BEATTIE, James, LL. D., a distinguished moralist and poet, was born on the 25th of October 1735, at Laurencekirk, then an obscure hamlet, in the county of Kincardine in Scotland; near which place his father rented a small farm. He received his early education at the common school of the parish, of which it is recorded that Ruddiman had been teacher in it about forty years before. His acquirements are said to have been interrupted at this time by want of books; a difficulty which has excited commiseration in more instances than that of Beattie, but which is so little able to control natural genius, that it seems almost an incitement to its exertions; as “all impediments in fancy’s course are motives to more fancy.” He first became acquainted with English versification through Ogilby’s translation of Virgil.

By his father’s death he had been thrown, while yet of tender age, on the care of his elder brother, David Beattie; who, observing his natural endowments, afforded him, notwithstanding his own limited means, every aid in his power towards a liberal education, and, in the year 1749, placed him at Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he soon afterwards obtained a bursary or exhibition. Here he had the advantage of pursuing his studies under Dr Thomas Blackwell, author of the Life of Homer, Dr Gerard, and other eminent men. In addition to his academical course, he began at this time to instruct himself in the Italian language; and appears to have had a strong predilection for Metastasio.

In 1753 he was appointed schoolmaster of Fordoun, a small village at the foot of the Grampian Mountains, where he likewise performed the duty of precentor, or parish clerk, usually attached to that office in Scotland. Here he indulged the propensities of the youthful poet, and frequently wandered during a whole night in the fields, “chewing the cud of sweet and bitter fancy ;” and it was from a height in this neighbourhood that his eye first caught a glimpse of the ocean. From the scenery of this secluded spot he appears to have derived, as might be expected, many of those images which he afterwards transferred into his poetical compositions; and, certainly, no exertion [7:4:476]of the inventive powers can furnish representations equal to these immediate copies from nature. Such is that picture in the small poem which he calls Retirement.
Thy shades, thy silence, now be mine,
Thy charms my only theme;
My haunt the hollow cliff, whose pine
Waves o’er the gloomy stream;
Whence the scared owl on pinions gray
Breaks from the rustling boughs,
And down the lone vale sails away
To more profound repose.

Such also, among many others in the Minstrel, are those beautiful pictures contained in the 20th and 21st stanzas of the first canto.

In this recluse place Beattie was discovered and noticed by Mr Garden, afterwards Lord Gardenstown, then sheriff of the county, and by Lord Monboddo. In 1757 he became a candidate for the situation of usher in the grammar-school of Aberdeen. He was at this time foiled in the competition; but next year, on occasion of a new vacancy, he was requested to accept the office. Lastly, he was removed, in 1760, to the professorship of Moral Philosophy and Logic in the Marischal College. Here he passed the remainder of his life, occupied in the zealous discharge of his professional' duties, and in literary pursuits. Here, too, he possessed all the advantages of a congenial society in the company of Dr George Campbell, Dr Reid, Dr Gerard, and other men of genius and learning, who then adorned the university of Aberdeen.

His first publication was a small collection, entitled Original Poems and Translations, which was printed in 1760 or 1761. Of many of the pieces contained in this little volume he was afterwards ashamed, and not only omitted them in the subsequent selections which he published, but endeavoured, as far as possible, to obliterate all traces and recollection of them. Of these lesser pieces The Hermit is best known; and though it cannot be considered as a finished composition, is full of pathos and beauty. In The Battle of the Pigmies and Cranes, translated from the Latin of Addison, he has displayed a greater command of terse and happy expression than in most of his original pieces.

Mr Beattie was married, in 1767, to Miss Mary Dun, daughter of Dr James Dun, rector of the grammar-school of Aberdeen. This connection, at first every way auspicious for his happiness, proved, in the sequel, a source of the deepest distress; for, in the course of a few years, Mrs Beattie,-whose mother had laboured under a similar malady, showed unequivocal symptoms of mental disorder, which terminated in a state of confirmed insanity.

