JOHNSON. 9 



work, especially by requiring the Sabbath to be spent in 

 " heaviness," in confinement, and in reading the ' Whole 

 Duty of Man', which neither interested nor attracted him. 

 From nine to fourteen years of age he was wholly indif- 

 ferent to sacred subjects, and had a great reluctance to 

 attend the service of the Church. From that time till 

 he went to Oxford, five years later, he was a general 

 " talker against religion," as he described himself, " for 

 he did not much think against it." At Oxford he took 

 up Law's ' Serious Call to a Holy Life/ expecting to find 

 a subject of ridicule ; but he " found Law quite an over- 

 match for him," and from that time his belief was unin- 

 terrupted, and even strong. The nature of his melan- 

 choly, and the hardships of his life, worked with his con- 

 victions to make him place his reliance upon a future 

 state of happiness, and few men have perhaps ever lived 

 in whose thoughts religion had a larger or more practical 

 share. 



While at Oxford his reading continued to be desul- 

 tory, though extensive, and his College tutor being a 

 person of amiable character, but moderate endowments, 

 he was left much to himself in the conduct of his studies. 

 The only application which he appears to have given was 

 to Greek, and his attention even here was confined to 

 Homer and Euripides. Before he came to College he 

 had exercised himself much in writing verses, and espe- 

 cially in translating from the Latin ; the specimens which 

 remain shew sufficiently his command of both languages, 

 and their closeness is worthy of praise. His translation 

 of Pope's ' Messiah' into Latin verse has been much com- 

 mended, and by Pope himself among others ; but John- 

 son never regarded it as possessing any value. Pope's 



