.

1783. day with him, and introduced the subject, which chiefly occupied my mind. Ærat. 74. Johnson. “I do not see, Sir, that fighting is absolutely forbidden in Scripture;

I see revenge forbidden, but not self-defence.” Boswell. “ The Quakers
say it is; “ Unto hiin that smiteth thee on one cheek, offer also the other."
Johnson. “But stay, Sir, the text is meant only to have the effect of
moderating passion; it is plain that we are not to take it in a literal sense.
We see this from the context, where there are other recommendations, which
I warrant you the Quaker will not take literally, as for instance, “From him
that would borrow of thee, turn thou not away.' Let a man whose credit
is bad come to a Quaker, and say, “Well, Sir, lend me a hundred pounds ;'
he'll find him as unwilling as any other man. No, Sir, a man may shoot the
man who invades his character, as he may shoot him who attempts to break
into his house." So in 1745, my friend, Tom Cumming, the Quaker, said,
he would not fight, but he would drive an ammunition-cart; and we know
that the Quakers have sent flannel waistcoats to our foldiers, to enable them
to fight better.” Boswell. “ When a man is the aggressor, and by ill-usage
forces on a duel in which he is killed, have we not little ground to hope that
he is gone into a state of happiness?” Johnson. “Sir, we are not to judge
determinately of the state in which a man leaves this life. He may in a
moment have repented effectually, and it is possible may have been accepted
by God. There is in · Camden's Remains,' an epitaph upon a very wicked
man, who was killed by a fall from his horse, in which he is supposed to say,

• Between the stirrup and the ground,

I mercy asked, I mercy found.” Boswell. “Is not the expression in the Burial-service, • In the fure and certain hope of a blessed resurrection;' too strong to be used indiscriminately, and, indeed, sometimes when those over whose bodies it is faid have been notoriously profane ?” Johnson.“ It is sure and certain hope, Sir; not belief." I did not insist further; but cannot help thinking that less positive words would be more proper.

Talking of a man who was grown very fat, so as to be incommoded with corpulency; he said, “He eats too much, Sir.”

“ He eats too much, Sir.” Boswell. “ I don't know, Sir, you will see one man fat who eats moderately, and another lean who eats a great deal.” JOHNSON.

JOHNSON. “ Nay, Sir, whatever may be the quantity that a man eats, it is plain that if he is too fat, he has eaten more than he should have done. One man may have a digestion that confumes food better than common; but it is certain that folidity is encreased by putting something to

3

it.”

1783

Atat. 74.

it.” Boswell.“ But may not folids fwell and be diftended?” Johnson.
“ Yes, Sir, they may swell and be distended; but that is not fat."

We talked of the accusation against a gentleman for supposed delinquencies
in India. Johnson. “ What foundation there is for accusation I know not,
but they will not get at him. Where bad actions are committed at so great
a distance, a delinquent can obscure the evidence till the scent becomes cold;
there is a cloud between, which cannot be penetrated, therefore all distant
power is bad. I am clear that the best plan for the government of India is
a despotick governour; for if he be a good man it is evidently the best
government; and supposing him to be a bad man, it is better to have one
plunderer than many. A governour whose power is checked, lets others
plunder that he himself may be allowed to plunder. But if despotick, he
sees that the more he lets others plunder the less there will be for himself,
so he restrains them; and though he himfelf plunders, the country is a gainer,
compared with being plundered by numbers.”

