Etat. 68] sleep at the ordinary times, instead of being stronger than other people, must not be well; for a man in health has all the natural inclinations to eat, drink, and sleep in a strong degree." Johnson advised me to-night not to refine in the education of my children. "Life (said he), will not bear refinement; you must do as other people do." As we drove back to Ashbourne, Dr. Johnson recommended to me, as he had often done, to drink water only: "For (said he) you are then sure not to get drunk; Johnson's visit to this place, on Oct. 19th, 1773, during his Hebridean whereas, if you drink wine, you are never sure.' I said drinking wine was a pleasure which I was unwilling to give up. "Why, Sir (said he), there is no doubt that not to drink wine is a great deduction from life: but it may be necessary." He, however owned that in his opinion a free use of wine did not shorten life; and said he would not give less for the life of a certain Scotch Lord (whom he named) celebrated for hard drinking, than for that of a sober man. "But stay (said he, with his usual intelligence, and accuracy of inquiry), does it take much wine to make him drunk?" I answered, "A great deal either of wine or strong punch."-" Then (said he) that is the worse." I presume to illustrate my friend's observation thus; "A fortress which soon surrenders has its walls less shattered, than when a long and obstinate resistance is made." I ventured to mention a person who was as violent a Scotchman as he was an Englishman; and literally had the same contempt for an Englishman compared with a Scotchman, that he had for a Scotchman compared with an Englishman; and that he would say of Dr. Johnson, "Damned rascal! to talk as he does of the Scotch." This seemed, for a moment, " to give him pause." It, perhaps, presented his extreme prejudice against the Scotch in a point of view somewhat new to him, by the effect of contrast. By the time when we returned to Ashbourne, Dr. Taylor was gone to bed. Johnson and I sat up a long time by ourselves. He was much diverted with an article which I showed him in the Critical Review of this year, giving an account of a curious publication, entitled "A Spiritual Diary and Soliloquies, by John Rutty, M.D." Dr. Rutty was one of the people called Quakers, a physician of some eminence in Dublin, and author of several works. and entertaining to his friends in the evening, even when it was perceived that with difficulty he kept his eyes open; and then seemed to go to rest with no other purpose than the refreshing and enabling him with more vigour and cheerfulness to sing his morning hymn, as he then used to do to his lute before he put on his clothes. This Diary, which was kept from 1753 to 1775, the year in which he died, and was now published in two volumes octavo, exhibited in the simplicity of his heart, a minute and honest register of the state of his mind; which, though frequently laughable enough, was not more so than the history of many men would be, if recorded with equal fairness. The following specimens were extracted by the Reviewers : "Tenth month, 1753. "23. Indulgence in bed an hour too long. 66 Twelfth month, 17. An hypochondriac obnubilation from wind and indigestion. "Ninth month, 28. An over-dose of whisky. "29. A dull cross choleric day. "First month, 1757-22. A little swinish at dinner and repast. "31. Dogged on provocation. "Second month, 5. Very dogged or snappish. "14. Snappish on fasting. "26. Cursed snappishness to those under me, on a bodily indisposition. 66 Third month, 11. On a provocation, exercised a dumb resentment for two days, instead of scolding. 66 "22. Scolded too vehemently. "23. Dogged again. 66 Fourth month, 29. Mechanically and sinfully dogged." Johnson laughed heartily at this good Quietist's self-condemning minutes ; particularly at his mentioning with such a serious regret, occasional instances of swinishness" in eating, and “doggedness of temper." He thought the observations of the Critical Reviewers upon the importance of a man to himself so ingenious, and so well expressed, that I shall here introduce them. After observing that "there are few writers who have gained any reputation by recording their own actions," they say, "We may reduce the egotists to four classes. In the first we have Julius Cæsar : he relates his own transactions; but he relates them with peculiar grace and dignity, and his narrative is supported by the greatness of his character and achievements. In the second class we have Marcus Antoninus: this writer has given us a series of reflections on his own life; but his sentiments are so noble, his morality so sublime, that his meditations are universally admired. In the third class we have some others of tolerable credit, who have given importance to their own private history by an intermixture of literary anecdotes, and the occurrences of their own times: the celebrated Huetius has published an entertaining volume upon this plan, De rebus ad eum pertinentibus.' In the fourth class we have the journalists, temporal and spiritual Elias Ashmole, William Lilly, George Whitefield, John Wesley, and a thousand other old women and fanatic writers of memoirs and meditations." I mentioned to him that Dr. Hugh Blair, in his lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, which I heard him deliver at Edinburgh, had animadverted on the Johnsonian style as too pompous; and attempted to imitate it, by giving a sentence of Addison in the Spectator, No. 411, in the manner of Johnson. When treating of the utility of the pleasures of imagination in preserving us from vice, it is observed Etat. 68] A QUAKER'S DIARY 717 of those "who know not how to be idle and innocent," that "their very first step out of business is into vice or folly; " which Dr. Blair supposed would have been expressed in the Rambler thus: "their very first step out of the regions of business . is into the perturbation of vice, or the vacuity of folly." * JOHNSON: "Sir, these are not the words I should have used. No, Sir; the imitators of my style have not hit it. Miss Aikin has done it the best; for she has imitated the sentiment as well as the diction."