After finishing his work with the embassy, Hume returned to London and during the next two years spent the time quietly living at his brother's country estate, which was located not far from the city. This peaceful life in the country gave him the opportunity to devote his full time to literary efforts. It was during this period that he wrote and had published the second part of his series of essays. These were called Political Discourses. Soon afterward, he finished the rewriting of the third section of the Treatise of Human Nature. This was now published under the title Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). The Political Discourses were published in Edinburgh in 1752. They were the first of Hume's writings to receive wide attention and favorable recognition immediately following their first publication. With reference to the Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, Hume states in his autobiography that it came "unnoticed and unobserved in the world" even though he regarded it as incomparably the best of all the writings he had produced during his entire life.
As the essays on moral and political subjects became better known, Hume's reputation as a philosopher of more than ordinary ability became well established. The sale of his books began to increase, and it was not long until he was able to receive an income of considerable size from this source. He was appointed librarian by the Faculty of Advocates, and though he received very little monetary compensation for this work, it gave him access to a large number of books having to do with those subjects in which he was most interested.
It was while working as a librarian that Hume formed his plans for writing the History of England, a project which required several years for completion and one which came to be recognized as one of his greatest achievements. In order to limit the scope of this history to manageable size, he began with the accession of the House of Stuart and concluded the first volume with an account of the death of Charles I. Because he believed that he was writing an impartial account of the events that had taken place, he expected that his book would receive high praise from his contemporaries. In this he was sorely disappointed. The fact that he had expressed some sympathy for Charles I led to bitter attacks from English, Scotch, Irish, Whigs, and Tories. The book sank into oblivion; during a period of twelve months, no more than forty-five copies were sold.
