THE HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHICAL, LITERARY, AND SCIENTIFIC MAGAZINE, FOR FEBRUARY 1799. CONDUCTED BY ROBERT BISSET, LL. D. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF OTHER LITERARY GENTLEMEN. THIS NUMBER IS EMBELLISHED WITH A PORTRAIT OF THE RT. REV. SAMUEL HORSLEY, LL. D. AND F.R.S. LONDON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GEORGE CAWTHORN, BRITISH LIBRARY, NO. 132, STRAND; AND ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN TOWN AND COUNTRY. 1 BIOGRAPHY. FROM the extent of our History of Politics and Literature, our Biography must necessarily exhibit sketches instead of finished pictures. But should our outlines be approved, we intend to fill them up afterwards; and shall esteem.ourselves extremely obliged to any of the friends of the subjects, or to any other gentlemen acquainted with their lives, for communications. In a work, of which the greater part is devoted to history, we think we cannot commence our Biography more properly than with an eminent historian. It might be expected that as a subject for biography, Mr. Hume, as an historian, would precede any other, even without any reference to comparative merit; because he, of our British historians, published first: but as he has given a sketch of his own life, an account of him must in many respects be a repetition of what has been already written. We shall, therefore, begin with an account of DOCTOR ROBERTSON. William Robertson was born at the parsonage house of Borthwick, near Dalkeith, in 1721. His father, a respectable clergyman, and learned in that species of knowledge which occupied the chief attention of Scotch divines in the earlier part of this century, was called to be one of the ministers of the city of Edinburgh, in the Old Greyfriars church. At the High-School William received his classical education, and thence removed to the University of the same place. During his continuance at College, a circumstance happened which tended to stimulate the exertion of his powers. Young men, some originally belonging to the same seminary, others from different Colleges, having formed a connection, instituted a small society for li A Life of him, written by Mr. Dugald Stewart, is said to be ready for the press. From the genius, erudition, and profound philosophy of that gentleman, and from his masterly delineation of the intellectual and moral life and character of Dr. Adam Smith, we may expect, in his Life of Robertson, a most valuable accession to literary biography. |