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1772.

of not making boys at the University subscribe to what they do not underEtat. 63. ftand; but they ought to confider, 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 arfenal. No, Sir, the meaning of fubfcribing 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 fuppofe that they should only fubscribe their adherence to the Church of England, there would be still the fame difficulty; for ftill the young men would be fubfcribing 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 Prefbyterian Church? from the Romish Church? from the Greek Church? from the Coptick Church? they could not tell you. So, Sir, it comes to the fame thing." BOSWELL. "But, Sir, would it not be fufficient to fubfèribe the Bible?" JOHNSON. "Why no, Sir; for all fects will fubfcribe the Bible; nay, the Mahometans will fubfcribe the Bible, for the Mahometans acknowledge JESUS CHRIST, as well as Mofes, but maintain that GOD fent Mahomet as a still greater prophet than either."

: I mentioned the motion to abolifh the faft of the 30th of January.
JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, I could have wished that it had been a temporary act,
perhaps, to have expired with the century. I am against abolishing it; because
that would be declaring it was wrong to establish it; but I should have no objec-
tion to make an act, continuing it for another century, and then letting it expire.”
He difapproved of the Royal Marriage Bill; "Because (faid he,) I would
not have the people think that the validity of marriage depends on the will of
man, or that the right of a King depends on the will of man.
I should not
have been against making the marriage of any of the royal family, without the
approbation of King and Parliament, highly criminal."

In the morning we had talked of old families, and the respect due to them. JOHNSON. "Sir, you have a right to that kind of refpect, and are arguing for yourself. I am for fupporting the principle, and am difinterested in doing it, as I have no fuch right." BOSWELL. "Why, Sir, it is one more incitement to a man to do well." JOHNSON. "Yes, Sir, and it is a matter of opinion, very neceffary to keep fociety together. What is it but opinion, by which we have a respect for authority, that prevents us, who are the rabble, from rising up and pulling down you who are gentlemen from your places, and faying, • We will be gentlemen in our turn?' Now, Sir, that respect for authority is much more easily granted to a man whofe father has had it, than to an upstart, and fo Society is more eafily fupported." BOSWELL. "Perhaps, Sir, it might be

done

done by the respect belonging to office, as among the Romans, where the drefs, the toga, inspired reverence." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, we know very little about the Romans. But, furely, it is much easier to refpect a man who has always had refpect, than to refpect a man who we know was last year no better than ourselves, and will be no better next year. In republicks there is not a respect for authority, but a fear of power." BOSWELL. "At prefent, Sir, I think riches feem to gain most respect." JOHNSON. "No, Sir, riches do not gain hearty refpect; they only procure external attention. A very rich man, from low beginnings, may buy his election in a borough; but, cæteris paribus, a man of family will be preferred. People will prefer a man for whofe father their fathers have voted, though they fhould get no more money, or even lefs. That fhews that the respect for family is not merely fanciful, but has an actual operation. If gentlemen of family would allow the rich upstarts to fpend their money profufely, which they are ready enough to do, and not vie with them in expence, the upstarts would foon be at an end, and the gentlemen would remain: but if the gentlemen will vie in expence with the upstarts, which is very foolish, they must be ruined.”

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I gave him an account of the excellent mimickry of a friend of mine in Scotland; obferving, at the fame time, that fome people thought it a very mean thing. JOHNSON. Why, Sir, it is making a very mean ufe of a man's powers. But to be a good mimick, requires great powers, great acuteness of obfervation, great retention of what is obferved, and great pliancy of organs, to represent what is obferved. I remember a lady of quality in this town, Lady who was a wonderful mimick, and used to make me laugh immoderately. I have heard fhe is now gone mad." BOSWELL. "It is amazing how a mimick can not only give you the geftures and voice of a perfon whom he represents; but even what a perfon would fay on any particular fubject." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, you are to confider that the manner and fome particular phrafes of a perfon do much to imprefs you with an idea of him, and you are not fure that he would fay what the mimick fays in his character." BOSWELL. "I don't think Foote a good mimick, Sir." JOHNSON. "No, Sir; his imitations are not like. He gives you fomething different from himself, but not the character which he means to affume. He goes out of himself without going into other people. He cannot take off any perfon unless he is very ftrongly marked, fuch as George Faulkner. He is like a painter, who can draw the portrait of a man who has a wen upon his face, and who, therefore, is easily known. If a man hops upon one leg, Foote can hop upon one leg. But he has not that nice difcrimination which

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1772.

