The last part of this censure was theoretically made. Practically, we
know that grief for the loss of a wife may be continued very long, in
proportion as affection has been sincere. No man knew this better than
Dr. Johnson.
We went into the church, and looked at the monument erected by Mr. Young
to his father. Mr. Young mentioned an anecdote, that his father had
received several thousand pounds of subscription-money for his
_Universal Passion_, but had lost it in the South-Sea[391]. Dr. Johnson
thought this must be a mistake; for he had never seen a
subscription-book.
Upon the road we talked of the uncertainty of profit with which authours
and booksellers engage in the publication of literary works. JOHNSON.
'My judgement I have found is no certain rule as to the sale of a book.'
BOSWELL. 'Pray, Sir, have you been much plagued with authours sending
you their works to revise?' JOHNSON. 'No, Sir; I have been thought a
sour, surly fellow.' BOSWELL. 'Very lucky for you, Sir,--in that
respect.' I must however observe, that notwithstanding what he now said,
which he no doubt imagined at the time to be the fact, there was,
perhaps, no man who more frequently yielded to the solicitations even of
very obscure authours, to read their manuscripts, or more liberally
assisted them with advice and correction[392].
He found himself very happy at 'Squire Dilly's, where there is always
abundance of excellent fare, and hearty welcome.
On Sunday, June 3, we all went to Southill church, which is very near to
Mr. Dilly's house. It being the first Sunday of the month, the holy
sacrament was administered, and I staid to partake of it. When I came
afterwards into Dr. Johnson's room, he said, 'You did right to stay and
receive the communion; I had not thought of it.' This seemed to imply
that he did not choose to approach the altar without a previous
preparation, as to which good men entertain different opinions, some
holding that it is irreverent to partake of that ordinance without
considerable premeditation; others, that whoever is a sincere Christian,
and in a proper frame of mind to discharge any other ritual duty of our
religion, may, without scruple, discharge this most solemn one. A middle
notion I believe to be the just one, which is, that communicants need
not think a long train of preparatory forms indispensibly necessary; but
neither should they rashly and lightly venture upon so aweful and
mysterious an institution. Christians must judge each for himself, what
degree of retirement and self-examination is necessary upon
each occasion.
Being in a frame of mind which, I hope for the felicity of human nature,
many experience,--in fine weather,--at the country house of a
friend,--consoled and elevated by pious exercises,--I expressed myself
with an unrestrained fervour to my 'Guide, Philosopher, and
Friend[393];' 'My dear Sir, I would fain be a good man; and I am very
good now[394]. I fear GOD, and honour the King, I wish to do no ill, and
to be benevolent to all mankind.' He looked at me with a benignant
indulgence; but took occasion to give me wise and salutary caution. 'Do
not, Sir, accustom yourself to trust to _impressions_. There is a middle
state of mind between conviction and hypocrisy, of which many are
conscious[395]. By trusting to impressions, a man may gradually come to
yield to them, and at length be subject to them, so as not to be a free
agent, or what is the same thing in effect, to _suppose_ that he is not
a free agent. A man who is in that state, should not be suffered to
live; if he declares he cannot help acting in a particular way, and is
irresistibly impelled, there can be no confidence in him, no more than
in a tyger. But, Sir, no man believes himself to be impelled
irresistibly; we know that he who says he believes it, lies. Favourable
impressions at particular moments, as to the state of our souls, may be
deceitful and dangerous. In general no man can be sure of his acceptance
with God; some, indeed, may have had it revealed to them. St. Paul, who
wrought miracles, may have had a miracle wrought on himself, and may
have obtained supernatural assurance of pardon, and mercy, and
beatitude; yet St. Paul, though he expresses strong hope, also expresses
fear, lest having preached to others, he himself should be a
cast-away[396].'
The opinion of a learned Bishop of our acquaintance, as to there being
merit in religious faith, being mentioned;--JOHNSON. 'Why, yes, Sir, the
most licentious man, were hell open before him, would not take the most
beautiful strumpet to his arms. We must, as the Apostle says, live by
faith, not by sight[397].'
