309. Character; Diversion
Sir Joshua having also observed that the real character of a man
was found out by his amusements, --Johnson added, "Yes, Sir, no
man is a hypocrite in his pleasures."
Boswell: Life
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735. Appearance; Biography;
Character
"It is ... at home that every man must be known by those who
would make a just estimate either of his virtue or felicity; for
smiles and embroidery are alike occasional, and the mind is often
for show in painted honour and fictitious benevolence."
Johnson: Rambler #68 (November 10, 1750)
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736. Appearance; Biography;
Character
"The most authentic witnesses of any man's character are those
who know him in his own family, and see him without any restraint
or rule of conduct, but such as he voluntarily prescribes to
himself. If a man carries virtue with him into his private
apartments, and takes no advantage of unlimited power or probable
secrecy; if we trace him through the round of time, and find
that his character, with those allowances which mortal frailty
must always want, is uniform and regular, we have all the
evidence of his sincerity that one man can have with regard to
another; and, indeed, as hypocrisy cannot be its own reward, we
may, without hesitation, determine that his heart is pure."
Johnson: Rambler #68 (November 10, 1750)
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