Pepys, who visited him, while I was with him said, 'If you were_tractable_, Sir, I should prescribe for you.'I related to him a remark which a respectable friend had made to me,upon the then state of Government, when those who had been long inopposition had attained to power, as it was supposed, against theinclination of the Sovereign[526]. 'You need not be uneasy (said thisgentleman) about the King. He laughs at them all; he plays them oneagainst another.' JOHNSON. 'Don't think so, Sir. The King is as muchoppressed as a man can be. If he plays them one against another, he_wins_ nothing.'I had paid a visit to General Oglethorpe in the morning, and was told byhim that Dr. Johnson saw company on Saturday evenings, and he would meetme at Johnson's that night. When I mentioned this to Johnson, notdoubting that it would please him, as he had a great value forOglethorpe, the fretfulness of his disease unexpectedly shewed itself;his anger suddenly kindled, and he said, with vehemence, 'Did not youtell him not to come? Am I to be _hunted_ in this manner?' I satisfiedhim that I could not divine that the visit would not be convenient, andthat I certainly could not take it upon me of my own accord to forbidthe General.I found Dr. Johnson in the evening in Mrs. Williams's room, at tea andcoffee with her and Mrs. Desmoulins, who were also both ill; it was asad scene, and he was not in very good humour. He said of a performancethat had lately come out, 'Sir, if you should search all the madhousesin England, you would not find ten men who would write so, and thinkit sense.'I was glad when General Oglethorpe's arrival was announced, and we leftthe ladies. Dr. Johnson attended him in the parlour, and was ascourteous as ever. The General said he was busy reading the writers ofthe middle age. Johnson said they were very curious. OGLETHORPE. 'TheHouse of Commons has usurped the power of the nation's money, and usedit tyrannically. Government is now carried on by corrupt influence,instead of the inherent right in the King.' JOHNSON. 'Sir, the want ofinherent right in the King occasions all this disturbance. What we didat the Revolution was necessary: but it broke our constitution[527].'OGLETHORPE. 'My father did not think it necessary.'On Sunday, March 23, I breakfasted with Dr. Johnson, who seemed muchrelieved, having taken opium the night before. He however protestedagainst it, as a remedy that should be given with the utmost reluctance,and only in extreme necessity. I mentioned how commonly it was used inTurkey, and that therefore it could not be so pernicious as heapprehended. He grew warm and said, 'Turks take opium, and Christianstake opium; but Russel, in his _Account of Aleppo_[528], tells us, thatit is as disgraceful in Turkey to take too much opium, as it is with usto get drunk. Sir, it is amazing how things are exaggerated. A gentlemanwas lately telling in a company where I was present, that in France assoon as a man of fashion marries, he takes an opera girl into keeping;and this he mentioned as a general custom. 'Pray, Sir, (said I,) howmany opera girls may there be?' He answered, 'About fourscore.' Wellthen, Sir, (said I,) you see there can be no more than fourscore men offashion who can do this[529].'Mrs. Desmoulins made tea; and she and I talked before him upon a topickwhich he had once borne patiently from me when we were byourselves[530],--his not complaining of the world, because he was notcalled to some great office, nor had attained to great wealth. He flewinto a violent passion, I confess with some justice, and commanded us tohave done. 'Nobody, (said he) has a right to talk in this manner, tobring before a man his own character, and the events of his life, whenhe does not choose it should be done. I never have sought the world;the world was not to seek me. It is rather wonderful that so much hasbeen done for me. All the complaints which are made of the world areunjust[531]. I never knew a man of merit neglected[532]: it wasgenerally by his own fault that he failed of success. A man may hide hishead in a hole: he may go into the country, and publish a book now andthen, which nobody reads, and then complain he is neglected[533]. Thereis no reason why any person should exert himself for a man who haswritten a good book: he has not written it for any individual. I may aswell make a present to the postman who brings me a letter. Whenpatronage was limited, an authour expected to find a Maecenas, andcomplained if he did not find one. Why should he complain? This Maecenashas others as good as he, or others who have got the start of him.'BOSWELL. 