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 CAMPBELL,
DR GEORGE, an eminent theological writer, was born on Christmas day,
1719. His father was the Rev. Colin Campbell, one of the ministers of
Aberdeen; a man whose simplicity and integrity of character were well
known throughout the country, and the cause of his being held in general
esteem. While the theological sentiments of this respectable person were
perfectly orthodox, his style of preaching was very peculiar: it no
doubt partook of the fashion of the times, but he seems to have also had
a singular taste of his own. Dr Campbell frequently spoke of his father;
and though his connection with so excellent a man afforded him great
pleasure, he sometimes amused himself and his friends by repeating
anecdotes respecting the oddity of his conceits in preaching. He
delighted much in making the heads and particulars of his discourses
begin with the same letter of the alphabet. Some very curious examples
were in the possession of his son, which he related with great good
humour, and which no one enjoyed more than himself. He had followed the
fortunes, and adhered to the principles of the Argyle family. He was
therefore a decided whig, and was very active in promoting, in 1715,
among his parishioners, the cause of the Hanoverian succession, and in
opposing the powerful interest of the numerous tory families in
Aberdeen. This worthy man died suddenly, on the 27th of August, 1728,
leaving a widow, with three sons and three daughters. The subject of
this memoir was the youngest of the sons.
The grammar school of
Aberdeen has long maintained a high rank among the Scottish seminaries;
and it now enjoyed more than its usual reputation from the connection of
Mr Alexander Malcolm, the author of by far the most extensive and
philosophical system of arithmetic in the English language, besides an
excellent treatise on Music. Such a man produces a strong sensation,
wherever the sphere of his exertions happens to be, but in a provincial
town like Aberdeen, where almost all the youth are his pupils, the
impression he makes is naturally much greater. George Campbell, though
said to have been a lively and idle, rather than a studious boy, made a
respectable appearance in this school. He was afterwards enrolled a
member of Marischal college, and went through the Common course. A
senior brother, whose name was Colin, had been devoted to the church,
and George therefore proposed to study law. He was bound apprentice to
Mr Stronach, W. S., Edinburgh, and regularly served the stipulated time.
But he does not seem to have entered upon this line of life with any
ardour. Before he had finished his apprenticeship, his resolutions were
fixed for another profession, and, in 1741, he attended the prelections
of professor Goldie, who then held the theological chair in the
Edinburgh university. The celebrated Dr Blair began, about this time, as
minister of the Canongate, to attract public attention by his
discourses; and Campbell became a devoted admirer of the style of that
great divine, with whom he, at the same time, formed an intimate
personal friendship.
At the conclusion of his
apprenticeship, Mr Campbell returned to Aberdeen, and concluded his
education as a clergyman in the divinity halls of that university. His
superior intellect was now marked among his fellows, and he became the
leader of a disputing society which was instituted by them in 1742,
under the name of the Theological Club. Being licensed in 1746,
he soon attracted attention by his discourses; yet in 1747, he was an
unsuccessful candidate for the church of Fordoun, in the Mearns. When
his reputation had acquired more consistency, he was presented to the
church of Banchory Ternan, a few miles from Aberdeen, under
circumstances of a somewhat extraordinary nature. Neither the patron nor
those who recommended Campbell, were aware of his Christian name. It
therefore happened that Colin, his elder brother, a man of great worth,
but comparatively slender abilities, was applied to, and invited to
preach at Banchory, as a prelude to his obtaining the living. Colin’s
public exhibitions did not equal the expectations which had been formed;
and, in the course of conversation, the sagacity of the patron, Sir
Alexander Burnett, discovered that it was his brother whose
recommendations had been so ample. George Campbell was afterwards
invited, and the satisfaction which he gave insured success, for he was
ordained minister of that parish, June 2, 1746. He was not long in this
situation when he married a young lady of the name of Farquharson.