I talked to him of original sin[398], in consequence of the fall of man,
and of the atonement made by our SAVIOUR. After some conversation, which
he desired me to remember, he, at my request, dictated to me as
follows:--
'With respect to original sin, the inquiry is not necessary; for
whatever is the cause of human corruption, men are evidently and
confessedly so corrupt, that all the laws of heaven and earth are
insufficient to restrain them from crimes.
'Whatever difficulty there may be in the conception of vicarious
punishments, it is an opinion which has had possession of mankind in all
ages. There is no nation that has not used the practice of sacrifices.
Whoever, therefore, denies the propriety of vicarious punishments, holds
an opinion which the sentiments and practice of mankind have
contradicted, from the beginning of the world. The great sacrifice for
the sins of mankind was offered at the death of the MESSIAH, who is
called in scripture "The Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins[399] of
the world." To judge of the reasonableness of the scheme of redemption,
it must be considered as necessary to the government of the universe,
that GOD should make known his perpetual and irreconcileable detestation
of moral evil. He might indeed punish, and punish only the offenders;
but as the end of punishment is not revenge of crimes, but propagation
of virtue, it was more becoming the Divine clemency to find another
manner of proceeding, less destructive to man, and at least equally
powerful to promote goodness. The end of punishment is to reclaim and
warn. _That_ punishment will both reclaim and warn, which shews
evidently such abhorrence of sin in GOD, as may deter us from it, or
strike us with dread of vengeance when we have committed it. This is
effected by vicarious punishment. Nothing could more testify the
opposition between the nature of GOD and moral evil, or more amply
display his justice, to men and angels, to all orders and successions of
beings, than that it was necessary for the highest and purest nature,
even for DIVINITY itself, to pacify the demands of vengeance, by a
painful death; of which the natural effect will be, that when justice is
appeased, there is a proper place for the exercise of mercy; and that
such propitiation shall supply, in some degree, the imperfections of our
obedience, and the inefficacy of our repentance: for, obedience and
repentance, such as we can perform, are still necessary. Our SAVIOUR has
told us, that he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill; to
fulfill the typical law, by the performance of what those types had
foreshewn; and the moral law, by precepts of greater purity and higher
exaltation.'
[Here he said, 'GOD bless you with it.' I acknowledged myself much
obliged to him; but I begged that he would go on as to the propitiation
being the chief object of our most holy faith. He then dictated this one
other paragraph.]
'The peculiar doctrine of Christianity is, that of an universal
sacrifice, and perpetual propitiation. Other prophets only proclaimed
the will and the threatenings of GOD. CHRIST satisfied his
justice[400].'
The Reverend Mr. Palmer[401], Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge,
dined with us. He expressed a wish that a better provision were made for
parish-clerks. JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir, a parish-clerk should be a man who is
able to make a will, or write a letter for any body in the parish.'
I mentioned Lord Monboddo's notion[402] that the ancient Egyptians, with
all their learning, and all their arts, were not only black, but
woolly-haired. Mr. Palmer asked how did it appear upon examining the
mummies? Dr. Johnson approved of this test[403].
Although upon most occasions[404] I never heard a more strenuous
advocate for the advantages of wealth, than Dr. Johnson: he this day, I
know not from what caprice, took the other side. 'I have not observed
(said he) that men of very large fortunes enjoy any thing extraordinary
that makes happiness. What has the Duke of Bedford? What has the Duke of
Devonshire? The only great instance that I have ever known of the
enjoyment of wealth was, that of Jamaica Dawkins, who, going to visit
Palmyra, and hearing that the way was infested by robbers, hired a troop
of Turkish horse to guard him[405].'
Dr. Gibbons[406], the Dissenting minister, being mentioned, he said, 'I
took to Dr. Gibbons.' And addressing himself to Mr. Charles Dilly,
added, 'I shall be glad to see him. Tell him, if he'll call on me, and
dawdle[407] over a dish of tea in an afternoon, I shall take it kind.'