'But surely, Sir, you will allow that there are men of merit atthe bar, who never get practice.' JOHNSON. 'Sir, you are sure thatpractice is got from an opinion that the person employed deserves itbest; so that if a man of merit at the bar does not get practice, it isfrom errour, not from injustice. He is not neglected. A horse that isbrought to market may not be bought, though he is a very good horse: butthat is from ignorance, not from intention[534].'There was in this discourse much novelty, ingenuity, and discrimination,such as is seldom to be found. Yet I cannot help thinking that men ofmerit, who have no success in life, may be forgiven for _lamenting_, ifthey are not allowed to _complain_. They may consider it as _hard_ thattheir merit should not have its suitable distinction. Though there is nointentional injustice towards them on the part of the world, their meritnot having been perceived, they may yet repine against _fortune_, or_fate_, or by whatever name they choose to call the supposedmythological power of _Destiny_. It has, however, occurred to me, as aconsolatory thought, that men of merit should consider thus:-How muchharder would it be if the same persons had both all the merit and allthe prosperity. Would not this be a miserable distribution for the poordunces? Would men of merit exchange their intellectual superiority, andthe enjoyments arising from it, for external distinction and thepleasures of wealth? If they would not, let them not envy others, whoare poor where they are rich, a compensation which is made to them. Letthem look inwards and be satisfied; recollecting with conscious pridewhat Virgil finely says of the _Corycius Senex_, and which I have, inanother place[535], with truth and sincerity applied to Mr. Burke:--'_Regum aequabat opes animis[536].'_On the subject of the right employment of wealth, Johnson observed, 'Aman cannot make a bad use of his money, so far as regards Society, if hedoes not hoard it; for if he either spends it or lends it out, Societyhas the benefit. It is in general better to spend money than to give itaway; for industry is more promoted by spending money than by giving itaway. A man who spends his money is sure he is doing good with it: he isnot so sure when he gives it away. A man who spends ten thousand a yearwill do more good than a man who spends two thousand and gives awayeight[537].'In the evening I came to him again. He was somewhat fretful from hisillness. A gentleman[538] asked him, whether he had been abroad to-day.'Don't talk so childishly, (said he.) You may as well ask if I hangedmyself to-day.' I mentioned politicks. JOHNSON. 'Sir, I'd as soon have aman to break my bones as talk to me of publick affairs, internal orexternal. I have lived to see things all as bad as they can be.'Having mentioned his friend the second Lord Southwell, he said, 'LordSouthwell was the highest-bred man without insolence that I ever was incompany with; the most _qualified_ I ever saw. Lord Orrery[539] was notdignified: Lord Chesterfield was, but he was insolent[540]. Lord----[541] is a man of coarse manners, but a man of abilities andinformation. I don't say he is a man I would set at the head of anation, though perhaps he may be as good as the next Prime Minister thatcomes; but he is a man to be at the head of a Club; I don't say _our_CLUB; for there's no such Club.' BOSWELL. 'But, Sir, was he not once afactious man?' JOHNSON. 'O yes, Sir; as factious a fellow as could befound: one who was for sinking us all into the mob[542].' BOSWELL. 'Howthen, Sir, did he get into favour with the King?' JOHNSON. 'Because,Sir, I suppose he promised the King to do whatever the King pleased.'He said, 'Goldsmith's blundering speech to Lord Shelburne, which hasbeen so often mentioned, and which he really did make to him, was only ablunder in emphasis: "I wonder they should call your Lordship_Malagrida_[543], for Malagrida was a very good man;" meant, I wonderthey should use _Malagrida_ as a term of reproach[544].'Soon after this time I had an opportunity of seeing, by means of one ofhis friends[545], a proof that his talents, as well as his obligingservice to authours, were ready as ever. He had revised _The Village_,an admirable poem, by the Reverend Mr. Crabbe. Its sentiments as to thefalse notions of rustick happiness and rustick virtue were quitecongenial with his own[546]; and he had taken the trouble not only tosuggest slight corrections and variations, but to furnish some lines,when he thought he could give the writer's meaning better than in thewords of the manuscript[547].On Sunday, March 30, I found him at home in the evening, and had thepleasure to meet with Dr. Brocklesby[548], whose reading, and knowledgeof life, and good spirits, supply him with a never-failing source ofconversation. He mentioned a respectable gentleman, who became extremelypenurious near the close of his life. Johnson said there must have beena degree of madness about him. 