EARLY BIOGRAPHIES OF DAVID HUME
                                  
                                  
                            "David Hume"
                                  
                                from
                                  
<An Historical and Critical Account of the Living Authors of Great-
                              Britain>
                                  
                           William Rider
                                  
                                1762
                                  
                                  
                               5/1/95
                                  
                                  
Copyright 1995, James Fieser (jfieser@utm.edu). See end note for
details on copyright and editing conventions. This is a working
draft; please report errors.[1]

Editor's note: William Rider (1723-1785) was a chaplain, lecturer,
and author of <A New Universal Dictionary>, <A New History of
England>, and <The Christian Family's Bible>. Rider's brief
<Historical and Critical Account>, only 34 pages, is distinguished
as one of the first compilations of biographies of living British
authors. The pamphlet was published by Rider himself, anonymously,
with the closing initials "W.R." hinting at its authorship; its full
title is <An Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and
Writings of the Living Authors of Great-Britain. Wherein their
respective Merits are discussed with the utmost Candour and
Impartiality>. The complete list of authors covered, famous and
obscure, are Young, Johnson, Lockman, Smollet, Hume, Goldsmith,
Hawkensworth, Coleman, Bickerstaff, Cleland, Thornton, Foote,
Sheridan, Havard, Garrick, Murphy, Sterne, Churchill, Lloyd,
Derrick, Glover, Akenside, Armstrong, Whitehead, Franklin, Mason,
Newton, Chandler, Barron, Borke, Earl of Cork, Littleton, Dodsley,
Newbury, Lenix, Pilkington, Rolt, Rider, Millar, Nugent, Floyd,
Hiffernan, Hill, Grey, Bower, Warburton, Hurd, Spence, Barrow, and
Lardner. Rider's sketch of himself is as follows:
                                  
     THE Rev. Mr. <William Rider> is Assistant Master to St.
     <Paul'>s-School. He wrote an <English> Dictionary, dedicated to
     Mr. <W. Pitt>, which would, doubtless, have been much better
     received by the Public, if the great Mr. <Johnson> had not been
     beforehand with him in that Task. His <History of England> has
     been very well received by the Public, and is indeed wrote with
     a great Accuracy and Erudition. Mr. <Rider>, as he understands
     the <Saxon, Teutonic, Welsh, &c.> has given in his History many
     Particulars which have escaped Authors unacquainted with those
     Languages.
                                  
The <Critical Review> comments on this work that "This is such a
contemptible catchpenny, that the publisher has been ashamed to set
his name to the production." They also attack Rider for being
unqualified, leaving out key writers, and for factual errors (1762,
Vol. 13, pp. 441-442). A largely negative review also appeared in
the <Monthly Review> (1762, Vol. 26, pp. 391-392). Negative comments
aside, Rider's sketch of Hume is important for being the first known
printed biography of Hume. The following is from the 1762 and only
edition of Rider's pamphlet.

                              * * * *

                              Mr. HUME

{12}
IT must be acknowledged, for the Honour of <Scotland>, that it has
in the present Age produced more Men eminent for having cultivated
Literature {13} with Success, than either <Great-Britain> or
<Ireland>. <David Hume>, Esq. who reflects so high an Honour upon
that Country of which he is a Native, was formerly Secretary to Lord
<Albemarle>, when Ambassador at the Court of <France>. As an Author,
he must be allowed to possess a considerable Share of Merit. His
<Essays> are equally elegant and profound; but they have been
greatly censured on Account of the Vein of Scepticism, which runs
through them. Those, however, who consider them as Works of Genius,
cannot deny them Praise, tho' they are certainly rather superficial
in some Places. In History this Author comes the nearest to Dr.
<Smollet>; in one Respect he even deserves to be preferred to him;
his Observations are much more sagacious and profound; but his
Manner is not equally picturesque nor his Style equally pleasing.
     [1][COPYRIGHT: (c) 1995, James Fieser (jfieser@utm.edu), all
rights reserved. Unaltered copies of this computer text file may be
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supersedes all previous notices on earlier versions of this text
file. When quoting from this text, please use the following
citation: <Early Biographies of David Hume>, ed. James Fieser
(Internet Release, 1995).
     EDITORIAL CONVENTIONS: letters between slashes (e.g., H/UME\)
designate small capitalization. Letters within angled brackets
(e.g., <Hume>) designate italics. Note references are contained
within square brackets (e.g., [1]). Original pagination is contained
within curly brackets (e.g., {1}). Spelling and punctuation have not
been modernized. Printer's errors have been corrected without note.
Bracketed comments within the end notes are the editor's. This is a
working draft. Please report errors to James Fieser
(jfieser@utm.edu).]