For Hume's time and the lack of what we have in medical treatment, he faced his death with serenity an dignity. All this with considerable discomfort. He met friends, enjoyed his reading and affable conversations. Death was a part of life as would be true for his friends and even enemies whom he never considered as enemies. Little was said about any religious faith.
And so a giant of the enlightenment passed at the onset of great change in the western world. With Kant, he brought forth some of human's greatest thinking. Reason has its limits without human experience. Truths are constantly created separate from the bonds of superstition and ignorance. These earth shaking thoughts came from a man of character that Adam Smith described "as approaching as nearly to the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man, as perhaps the nature of human frailty will permit." Could there be any higher praise?
Thanks for sharing this correspondence. Like so much in our past, these gems force us to think about what is valuable in life.
Fascinating essay! It brings back memories of my Classical Greek class at UT Austin (1960-61 academic year). We read Lucian's _Charon_. The prof was (soon to be) Dr. Wiseman, then a TA at UT. He later taught at Boston University and made a name for himself in classical archaology. I don't know if he's still alive or had his appt with Charon. as we all will.
For Hume's time and the lack of what we have in medical treatment, he faced his death with serenity an dignity. All this with considerable discomfort. He met friends, enjoyed his reading and affable conversations. Death was a part of life as would be true for his friends and even enemies whom he never considered as enemies. Little was said about any religious faith.
And so a giant of the enlightenment passed at the onset of great change in the western world. With Kant, he brought forth some of human's greatest thinking. Reason has its limits without human experience. Truths are constantly created separate from the bonds of superstition and ignorance. These earth shaking thoughts came from a man of character that Adam Smith described "as approaching as nearly to the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man, as perhaps the nature of human frailty will permit." Could there be any higher praise?
Thanks for sharing this correspondence. Like so much in our past, these gems force us to think about what is valuable in life.
It’s nice to see wealth of nations finally surpassed by finer moral sentiments.
Ahh....the long lost art of letter writing. Enjoyed this letter. Hume was certainly much loved and admired. Thanks for sharing.
Fascinating essay! It brings back memories of my Classical Greek class at UT Austin (1960-61 academic year). We read Lucian's _Charon_. The prof was (soon to be) Dr. Wiseman, then a TA at UT. He later taught at Boston University and made a name for himself in classical archaology. I don't know if he's still alive or had his appt with Charon. as we all will.
It seems as though James R. Wiseman is still alive, Charles
https://www.bu.edu/archaeology/profile/wiseman/
https://www.bu.edu/haa/profile/james-r-wiseman/