In the year 1741, Mr Home married Miss Agatha Drum mond, a younger daughter of James Drummond, Esq. of Blair, in the county of Perth, a lady possessed of an excel lent understanding, and an enlightened and solid judg ment in the conduct of life, with much sweetness of tem per, and gentleness of manners. In the course of the same year he published, in two volumes folio, The Decisions of the Court of Session, from its Institution to the Present Time, abridged and digested under proper Heads, in the form of a Dictionary,—a work of great labour, and of the highest utility to the profession of the law in Scot land.
During the rebellion in 1745-6, the course of judicial procedure, in the northern part of the kingdom, was inter rupted by the disordered state of the country, and the Court of Session did not meet for a period of eleven months. Mr Home employed that interval in various re searches connected with the history, laws, and ancient usages of his country, which he afterwards digested into a small treatise, and published in the year 1747, under the title of Essays upon several Subjects concerning British Antiquities. These essays, although they contain some cu rious and important deductions, and exhibit a great deal of ingenious reasoning, are by no means esteemed among the most valuable of the works of their author.
We have already observed that Mr Home's mind was peculiarly turned to metaphysical speculations, for which he found leisure even amidst the pressure of his profes sional employment. In the year 1751, he puhlished his Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion. This work, in which he endeavoured to place the great principles of morals on a firm and immutable basis, unac countably drew upon him, from certain quarters, the re proach of scepticism and impiety ; and his opinions, parti cularly on the abstruse question offree will, were attacked with great asperity by various writers. Some of these were of so intolerant a spirit, that nothing less could satisfy their zeal, than the interference of ecclesiastical authority, to repress opinions which they conceived to be contrary to the canons of the established church, and subversive even of the fundamental principles of religion. To his oppo nents, Mr Home made a formal reply, under the title of Objections against the Essays on Moratzty and Natural Re ligion examined. This controversy attracted the attention of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ; and a motion was made in the committee for overtures, which was supposed to be indirectly levelled, among others, against the author of the Essays. The motion occasioned
a very warm debate, but was finally negatived. However, Mr Anderson, a clergyman, and one of the most zealous of Mr Home's antagonists, resolved not to let the matter rest here. He gave in a petition and complaint to the presby tery of Edinburgh against the printer and publisher of the Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion, requiring that the presbytery should summon them to ap pear before them, and declare the name of the author of that work, in order that he might be subjected to ecclesias tical censure. The persons complained against appeared by their counsel, and gave in formal defences ; but Mr An derson died during the course of the proceedings. The defendants, however, waving all objection to the want of a prosecutor, consented that the court should give judgment on the merits of the case ; which, after undergoing some discussion, terminated in the rejection of the com plaint.
In the month of February 1752, Mr Home was appoint ed one of the Judges of the Court of Session, by the title of Lord Kames. His promotion gave general satisfaction to the country, as his abilities and knowledge of the laws, no less than his integrity and moral virtues, had raised him high in the public esteem. To the discharge of his duties, as a Judge of the Supreme Civil Court, he brought an acute understanding, an ardent feeling of justice, and a per feet acquaintance with the laws of his country ; which. amidst the variety of pursuits in which his comprehensive mind had been engaged, had always received the principal share of his attention. Ilis judgments, which were always formed with deliberation, had deservedly the greatest weight with the Court, especially on all questions of recon dite jurisprudence. Towards the bar he uniformly con ducted himself with a proper courtesy and respect ; listen ing to the arguments of the senior counsel, who pleaded before him, with patient attention, and animating the diffi dence of the younger barristers by kind indulgence and ur banity of demeanour. In his character he occasionally dis played something of the humourist ; and, even on the bench, he could not always repress his constitutional vivacity, which sometimes broke out in amusing sallies, when the subject of discussion led to a ludicrous train of thought, or when a happy repartee was suggested by the wit of the counsel.