“Curstbetheverse，howwellsoe’eritflow，Thattendstomakeoneworthymanmyfoe。“’
　　BOSWELL。’CurstbetheSPRING，theWATER。’JOHNSON。’Butletusconsiderwhatasadthingitwouldbe，ifwewereobligedtodrinkordoanythingelsethatmayhappentobeagreeabletothecompanywhereweare。’LANGTON。’Bythesameruleyoumustjoinwithagangofcut-purses。’JOHNSON。’Yes，Sir：butyetwemustdojusticetowine；wemustallowitthepoweritpossesses。Tomakeamanpleasedwithhimself，letmetellyou，isdoingaverygreatthing；
　　“Sipatriaevolumus，siNobisviverecari。“’
　　Iwasatthistimemyselfawater-drinker，upontrial，byJohnson’srecommendation。JOHNSON。’BoswellisaboldercombatantthanSirJoshua：hearguesforwinewithoutthehelpofwine；butSirJoshuawithit。’SIRJOSHUAREYNOLDS。’Buttopleaseone’scompanyisastrongmotive。’JOHNSON。who，fromdrinkingonlywater，supposedeverybodywhodrankwinetobeelevated，’Iwon’targueanymorewithyou，Sir。Youaretoofargone。’SIRJOSHUA。’Ishouldhavethoughtsoindeed，Sir，hadImadesuchaspeechasyouhavenowdone。’JOHNSON。drawinghimselfin，and，Ireallythoughtblushing，’Nay，don’tbeangry。Ididnotmeantooffendyou。’
　　SIRJOSHUA。’Atfirstthetasteofwinewasdisagreeabletome；
　　butIbroughtmyselftodrinkit，thatImightbelikeotherpeople。Thepleasureofdrinkingwineissoconnectedwithpleasingyourcompany，thataltogetherthereissomethingofsocialgoodnessinit。’JOHNSON。’Sir，thisisonlysayingthesamethingoveragain。’SIRJOSHUA。’No，thisisnew。’JOHNSON。’Youputitinnewwords，butitisanoldthought。Thisisoneofthedisadvantagesofwine。Itmakesamanmistakewordsforthoughts。’
　　BOSWELL。’Ithinkitisanewthought；atleast，itisinanewATTITUDE。’JOHNSON。’Nay，Sir，itisonlyinanewcoat；oranoldcoatwithanewfacing。Thenlaughingheartily，Itistheolddoginanewdoublet——Anextraordinaryinstancehowevermayoccurwhereaman’spatronwilldonothingforhim，unlesshewilldrink：THEREmaybeagoodreasonfordrinking。’
　　Imentionedanobleman，whoIbelievedwasreallyuneasyifhiscompanywouldnotdrinkhard。JOHNSON。’Thatisfromhavinghadpeopleabouthimwhomhehasbeenaccustomedtocommand。’BOSWELL。
　　’SupposingIshouldbetete-a-tetewithhimattable。’JOHNSON。
　　’Sir，thereisnomorereasonforyourdrinkingwithHIM，thanhisbeingsoberwithYOU。’BOSWELL。’Why，thatistrue；foritwoulddohimlesshurttobesober，thanitwoulddometogetdrunk。’
　　JOHNSON。’Yes，Sir；andfromwhatIhaveheardofhim，onewouldnotwishtosacrificehimselftosuchaman。Ifhemustalwayshavesomebodytodrinkwithhim，heshouldbuyaslave，andthenhewouldbesuretohaveit。Theywhosubmittodrinkasanotherpleases，makethemselveshisslaves。’Boswell。’But，Sir，youwillsurelymakeallowanceforthedutyofhospitality。A
　　gentlemanwholovesdrinking，comestovisitme。’JOHNSON。’Sir，amanknowswhomhevisits；hecomestothetableofasoberman。’
　　BOSWELL。’But，Sir，youandIshouldnothavebeensowellreceivedintheHighlandsandHebrides，ifIhadnotdrunkwithourworthyfriends。HadIdrunkwateronlyasyoudid，theywouldnothavebeensocordial。’JOHNSON。’SirWilliamTemplementionsthatinhistravelsthroughtheNetherlandshehadtwoorthreegentlemenwithhim；andwhenabumperwasnecessary，heputitonTHEM。WereItotravelagainthroughtheislands，IwouldhaveSirJoshuawithmetotakethebumpers。’BOSWELL。’But，Sir，letmeputacase。SupposeSirJoshuashouldtakeajauntintoScotland；
　　hedoesmethehonourtopaymeavisitatmyhouseinthecountry；
