text,updated_at,metaphor,created_at,context,theme,reviewed_on,dictionary,comments,provenance,id,work_id
"Dr. Goldsmith once said to Dr. Johnson, that he wished for some additional members to the LITERARY CLUB, to give it an agreeable variety; for (said he) there can now be nothing new among us: we have travelled over one another's minds. Johnson seemed a little angry, and said, ""Sir, you have not travelled over my mind, I promise you."" Sir Joshua, however, thought Goldsmith right; observing, that ""when people have lived a great deal together, they know what each of them will say on every subject. A new understanding, therefore, is desirable; because though it may only furnish the same sense upon a question which would have been furnished by those with whom we are accustomed to live, yet this sense will have a different colouring; and colouring is of much effect in every thing else as well as painting.""
(p. 1065)",2011-03-24 19:59:41 UTC,"""Dr. Goldsmith once said to Dr. Johnson, that he wished for some additional members to the LITERARY CLUB, to give it an agreeable variety; for (said he) there can now be nothing new among us: we have travelled over one another's minds.""",2005-09-19 00:00:00 UTC,"A.D. 1783, Aetat. 74","",,"","",Reading,15356,5767
"At this time I think he had published nothing with his name, thought it was pretty well known that one Dr. Goldsmith was the author of ""An Enquiry into the present State of polite Learning in Europe,"" and of ""The Citizen of the World,"" a series of letters supposed o be written from London by a Chinese. No man had the art of displaying with more advantage as a writer, whatever literary acquisitions he made. ""Nihil quod tetigit non ornavit."" His mind resembled a fertile, but thin soil. There was a quick, but not a strong vegetation, of whatever chanced to be thrown upon it. No deep root could be struck. The oak of the forest did not grow there: but the elegant shrubbery and the fragrant parterre appeared in gay succession. It has been generally circulated and believed that he was a mere fool in conversation; but, in truth, this has been greatly exaggerated. He had, no doubt, a more than common share of that hurry of ideas which we often find in his countrymen, and which sometimes produces a laughable confusion in expressing them. He was very much what the French call un étourdi, and from vanity and an eager desire of being conspicuous wherever he was, he frequently talked carelessly without knowledge of his subject, or even without thought. His person was short, his countenance coarse and vulgar, his deportment that of a scholar awkwardly affecting the easy gentleman. Those who were in any way distinguished, excited envy in him to so ridiculous an excess, that the instances of it are hardly credible. When accompanying two beautiful ladies with their mother on tour in France, he was seriously angry that more attention was paid to them than to him; and once at an exhibition of the Fantoccini in London, when those who sat next him observed with what dexterity a puppet was made to toss a pike, he could not bear that it should have such praise, and exclaimed with some warmth, ""Pshaw! I can do better myself.""
(pp. 259-61)",2011-03-24 20:00:54 UTC,"""His mind resembled a fertile, but thin soil. There was a quick, but not a strong vegetation, of whatever chanced to be thrown upon it. No deep root could be struck. The oak of the forest did not grow there: but the elegant shrubbery and the fragrant parterre appeared in gay succession.""",2005-09-19 00:00:00 UTC,"A.D. 1763, Aetat. 54","",,"","•Extended through the following sentences. I've included five times: Soil, Vegetation, Root, Shrubbery",Reading,15357,5767
"Let me here apologize for the imperfect manner in which I am obliged to exhibit Johnson's conversation at this period. In the early part of my acquaintance with him, I was so wrapt in admiration of his extraordinary colloquial talents, and so little accustomed to his peculiar mode of expression, that I found it extremely difficult to recollect and record his conversation with its genuine vigour and vivacity. In progress of time, when my mind was, as it were, strongly impregnated with the Johnsonian aether, I could with much more facility and exactness, carry in my memory and commit to paper the exuberant variety of his wisdom and wit.
(p. 264)",2011-03-24 20:01:44 UTC,"""In progress of time, when my mind was, as it were, strongly impregnated with the Johnsonian aether, I could with much more facility and exactness, carry in my memory and commit to paper the exuberant variety of his wisdom and wit.""",2005-09-19 00:00:00 UTC,"A.D. 1763, Aetat. 54","",,"","•Marked with the ""as it were"" and put into italics.",Reading,15361,5767
"""I have now vexed you enough, and will try to please you. Your resolution to obey your father I sincerely approve; but do not accustom yourself to enchain your volatility by vows; they will sometime leave a thorn in your mind, which you will, perhaps, never be able to extract or eject. Take this warning; it is of great importance.
