BEATTIE, James.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Essays. First edition of this collection by the Scottish Enlightenment figure. Each essay in this collection appears here for the first time, except that on truth, which was first published in 1770 is here revised and provided with a six-page preface.This edition is a lavish subscription quarto, whose list of subscribers includes the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, David Garrick, Samuel Johnson, and many others besides.The Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, Beattie's first and most significant philosophical work, boldly proclaims that "common sense is the ultimate judge of truth" (p. 31) and so undermines Humean scepticism about the ultimate foundations of any such truth. Although Hume followed his policy of not engaging in direct disputes with his critics, the polemic annoyed him enough to label Beattie "that bigoted silly fellow" (quoted in Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).Beattie's two-part Minstrel (1771 & 1774), with its reflections on nature and the character of poetic genius, influenced Robert Burns, Walter Scott, and William Wordsworth.Provenance: John Stephens (1948-2006), a bibliographer and collector of 18th-century literature, with his book label on the front pastedown.

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