Rod Hay wrote:  
>But Smith, unlike Hume, did have a disdain for England; much preferring   
>to remain in Scotland. This was not political, but intellectual. Of the   
>English, only Gibbon gained much respect from Smith. His intellectual   
>ties were in Scotland and in France.  
  
  
This strikes me as an overstatement, if not a bit misleading. Smith also has much respect
for Burke (who is addressed as his "dear friend"). And, unlike Hume, who did often
complain about the English hostility toward the Scots in his correspondence (and it is
clear that Hume has a very low opinion of contemporary English letters and politics),
Smith's letters betray, I believe, no such animosity. But you are largely correct, of
course, that Smith's out-look was much influenced by French Enlightenment thought.
   
Incidentally, in light of the original query that got this thread going. I am surprised
nobody has mentioned the use of the plural "Nations" in the title of WN.
   
Yours,   
Eric Schliesser