Life and Correspondence of David Hume, Volume 2

David Hume · en

I am afraid that you, as well as myself, have drawn Mary's
     character with too great softenings. She was, undoubtedly, a
     violent woman at all times. You will see in _Murden_ proofs of
     the utmost rancour against her innocent, good-natured, dutiful
     son. She certainly disinherited him. What think you of a
     conspiracy for kidnapping him, and delivering him a prisoner
     to the King of Spain, never to recover his liberty till he
     should turn Catholic? Tell Goodall, that if he can but give me
     up Queen Mary, I hope to satisfy him in every thing else; and
     he will have the pleasure of seeing John Knox and the
     Reformers made very ridiculous. . . .

     You have very good cause to be satisfied with the success of
     your History, as far as it can be judged of from a few weeks'
     publication. I have not heard of one who does not praise it
     warmly; and were I to enumerate all those whose suffrages I
     have either heard in its favour, or been told of, I should
     fill my letter with a list of names. Mallet told me that he
     was sure there was no Englishman capable of composing such a
     work. The town will have it that you was educated at Oxford,
     thinking it impossible for a mere untravelled Scotsman to
     produce such language. In short, you may depend on the success
     of your work, and that your name is known very much to your
     advantage.

     I am diverting myself with the notion how much you will profit
     by the applause of my enemies in Scotland. Had you and I been
     such fools as to have given way to jealousy, to have
     entertained animosity and malignity against each other, and to
     have rent all our acquaintance into parties, what a noble
     amusement we should have exhibited to the blockheads, which
     now they are likely to be disappointed of. All the people
     whose friendship or judgment either of us value, are friends
     to both, and will be pleased with the success of both, as we
     will be with that of each other. I declare to you I have not
     of a long time had a more sensible pleasure than the good
     reception of your History has given me within this fortnight.


     _25th January, 1759._