Hugh Blair

Hugh Blair was born in Edinburgh into an educated Presbyterian family. His father was John Blair, an Edinburgh merchant. After spending eleven years studying at the University of Edinburgh, Hugh was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1741, and he was then ordained minister of Colessie, in the presbytery of Cupar.[1]

Through the influence of his friends, he was appointed as the second minister of the Cannongate of Edinburgh in 1743. During the time he served at the Cannongate, his reputation as a preacher was continuously growing and he then attained more important appointments, culminating with his promotion to the High Church of St. Giles in 1758, the highest ministry position that a clergyman could achieve in Scotland at that time. A collection of his sermons was published as a five volume set.[2]

As a consequence of his pulpit eloquence, Blair was appointed as Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Edinburgh in 1760, a position he maintained until his retirement in 1783. He then adapted his lecture material into an influential textbook on composition, published as Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. He also continued in his clerical work and social circles until his death in Edinburgh in 1800.[3]

Friendships

Blair was a member of a circle of friends in Edinburgh that epitomized the Scottish Enlightenment. Alexander Carlyle has left us characterizations of the some of the members, and he reflects on Blair's humility and kindness:  "Blair... though capable of the most profound conversation, when circumstances led to it, had not the least desire to shine, but was delighted beyond measure to show other people in their best guise to his friends."[4]

William Robertson, president of the University and a fellow clergyman, was the natural leader of this group. Blair's biographer remarks on their close collaborative relationship: "Neither of them ever presented a work to the public which the other had not revised. Devoid of every thing like jealousy, the reproof that was given without restraint, was received like the admonition of a friend. Their praises and their censures were alike sincere."[5]

Enlightened Religion

While Blair's dual roles in pulpit and academia may appear to be disjoint, historian Richard Sher has pointed out that he and his other moderate clergymen friends were able to avoid the animosity towards religion that characterized the enlightenment in other countries such as France.[6] Blair was a principal advocate of this "enlightened religion", and its flavor can be seen in the following excerpts from Blair's sermons:

The spirit of true religion breathes gentleness and affability. It gives a native, unaffected ease to the behavior. It is social, kind, and cheerful: far removed from that gloomy and illiberal superstition which clouds the brow, sharpens the temper, dejects the spirit, and teaches men to fit themselves for another world, by neglecting the concern of this, Let your religion, on the contrary, connect preparation for heaven, with an honourable discharge of the duties of active life...[7]

Religious knowledge has a direct tendency to improve the social intercourse of men, and to assist them in co-operating for common good. It is the great instrument of civilizing the multitude, and forming them to union. It tames the fierceness of their passions, and softens the rudeness of their manners... But the happy influence which religion exerts on society, extends much farther than efforts of this kind. It is not only subsidiary to the improvement, but necessary to the preservation of society. It is the very basis on which it rests.[8]

[1] John Hill, An Account of the Life and Writings of Hugh Blair (Philadelphia: James Humphreys, 1808), 18-19

[2] Ibid., 20-21.

[3] Ibid., 25, 226.

[4] Alexander Carlyle, Autobiography of the Rev. Dr Carlyle, Second Edition (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1860), 292.

[5] John Hill, An Account of the Life and Writings of Hugh Blair, 181.

[6] Richard B. Sher, Church and University in the Scottish Enlightenment (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985), 64.

[7] Hugh Blair, Sermons, Volume I (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1818), 179.

[8] Hugh Blair, Sermons Volume II, 417-421.