I mentioned the very liberal payment which had been received for review-
ing; and, as evidence of this, that it had been proved in a trial that Dr.
Shebbeare had received six guineas a sheet for that kind of literary labour.
Johnson. “Sir, he might get fix guineas for a particular sheet, but not
communibus fbeetibus.” Boswell. “ Pray, Sir, by a sheet of review is it

, ,
meant that it shall be all of the writer's own composition; or are extracts,
made from the book reviewed, deducted ?” Johnson, “ No, Sir: it is a
sheet, no matter of what.” BOSWELL. “ I think that it is not reasonable.”
Johnson. “ Yes, Sir, it is. A man will inore easily write a sheet all his own

,
than read an octavo volume to get extracts.” To one of Johnson's wonderful
fertility of mind, I believe writing was really easier than reading and extract-
ing; but with ordinary men the case is very different. A great deal, indeed,
will depend upon the care and judgement with which the extracts are made.
I can suppose the operation to be tedious and difficult : but in many instances
we must observe crude morsels cut out of books as if at random; and when
a large extract is made from one place, it surely may be done with very little
trouble. One, however, I must acknowledge, might be led, from the
practice of Reviewers, to suppose that they take a pleasure in original writing;
for we often find that, instead of giving an accurate account of what has been
done by the authour whose work they are reviewing, which is surely the proper
business of a literary journal, they produce some plausible and ingenious con-
ceits of their own, upon the topicks which have been discussed.
M m m 2

Upon

3

l'pon being told that old Mr. Sheridan, indignant at the neglect of his oratorical plans, had threatened to go to America ;-— Johnson. “I hope he will go to America.” Boswell. « The Americans don't want oratory.” Johnson. “ But we can want Sheridan.”

On Monday, April 29, I found him at home in the forenoon, and Mr. Seward with him. Horace having been mentioned ;--Boswell. “ There is a great deal of thinking in his works. One finds there almost every thing but religion.” Seward. “He speaks of his returning to it in his Ode Parcus

SEWARD Deorum cultor et infrequens.” JOHNSON. “ Sir, he was not in earnest. This was merely poetical.” Boswell. “. There are, I am afraid, many people who have no religion at all.” SEWARD. “And sensible people too.” Johnson. “ Why, Sir, not sensible in that respect. There must be either a natural or a moral stupidity, if one lives in a total neglect of so very important a concern.” SEWARD. “I wonder that there should be people without religion.” Johnson. “Sir, you need not wonder at this, when you consider how large

, a proportion of almost every man's life is passed without thinking of it. I myself was for some years totally regardless of religion. It had dropped out of my mind. It was at an early part of my life. Sickness brought it back, and I hope I have never lost it since.” Boswell.“

Boswell. “My dear Sir, what a man must you have been without religion! Why you must have gone on drinking, and swearing, and—” Johnson. (with a smile) “ I drank enough and swore enough, to be sure.” SEWARD. “ One should think that sickness,

" and the view of death, would make more men religious.” JOHNSON. “Sir, they do not know how to go about it. They have not the first notion. A man who has never had religion before, no more grows religious when he is fick, than a man who has never learnt figures can count when he has need of calculation.”

I mentioned a worthy friend of ours whom we valued much, but obferved that he was too ready to introduce religious discourse upon all occasions. Johnson. “ Why yes, Sir, he will introduce religious discourse without feeing whether it will end in instruction and improvement, or produce some profane jest. He would introduce it in the company of Wilkes, and twenty more such.”

I mentioned Dr. Johnson's excellent distinction between liberty of conscience and liberty of teaching. Johnson. “Consider, Sir; if you have children whom you wish to educate in the principles of the Church of England, and there comes a Quaker who tries to pervert them to his prin ciples; you would drive away the Quaker. You would not trust to the

predomination

a

predomination of right, which you believe is in your opinions; you would 1783. keep wrong out of their heads. Now the vulgar are the children of the State. Ærat. 74. If any one attempts to teach them doctrines contrary to what the State approves, the magistrate may and ought to restrain him.” Seward. “ Would you restrain private conversation, Sir?” Johnson. “ Why, Sir, it is difficult to fay where private conversation begins, and where it ends. If we three hould discuss even the great question concerning the existence of a Supreme Being by ourselves, we should not be restrained ;. for that would be to put an end to all improvement. But if we should discuss it in the presence of ten boarding-school girls, and as many boys, I think the magistrate would do well to put us in the stocks, to finish the debate there.”

