1781.

miat

nakes Government unintelligible : it is left in the clouds. A violent Whig notat. 72. makes it impracticable: he is for allowing so much liberty to every man, that

there is not power enough to govern any man. The prejudice of the Tory is for establishment: the prejudice of the Whig is for innovation. A Tory does not wish to give more real power to Government; but that Government should have more reverence. Then they differ as to the Church. The Tory is not for giving more legal power to the Clergy, but wishes they fhould have a considerable influence, founded on the opinion of mankind: the Whig is for limiting and watching them with a narrow jealousy.”

On Saturday, June 2, I set out for Scotland, and had engaged, as I fometimes did, to pay a visit, in my way, at Southill, in Bedfordiliire, at the hospitable mansion of 'Squire Dilly, the elder brother of my worthy friends the booksellers in the Poultry. Dr. Johnson agreed to be of the party this year, with Mr. Charles Dilly and me, and to go and see Lord Bute's seat at Luton Hoe. He talked little to us in the carriage, being chiefly occupied in reading Dr. Watson's second volume of “ Chemical Essays,” which he liked very well, and his own “ Prince of Abyssinia,” on which he seemned to be intensely fixed; having told us, that he had not looked at it since it was first published. I happened to take it out of my pocket to-day, and he seized upon it with avidity. He pointed out to me the following remarkable passage: “ By what means (faid the Prince) are the Europeans thus powerful; or why, fince they can so easily visit Asia and Africa for trade or conqueft, cannot the Asiaticks and Africans invade their coasts, plant colonies in their ports, and give laws to their natural princes? The same wind that carries them back would bring us hither.”—“ They are more powerful, Sir, than we, (answered Imlac,) because they are wiser. Knowledge will always predominate over ignorance, as man governs the other animals. But why their knowledge is more than ours, I know not what reason can be given, but the unfearchable will of the Supreme Being.” He said, “This, Sir, no man can explain otherwise.”

We stopped at Welwyn, where I wished much to see, in company with Dr. Johnson, the residence of the authour of “ Night Thoughts,” which was then poilefled by his son, Mr. Youny. Here some address was requisite, for I was not acquainted with Mr. Young, and had I proposed to Dr. Johnson that we should send to him, he would have checked my wish, and perhaps been offended. I therefore concerted with Mr. Dilly, that I should steal away from Dr. Johnson and him, and try what reception I could procure from

Mr. Young; if unfavourable nothing was to be faid; but if agreeable I Mould 1781.
return and notify it to them. I hastened to Mr. Young's, found he was at Ætat. 72.
home, fent in word that a gentleman desired to wait upon him, and was
shewn into a parlour, where he and a young lady, his daughter, were fitting.
He appeared to be a plain, civil, country gentleman; and when I begged
pardon for presuming to trouble him, but said I wished much to see his
place, if he would give me leave; he behaved very courteously, and answered,
“ By all means, Sir; we are just going to drink tea; will you sit down?”
I thanked him, but said, that Dr. Johnson had come with me from London,
and I must return to the inn and drink tea with him ; that my name was
Boswell, I had travelled with him in the Hebrides. “ Sir (said he) I should
think it a great honour to see Dr. Johnson here. Will you allow me to
send for him ?” Availing myself of this opening, I said that “ I would go
myself and bring him, when he had drunk tea; he knew nothing of my
calling here." Having been thus successful, I hastened back to the inn, and
informed Dr. Johnson that “ Mr. Young, son of Dr. Young, the authour of
• Night Thoughts,' whom I had just left, desired to have the honour of
seeing him at the house where his father lived.” Dr. Johnson luckily made
no inquiry how this invitation had arisen, but agreed to go, and when we
entered Mr. Young's parlour, he addressed him with a very polite bow,
“Sir, I had a curiosity to come and see this place. I had the honour to
know that great man, your father.” We went into the garden, where we
found a gravel walk, on each side of which was a row of trees, planted by
Dr. Young, which formed a handsome Gothick arch; Dr. Johnson called it
a fine grove. I beheld it with reverence.

We sat some time in the summer-house, on the outside wall of which was
inscribed, “ Ambulantes in horto audiebant vocem Dei.” And in reference to
a brook by which it is situated, “ Vivendi rectè qui prorogat horam, &c.”
I faid to Mr. Young, that I had been told his father was cheerful.

Sir, (said he,) he was too well-bred a man not to be cheerful in company; but he was gloomy when alone. He never was cheerful after my mother's death, and he had met with many disappointments.” Dr. Johnson observed to me afterwards, “ That this was no favourable account of Dr. Young; for it is not becoming in a man to have so little acquiescence in the ways of Providence, as to be gloomy because he has not obtained as much preferment as he expected; nor to continue gloomy for the loss of his wife. Grief has its time.” The lait part of this censure was theoreticaily made. Practically, we know that grief for the loss of a wife may be continued very long, in VOL. II.

Fff

proportion

Ætat. 72.

1781. proportion as affection has been fincere. No man knew this better than

Dr. Johnson.

We went into the church, and looked at the monument erected by Mr. Young, to his father. Mr. Young mentioned an anecdote, that his father had received several thousand pounds of subscription-money for his “ Universal Passion,” but had lost it in the South-Sea. Dr. Johnson thought this must be a mistake; for he had never seen a subscription-book.

Upon the road we talked of the uncertainty of profit with which authours and booksellers engage in the publication of literary works. Johnson. “ My judgement I have found is no certain rule as to the sale of book.” Boswell. “ Pray, Sir, have you been much plagued with authours sending you their works to revise ?” Johnson. “No, Sir; I have been thought a four surly fellow.” Boswell. “ Very lucky for you, Sir—in that respect.” I must however observe, that notwithstanding what he now said, which he no doubt imagined at the time to be the fact, there was, perhaps, no man who more frequently yielded to the solicitations even of very obscure authours, to read their manuscripts, or more liberally assisted them with advice and correction.

