...literary attempt was more unfortunate," he says, "than my Treatise of Human Nature. It fell dead-born from the press, without reaching such distinction as even to excite a murmur among the zealots."6 This is an exaggeration. It was noticed enough to give him a reputation for atheism that...

...in 1739, the final book a year later. To quote Hume's own words, the Treatise "fell dead-born from the press, without reaching such distinction as even to excite a murmur among the zealots." This is a slight exaggeration, for the work was reviewed in various literary journals in both Britain...

...been much discussed by Hume scholars. Hume was disappointed that his Treatise 'fell dead-born from the press without reaching such distinction as even to excite a murmur among the zealots' (Mossner 1954: 612). So he rewrote it, streamlined it, omitted some of its more difficult sections...

...reception of his Treatise thai "never literary attempt was more unfortunate. ... It fell dead-born from the press, without reaching such distinction, as even to excite a murmur among zealots." 2 See Ernest C. Mossner, "The Continental Reception of Hume's 'Treatise'," Mind 56 (1947)...

...Hume distanced himself from the Treatise was its failure to win a readership (it " fell deadborn from the press, without reaching such distinction as even to excite a murmur among the zealots ").28 He responded to its poor reception by treating it, apparently quite sincerely, as his own failure...

...read his book, nobody noticed it, neither friends nor foes seemed to be aware of it. "But", he says, "being naturally of a cheerful and sanguine temper,...prosecuted with great ardour my studies in the country." This in spite of the fact that his love of literary fame, as mentioned above, was his ruling passion....

...Never literary attempt was more unfortunate than my Treatise of Human Nature. It fell dead-born from the press, without reaching such distinction, as even to excite a murmur among the zealots. Though this is a bit of an exaggeration of the book's poor reception, it poignantly indicates his disappointment...

...Never literary attempt was more unfortunate than my Treatise of Human Nature. It fell dead-born from the press; without reaching such distinction', as...1742, I printed at Edinburgh the first part of my Essays: the work was favourably received, and soon made me entirely forget my former disappointment....

...twenty-five.97 When the Treatise was published some years later, in 1739-40, it "fell dead-born from the press, without reaching such distinction, as even to excite a murmur among the zealots."* Supposing that the difficulty lay more in its style than its substance, he recast its first part in...

...Never literary Attempt was more unfortunate than my Treatise of human Nature. It fell deadborn from the Press; without reaching such distinction as even to excite a Murmur among the Zealots. . . . I had always entertained a Notion, that my want of Success, in publishing the Treatise of human...