In the year 1770 Mr Beattie published his Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth in opposition to Sophistry and Scepticism. His design was “to prove the universality and immutability of moral sentiment and his motives for the undertaking are sufficiently evident from the title which he has prefixed to the book. He appears to have been particularly encouraged to the prosecution of this task by the opinions of Dr John Gregory and Dr Blacklock. A general outline of the work, which appeared in most of the journals previously to its publication, was prepared by the latter. His original intention, as expressed by himself in one of his letters, was, “first, to have considered the permanency of truth in general and, secondly, to have applied the principles which he should have established “to the illustration of certain truths of morality and religion, to which the reasonings of Helvetius, of Mr Hume in his Essays, and of some other modern philosophers, seemed unfavourable.” Of this plan the former part only was completed. It is well known that, in the execution of it, the author did not spare the opinions of those whom he considered the enemies of religious and moral truth, and particularly treated the writings of Mr Hume without reserve or qualification. The friends of the latter took up arms in return, repre∙ senting the Essay as a piece of personal and unprovoked hostility; and, some time after, the opinions which it contained were canvassed in a more public manner, and with much severity, in an Examination by Dr Priestley. These attacks or retaliations were met by Beattie with the same firmness which he had displayed in the original publication of his sentiments; nor would he ever consent to abate either the plainness or spirit with which he had expressed them.

In proportion to the censure which this publication called forth from a certain number of persons, was its favourable reception with a different class. It was the means of gaining for its author the unsolicited good offices of George Lord Lyttelton, Dr Johnson, Hurd bishop of Worcester, Percy bishop of Dromore, and many others. From the great success of the work, a second edition of it was called for in 1771. Mr Beattie visited London in the same year, and again in 1773. On the last of these occasions he received some flattering marks of public notice and distinction. He had the honour of being admitted to a private and long interview with their majesties; received from the university of Oxford an honorary degree of doctor of laws at the same time with Sir Joshua Reynolds; and was afterwards requested by the latter to sit for his portrait. The reputation of his Essay, and still more, perhaps, the motives and general character of the author, likewise procured for him about this time a yearly pension of L.200 from the crown.

In tfie course of the same year, 1773, he published the first part of his Minstrel, ar the Progressof Genius; to which he added a second part in 1774. His object, as described by himself, was “to trace the progress of a poetical genius, born in a rude age, from the first dawning of fancy and reason, till that period at which he may be supposed capable of appearing in the world as a minstrel; that is, as an itinerant poet and musician; a character which, according to the notion of our forefathers, was not only respectable, but sacred.” It appears from his letters, that he little anticipated the favourable reception which this poem obtained from the public; a doubt which was probably founded on the want of incident and variety of character in the composition. Its merit, however, was quickly acknowledged; and by it the author’s reputation as a poet and a man of genius was raised to its height.

On occasion of a vacancy which occurred soon after in the chair of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at Edinburgh, it was proposed that Dr Beattie should become a candidate; to which step he was strongly urged by some of his friends, particularly Lord Hailes. And, about the same period, he received various offers of preferment in the English church. These plans of promotion, however, he successively declined, considering the situation which he held as best adapted to his abilities, and affording him the greatest opportunities of usefulness. His reluctance to accept a chair in the university of Edinburgh arose partly, indeed, from the remaining effect of those heats which controversial metaphysics had produced. “I am so great a lover of peace,” he says in a letter to one of his friends on this occasion, “and so willing to think well of my neighbours, that I do not wish to be connected with one person who dislikes me.”

Between the years 1780 and 1793 he published his Elements of Moral Science, and various other works, moral and critical, which are well known, and deservedly popular. He enjoyed the acquaintance and friendship of many distinguished characters, in different classes of society· Among his literary correspondents in England were Bishop [7:4:477]Porteus, Mrs Montagu, Scott the poet of Amwell, and Mr Gray. He was intrusted by the latter, in 1768, with superintending an edition of his poems, printed by Foulis.

