Hugh Blair (1718–1800): An Annotated Bibliography

Version 2.1, 4 July 2016

Journal of British Studies, 2010

Following the untimely death of the original editor, Edmund Gibson (1669-1748) was invited to edit the new edition of William Camden's Britannia, then underway in London. 1 After negotiating arrangements with the booksellers in December 1693, 2 Gibson travelled to London in January 1694 to take up an appointment that offered him many opportunities to build on his acquaintance with those at the forefront of British antiquarian and historical studies. Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), a friend of Gibson's early patron, Arthur Charlett (1655-1722), contributed a treatise to Britannia on 'the Arsenals for the Royal Navy in Kent, with the Additions to Portsmouth and Harwich', and Gibson was soon a regular guest at Pepys's table. 3 In an undated letter, from early to mid-1694, Gibson wrote to Charlett: The first part of this paper was published in the Bodleian Library Record, 32 (2019) pp. 124-54. In addition to those I thanked there, I would like to acknowledge my debt to the staff of the National Library of Australia, to Joanna Smith for her excellent research assistance and to the anonymous readers and the editor of this journal for their invaluable commentary, important additional suggestions, and assistance in the final revision of this paper. Further descriptions of a sample of individual catalogues may be viewed at DebbieStephan.academia.edu. 1 The original editor, James Harrington (1664-1693), died on 23 November 1693. On 18 January 1694, in a letter to Gibson, William Nicolson referred to 'a letter fro m D r Todd acquainting me that (by M r Harrington's death) a full stop was put to the design'd

2021

This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that my thesis is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law or infringe any third party's copyright or other intellectual property right. The main text is set in Van Dijck MT Pro and the headings in Optima LT Pro.

Bibliography • Jeffrey Smitten, "Bibliography of Writings about William Robertson, 1755-1996," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see below under Collections). A first attempt at a full listing of secondary sources. Editions • Collected Editions o The Works of William Robertson, 12 vols. (London: Routledge/Thoemmes Press, 1996). General editor: Richard B. Sher. The fullest edition. Reprints the last lifetime edition of each of his published works. Includes preface by Sher, chronology and selected bibliography of secondary literature by Jeffrey Smitten, and an introductory essay on Robertson as historian by Nicholas Phillipson. Vol. 12 contains all Robertson's published miscellaneous works, unpublished works transcribed from manuscript, an introduction by Jeffrey Smitten, and reprinted contemporary commentaries by

The Scottish Historical Review, 2002

of personal sinfulness, salvation might result. Samuel Rutherford spoke of 'my desires of saving souls' (p. 87). Personal assurance was deemed to be essential and those who denied it were accused of Arminianism, yet preachers strove to undermine it, for fear of laxity creeping in. Robert Baillie prescribed 'a diligent effort "to make our personall Election sure" ' (p. 99). On the one hand, divine grace is irresistible, but on the other the preacher demands effort from the believer-salvation by works? Most believed that the invisible church was tiny, but 'only rarely did divines take seriously the possibility that one's own offspring might not be of the elect' (p. 67), and the inherent contradiction of masssubscription of the National Covenant was lost on them. The first eight chapters almost serve as a preparation for the last, on the Covenant itself, embodying the centrality of paradox to Scottish puritanism and to this book. How could a religious view emphasising personal liberty in relation to God and against an oppressive Kirk and State seek to impose unity through subscription to the Covenant? At the heart of the Covenant were notions of conformity and obedience, yet at the heart of puritan piety was the individual covenant of grace. For the nobility, puritan individualism was politically dangerous. The constitutional revolution began with religious change at the gerrymandered General Assembly at Glasgow in 1638. To maintain that victory, the leadership of the Kirk had to make a 'Mephistophelean bargain' (p. 301) with the nobility in the creation of new political structures. The gathering pace of the last few chapters takes the reader into a powerful 'Epilogue'. Some may find unpalatable the view that the ministers betrayed their puritan beliefs in return for political power. Yet this careful and sympathetic book does make one inclined to agree that Scottish puritanism was dealt a severe blow by the Covenant. Oppressed dissident Christians with a faith focused on a personal relationship with God and defiance of the establishment at the heart of their self-image became an essential component of an oppressive regime. Whereas their English counterparts developed theories of personal liberty, these 'religious cranks' (p. 312) were 'lusting after power to the extent of perverting their own theology and prostituting their religion' to 'an untrustworthy nobility pursuing its own goals' (p. 319). Samuel Rutherford, for one, lived to regret it. Mullan has produced an absorbing account of early modern religious belief which also adds a fascinating twist to how the National Covenant, its background and aftermath are to be understood.