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1772.

your friend seems to poffefs. Foote is, however, very entertaining, with a Etat. 63. kind of conversation between wit and buffoonery."

On Monday, March 23, I found him bufy, preparing a fourth edition of his folio Dictionary. Mr. Peyton, one of his original amanuenfes, was writing for him. I put him in mind of a meaning of the word fide, which he had omitted, viz. relationship; as, father's fide, mother's fide. He inferted it. I asked him if humiliating was a good word. He faid, he had seen it frequently used, but he did not know it to be legitimate English. He would not admit civilization, but only civility. With great deference to him, I thought civilization, from to civilize, better in the sense opposed to barbarity, than civility, as it is better to have a distinct word for each sense, than one word with two fenfes, which civility is, in his way of using it.

He seemed bufy about fome fort of chymical operation. I was entertained by obferving how he contrived to fend Mr. Peyton on an errand, without feeming to degrade him. "Mr. Peyton,-Mr. Peyton,-will you be fo good as to take a walk to Temple-bar? You will there fee a chymift's shop; at which you will be pleased to buy for me an ounce of oil of vitriol; not fpirit of vitriol, but oil of vitriol. It will coft three half-pence." Peyton immediately went, and returned with it, and told him it cost but a penny.

I then reminded him of the schoolmaster's cause, and proposed to read to him the printed papers concerning it. "No, Sir, (faid he,) I can read quicker than I can hear." So he read them to himself.

After he had read for fome time, we were interrupted by the entrance of Mr. Kriftrom, a Swede, who was tutor to fome young gentlemen in the city. He told me, that there was a very good History of Sweden, by Daline. Having at that time an intention of writing the hiftory of that country, I asked Dr. Johnson whether one might write a history of Sweden without going thither, "Yes, Sir, (faid he,) one for common use.”

We talked of languages. Johnson obferved, that Leibnitz had made fome progress in a work, tracing all languages up to the Hebrew. "Why, Sir, (said he,) you would not imagine that the French jour, day, is derived from the Latin dies, and yet nothing is more certain; and the intermediate steps are very clear. From dies, comes diurnus. Diu is, by inaccurate ears or inaccurate pronunciation, easily confounded with giu; then the Italians form a fubstantive of the ablative of an adjective, and thence giurno, or, as they make it, giorno; which is readily contracted into giour, or jour." He obferved, that the Bohemian language was true Sclavonick. The Swede faid, it had fome fimilarity

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fimilarity with the German. JOHNSON. " Why, Sir, to be fure, fuch parts of Sclavonia as confine with Germany, will borrow German words; and such Ætat. 63. parts as confine with Tartary, will borrow Tartar words.”

He said, he never had it properly ascertained that the Scotch Highlanders and the Irish understood each other. I told him that my cousin Colonel Graham, of the Royal Highlanders, whom I met at Drogheda, told me they did. JOHNSON. "Sir, if the Highlanders understood Irish, why translate the New Testament into Erfe, as was done lately at Edinburgh, when there is an Irish translation?" BOSWELL." Although the Erfe and Irish are both dialects of the fame language, there may be a good deal of diverfity between them, as between the different dialects in Italy.—The Swede went away, and Mr. Johnson continued his reading of the papers. I faid, "I am afraid, Sir, it is troublesome to you." "Why, Sir, (faid he,) I do not take much delight in it; but I'll go through it.”