The Reverend Mr. Smith, Vicar of Southill, a very respectable man, with
a very agreeable family, sent an invitation to us to drink tea. I
remarked Dr. Johnson's very respectful[408] politeness. Though always
fond of changing the scene, he said, 'We must have Mr. Dilly's leave. We
cannot go from your house, Sir, without your permission.' We all went,
and were well satisfied with our visit. I however remember nothing
particular, except a nice distinction which Dr. Johnson made with
respect to the power of memory, maintaining that forgetfulness was a
man's own fault[409]. 'To remember and to recollect (said he) are
different things. A man has not the power to recollect what is not in
his mind; but when a thing is in his mind he may remember it.' The
remark was occasioned by my leaning back on a chair, which a little
before I had perceived to be broken, and pleading forgetfulness as an
excuse. 'Sir, (said he,) its being broken was certainly in your
mind[410].'
When I observed that a housebreaker was in general very timorous;
JOHNSON. 'No wonder, Sir; he is afraid of being shot getting _into_ a
house, or hanged when he has got _out_ of it.'
He told us, that he had in one day written six sheets of a translation
from the French[411], adding, 'I should be glad to see it now. I wish
that I had copies of all the pamphlets written against me, as it is said
Pope had. Had I known that I should make so much noise in the world, I
should have been at pains to collect them. I believe there is hardly a
day in which there is not something about me in the newspapers.'
On Monday, June 4, we all went to Luton-Hoe, to see Lord Bute's
magnificent seat[412], for which I had obtained a ticket. As we entered
the park, I talked in a high style of my old friendship with Lord
Mountstuart[413], and said, 'I shall probably be much at this place.'
The Sage, aware of human vicissitudes, gently checked me: 'Don't you be
too sure of that.' He made two or three peculiar observations; as when
shewn the botanical garden, 'Is not every garden a botanical garden?'
When told that there was a shrubbery to the extent of several miles:
'That is making a very foolish use of the ground; a little of it is very
well.' When it was proposed that we should walk on the pleasure-ground;
'Don't let us fatigue ourselves. Why should we walk there? Here's a fine
tree, let's get to the top of it.' But upon the whole, he was very much
pleased. He said, 'This is one of the places I do not regret having come
to see. It is a very stately place, indeed; in the house magnificence is
not sacrificed to convenience, nor convenience to magnificence. The
library is very splendid: the dignity of the rooms is very great; and
the quantity of pictures is beyond expectation, beyond hope.'
It happened without any previous concert, that we visited the seat of
Lord Bute upon the King's birthday; we dined and drank his Majesty's
health at an inn, in the village of Luton.
In the evening I put him in mind of his promise to favour me with a copy
of his celebrated Letter to the Earl of Chesterfield, and he was at last
pleased to comply with this earnest request, by dictating it to me from
his memory; for he believed that he himself had no copy[414]. There was
an animated glow in his countenance while he thus recalled his
high-minded indignation.
He laughed heartily at a ludicrous action in the Court of Session, in
which I was Counsel. The Society of _Procurators_, or Attornies,
entitled to practise in the inferiour courts at Edinburgh, had obtained
a royal charter, in which they had taken care to have their ancient
designation of Procurators changed into that of _Solicitors_, from a
notion, as they supposed, that it was more genteel[415]; and this new
title they displayed by a publick advertisement for a _General Meeting_
at their HALL.
It has been said, that the Scottish nation is not distinguished for
humour; and, indeed, what happened on this occasion may in some degree
justify the remark: for although this society had contrived to make
themselves a very prominent object for the ridicule of such as might
stoop to it, the only joke to which it gave rise, was the following
paragraph, sent to the newspaper called _The Caledonian Mercury_:--
'A correspondent informs us, that the Worshipful Society of _Chaldeans_,
_Cadies_[416], or _Running Stationers_ of this city are resolved, in
imitation, and encouraged by the singular success of their brethren, of
an equally respectable Society, to apply for a Charter of their
Privileges, particularly of the sole privilege of PROCURING, in the most
extensive sense of the word[417], exclusive of chairmen, porters,
penny-post men, and other _inferiour_ ranks; their brethren the R--Y--L
S--LL--RS, _alias_ P--C--RS, _before the_ INFERIOUR Courts of this City,
always excepted.
'Should the Worshipful Society be successful, they are farther resolved
not to be _puffed up_ thereby, but to demean themselves with more
equanimity and decency than their _R--y--l, learned_, and _very modest_
brethren above mentioned have done, upon their late dignification and
exaltation.'
A majority of the members of the Society prosecuted Mr. Robertson, the
publisher of the paper, for damages; and the first judgement of the
whole Court very wisely dismissed the action: _Solventur risu tabulae,
tu missus abibis_[418]. But a new trial or review was granted upon a
petition, according to the forms in Scotland. This petition I was
engaged to answer, and Dr. Johnson with great alacrity furnished me this
evening with what follows:--
'All injury is either of the person, the fortune, or the fame. Now it is
a certain thing, it is proverbially known, that _a jest breaks no
bones_. They never have gained half-a-crown less in the whole profession
since this mischievous paragraph has appeared; and, as to their
reputation, What is their reputation but an instrument of getting money?
If, therefore, they have lost no money, the question upon reputation
may be answered by a very old position,--_De minimis non curat Praetor_.
'Whether there was, or was not, an _animus injuriandi_, is not worth
inquiring, if no _injuria_ can be proved. But the truth is, there was no
_animus injuriandi_. It was only an _animus irritandi[419]_, which,
happening to be exercised upon a _genus irritabile_, produced unexpected
violence of resentment. Their irritability arose only from an opinion of
their own importance, and their delight in their new exaltation. What
might have been borne by a _Procurator_ could not be borne by a
_Solicitor_. Your Lordships well know, that _honores mutant mores_.
Titles and dignities play strongly on the fancy. As a madman is apt to
think himself grown suddenly great, so he that grows suddenly great is
apt to borrow a little from the madman. To co-operate with their
resentment would be to promote their phrenzy; nor is it possible to
guess to what they might proceed, if to the new title of Solicitor,
should be added the elation of victory and triumph.
'We consider your Lordships as the protectors of our rights, and the
guardians of our virtues; but believe it not included in your high
office, that you should flatter our vices, or solace our vanity: and, as
vanity only dictates this prosecution, it is humbly hoped your Lordships
will dismiss it.
'If every attempt, however light or ludicrous, to lessen another's
reputation, is to be punished by a judicial sentence, what punishment
can be sufficiently severe for him who attempts to diminish the
reputation of the Supreme Court of Justice, by reclaiming upon a cause
already determined, without any change in the state of the question?
Does it not imply hopes that the Judges will change their opinion? Is
not uncertainty and inconstancy in the highest degree disreputable to a
Court? Does it not suppose, that the former judgement was temerarious or
negligent? Does it not lessen the confidence of the publick? Will it not
be said, that _jus est aut incognitum aut vagum?_ and will not the
consequence be drawn, _misera est servitus[420]?_ Will not the rules of
action be obscure? Will not he who knows himself wrong to-day, hope that
the Courts of Justice will think him right to-morrow? Surely, my Lords,
these are attempts of dangerous tendency, which the Solicitors, as men
versed in the law, should have foreseen and avoided. It was natural for
an ignorant printer to appeal from the Lord Ordinary; but from lawyers,
the descendants of lawyers, who have practised for three hundred years,
and have now raised themselves to a higher denomination, it might be
expected, that they should know the reverence due to a judicial
determination; and, having been once dismissed, should sit down
in silence.'
I am ashamed to mention, that the Court, by a plurality of voices,
without having a single additional circumstance before them, reversed
their own judgement, made a serious matter of this dull and foolish
joke, and adjudged Mr. Robertson to pay to the Society five pounds
(sterling money) and costs of suit. The decision will seem strange to
English lawyers.
On Tuesday, June 5, Johnson was to return to London. He was very
pleasant at breakfast; I mentioned a friend of mine having resolved
never to marry a pretty woman. JOHNSON. 'Sir, it is a very foolish
resolution to resolve not to marry a pretty woman. Beauty is of itself
very estimable. No, Sir, I would prefer a pretty woman, unless there are
objections to her. A pretty woman may be foolish; a pretty woman may be
wicked; a pretty woman may not like me. But there is no such danger in
marrying a pretty woman as is apprehended: she will not be persecuted if
she does not invite persecution. A pretty woman, if she has a mind to be
wicked, can find a readier way than another; and that is all.'
I accompanied him in Mr. Dilly's chaise to Shefford, where talking of
Lord Bute's never going to Scotland, he said, 'As an Englishman, I
should wish all the Scotch gentlemen should be educated in England;
Scotland would become a province; they would spend all their rents in
England.' This is a subject of much consequence, and much delicacy. The
advantage of an English education is unquestionably very great to Scotch
gentlemen of talents and ambition; and regular visits to Scotland, and
perhaps other means, might be effectually used to prevent them from
being totally estranged from their native country, any more than a
Cumberland or Northumberland gentleman who has been educated in the
South of England. I own, indeed, that it is no small misfortune for
Scotch gentlemen, who have neither talents nor ambition, to be educated
in England, where they may be perhaps distinguished only by a nick-name,
lavish their fortune in giving expensive entertainments to those who
laugh at them, and saunter about as mere idle insignificant hangers on
even upon the foolish great; when if they had been judiciously brought
up at home, they might have been comfortable and creditable members
of society.
At Shefford I had another affectionate parting from my revered friend,
who was taken up by the Bedford coach and carried to the metropolis. I
went with Messieurs Dilly, to see some friends at Bedford; dined with
the officers of the militia of the county, and next day proceeded on
my journey.
'To BENNET LANGTON, ESQ.
'DEAR SIR,
'How welcome your account of yourself and your invitation to your new
house was to me, I need not tell you, who consider our friendship not
only as formed by choice, but as matured by time. We have been now long
enough acquainted to have many images in common, and therefore to have a
source of conversation which neither the learning nor the wit of a new
companion can supply.
'My _Lives_ are now published; and if you will tell me whither I shall
send them, that they may come to you, I will take care that you shall
not be without them.
'You will, perhaps, be glad to hear, that Mrs. Thrale is disencumbered
of her brewhouse; and that it seemed to the purchaser so far from an
evil, that he was content to give for it an hundred and thirty-five
thousand pounds. Is the nation ruined?
'Please to make my respectful compliments to Lady Rothes, and keep me in
the memory of all the little dear family, particularly pretty Mrs.
Jane.[421]
'I am, Sir,
'Your affectionate humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'Bolt-Court, June 16, 1781.'
Johnson's charity to the poor was uniform and extensive, both from
inclination and principle. He not only bestowed liberally out of his own
purse, but what is more difficult as well as rare, would beg from
others, when he had proper objects in view. This he did judiciously as
well as humanely. Mr. Philip Metcalfe[422] tells me, that when he has
asked him for some money for persons in distress, and Mr. Metcalfe has
offered what Johnson thought too much, he insisted on taking less,
saying 'No, no, Sir; we must not _pamper_ them.'
I am indebted to Mr. Malone, one of Sir Joshua Reynolds's executors, for
the following note, which was found among his papers after his death,
and which, we may presume, his unaffected modesty prevented him from
communicating to me with the other letters from Dr. Johnson with which
he was pleased to furnish me. However slight in itself, as it does
honour to that illustrious painter, and most amiable man, I am happy to
introduce it.
'To SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. 'DEAR SIR,
'It was not before yesterday that I received your splendid benefaction.
To a hand so liberal in distributing, I hope nobody will envy the power
of acquiring.