(p. 327)",2011-05-26 19:03:41 UTC,"""Your resolution to obey your father I sincerely approve; but do not accustom yourself to enchain your volatility by vows; they will sometime leave a thorn in your mind, which you will, perhaps, never be able to extract or eject.""",2005-09-19 00:00:00 UTC,"A.D. 1766, Aetat. 57","",2011-05-26,Fetters,"",Reading,15362,5767
"I proceeded: ""What do you think, Sir, of Purgatory, as believed by the Roman Catholicks?"" JOHNSON. Why, Sir, it is a very harmless doctrine. They are of opinion that the generality of mankind are neither so obstinately wicked as to deserve everlasting punishment, nor so good as to merit being admitted into the society of blessed spirits; and therefore that GOD is graciously pleased to allow of a middle state, where they may be purified by certain degrees of suffering. You see, Sir, there is nothing unreasonable in this."" BOSWELL. ""But then, Sir, their masses for the dead?"" JOHNSON. ""Why, Sir, if it be once established that there are souls in purgatory, it is as proper to pray for them, as for our brethren of mankind who are yet in this life."" BOSWELL. ""The idolatry of the Mass?"" --JOHNSON. ""Sir, there is no idolatry in the Mass. They believe GOD to be there, and they adore him."" BOSWELL. ""The worship of Saints?"" --JOHNSON. ""Sir, they do not worship saints; they invoke them; they only ask their prayers. I am talking all this time of the doctrines of the church of Rome. I grant you that in practice, Purgatory is made a lucrative imposition, and that the people do become idolatrous as they recommend themselves to the tutelary protection of particular saints. I think their giving the sacrament only in one kind is criminal, because it is contrary to the express institution of CHRIST, and I wonder how the Council of Trent admitted it."" BOSWELL. ""Confession?"" --JOHNSON. ""Why, I don't know but that is a good thing. The scripture says, 'Confess your faults one to another;' and the priests confess as well as the laity. Then it must be considered that their absolution is only upon repentance, and often upon penance also. You think your sins may be forgiven without penance, upon repentance alone.""
I thus ventured to mention all the common objections against the Roman Catholick Church, that I might hear so great a man upon them. What he said is here accurately recorded. But it is not improbable that if one had taken the other side, he might have reasoned differently.
I must however mention, that he had a respect for ""the old religion,"" as the mild Melancthon called that of the Roman Catholick Church, even while he was exerting himself for its reformation in some particulars. Sir William Scott informs me, that he heard Johnson say, ""A man who is converted from Protestantism to Popery, may be sincere: he parts with nothing: he is only superadding to what he already had. But a convert from Popery to Protestantism, gives up so much of what he has held as sacred as any thing that he retains; there is so much laceration of mind in such a conversion, that it can hardly be sincere and lasting."" The truth of this reflection may be confirmed by many and eminent instances, some of which will occur to most of my readers.
(I, pp. 328-9); cf. p. 379 in Everyman and 314 in Penguin )",2014-04-29 02:19:35 UTC,"""But a convert from Popery to Protestantism, gives up so much of what he has held as sacred as any thing that he retains; there is so much laceration of mind in such a conversion, that it can hardly be sincere and lasting""",2005-09-19 00:00:00 UTC,"A.D. 1769, Aetat. 60","",2014-04-28,"","",Reading; confirmed in ECCO-TCP,15363,5767
"""I censured some ludicrous fantastick dialogues between two coach horses and other such stuff, which Baretti had lately published. He joined with me, and said, ""Nothing odd will do long. 'Tristram Shandy' did not last."" I expressed a desire to be acquainted with a lady who had been much talked of, and universally celebrated for extraordinary address and insinuation. JOHNSON. ""Never believe extraordinary characters which you hear of people. Depend upon it, Sir, they are exaggerated. You do not see one man shoot a great deal higher than another."" I mentioned Mr. Burke. JOHNSON. ""Yes; Burke is an extraordinary man. His stream of mind is perpetual."" It is very pleasing to me to record, that Johnson's high estimation of the talents of this gentleman was uniform from their early acquaintance. Sir Joshua Reynolds informs me, that when Mr. Burke was first elected a member of Parliament, and Sir John Hawkins expressed a wonder at his attaining a seat, Johnson said, ""Now we who know Mr. Burke, know, that he will be one of the first men in the country."" And once, when Johnson was ill, and unable to exert himself as much as usual without fatigue, Mr. Burke having been mentioned, he said, ""That fellow calls forth all my powers. Were I to see Burke now it would kill me."" So much was he accustomed to consider conversation a contest, and such was his notion of Burke as an opponent.
