
The Great Infidel
A Life of David Hume
Roderick Graham(Author)
Birlinn Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 12. July 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-84158-520-8 (ISBN)
Description
Library shelves groan under the weight of academic critiques of David Hume's philosophy and in-depth studies of his political economy. This book, however, is not one of those scholastic times. Rather, this is the story of the life of the famous philosopher, one of Scotland's greatest men. Through Hume's life, we are shown the Enlightenment from its roots, through its sometimes difficult growth to its flowering in eighteenth-century Edinburgh. Using original sources, some for the first time, we witness Hume's disappointment with the reception of his Treatise of Human Nature - 'it fell dead-born from the press' - although it is now seen as a pivotal work in European thinking, and follow his adventures during a farcical invasion of France. His Essays and History at last brought him the fame he had sought, but also caused the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland to attempt to excommunicate him. The accusation that Hume was an atheist is disproved while, more light-heartedly, his time as a diplomat shows him at the heart of the gossip of pre-Revolutionary Paris, where he was 'Le Bon David'.
Back in Edinburgh, James Boswell nicknamed him 'The Great Infidel' yet, like everyone else, sought invitations to Hume's well-stocked table and wine cellar. Hume never married, although he was always a favourite with the ladies for whist and conversation, and he was involved in a preposterous courtship in Turin. He also had a lengthy intellectual involvement with a married aristocrat who was already another man's mistress.
Back in Edinburgh, James Boswell nicknamed him 'The Great Infidel' yet, like everyone else, sought invitations to Hume's well-stocked table and wine cellar. Hume never married, although he was always a favourite with the ladies for whist and conversation, and he was involved in a preposterous courtship in Turin. He also had a lengthy intellectual involvement with a married aristocrat who was already another man's mistress.
Reviews / Votes
'a tremendous, sometimes mischievous piece of work' - The Herald 'fine and sensitive, rather than dry and academic, it is a fitting tribute to one of Scotland's greatest men' - The Daily MailMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Birlinn General
Illustrations
Illustrations, ports.
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Weight
448 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84158-520-8 (9781841585208)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Roderick Graham, educated in Edinburgh, has had a distinguished career in broadcasting as a writer, TV director and producer. He has won two Emmy awards and a Celtic Film Festival prize. He is the author of John Knox: Democrat, and of numerous radio plays and biographies.