We went to the Mitre, and dined in the room where he and I first fupped together. He gave me great hopes of my cause. "Sir, (faid he,) the government of a schoolmaster is somewhat of the nature of military government; that is to fay, it must be arbitrary, it must be exercised by the will of one man, according to particular circumftances. You must fhew fome learning upon this occafion. You must fhew, that a schoolmaster has a prescriptive right to beat; and that an action of affault and battery cannot be admitted against him, unless there is fome great excefs, fome barbarity. This man has maimed none of his boys. They are all left with the full exercise of their corporeal faculties. In our schools in England, many boys have been maimed; yet I never heard of an action against a schoolmaster on that account. Puffendorf, I think, maintains the right of a schoolmaster to beat his scholars."

On Saturday, March 27, I introduced to him Sir Alexander Macdonald, with whom he had expreffed a wifh to be acquainted. He received him very courteously.

Sir Alexander observed, that the Chancellors in England are chofen from views much inferiour to the office, being chofen from temporary political views. JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, in fuch a government as ours, no man is appointed to an office because he is the fitteft for it, nor hardly in any other government; because there are so many connections and dependencies to be studied. A defpotick prince may choose a man to an office, merely because he is the fittest for it. The King of Pruffia may do it." SIR A. "I think, Sir, almost all great lawyers, fuch at least as have written upon law, have known only law, and

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nothing elfe." JOHNSON. "Why no, Sir; Judge Hale was a great lawyer, and
wrote upon law; and yet he knew a great many other things, and has written
upon other things. Selden too." SIR A. "
SIR A. "Very true, Sir; and Lord Bacon.
But was not Lord Coke a mere lawyer?" JOHNSON. "Why, I am afraid he
was; but he would have taken it very ill if you had told him fo. He would
have profecuted you for fcandal." BOSWELL. "Lord Mansfield is not a mere
lawyer." JOHNSON. "No, Sir. I never was in Lord Mansfield's company;
but, Lord Mansfield was diftinguished at the Univerfity. Lord Mansfield,
when he came first to town, drank champagne with the wits,' as Prior fays.
He was the friend of Pope." SIR. A. "Barrifters, I believe, are not fo
abufive now as they were formerly. I fancy they had lefs law long ago,
and fo were obliged to take to abufe, to fill up the time. Now they have
such a number of precedents, they have no occafion for abuse." JOHNSON.
Nay, Sir, they had more law long ago than they have now.
As to pre-
cedents, to be sure they will increase in courfe of time; but the more prece-
dents there are, the lefs occafion is there for law; that is to fay, the less
occafion is there for investigating principles." SIR A. "I have been cor-
recting feveral Scotch accents in my friend Bofwell. I doubt, Sir, if any
Scotchman ever attains to a perfect English pronunciation." JOHNSON.
"Why, Sir, few of them do, because they do not perfevere after acquiring a
certain degree of it. But, Sir, there can be no doubt that they may attain to
a perfect English pronunciation, if they will. We find how near they come
to it; and certainly, a man who conquers nineteen parts of the Scottish accent,
may conquer the twentieth. But, Sir, when a man has got the better of nine
tenths, he grows weary, he relaxes his diligence, he finds he has corrected his
accent fo far as not to be disagreeable, and he no longer defires his friends to
tell him when he is wrong; nor does he choose to be told. Sir, when people
watch me narrowly, and I do not watch myself, they will find me out to be
of a particular county. In the fame manner, Dunning may be found out to
be a Devonshire man. So moft Scotchmen may be found out. But, Sir,
little aberrations are of no difadvantage. I never catched Mallet in a Scotch
accent; and yet Mallet, I fuppofe, was past five-and-twenty before he came
to London."

Upon another occafion I talked to him on this fubject, having myself taken
fome pains to improve my pronunciation, by the aid of the late Mr. Love, of
Drury-lane theatre, when he was a player at Edinburgh, and also of old Mr.
Sheridan. Johnson faid to me, "Sir, your pronunciation is not offenfive."

With

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