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He defcribed the father of one of his friends thus: "Sir, he was fo exuberant

Etat. 64. a talker at publick meetings, that the gentlemen of his county were afraid of him. No bufinefs could be done for his declamation."

He did not give me full credit when I mentioned that I had carried on a short converfation by signs with fome Efquimaux, who were then in London, particularly with one of them who was a priest. He thought I could not make them understand me. No man was more incredulous as to particular facts, which were at all extraordinary; and therefore no man was more fcrupulously inquifitive, in order to discover the truth.

I dined with him this day at the house of my friends, Meffieurs Edward and Charles Dilly, bookfellers in the Poultry: there were prefent, their elder brother Mr. Dilly of Bedfordshire, Dr. Goldsmith, Mr. Langton, Mr. Claxton, Reverend Dr. Mayo a diffenting minifter, the Reverend Mr. Toplady, and my friend the Reverend Mr. Temple.

Hawkefworth's compilation of the voyages to the South Sea being mentioned;-JOHNSON. "Sir, if you talk of it as a subject of commerce, it will be gainful; if as a book that is to increase human knowledge, I believe there will not be much of that. Hawkefworth can tell only what the voyagers have told him, and they have found very little, only one new animal, I think.” BOSWELL. "But many infects, Sir." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, as to infects, Ray reckons of British infects twenty thousand species. They might have have staid at home and discovered enough in that way."

Talking of birds, I mentioned Mr. Daines Barrington's ingenious Essay against the received notion of their migration. JOHNSON. "I think we have as good evidence for the migration of woodcocks as can be defired. We find they disappear at a certain time of the year, and appear again at a certain time of the year; and fome of them, when weary in their flight, have been known to alight on the rigging of fhips far out at fea." One of the company obferved, that there had been inftances of fome of them found in fummer in Effex. JOHNSON. "Sir, that ftrengthens our argument. Exceptio probat regulam. Some being found fhews, that, if all remained, many would be found. A few fick or lame ones may be found." GOLDSMITH. "There is a partial migration of the swallows; the stronger ones migrate, the others do not.”

BOSWELL. "I am well affured that the people of Otaheite who have the bread-tree, the fruit of which ferves them for bread, laughed heartily when they were informed of the tedious procefs neceffary with us to have bread;-plowing, fowing, harrowing, reaping, threshing, grinding, baking." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, all ignorant favages will laugh when they are told of

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the advantages of civilized life. Were you to tell men who live without houses, how we pile brick upon brick and rafter upon rafter, and that after a tat. 64. house is raised to a certain height, a man tumbles off a scaffold and breaks his neck, he would laugh heartily at our folly in building; but it does not follow that men are better without houfes. No, Sir, (holding up a flice of a good loaf,) this is better than the bread-tree."

He repeated an argument, which is to be found in his "Rambler," against the notion that the brute creation is endowed with the faculty of reafon: "birds build by instinct; they never improve: they build their firft neft as well as any one that they ever build." GOLDSMITH. "Yet we fee if you take away a bird's nest with the eggs in it, she will make a flighter nest and lay again. JOHNSON. "Sir, that is because at first she has full time, and makes her nest deliberately. In the case you mention she is preffed to lay, and must therefore make her neft quickly, and confequently it will be flight." GOLDSMITH. "The nidification of birds is what is least known in natural hiftory, though one of the most curious things in it."

I introduced the fubject of toleration. JOHNSON. "Every fociety has a right to preserve publick peace and order, and therefore has a good right to prohibit the propagation of opinions which have a dangerous tendency. To fay the magiftrate has this right, is ufing an inadequate word: it is the fociety for which the magiftrate is agent. He may be morally or theologically wrong in restraining the propagation of opinions which he thinks dangerous, but he is politically right." MAYO. "I am of opinion, Sir, that every man is entitled to liberty of conscience in religion; and that the magistrate cannot restrain that right." JOHNSON. "Sir, I agree with you. Every man has a right to -liberty of confcience, and with that the magiftrate cannot interfere. People confound liberty of thinking with liberty of talking; nay, with liberty of preaching. Every man has a physical right to think as he pleases; for it cannot be discovered how he thinks. He has not a moral right; for he ought to inform himself and think juftly. But, Sir, no member of a fociety has a right to teach any doctrine contrary to what that fociety holds to be true. The magistrate, I fay, may be wrong in what he thinks; but, while he thinks himself right, he may, and ought to enforce what he thinks." MAYO. “ MAYO. "Then, Sir, we are to remain always in errour, and truth never can prevail; and the magistrate was right in perfecuting the firft Chriftians." JOHNSON. "Sir, the only method. by which religious truth can be established is by martyrdom. The magistrate has a right to enforce what he thinks; and he who is confcious of the truth has a right to fuffer. I am afraid there is no other way of afcertaining the

