Church and University in the Scottish Enlightenment: The Moderate Literati of Edinburgh (Edinburgh Classic Editions)

Since its original publication in 1985, Church and University in the Scottish Enlightenment has come to be regarded as a classic work in 18th-century Scottish history and Enlightenment studies. It depicts Hugh Blair, Alexander Carlyle, Adam Ferguson, John Home, and William Robertson as an intimate coterie that played a central role in the Scottish Enlightenment, seen here not only as an intellectual but as a cultural movement. These men were among the leaders in the University of Edinburgh, in the Moderate party in the Church of Scotland, and in Edinburgh's thriving clubs. They used their institutional influence and their books, plays, sermons, and pamphlets to promulgate the tenets of Moderatism, including polite Presbyterianism, Christian Stoicism, civic humanism, social and political conservatism, and the tolerant, cosmopolitan values of the international Enlightenment. Using a wide variety of sources and an interdisciplinary methodology, this collective biography portrays these 'Moderate Iiterati' as zealous activists for the cause in which they believed, ranging from support for a Scots militia, Ossian, and Roman Catholic relief to opposition to the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 and the American and French Revolutions A major contribution to the social history of ideas in the Scottish EnlightenmentThis book is a major contribution to the social history of ideas. It brings to life the intellectual, moral and political milieu that fostered the Scottish Enlightenment in the second half of the 18th century. It examines the changing patterns of intellectual life amongst some of the greatest thinkers of the time.This classic edition, and a 30th anniversary edition, brings a key Scottish history text back to life in a popular new series, affordable for students of 18th century Scottish history and of the European Enlightenment.Key FeaturesKey title in Scottish Enlightenment historyNew preface clarifies the book's argument, reviews its origins and updates the bibliographical essayTakes a biographical approach to the history of ideasGround-breaking historiography of the Scottish Enlightenment Richard B. Sher. Previous Edition: 1985. Contains New Preface. Thirtieth-anniversary Edinburgh Classic Edition--cover Page 4. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 329-376) And Index.