He found himself very happy at Mr. Dilly's, where there is always abundance of excellent fare and hearty welcome.

On Sunday, June 3, we all went to Southill church, which is very near to Mr. Dilly's house. It being the first Sunday of the month, the holy facrament was administered, and I staid to partake of it. When I came afterwards into Dr. Johnson's room, he said, “ You did right to stay and receive the communion; I had not thought of it.” This seemed to imply that he did not choose to approach the altar without a previous preparation, as to which good men entertain different opinions, some holding that it is irreverent to partake of that ordinance without considerable premeditation ; others, that whoever is a sincere Christian, and in a proper frame to discharge any other ritual duty of our religion, may, without scruple, discharge this moft solemn one. A middle notion I believe to be the just one, which is, that communicants need not think a long train of preparatory forms indispensibly necessary; but neither should they rafhly and lightly venture upon so aweful and mysterious an institution. Christians must judge each for himself, what degree of retirement and self-examination is necessary upon each occasion.

Being in a frame, which, I hope for the felicity of human nature, many experience—in fine weather at the country-house of a friend-consoled and elevated by pious exercises--I expressed myself with an unrestrained fervour

“ Guide, Philosopher, and Friend ;” “ My dear Sir, I would fain be a good man; and I am very good now. I fear God, and honour the King, I wish

a

to my

ز

a

to do no ill, and to be benevolent to all mankind.” He looked at me with a 1781.
benignant indulgence; but took occasion to give me able and falutary caution. Ætat. 72.
« Do not, Sir, accustom yourself to trust to impresions. There is a middle
state of mind between conviction and hypocrify, of which many are conscious.
By trusting to impressions, a man may gradually come to yield to them, and
at length be subject to them, so as not to be a free agent, or what is the
same thing in effect, to suppose that he is not a free agent. A man who is in
that state, should not be suffered to live; if he declares he cannot help acting
in a particular way, but is irresistibly impelled, there can be no confidence
in him, no more than in a tyger. But, Sir, no man believes himself to be
impelled irresistibly; we know that he who says he believes it, lies. Fa-
vourable impressions at particular moinents, as to the state of our souls, may
be deceitful and dangerous. In general no man can be sure of his acceptance
with God; fome, indeed, may have had it revealed to them. St. Paul, who
wrought miracles, may have had a miracle wrought on himself, and may
have obtained supernatural assurance of pardon, and mercy, and beatitude;
yet St. Paul, though he expresses strong hope, also expresses fear, lest having
preached to others, he himself should be a cast-away."

The opinion of a learned Bishop of our acquaintance, as to there being
merit in religious faith, being mentioned. Johnson. “ Why, yes, Sir, the
most licentious man, were hell open before him, would not take the most
beautiful strumpet to his arms. We must, as the Apostle says, live by faith,
not by sight.”

I talked to him of original sino, in consequence of the fall of man, and of the atonement made by our Saviour. After some conversation, which he desired me to remember, he at my request dictated to me as follows:

“ With respect to original sin, the inquiry is not necessary; for whatever is the cause of human corruption, men are evidently and confessedly lo corrupt, that all the laws of heaven and earth are insufficient to restrain them from crimes.

" Whatever difficulty there may be in the conception of vicarious punish-
ments, it is an opinion which has had posseflion of mankind in all ages.
There is no nation that has not used the practice of sacrifices. Whoever,
therefore, denies the propriety of vicarious punishments, holds an opinion
which the sentiments and practice of mankind have contradicted, from the
beginning of the world. The great facrifice for the sins of mankind was

.
offered at the death of the Messiah, who is called in scripture, · The Lamb
of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.' To judge of the reason-
ableness of the scheme of redemption, it must be considered as necessary to
the government of the universe, that God should make known his perpetual
and irreconcileable detestation of moral evil. He might indeed punish, and
punish only the offenders : but as the end of punishment is not revenge of
crimes, but propagation of virtue, it was more becoming the Divine
clemency to find another manner of proceeding, less destructive to man, and
at least equally powerful to promote goodness. The end of punishment is
to reclaim and warn. That punishment will both reclaim and warn, which
shews evidently such abhorrence of sin in God, as may deter us from it, or
strike us with dread of vengeance when we have committed it. This is
effected by vicarious punishment. Nothing could more testify the opposition
between the nature of God and moral evil, or more amply display his justice,
to men and angels, to all orders and successions of beings, than that it was
necessary for the highest and purest nature, even for Divinity itself, to
pacify the demands of vengeance, by a painful death; of which the natural
effect will be, that when justice is appeased, there is a proper place for the
exercise of mercy; and that such propitiation shall supply, in some degree;
the imperfections of our obedience, and the inefficacy of our repentance.
For, obedience and repentance, such as we can perform, are still necessary.
Our Saviour has told us, that he did not coine to destroy the law, but to
fulfil: to fulfil the typical law, by the performance of what those types had
foreshewn; and the moral law, by precepts of greater purity and higher
exaltation.”

[Here he said, “ God bless you with it.” I acknowledged myself much
obliged to him ; but I begged that he would go on as to the propitiation
being the chief object of our most holy faith. He then dictated this one
other paragraph.]

“ The peculiar doctrine of Christianity is, that of an universal facrifice, and perpetual propitiation. Other prophets only proclaimed the will and the threatenings of God. Christ satisfied his justice.”

The