...society a mere simpleton; his blunders would not come in amiss among the stories of Hierocles. l But these men attained literary eminence in spite of their...torment of those among whom he lived, — without the officiousness, the inquisitiveness, the effrontery, the toadeating, the insensibility to all reproof,...

...stories of Hierocles. ! But these men attained literary eminence in spite of their weak- . nesses. Boswell attained it by reason of his weaknesses. If...torment of those among whom he lived, — without the officiousness, the inquisitiveness, the effrontery, the toadeating, the insensibility to all reproof,...

...society a mere simpleton. His blunders would not come in amiss among the stories of Hierocles. But 10 these men attained literary eminence in spite of their...Without all the qualities which made him the jest 15 and the torment of those among whom he lived, without the officiousness, the inquisitiveness, the...

...society a mere simpleton; his blunders would not come in amiss among the stories of Hierocles. l But these men attained literary eminence in spite of their...Boswell attained it by reason of his weaknesses. If he 1 An ancient collection of anecdotes dealing with the follies of learned men. had not been a great...

...judgments. Not every reader of HBoswell, by any means, will agree that whereas other men ^"" attain literary eminence in spite of their weaknesses, Boswell ■^attained it by reason of his weaknesses ; " but no one ques~*ions Macaulay's meaning, or his effectiveness in expressing it. One may object,...

...of the meanest and feeblest intellect«, Seite 334: »logic, eloquence, wit and taste.« Seite 333 : »If he had not been a great fool, he would never have been a great writer.« 23. E, 2, 210, 211 ; /, 203. 24. £,2, 217: ». . .the interpreter between Mr. Wordsworth and the multitude«»....

...the first of biographers, with no equal in ancient and modern literature, but added ruthlessly that 'if he had not been a great fool, he would never have been a great writer'. Boswell had his lucid moments as writer, the complacent argument went, but given his dissipation these...

...claim that the book was so great, not in spite of Boswell's weaknesses, but exactly because of them: Without all the qualities which made him the jest...the torment of those among whom he lived, without the officiousness, the inquisitiveness, the effrontery, the toad-eating, the insensibility to all reproof...

...attempt at a solution: Other great writers [he says], Goldsmith, for instance, had their weaknesses, but these men attained literary eminence in spite of their...great fool, he would never have been a great writer. Thus was born the famous "inspired idiot" theory of James Boswell. To-day, perhaps, it is almost unnecessary...

...and pedantic, a bigot and a sot". How then did he attain literary eminence? By reason, says Macaulay, of his weaknesses: "If he had not been a great fool, he would never have been a great writer." This "inspired idiot" theory has by this time been thoroughly exploded, but such was Macaulay's dominance...