Lord Hailes had sent him a present of a curious little printed poem, on repairing the University of Aberdeen, by David Malloch, which he thought would please Johnson, as affording clear evidence that Mallet had appeared even as a literary character by the name of Malloch ; his changing which to

> one of softer sound, had given Johnson occasion to introduce him into his Dictionary, under the article Alias. This piece was, I supposé, one of Mallet's first essays. It is preserved in his works, with several variations. Johnson now read aloud, from the beginning of it, where there were some common-place assertions as to the superiority of ancient times. “ How falfe is all this to say that in ancient times learning was not a disgrace to a Peer as

In ancient times a Peer was as ignorant as any one else. He would have been angry to have it thought he could write his name. Men in ancient times dared to stand forth with a degree of ignorance with which nobody would dare now to stand forth. I am always angry when I hear ancient times praised at the expence of modern times. There is now a great deal more learning in the world than than there was formerly; for it is universally diffused. You have, perhaps, no man who knows as much Greek and Latin as Bentley; or no man who knows as much mathematicks as Newton: but you have

many more men who know Greek and Latin, and who know mathematicks.”

On Thursday, May 1, I visited him in the evening along with young Mr. Burke. He said, “ It is strange that there should be so little reading in the world, and so much writing. People in general do not willingly read, if they can have any thing else to amuse them. There must be an external impulse; emulation, or vanity, or avarice. The progress which the understanding makes through a book, has more pain than pleasure in it. Language is scanty, and inadequate to express the nice gradations and mixtures of our

feelings.

it is now.

Atat. 74.

1783. feelings. No man reads a book of science from pure inclination. The books

that we do read with pleasure are light compositions, which contain a quick succession of events. However, I have this year read all Vigil through. I read a book of the Æneid every night, so it was done in twelve nights, and I had great delight in it. The Georgicks did not give me so much pleafure, except the fourth book. The Eclogues I have almost all by heart. I do no think the story of the Æneid interesting. I like the story of the Odyssey much better ; and this not on account of the wonderful things which it contains ; for there are wonderful things enough in the Æneid ;-the ships of the Trojans turned to fea-nymphs--the tree at Polydorus's tomb dropping blood. The story of the Odyssey is interesting, as a great part of it is domestick. It has been said, there is pleasure in writing, particularly in writing verses. I allow you may have pleasure from writing after it is over, if you have written well; but you don't go willingly to it again. I know ;

I when I have been writing verses, I have run my finger down the margin to see how many I had made, and how few I had to make.”

He seemed to be in a very placid humour, and although I have no note of the particulars of young Mr. Burke's conversation, it is but justice to mention in general, that it was such that Dr. Johnson said to me afterwards, “ He did very well indeed; I have a mind to tell his father.”

I have no minute of any interview with Johnson till Thursday, May 15, when I find what follows:

-Boswell. “I wish much to be in Parliament, Sir.” Johnson. " Why, Sir, unless you come resolved to support any administration, you would be the worse for being in Parliament, because you would be obliged to live more expensively.” BOSWELL. “ Perhaps, Sir, I should be the less happy for being in Parliament. I never would sell my vote, and I should be vexed if things went wrong.” Johnson. “ That’s cant, Sir. It would not vex you more in the house, than in the gallery. Publick affairs vex no man.” Boswell. “ Have not they vexed yourself a little, Sir? Have not you been vexed by all the turbulence of this reign, and by that absurd vote of the House of Commons, "That the influence of the Crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished'?” Johnson. “Sir, I have never Nept an hour less, nor eat an ounce less meat. I would have knocked the factious dogs on the head, to be sure ; buit I was not vexed.” Boswell. “I declare, Sir, upon my honour, I did imagine I was vexed, and took a pride in it. But it was, perhaps, cant; for I own I neither eat less nor Nept less.” Johnson. “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant. You may talk as other people do. You may say to a man,

You may say to a man, “Sir, I am your