Page:Four Dissertations - David Hume (1757).djvu/9

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TO

The Reverend Mr. Hume,

Author of Douglas, a Tragedy.

My dear Sir,

It was the practice of the antients to address their compositions only to friends and equals, and to render their dedications monuments of regard and affection, not of servility and flattery. In those days of ingenuous and candid liberty, a dedication did honour to the person to whom itwas