1766.

Etat. 57.

which might have been faid of my Lord Bute fome years ago. Now I confider the present Earl of Bute to be ‹ Excelfæ familiæ de Bute fpes prima;' and my Lord Mountftuart, as his eldeft fon, to be 'Spes altera.' So in Æneid xii. 1. 168, after having mentioned Pater Æneas, who was the present spes, the reigning fpes, as my German friends would say, the Spes prima, the poet adds,

Et juxta Afcanius, magnæ fpes altera Roma.'

"You think altera ungrammatical, and you tell me it fhould have been alteri. You must recollect, that in old times alter was declined regularly; and when the ancient fragments preferved in the Juris Civilis Fontes were written, it was certainly declined in the way that I use it. This, I should think, may protect a lawyer who writes altera in a differtation upon part of his own science. But as I could hardly venture to quote fragments of old law to fo claffical a man as Mr. Johnson, I have not made an accurate fearch into these remains, to find examples of what I am able to produce in poetical compofition. We find in Plaut. Rudens, act iii. scene 4,

• Nam huic alteræ patria quæ fit profecto nefcio.”

Plautus is, to be fure, an old comick writer: but in the days of Scipio and
Lelius, we find, Terent. Heautontim. act ii. fcene 3,

hoc ipfa in itinere alteræ

Dum narrat, forte audivi.'

"You doubt my having authority for using genus abfolutely, for what we call family, that is, for illuftrious extraction. Now I take genus in Latin, to have much the fame fignification with birth in English; both in their primary meaning expreffing fimply descent, but both made to ftand xar' ¿ouny, for noble defcent. Genus is thus used in Hor. lib. ii. Sat. v. 1. 8,

• Et genus et virtus, nifi cum re, vilior alga eft.'

And in lib. i. Epift. vi. 1. 37,

• Et genus et formam Regina pecunia donat."

And in the celebrated contest between Ajax and Ulyffes, Ovid's Metamorph.
lib. xiii. 1. 140,

Nam genus et proavos, et quæ non fecimus ipfi,
Vix ea noftra voco."

<< Homines

« Homines nullius originis, for nullis orti majoribus, or nullo loco nati, is, you are afraid, barbarous.

Origo is used to fignify extraction, as in Virg. Æneid i. 1. 286,

• Nafcetur pulchrá Trojanus origine Cæfar.'

and in Æneid x. 1. 618,

• Ille tamen noftrâ deducit origine nomen.'

and as nullus is used for obfcure, is it not in the genius of the Latin language to write nullius originis, for obscure extraction ?

"I have defended myself as well as I could.

Might I venture to differ from you with regard to the utility of vows? I am fenfible that it would be very dangerous to make vows rafhly, and without a due confideration. But I cannot help thinking that they may often be of great advantage to one of a variable judgement and irregular inclinations. I always remember a paffage in one of your letters to our Italian friend Baretti, where talking of the monaftick life, you say you do not wonder that serious men should put themselves under the protection of a religious order, when they have found how unable they are to take care of themselves. For my own part, without affecting to be a Socrates, I am fure I have a more than ordinary struggle to maintain with the Evil Principle; and all the methods I can devise are little enough to keep me tolerably fteady in the paths of rectitude.

It appears from his diary, that he was this year at Mr. Thrale's, from before Midfummer till after Michaelmas, and that he afterwards paffed a month at Oxford. He had then contracted a great intimacy with Mr. Chambers of that University, now Sir Robert Chambers, one of the Judges in India.

He published nothing this year in his own name; but the noble Dedication * to the King, of Gwyn's "London and Westminster Improved," was written by him; and he furnished the Preface,† and several of the pieces, which compose a volume of Miscellanies by Mrs. Anna Williams, the blind lady who had an afylum in his house. Of thefe, there are his "Epitaph on Philips," "Tranflation of a Latin Epitaph on Sir Thomas Hanmer ;t" "Friendship, an Ode ;** and, "The Ant," a paraphrafe from the Proverbs, of which I have a copy

in

1766.

Etat. 57.

1766.

Etat. 57.

in his own hand-writing; and, from internal evidence, I afcribe to him,
"To Mifs
on her giving the Authour a gold and filk net-work Purse
of her own weaving;t" and, "The happy Life.t"-Most of them have
evidently received confiderable additions from his fuperiour pen, particularly
"Verfes to Mr. Richardfon, on his Sir Charles Grandifon;' "The Excur-
fion;""Reflections on a Grave digging in Westminster-Abbey." There is
in this collection a poem "On the Death of Stephen Grey, the Electrician ;*"
which, on reading it, appeared to me to be undoubtedly Johnson's. I asked
Mrs. Williams whether it was not his. "Sir, (faid fhe, with fome warmth,) I
wrote that poem before I had the honour of Dr. Johnson's acquaintance." I,
however was fo much impreffed with my firft notion, that I mentioned it to
Johnson, repeating, at the fame time, what Mrs. Williams had faid. His
answer was,
"It is true, Sir, that she wrote it before fhe was acquainted with
me; but she has not told you that I wrote it all over again, except two lines."
"The Fountains,t" a beautiful little Fairy tale in profe, written with exquifite
fimplicity, is one of Johnson's productions; and I cannot with-hold from Mrs.
Thrale the praise of being the authour of that admirable poem, "The Three
Warnings."

