Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 9.djvu/422

 VI

PKEFACE.

to points of controversy, to express their own views, and adjust the estimate of every character by a reference to certain standards erected in their own minds. Such the present editor did not feel to be his duty. Considering that there can hardly be a Scottish Biographical Dictionary on each side of the great questions, and, furthermore, disposed to such a course by a sincere though humble desire to take a mild view of the opinions and proceedings of all honourable men, he studied, on the contrary; to confine himself to a simple representation of the pre- possessions of the various individuals under his notice, even to the extent, occasionally, of what may appear a tenderness, or perhaps some- thing more, for the opinions of various opposite thinkers, and the deeds of various contending partisans. Such a method of memoir- writing may expose him to some degree of censure, in an age characterized so much as the present by party heats ; but he trusts that it is the course which will be most approved of by those who may chance to consult his pages in future times, when it is to be hoped that the most of the now existing controversies will only be matter of historical curiosity.

While he experiences a natural, and, he hopes, allowable satisfaction in thus bringing to a close the greatest literary undertaking of his life, he cannot suppress a simultaneous feeling of regret at observing, throughout his volumes, the names of so many men who, at the time he commenced his undertaking, seemed little likely to go so soon through" that solemn change which was to fit them for commemoration in his pages. Some of these he had the pleasure of considering as his friends ; and the pain with which he found himself called upon to narrate their biography, was proportionally great. Even in such a matter as this, humanity may read a touching lesson of the frailty and uncertainty of all that here belongs to it.

He cannot conclude without gratefully acknowledging the kindness of many eminent and respectable individuals, in supplying him with the information which he required, and also the zeal and talent displayed by various gentlemen in assisting him in the details of the work.

Anne Street, Edinburgh, November 7, 1834.