'Not at all, Sir, (said Dr. Brocklesby,)his judgement was entire.' Unluckily, however, he mentioned thatalthough he had a fortune of twenty-seven thousand pounds, he deniedhimself many comforts, from an apprehension that he could not affordthem. 'Nay, Sir, (cried Johnson,) when the judgement is so disturbedthat a man cannot count, that is pretty well.'I shall here insert a few of Johnson's sayings, without the formality ofdates, as they have no reference to any particular time or place.'The more a man extends and varies his acquaintance the better.' This,however, was meant with a just restriction; for, he on another occasionsaid to me, 'Sir, a man may be so much of every thing, that he isnothing of any thing.''Raising the wages of day-labourers is wrong[549]; for it does not makethem live better, but only makes them idler, and idleness is a very badthing for human nature.''It is a very good custom to keep a journal[550] for a man's own use; hemay write upon a card a day all that is necessary to be written, afterhe has had experience of life. At first there is a great deal to bewritten, because there is a great deal of novelty; but when once a manhas settled his opinions, there is seldom much to be set down.''There is nothing wonderful in the journal which we see Swift kept inLondon, for it contains slight topicks, and it might soon bewritten[551].'I praised the accuracy of an account-book of a lady whom I mentioned.JOHNSON. 'Keeping accounts, Sir, is of no use when a man is spending hisown money, and has nobody to whom he is to account. You won't eat lessbeef to-day, because you have written down what it cost yesterday.' Imentioned another lady who thought as he did, so that her husband couldnot get her to keep an account of the expence of the family, as shethought it enough that she never exceeded the sum allowed her. JOHNSON.'Sir, it is fit she should keep an account, because her husband wishesit; but I do not see its use[552].' I maintained that keeping an accounthas this advantage, that it satisfies a man that his money has not beenlost or stolen, which he might sometimes be apt to imagine, were thereno written state of his expence; and beside, a calculation of oeconomyso as not to exceed one's income, cannot be made without a view of thedifferent articles in figures, that one may see how to retrench in someparticulars less necessary than others. This he did not attemptto answer.Talking of an acquaintance of ours[553], whose narratives, whichabounded in curious and interesting topicks, were unhappily found to bevery fabulous; I mentioned Lord Mansfield's having said to me, 'Supposewe believe one _half_ of what he tells.' JOHNSON. 'Ay; but we don't know_which_ half to believe. By his lying we lose not only our reverence forhim, but all comfort in his conversation.' BOSWELL. 'May we not take itas amusing fiction?' JOHNSON. 'Sir, the misfortune is, that you willinsensibly believe as much of it as you incline to believe.'It is remarkable, that notwithstanding their congeniality in politicks,he never was acquainted with a late eminent noble judge[554], whom Ihave heard speak of him as a writer, with great respect[555]. Johnson, Iknow not upon what degree of investigation, entertained no exaltedopinion of his Lordship's intellectual character[556]. Talking of him tome one day, he said, 'It is wonderful, Sir, with how little realsuperiority of mind men can make an eminent figure in publick life.' Heexpressed himself to the same purpose concerning another law-Lord, who,it seems, once took a fancy to associate with the wits of London; butwith so little success, that Foote said, 'What can he mean by comingamong us? He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dullness inothers[557].' Trying him by the test of his colloquial powers, Johnsonhad found him very defective. He once said to Sir Joshua Reynolds, 'Thisman now has been ten years about town, and has made nothing of it;'meaning as a companion[558]. He said to me, 'I never heard any thingfrom him in company that was at all striking; and depend upon it, Sir,it is when you come close to a man in conversation, that you discoverwhat his real abilities are; to make a speech in a publick assembly is aknack. Now I honour Thurlow, Sir; Thurlow is a fine fellow; he fairlyputs his mind to yours[559].'After repeating to him some of his pointed, lively sayings, I said, 'Itis a pity, Sir, you don't always remember your own good things, that youmay have a laugh when you will.' JOHNSON. 