contended in the list of declamation; and, from a spirit of contra diction, and a delight in showing his powers, he would often main tain the wrong side with equal warmth and ingenuity; so that, when there was an audience, his real opinions could seldom be gathered from his talk; though when he was in company with a single friend, he would discuss a subject with genuine fairness; but he was too conscientious to make error permanent and pernicious, by deliberately writing it; and, in all his numerous works, he earnestly inculcated what appeared to him to be the truth; his piety being constant, and the ruling principle of all his conduct.

Such was SAMUEL JOHNSON; a man whose talents, acquirements and virtues, were so extraordinary, that the more his character is considered, the more he will be regarded by the present age, and by posterity. with admiration and reverence.