ABSTRACT
Vivenza’s procedure for analyzing Smith’s relationship to the classics is straightforward. She distinguishes two types of influence. First, and to her the least interesting, is the way in which Smith consciously or unconsciously drew on the classics for felicitous words, phrases, or examples. The second kind of influence is where Smith drew on ‘ideas, concepts, kernels, or trains of thought of classical origin which, passing through a lengthy process of transformation, adaptation, and “rediscovery” from century to century, had finally arrived, somewhat modified, in the Age of the Enlightenment’ (p. 5). In addition, to the distortions time may bring to a doctrine or idea, Vivenza adds that the ‘subjects he dealt with . . . almost always display essential links with the contemporary world. As a result, even when their classical mould may be clearly discerned, their manifold connections with present day events are simultaneously evident, giving the classical author or thought a character quite different from the original one’ (p. 5). Vivenza considers the classical influence in Smith’s natural philosophy, moral philosophy, jurisprudence, political economy, and his studies in rhetoric and eloquence. With a sure and steady hand, she analyzes the possible sources for Smith’s views and shows precisely the points of agreement and disagreement between Smith and the classical authors. Her conclusion, which is undoubtedly
correct, is that the presence of the classics ‘was more than just the “flirtation” of a man of great culture and many interests; it influenced not only his tastes but also his mind and his ideas’ (p.189).
