telligence, we have full evidence in the system of nature, and of His distinguishing the opposite conditions of moral good and evil, there is equally irresistible proof." 15

The following sentences will give an idea of his method :- "Most subjects in nature may be considered under two aspects-under that of their actual state, and under that of a specific excellence, or aspect, of which they are susceptible. Under the first, they are subjects of mere description, or statement of fact; under the second, they are objects of estimation or contempt, of praise or censure. In respect to what men have actually done or exhibited, human nature is a subject of history and physical science. Considered in respect to the different measures of good and evil, of which men are susceptible, the same nature is a subject of discipline and moral science. In treating of man, as a subject of history, we collect facts and endeavour to conceive his nature as it actually is, or has actually been, apart from any notion of ideal perfection or defect.

"In treating of him as a subject of moral science, we endeavour to understand what he ought to be; without being limited, in our conception, to the measure of attainment or failure, exhibited in the case of any particular person or society of men.

"To have an object or purpose, and to employ means for the attainment of it, is the distinctive condition of mind or intelligent being; the first implies will and choice; the second implies energy and power. For man, therefore, to know his province, and to be qualified for his station, requires equally that he should be acquainted with the foundation of both." 16

Thus the method of investigation in the study of human nature, according to Ferguson, is in the first place to ascertain, on the most comprehensive and exhaustive scale, what man actually has been in the past and what he is now; and then, upon this knowledge, to frame a more reasonable conception of the improvable capacity of man, a juster idea of what he ought to be, and to devise more available and effective moral means for advancing the progress, the happiness, and the perfection of mankind. He insists much on this view, and often returns to it throughout his work.

In accordance with his progressive conception of man, Ferguson at once discarded Hobbes' theory that the state of nature was a

15 Vol. I., pp. 31, 129.

16 Vol. I., Introd., pp. 1, 2.

continual war. He argues that "a child may be considered apart from his parent, and the parent apart from his child; but the latter could not have existed without the former. And if we trace human society back to its simplest state, even there the society was realresting upon the fundamental feelings of human nature; and if we trace human thought back to its simplest exertions, even there it was an exercise of understanding and some effort of invention or skill.” He also rejected the contract theory of the origin of government, and argued consistently for the historical view of the gradual growth and development of society.17

Ferguson discussed the standard of morality at length, and also the supreme end. He admitted only a qualified and limited value to utility as a moral principle, and the same with regard to sympathy. Utility appeared to him to resolve the distinction of right and wrong into a mere difference of tendency or external effect in the actions of He avers that sympathy is also inadequate as the principle of moral approbation, and argues on some points conclusively against Smith's theory; but he fully recognised that sympathy is an important factor in the social nature of man.18

men.

His own view of the principle of moral approbation is announced thus: "It is the idea of perfection or excellence which the intelligent and associated being forms to himself, and to which he refers in every sentiment of esteem or contempt, and in every expression of commendation or censure."

If it be said that mankind are not agreed on this point, his reply is :-"The idea of perfection no doubt may be associated with subjects divested of merit; but notwithstanding the effect of such association in warping the judgment, virtue is approved as the specific perfection or excellence of man's nature; and as no one ever inquired why perfection should be esteemed, it is difficult to conceive why we should look for any other account of moral approbation than this." 19

In many parts of his work the ideal conception of a progress towards perfection is touched upon and illustrated. "Perfection is nowhere to be found short of the infinite mind; but progression is the gift of God to all His intelligent creatures, and is within the competence of the lowest of mankind. Men of humble

17 Vol. I., pp. 190-197, et seq. 10 Vol. II., p. 134.

18 Vol. II., pp. 57-115, 117-126.

capacity may learn to think justly on these subjects; and as far as wisdom depends on a just conception of familiar objects, it is the nature of created mind in the course of experience and observation to improve its sagacity and to make a continual approach to the highest measure of intellectual ability of which it is susceptible. . . . But the virtue of goodness, whether operating in mere innocence or in beneficence, is surely improvable if not actually acquired by habit." 20

In reference to the fundamental laws of morality, Ferguson taught "that the first law of morality, relating to the mind and its affections, requires the love of mankind as the greatest good to which human nature is competent." If it should appear, however, that mankind are not agreed as to the kinds of external actions that flow from this principle, nor in the choice of what to expect from the beneficent, it may be asked by what rule is the friend of mankind to conduct himself? His general reply to this question is to the effect that mankind in reality do not often mistake the pernicious for the useful, nor the destructive for that which tends to their own preservation; and so the beneficent man has little difficulty in determining what is in him, a natural effect of benevolence or of good-will to his fellow-creatures. 21

SECTION III.

Dugald Stewart.

