<DIV><p class="textbasic">David Hume's great, enduring reputation in philosophy tends to obscure the fact that, among his contemporaries, his <b><i>History of England</i></b> was a more successful work.</p><p class="textbasic">The <b><i>History</i></b> covers almost 1800 years. Hume saw English history as an evolution from a government of will to a government of law. Advanced in Hume's masterly prose, this argument continues to make the <b><i>History</i></b> a valuable study for the modern reader.</p><p class="textbasic">This Liberty Fund edition is based on the edition of 1778, the last to contain corrections by Hume. The typography has been modernized for ease of reading. Hume's own index to the entire work may be found at the conclusion of volume VI.</p><p class="textbasic"><b>William B. Todd</b> is The Mildred Caldwell and Baine Perkins Kerr Centennial Professor Emeritus in English History and Culture at the University of Texas at Austin.</p><p class="textbasic"><BR></p></div>