Customer Reviews

Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary

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The Liberty/Classics comprehensive volume is superior to the Oxford edition in every way. The former is a complete compilation, whereas the Oxford edition contain only "selected" essays.

These essays are more in the tradition of Montaigne, Marcus Arelius, and Emerson, to cite some exemplars of the tradition, meaning that these essays are not as logically rigorous as Hume's "Treatise on Human Nature," "Essays Concerning Human Understanding," "Principles of Morals," and "Natural Religion," but are more an astute and empirical observation of what causes pleasure and satisfaction versus what causes discomfort and uneasiness. This emprical motif permeates all the essays.

The "moral" essays are a continuation of Vol. III of his "Treatise on Human Nature," and "Principles of Morals," and contribute to how our "tastes" and "utility," rather than apriori logic, delimit and describe moral ideas and ideals. His "political" essays are the most prominent among the group and are often prescient of subsequent developments, clearly anticipating a more democratic society, but they often come across as antediluvian, despite Hume's analytical dexterity and his compassionate motivation. The "literary" essays are the least in number and the most impotent of his contributions. Not that they lack value or interest, they simply lack novelty or new understanding. All his essays have an empirical bent, which should not surprise anyone familiar with Hume's other works.

Many of these 48 essays have perennial value, while others are clearly cotemporaneous with his time and place (mid-18th century England). In either case, they contribute to our understanding of the period, while making perspicacious observations about subjects that are both endearing and enduring. The LibertyClassics' edition uses current locution and spellings in Caslon 540 typeface on durable, acid-free paper, making Hume's lucid and elegant prose an even more attractive presentation. Highly recommended.

The book offers an intersting collection of Hume's minor writing. A must for anyone interested in Hume's philosphy. Nicely printed on acid-free paper the book is good value for money.

Upon recieving this in the mail, I was so disappointed to see that the entire book is printed in 8 point font. My eyes just can't handle this. It's like reading a 600+ page footnote. The text literally comprises only half the total page area. It's a wonderful collection, but I'm afraid I'll be returning it.

The copy of this edition that I received was filled with misprints, including strings of random characters. The essays are not divided up as units; instead, the book is divided into what it calls sections which seem to cut up the material with no particular organizational principle. The titles of the chapters are not even included. And lastly, the footnotes are crammed amidst the text so that it is nearly impossible sometimes to distinguish that they are footnotes. Buy a different edition. (I wanted to give it no stars but Amazon requires that at least one start be given.)