View source for Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion''}}
===by Henry Home, Lord Kames===
__NOTOC__
{{BookPageInfoBox
|imagename=KamesEssaysOnPrinciplesOfMorality1751v1.jpg
|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017489329703196
|shorttitle=Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion
|author=[[:Category:Henry Home, Lord Kames|Henry Home, Lord Kames]]
|lang=[[:Category:English|English]]
|publoc=[[:Category:Edinburgh|Edinburgh]]
|publisher=Printed by R. Fleming, for A. Kincaid and A. Donaldson
|year=1751
|pages=3, 394
|desc=[[:Category:Octavos|8vo]] (21 cm.)
|shelf=A-4
}}[[wikipedia:Henry_Home,_Lord_Kames|Henry Homes, Lord Kames]], (1696 &ndash; 1782), a leader of the Scottish Enlightenment,<ref>Alexander Brodie, "[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scottish-18th/#MajFig Scottish Philosophy in the 18th Century]" in ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', accessed October 19, 2013, .</ref> began his career as an advocate and later became a notable judge and writer. Kames' writings, which demonstrate his philosophical approach to the law, helped shape the Scottish legal system. In 1751, his ''Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion'' caused members of the Scottish church to argue for his excommunication. Political smears and Jacobite claims did not prevent Home from ascending to the bench, however. ''[[Historical Law-Tracts]]'' was published in 1758, and "his principal work in the eyes of Scottish legal historians", ''[[Principles of Equity]]'', in 1760.<ref>Alastair J. Durie and Stuart Handley, "[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/13643 Home, Henry, Lord Kames (1696–1782)]" in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed October 9, 2013.</ref> Lord Kames was appointed commissioner of justiciary in 1763. His judicial and writing careers continued until 1782, the year of his death.<ref>Ibid.</ref>

Published in 1751, ''Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion'' is considered as one of his most widely-regarded works. The first part is largely concerned with “the principles and foundations of morality and justice, attacking Hume's moral skepticism and addressing the controversial issue of the freedom of human will.”<ref>[http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9781614878209 ''Essays on Principles of Morality and Natural Religion''], Project MUSE, accessed September 30, 2013.</ref> In the second part, Kames supports a natural theology; he focuses on epistemology and metaphysics to offer a view of humans as possessing a morality and senses benevolently bestowed rather than having been born out of self-interest.

==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
Brown's Bibliography<ref>Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433.</ref> includes the first edition (1751) of Kames' ''Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion'' based on notes in [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] commonplace book. [[Dean Bibliography|Dean's Memo]]<ref>[[Dean Bibliography|Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean]], Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 18 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary).</ref> also lists the first edition in the last section of her bibliography with the caveat, "[a]lthough there is no proof that Wythe owned any of them, they are at least representative of his time."<ref>Ibid, 16-17. Dean bases this part of her bibliography on titles mentioned in Alan McKinley Smith's dissertation, "Virginia Lawyers, 1680-1776: The Birth of an American Profession" (PhD diss., The Johns Hopkins University, 1967).</ref> The Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the first edition.

==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
Newly rebacked in calf preserving original calf boards with new morocco label on spine and five raised bands. Purchased from Loome Theological Booksellers. 

Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/albums/72157637698375074 available on Flickr.] View the record for this book in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017489329703196 William & Mary's online catalog.]

===Full text===
*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/KamesEssaysOnThePrinciplesOfMoralityAndNaturalReligion1751.pdf ''Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion''] (10MB PDF)

==See also==
*[[George Wythe Room]]
*''[[Historical Law-Tracts]]''
*''[[Principles of Equity]]''
*[[Wythe's Library]]

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
Read this book in [http://books.google.com/books?id=uF_XAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover Google Books.]

[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
[[Category:Henry Home, Lord Kames]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]

[[Category:Edinburgh]]
[[Category:English]]
[[Category:Octavos]]