Though Mr Campbell did
not, at this early period of his life, give token of that power of
intense application which he manifested in his later years, it is
supposed that he formed, in the solitude of Banchory, the original ideas
of all his great works. He here composed the most important parts of his
Philosophy of Rhetoric. This admirable and truly classical work, in
which the laws of elegant composition and just criticism are laid down
with singular taste and perspicuity, originally formed a series of
detached essays, and contains, with a few exceptions, the outlines of
all the works he ever published. At this time also he began his great
work, the Translation of the Gospels; [When Mr Alexander Fraser Tytler
(afterwards Lord Woodhouselee) published his "Essay on the
Principles of Translation," a correspondence ensued betwixt him and
Dr Campbell, in consequence of the latter asserting that many of the
ideas contained in the Essay had been appropriated without
acknowledgment from his "Translation of the Gospels,"
published a short time previously. It was, however, satisfactorily
established by Mr Tytler, that the supposed plagiarism was in reality
the result of coincidence of opinion. Of this the doctor became
thoroughly satisfied, and a warm friendship grew up between the
parties.] though it is probable that he did not make much progress until
his professional duties directed his attention more forcibly to the same
subject. His character as a country clergyman was established in a very
short time. The amiable simplicity of his manners, the integrity and
propriety of his behaviour, conjoined with his extensive knowledge, and
the general esteem in which he was held by literary men, very soon
brought him into notice. He was consequently induced to relinquish his
charge in the country, and comply with the invitation of the magistrates
of Aberdeen, and take charge of one of the quarters of that city.
Here he derived great advantage from the society of literary men, and
the opportunity of consulting public libraries. Mr Campbell joined the
Literary Society of Aberdeen, which had been formed in the year 1758,
and which comprehended many men afterwards eminent in literature and
philosophy. The subjects discussed in this association were not confined
to those coming strictly within the category of the belles lettres; all
the different branches of philosophy were included in its comprehensive
range. Campbell took a very active part in the business of the society,
and delivered in it the greater part of his "Philosophy of
Rhetoric."
Principal Pollock of
Marischal College died in 1759, and it was supposed at the time that the
chance of succeeding him was confined to two gentlemen possessed of all
the local influence which in such cases generally insures success. Mr
Campbell, who was ambitious of obtaining the situation, resolved to lay
his pretensions before the duke of Argyle, who, for many years, had
dispensed the government patronage of Scotland. It happened that one of
Mr Campbell’s ancestors, his grandfather or great-grandfather, had
held the basket into which the marquis of Argyle’s head fell when he
was beheaded. Mr Campbell hinted at this in the letter he addressed to
his grace; and the result was his appointment to the vacant place. This
anecdote, we need scarcely remind the reader, has been lately used in
fictitious history.
Shortly after this Mr
Campbell received the degree of doctor of divinity from King’s
College, Aberdeen; and, in 1763, he published his celebrated
"Treatise on Miracles," in answer to what was advanced on that
subject by David Hume; a work which has been justly characterised as one
of the most acute and convincing treatises that has ever appeared upon
the subject.
A condensed view of the
respective arguments of these two philosophers, on one of the most
interesting points connected with revealed religion, is thus given by
the ingenious William Smellie, in the first edition of the Encyclopedia
Britannica, under the article ABRIDEMENT:—
Mr Hume argues,
"That experience, which, in some things is variable, in others
uniform, is our only guide in reasoning concerning matters of
fact. A variable experience gives rise to probability only; a uniform
experience amounts to a proof: Our belief of any fact from the testimony
of eye-witnesses is derived from no other principle than our experience
in the veracity of human testimony. If the fact attested be miraculous,
here arises a contest of two opposite experiences, or proof against
proof. Now, a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a
firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof
against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as complete as
any argument from experience can possibly be imagined; and, if so, it is
an undeniable consequence, that it cannot be surmounted by any proof
whatever derived from human testimony.
Dr Campbell, in his
answer, aims at showing the fallacy of Mr Hume’s argument by another
single position. He argues, "That the evidence arising from human
testimony is not solely derived from experience; on the contrary,
testimony hath a natural influence on belief, antecedent to experience.
The early and unlimited assent given to testimony by children gradually
contracts as they advance in life: it is, therefore, more consonant to
truth, to say, that our djffidence in testimony is the result of
experience, than that our faith in it has this foundation. Besides, the
uniformity of experience, in favour of any fact, is not a proof against
its being reversed in a particular instance. The evidence arising from
the single testimony of a man of known veracity will go far to establish
a belief in its being actually reversed: If his testimony be confirmed
by a few others of the same character, we cannot withhold our assent to
the truth of it. Now, though the operations of nature are governed by
uniform laws, and though we have not the testimony of our senses in
favour of any violation of them, still, if, in particular instances, we
have the testimony of thousands of our fellow-creatures, and those, too,
men of strict integrity, swayed by no motives of ambition or interest,
and governed by the principles of common sense, that they were actual
eye-witnesses of these violations, the constitution of our nature
obliges us to believe them." Dr Campbell’s essay was speedily
translated into the French, Dutch, and German languages.
