SAMUEL JOHNSON 99 bodies a great thought. He was a man of supernatural brilliancy rather than of great genius. Had his work been less witty and bright, he would be charged with superficiality ; that which saves him from the accusation is the marvellous display of mental acuteness and a perfect mastery of the French language. The thought in his productions is as ephemeral as that in a morning newspaper ; but his composition will serve to this day as a model of the possibilities of the French tongue. In this respect he is unrivalled. Popular conceptions of Voltaire are in some respects erroneous. He is re- garded as an- arch-infidel and bitter foe of religion. On the contrary, he was al- ways a deist. He never assails " The Sermon on the Mount," nor can one who reads him carefully believe that there would not have been a subtle sympathy be- tween him and the best religious minds of later days. He never mocked men who lived good lives, nor opposed with any bitterness those who were the friends of liberty of conscience. SAMUEL JOHNSON By Lord Macaulay (i 709-1 784) X Samuel Johnson, one of the most eminent English writers of the eighteenth century, was the son of Michael Johnson, who was, at the be- ginning of that century, a magistrate of Lichfield, and a bookseller of great note in the Midland Counties. Mi- ^- ^ chad's abilities and attainments seem
to have been considerable. He was so
!|k well acquainted with the contents of g^ the volumes which he exposed to sale, W that the country rectors of Stafford- ||P^ shire and Worcestershire thought him P^--" an oracle on points of learning. Be- tween him and the clergy, indeed, there was a strong religious and political sympathy. _ He was a zealous church- man, and, though he qualified himself for municipal office by taking the oaths to
- Extracts reprinted from Harper's Magazine by permission of Messrs. Harper & Brothers.