He wrote this year a letter not intended for publication, which has, perhaps, as ftrong marks of his fentiment and style, as any of his compofitions. The original is in my poffeffion. It is addreffed to the late Mr. William Drummond, book feller in Edinburgh, a gentleman of good family, but small eftate, who took arms for the houfe of Stuart in 1745; and during his concealment in London till the act of general pardon came out, obtained the acquaintance of Dr. Johnson, who juftly efteemed him as a very worthy man. It seems, fome of the members of the fociety in Scotland for propagating Christian knowledge had oppofed the scheme of tranflating the holy fcriptures into the Erfe or Gaelick language, from political confiderations of the difadvantage of keeping up the distinction between the Highlanders and the other inhabitants of North-Britain. Dr. Johnfon being informed of this, I fuppofe by Mr. Drummond, wrote with a generous indignation as follows:

"SIR,

To Mr. WILLIAM DRUMMOND.

I DID not expect to hear that it could be, in an affembly convened for the propagation of Christian knowledge, a question whether any nation uninftructed in religion fhould receive inftruction; or whether that instruction

fhould

should be imparted to them by a translation of the holy books into their own language. If obedience to the will of God be neceffary to happiness, and knowledge of his will be neceffary to obedience, I know not how he that with-holds this knowledge, or delays it, can be faid to love his neighbour as himself. He, that voluntarily continues ignorance, is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces; as to him, that should extinguish the tapers of a light-house, might juftly be imputed the calamities of fhipwrecks. Christianity is the highest perfection of humanity; and as no man is good but as he wishes the good of others, no man can be good in the highest degree, who wishes not to others the largest measures of the greatest good. To omit for a year, or for a day, the most efficacious method of advancing Christianity, in compliance with any purposes that terminate on this fide of the grave, is a crime of which I know not that the world has yet had an example, except in the practice of the planters of America, a race of mortals whom, I fuppofe, no other man wifhes to refemble.

"The Papists have, indeed, denied to the laity the use of the bible; but this prohibition, in few places now very rigorously enforced, is defended by arguments, which have for their foundation the care of fouls. To obfcure, upon motives merely political, the light of revelation, is a practice referved for the reformed; and, furely, the blackest midnight of popery is meridian funshine to fuch a reformation. I am not very willing that any language fhould be totally extinguished. The fimilitude and derivation of languages afford the most indubitable proof of the traduction of nations, and the genealogy of mankind. They add often physical certainty to hiftorical evidence; and often supply the only evidence of ancient migrations, and of the revolutions of ages which left no written monuments behind them.

1766.

Ætat. 57.

"Every man's opinions, at least his defires, are a little influenced by his favourite ftudies. My zeal for languages may feem, perhaps, rather overheated, even to thofe by whom I defire to be well efteemed. To thofe who have nothing in their thoughts but trade or policy, prefent power, or present money, I should not think it neceffary to defend my opinions; but with men of letters I would not unwillingly compound, by wishing the continuance of every language, however narrow in its extent, or however incommodious for common purposes, till it is repofited in fome verfion of a known book, that it may be always hereafter examined and compared with other languages, and then permitting its difufe. For this purpose, the tranflation of the bible is moft to be defired. It is not certain that the fame method will not preferve the Highland language, for the purposes of learning, and abolish it from

1767.

Atat. 56.

daily use. When the Highlanders read the Bible, they will naturally wish to have its obfcurities cleared, and to know the hiftory, collateral or appendant. Knowledge always defires increase: it is like fire, which must first be kindled by fome external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself. When they once defire to learn, they will naturally have recourfe to the nearest language by which that defire can be gratified; and one will tell another that if he would attain knowledge, he must learn English.

"This speculation may, perhaps, be thought more fubtle than the groff-
ness of real life will easily admit. Let it, however, be remembered, that the
efficacy of ignorance has been long tried, and has not produced the confe-
quence expected. Let knowledge, therefore, take its turn; and let the patrons
of privation stand awhile afide, and admit the operation of positive principles.
"You will be pleased, Sir, to affure the worthy man who is employed in
the new tranflation, that he has my wifhes for his fuccefs; and if here or at
Oxford I can be of any use, that I fhall think it more than honour to promote
his undertaking.

"I am forry that I delayed fo long to write. I am, Sir,
"Your most humble fervant,

The opponents of this pious scheme being made ashamed of their conduct, the benevolent undertaking was allowed to go on.

The following letters, though not written till the year after, being chiefly upon the fame fubject, are here inferted.

"DEAR SIR,

To Mr. WILLIAM DRUMMOND.

"THAT my letter fhould have had such effects as you mention, gives me great pleasure. I hope you do not flatter me by imputing to me more good than I have really done. Those whom my arguments have perfuaded to change their opinion, fhow fuch modesty and candour as deferve great praise.

"I hope the worthy tranflator goes diligently forward. He has a higher reward in prospect, than any honours which this world can beftow. I wish I could be useful to him.

"The publication of my letter, if it could be of use in a caufe to which all other causes are nothing, I fhould not prohibit. But first, I would have

you