The activity and
application of Dr Campbell received an impulse in 1771, from his being
appointed professor of divinity in Marischal college, in place of Dr
Alexander Gerard, who had removed to the corresponding chair in King’s.
These two eminent men had been colleagues, and preached alternately in
the same church. They were now pitted against each other in a higher
walk, and there can be no doubt, that, as the same students attended
both, a considerable degree of emulation was excited betwixt them.
Gerard was perfectly sensible of the talents of his new rival. His
friends had taken the freedom of hinting to him that he had now some
reason to look to his laurels; in answer to which he remarked
carelessly, that Dr Campbell was indolent. An unfortunate
misunderstanding had existed between these two excellent men for many
years: it was now widened by the report of Gerard’s trivial remark,
which some busy person carried to Dr Campbell’s ears, probably in an
exaggerated shape. This circumstance is said, however, to have had the
beneficial effect of stimulating Dr Campbell’s exertions. The manner
in which he discharged his duties was most exemplary; and the specimens
which he has given in his preliminary Dissertations to the Translation
of the Gospels, in his Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, and on
Theology, afford abundant proofs of his high qualifications as a public
lecturer. It will be at the same time observed, from the list of his
works, immediately to be submitted, that the vacations of his
professional labours were most sedulously employed for the advantage of
the public and posterity.
Dr Campbell appears to us
to have been one of the most splendidly gifted men that appeared during
the course of the last century. His body was remarkably feeble; his
stature greatly below that of ordinary men in this country. His health
was extremely delicate, and required for the long period of three-score
years and ten the utmost care and attention. Yet his powers of
application were above those of most men, and, what is strange, were
exemplified chiefly in his later and feebler years. He was a man of the
utmost simplicity of manners and naivete of character, and
remarkably pleasant in conversation. The works which he has published
prove, in the most indisputable manner, that he was possessed of true
philosophical genius. His powers of abstraction appear to have been
greater than those of most men of ancient or modern times. The study of
languages was employed by him to the best advantage; and the accuracy of
his disquisitions throws a light upon the nature of the human mind,
while it discovers a habit of attention to the actings of his own mind,
which has certainly not been surpassed by any of those who have
cultivated the science of morals.
As a minister of
religion, he was no less eminent than in any other situation which he
ever filled. He was esteemed by his hearers as an excellent lecturer;
but his lectures were perhaps a little superior to his ordinary sermons.
As the head of his college, he appeared to the greatest advantage,
unassuming, mild, and disposed to show the greatest kindness and
tenderness to those who were his inferiors, both in regard to rank or to
literary reputation. As professor of divinity, his fame was unrivalled.
Many of his pupils have expressed in the warmest language the pleasure
they derived from his prelections. There was a peculiar unction in his
manner which charmed every one. He encouraged those whom he conceived to
be diffident, and equally discountenanced those who appeared to him to
be forward or conceited. In church courts he never aimed at shining; but
he was sometimes roused to great extemporaneous exertion in that field,
and it was remarked that his replies were generally better than his
introductory speeches. He was a zealous advocate for liberty of
conscience, and lent all his influence to his friend principal Robertson
respecting the popish bill. His preponderance in the town of Aberdeen
was never great in public questions; and indeed he never aimed at such
an object; but in private society, he was always esteemed the life of
the company, and never failed to make a strong impression. [The
following is a list of his writings: - 1. The Character of a Minister as
a Teacher and Pattern. – 2. Dissertation on Miracles. – 3. The
Spirit of the Gospel. – 4. The Philosophy of Rhetoric. – 5. The
Nature, Extent, and Importance of the Duty of Allegiance. – 6. The
Success of the First Publishers of the Gospel, a Proof of its Truth. –
7. Address to the People of Scotland, on the Alarms raised by the Bill
in Favour of the Roman Catholics. – 8. The Happy Influence of Religion
on Civil Society. – 9. Translation of the Gospels, with Preliminary
Dissertation and Explanatory Notes. – 10. Lectures on Ecclesiastical
History. – 11. Lectures on Theology.] |
