But, perhaps, every one is not able to stem the
temptations of publick life, and, if he cannot conquer, he may properly
retreat.' _Rasselas_, ch. 47. See _ante_, ii. 435.
[189] 'A youthful passion for abstracted devotion should not be
encouraged.' _Ante_, ii. 10. The hermit in _Rasselas_ (ch. 21)
says:--'The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable, but not
certainly devout.' In Johnson's _Works_ (1787), xi. 203, we read that
'Johnson thought worse of the vices of retirement than of those of
society.' Southey (_Life of Wesley_, i. 39) writes:--'Some time before
John Wesley's return to the University, he had travelled many miles to
see what is called "a serious man." This person said to him, "Sir, you
wish to serve God and go to heaven. Remember, you cannot serve Him
alone; you must therefore find companions or make them; the Bible knows
nothing of solitary religion." Wesley never forgot these words.'
[190] [Erga neon, boulai de meson euchai de gerunton. _Hesiodi
Fragmenta_, Lipsiae 1840, p. 371]
Let youth in deeds, in counsel man engage;
Prayer is the proper duty of old age.
BOSWELL.
[191] One 'sorrowful scene' Johnson was perhaps too late in the year to
see. Wesley, who visited St. Andrews on May 27, 1776, during the
vacation, writes (_Journal_, iv. 75):--'What is left of St. Leonard's
College is only a heap of ruins.
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