During the latter period of his life Dr Beattie experienced a new train of domestic calamities, which, added to the unfortunate situation of Mrs Beattie, gradually undermined his health and impaired his intellectual powers. The first and severest of these trials was the loss of his eldest son, James Hay Beattie, who died in 1790; in whose society he had found one of his greatest enjoyments, and who had already been associated with him in the professorship of Moral Philosophy, at the early age of 19.^[1. An interesting account of his life and character, by Dr Beattie, with a small collection of his compositions in prose and verse, was published in the year 1800. ] Some years after, his only remaining son, Montagu Beattie, likewise died, after a short illness. This event he intimated to one of his friends, by a letter written on the same day, in the terms of calm and unaffected resignation. But his mind had been violently shaken, even before this blow; and, when he looked on the dead body of his son for the last time, he gave way to the scene, and exclaimed, “Now I have done with this world.” Its first effect was the loss of memory respecting his deceased son. Yet it was found that, by the mention of what the latter had suffered during his sickness, his recollection could usually be recalled. He continued to discharge his duty as professor; but, notwithstanding some returns of a more vigorous intellect and fancy, he did not from this time resume his studies, and seldom answered the letters which he received. He was attacked with palsy in 1799, and afterwards sustained repeated shocks, the last in 1802. He lingered till the 18th of August 1803, when he expired at the age of 68. A particular account of his life and writings, by Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, who had long been his friend and confidant, was published in 1806, in which are to be found some interesting selections from his private correspondence.

The character of Dr Beattie is delineated in his writings, of which the most prominent features are purity of sentiment, and warm attachment to the principles of religion and morality. His dispositions were gentle and modest, and he possessed great tenderness of heart. He was laborious in his literary pursuits, yet fond at all times of conversation and society. Towards the latter period of his life he was subject to an irritability of nerves, by which his temper was sensibly affected; and though, to appearance, his bodily frame was robust, he had impaired his strength by excess in study. He possessed considerable talents both for music and drawing.

His abilities as a writer may be said to have already undergone that ultimate test which is to be found in public opinion; and it has ranked him high as a moralist, a critic, and a poet. His Essay on Truth became a very popular book, particularly in England, and has gone through many editions. It must be confessed that this work is not, without considerable faults as a philosophical composition. Its leading doctrine has been thus stated by himself: “As we know nothing of the eternal relations of things, that to us is and must be truth, which we feel that we must believe; and that to us is falsehood, which we feel that we must disbelieve. I have shown that all genuine reasoning does ultimately terminate in certain principles, which it is impossible to disbelieve, and as impossible to prove; that, therefore, the ultimate standard of truth to us is common sense, or that instinctive conviction into which all true reasoning does resolve itself.” It is now generally admitted that, in the illustration of this doctrine, which is conformable in substance to that of Reid, Dr Beattie has fallen into some errors, or at least ambiguities, which the former has been enabled in a greater degree to avoid. What constitutes the chief defect of the Essay is a want of that strictness and precision which a discussion of the metaphysical parts of the subject necessarily requires. He has used the term common sense with more latitude, and in a greater variety of significations, than is consistent with exact or conclusive reasoning; and he has stated some propositions too generally, and without the limitations which they seem to require. Notwithstanding this imperfection of the work, when considered strictly as a logical treatise, it is certain that many of the fundamental doctrines delivered in it carry with them an irresistible weight, which subsequent inquiry and discussion have tended, not to diminish, but increase. It may justly be considered as an example, in probable reasoning, of that indirect but conclusive mode of proof which, in mathematical science, is usually termed reductio ad absurdum; a form which has been frequently and successfully employed by Dr Reid for similar purposes. A reference to the sources of knowledge possessed by mankind in general, and to their common or universal sentiments, is an appeal regarding certain acknowledged facts, as an ingredient and ground-work of science. Nor is it to be supposed that, in these cases, philosophy surrenders her judgment to the popular opinion; but∙only, that the conclusions of the soundest and the most improved reason are conformable to the dictates of our faculties, as they are exercised by the majority of mankind. The materials of knowledge possessed by the philosopher and the vulgar are the same; it is in the extent of the inferences which are drawn from them, in their combination, and in the uses to which they are applied, that the disproportion is to be found. In their reasoning on mixed subjects, and in the power of remote calculation, men differ infinitely; in their immediate judgments they differ very little.

