Abstract

No reader of Hume Studies is likely to make use of an abridgement of the Treatise. Everyman editions, however, are aimed not at scholars but at members of that elusive species, the intelligent general reader ; and the Treatise surely constitutes a paradigm case of a book that needs to be trimmed and tidied for consumption by non-specialists. This was something Hume himself came to realize: hence the Enquiries concerning Human Understanding and concerning the Principles of Morals. But perhaps Hume trimmed and tidied too much. Perhaps the IGR should not feel she has to restrict herself to the Enquiries; perhaps she should be able to explore the secret passages and unused rooms of the Treatise, while remaining confident that she will easily find her way back to the principal corridors and chambers. This new edition might well introduce Hume’s first book to a readership it does not have at present, and is therefore to be welcomed. If my experience is anything to go by, in fact, even a reader of this journal might benefit from a read straight through a stripped-down version of the Treatise—a point I shall return to below.