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What roles did David Hume have during his years of travel in the 1740s?
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David Hume
Scottish philosopher David Hume, oil on canvas by Allan Ramsay, 1766; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
During the 1740s, after failing to secure a chair of moral philosophy at Edinburgh, David Hume engaged in a period of travel and held several distinct roles:
- Tutor: From 1745 to 1746, he spent a year near St. Albans serving as a tutor to the marquess of Annandale.
- Military Secretary: In 1746, he served for a few months as secretary to Gen. James St. Clair, during which time he participated in a military expedition to Brittany.
- Diplomatic Aide: Between 1748 and 1749, he accompanied General St. Clair on an embassy to the courts of Vienna and Turin.1