ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses to what preoccupation with the classics entailed in Scottish schools and universities in the eighteenth century. It traces aspects of the teaching of classics at Edinburgh through Andrew Dalzel, Dugald Stewart, and Hugh Blair, Professors of Greek, Moral Philosophy and Rhetoric. The chapter presents three classics-inspired currents in James Mill’s words and deeds: the focus on Plato’s dialectic method; his active involvement in various projects for the common good; and the choice of logos over pathos in his attempts at persuasion. Mill’s classical education is one aspect of his Scottish background not examined in the few studies on Mill’s pre-Bentham influences. The chapter shows how Mill responded to eighteenth-century trends in classical reception, both in his rare ventures into classical scholarship and in his propagandizing activities. It provides three themes in Cicero’s reception: the question of Cicero’s authorial voice, Cicero’s philosophic defence of the active life, and the comparison between Cicero and Demosthenes.
