Besides artistic perception and skill it required in him
admiration and enthusiasm to seize this characteristic and impart it to
his work. His admiration he confesses unashamed: 'I said I worshipped
him . . . I cannot help worshipping him, he is so much superior to other
men.' He studied his subject intensely. 'During all the course of my
long intimacy with him, my respectful attention never abated.' Upon such
intensity and such ardor and enthusiasm depend the energy and animation
of his portrait.
But it exhibits other personal qualities than these, which, if less
often remarked, are at any rate unconsciously enjoyed. Boswell had
great social charm. His friends are agreed upon his liveliness and good
nature. Johnson called him 'clubbable,' 'the best traveling companion
in the world,' 'one Scotchman who is cheerful,' 'a man whom everybody
likes,' 'a man who I believe never left a house without leaving a wish
for his return.' His vivacity, his love of fun, his passion for good
company and friendship, his sympathy, his amiability, which made him
acceptable everywhere, have mingled throughout with his own handiwork,
and cause it to radiate a kind of genial warmth.
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