Very few articles of
this collection were committed to writing by himself, he not having
that habit; which he regrets, and which those who know the numerous
opportunities he had of gathering the rich fruits of Johnsonian wit and
wisdom, must ever regret. I however found, in conversations with him,
that a good store of Johnsoniana was treasured in his mind; and I
compared it to Herculaneum, or some old Roman field, which when dug,
fully rewards the labour employed. The authenticity of every article
is unquestionable. For the expression, I, who wrote them down in his
presence, am partly answerable.
'There is nothing more likely to betray a man into absurdity than
CONDESCENSION; when he seems to suppose his understanding too powerful
for his company.'
'Having asked Mr. Langton if his father and mother had sat for their
pictures, which he thought it right for each generation of a family
to do, and being told they had opposed it, he said, "Sir, among the
anfractuosities of the human mind, I know not if it may not be one, that
there is a superstitious reluctance to sit for a picture.
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