Contemporary and Historical Comments

A Letter to Adam Smith, LL.D. on the Life,
Death, and Philosophy of his Friend David
Hume, Esq. 12mo. 1s. Prince, Rivington,
Robinson, and Payne.

     This is a very severe, but very just reprehension of the Civilian, for his strenuous recommendation of his Friend's Character, and through that artful medium of his philosophic Writings to the Public. One would imagine, from the impious nonsense of the Works here in question, that Mr. Hume had an ambition to be literally damned to everlasting fame; and such incongruous rhapsodies and unlogical reasonings would never have obtained a vogue, but for the prophaneness of its systems, and the immorality of its tendency, in such degenerate times as the present.
     David's vanity, as above hinted, might have been his desperate motive for publishing such Writings; but Adam appears coolly and deliberately to have adopted another's vice, without any manner of temptation. This puts us in mind of a Story of a couple of Gamblers, who had been ruined one night at play; and while one of them was imprecating Vengeance on his own head for his folly, the other, who had not courage enough to do the same, took the sneaking advantage of his fellow sufferer's curses, and whenever he said, "G - d confound me!" cried, "And me too, I beseech thee, O Lord!"

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