which I remember to have seen in his celebrated Differtation on Parties; but which, not having the book by me, I cite by memory: it is to this purpose: The • advocates of the minifter,' fays his Lordship, defy us to fhew, that under his administration, any infraction had been made of the original contract.' To this we anfwer, that between fuch an infraction and the lofs of our liberties, there can no point of time intervene; fuch a cause and fuch an effect being fo clofely connected, that we cannot fee the one till we feel the other.

Such was the conduct of oppofition at this time, and. by such futile arguments as the above were the filly people of three kingdoms deluded into a belief, that their liberties were in danger, and that nothing could fave this country from impending ruin, and that the moft formidable of all the evils they had to dread, was the continuance of the then administration, of which they had nothing worse to say than that they hated it. - The truth is, that Johnfon's political prejudices were a mift that the eye of his judgment could not penetrate: in all the measures of government he could fee nothing right; nor could he be convinced, in his invectives against a standing army, as the Jaccobites affected to call it, that the peafantry of a country was not an adequate defence against an invasion of it by an armed force. He almost afferted in terms, that the fucceffion to the crown had been illegally interrupted, and that from whig-politics none of the benefits of government could be expected. He could but juft endure the oppofition to the minifter because conducted on whig principles; and I have heard him fay, that during the whole course of it, the two parties were bidding for the people. At other times, and in the heat of his refentment, I have heard him affert, that fince the death of Queen Anne, it had been the policy of the adminiftration

niftration to promote to ecclefiaftical dignities none but the most worthless and undeferving men: nor would he then exclude from this bigotted cenfure thofe illuftrious divines, Wake, Gibfon, Sherlock, Butler, Herring, Pearce, and leaft of all Hoadly; in competition with whom he would set Hickes, Brett, Leslie, and others of the nonjurors, whofe names are scarcely now remembered. From hence it appears, and to his honour be it faid, that his principles co-operated with his neceffities, and that the proftitution of his talents, taking the term in one and that its worft fenfe, could not, in justice, be imputed to him.

But there is another, and a lefs criminal fenfe of the word prostitution, in which, in common with all who are called authors by profeffion, he may be faid to stand in need of an excufe. When Milton wrote the Paradife Loft, the fum he received for the copy was not his motive, but was an adventitious benefit that refulted from the exercise of his poetical faculty. In Johnfon's cafe, as well in the inftance above given as almost all the others that occurred during the courfe of his life, the impulfe of genius was wanting: had that alone operated in his choice of fubjects to write on, mankind would have been indebted to him for a variety of original, interesting and useful compofitions; and tranflations of fome, and new editions of others of the ancient authors. The truth of which affertion I think I may fafely ground on a catalogue of publications projected by him at different periods, and now lying before me, a copy whereof is given below: *

Under

* DIVINITY.

A small book of precepts and directions for piety: the hint taken from the directions in the [countess of] Morton's' [daily] exercise.

· PHILOSOPHY.

Under this notion of works written with a view to gain, and those that owe their existence to a more liberal motive, a distinction of literary productions arifes which

PHILOSOPHY, HISTORY, and LITERATURE in general.

Hiftory of Criticism as it relates to judging of authors, from Aristotle to the prefent age. An account of the rife and improvements of that art of the different opinions of authors ancient and modern. Tranflation of the Hiftory of Herodian.

New edition of Fairfax's Tranflation of Taffo, with notes, glof'fary, &c.

Chaucer, a new edition of him, from manufcripts and old editions, ' with various readings, conjectures, remarks on his language, and the changes it had undergone from the earliest times to his age, and from his to the prefent. With notes explanatory of cuftoms, &c. and ' references to Boccace and other authors from whom he has borrowed, with an account of the liberties he has taken in telling the ftories, his life, and an exact etymological gloffary.

'Aristotle's Rhetoric, a tranflation of it into English.

A Collection of Letters, tranflated from the modern writers, with

< fome account of the feveral authors.

'Oldham's Poems, with notes hiftorical and critical.

• Rofcommon's Poems, with notes.

'Lives of the Philofophers, written with a polite air, in such a ⚫ manner as may divert as well as instruct.

History of the Heathen Mythology, with an explication of the 'fables, both allegorical and historical, with references to the poets. History of the States of Venice, in a compendious manner.

