ABSTRACT
The last decade of Adam Smith's life was marked not only by the obligations of a Commissioner of Customs, but also by activities of a more personal nature. If Smith showed little interest, as far as can be found, in some aspects of contemporary literature, he shared the enthusiasm of others for Gaelic poetry and literature as portrayed by James Macpherson's alleged translations in his various works of the 1760s, particularly his alleged translation of Ossian in 1765. Smith's library contained a wide range of literary works, of which he was a keen reader and critic. Though much more effort has been made to trace the details of the library since the first attempt by James Bonar, his very rough classification is still valid and is as good an indication as any of the variety of interests which it covered.