+ I intend, before this work is concluded, to exhibit specimens of imitation of my friend's style in various modes; some caricaturing or mimicking it, and some formed upon it, whether intentionally or with a degree of similarity to it, of which, perhaps, the writers were not conscious. In Baretti's Review, which he published in Italy, under the title of "Frusta Letteraria," it is observed that Dr. Robertson the historian had formed his style upon that of "Il celebre Samuele Johnson." My friend himself was of that opinion; for he once said to me, in a pleasant humour, "Sir, if Robertson's style be faulty, he owes it to me; that is, having too many words, and those too big ones." I read to him a letter which Lord Monboddo had written to me, containing some critical remarks upon the style of his "Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland." His Lordship praised the very fine passage upon landing at Icolmkill; ‡ but his own style being exceedingly dry and hard, he disapproved of the richness of Johnson's language, and of his frequent use of metaphorical expressions. JOHNSON : Why, Sir, this criticism would be just, if in my style, superfluous words, or words too big for the thoughts, could be pointed out; but this I do not believe can be done. For instance; in the passage which Lord Monboddo admires, 'We were now treading that illustrious region,' the word illustrious contributes nothing to the mere narration; for the fact might be told without it: but it is not, therefore, superfluous; for it wakes the mind to peculiar attention, where something of more than usual importance is to be presented. 'Illustrious! '—for what?—and then the sentence proceeds to expand the circumstances connected with Iona. And, Sir, as to metaphorical expression, that is a great excellence in style, when it is used with propriety, for it gives you two ideas for one ;-conveys the meaning more luminously, and generally with a perception of delight." He told me that he had been asked to undertake the new edition of the * When Dr. Blair published his "Lectures," he was invidiously attacked for having omitted his censure on Johnson's style, and, on the contrary, praising it highly. But before that time "Johnson's Lives of the Poets" had appeared, in which his style was considerably easier, than when he wrote the Rambler. It would therefore have been uncandid in Blair, even supposing his criticisms to have been just, to have preserved it. " † [Probably in an essay on 'Imitation," by Miss Aikin, afterwards Mrs. Barbauld, in a volume of miscellaneous pieces by her and Dr. Aikin in 1773.—Croker.] "We were now treading that illustrious island which was once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence savage clans and roving barbarians derived the benefits of knowledge and the blessings of religion. To abstract the mind from all local emotion would be impossible, if it were endeavoured, and would be foolish if it were possible. Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far from me, and from my friends, be such frigid philosophy as may conduct us, indifferent and unmoved, over any ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery, or virtue. The man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Iona." Had our Tour produced nothing else but this sublime passage, the world must have acknowledged that it was not made in vain. Sir Joseph Banks, the present respectable President of the Royal Society, told me he was so much struck on reading it, that he clasped his hands together, and remained for some time in an attitude of silent admiration. * "Biographia Britannica," but had declined it; which he afterwards said to me he regretted. In this regret many will join, because it would have procured us more of Johnson's most delightful species of writing; and although my friend Dr. Kippis has hitherto discharged the task judiciously, distinctly, and with more impartiality. than might have been expected from a Separatist, it were to have been wished that the superintendence of this literary Temple of Fame had been assigned to a friend to the constitution in Church and State." We should not then have had it too much crowded with obscure dissenting teachers, doubtless men of merit and worth, but not quite to be numbered amongst "the most eminent persons who have flourished in Great Britain and Ireland." † 66 On Saturday, September 20, after breakfast, when Taylor was gone out to his farm, Dr. Johnson and I had a serious conversation, by ourselves, on melancholy and madness; which he was, I always thought, erroneously inclined to confound together. Melancholy, like "great wit," may be "near allied to madness; " but there is, in my opinion, a distinct separation between them. When he talked of madness, he was to be understood as speaking of those who were in any great degree disturbed, or, as it is commonly expressed, "troubled in mind." troubled in mind." Some of the ancient philosophers held that all deviations from right reason were madness; and whoever wishes to see the opinions both of ancients and moderns upon this subject, collected and illustrated with a variety of curious facts, may read Dr. Arnold's very entertaining work.