once told Mrs. Thrale, You have fo little anxiety about truth, that you never tax your memory with the exact thing. Now what is the ufe of the memory to truth, if one is careless of exactnefs? Lord Hailes's: Annals of Scotland' are very exact; but they contain mere dry particulars. They are to be confidered as a dictionary. You know fuch things are there; and may be looked at when you please. Robertfon paints; but the misfortune is, you are fure he does not know the people whom he paints; fo you cannot fuppofe a likeness. Characters fhould never be given by an historian, unless he knew the people whom he defcribes, or copies from thofe who knew them."

Mr. Bofwell alfo relates (though not on the authority of his journal), that in the fame converfation he took notice of a report which had been fometimes propagated, that he did not understand Greek. Lord Bathurst faid, that he knew that to be falfe: for that part of the Iliad was tranflated by Mr. Pope in his houfe in the country; and that in the mornings when they affembled at breakfaft, Mr. Pope used frequently to repeat, with great rapture, the Greek lines which he had been tranflating, and then to give them his verfion of them, and to compare them together."

Mr.

Mr. Beauclerk one day repeated to Dr. Johnson Pope's lines,

Let modeft Fofter, if he will, excel

Ten metropolitans in preaching well.”

Then afked the Doctor, "Why did Pope fay this?"-JOHNSON. "Sir, he hoped it would vex fomebody."

Talking of the minutenefs with which people will often record the fayings of eminent perfons, a ftory was told, that when Pope was on a vifit to Spence at Oxford, as they looked from the window they faw a Gentleman Commoner, who was juft come in from riding, amufing himself with whipping at a poft. Pope took occafion to fay, "That young gentleman feems to have little to do." Mr. Beauclerk obferved, "Then, to be fure, Spence turned round and wrote that down; and went on to fay to Dr. Johnson, Pope, Sir, would have faid the fame of you, if he had feen you diftilling."-JOHNSON. "Sir, if Pope had told me of my diftilling, I would have told him of his grotto." Mr. Ramfay faid, "I am old ́ enough to have been a contemporary of Pope. His poetry was highly admired in his life-time, more a great deal than after his death."7." Sir; it has not been lefs admired after his death; it has only not been as much talked

of; but that is owing to its being now more diftant, and people having other writings to talk of. Virgil is lefs talked of than Pope, and Homer is less talked of than Virgil; but they are not lefs admired. We muft read what the world reads at the moment. It has been maintained that this fuperfotation, this teeming of the prefs in modern times is prejudicial to good literature, because it obliges us to read fo much of what is of inferior value, in order to be in the fashion; fo that better works are neglected for want of time, because a man will have more gratification of his vanity in conversation from having read modern books, than from having read the best works of antiquity. But it must be confidered, that we have now more knowledge generally diffufed; all our ladies read now, which is a great extenfion. Modern writers are the moons of literature; they Thine with reflected light, with light borrowed from the ancients. Greece appears to me to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance."- RAMSAY. "I fuppofe Homer's 'Iliad' to be a collection of picces which had been written before his time. 1 fhould like to fec a tranflation of it in poetical profe, like the book of Ruth or Job."-ROBERTSON. "Would you, Dr. Johnson, who arc master of the Englith language, but try your hand upon a part

of

of it."-7. "Sir, you could not read it without the pleasure of verse."

On another occafion, Johnson faid, "Sir, a thousand years may clapfe before there fhall appear another man with a power of verfification equal to that of Pope." That power muft undoubtedly be allowed its due fhare in enhancing the value of his captivating compofition.

He faid, that the difpute as to the comparative excellence of Homer or Virgil was inaccurate. "We must confider (faid he) whether Homer was not the greatest poet, though Virgil may have produced the finest poem. Virgil was indebted to Homer for the whole invention of the ftructure of an epic poem, and for many of his beauties."

Mr. Bofwell one day found fault with Foote for indulging his talent of ridicule at the expence of his vifitors, which he colloquially termed making fools of his company.JOHNSON. 66 Why, Sir, when you go to fee Foote, you do not go to fee a faint; you go to see a man who will be entertained at your house, and then bring you on a public stage; who will entertain you at his house for the very purpose of bringing you on a public ftage. Sir, he does not make fools of his company; they whom he expofes are fools already he only brings them into action."BOSWELL.

I

EE 4

BOSWELL. "Foote has a great deal of humour?"-7. "Yes, Sir."-B. "He has a fingular talent of exhibiting character."-7. "Sir, it is not a talent; it is a vice; it is what others abstain from. It is not comedy, which exhibits the character of a fpecies, as that of a mifer gathered from many mifers: it is farce, which exhibits individuals."-B. "Did not he think of exhibiting you, Sir ?"-7. "Sir, fear reftrained him; he knew I would have broken his bones. I would have faved him the trouble of cutting off a leg; I would not have left him a leg to cut off ?"-B. " Pray, Sir, is not Foote an infidel ?"—7. " I do not know, Sir, that the fellow is an infidel; but if he be an infidel, he is an infidel as a dog is an infidel; that is to fay, he has never thought upon the fubject."-B. "I fuppofe, Sir,, he has thought fuperficially, and feized the first notions which occurred to his mind."-7." Why then, Sir, ftill he is like a dog, that snatches, the piece next him. Did you never obferve that dogs have not the power of comparing? A dog will take a small bit of meat as readily as a large, when both are before him."

.. Johnfon faid, "Foote was not a good mimic." One of the company added, “ A merry Andrew, a buffoon.. "But he has wit too, and is not deficient in ideas, or in fertility and var riety of imagery, and not empty of reading; he

has