either hurt the person
by telling the truth, or hurt himself by telling what is not true.'
BOSWELL. 'A man often shews his writings to people of eminence, to
obtain from them, either from their good-nature, or from their not
being able to tell the truth firmly, a commendation, of which he may
afterwards avail himself.' JOHNSON. 'Very true, Sir. Therefore the man,
who is asked by an authour, what he thinks of his work, is put to the
torture, and is not obliged to speak the truth; so that what he says is
not considered as his opinion; yet he has said it, and cannot retract
it; and this authour, when mankind are hunting him with a cannister
at his tail, can say, "I would not have published, had not Johnson, or
Reynolds, or Musgrave, or some other good judge, commended the work."
Yet I consider it as a very difficult question in conscience, whether
one should advise a man not to publish a work, if profit be his object;
for the man may say, "Had it not been for you, I should have had the
money." Now you cannot be sure; for you have only your own opinion, and
the publick may think very differently.' SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. 'You must
upon such an occasion have two judgements; one as to the real value
of the work, the other as to what may please the general taste at the
time.' JOHNSON. 'But you can be SURE of neither; and therefore I should
scruple much to give a suppressive vote. Both Goldsmith's comedies
were once refused; his first by Garrick, his second by Colman, who was
prevailed on at last by much solicitation, nay, a kind of force, to
bring it on. His Vicar of Wakefield I myself did not think would have
had much success. It was written and sold to a bookseller before his
Traveller; but published after; so little expectation had the bookseller
from it. Had it been sold after the Traveller he might have had twice
as much money for it, though sixty guineas was no mean price. The
bookseller had the advantage of Goldsmith's reputation from The
Traveller in the sale, though Goldsmith had it not in selling the copy.'
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. 'The Beggar's Opera affords a proof how strangely
people will differ in opinion about a literary performance. Burke thinks
it has no merit.' JOHNSON. 'It was refused by one of the houses; but I
should have thought it would succeed, not from any great excellence in
the writing, but from the novelty, and the general spirit and gaiety of
the piece, which keeps the audience always attentive, and dismis