ABSTRACT
David Hume was born near Berwick into the minor landed gentry of Scotland. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he read law, though his interest presently turned towards literature and philosophy. In early manhood he abandoned the Presbyterian beliefs of his family, and opposition from the Scottish religious establishment prevented him from securing the Chairs of Philosophy at Edinburgh in 1745 and Glasgow in 1752. His first and most important philosophical work, A Treatise of Human Nature, was written in France and published in 1739-40. To his great disappointment, the Treatise was not a success. He published a revised and more accessible version of its main doctrines in two works: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748) and An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). He was an elegant and versatile essayist, producing Essays Moral and Political in 1742 and Political Discourses in 1752. His History of England was published in eight volumes between 1754 and 1761, while he held the post of Keeper of the Advocates’ Library at Edinburgh. He was an easy and cheerful man, who made friends easily and enjoyed their affection, though Rousseau treated him with characteristic ingrati tude when they met.