Ferguson was succeeded in the chair of moral philosophy by Dugald Stewart, 22 who discharged the duties of the chair for a period of twenty-five years with unmatched success. He was a son of Dr. Matthew Stewart, professor of mathematics in the University of Edinburgh, and was born in his father's house in the old college buildings. When eight years of age, he was sent to the High School of Edinburgh, and at thirteen he entered the University and attended the arts classes. But with the object of completing his philosophical education, at the age of eighteen he went to Glasgow and studied a

20 Vol. II., p. 403.

21 Ferguson died in 1816, having lived to the great age of ninety-three years. 22 Born in 1753; died in 1828.

session under Dr. Reid, and greatly appreciated the spirit of the doctrines of his master. 23

In 1771, when only nineteen years of age, Stewart was entrusted by his father, whose health was failing, to teach the mathematical class in the University of Edinburgh; and, notwithstanding his youth, he maintained order and taught well. He was formally appointed to the chair of mathematics in 1775, and held it till 1785, when, as already mentioned, he obtained the chair of moral philosophy, a position more congenial to his taste and aspiration.

According to the best testimony, Stewart was a successful and eloquent professor, and was justly regarded as an ornament of this illustrious University. The lectures which he delivered to his class were declared by those who heard them to be surprisingly touching and elegant. He was a Liberal in politics, a follower and expounder of the economical doctrines of Adam Smith; and several scions of the Whig nobility were placed in Edinburgh under his care and instruction. His teaching, by means of his lectures and his writings, attained a wide influence and contributed to diffuse a taste for elegant literature and liberal opinions in politics throughout Scotland. Many of his pupils rose to eminence in law, politics, and literature.

23 When speaking of Dr. Reid, Stewart says :- -"Among the members of this University (Edinburgh), Mr. Ferguson was the first to applaud Reid's success, warmly recommending to his pupils a steady prosecution of the same plan, as the only effective method of ascertaining the general principles of the human frame, and illustrated happily, by his own profound and eloquent disquisitions, the application of such studies to the conduct of the understanding and the great concerns of life. I recollect, too, when attending, about the year 1771, the lectures of the late Mr. Russell, to have heard high encomiums on the philosophy of Dr. Reid, in the course of those comprehensive discussions concerning the objects and the rules of experimental science, with which he so agreeably diversified the particular doctrines of physics. Nor must I omit this opportunity of paying a tribute to the memory of my old friend, Mr. Stevenson, then professor of logic, whose candid mind at the age of seventy gave a welcome reception to a system subversive of the theories which he had taught for forty years, and whose zeal for the advancement of knowledge prompted him, when his career was almost finished, to undertake the laborious task of new modelling that useful compilation of elementary instruction to which diffidence of his own powers limited his literary exertions.

"It is with no common feelings of respect and gratitude that I now recall the names of those to whom I owe my first attachment to those studies, and the happiness of a liberal occupation superior to the more aspiring aims of a servile ambition."-Stewart's Account of the Life and Writings of Reid.

Stewart's teaching was influenced by the current of events and the circumstances of his time; and practical considerations greatly controlled all his opinions and speculations. He was deeply interested in the French Revolution, and intensely moved by the deplorable excesses which sprung out of it. A short quotation from the concluding sentences of his course of lectures on political economy will illustrate this and other features of his teaching:

"It is not, however, to those who look forward to the pursuits of science that I have addressed myself in these lectures. The greater part of you are probably destined for the active walks of business; and under this impression, I have uniformly endeavoured, so far as I was able, to direct your attention to studies susceptible of a practical application to the great concerns of humanity, whether providence may allot to you the obscure but important duties of a private station, or may be pleased to call you to the great and arduous scenes of public affairs. In either event, I shall follow you with my affectionate wishes through the various fortunes which may await you. And, believe me, nothing will ever give me greater satisfaction than to hear that you have carried into the different departments of life for which you may be destined, these steady principles of religion, of integrity, and of beneficence which can alone render you happy in yourselves and bring blessings to mankind."

This was delivered in 1804, and four years later he concluded the same course with these memorable words :

"Now, gentlemen, when the connection is to be dissolved which has for some months past subsisted between us, may I not be permitted to express the hope which I am encouraged to entertain by the attention with which you have honoured me:-that long after the period of your academical education, you will recollect with satisfaction those studies of your youth; and that by fixing in some measure your principles concerning the nature, the duties, and the prospects of man, they may contribute, under the various vicissitudes of fortune that may yet await you, to fortify your virtuous resolutions, to elevate your views above the pursuits of a vulgar ambition, and cherish in your minds those habitual sentiments of religion, of humanity, of justice, and of fortitude, which can alone render these talents and accomplishments a source of permanent happiness and honour to yourselves, a blessing to your friends, and a pledge to your country for the perpetuity of that political fabric reared by the hand and cemented by the blood of your ancestors;