Editing Samuel Johnson (section)

==Views and character==
{{Further|Political views of Samuel Johnson|Religious views of Samuel Johnson}}
[[File:Portrait of Samuel Johnson, L.L.D (4673326).jpg|200px|thumb|left|Portrait of Samuel Johnson {{c|1770}}]]

Johnson's tall{{efn|name=Height|Johnson was {{cvt|180|cm|ftin}} tall when the average height of an Englishman was {{cvt|165|cm|ftin}}<ref name="Meyers29">{{Harvnb|Meyers|2008|p= 29}}</ref>}} and robust figure combined with his odd gestures were confusing to some; when [[William Hogarth]] first saw Johnson standing near a window in Richardson's house, "shaking his head and rolling himself about in a strange ridiculous manner", Hogarth thought Johnson an "ideot, whom his relations had put under the care of Mr. Richardson".<ref name="Bate Achievement p. 16">{{Harvnb|Bate|1955|p=16 quoting from Boswell}}</ref> Hogarth was quite surprised when "this figure stalked forwards to where he and Mr. Richardson were sitting and all at once took up the argument&nbsp;... [with] such a power of eloquence, that Hogarth looked at him with astonishment, and actually imagined that this ideot had been at the moment inspired".<ref name="Bate Achievement p. 16"/> Beyond appearance, Adam Smith claimed that "Johnson knew more books than any man alive",<ref name="Hill p. 423b">{{Harvnb|Hill|1897|p=423 (Vol. 2)}}</ref> while Edmund Burke thought that if Johnson were to join Parliament, he "certainly would have been the greatest speaker that ever was there".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1955|pp=15–16}}</ref> Johnson relied on a unique form of rhetoric, and he is well known for his "[[Appeal to the stone|refutation]]" of [[George Berkeley|Bishop Berkeley's]] [[immaterialism]], his claim that matter did not actually exist but only seemed to exist:<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=316}}</ref> during a conversation with Boswell, Johnson powerfully stomped a nearby stone and proclaimed of Berkeley's theory, "I refute it ''thus''!"<ref name="Boswell p. 122"/>

{{quote box|width=30em|quote=After we came out of the church, we stood talking for some time together of Bishop Berkeley's ingenious sophistry to prove the non-existence of matter, and that every thing in the universe is merely ideal. I observed, that though we are satisfied his doctrine is not true, it is impossible to refute it. I never shall forget the alacrity with which Johnson answered, striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone, till he rebounded from it, 'I refute it ''thus''.'<ref name="Boswell p. 122">{{Harvnb|Boswell|1986|p=122}}</ref>|source=Boswell's ''Life of Samuel Johnson''}}

Johnson was a devout, conservative [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] and a compassionate man who supported a number of poor friends under his own roof, even when unable to fully provide for himself.<ref name="Bate Achievement p. 36"/> Johnson's Christian morality permeated his works, and he would write on moral topics with such authority and in such a trusting manner that, Walter Jackson Bate claims, "no other moralist in history excels or even begins to rival him".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=297}}</ref> However, as [[Donald Greene]] points out, Johnson's moral writings do not contain "a predetermined and authori<!-- quote -->zed pattern of 'good behav<!-- quote -->ior{{' "}}, even though Johnson does emphasise certain kinds of conduct.<ref>{{Harvnb|Greene|1989|p=87}}</ref> He did not let his own faith prejudice him against others, and had respect for those of other denominations who demonstrated a commitment to Christian beliefs.<ref>{{Harvnb|Greene|1989|p=88}}</ref> Although Johnson respected Milton's poetry, he could not tolerate Milton's Puritan and Republican beliefs, feeling that they were contrary to England and Christianity.<ref name="Bate p. 537">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=537}}</ref> He was an opponent of slavery on moral grounds, and once proposed a toast to the "next rebellion of the Negroes in the West Indies".<ref>{{Harvnb|Boswell|1986|p=200}}</ref> Beside his beliefs concerning humanity, Johnson is also known for his love of cats,<ref name="Skargon">{{Harvnb|Skargon|1999|p=}}</ref> especially his own two cats, [[Hodge (cat)|Hodge]] and Lily.<ref name="Skargon"/> Boswell wrote, "I never shall forget the indulgence with which he treated Hodge, his cat."<ref>{{Harvnb|Boswell|1986|p=294}}</ref>

Johnson was also known as a staunch [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]]; he admitted to sympathies for the [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] cause during his younger years but, by the reign of [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], he came to accept the [[Act of Settlement 1701|Hanoverian Succession]].<ref name="Bate p. 537"/> It was Boswell who gave people the impression that Johnson was an "arch-conservative", and it was Boswell, more than anyone else, who determined how Johnson would be seen by people years later. However, Boswell was not around for two of Johnson's most politically active periods: during Walpole's control over British Parliament and during the Seven Years' War. Although Boswell was present with Johnson during the 1770s and describes four major pamphlets written by Johnson, he neglects to discuss them because he is more interested in their travels to Scotland. This is compounded by the fact that Boswell held an opinion contrary to two of these pamphlets, ''The False Alarm'' and ''Taxation No Tyranny'', and so attacks Johnson's views in his biography.<ref>{{Harvnb|Greene|2000|p=xxi}}</ref>

In his ''Life of Samuel Johnson'' Boswell referred to Johnson as 'Dr. Johnson' so often that he would always be known as this, even though he hated being so called. Boswell's emphasis on Johnson's later years shows him too often as merely an old man discoursing in a tavern to a circle of admirers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boswell|1986|p=365}}</ref> Although Boswell, a Scotsman, was his close companion and friend, Johnson, like many of his fellow Englishmen, had a reputation for despising Scotland and its people. Even during their journey together through Scotland, Johnson "exhibited prejudice and a narrow nationalism".<ref>{{Harvnb|Rogers|1995|p=192}}</ref> Hester Thrale, in summarising Johnson's nationalistic views and his anti-Scottish prejudice, said: "We all know how well he loved to abuse the Scotch, & indeed to be abused by them in return."<ref>{{Harvnb|Piozzi|1951|p=165}}</ref>