, that fighting is
absolutely forbidden in Scripture; I see revenge forbidden, but not
self-defence.' BOSWELL. 'The Quakers say it is; "Unto him that smiteth
thee on one cheek, offer him also the other[648]."' JOHNSON. 'But stay,
Sir; the text is meant only to have the effect of moderating passion; it
is plain that we are not to take it in a literal sense. We see this from
the context, where there are other recommendations, which I warrant you
the Quaker will not take literally; as, for instance, "From him that
would borrow of thee, turn thou not away[649]." Let a man whose credit
is bad, come to a Quaker, and say, "Well, Sir, lend me a hundred
pounds;" he'll find him as unwilling as any other man. No, Sir, a man
may shoot the man who invades his character, as he may shoot him who
attempts to break into his house[650]. So in 1745, my friend, Tom
Cumming the Quaker[651], said, he would not fight, but he would drive an
ammunition cart; and we know that the Quakers have sent flannel
waistcoats to our soldiers, to enable them to fight better.' BOSWELL.
'When a man is the aggressor, and by ill-usage forces on a duel in which
he is killed, have we not little ground to hope that he is gone into a
state of happiness?' JOHNSON. 'Sir, we are not to judge determinately of
the state in which a man leaves this life. He may in a moment have
repented effectually, and it is possible may have been accepted by GOD.
There is in _Camden's Remains_, an epitaph upon a very wicked man, who
was killed by a fall from his horse, in which he is supposed to say,

'"Between the stirrup and the ground,
I mercy ask'd, I mercy found[652]."'

BOSWELL. 'Is not the expression in the Burial-service, "in the _sure_
and _certain_ hope of a blessed resurrection[653]," too strong to be
used indiscriminately, and, indeed, sometimes when those over whose
bodies it is said, have been notoriously profane?' JOHNSON. 'It is sure
and certain _hope_, Sir; not _belief_.' I did not insist further;
but cannot help thinking that less positive words would be more
proper[654].

Talking of a man who was grown very fat, so as to be incommoded with
corpulency; he said, 'He eats too much, Sir.' BOSWELL. 'I don't know,
Sir; you will see one man fat who eats moderately, and another lean who
eats a great deal.' JOHNSON. 'Nay, Sir, whatever may be the quantity
that a man eats, it is plain that if he is too fat, he has eaten more
than he should have done. One man may