'Aristotle's Ethics, an English translation of them with notes. Geographical Dictionary from the French.

• Hierocles upon Pythagoras, tranflated into English, perhaps with notes. This is done by Norris.

A book of Letters upon all kinds of subjects.

• Claudian, a new edition of his works, cum notis variorum in the manner of Burman.

Tully's Tufculan Queftions, a tranflation of them.

Tully de Natura Deorum, a translation of those books. 'Benzo's New Hiftory of the New World, to be tranflated.

• Machiavel's History of Florence, to be translated.

Hiftory of the Revival of Learning in Europe, containing an ⚫ account of whatever contributed to the restoration of literature, such as controverfies, printing, the deftruction of the Greek empire, the encouragement of great men, with the lives of the most eminent patrons, and most eminent early profeffors of all kinds of learning in 'different countries.

<

• A Body

which Johnson would never allow; on the contrary, to the astonishment of myfelf who have heard him, and many others, he has frequently declared, that the only true and genuine motive to the writing of books was

the

A Body of Chronology, in verfe, with historical notes. A table of the Spectators, Tatlers, and Guardians, distinguished by figures into fix degrees of value, with notes giving the reafons of ' preference or degradation.

<

A Collection of Letters from English authors, with a preface giving fome account of the writers, with reafons for selection and criticism upon ftiles, remarks on each letter, if needful.

A Collection of Proverbs from various languages :-Jan. 6 -53. A Dictionary to the Common Prayer in imitation of Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible. March-52.

A Collection of Stories and Examples like thofe of Valerius < Maximus. Jan. 10-53.

From Ælian, a volume of felect ftories, perhaps from others. Jan. 28- 53.

• Collection of Travels, Voyages, Adventures, and Defcriptions of < Countries.

Dictionary of Ancient Hiftory and Mythology.

Treatife on the Study of Polite Literature, containing the history of learning, directions for editions, commentaries, &c.

Maxims, Characters and Sentiments, after the manner of Bruyére, collected out of ancient authors, particularly the Greek, with Apophthegms..

⚫ Claffical Mifcellanies, Select Tranflations from ancient Greek and Latin authors.

་

Lives of illuftrious perfons, as well of the active as the learned, 'in-imitation of Plutarch.

Judgment of the learned upon English authors.

Poetical Dictionary of the English tongue.

Confiderations upon the present state of London.

Collection of Epigrams, with notes and obfervations.

• Observations on the English language, relating to words, phrases, and modes of Speech.

'Minutiæ Literariæ, Mifcellaneous reflections, criticifms, emenda'tions, notes.

Hiftory of the Constitution.

Comparison of Philofophical and Chriftian Morality by fentences 'collected from the moralifts and fathers.

'Plutarch's Lives in English, with notes.

· POETRY

the affurance of pecuniary profit. Notwithstanding the boldness of this affertion, there are but few that can be perfuaded to yield to it; and, after all, the beft apology for Johnson will be found to confift in his want of a profeffion, the preffure of his neceflities, and the example of fuch men as Caftalio, Gefner, and Salmafius, among foreigners; and Fuller, Howel, L'Eftrange, Dryden, Chambers, and Hume, not to mention others now living, among ourselves.

The principle here noted was not only in the above inftance avowed by Johnson, but feems to have been wrought by him into a habit. He was never greedy of money, but without money could not be ftimulated to write. I have been told by a clergyman of fome eminence with whom he had been long acquainted, that, being to preach on a particular occafion, he applied, as others under a like neceffity had frequently done, to Johnson for help. I will write a fermon for

thee,' faid Johnson, but thou must pay me for it.' Yet was he not fo indifferent to the fubjects that he was requested to write on, as at any time to abandon either his religious or political principles. He would no more have put his name to an Arian or Socinian tract than to a defence of Atheism. At the time when

Faction Detected' came out, a pamphlet of which the late lord Egmont is now generally understood to have been the author, Ofborne the bookfeller, held out to him a ftrong temptation to answer it, which he refufed, being convinced, as he affured me, that the charge contained

POETRY and works of IMAGINATION.

• Hymn to Ignorance.

The Palace of Sloth-a vifion.

Coluthus, to be tranflated.

Prejudice a poetical effay.

• The Palace of Nonfenfea vifion."/