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mérit being admitted into the society of blessed spirits; and therefore, that God is graciously pleased to allow of a middle state, where they may be puri-. fied by certain degrees of suffering. You see, sir, there is nothing unreasonable in this." Boswell. But then, sir, their masses for the dead?" JOHNSON. "Why, sir, if it be once established that there are souls in purgatory, it is as proper to pray for them, as for our brethren of mankind, who are yet in this life." BOSWELL." The idolatry of the mass?" JOHNSON. "Sir, there is no idolatry in the mass they believe God to be there, and they adore him." BOSWELL. "The worship of saints?" JOHNSON. "Sir, they do not worship saints; they invoke them; they only ask their prayers. I am talking all this time of the doctrines of the church of Rome : I grant you, that in practice, purgatory is made a lucrative imposition, and that the people do become idolatrous, as they recommend themselves to the tutelary protection of particular saints. I think their giving the sacrament only in one kind, is criminal, because it is contrary to the express institution of Christ; and I wonder how the council of Trent admitted it." BoSWELL. "Confessiou?" JOHNSON." Why, I don't know but that is a good thing: the Scripture says, ' Confess your faults one to another'—and the priests confess as well as the daity. Then it must be considered, that their absolution is only upon repentance, and often upon penance also. You think your sins may be forgiven without penance, upon repentance alone.”

Boswell adds, "I thus ventured to mention all the common objections against the Roman Catholic church, that I might hear so great a man upon.

them. What he said is here accurately recorded; but, it is not improbable, that if one had taken the other side, he might have reasoned differently.

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"I must however mention, that he had a respect for the old religion,' as the mild Melancthon called that of the Roman Catholic church, even while he was exerting himself for its reformation in some particulars. Sir William Scott informs me, that he heard Johnson say, 'A man who is converted from protestantism to popery, may be sincere; he parts with nothing; he is only superadding to what he already had: but a convert from popery to protestantism gives up so much of what he has held as sacred as any thing that he retains; there is so much laceration of mind in such a conversion-that it can hardly be sincere and lasting.' The truth of this reflection may be confirmed by many and eminent instances, some of which will occur to most of my readers."

On another occasion, the worshipping of saints was the subject of conversation. TOPLADY. "Does not their invocation of saints suppose omnipresence in the saints?" JOHNSON. "No, sir; it supposes only pluri-presence; and when spirits are divested of matter, it seems probable that they should see with more extent than when in an embodied state. There is, therefore, no approach to an invasion of any of the divine attributes in the invocation of saints but I think it is will-worship and presumption. I see no command for it, and therefore think it is safer not to practise it."

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On Good Friday, after having attended the morning service at St. Clement's church, Boswell walked home with Johnson. They talked of the Roman Ca

tholic religion. JOHNSON. "In the barbarous ages, sir, priests and people were equally deceived; but afterwards, there were gross corruptions introduced by the clergy; such as indulgences to priests to have concubines, and the worship of images, not, indeed, inculcated, but knowingly permitted." He strongly censured the licensed stews at Rome. BOSWELL. "So then, sir, you would allow of no irregular intercourse whatever between the sexes ?" JOHNSON. "To be sure I would not, sir: I would punish it much more than it is done, and so restrain it. In all countries there has been fornication, as in all countries there has been theft; but there may be more or less of the one as well as of the other, in proportion to the force of law. All men will naturally commit fornication, as all men will naturally steal: and, sir, it is very absurd to argue, as has been often done, that prostitutes are necessary to prevent the violent effects of appetite from violating the decent order of life; nay, should be permitted, in order to preserve the chastity of our wives and daughters. Depend upon it, sir, severe laws, steadily enforced, would be sufficient against those evils, and would promote marriage."

Boswell talked of the recent expulsion of six students from the university of Oxford, who were methodists, and would not desist from publicly praying and exhorting. JOHNSON." Sir, that expulsion was extremely just and proper. What have they to do at an university, who are not willing to be taught, but will presume to teach? Where is religion to be learnt but at an university? Sir, they were examined, and found to be mighty ignorant fellows." BOSWELL. "But,was it not hard, sir, to expel them?

for I am told they were good beings." JOHNSON. "I believe they might be good beings, but they were not fit to be in the university of Oxford. A cow is a very good animal in the field; but we turn her out of a garden." Lord Elibank used to repeat this as an illustration uncommonly happy.

No. XVII.

FREE WILL.

DR. MAYO, (addressing Dr. Johnson)" Pray, sir, have you read Edwards, of New England, on Grace?" JOHNSON. "No, sir." BosWELL. "It puzzled me so much as to the freedom of the human will, by stating, with wonderful acute ingenuity, our being actuated by a series of motives which we cannot resist, that the only relief I had was to forget it." MAYO. "But he makes the proper distinction between moral and physical necessity." BOSWELL. "Alas, sir, they come both to the same thing. You may be bound as hard by chains when covered by leather, as when the iron appears. The argument for the moral necessity of human actions is always, I observe, fortified by supposing universal prescience to be one of the attributes of the Deity." JOHNSON. "You are surer that you are free, than you are of prescience; you are surer that you can lift up your finger or not as you please, than you are of any conclusion from a deduction of reasoning. But let us consider a little the objection from prescience. It is certain I am either to go home to-night or not; that does not prevent my freedom."

BOSWELL. "That it is certain you are either to go. home or not, does not prevent your freedom; because the liberty of choice between the two is compatible with that certainty. But if one of these events be certain now, you have no future power of volition. If it be certain you are to go home tonight, you must go home." JOHNSON. "If I am well acquainted with a mau, I can judge, with great probability, how he will act in any case, without his being restrained by my judging. God may have this probability increased to certainty." BOSWELL. "When it is increased to certainty, freedom ceases; because that cannot be certainly known which is not certain at the time: but if it be certain at the time, it is a contradiction in terms to maintain that there can be afterwards any contingency dependent upon the exercise of the will, or any thing else." JOHNSON. "All theory is against the freedom of the will; all experience for it."

No. XVIII.

SUPERSTITION.

BOSWELL introduced the subject of second sight, and other mysterious manifestations; the fulfilment of which, he suggested, might happen bychance. JOHNSON. "" Yes, sir, but they have happened so often, that mankind have agreed to think them not fortuitous."

Mrs. Williams told a story of second sight, which happened in Wales, where she was born.-He listened to it very attentively, and said he should be

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