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The Scottish Enlightenment

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  • Key
    People
    • James Adams
    • James Craig
    • Alexander Geddes
    • Henry Raeburn
    • John Ainslie
    • William Creech
    • John Home
    • Allan Ramsay
    • James Beattie
    • George Drummond
    • David Hume
    • William Shaw
    • Hugh Blair
    • Gilbert Elliot
    • Samuel Johnson
    • Thomas Sheridan
    • William Brodie
    • Adam Ferguson
    • Malcolm Laing
    • John Sinclair
    • James Burnett
    • Robert Fergusson
    • Henry Mackenzie
    • Adam Smith
    • Alexander Carlyle
    • Archibald Grant
    • James Macpherson
    • James Thomson
    • James Adams (1737-1802)
    • John Ainslie (1745-1828)
    • James Beattie (1735-1803)
    • Hugh Blair (1718-1800)
    • William Brodie, known as Deacon Brodie, (1746-1788)
    • James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714-1799)
    • Alexander Carlyle (1722-1805)
    • James Craig (1739-1795)
    • William Creech (1745-1815)
    • George Drummond (1687-1766)
    • Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto (1722-1777)
    • Adam Ferguson (1723-1816)
    • Robert Fergusson (1750-1774)
    • Sir Archibald Grant (1696-1778)
    • Alexander Geddes (1737-1802)
    • John Home (1722-1808)
    • David Hume (1711-1776)
    • Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
    • Malcolm Laing (1762-1818)
    • Henry Mackenzie (1745-1831)
    • James Macpherson (1736-1796)
    • Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)
    • Allan Ramsay (1713-1784)
    • William Shaw (1749-1831)
    • Thomas Sheridan (1719-1788)
    • Sir John Sinclair (1754–1835)
    • Adam Smith (1723-1790)
    • James Thomson (1700-1748)
  • Town
    Planning
    • Source 1: A proposal for keeping the streets clean, 1734-5
    • Source 2: Proposals for improving the city of Edinburgh, 1752
    • Source 3: Proposals for improving the city of Edinburgh, 1752
    • Source 4: James Craig’s design for the New Town, 1768
    • Source 5: Map showing the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, 1780
    • Source 6: James Craig’s proposal for improving the eastern approach to the Old Town, 1786
    • Source 7: Description of Edinburgh from the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791-1799
  • Encyclopaedia
    Britannica
    • Source 1: Title page to volume 1 of the first edition.
    • Source 2: Agriculture, volume 1 A-B, page 40
    • Source 3: Agriculture Plate IV, volume 1 A-B, page 41
    • Source 4: Mechanics, volume 1 M-Z, page 38
    • Source 5: Mechanics, volume 1 M-Z, plate CV
    • Source 6: Camelus or Camel, volume 1 A-B, page 13
    • Source 7: Bactrianus or Bactrian Camel, volume 1 A-B, Plate EIX
    • Source 8: Caricature of Andrew Bell and William Smellie by John Kay
  • Scotticisms
    • Source 1 : A list of Scotticisms by David Hume, first printed 1752
    • Source 2 : Lectures on the art of speaking English, 1761
    • Source 3 : A society for promoting the reading and speaking of English, 1761
    • Source 4 : Observations on the Scottish dialect by Sir John Sinclair, 1782
    • Source 5 : Teaching correct English to the young, 1799
    • Source 6 : The richness of the Scots language, 1792
    • Source 7 : In support of the Scots language, 1799
  • Statistical
    Account
    • Source 1: Sir John Sinclair’s description of compiling the ‘Statistical Account’
    • Source 2: Sir John Sinclair’s discussion of the term ‘statistics’
    • Source 3: Part of the report for the Parish of Monymusk
    • Source 4: Part of the report for the Parish of Wick
    • Source 5: Statistical table for the Parish of Culross
    • Source 6: Report for the Parish of East Kilbride
    • Source 7: Report for the Parish of Smailholm
  • Ossian
    • Source 1: Preface to ‘Fragments of ancient poetry’, 1760
    • Source 2: Preface to ‘Fingal’, 1761
    • Source 3: Letter from David Hume, 1763
    • Source 4: Samuel Johnson’s opinion of the poems, 1775
    • Source 5: An enquiry into the authenticity of the poems, 1781
    • Source 6: ‘Poems of Ossian’ edited by Malcolm Laing, 1805
    • Source 7: Highland Society of Scotland report, 1805
  • Clubs and
    Societies
    • Source 1: List of members of the Select Society
    • Source 2: Questions debated by the Select Society
    • Source 3: The aims of the Edinburgh Society
    • Source 4: A description of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, 1754
    • Source 5: Members of the Cape Club
    • Source 6: An account of the Cape Club
    • Source 7: Extract from the Highland Society of London Minute Book, 1784
    • Women and the Enlightenment
  • Resources
    • Gallery

Key People

John Home (1722-1808)

John Home was a Church of Scotland minister and playwright born in Leith. He was a distant relative and friend of the philosopher David Hume.

Home trained for the ministry with a number of others who would later become members of the moderate party of the Church of Scotland, including Hugh Blair, Alexander Carlyle, William Robertson and Adam Ferguson. These men were also all members of the Edinburgh ‘literati’, an intellectual and literary élite associated with the Scottish Enlightenment.

‘Douglas’, a Scottish tragedy

Home’s most notable work is the tragedy ‘Douglas’, which was first performed in Edinburgh in 1756. It was based on a ballad called Gil Morrice. David Hume considered the play an outstanding example of Scottish tragedy and dedicated his ‘Four dissertations’ to Home.  However, other critics, including Samuel Johnson, did not approve of the play.

‘Douglas’ caused a huge controversy: it was written by a minister of the Church of Scotland and attended by clergy at a time when stricter Presbyterians were opposed to drama because they believed playhouses were immoral establishments.

However, the moderate party within the Church, including Hugh Blair, William Robertson and Alexander Carlyle, were supportive of the theatre.

John Home (1722-1808)
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