He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.
The Idler. No. 57.
What is read twice is commonly better remembered than what is transcribed.
The Idler. No. 74.
Tom Birch is as brisk as a bee in conversation; but no sooner does he take a pen in his hand than it becomes a torpedo to him, and benumbs all his faculties.
Life of Johnson (Boswell).[369:1] Vol. i. Chap. vii. 1743.
Wretched un-idea'd girls.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. i. Chap. x. 1752.
This man [Chesterfield], I thought, had been a lord among wits; but I find he is only a wit among lords.[369:2]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. i. 1754.