pretty book; not very theological indeed; and there seems to be an affectation of ease and carelessness, as if it were not suitable to his character to be very serious about the matter." BOSWELL.. "He may have intended this to introduce his book the better among genteel people, who might be un-` willing to read too grave a treatise. There is a general levity in the age. We have physicians now with bag-wigs; may we not have airy divines, at least somewhat less solemn in their appearance than they used to be?" JOHNSON. "Jenyns might mean as you say." BoswELL. "You should like this book, Mrs. Knowles, as it maintains, as you friends do, that courage is not a Christian virtue." MRS. KNOWLES. "Yes, indeed, I like him there; but I cannot agree with him, that friendship is not a Christian virtue." JOHNSON. " Why, madam, strictly speaking, he is right. All friendship is preferring the interest of a friend, to the neglect, or, perhaps, against the interest of others: so that an old Greek said, 'He that has friends has no friend.' Now Christianity recommends universal benevolence-to consider all men as our brethren; which is contrary to the virtue of friendship, as described by the ancient philosophers. Surely, madam, your sect must approve of this; for you call all men friends." MRS. KNOWLES. "We are commanded to do good to all men, but especially to them who are of the household of faith.'" JOHNSON. "Well, madam, the household of faith is wide enough." MRS. KNOWLES. "But, doctor, our Saviour had twelve apostles, yet there was one whom he loved: John was called the disciple whom Jesus loved.'" JOHNSON (with eyes spark,

ling benignantly.) "Very well, indeed, madam : you have said very well." BosWELL." A fine application. Pray, sir, had you ever thought of it?" JOHNSON. "I had not, sir."

From this pleasing subject, he made a sudden transition to one upon which he was a violent aggressor; for, he said: "I am willing to love all mankind, except an American;" and his inflammable corruption bursting into horrid fire, he "breathed out threatenings and slaughter;" calling them "rascals, robbers, pirates ;" and exclaiming, he'd "burn and destroy them." Miss Seward, looking at him with mild but steady astonishment, said, "Sir, this is an instance, that we are always most violent against those whom we have injured." He was irritated still more by this delicate and keen reproach; and roared out another tremendous volley, which one might fancy could be heard across the Atlantic. During this tempest, Boswell sat in great uneasiness, lamenting his heat of temper; till, by degrees, he diverted his attention to other topics.

One evening, when a young gentleman teased him with an account of the infidelity of his servant, who, he said, would not believe the Scriptures, because he could not read them in the original tongues, and be sure that they were not invented. "Why, foolish fellow," said Johnson, "has he any better authority for almost every thing that he believes?" BOSWELL. "Then the vulgar, sir, never can know they are right, but must submit themselves to the learned." JOHNSON. "To be sure, sir: the vulgar are the children of the state, and must be taught like children." Bos

WELL. "Then, sir, a poor Turk must be a Mahometan, just as a poor Englishman must be a ChrisJOHNSON." Why, yes, sir; and what

tian ?" then ?

This now is such stuff as I used to talk to my mother, when I first began to think myself a clever fellow; and she ought to have whipped me for it."

66

General Paoli asked him what he thought of the spirit of infidelity which was so prevalent. JOHNSON. Sir, this gloom of infidelity, I hope, is only a transient cloud passing through the hemisphere, which will soon be dissipated, and the sun break forth with his usual splendor." PAOLI. "You think, then, that they will change their principles like their clothes?" JOHNSON. "Why, sir, if they bestow no more thought on principles than on dress, it must be so." PAOLI. "A great part of the fashionable infidelity is owing to a desire of showing courage. Men, who have no opportunities of showing it as to things in this life, take death and futurity as objects on which to display it." JOHNSON. "That is mighty foolish affectation. Fear is one of the passions of human nature, of which it is impossible to divest it. You remember that the emperor Charles V. when he read upon the tombstone of a Spanish nobleman, 'Here lies one who never knew fear,' wittily said, Then he never snuffed a candle with his fingers.'

Goldsmith having spoken of the difficulty of acquiring literary fame, Johnson observed, "Ah, sir, that should make a man think of securing happiness in another world, which all who try sincerely for it may attain. In comparison of that, how little are

all other things! The belief of immortality is inpressed upon all men; and all men act under an impression of it, however they may talk, and though, perhaps, they may be scarcely sensible of it." Boswell said, it appeared to him, that some people had not the least notion of immortality, and he mentioned a distinguished gentleman of their acquaintance. JOHNSON. "Sir, if it were not for the notion of immortality, he would cut a throat to fill his pockets." (When this was related to Beauclerk, who knew much more of the gentleman than they 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 person, originally a Quaker, but now, I am afraid, a Deist, say that he did not believe there were in all England above two hundred infidels."

Boswell mentioned Hume's argument against the belief of miracles-that it is more probable that the witnesses to the truth of them are mistaken, or speak falsely, than that the miracles should be true. JOHNSON." Why, sir, the great difficulty of proving miracles should make us very cautious in believing them. But let us consider: although God has made nature to operate by certain fixed laws, yet it is not unreasonable to think, that he may suspend those laws, in order to establish a system highly advantageous to mankind. Now the Christian 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 told, that they should suffer persecution; and did actually lay down their lives in confirmation of the truth of the facts which they asserted. Indeed, for some centuries the heathens did not pretend to deny the miracles; but said they were performed by the aid of evil spirits. This is a circumstance of great weight. Then, sir, when we take the proofs derived from prophecies which have been so exactly fulfilled, we have most satisfactory evidence. Supposing a miracle possible, (as to which, in my opinion, there can be no doubt) we have as strong evidence for the miracles in support of Christianity, as the nature of the thing admits."

Mr. Erskine said, that when he was in the island of Minorca, he not only read prayers, but preached two sermons to the regiment. He seemed to object to the passage in Scripture, where we are told, that the angel of the Lord smote in one night forty thousand Assyrians. 66 66 Sir," said Johnson, you should recollect, that there was a supernatural in- ` terposition; they were destroyed by pestilence : you are not to suppose, that the angel of the Lord went about, and stabbed each of them with a dagger, or knocked them on the head, man by man."

SON.

BOSWELL." Is there not less religion in the nation now, sir, than there was formerly?" JOHNI don't know, sir, that there is." BosWELL. "For instance, there used to be a chaplain in every great family, which we do not find now." JOHNSON. "Neither do you find any of the state