HOME, HENRY, Lord Karnes, one of the senators of the College of Justice in Scotland, and an eminent writer both on professional and other subjects, was born in the year 1696. His father, George Home of Karnes, was a gentle man of an ancient and honourable family, though of small fortune, in the county of Berwick ; his mother was a daughter of Mr 1Valkinshaw of Barrow field.
He was educated privately ; and, about the year 1712, he was bound by indenture to attend the office or cham bers of a writer to the signet in Edinburgh, as a preparato ry step to his entering upon the profession of a writer or solicitor before the supreme court. An accidental circum stance, however, afterwards induced him to change his views ; and he determined to abandon the more limited oc cupation of a writer, and qualify himself for the functions of an advocate. With that view, he resolved to supply, by assiduous application, the defects of his imperfect educa tion ; and he accordingly resumed the study of the ancient and modern languages; while, at the same time, he endea voured to acquire a competent knowledge of the sciences. His attention seems to have been particularly directed to wards metaphysical investigations, for which, throughout the whole course of his life, he entertained a decided pre dilection.
In the year 1724, Mr Home was called to the Scottish bar, which was, at that period, graced with the talents of many individuals, who afterwards rose to the first eminence in their profession. Although his mind was abundantly stored with solid learning and legal knowledge, and he pos sessed, in a high degree, the talents of an ingenious reason er, Mr Home was not gifted with those sniffing powers of oratory, which are calculated to bring a young practitioner rapidly into notice. Accordingly, it was not till after the publication of his first milk on the law, that he began to enjoy even a moderate share of practice. That work, which consisted of a folio volume of the Remarkable Deci sions of the Court of Session, from the year 1716 down to the period of its publication, appeared in 1728. Mr Home's manner of pleading was peculiar to himself. He never at tempted to speak to the passions, or to captivate his hear ers by the graces of oratory ; but addressed himself solely to the judgment of his audience ; employing a strain of language only a little elevated above that of ordinary dis course, which, even by its familiar tone and style, fixed the attention of the judge, while it excited no suspicion of rhetorical artifice. It would appear, however, that his
ability lay more in the devising of ingeniousarguments to support his own side of the question, as an opening or lead ing counsel, than in reply ; for which he seems to have wanted that ready command of copious elocution, which is necessary for extemporaneous discussion. There was one peculiarity attending his mode of replying which is worthy of notice. This consisted in a fair concession and abandon ment of all the weaker points of his cause. By yielding these at once to his antagonist, he succeeded in creating a favourable impression of his own candour, and a persuasion of the strength of his cause ; while, at the same time, he frustrated all attack on those weak parts, which might have given matter of triumph to his opponents, and had a prejudicial influence on the more solid grounds of his plea. But the feature by which Mr Home was principally distin guished as a barrister, consisted in the faculty which he possessed, in a very eminent degree, of striking out new lights upon the most abstruse and intricate doctrines of the law, and of subjecting to the scrutiny of reason those rules and maxims which had become venerable only from long and inveterate usage, having no solid foundation in any just or rational principle.
In 1732, he published a small volume under the title of Essays on several Subjects in Law, These subjects had been suggested to him during the course of his em ployment as a counsel in several important causes; and they contributed greatly to establish the character of the author as a profound and scientific lawyer. From the pe riod of their publication, accordingly, Mr Home appears to have been engaged in most of the causes of importance which occurred in the Court of Session. While occupied with the duties of a laborious profession, however, he did not neglect the fpursuits of literature and science, to which he seems to have been at all times ardently devoted ; and a considerable portion of his time was also given to the en joyments of society, in a numerous and respectable circle of acquaintance. He lived in habits of intimacy with many of the first literary and philosophical characters of the age, and frequently corresponded with them on the subjects connected with his favourite pursuits.