hnson. His way is probably the best one of undertaking
this book. Open at random, read here and there, forward and back, wholly
according to inclination; follow the practice of Johnson and all good
readers, of 'tearing the heart' out of it. In this way you most readily
come within the reach of its charm and power. Then, not content with
a part, seek the unabridged whole, and grow into the infinite
possibilities of it.

But the supreme end of education, we are told, is expert discernment in
all things--the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from
the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and
the counterfeit. This is the supreme end of the talk of Socrates, and
it is the supreme end of the talk of Johnson. 'My dear friend,' said he,
'clear your mind of cant; . . . don't THINK foolishly.' The effect of
long companionship with Boswell's Johnson is just this. As Sir Joshua
said, 'it brushes away the rubbish'; it clears the mind of cant; it
instills the habit of singling out the essential thing; it imparts
discernment. Thus, through his friendship with Boswell, Johnson will
realize his wish, still to be teaching as the years increase.

THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.

Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion
which he has given, that every man's life may be best written by
himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that
clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed
so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most
perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited. But although he
at different times, in a desultory manner, committed to writing many
particulars of the progress of his mind and fortunes, he never had
persevering diligence enough to form them into a regular composition.
Of these memorials a few have been preserved; but the greater part was
consigned by him to the flames, a few days before his death.

As I had the honour and happiness of enjoying his friendship for upwards
of twenty years; as I had the scheme of writing his life constantly in
view; as he was well apprised of this circumstance, and from time to
time obligingly satisfied my inquiries, by communicating to me the
incidents of his early years; as I acquired a facility in recollecting,
and was very assiduous in recording, his conversation, of which the
extraordinary vigour and vivacity constituted one of the