From Moral Theology to Moral Philosophy: Cicero and Visions of Humanity from Locke to Hume

288 Pages·2019·2.403 MB·English

by  Tim Stuart-Buttle

OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/5/2019,SPi
From Moral Theology to Moral Philosophy
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/5/2019,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/5/2019,SPi
From Moral Theology
to Moral Philosophy
Cicero and Visions of Humanity
from Locke to Hume
Tim Stuart-Buttle
1
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/5/2019,SPi
3
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OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/5/2019,SPi
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Conventions ix
Introduction 1
1. ThePlaceofCiceroinLocke’sMoralTheology 19
2. Shaftesbury’sScienceofHappiness 89
3. MandevilleandtheConstructionofMorality 118
4. AttheLimitsofChristianHumanism:ConyersMiddleton 149
5. FromMoralTheologytoMoralPhilosophy:Hume’s
AcademicScepticism 179
Epilogue 223
Bibliography 235
Index 269
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Acknowledgements
Thisbookbeganlifeasadoctoraldissertation,undertakenasamemberofWorcester
CollegeandtheHistoryFacultyattheUniversityofOxfordbetween2009and2013.
IamverygratefultotheCollege,Faculty,andUniversityfortheirsupport,andtothe
Arts and Humanities Research Council for financial assistance. I owe a particular
debt of gratitude to my doctoral supervisors, Bob Harris and John Robertson: it is
greatlytotheircreditthatIfinishedmydoctoralstudieswithacontinuallyrenewed
passionforideas,andareinforcedconvictionoftheimportanceofthinkingcritically.
Iwasalsofortunatethatmyexaminers,IanHarrisandBrianYoung,madethevivaa
challenging,stimulating,andthoroughlymemorableexperience,andofferedincisive
criticisms and stimulating suggestions which have informed the revisions I have
madetothisstudy.Thisworkwaslargelycarriedoutasapostdoctoralresearcheron
the interdisciplinary research project, Crossroads of Knowledge in Early Modern
England: The Place of Literature (2014–2019) at the University of Cambridge, and
as a Junior Research Fellow at the most welcoming and intellectually vibrant of
colleges, Clare Hall. The Crossroads project is funded by the European Research
Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme [(FP7/
2007–2013)/ERC grant agreement no. 617849], and I thank the ERC for their
financial support. My Crossroads colleagues provided encouragement and stimula-
tion as I completed the typescript: Rachel Holmes, Subha Mukherji, Lizzie Swann,
RebeccaTomlin,andKojiYamamoto.IamparticularlygratefultoLizzieforreading
chaptersofthisbook(andmuchelsebesides)andofferingcharacteristicallyinsight-
fulandacutecriticisms.
Numerousscholarshavegivenfreelyoftheirtimeandcriticalacumen,comment-
ing on drafts of various chapters that were delivered at conferences, seminars, and
workshopsintheUKandfurtherafield.IamparticularlygratefultoThomasAhnert,
Moritz Baumstark, Hugo Drochon, Katie East, Heikki Haara, James Harris, Jared
Holley, Robert Ingram, Joanna Innes, Torrance Kirby, Lawrence Klein, Christian
Maurer,RichardOosterhoff,JonParkin,MarkkuPeltonen,NicholasPhillipson,Paul
Sagar, Regina Schwartz, Ethan Shagan, Debora Shuger, Max Skjönsberg, Mikko
Tolonen, Ashley Walsh, and Rowan Williams. Special thanks are due to Harry
Smith,whoreadafulldraftofthisbookandwhoseprodigiousappetiteforhistorical
knowledgeishappilymatchedbyathirstforhigh-qualityIPA.Ireceivedinvaluable
criticalfeedbackfromMarkGoldie’sreader’sreportforOUP,andTimStanton’sfor
theVoltaireFoundation’sOxfordUniversityStudiesintheEnlightenmentseries.My
thanksarealsoduetoPeterMomtchiloffatOUPforhisconfidencebothinthisbook
andinitsauthor,andtoDorothyMcCarthyforimmaculatecopy-editingassistance.
I am immensely grateful to the unfailingly knowledgeable, patient, and helpful
archivistsandlibrariansatanumberofinstitutions:theBritishLibrary,StPancras;
the Bodleian, History Faculty, Christ Church and Worcester College Libraries,
Oxford; the Cambridge University Library; the National Archives, Kew; the Centre
