1775. He again advised me to keep a journal fully and minutely, but not to menAtat. 66. tion fuch trifles as, that meat was too much or too little done, or that the weather was fair or rainy. He had, till very near his death, a contempt for the notion that the weather affects the human frame. I told him that our friend Goldsmith had said to me, that he had come too late into the world, for that Pope and other poets had taken up the places in the Temple of Fame; fo that as but a few at any period can poffefs poetical reputation, a man of genius can now hardly acquire it. JOHNSON. "That is one of the moft fenfible things I have ever heard of Goldfmith. It is difficult to get literary fame, and it is every day growing more difficult. Ah, Sir, that fhould make a man think of fecuring happiness in another world, which all who try fincerely for it may attain. In comparison of that, how little are all other things! The belief of immortality is impreffed upon all men, and all men act under an impreffion of it, however they may talk, and though, perhaps, they may be scarcely fenfible of it." I faid, it appeared to me that fome people had not the leaft notion of immortality; and I mentioned a distinguished gentleman of our acquaintance. JOHNSON. "Sir, if it were not for the notion of immortality, he would cut a throat to fill his pockets." When I quoted this to Beauclerk, who knew much more of the gentleman than we did, he said, in his acid manner, "He would cut a throat to fill his pockets, if it were not for fear of being hanged." Dr. Johnson proceeded: "Sir, there is a great cry about infidelity; but there are, in reality, very few infidels. I have heard a perfon, originally a Quaker, but now, I am afraid, a Deift, fay, that he did not believe there were, in all England, above two hundred infidels." He was pleased to fay, "If you come to fettle here, we will have one day in the week on which we will meet by ourselves. That is the happieft converfation where there is no competition, no vanity, but a calm quiet interchange of fentiments." In his private register this evening is thus marked, "Boswell fat with me till night; we had fome ferious talk." It also appears from the fame record, that after I left him he was occupied in religious duties, in " giving Francis, his fervant, fome directions for preparation to communicate; in reviewing his life, and refolving on better conduct." The humility and piety which he difcovers on fuch occafions, is truly edifying. No faint, however, in the courfe of his religious warfare, was more fenfible of the unhappy failure of pious refolves, than Johnson. He faid one day, talking to an acquaintance on this fubject, Sir, Hell is paved with good intentions." 5 Prayers and Meditations, p. 138. On 1775 On Sunday, April 16, being Eafter-day, after having attended the folemn fervice at St. Paul's, I dined with Dr. Johnfon and Mrs. Williams. I main- Etat. 66. tained that Horace was wrong in placing happiness in Nil admirari, for that I thought admiration one of the most agreeable of all our feelings; and I regretted that I had loft much of my difpofition to admire, which people generally do as they advance in life. JOHNSON. "Sir, as a man advances in life, he gets what is better than admiration,-judgement, to estimate things at their true value." I still infifted that admiration was more pleafing than judgement, as love is more pleafing than friendship. The feeling of friendship is like that of being comfortably filled with roaft-beef; love, like being enlivened with champagne. JOHNSON. "No, Sir; admiration and love are like being intoxicated with champagne; judgement and friendship like being enlivened. Waller has hit upon the fame thought with you: but I don't believe you have borrowed from Waller. I wish you would enable yourself to borrow more." He then took occafion to enlarge on the advantages of reading, and combated the idle fuperficial notion, that knowledge enough may be acquired in converfation. "The foundation (faid he,) must be laid by reading. General principles must be had from books, which, however, must be brought to the teft of real life. In converfation you never get a fyftem. What is faid upon a fubject is to be gathered from a hundred people. The parts of a truth, which a man gets thus, are at fuch a distance from each other, that he never attains to a full view." On Tuesday, April 18, he and I were engaged to go with Sir Joshua Reynolds to dine with Mr. Cambridge, at his beautiful villa on the banks of the Thames, near Twickenham. Dr. Johnson's tardinefs was fuch, that Sir Jofhua, who had an appointment at Richmond early in the day, was obliged to go by himself on horfeback, leaving his coach to Johnfon and me. Johnson was in fuch good spirits, that every thing seemed to please him as we drove along. Our converfation turned on a variety of fubjects. He thought portraitpainting an improper employment for a woman. "Publick practice of any art, (he obferved,) and ftaring in men's faces, is very indelicate in a female." "Amoret's as fweet and good "Sachariffa's beauty's wine, "Which to madness does incline ; I happened 1775 Etat. 66. I happened to ftart a queftion of propriety, whether when a man knows that fome of his intimate friends are invited to the house of another friend, with whom they are all equally intimate, he may join them without an invitation. JOHNSON. "No, Sir; he is not to go when he is not invited. They may be invited on purpose to abuse him," (fiiling). As a curious inftance how little a man knows, or wishes to know, his own character in the world, or, rather, as a convincing proof that Johnson's roughness was only external, and did not proceed from his heart, I infert the following dialogue. JOHNSON. "It is wonderful, Sir, how rare a quality good humour is in life. We meet with very few good humoured men." I mentioned four of our friends, none of whom he would allow to be good humoured. One was acid, another was muddy, and to the others he had objections which have efcaped me. Then, fhaking his head and ftretching himself at his eafe in the coach, and fmiling with much complacency, he turned to me and said, "I look upon myself as a good humoured fellow.” The epithet fellow, applied to the great Lexicographer, the ftately Moralist, the masterly Critick, as if he had been Sam Johnfon, a mere pleasant companion, was highly diverting; and this light notion of himself struck me with wonder. I answered, also smiling, "No, no, Sir; that will not do. You are good natured, but not good humoured: you are irafcible. You have not patience with folly and abfurdity. I believe you would pardon them, if