FORBES, Alexander.

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Essays Moral and Philosophical on several subjects: First edition of the major work by the Jacobite philosopher. The Essays emphasize the political significance of popular consent and compare women favourably with men: "more active, more foreseeing, and better managers than we" (p. 176). Forbes is credited with saving the life of John Witherspoon, a future founding father and signatory of the Declaration of Independence.Following the Jacobite victory at Falkirk Muir in January 1746, Alexander Forbes (1678-1762) intervened to secure the release of four clerics who had been imprisoned for protesting against the rebels. John Witherspoon was one of the four: he continued to serve as a Scottish minister for 22 years before emigrating to America in 1768, where he was the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration.Forbes was present at Culloden in April 1746, and subsequently went into hiding on his own estates for the rest of his life, sometimes calling at his own castle as a beggar.In the Essays, Forbes engages with Locke and Hobbes, considering cognitive psychology, conscience, and the development of morality.

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