Adam Smith: The Rhetoric of Propriety

Title Page, Copyright Page

Adam Smith SUNY SERIES, RHETORIC INTHE MODERN ERA Arthur E.Walzer and Edward Schiappa, Editors The goal of this series “Rhetoric in the Modern Era” is to prompt and sponsor book-length treatments of important rhetorical theorists and of philosophers and literary theorists who make substantial contributions to our understanding of language and rhetoric. In some cases, a book in this series is the first book-length treatment of the figure; in others, a book in the series is the first to examine a philosopher or theorist from the perspective of rhetorical theory. The intended audience for books in the series are nonspecialists—graduate students coming to the study of a theorist for the first time and professors broadly interested in the rhetorical tradition.The series books are comprehensive introductions—comprehensive in the sense that they provide brief biographies , descriptions of the intellectual milieu, and discussions of the major scholarship on the figure as context for a detailed examination of the figure’s contribution to rhetorical theory or history. We envision these as the first books on their subject, not the last.While books in the series may exceed these modest aims, their focus is on achieving them.A complete list of books in the series can be found at the end of this volume. Adam Smith The Rhetoric of Propriety ST E P H E N J . M C K E N N A STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS Published by State University of NewYork Press,Albany© 2006 State University of NewYork All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of NewYork Press, 194Washington Avenue, Suite 305,Albany, NY 12210-2365 Production by KelliWilliams Marketing by Anne M.Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McKenna, Stephen J. Adam Smith: the rhetoric of propriety / Stephen J. McKenna p. cm. — (SUNY series, rhetoric in the modern era) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-9581-0 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-6582-9 (pbk.: alk. Paper) 1. Smith,Adam, 1723-1790. Lectures on rhetoric and belles lettres. 2. English language—Rhetoric—Study and teaching—Scotland. 3. English language— Rhetoric—Study and teaching—History—18th century 4. English language— Rhetoric—Study and teaching—Moral and ethical aspects. 5. Smith,Adam, 1723–1790—Knowledge—Language and languages. 6. English language—18th century—Rhetoric. 7. Rhetoric—Moral and ethical aspects. 8. Smith,Adam, 1723–1790—Ethics. 9. Scots language—Rhetoric. I. Title. II. Series. PE1405.S26M38 2005 808'.042'0710411—dc22 2005001023 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ...