between coarse and refined abuse is as the difference between being bruifed by a club, and wounded by a poisoned arrow." I have fince observed his pofition elegantly expreffed by Dr. Young: "As the foft plume gives fwiftness to the dart, "Good breeding fends the fatire to the heart." On Saturday, June 12, there.drank tea with us at Dr. Adams's, Mr. John Henderson, student of Pembroke-College, celebrated for his wonderful acquirements in Alchymy, Judicial Aftrology, and other abftrufe and curious learning; and the Reverend Herbert Croft, who I am afraid was somewhat mortified by Dr. Johnfon's not being highly pleafed with fome "Family Difcourfes," which he had printed; they were in too familiar a ftyle to be approved of by fo manly a mind. I have no note of this evening's converfation, except a fingle fragment. When I mentioned Thomas Lord Lyttelton's vision, the prediction of the time of his death, and its exact fulfilment; JOHNSON. "It is the most extraordinary thing that has happened in my day. I heard it with my own ears, from his uncle, Lord Westcote. I am fo glad to have every evidence of the spiritual world, that I am willing to believe it." DR. ADAMS. "You have evidence enough; good evidence, which needs not fuch fupport." JOHNSON. "I like to have more." Mr. Henderson, with whom I had fauntered in the venerable walks of Merton-College, and found him a very learned and pious man, he fupt with us. Dr. Johnson surprised him not a little, by acknowledging with a look of horrour, that he was much oppreffed by the fear of death. The amiable Dr. Adams fuggefted that GOD was infinitely good. JOHNSON. "That he is infinitely good, as far as the perfection of his nature will allow, I certainly believe; but it is neceffary for good upon the whole, that individuals should be punished. As to an individual therefore, he is not infinitely good; and as I cannot be sure that I have fulfilled the conditions on which falvation is granted, I am afraid I may be one of those who shall be damned." (looking difinally). DR. ADAMS. "What do you mean by damned?" JOHNSON. (paffionately and loudly) "Sent to Hell, Sir, and punished everlastingly." DR. ADAMS. "I don't believe that doctrine." JOHNSON. "Hold, Sir; do you believe that fome will be punished at all?" DR. ADAMS. "Being excluded from Heaven will be a punishment; yet there may be no great pofitive fuffering." JOHNSON. " "Well, Sir; but, if you admit any degree of punishment, there is an end of your argument for infinite goodness fimply confidered; for, VOL. II. infinite Ttt 1784. Etat. 75. 1784. infinite goodness would inflict no punishment whatever. There is not infinite Etat. 75. goodness phyfically confidered; morally there is." BOSWELL. "But may not a man attain to fuch a degree of hope as not to be uneafy from the fear of death?" JOHNSON. "A man may have fuch a degree of hope as to keep him quiet. You see I am not quiet, from the vehemence with which I talk; but I do not defpair." MRS. ADAMS. "You feem, Sir, to forget the merits. of our Redeemer." JOHNSON. "Madam, I do not forget the merits of my Redeemer; but my Redeemer has faid that he will fet fome on his righthand, and fome on his left."He was in gloomy agitation, and said, “I'll have no more on't." If what has now been stated fhould be urged by the enemies of Christianity, as if its influence on the mind were not benignant, let it be remembered, that Johnson's temperament was melancholy, of which fuch direful apprehenfions of futurity are often a common effect. We shall presently fee that when he approached nearer to his aweful change, his mind became tranquil, and he exhibited as much fortitude as becomes a thinking man in that fituation. From the fubject of death we paffed to discourse of life, whether it was upon the whole more happy or miferable. Johnfon was decidedly for the balance of mifery: in confirmation of which I maintained, that no man would choose to lead over again the life which he had experienced. Johnson acceded to that opinion in the strongest terms. This is an inquiry often made; and its being a subject of difquifition is a proof that much mifery presses upon human feelings; for those who are confcious of a felicity of existence, would never hesitate to accept of a repetition of it. I have met with very few who would. I have heard Mr. Burke make ufe of a very ingenious and plaufible argument on this fubject; "Every man (faid he) would lead his life over again; for, every man is willing to go on and take an addition to his life, which as he grows older, he has no reafon to think will be better, or even fo good as what has preceded." I imagine, however, the truth is, that there is a deceitful hope that the next part of life will be free from the pains, and anxieties, and forrows which we have already felt. We are for wife purposes" Condemn'd to Hope's delufive mine;" as Johnfon finely fays; and I may alfo quote the celebrated lines of Dryden, equally philofophical and poetical: "When I confider life, 'tis all a cheat, "Yet fool'd with hope, men favour the deceit; "Lies worse; and while it fays we shall be bleft "What the firft fprightly running could not give?." It was observed to Dr. Johnfon, that it feemed ftrange that he, who has fo often delighted his company by his lively and brilliant converfation, should fay he was miferable. JOHNSON. "Alas! it is all outfide; I may be cracking my joke and cursing the fun. Sun, how I hate thy beams!" I knew not well what to think of this declaration; whether to hold it as a genuine picture of his mind', or as the effect of his perfuading himself contrary to fact, that the pofition which he had affumed as to human unhappiness, was true. We may apply to him a sentence in Mr. Greville's "Maxims, Characters, and Reflections";" a book which is entitled to much more praise than it has received: " ARISTARCHUS is charming: how full of knowledge, of