The Life of William Robertson: Minister, Historian, and Principal

Jeffrey R. Smitten

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2016

The Life of William Robertson

Minister, Historian, and Principal

Jeffrey R. Smitten

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780748646111

Overview
Contents

About this book

The first modern biography of William Robertson, a key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment

A prominent figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, William Robertson differed from his contemporaries, such as Voltaire, Hume and Gibbon, because he used the critical tools of the Enlightenment to strengthen religion, not to attack it. As an historian, he helped shape 18th-century historiography. As a minister of the Church of Scotland, he sought to make the church fit for a polite age. And, as principal of the University of Edinburgh, he presided over a flourishing of intellectual inquiry in the midst of the Enlightenment. But despite his European fame, he was a controversial figure.

Drawing extensively on his unpublished correspondence, Jeffrey Smitten captures both the man and his work in his own words. By foregrounding Robertson’s religious outlook, Smitten gives us a more contextualised and nuanced interpretation of Robertson's motives, intentions and beliefs than we have had before.

Key Features:

Includes new biographical information drawn from archival sources and from all Robertson's largely unpublished correspondence
Discusses Robertson's works, published and unpublished
Assesses Robertson's achievement based on fresh consideration of all facets of his career as minister, historian and principal

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	vi
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1 Early Years, 1721–1735 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 Education of a Minister, 1734–1744 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
3 Parish Ministry, 1744–1750 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
4 Ministry and History, 1750–1759 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
5 “Innumerable Occupations,” 1760–1769 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
6 Achievement and Decline, 1770–1780 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
7 Last Years, 1781–1793 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Selected Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	246
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	260

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 280
Keywords: Philosophy

eBook

Published: November 20, 2016
ISBN: 9780748646111