The Economic History Review, 2009

The Cambridge Law Journal, 1992

The Historian, 2013

There can be few men so prominent in the early modern period whose life is so sparsely-and so ambiguously-documented as Anthony Ashley Cooper, first earl of Shaftesbury. After the failure of his greatest enterprise which sought to exclude the Catholic Duke of York, heir apparent to his brother Charles II, from the succession, itself an attempt to reassert statute over prerogative and positive law above natural law, Shaftesbury's papers were seized by the government but they already been ruthlessly and skilfully redacted. For long periods, above all (but not only) in the 1640s and 1650s it is impossible to place him geographically let alone politically and religiously. As for the Restoration, in one of the many fine essays in this volume, J.R. Milton shows how impossible it is to measure or evaluate the earl's relationship with Locke. What is more Shaftesbury may have written, or overseen the composition of, far more tracts than he is given credit for, or he might have written, or overseen the composition of, rather less. As a counsellor of state under Cromwell, as Privy Councillor, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Chancellor under Charles II, and as putative founder of the Whig party which dominated British politics for 200 years, he bestrode thirty years of English history, and despite the best efforts of three (but only three) biographies, published in 1871, 1933 and 1968, he remains an enigma. For these are all biographies that explain how he moved from A-B, B-C, C-D etc, but not how he got from A-Z. None of them look at the deep consistencies and obsessions in his life and career. So this new collection of ten essays that explore major aspects of his life and career thematically and in a semi-chronological sequence is warmly welcomed. Thus Alan Marshall explores Ashley Cooper's relationship with the Commonwealth and early Protectorate, Paul Seaward explores the debates on (religious) indulgence from 1661-3, Mark Goldie examines the campaign for annual elections 1675-7, Lionel Glassey the Exclusion Crisis, Philip Milton the Rye House Plot. Many of the authors, agonising over the broken and incomplete shards of evidence, reach some very bold conclusions with loads of resonance: 'if the Earl of Shaftesbury had indeed drawn the conclusion that religion was generally a vehicle for self-interest. .. rather than a path towards 'future things', then he may well have abandoned religious belief itself ' (John Spurr, p.151); 'he may have told Monmouth that the king was to be deposed, though in whose favour he did not say. .. According to Lord Howard [of Escrick, during his trial for treason] Shaftesbury thought Monmouth 'aimed at nothing more than advancing himself whilst they could not hope that ever their liberties should be well secured for the future, but under the government of a

Albion, 1999

D. Stevenson, for their invaluable assistance and encouragement throughout the last six years. Their guidance, bibliographical advice, examination of work done and useful suggestions, were of immense help. I would also like to thank Professor Smout for passing on his discovery of a reference to the Scots College Paris in the correspondence of the first John Clerk of Penicuik, and Sir John Clerk of Penicuik for his kind permission to refer to the letters in this thesis and in an article in the Innes Review, My thanks must also be expressed to the Rt Rev G. Mark Dilworth for suggesting the topic of this thesis and his inestimable archival assistance while he was Keeper of Columba House, Edinburgh. Dr Christine Johnson, the present Keeper, has given me untiring assistance for six years, and to her also I am deeply indebted. Many other archivists have been generous with their time and advice, and in particular Monsignor Charles V. Burns who introduced me to the Vatican Library, Madame Artier in the Sorbonne, Paris, Stephanie Bourke who allowed me to copy the library catalogue of the Collège des Irlandais, Paris, and to read the manuscript of Gilbert Brown, and M. Didier Framery who showed me Registers at the Mairie in Bourguinons. I am also grateful to Mr Peter Woodward and to Mr Gordon Beamish for translations of Latin and Italian documents, to Mrs Marion Baillie for help with typing, to Mr Andrew Wedderburn and Sir Alexander Sharp Bethune for information on the history of the Bethune family, and to Mother Patrice who showed me the chapel and environs of the Scots College Paris. Without the help and encouragement of all these people, and many others, both within and without the University of St Andrews, this thesis could not have been undertaken, and I am very grateful to all of them.