It is undeniable, also, with respect to the' style of this work, that Dr Beattie has fallen into an error, by using, oń various occasions, a greater keenness of expression than is at all suited to the argumentative parts of his subject. An author may, indeed, be moved by a commendable feeling of indignation to commence the task of writing, whatever be the subject of discussion. But he who attempts to conduct a train of reasoning while under the immediate influence even of a just passion, engages in too difficult a matter, and foregoes many advantages. The truth is, that the metaphysical speculations of Berkeley and Hume had proceeded so far in contradicting the ordinary apprehensions and feelings of mankind, as to prove, in the clearest manner, even to men of science, the impossibility of obtaining certain knowledge, by any exercise of the human intellect, altogether abstracted from the information of matter and the employment of our other faculties; and those consequences with regard to morality, religion, and the social state, which appeared to flow as a necessary result from the speculative principles, particularly of Mr Hume, roused in a large class, both of the learned and unlearned, a sense of repugnance and opposition proportionally strong. Dr Beattie was among the first who endeavoured to resist the current of these opinions. His book was polemical; and that warmth of language, which he has not studied to repress, must be ascribed to these circumstances, if it cannot be defended by them.

But the objections in question are not applicable to any of his other works. It is impossible here to enter into a further detail of these various publications. His Elements of Moral Science, and his different critical and philological treatises, are compositions of a very pleasing character[7:4:478]; and it was chiefly by them that his reputation was established in other countries. Some of his books were early translated into the Dutch and other languages. A French translation of his Essays on Poetry and Music was printed at Paris in 1798. But it is chiefly as the author of the Minstrel that Beattie is known, and will continue to be admired. This poem, or rather poetical fragment, for the design was not completed, stands fully confirmed in the public favour; and it is sufficient to say, that, in beauty both of sentiment and imagery, it stands in the first class of poetical compositions. It would be difficult perhaps to select, from the body of English verse, any single passage which excels this stanza in the first part :—
O, how can’st thou renounce the boundless store
Of charms which Nature to her votary yields!
The warbling woodland, the resounding shore,
The pomp of groves, and garniture^[2. It. is remarkable that, this word should have been objected to by Gray, in his Critique, communicated to the author previously to the publication of the Minstrel. His reluctance to admit a term which could only be rendered objectionable by being ranked with none but those of the highest and purest class in poetry, would of itself be a sufficient tribute to the diction of this beautiful passage. But Gray does ample justice to the whole stanza: “This,” lie exclaims, “is true poetry; this is inspiration.” ] of fields;
All that the genial ray of morning gilds,
And all that echoes to the song of even,
All that the mountain’s sheltering bosom shields,
And all the dread magnificence of heaven;
O, how can’st thou renounce, and hope to be forgiven!

It has been objected to the second part of the Minstrel that it contains too much philosophy. But, though the instruction conveyed in it be frequently addressed to the understanding, it is never abstruse, and the lessons are those of a poet not less than of a moralist. Like the Castle of Indolence, it is in scope and design a didactic piece. Both commence in the highest strain of descriptive and pathetic poetry; and the subsequent depression of tone in both is a necessary result of this lofty preparation. But the criticism is more just when applied to the work of Thomson than to the Minstrel.

Dr Beattie’s style is classical, and always perspicuous. He was never weary of retouching what he wrote; the chief secret of good composition, without which, at least, no composition can be rendered complete. He deserves, above all, that which is the greatest praise of an author, that no one can read his works with a candid mind, and rise from the perusal unimproved.

The following is a list of Dr Beattie’s writings: Poems, first published in 1760; Essay on Truth, 1771; Minstrel, 1771, 1774; Essays, viz. On Poetry and Music—On Laughter and Ludicrous Composition—On Classical Learning, 1776; Dissertations, viz. On Memory and Imagination—On Dreaming—On the Theory of Language—On Fable and Romance—On the Attachments of Kindred— and Illustrations of Sublimity, 1783; Evidences of Christianity, 1786; and Elements of Moral Science, 1790, 1793. He likewise published, in 1790, an edition of Mr Addison’s papers in the Tatler, Spectator, Guardian, and Freeholder, and of his Treatise on the Christian Religion, with his Life of Tichell, and some original Notes, Edinburgh, 4 vols. 8vo. (o. o.)