FERGUSON, ADAM, a Scottish philosopher and historian, was born (1724);at Logierait, Perthshire, where his father was parish minister. He studied at the universities of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, and was appointed (1744) chaplain to the 42d regiment, in which capacity he was present at the battle of Fontenoy, and is said to have charged the enemy sword in hand, among the foremost of the regiment. In 1757, he succeeded David Hume as keeper of the advocates' library in Edinburgh. He was next appointed professor in the Edinburgh university, first of natural philosophy, in 1759, and subse quently (1764), of moral philosophy—a subject which had always had great attractions for him. While holding this office, he accompanied the young earl of Chesterfield (1774) on his travels on the continent; and in 1773-79, he acted as secretary to the com mission sent out by lord North to try to arrange the disputes between the North American colonies and the mother country. The state of his health induced him, in 1784, to resign his professorship, in which he was succeeded by Dugald Stewart. In
1793, he visited various parts of the continent; and on his return, took up his residence for some time at Neidpath castle, in Tweeddale, and latterly in St. Andrews, where he died, 22d Feb., 1816. His chief works are—Emay on the Ifistory of Civil Society (Lond. 1767); Institutes of Moral Philosophy (Lond. 1769); History of the Progress and Termination, of the R,oinan Republic (Loud. 1783); and Principles of Moral and Political Science (Lond. 1792). The work by which he is best known is his Mstory of the Roman Republic; this together with the essay and institutes, have gone through a number of editions. All his works have been translated into German and French, and the institutes has been used as a text-book in several foreign universities. F. was distinguished for the decision and manliness of his character.