　　Iamoverjoyedatseeinghim；wearequitebyourselves，shallI
　　unsociablyandchurlishlylethimsitdrinkingbyhimself？No，no，mydearSirJoshua，youshallnotbetreatedso，IWILLtakeabottlewithyou。’
　　OnWednesday，April29，IdinedwithhimatMr。AllanRamsay’s，wherewereLordBinning，Dr。Robertsonthehistorian，SirJoshuaReynolds，andtheHonourableMrs。Boscawen，widowoftheAdmiral，andmotherofthepresentViscountFalmouth；ofwhom，ifitbenotpresumptuousinmetopraiseher，Iwouldsay，thathermannersarethemostagreeable，andherconversationthebest，ofanyladywithwhomIeverhadthehappinesstobeacquainted。BeforeJohnsoncamewetalkedagooddealofhim；Ramsaysaidhehadalwaysfoundhimaverypoliteman，andthathetreatedhimwithgreatrespect，whichhedidverysincerely。IsaidIworshippedhim。ROBERTSON。
　　’Butsomeofyouspoilhim；youshouldnotworshiphim；youshouldworshipnoman。’BOSWELL。’Icannothelpworshippinghim，heissomuchsuperiourtoothermen。’ROBERTSON。Incriticism，andinwitinconversation，heisnodoubtveryexcellent；butinotherrespectsheisnotaboveothermen；hewillbelieveanything，andwillstrenuouslydefendthemostminutecircumstanceconnectedwiththeChurchofEngland。’BOSWELL。’Believeme，Doctor，youaremuchmistakenastothis；forwhenyoutalkwithhimcalmlyinprivate，heisveryliberalinhiswayofthinking。’ROBERTSON。
　　’HeandIhavebeenalwaysverygracious；thefirsttimeImethimwasoneeveningatStrahan’s，whenhehadjusthadanunluckyaltercationwithAdamSmith，towhomhehadbeensorough，thatStrahan，afterSmithwasgone，hadremonstratedwithhim，andtoldhimthatIwascomingsoon，andthathewasuneasytothinkthathemightbehaveinthesamemannertome。“No，no，Sir，saidJohnson，IwarrantyouRobertsonandIshalldoverywell。“
　　Accordinglyhewasgentleandgood-humoured，andcourteouswithmethewholeevening；andhehasbeensouponeveryoccasionthatwehavemetsince。Ihaveoftensaidlaughing，thatIhavebeeninagreatmeasureindebtedtoSmithformygoodreception。’BOSWELL。
　　’Hispowerofreasoningisverystrong，andhehasapeculiarartofdrawingcharacters，whichisasrareasgoodportraitpainting。’
　　SIRJOSHUAREYNOLDS。’Heisundoubtedlyadmirableinthis；but，inordertomarkthecharacterswhichhedraws，heoverchargesthem，andgivespeoplemorethantheyreallyhave，whetherofgoodorbad。’
　　Nosoonerdidhe，ofwhomwehadbeenthustalkingsoeasily，arrive，thanwewereallasquietasaschoolupontheentranceofthehead-master；andwereverysoonsetdowntoatablecoveredwithsuchvarietyofgoodthings，ascontributednotalittletodisposehimtobepleased。
　　RAMSAY。’IamoldenoughtohavebeenacontemporaryofPope。Hispoetrywashighlyadmiredinhislife-time，moreagreatdealthanafterhisdeath。’JOHNSON。’Sir，ithasnotbeenlessadmiredsincehisdeath；noauthourseverhadsomuchfameintheirownlife-timeasPopeandVoltaire；andPope’spoetryhasbeenasmuchadmiredsincehisdeathasduringhislife；ithasonlynotbeenasmuchtalkedof，butthatisowingtoitsbeingnowmoredistant，andpeoplehavingotherwritingstotalkof。VirgilislesstalkedofthanPope，andHomerislesstalkedofthanVirgil；buttheyarenotlessadmired。Wemustreadwhattheworldreadsatthemoment。
　　Ithasbeenmaintainedthatthissuperfoetation，thisteemingofthepressinmoderntimes，isprejudicialtogoodliterature，becauseitobligesustoreadsomuchofwhatisofinferiourvalue，inordertobeinthefashion；sothatbetterworksareneglectedforwantoftime，becauseamanwillhavemoregratificationofhisvanityinconversation，fromhavingreadmodernbooks，thanfromhavingreadthebestworksofantiquity。
