John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
4029 Samuel Johnson 1709-1784 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 4029 |
| AUTHOR: | Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) |
| QUOTATION: | 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. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Life of Johnson (Boswell). 1 Vol. i. Chap. vii. 1743. |
| Note 1. From the London edition, 10 volumes, 1835. Dr. Johnson, it is said, when he first heard of Boswell’s intention to write a life of him, announced, with decision enough, that if he thought Boswell really meant to write his life he would prevent it by taking Boswell’s!—Thomas Carlyle: Miscellanies, Jean Paul Frederic Richter. [back] |