(p. 612)",2011-03-24 20:07:47 UTC,"""Yes; Burke is an extraordinary man. His stream of mind is perpetual.""",2005-09-19 00:00:00 UTC,"A.D. 1776, Aetat. 67","",,"","",Reading,15368,5767
"We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by dy drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over. We must not divide objects of our attention into minute parts, and think separately of each part. It is by contemplating a large mass of human existence, that a man, while he sets a just value on his own life, does not think of his death as annihilating all that is great and pleasing in this world, as it actually contained in his mind, according to Berkeley's reverie. If his imagination be not sickly and feeble, it ""wings its distant way"" far beyond himself, and views the world in unceasing activity of every sort. It must be acknowledged, however, that Pope's plaintive reflection, that all things would be as gay as ever, on the day of his death, is natural and common. We are apt to transfer to all around us our own gloom, without considering that at any given point of time there is, perhaps, as much youth and gaiety in the world as at another. Before I came into this life, in which I have had so many pleasant scenes, have not thousands and ten thousands of deaths and funerals happened, and have not families been in grief for their nearest relation?[...]
(p. 747)",2011-03-24 20:12:55 UTC,"""As in filling a vessel drop by dy drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over. """,2005-09-19 00:00:00 UTC,"A.D. 1777, Aetat. 68","",,"","",Reading,15369,5767
"I shall, therefore, consider only such studies as we are at liberty to pursue or to neglect; and of these I know not how you will make a better choice, than by studying the civil law, as your father advises, and the ancient languages, as you had determined for yourself; at least resolve, while you remain in any settled residence, to spend a certain number of hours every day amongst your books. The dissipation of thought, of which you complain, is nothing more than the vacillation of a mind suspended between different motives, and changing its direction as any motive gains or loses strength. If you can but kindle in your mind any strong desire, if you can but keep predominant any wish for some particular excellence or attainment, the gusts of imagination will break away, without any effect upon your conduct, and commonly without any traces left upon the memory.
(I, pp. 258-9)",2014-06-22 17:14:06 UTC,"""The dissipation of thought, of which you complain, is nothing more than the vacillation of a mind suspended between different motives, and changing its direction as any motive gains or loses strength.""",2014-06-22 17:14:06 UTC,"Letter from Samuel Johnson to James Boswell (London, 8 December 1763)","",,"","",Reading,24115,5767
"I shall, therefore, consider only such studies as we are at liberty to pursue or to neglect; and of these I know not how you will make a better choice, than by studying the civil law, as your father advises, and the ancient languages, as you had determined for yourself; at least resolve, while you remain in any settled residence, to spend a certain number of hours every day amongst your books. The dissipation of thought, of which you complain, is nothing more than the vacillation of a mind suspended between different motives, and changing its direction as any motive gains or loses strength. If you can but kindle in your mind any strong desire, if you can but keep predominant any wish for some particular excellence or attainment, the gusts of imagination will break away, without any effect upon your conduct, and commonly without any traces left upon the memory.
(I, pp. 258-9)",2014-06-22 17:15:42 UTC,"""If you can but kindle in your mind any strong desire, if you can but keep predominant any wish for some particular excellence or attainment, the gusts of imagination will break away, without any effect upon your conduct, and commonly without any traces left upon the memory.""",2014-06-22 17:15:42 UTC,"Letter from Samuel Johnson to James Boswell (London 8, December 1763)","",,"","",Reading,24116,5767
"There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to himself. This vanity makes one mind nurse aversions, and another actuate desires, till they rise by art much above their original state of power; and as affectation, in time, improves to habit, they at last tyrannise over him who at first encouraged them only for show. Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who, while he was chill, was harmless; but when warmth gave him strength, exerted it in poison. You know a gentle∣man, who, when first he set his foot in the gay world, as he prepared himself to whirl in the vortex of pleasure, imagined a total indifference and universal negligence to be the most agreeable concomitants of youth, and the strongest indication of an airy temper and a quick apprehension. Vacant to every object, and sensible of every impulse, he thought that all appearance of dili∣gence would deduct something from the reputation of genius; and hoped that he should appear to attain, amidst all the ease of carelessness and all the tumult of diversion, that knowledge and those accomplishments which mortals of the common fabrick obtain only by mute abstraction and solitary drudgery. He tried this scheme of life awhile, was made weary of it by his sense and his virtue, he then wished to return to his studies; and finding long habits of idleness and pleasure harder to be cured than he expected, still willing to retain his claim to some extraordinary prerogatives, resolved the common consequences of irregularity into an unalterable decree of destiny, and concluded that Nature had originally formed him incapable of rational employment.
(I, p. 259)",2014-06-22 17:17:59 UTC,"""Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who, while he was chill, was harmless; but when warmth gave him strength, exerted it in poison.""",2014-06-22 17:17:59 UTC,"Letter from Samuel Johnson to James Boswell (London, 8 December 1763)","",,Animals,"",Reading,24117,5767