　　Butitmustbeconsidered，thatwehavenowmoreknowledgegenerallydiffused；allourladiesreadnow，whichisagreatextension。Modernwritersarethemoonsofliterature；theyshinewithreflectedlight，withlightborrowedfromtheancients。
　　Greeceappearstometobethefountainofknowledge；Romeofelegance。’RAMSAY。’IsupposeHomer’sIliadtobeacollectionofpieceswhichhadbeenwrittenbeforehistime。IshouldliketoseeatranslationofitinpoeticalproselikethebookofRuthorJob。’ROBERTSON。’Wouldyou，Dr。Johnson，whoaremasteroftheEnglishlanguage，buttryyourhanduponapartofit。’JOHNSON。
　　’Sir，youcouldnotreaditwithoutthepleasureofverse。
　　Dr。Robertsonexpatiatedonthecharacterofacertainnobleman；
　　thathewasoneofthestrongest-mindedmenthateverlived；thathewouldsitincompanyquitesluggish，whiletherewasnothingtocallforthhisintellectualvigour；butthemomentthatanyimportantsubjectwasstarted，forinstance，howthiscountryistobedefendedagainstaFrenchinvasion，hewouldrousehimself，andshewhisextraordinarytalentswiththemostpowerfulabilityandanimation。JOHNSON。’Yetthismancuthisownthroat。Thetruestrongandsoundmindisthemindthatcanembraceequallygreatthingsandsmall。NowIamtoldtheKingofPrussiawillsaytoaservant，“Bringmeabottleofsuchawine，whichcameinsuchayear；itliesinsuchacornerofthecellars。“Iwouldhaveamangreatingreatthings，andelegantinlittlethings。’Hesaidtomeafterwards，whenwewerebyourselves，’Robertsonwasinamightyromantickhumour，hetalkedofonewhomhedidnotknow；butIDOWNEDhimwiththeKingofPrussia。’’Yes，Sir，saidI，youthrewaBOTTLEathishead。’
　　Aningeniousgentlemanwasmentioned，concerningwhombothRobertsonandRamsayagreedthathehadaconstantfirmnessofmind；forafteralaboriousday，andamidstamultiplicityofcaresandanxieties，hewouldsitdownwithhissistersandhequitecheerfulandgood-humoured。Suchadisposition，itwasobserved，wasahappygiftofnature。JOHNSON。’Idonotthinkso；amanhasfromnatureacertainportionofmind；theusehemakesofitdependsuponhisownfreewill。ThatamanhasalwaysthesamefirmnessofmindIdonotsay；becauseeverymanfeelshismindlessfirmatonetimethananother；butIthinkaman’sbeinginagoodorbadhumourdependsuponhiswill。’I，however，couldnothelpthinkingthataman’shumourisoftenuncontroulablebyhiswill。
　　Nextday，Thursday，April30，Ifoundhimathomebyhimself。
　　JOHNSON。’Well，Sir，Ramsaygaveusasplendiddinner。IloveRamsay。Youwillnotfindamaninwhoseconversationthereismoreinstruction，moreinformation，andmoreelegance，thaninRamsay’s。’BOSWELL。’WhatIadmireinRamsay，ishiscontinuingtobesoyoung。’JOHNSON。’Why，yes，Sir，itistobeadmired。I
　　valuemyselfuponthis，thatthereisnothingoftheoldmaninmyconversation。Iamnowsixty-eight，andIhavenomoreofitthanattwenty-eight。’BOSWELL。’But，Sir，wouldnotyouwishtoknowoldage？Hewhoisneveranoldman，doesnotknowthewholeofhumanlife；foroldageisoneofthedivisionsofit。’JOHNSON。
　　’Nay，Sir，whattalkisthis？’BOSWELL。’Imean，Sir，theSphinx’sdescriptionofit；——morning，noon，andnight。Iwouldknownight，aswellasmorningandnoon。’JOHNSON。’What，Sir，wouldyouknowwhatitistofeeltheevilsofoldage？Wouldyouhavethegout？Wouldyouhavedecrepitude？’——Seeinghimheated，I