"I had a letter to-day from Mr. Millar,[474:3] who tells
me that he expects to see you on the first Monday of November.
"I do not go to Inverara as soon as I proposed: it will be next week before I set out. I think I am the better for jaunting; though in the main I should like better to stay at home.
"My compliments to your mother; I am glad she has heard from Josey; but I wonder what has detained him so long at Paris.
"I fancy you and Jock are very happy at present in your field sports; and your father will not be displeased to see the favourable progress of the harvest. I am, dear Davy, your affectionate uncle."[475:1]
Hume to John Home.
St. Andrew's Square, Sept. 20th, 1775.
Dear John,—Of all the vices of language, the least excusable is the want of perspicuity; for, as words were instituted by men, merely for conveying their ideas to each other, the employing of words without meaning is a palpable abuse, which departs from the very original purpose and intention of language. It is also to be observed, that any ambiguity in expression is next to the having no meaning at all; and is indeed a species of it; for while the hearer or reader is perplexed between different meanings, he can assign no determinate idea to the speaker or writer; and may, on that account, say with Ovid, "Inopem me copia fecit." For this reason, all eminent rhetoricians and grammarians, both ancient and modern, have insisted on perspicuity of language as an essential quality; without which, all ornaments of diction are vain and fruitless. Quinctilian carries the matter so far, as to condemn this expression, vidi hominem librum legentem; because, says he, legentem may construe as well with librum as hominem; though one would think that the sense were here sufficient to prevent all ambiguity. In
conformity to this way of thinking, Vaugelas, the first great grammarian of France, will not permit that any one have recourse to the sense, in order to explain the meaning of the words; because, says he, it is the business of the words to explain the meaning of the sense—not of the sense to give a determinate meaning to the words; and this practice is reversing the order of nature; like the custom of the Romans (he might have added the Greeks,) in their Saturnalia, who made the slaves the masters; for you may learn from Lucian that the Greeks practised the same frolic during the festival of Saturn, whom they called Χρονος.
Now, to apply, and to come to the use of this principle: I must observe to you, that your last letter, besides a continued want of distinctness in the form of the literal characters, has plainly transgressed the essential rule above-mentioned of grammar and rhetoric. You say that Coutts has complained to you of not hearing from me; had you said either James or Thomas, I could have understood your meaning. About two months ago, I heard that James complained of me in this respect; and I wrote to him, though then abroad, making an apology for my being one of the subscribers of a paper which gave him some offence. I was afraid he had not received mine. The letter of Thomas, I conceived to be only a circular letter, informing me of a change in the firm of the house: and having answered it a few days ago, by giving him some directions about disposing of my money, which proved that I intended to remain a customer to the shop; it happens, therefore, luckily, that I had obviated all objections to my conduct on both sides.