forResearchCollectionsattheUniversityofEdinburgh,andthewonderfulNational
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/5/2019,SPi
viii 
Library of Scotland; and the Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds. I thank the
Keeper of the Special Collections and Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian for
permissiontoquotefromtheLockemanuscripts.
MaterialfromChapters1and2hasappearedinanumberofplaces,andIthank
the editors and publishers for permitting me to republish it here: ‘Shaftesbury
Reconsidered:StoicEthicsandtheUnreasonablenessofChristianity’,LockeStudies,
16 (2015), 161–211; ‘“A Burthen Too Heavy for Humane Sufferance”: Locke on
Reputation’, History of Political Thought, 38:4 (2017), 644–80; and ‘Locke’s Cicero:
Between Moral Knowledge and Faith’, in S. Mukherji and T. Stuart-Buttle (eds.),
Literature,Belief,andKnowledgeinEarlyModernEngland:KnowingFaith(Palgrave
Macmillan, 2018), 259–80. I am also indebted to the three anonymous readers for
Locke Studies and History of Political Thought, whose acute criticisms have been
incorporatedintopartsofChapters1and2.
OnamorepersonallevelIamdeeplygratefultomyparents-in-law,GailandRob
Dracup:initiallyforproof-readingandITassistance,andsubsequentlyforhelpwith
babysitting.Myfather,Peter,andnumeroussiblingshavebeenanunstintingsource
ofloveandgoodhumour,remindingmethatthereismoretolifethanthisbook.My
greatestthanks,byaconsiderabledistance,areowedtomywife,Cerys.Withouther
empathy, love, and unflagging support my scepticism regarding the value of this
project,andmyabilitytocompleteit,mighthaveshiftedfromtheconstructivetothe
counter-productive. My doctorate to some extent defined the first years of our
marriage; and my further work on this book has coincided with the arrival of
our beautiful, though exhausting little boys, Lachlan and Theo. Although it can
hardly begin to repay the debt, I dedicate this to Cerys with complete love and the
greatestadmiration.
TSB
York,October2018
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Conventions
i. Dates
Until1752,theJulianCalendar(‘OldStyle’)remainedinuseinBritain,whereasthe
Gregorian Calendar (‘New Style’) was adopted in continental Europe from 1582.
When quoting from sources written or published on the Continent I use the
Gregorian Calendar (as with Montesquieu’s letters to Hume), but when quoting
fromBritishsourcesIprefertheJulian.BritishdatingalsodifferedfromContinental
convention in taking the year to start on 25 March. I have preferred to follow the
Continentalpracticeoftreatingtheyearasbeginningon1January.
ii. Gender
Theauthorsconsideredinthisstudydonotemploygender-neutrallanguageintheir
works:the‘scienceofman’isagoodexample.Forreasonsofclarity,Ihavemadethe
decisiontofollowtheirpractice,giventhatthisstudycombineslengthycitationwith
extended textual exposition. Furthermore, I believe that it is important to draw
attention to, rather than to occlude the gendered assumptions inherent within
philosophical texts which are still drawn upon by political and moral theorists in
theattempttoaddresscontemporaryquestions.
iii. Names
My general rule is to provide the Christian name when first mentioning particular
individuals,andthereafteronlytorefertosurname.Thereare,however,exceptions,
suchasCiceroandMontesquieu.
iv. Orthography
Ihaveattemptedtopreserveoriginalspelling,capitalization,italicization,andpunc-
tuation so far as possible. However, I normalize the long ‘s’, remove diphthongs,
expandcontractions,correctobvioustypographicalerrors,andchange‘u’to‘v’and
‘i’ to ‘j’ in accordance with modern orthography. Where the emphasis is my own,
Iindicatethisinbracketsinthereferenceaccompanyingthecitation.
v. References
Forallprintededitionsoftextspublishedafter1600,Iprovidefullreferences,where
applicable,totherelevantBook,Section,Chapter,andParagraphnumberinthefirst
footnote to the work. Thereafter I provide these references, in this format, in
parenthesesin the text. Forclassical works, such asthose byCicero,Ihave resisted
providing full references in this manner for reasons of space. The first reference to