h him to drive on.'

Rousseau's treatise on the inequality of mankind was at this time a
fashionable topick. It gave rise to an observation by Mr. Dempster, that
the advantages of fortune and rank were nothing to a wise man, who ought
to value only merit. JOHNSON. 'If man were a savage, living in the woods
by himself, this might be true; but in civilized society we all depend
upon each other, and our happiness is very much owing to the good
opinion of mankind. Now, Sir, in civilized society, external advantages
make us more respected. A man with a good coat upon his back meets with
a better reception than he who has a bad one. Sir, you may analyse this,
and say what is there in it? But that will avail you nothing, for it
is a part of a general system. Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and
consider any single atom; it is, to be sure, good for nothing: but, put
all these atoms together, and you have St. Paul's Church. So it is with
human felicity, which is made up of many ingredients, each of which may
be shewn to be very insignificant. In civilized society, personal
merit will not serve you so much as money will. Sir, you may make the
experiment. Go into the street, and give one man a lecture on morality,
and another a shilling, and see which will respect you most. If you wish
only to support nature, Sir William Petty fixes your allowance at three
pounds a year; but as times are much altered, let us call it six pounds.
This sum will fill your belly, shelter you from the weather, and even
get you a strong lasting coat, supposing it to be made of good bull's
hide. Now, Sir, all beyond this is artificial, and is desired in order
to obtain a greater degree of respect from our fellow-creatures. And,
Sir, if six hundred pounds a year procure a man more consequence, and,
of course, more happiness than six pounds a year, the same proportion
will hold as to six thousand, and so on as far as opulence can be
carried. Perhaps he who has a large fortune may not be so happy as he
who has a small one; but that must proceed from other causes than from
his having the large fortune: for, coeteris paribus, he who is rich in
a civilized society, must be happier than he who is poor; as riches, if
properly used, (and it is a man's own fault if they are not,) must be
productive of the highest advantages. Money, to be sure, of itself is of
no use; for its only use is to part with it. Rousseau, and all those who
deal in paradoxes, are led away