naturally suppose that they are not really in earnest in religion, who can easily bear its opponents; and thirdly, if the profane find themselves quite well received by the pious, one of the checks upon an open declaration of their infidelity, and one of the probable chances of obliging them seriously to reflect, which their being fhunned would do, is removed.

A gentleman one day faid, that in his opinion the character of an infidel was more detestable than that of a man notorioufly guilty of an atrocious crime. Another differed from him, because we are furer of the odiousness of the one, than of the error of the other.-JOHNSON. "Sir, I agree with him; for the infidel would be guilty of any crime, if he were inclined to it."-A general Officer afked him, what he thought of the fpirit of infidelity, which was so prevalent.-. " Sir, this gloom of infidelity, I hope, is only a transient cloud paffing through the hemisphere, which will foon be diffipated, and the fun break forth with his usual splendour."-" You think then (faid the General) that they will change their principles like their clothes."-7. "Why, Sir, if they bestow no more thought on principles than on dress, it must be so." The General faid, that " a great part of the fashionable infidelity was owing to a defire of shewing courage. Men who have no oppor

opportunity of shewing it as to things in this life, take death and futurity as objects on which to display it."-7. "That is mighty foolish affectation. Fear is one of the passions of human nature, of which it is impoffible to divest it."

Mr. B. mentioned to Dr. Johnson, that David Hume's perfifting in his infidelity when he was dying shocked him much.-JOHNSON. "Why should it shock you, Sir? Hume owned he had never read the New Teftament with attention. Here then was a man who had been at no pains to inquire into the truth of religion, and had continually turned his mind the other way. It was not to be expected that the profpect of death would alter his way of thinking, unless God should fend an angel to set him right."Mr. B. faid, he had reason to believe that the thought of annihilation gave Hume no pain.7. "It was not so, Sir. He had a vanity in being thought easy. It is more probable that he should affume an appearance of ease, than that so very improbable a thing should be, as a man not afraid of going (as, in spite of his delusive theory, he cannot be sure but he may go) into an unknown state, and not being uneasy at leaving all he knew. And you are to confider, that upon his own principle of annihilation he had no motive to speak the truth."

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At another time Mr. B. expressed a wish to have the arguments for Christianity always in readiness, that his religious faith might be asfirm and clear as any propofition whatever, so that he need not be under the leaft uneasiness when it should be attacked. Johnson said, "Sir, you cannot answer all objections. You have demonstration for a First Cause: you see he must be good as well as powerful, because there is nothing to make him otherwise, and goodness of itself is preferable. Yet you have against this, what is very certain, the unhappiness of human life. This, however, gives us reason to hope for a future state of compenfation, that there may be a perfect system. But of that we were not fure till we had a positive revelation."

"I told him (adds Mr. B.) that his 'Raffelas' had often made me unhappy; for it represented the mifery of human life fo well, and so convincingly to a thinking mind, that if at any time the impreffion wore off, and I felt myself easy, I began to suspect some delufion."

His profound adoration of the Great First Cause was such as to set him above that "Philosophy and vain deceit," with which men of narrower conceptions have been infected. He used strongly to maintain, that "what is right is not so from any natural fitness, but because God wills it to be right."

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Of a gentleman who was mentioned, he said, "I have not met with any man for a long time who has given me such general displeasure. He is totally unfixed in his principles, and wants to puzzle other people." -Mr. B. faid, his principles had been poisoned by a noted infidel writer; but that he was, nevertheless, a benevolent good man. JOHNSON. "We can have no dependance upon that instinctive, that constitutional goodness which is not founded upon principle. I grant you that such a man may be a very amiable member of society. I can conceive him placed in such a fituation, that he is not much tempted to deviate from what is right; and as every man prefers virtue, when there is not fome strong incitement to transgress its precepts, I can conceive him doing nothing wrong. But if such a man stood in need of money, I should not like to trust him; and I should certainly not trust him with young ladies, for there there is always temptation. Hume and other sceptical innovators are vain men, and will gratify themselves at any expence. Truth will not afford fufficient food to their vanity; so they have betaken themselves to error. Truth, Sir, is a cow which will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull. If I could have allowed myself to gratify my vanity at the expence

pence of truth, what fame might I have acquired. Every thing which Hume has advanced against Chriftianity had paffed through my mind long before he wrote. Always remember this, that after a system is well fettled upon pofitive evidence, a few partial objections ought 'not to shake it. The human mind is so limited that it cannot take in all the parts of a fubject, so that there may be objections raised against any thing. There are objections againft a plenum, and objections against a vacuum; yet one of them must certainly be true,"

Hume's argument against the belief ofmiracles being mentioned, that it is more probable the witnesses to the truth of them are mistaken, or speak falfely, than that the miracles should be true,' Johnson said, "Why, Sir, the great difficulty of proving miracles should make us very cautious in believing them. But let us confider; although God has made Nature to operate by certain fixed laws, yet it is not unreasonable to think that he may fufpend thoso laws, in order to establish a system highly advantageous to mankind. Now the Chriftian religion is a most beneficial system, as it gives us light and certainty where we were before in darkness and doubt. The miracles which prove it are attested by men who had no interest in deceiving us; but who, on the contrary, were