'Nay, Sir, it is better that Iforget them, that I may be reminded of them, and have a laugh on theirbeing brought to my recollection.'When I recalled to him his having said as we sailed up Loch-lomond[560],'That if he wore any thing fine, it should be _very_ fine;' I observedthat all his thoughts were upon a great scale. JOHNSON. 'Depend upon it,Sir, every man will have as fine a thing as he can get; as a largediamond for his ring.' BOSWELL. 'Pardon me, Sir: a man of a narrow mindwill not think of it, a slight trinket will satisfy him:"_Nee sufferre queat majoris pondera gemmae_[561]."'I told him I should send him some Essays which I had written[562], whichI hoped he would be so good as to read, and pick out the good ones.JOHNSON. 'Nay, Sir, send me only the good ones; don't make _me_pick them.'I heard him once say, 'Though the proverb _Nullum numen abest, si sitprudentia[563], does not always prove true, we may be certain of theconverse of it, _Nullum numen adest, si sit imprudentia_.'Once, when Mr. Seward was going to Bath, and asked his commands, hesaid, 'Tell Dr. Harrington that I wish he would publish another volumeof the _Nugae antiquae_[564]; it is a very pretty book[565].' Mr. Sewardseconded this wish, and recommended to Dr. Harrington to dedicate it toJohnson, and take for his motto, what Catullus says to Cornelius Nepos:--'----_namque tu solebas,Meas esse aliquid putare_ NUGAS[566].'As a small proof of his kindliness and delicacy of feeling, thefollowing circumstance may be mentioned: One evening when we were in thestreet together, and I told him I was going to sup at Mr. Beauclerk's,he said, 'I'll go with you.' After having walked part of the way,seeming to recollect something, he suddenly stopped and said, 'I cannotgo,--but _I do not love Beauclerk the less_.'On the frame of his portrait, Mr. Beauclerk had inscribed,--'----_Ingenium ingensInculto latet hoc sub corpore_[567].'After Mr. Beauclerk's death, when it became Mr. Langton's property, hemade the inscription be defaced. Johnson said complacently, 'It was kindin you to take it off;' and then after a short pause, added, 'and notunkind in him to put it on.'He said, 'How few of his friends' houses would a man choose to be atwhen he is sick.' He mentioned one or two. I recollect onlyThrale's[568].He observed, 'There is a wicked inclination in most people to suppose anold man decayed in his intellects. If a young or middle-aged man, whenleaving a company, does not recollect where he laid his hat, it isnothing; but if the same inattention is discovered in an old man, peoplewill shrug up their shoulders, and say, 'His memory is going[569].'When I once talked to him of some of the sayings which every bodyrepeats, but nobody knows where to find, such as _Quos DEUS vultperdere, prius dementat_[570]; he told me that he was once offered tenguineas to point out from whence _Semel insanivimus omnes_ was taken. Hecould not do it; but many years afterwards met with it by chance in_Johannes Baptista Mantuanus_[571].I am very sorry that I did not take a note of an eloquent argument inwhich he maintained that the situation of Prince of Wales was thehappiest of any person's in the kingdom, even beyond that of theSovereign. I recollect only--the enjoyment of hope[572],--the highsuperiority of rank, without the anxious cares of government,--and agreat degree of power, both from natural influence wisely used, and fromthe sanguine expectations of those who look forward to the chance offuture favour.Sir Joshua Reynolds communicated to me the following particulars:--Johnson thought the poems published as translations from Ossian had solittle merit, that he said, 'Sir, a man might write such stuff for ever,if he would _abandon_ his mind to it[573].'He said, 'A man should pass a part of his time with _the laughers_, bywhich means any thing ridiculous or particular about him might bepresented to his view, and corrected.' I observed, he must have been abold laugher who would have ventured to tell Dr. Johnson of any of hisparticularities[574].Having