第47章

Therefore,it is,Sir,that we hold the King can do no wrong;that whatever may happen to be wrong in government may not be above our reach,by being ascribed to Majesty.Redress is always to be had against oppression,by punishing the immediate agents.The King,though he should command,cannot force a Judge to condemn a man unjustly;therefore it is the Judge whom we prosecute and punish.

Political institutions are formed upon the consideration of what will most frequently tend to the good of the whole,although now and then exceptions may occur.Thus it is better in general that a nation should have a supreme legislative power,although it may at times be abused.And then,Sir,there is this consideration,that if the abuse be enormous,Nature will rise up,and claiming her original rights,overturn a corrupt political system.'I mark this animated sentence with peculiar pleasure,as a noble instance of that truly dignified spirit of freedom which ever glowed in his heart,though he was charged with slavish tenets by superficial observers;because he was at all times indignant against that false patriotism,that pretended love of freedom,that unruly restlessness,which is inconsistent with the stable authority of any good government.

'Bayle's Dictionary is a very useful work for those to consult who love the biographical part of literature,which is what I love most.'

Talking of the eminent writers in Queen Anne's reign,he observed,'I think Dr.Arbuthnot the first man among them.He was the most universal genius,being an excellent physician,a man of deep learning,and a man of much humour.Mr.Addison was,to be sure,a great man;his learning was not profound;but his morality,his humour,and his elegance of writing,set him very high.'

Mr.Ogilvie was unlucky enough to choose for the topick of his conversation the praises of his native country.He began with saying,that there was very rich land round Edinburgh.Goldsmith,who had studied physick there,contradicted this,very untruly,with a sneering laugh.Disconcerted a little by this,Mr.Ogilvie then took new ground,where,I suppose,he thought himself perfectly safe;for he observed,that Scotland had a great many noble wild prospects.JOHNSON.'I believe,Sir,you have a great many.Norway,too,has noble wild prospects;and Lapland is remarkable for prodigious noble wild prospects.But,Sir,let me tell you,the noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees,is the high road that leads him to England!'This unexpected and pointed sally produced a roar of applause.After all,however,those,who admire the rude grandeur of Nature,cannot deny it to Caledonia.

On Saturday,July 9,I found Johnson surrounded with a numerous levee,but have not preserved any part of his conversation.On the 14th we had another evening by ourselves at the Mitre.It happening to be a very rainy night,I made some common-place observations on the relaxation of nerves and depression of spirits which such weather occasioned;adding,however,that it was good for the vegetable creation.Johnson,who,as we have already seen,denied that the temperature of the air had any influence on the human frame,answered,with a smile of ridicule.'Why yes,Sir,it is good for vegetables,and for the animals who eat those vegetables,and for the animals who eat those animals.'This observation of his aptly enough introduced a good supper;and Isoon forgot,in Johnson's company,the influence of a moist atmosphere.

Feeling myself now quite at ease as his companion,though I had all possible reverence for him,I expressed a regret that I could not be so easy with my father,though he was not much older than Johnson,and certainly however respectable had not more learning and greater abilities to depress me.I asked him the reason of this.JOHNSON.'Why,Sir,I am a man of the world.I live in the world,and I take,in some degree,the colour of the world as it moves along.Your father is a Judge in a remote part of the island,and all his notions are taken from the old world.Besides,Sir,there must always be a struggle between a father and son while one aims at power and the other at independence.'

He enlarged very convincingly upon the excellence of rhyme over blank verse in English poetry.I mentioned to him that Dr.Adam Smith,in his lectures upon composition,when I studied under him in the College of Glasgow,had maintained the same opinion strenuously,and I repeated some of his arguments.JOHNSON.'Sir,I was once in company with Smith,and we did not take to each other;but had I known that he loved rhyme as much as you tell me he does,I should have HUGGED him.'

'Idleness is a disease which must be combated;but I would not advise a rigid adherence to a particular plan of study.I myself have never persisted in any plan for two days together.A man ought to read just as inclination leads him;for what he reads as a task will do him little good.A young man should read five hours in a day,and so may acquire a great deal of knowledge.'

To such a degree of unrestrained frankness had he now accustomed me,that in the course of this evening I talked of the numerous reflections which had been thrown out against him on account of his having accepted a pension from his present Majesty.'Why,Sir,(said he,with a hearty laugh,)it is a mighty foolish noise that they make.I have accepted of a pension as a reward which has been thought due to my literary merit;and now that I have this pension,I am the same man in every respect that I have ever been;I retain the same principles.It is true,that I cannot now curse (smiling)the House of Hanover;nor would it be decent for me to drink King James's health in the wine that King George gives me money to pay for.But,Sir,I think that the pleasure of cursing the House of Hanover,and drinking King James's health,are amply overbalanced by three hundred pounds a year.'