By Dr. Blair's means, I have been favoured with the perusal of
your performance, which I have read with great pleasure and
attention. It is certainly very rare that a piece so deeply
philosophical is wrote with so much spirit, and affords so
much entertainment to the reader; though I must still regret
the disadvantages under which I read it, as I never had the
whole performance at once before me, and could not be able
fully to compare one part with another. To this reason,
chiefly, I ascribed some obscurities, which, in spite of your
short analysis, or abstract, still seem to hang over your
system; for I must do you the justice to own that, when I
enter into your ideas, no man appears to express himself with
greater perspicuity than you do; a talent which, above all
others, is requisite in that species of literature which you
have cultivated. There are some objections, which I would
willingly propose, to the chapter "Of sight," did I not
suspect that they proceed from my not sufficiently
understanding it; and I am the more confirmed in this
suspicion, as Dr. Blair tells me that the former objections I
made, had been derived chiefly from that cause. I shall
therefore forbear till the whole can be before me, and shall
not at present propose any further difficulties to your
reasonings. I shall only say that, if you have been able to
clear up these abstruse and important subjects, instead of
being mortified, I shall be so vain as to pretend to a share
of the praise; and shall think that my errors, by having at
least some coherence, had led you to make a more strict review
of my principles, which were the common ones, and to perceive
their futility.
As I was desirous to be of some use to you, I kept a watchful
eye all along over your style; but it is really so correct,
and so good English, that I found not any thing worth the
remarking. There is only one passage in this chapter, where
you make use of the phrase, _hinder to do_, instead of _hinder
from doing_, which is the English one; but I could not find
the passage when I sought for it. You may judge how
unexceptionable the whole appeared to me, when I could remark
so small a blemish. I beg my compliments to my friendly
adversaries, Dr. Campbell, and Dr. Gerard, and also to Dr.
Gregory, whom I suspect to be of the same disposition, though
he has not openly declared himself such.[154:1]
This letter called forth the following answer, valuable as an
acknowledgment of the services which the Scottish school of philosophy
owed to Hume.
DR. REID _to_ HUME.
_King's College, 18th March, 1763._