observed the vain ostentatious importance of many people inquoting the authority of Dukes and Lords, as having been in theircompany, he said, he went to the other extreme, and did not mention hisauthority when he should have done it, had it not been that of a Duke ora Lord[575].Dr. Goldsmith said once to Dr. Johnson, that he wished for someadditional members to the LITERARY CLUB, to give it an agreeablevariety; for (said he,) there can now be nothing new among us: we havetravelled over one another's minds. Johnson seemed a little angry, andsaid, 'Sir, you have not travelled over _my_ mind, I promise you.' SirJoshua, however, thought Goldsmith right; observing, that 'when peoplehave lived a great deal together, they know what each of them will sayon every subject. A new understanding, therefore, is desirable; becausethough it may only furnish the same sense upon a question which wouldhave been furnished by those with whom we are accustomed to live, yetthis sense will have a different colouring; and colouring is of mucheffect in every thing else as well as in painting.'Johnson used to say that he made it a constant rule to talk as well ashe could both as to sentiment and expression, by which means, what hadbeen originally effort became familiar and easy[576]. The consequence ofthis, Sir Joshua observed, was, that his common conversation in allcompanies was such as to secure him universal attention, as somethingabove the usual colloquial style was expected[577].Yet, though Johnson had this habit in company, when another mode wasnecessary, in order to investigate truth, he could descend to a languageintelligible to the meanest capacity. An instance of this was witnessedby Sir Joshua Reynolds, when they were present at an examination of alittle blackguard boy, by Mr. Saunders Welch[578], the late WestminsterJustice. Welch, who imagined that he was exalting himself in Dr.Johnson's eyes by using big words, spoke in a manner that was utterlyunintelligible to the boy; Dr. Johnson perceiving it, addressed himselfto the boy, and changed the pompous phraseology into colloquiallanguage. Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was much amused by this procedure,which seemed a kind of reversing of what might have been expected fromthe two men, took notice of it to Dr. Johnson, as they walked away bythemselves. Johnson said, that it was continually the case; and that hewas always obliged to _translate_ the Justice's swelling diction,(smiling,) so as that his meaning might be understood by the vulgar,from whom information was to be obtained[579].Sir Joshua once observed to him, that he had talked above the capacityof some people with whom they had been in company together. 'No matter,Sir, (said Johnson); they consider it as a compliment to be talked to,as if they were wiser than they are. So true is this, Sir, that Baxtermade it a rule in every sermon that he preached, to say something thatwas above the capacity of his audience[580].'Johnson's dexterity in retort, when he seemed to be driven to anextremity by his adversary, was very remarkable. Of his power in thisrespect, our common friend, Mr. Windham, of Norfolk, has been pleased tofurnish me with an eminent instance. However unfavourable to Scotland,he uniformly gave liberal praise to George Buchanan[581], as a writer.In a conversation concerning the literary merits of the two countries,in which Buchanan was introduced, a Scotchman, imagining that on thisground he should have an undoubted triumph over him, exclaimed, 'Ah, Dr.Johnson, what would you have said of Buchanan, had he been anEnglishman?' 'Why, Sir, (said Johnson, after a little pause,) I should_not_ have said of Buchanan, had he been an _Englishman_, what I willnow say of him as a _Scotchman_,--that he was the only man of geniushis country ever produced.'And this brings to my recollection another instance of the same nature.I once reminded him that when Dr. Adam Smith was expatiating on thebeauty of Glasgow, he had cut him short by saying, 'Pray, Sir, have youever seen Brentford?' and I took the liberty to add, 'My dear Sir,surely that was _shocking_.' 'Why, then, Sir, (he replied,) YOU havenever seen Brentford.'Though his usual phrase for conversation was _talk_[582], yet he made adistinction; for when he once told me that he dined the day before at afriend's house, with 'a very pretty company;' and I asked him if therewas good conversation, he answered, 'No, Sir; we had _talk_ enough, butno _conversation_; there was nothing _discussed_.'