Boswell wrote his account of his last meeting with David Hume (Longman p. 2954 - 2957) not for publication, but for himself--and possibly for posterity. He included it in his journal and added some changes and a postscript upon rereading it later, but showed it to few people (if anyone).
Reading and interpreting a private document like this one involves different questions than reading a text (like his account of his conversations with Johnson or Johnson's Vanity of Human Wishes) that was deliberately written for circulation to a wide audience.
What strikes you as worthy of comment, unusual, or significant in this account? What kinds of matters does Boswell seem to focus on, and what seems particularly important to him? What does this text tell you about Boswell's faith?
Respond with your interpretive reflections on this reading, supported and illustrated by a relevant quotation from it.
Deadline: Friday (10/2), start of class.
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Boswell's faith is as strong as his curiosity; he talks at length about a future state past death but is intrigued that Hume can continue to deny when death is so close. Actually, Hume's response is very clear and nonchalant, which may speak to the fact that this account was written for Boswell's own leisure. He also mentions that he thinks the subject may be unfit for public discourse, another reason this wasn't intended for publication. "In this style of good humor and levity did I conduct the conversation. Perhaps it was wrong on so awful a subject. But as nobody was present, I thought it could have no bad effect (2955)." Boswell may maintain his faith during the conversation, but he mentions feeling extremely defensive, like a man in sudden danger (2955). This is his response to a main point introduced by Hume--Hume is not bothered by nonexistence after death because he wasn't bothered by nonexistence before birth. His disposition also intrigues Boswell; who mentions "Mr. Hume's pleasantry was such that there was no solemnity in the scene...surprised me to find him talking...with a tranquility of mind and clearness of head which few posses at any time (2956)." The brief and boisterous comments by Hume, coupled with such a close and impending death really seem to make Boswell rethink his devotion to faith. Although he continues to say he believes, his curiosity and depiction of the conversation suggest he may be a bit shaken from it.
What I take note is how Boswell began his journal entry. I find it fascinating that he went back and edited some pieces of his entry and all the while began his note with him missing church. In beginning the passage with a missed attendance at church on his way to see the agnostic Hume is ironic. His religion is challenged and is influenced by a man who has garnered fame in his ability to attain astute observations and produce accurate accounts of the human condition.
“I was like a man in sudden danger eagerly seeking his defensive arms…But I maintained my faith. (Longman 2955)” That feeling of defensiveness around the inquisitor Hume challenged Boswell’s faith and instilled a feeling much like a cornered mouse. However, his conviction rebounded and showed how potent a momentary lapse and rise in faith can be as impactful as the early church service in reaffirming his belief.
Toward the end of Boswell's account he says, "I remember I once hinted something as if I believed in the being of a God, and he would not speak to me for a week" (page 2957). I just found this interesting as religion became such a controversial issue against science. And we have already read Hume knowing his background. But for someone else to feel that negative vibe and include it in the piece made it seem more real like he wasn't trying to say oh everything went great. Religion and God is something that is obviously difficult to prove and you can't convince an entire population to accept one viewpoint which is a source of tension at this time.
I also liked Tom's comment about the editing of the piece...would this have been something that he may have tweaked?
What strikes me as peculiar is the fact that Hume denied relentlessly the belief of a "future state", but in the end Boswell ends this piece by saying that he believes that Hume actually did believe in a "future state". "...he perhaps was not without some hope of a future state, and that his spirits were supported by a consciousness (or at least a notion) that his conduct had been virtuous" (p. 2956).
Whay seems particularly important to Boswell is the idea that Hume could possibly not believe in a life after death, even though he was on his death bed, staring death in the face. This text tells us that Boswell is a man who believes in the "future state". He was confronted many times by Hume about how there could possibly be an after life, but Boswell says, "But I maintained my faith" (p. 2955).
"This was just an extravagant reverse of the common remark as to infidels" (2955) - referring to Hume's notion that the "morality of every religion was bad" (2954), and though religious people are generally "rascals" (2954) there are some exceptions (where religious men are good people). This inversion of traditional values was critical in changing the way people looked at the association between religion and morality - that one could exist without the other.
Hume is also admirable for his conviction in these ideas even in the face of death (when we would probably be most likely to turn to God): "I had a strong curiosity to be satisfied if he persisted in disbelieving a future state even when he had death before his eyes" (2955). It's a testament to Hume's devotion to truth, instead of a selfish/cowardly last-second abandonment of his ideas for the sake of a more comforting death.
Boswell seems unusually preoccupied with the act of death and the the possibility of the afterlife. A sense of dread is revealed when examining his language. Death is a "dismal" thing, also frequently referred to as "annihilation." Boswell comes to Hume not only to satisfy a curiosity regarding some of the final thoughts of an atheist at death's door, but to pose his own questions about the afterlife.
Hume remains happily steadfast to his ideals, which he maintains were discovered through reason. His good-natured and humored view of death are disarming to someone such as Boswell, who is desperately curious and afraid of the prospect of a non-existence after death.
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