for which there are as many plausible arguments as for most erroneous doctrines. You teach them, that all things at first were in common, and that no man had a right to any thing, but as he laid his hands upon it; and that this still is, or ought to be, the rule amongst mankind. Here, sir, you sap a great principle in society,-property. And don't you think the magistrate would have a right to prevent you? Or, suppose you should teach your children the notion of the Adamites, and they should run naked into the streets; would not the magistrate have a right to flog 'em into their doublets?" MAYO. "I think the magistrate has no right to interfere, till there is some overt act." BOSWELL." So, sir, though he sees an enemy to the state charging a blunderbuss, he is not to interfere till it is fired off!" MAYO." He must be sure of its direction against the state." JOHNSON. "The magistrate is to judge of that. He has no right to restrain your thinking, because the evil centres in yourself. If a man were sitting at this table, and chopping off his fingers, the magistrate, as guardian of the community, has no authority to restrain him, however he might do it from kindness as a parent though, indeed, upon more consideration, I think he may; as it is probable, that he who is chopping off his own fingers, may soon proceed to chop off those of other people. If I think it right to steal Mr. Dilly's plate, I am a bad man; but he can say nothing to me. If I make an open declaration that I think so, he will keep me out of his house if I put forth my hand, I shall be sent to Newgate. This is the gradation of thinking, preaching, and acting: if a man thinks erroneously, he

may keep his thoughts to himself, and nobody will trouble him; if he preaches erroneous doctrine, society may expel him; if he acts in consequence of it, the law takes place, and he is hanged." MAYO. "But, sir, ought not Christians to have liberty of conscience?" JOHNSON. "I have already told you so, sir: you are coming back to where you were.” BOSWELL." Dr. Mayo is always taking a return post-chaise, and going the stage over again: he has it at half price." JOHNSON. "Dr. Mayo, like other, champions for unlimited toleration, has got a set of words. Sir, it is no matter, politically, whether the magistrate be right or wrong. Suppose a club were to be formed, to drink confusion to king George the Third, and a happy restoration to Charles the Third; this would be very bad with respect to the state; but every member of that club must either conform to its rules, or be turned out of it. Old Baxter, I remember, maintains, that the magistrate should tolerate all things that are tolerable.' This is no good definition of toleration upon any principle; but it shows, that he thought some things were not tolerable." TOPLADY. Sir, you have untwisted this difficult subject with great dexterity."

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Dr. Mayo's calm temper and steady perseverance rendered him an admirable subject for the exercise of Dr. Johnson's powerful abilities. He never flinched; but, after reiterated blows, remained seemingly unmoved as at the first. The scintillations of Johnson's genius flashed every time he was, struck, without his receiving any injury. Hence he obtained the epithet of The Literary Anvil.

Boswell mentioned Elwal the heretic, whose

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trial sir John Pringle had given him to read. JOHNSON. Sir, Mr. Elwal was, I think, an ironmonger at Wolverhampton; and he had a mind to make himself famous, by being the founder of a new sect, which he wished much should be called the Elwallians. He held, that every thing in the Old Testament that was not typical, was to be of perpetual observance; and so he wore a ribband in the plaits of his coat, and he also wore a beard. I remember I had the honour of dining in company with Mr. Elwal. There was one Barter, a miller, who wrote against him; and you had the controversy between Mr. Elwal and Mr. Barter. To try to make himself distinguished, he wrote a letter to king George the Second, challenging him to dispute with him ; in which he said, 'George, if you be afraid to come by yourself, to dispute with a poor old man, you may bring a thousand of your black-guards with you; and if you should still be afraid, you may bring a thousand of your red-guards.' The letter had something of the impudence of Junius to our present king. But the men of Wolverhampton were not so inflammable as the common-council of Lon. don; so Mr. Elwal failed in his scheme of making himself a man of great consequence."

Boswell said to him, how common it was in the world to tell absurd stories of him, and to ascribe to him very strange sayings. JOHNSON. "What do they make me say, sir?" BoswELL. "Why, sir, as an instance very strange indeed, (laughing heartily as he spoke,) David Hume told me, you said that you would stand before a battery of cannon to restore the convocation to its full powers." Little did Boswell apprehend that he had actually

said this: but he was soon convinced of his error; for, with a determined look, he thundered out, "And would I not, sir? Shall the presbyterian kirk of Scotland have its general assembly, and the church of England be denied its convocation?" He was walking up and down the room while Boswell told him the anecdote; but when he uttered this explosion of high-church zeal, he had come close to his chair, and his eyes flashed with indignation.

Speaking of the petition to parliament for removing the subscription to the thirty-nine articles; -JOHNSON." It was thrown out, sir. They talk of not making boys at the university subscribe to what they do not understand; but they ought to consider that our universities were founded to bring up members for the church of England, and we must not supply our enemies with arms from our arsenal. No, sir; the meaning of subscribing is, not that they fully understand all the articles, but that they will adhere to the church of England. Now, take it in this way, and suppose that they should only subscribe their adherence to the church of England: there would be still the same difficulty; for still the young men would be subscribing to what they do not understand for, if you should ask them, what do you mean by the church of England? Do you know in what it differs from the Presbyterian church-from the Romish church ?-from the Greek church?-from the Coptic church ?-they could not tell you. So, sir, it comes to the same thing." BOSWELL." But would it not be sufficient to subscribe the Bible?" JOHNSON. "Why no, sir; for all sects will subscribe the Bible: nay, the Mahometans will subscribe the Bible; for the

Mahometans acknowledge Jesus Christ as well as Moses, but maintain that God sent Mahomet as a still greater prophet than either."

Boswell had hired a Bohemian as his servant while he remained in London, and, being much pleased with him, he asked Dr. Johnson whether his being a Roman Catholic should prevent his taking him with him to Scotland. JOHNSON. "Why no, sir; if he has no objection, you can have none.” BOSWELL." So, sir, you are no great enemy to the Roman Catholic religion?" JOHNSON. "No more, sir, than to the Presbyterian religion." Boswell. "You are joking." JOHNSON. "No, sir, I really think so nay, sir, of the two, I prefer the popish.” BOSWELL. "How so, sir?" JOHNSON." Why, sir, the presbyterians have no church, no apostolical ordination." BOSWELL. "And do you think that absolutely essential, sir?" JOHNSON. "Why, sir, as it was an apostolical institution, I think it is dangerous to be without it: and, sir, the presbyterians have no public worship: they have no form of prayer in which they know they are to join. They go to hear a man pray, and are to judge whether they will join with him." BOSWELL. But, sir, their doctrine is the same with that of the church of England: their confession of faith, and the thirty-nine articles, contain the same points, even the doctrine of predestination." JOHNSON. "Why yes, sir; predestination was a part of the clamour of the times, so it is mentioned in our articles, but with as little positiveness as could be.” BOSWELL. "Is it necessary, sir, to believe all the thirty-nine articles?" JOHNSON. "Why, sir, that is a question which has been much agitated.

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