fenfe, of fentiment. You get him with difficulty to your fupper; and after having delighted every body and himself for a few hours, he is obliged to return home;-he is finishing his treatise, to prove that unhappiness is the portion of man." On Sunday, June 13, our philofopher was calm at breakfast. There was fomething exceedingly pleafing in our leading a College life, without restraint, and with fuperiour elegance, in confequence of our living in the Master's house, and having the company of ladies. Mrs. Kennicot related, in his prefence, a lively faying of Dr. Johnfon to Mifs Hannah More, who had *expreffed a wonder that the poet who had written "Paradife Loft," fhould write fuch poor Sommets :-" Milton, Madam, was a genius that could cut a Coloffus from a fock; but could not carve heads upon cherry-ftones." cr We talked of the cafuiftical queftion, Whether it was allowable at any time to depart from Truth? JOHNSON. "The general rule is, that Truth should never be violated, because it is of the utmost importance to the comfort of life, that we should have a full fecurity by mutual faith; and occafional inconveniencies fhould be willingly fuffered that we may preferve it. There muft, however, be fome exceptions. If, for inftance, a murderer should ask you 9 AURENGZEBE. Yet there is no doubt that a man may appear very gay in company who is fad at heart. His merriment is like the found of drums and trumpets in a battle, to drown the groans of the wounded and dying. 2 Page 139. 1784. Ætat. 75. Etat. 75 1784. which way a man is gone, you may tell him what is not true, because you are under a previous obligation not to betray a man to a murderer." Boswell. "Suppofing the perfon who wrote Junius were asked whether he was the authour, might he deny it?" JOHNSON. "I don't know what to fay to this. If you were fure that he wrote Junius, would you, if he denied it, think as well of him afterwards? Yet it may be urged, that what a man has no right to ask, you may refufe to communicate; and there is no other effectual mode of preferving a fecret, and an important fecret, the discovery of which may be very hurtful to you, but a flat denial; for if you are filent, or hefitate, or evade, it will be held equivalent to a confeffion. But stay, Sir; here is another cafe. Suppofing the authour had told me confidentially that he had written Junius, and I were asked if he had, I fhould hold myself at liberty to deny it, as being under a previous promife, express or implied, to conceal it. Now what I ought to do for the authour, may I not do for myself? But I deny the lawfulness of telling a lie to a fick man for fear of alarming him. You have no bufinefs with confequences: you are to tell the truth. Besides, you are not fure what effect your telling him that he is in danger may have. It may bring his diftemper to a crifis, and that may cure him. Of all lying I have the greatest abhorrence at this, because I believe it has been frequently practised on myself." I cannot help thinking, that there is much weight in the opinion of those who have held, that Truth, as an eternal and immutable principle, ought, upon no account whatever, to be violated, from supposed previous or fuperiour obligations, of which every man being the judge for himself, there is great danger that we may too often, from partial motives, perfuade ourselves that they exift; and probably whatever extraordinary inftances may fometimes occur, where fome evil may be prevented by violating this noble principle, it would be found that human happiness would, upon the whole, be more perfect were Truth univerfally preserved. In the Notes to the "Dunciad" we find the following elegant and pathetick verfes, addreffed to Pope': "While malice, Pope, denies thy page "Its own celestial fire; "While criticks, and while bards in rage 3 The annotator calls them " amiable verfes." << While 1784. Atat. 75. "While wayward pens thy worth affail, "And envious tongues decry; "Thefe times, though many a friend bewail, "These times bewail not I. "But when the world's loud praise is thine, "When none fhall rail, and every lay "Devote a wreath to thee: "That day (for come it will) that day It is furely not a little remarkable, that they fhould appear without a name. Mifs Seward, knowing Dr. Johnson's almost universal and minute literary information, fignified a defire that I should ask him who was the authour. He was prompt with his anfwer:-" Why, Sir, they were written by one Lewis, an under-master or usher of Westminster fchool, who published a mifcellany, in which Grongar Hill' first came out." Johnson praised them highly, and repeated them with a noble animation. In the twelfth line, instead of "one established fame," he repeated "one unclouded flame," which he thought was the reading in former editions; but I believe was a flash of his own genius. It is much more poetical than the other.. On Monday 14, and Tuefday, June 15, Dr. Johnfon and I dined on one of them, I forget which, with Mr. Mickle, tranflator of the "Lufiad," at Wheatley, a very pretty country place a few miles from Oxford; and on the other with Dr. Wetherell, Mafter of Univerfity-College. From Dr. Wetherell's he went to vifit Mr. Sackville Parker the bookfeller; and when he returned to us, gave the following account of his vifit, faying, "I have been to fee my old friend, Sack. Parker; I find he has married his maid; he has done right. She had lived with him many years in great confidence, and they had mingled minds; I do not think he could have found any wife that would have made him fo happy. The woman was very attentive and civil to me; fhe preffed me to fix a day for dining with them, and to say what I liked, and fhe would be fure to get it for me. Poor Sack! He is very ill, indeed. We parted as never to meet again. It has quite broke me down." This pathetick narrative was ftrangely diversified with the grave |