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Etat. 64.

truth, but by perfecution on the one hand and enduring it on the other." GOLDSMITH." But how is a man to act, Sir? Though firmly convinced of the truth of his doctrine, may he not think it wrong to expofe himself to perfecution? Has he a right to do fo? Is it not, as it were, committing voluntary suicide?" JOHNSON. "Sir, as to voluntary fuicide, as you call it, there are twenty thousand men in an army who will go without fcruple to be shot at, and mount a breach for five-pence a day." GOLDSMITH." But have they a moral right to do this?" JOHNSON. "Nay, Sir, if you will not take the univerfal opinion of mankind, I have nothing to fay. If mankind cannot defend their own way of thinking, I cannot defend it. Sir, if a man is in doubt whether it would be better for him to expofe himself to martyrdom or not, he should not do it. He must be convinced that he has a delegation from heaven." GOLDSMITH. "I would confider whether there is the greater chance of good or evil upon the whole. If I fee a man who has fallen into a well, I would wish to help him out; but if there is a greater probability that he fhall pull me in, than that I fhall pull him out, I would not attempt it. So were I to go to Turkey, I might wish to convert the Grand Signor to the Christian faith; but when I confidered that I should probably be put to death without effectuating my purpose in any degree, I fhould keep myfelf quiet.” JOHNSON. "Sir, you must consider that we have perfect and imperfect obligations. Perfect obligations, which are generally not to do fomething, are clear and pofitive; as, thou fhalt not kill.' But charity, for inftance, is not definable by limits. It is a duty to give to the poor; but no man can fay how much another fhould give to the poor, or when a man has given too little to fave his foul. In the fame manner, it is a duty to inftruct the ignorant, and of confequence to convert infidels to Chriftianity; but no man in the common courfe of things is obliged to carry this to fuch a degree as to incur the danger of martyrdom, as no man is obliged to ftrip himself to the fhirt in order to give charity. I have faid, that a man must be perfuaded that he has a particular delegation from heaven." GOLDSMITH. "How is this to be known? Our firft reformers, who were burnt for not believing bread and wine to be CHRIST."- JOHNSON. (interrupting him,) "Sir, they were not burnt for not believing bread and wine to be CHRIST, but for infulting thofe who did believe it. And, Sir, when the firft reformers began, they did not intend to be martyred: as many of them ran away as could." BOSWELL. "But, Sir, there was your countryman, Elwal, who you told me challenged King George with his black-guards and his red-guards." JOHNSON. "My countryman, Elwal, Sir, fhould have been put in the fstocks; a proper pulpit

