man’s taking the property of another from him?  Besides, Sir, when we consider the bad use that many people make of their property, and how much better use the thief may make of it, it may be defended as a very allowable practice.  Yet, Sir, the experience of mankind has discovered stealing to be so very bad a thing, that they make no scruple to hang a man for it.  When I was running about this town a very poor fellow, I was a great arguer for the advantages of poverty; but I was, at the same time, very sorry to be poor.  Sir, all the arguments which are brought to represent poverty as no evil, shew it to be evidently a great evil.  You never find people labouring to convince you that you may live very happily upon a plentiful fortune.—­So you hear people talking how miserable a King must be; and yet they all wish to be in his place.’

It was suggested that Kings must be unhappy, because they are deprived of the greatest of all satisfactions, easy and unreserved society.  Johnson.  ’That is an ill-founded notion.  Being a King does not exclude a man from such society.  Great Kings have always been social.  The King of Prussia, the only great King at present, is very social.  Charles the Second, the last King of England who was a man of parts, was social; and our Henrys and Edwards were all social.’

Mr. Dempster having endeavoured to maintain that intrinsick merit ought to make the only distinction amongst mankind.  Johnson.  ’Why, Sir, mankind have found that this cannot be.  How shall we determine the proportion of intrinsick merit?  Were that to be the only distinction amongst mankind, we should soon quarrel about the degrees of it.  Were all distinctions abolished, the strongest would not long acquiesce, but would endeavour to obtain a superiority by their bodily strength.  But, Sir, as subordination is very necessary for society, and contentions for superiority very dangerous, mankind, that is to say, all civilized nations, have settled it upon a plain invariable principle.  A man is born to hereditary rank; or his being appointed to certain offices, gives him a certain rank.  Subordination tends greatly to human happiness.  Were we all upon an equality, we should have no other enjoyment than mere animal pleasure.’

He took care to guard himself against any possible suspicion that his settled principles of reverence for rank and respect for wealth were at all owing to mean or interested motives; for he asserted his own independence as a literary man.  ’No man (said he) who ever lived by literature, has lived more independently than I have done.’  He said he had taken longer time than he needed to have done in composing his Dictionary.  He received our compliments upon that great work with complacency, and told us that the Academia della Crusca could scarcely believe that it was done by one man.

At night* Mr. Johnson and I supped in a private room at the Turk’s Head coffee-house, in the Strand.  ’I encourage this house (said he;) for the mistress of it is a good civil woman, and has not much business.’