Samuel Johnson (Meynell & Chesterton)/Chapter 11e

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3122564Samuel Johnson — From "Dryden"

FROM "Dryden"

A writer who has obtained his full purpose loses himself in his own lustre. Of an opinion which is no longer doubted, the evidence ceases to be examined. Of an art universally practised, the first teacher is forgotten. Learning once made popular is no longer learning; it has the appearance of something which we have bestowed upon ourselves, as the dew appears to rise from the field which it refreshes.