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for him, and he'd have had a numerous audience. A man who preaches in the stocks will always have hearers enough." BOSWELL. "But Elwal thought Atat. 64. "We are not providing for mad people; himself in the right." JOHNSON. there are places for them in the neighbourhood," (meaning Moorfields.) MAYO. "But, Sir, is it not very hard that I should not be allowed to teach my "Why, Sir, you children what I really believe to be the truth?" JOHNSON. teach might contrive to teach your children extrà fcandalum; but, Sir, the magistrate, children if he knows it, has a right to reftrain you. Suppose you to be thieves?" MAYO. "This is making a joke of the fubject." JOHNSON. "Nay, Sir, take it thus :-that you teach them the community of goods, for which there are as many plausible arguments as for moft erroneous doctrines. You teach them that all things at first were in common, and that no man had a right to any thing but as he laid his hands upon it; and that this still is, or ought to be, the rule amongst mankind. Here, Sir, you fap a great principle in fociety,-property. And don't you think the magistrate would have a right to prevent you? Or, suppose you should teach your children the notions of the Adamites, and they should run naked into the streets, would not the magistrate have a right to flog 'em into their doublets?" MAYO. "I think the magiftrate has no right to interfere till there is fome overt act." BOSWELL. "So, Sir, though he fees an enemy to the state charging a blunderbufs, he is not to interfere till it is fired off." MAYo. " He must be sure of its direction against the state." JOHNSON. "The magiftrate is to judge of that.-He has no right to restrain your thinking, because the evil centers in yourself. If a man were fitting at this table, and chopping off his fingers, the magistrate, as guardian of the community, has no authority to restrain him, however he might do it from kindness as a parent.-Though, indeed, upon more confideration, I think he may; as it is probable that he who is chopping off his own fingers, may foon proceed to chop off thofe of other people. If I think it right to steal Mr. Dilly's plate, I am a bad man; but he can fay nothing to me. If I make an open declaration that I think fo, he will keep me out of his house. If I put forth my hand, I shall be sent to Newgate. This is the gradation of thinking, preaching, and acting: if a man thinks erroneously, he may keep his thoughts to himself, and nobody will trouble him; if he preaches erroneous doctrine, fociety may expel him; if he acts in confequence of it, the law takes place, and he is hanged." MAYO. "But, Sir, ought not Christians to have liberty of confcience ?" JOHNSON. "I have already told BOSWELL." Dr. you fo, Sir. You are coming back to where you were." Mayo is always taking a return poft-chaife, and going the ftage over again.

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Etat. 64.

He has it at half price." JOHNSON. "Dr. Mayo, like other champions for unlimited toleration, has got a set of words. Sir, it is no matter, politically, whether the magistrate be right or wrong. Suppose a club were to be formed to drink confufion to King George the Third, and a happy restoration to Charles the Third; this would be very bad with respect to the state; but every member of that club must either conform to its rules, or be turned out of it. Old Baxter, I remember, maintains, that the magistrate should tolerate all things that are tolerable.' This is no good definition of toleration upon any principle; but it fhews that he thought fome things were not tolerable." TOPLADY. "Sir, you have untwifted this difficult fubject with great dexterity."

During this argument, Goldfmith fat in reftlefs agitation, from a wish to get. in, and shine. Finding himself excluded, he had taken his hat to go away, but remained for fome time with it in his hand, like a gamefter, who at the clofe of a long night, lingers for a little while, to fee if he can have a favourable opening to finish with fuccefs. Once when he was beginning to fpeak, he found himself overpowered by the loud voice of Johnson, who was at the oppofite end of the table, and did not perceive Goldsmith's attempt. Thus disappointed of his wish to obtain the attention of the company, Goldsmith in a paffion threw down his hat, looking angrily at Johnson, and exclaiming in a bitter tone, "Take it." When Toplady was going to speak, Johnson uttered fome found, which led Goldsmith to think that he was beginning again, and taking the words from Toplady. Upon which, he feized this opportunity of venting his own envy and fpleen, under the pretext of fupporting another perfon: "Sir, (faid he to Johnson,) the gentleman has heard you patiently for an hour; pray allow us now to hear him." JOHNSON. (fternly,) "Sir, I was not interrupting the gentleman. I was only giving him a fignal of my attention. Sir, you are impertinent." Goldsmith made no reply, but continued in the company for fome time.

A gentleman prefent ventured to afk Dr. Johnfon if there was not a material difference as to toleration of opinions which lead to action, and opinions merely speculative; for instance, would it be wrong in the magiftrate to tolerate

Dr. Mayo's calm temper and fteady perfeverance, rendered him an admirable fubject for the Dr. exercife of Dr. Johnson's powerful abilities. He never flinched; but, after reiterated blows, remained feemingly unmoved as at the first. The fcintillations of Johnson's genius flashed every time he was ftruck, without his receiving any injury. Hence he obtained the epithet of THE LITERARY ANVIL.

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