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James Beattie
| Biography |
James Beattie (1735-1803) was a Scottish (Scottish: The dialect of English used in Scotland) academic and writer.
He was born the son of a shopkeeper and small farmer at Laurencekirk in Kincardineshire (Kincardineshire: kincardineshire, also known as the mearns (from a mhaoirne meaning the stewartry)...
[follow hyperlink for more...]) , and educated at Aberdeen (Aberdeen: A town in western Washington) . In 1760, he was appointed a professor of moral philosophy (moral philosophy: The philosophical study of moral values and rules) there. In the following year he published a volume of poems, The Judgment of Paris (1765), which attracted attention. The two works, however, which brought him most fame were:
1. His Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth (1770), intended as an answer to David Hume (David Hume: Scottish philosopher whose sceptical philosophy restricted human knowledge to that which can be perceived by the senses (1711-1776)) , which had great immediate success, and led to an introduction to the King, a pension of £200, and the degree of LL.D. from Oxford; and
2. his poem of The Minstrel, of which the first book was published in 1771 and the second in 1774, and which constitutes his true title to remembrance, winning him the praise of Samuel Johnson (Samuel Johnson: English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)) . It contains much beautiful descriptive writing.
The Essay on Truth and his other philosophical works are now forgotten. Beattie underwent much domestic sorrow in the death of his wife and two promising sons, which broke down his own health and spirits.
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