there were time to deprecate your vengeance; but punishment follows fo quick after fentence, that they cannot escape." I had brought with me a great bundle of Scotch magazines and newspapers, in which his "Journey to the Western Iflands" was attacked in every mode; and I read a great part of them to him, knowing they would afford him entertainment. I wish the writers of them had been prefent: they would have been fufficiently vexed. One ludicrous imitation of his style, by Mr. Maclaurin, now one of the Scotch Judges, with the title of Lord Dreghorn, was diftinguished by him from the rude mafs. "This (faid he,) is the best. But I could caricature my own ftyle much better myfel" He defended his remark upon the general infufficiency of education in Scotland; and confirmed to me the authenticity of his witty faying on the learning of the Scotch ;"Their learning is like bread in a befieged town: every man gets a little, but no man gets a full meal." "There is (faid he,) in Scotland a diffusion of learning, a certain portion of it widely and thinly fpread. A merchant there has as much learning as one of their clergy." 1775. He talked of Ifaac Walton's Lives, which was one of his most favourite books. Dr. Donne's Life, he faid, was the most perfect of them. He Etat. 66. obferved, that "it was wonderful that Walton, who was in a very low fituation in life, fhould have been familiarly received by fo many great men, and that at a time when the ranks of fociety were kept more feparate than they are now." He supposed that Walton had then given up his business as a linen-draper and fempfter, and was only an authour; and added, "that he was a great panegyrift." BoSWELL. "No quality will get a man more friends than a difpofition to admire the qualities of others. I do not mean flattery, but a fincere admiration." JOHNSON. "Nay, Sir, flattery pleases very generally. In the first place, the flatterer may think what he says to be true: but, in the fecond place, whether he thinks fo or not, he certainly thinks those whom he flatters of confequence enough to be flattered." No fooner had we made our bow to Mr. Cambridge, in his library, than Johnson ran eagerly to one fide of the room, intent on poring over the backs of the books. Sir Joshua obferved, (afide,) " He runs to the books, as I do to the pictures: but I have the advantage. I can see much more of the pictures than he can of the books." Mr. Cambridge, upon this, politely faid, "Dr. Johnson, I am going, with your pardon, to accuse myself, for I have the fame custom which I perceive you have. But it seems odd that one fhould. have fuch a defire to look at the backs of books." Johnfon, ever ready for conteft, instantly started from his reverie, wheeled about, and anfwered, "Sir, the reason is very plain. Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it. When we inquire into any subject, the first thing we have to do is to know what books have treated of it. This leads us to look at catalogues, and at the backs of books in libraries." Sir Jofhua obferved to me, the extraordinary promptitude with which Johnson flew upon an argument. "Yes, (faid I,) he has no formal preparation, no flourishing with his sword; he is through your body in an inftant." Johnson was here folaced with an elegant entertainment, a very accomplished family, and much good company; among whom was Mr. Harris of Salisbury, who paid him many compliments on his "Journey to the Weftern Inlands." The common remark as to the utility of reading hiftory being made;--JOHNSON. "We muft confider how very little hiftory there is; I mean real authentick history. That certain Kings reigned, and certain battles were fought, we can depend upon as true; but all the colouring, all the philofophy, of. 1 1775. of history is conjecture." BOSWELL. " Then, Sir, you would reduce all Etat. 66. hiftory to no better than an almanack, a mere chronological series of remarkable events." Mr. Gibbon, who must at that time have been employed upon his hiftory, of which he published the first volume in the following year, was prefent, but did not step forth in defence of that fpecies of writing. He probably did not like to trust himself with Johnson 7. Johnson obferved, that the force of our early habits was fo great, that though reafon approved, nay, though our fenfes relifhed a different course, almost every man returned to them. I do not believe there is any obfervation upon human nature better founded than this; and, in many cafes, it is a very painful truth; for where early habits have been mean and wretched, the joy and elevation refulting from better modes of life, must be damped by the gloomy consciousness of being under an almost inevitable doom to fink back into a fituation which we recollect with difguft. It furely may be prevented, by constant attention and unremitting exertion to establish contrary habits of fuperiour efficacy. "The Beggars Opera," and the common question, whether it was pernicious in its effects, having been introduced;-JOHNSON. "As to this matter, which has been very much contested, I myself am of opinion, that more influence has been ascribed to The Beggars Opera,' than it in reality ever had; for I do not believe that any man was ever made a rogue by being present at its representation. At the fame time I do not deny that it may have some influence, by making the character of a rogue familiar, and in fome degree pleafing." Then collecting himself, as it were, to give a heavy stroke: "There is in it fuch a labefactation of all principles, as may be injurious to morality." While he pronounced this refponse, we fat in a comical fort of restraint, fmothering a laugh, which we were afraid might burft out. In his Life of Gay, he has been ftill more decifive as to the inefficiency of "The Beggars Opera," in corrupting fociety. But I have ever thought fomewhat differently; 7 See page 478. 8 A very eminent physician, whofe difcernment is as acute and penetrating in judging of the human character as it is in his own profeffion, remarked once at a club where I was, that a lively young man, fond of pleasure and without money, would hardly refift a folicitation from his mistress to go upon the highway, immediately after being present at the representation of "The Beggars Opera." I have been told of an ingenious obfervation by Mr. Gibbon, that "The Beggars Opera may, perhaps, have fometimes increased the number of highwaymen; but that it has had a beneficial effect in refining that class of men, making them lefs ferocious, more polite, in fhort, more like gentlemen." Upon this Mr. Courtenay faid, that "Gay was the Orpheus of highwaymen." for |