‡ 66 Johnson said, “ A madman loves to be with people whom he fears; not as a dog fears the lash; but of whom he stands in awe. I was struck with the justness of this observation. To be with those of whom a person, whose mind is wavering and dejected, stands in awe, represses and composes an uneasy tumult of spirits, § and consoles him with the contemplation of something steady, and at least comparatively great. * [After having given to the public the first five volumes of a new edition of "Biographia Britannica," between the years 1778 and 1793, Dr. Kippis died, October 8, 1795; and the work is not likely to be soon completed. M.] † In this censure, which has been carelessly uttered, I carelessly joined. But in justice to Dr. Kippis who, with that manly candid good temper which marks his character, set me right, I now with pleasure retract it; and I desire it may be particularly observed, as pointed out by him to me, that "The new lives of dissenting Divines, in the first four volumes of the second edition of the Biographia Britannica,' are those of John Abernethy, Thomas Amory, George Benson, Hugh Broughton, the learned Puritan, Simon Browne, Joseph Boyse of Dublin, Thomas Cartwright the learned Puritan, and Samuel Chandler. The only doubt I have ever heard suggested is, whether there should have been an article of Dr. Amory. But I was convinced, and am still convinced, that he was entitled to one, from the reality of his learning. and the excellence and candid nature of his practical writings. "The new lives of clergymen of the Church of England, in the same four volumes, are as follows: John Balguy, Edward Bentham, George Berkeley Bishop of Cloyne, William Berriman, Thomas Birch, William Borlase, Thomas Bott, James Bradley, Thomas Broughton, John Brown, John Burton, Joseph Butler Bishop of Durham, Thomas Carte, Edmund Castell, Edmund Chishull, Charles Churchill, William Clarke, Robert Clayton Bishop of Clogher, John Conybeare Bishop of Bristol, George Costard, and Samuel Croxall.-I am not conscious (says Kippis) of any partiality in conducting the work. I would not willingly insert a Dissenting Minister that does not justly deserve to be noticed, or omit an established clergyman that does. At the same time, I shall not be deterred from introducing Dissenters into the Biographia,' when I am satisfied that they are entitled to that distinction, from their writings, learning, and merit." Let me add that the expression, "A friend to the constitution in Church and State," was not meant by me as any reflection upon this Reverend Gentleman, as if he were an enemy to the political constitution of his country, as established at the revolution, but, from my steady and avowed predilection for a Tory, was quoted from " Johnson's Dictionary," where that distinction is so defined. "Observations on Insanity," by Thomas Arnold, M.D., London, 1782. § [Cardan composed his mind, tending to madness (or rather actually mad, for such he seems in his writings, learned as they are) by exciting voluntary pain. V. Card. Op. et Vit. K.] Etat. 68] DR. KIPPIS 719 He added, "Madmen are all sensual in the lower stages of the distemper. They are eager for gratifications to soothe their minds, and divert their attention from the misery which they suffer: but when they grow very ill, pleasure is too weak for them, and they seek for pain.* Employment, Sir, and hardships prevent melancholy. I suppose in all our army in America there was not one man who went mad." We entered seriously upon a question of much importance to me, which Johnson was pleased to consider with friendly attention. I had long complained to him that I felt discontented in Scotland, as too narrow a sphere, and that I wished to make my chief residence in London, the great scene of ambition, instruction, and amusement a scene, which was to me, comparatively speaking, a heaven upon earth. JOHNSON: "Why, Sir, I never knew anyone who had such a gust for London as you have: and I cannot blame you for your wish to live there yet, Sir, were I in your father's place, I should not consent to your settling there; for I have the old feudal notions, and I should be afraid that Auchinleck would be deserted, as you would soon find it more desirable to have a country-seat in a better climate. I own, however, that to consider it as a duty to reside on a family estate is a prejudice; for we must consider, that working-people get employment equally, and the produce of the land is sold equally, whether a great family resides at home or not; and if the rents of an estate be carried to London, they return again in the circulation of commerce; nay, Sir, we must perhaps allow that carrying the rents to a distance is a good, because it contributes to that circulation. We must, however, allow that a well-regulated great family may improve a neighbourhood in civility and elegance, and give an example of good order, virtue, and piety; and so its residence at home may be of much advantage. But if a great family be disorderly and vicious, its residence at home is very pernicious to a neighbourhood. There is not now the same inducement to live in the country as formerly; the pleasures of social life are much better enjoyed in town; and there is no longer in the country that power and influence in proprietors of land *We read in the Gospels that those unfortunate persons who were possessed with evil spirits (which, after all, I think is the most probable cause of madness, as was first suggested to me by my respectable friend, Sir John Pringle) had recourse to pain, tearing themselves, and jumping sometimes into the fire, sometimes into the water. Mr. Seward has furnished me with a remarkable anecdote in confirmation of Dr. Johnson's observation. A tradesman, who had acquired a large fortune in London, retired from business, and went to live at Worcester. His mind, being without its usual occupation, and having nothing else to supply its place, preyed upon itself, so that existence was a torment to him. At last he was seized with the stone; and a friend who found him in one of its severest fits, having expressed his concern, "No, no, Sir (said he), don't pity me; what I now feel is ease, compared with that torture of mind from which it relieves me." |