicious, elegant, and comprehensive system of rules for forming their style, and cultivating their taste. The same year, he published his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, in 2 vols. 4to. which brought him a considerable accession of emolument and fame. They have been frequently reprinted in 3 vols. 8vo. and deservedly occupy a place in our schools and Universities, as an excellent elementary treatise on the studies of composition and eloquence. They contain an accurate analysis of the principles of literary composition, in all the various species of writing; a happy illustration of those principles by the most beauitful and apposite examples, drawn from the best authors, both ancient and modern, and an admirable digest of the rules of elocution, as applicable to the oratory of the pulpit, the bar, and the popular assembly. They do not aim at a work purely original; for this would have been to circumscribe their utility; neither in point of style are they polished with the same degree of care as his Sermons; yet, so useful is the object of these Lectures, so comprehensive their plan, and such the excellence of the matter they contain, that, if not the most splendid, they will perhaps prove the most durable monument of his reputation. From this period his talents were consecrated solely to the instruction of his congregation, and the private and unseen labours of his office; preparing for the world the blessings of elegant instruction, and tendering to the mourner the lessons of divine consolation. From that part of his professional duty, which regarded the government of the church, he was prevented by his timidity and diffidence in his abilities, from taking any active part; but he was steadily attached to the cause of moderation, and his opinion was eagerly courted by Dr. Robertson, Dr. Drysdale, Dr. Hill, Dr. Finlayson, and others, who managed ecclesiastical business. The outline of the pastoral admonition, which the General Assembly, in 1799, addressed to the people under their charge, proceeded from his pen. In the course of his life he had frequently visited London, and had been introduced to the acquaintance of Dr. Johnson, Dr. Percy, afterward Bishop of Dromore, and other distinguished literary characters in England. On the recommendation of Dr. Percy, the Duke and Dutchess of Northumberland committed to him the care of their second son, Lord Algernon Percy, afterward Earl of Beverley, when he prosecuted his studies at the University of Edinburgh. Among his countrymen, Lord Kames, David Hume, Dr. Smith, Dr. Robertson, Dr. Fergusson, Mr. John Home, and Dr. Carlyle, were the persons with whom he lived in habits of intimacy, and with whom, during the greater part of his life, he maintained social intercourse. Upon the death of Dr. Robertson, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, in the year 1793, the unanimous voice of the country acknowledged his claim to be appointed the successor of that illustrious man. When the Magistrates and Council of Edinburgh gave the appointment to another, it is certain that he felt the oversight as injurious to his pretensions. Flattered with the respect of the world, and unaccustomed to disappointments during a long life, that had been devoted to literary pursuits, he could ill brook any neglect when that life was drawing to a close. Anderson's Life of Logan; Works of the British Poets, Vol. XI. p. 1032. |