Note 336:1 — Chapter VIII

Minto MSS. In this collection there is a scroll of a letter written by Mr. Elliot to Hume, returning the manuscripts to which the correspondence refers. It has been published in the notes (ccc,) to Dugald Stewart's Preliminary Dissertation. It is not only a criticism of the Dialogues on Natural Religion, but an examination of Hume's general theory of impressions and ideas, worthy of the perusal of all who take interest in these inquiries. It is of considerable length, and the temptation to print it along with Hume's letter, was only overcome by the circumstance that it is to be found in a work widely circulated, and that the disposable space in this book may be more economically devoted to some letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot which are not to be found elsewhere.