'Johnson praised the Earl of Carlisle's Poems, which his Lordship had published with his name, as not disdaining to be a candidate for literary fame. My friend was of opinion, that when a man of rank appeared in that character, he deserved to have his merit handsomely allowed. In this I think he was more liberal than Mr. William Whitehead, in his "Elegy to Lord Villiers", in which under the pretext of "superiour toils, demanding all their care," he discovers a jealousy of the great paying their court to the Muses:--
"------to the chosen few
Who dare excel, thy fost'ring aid afford,
Their arts, their magick powers, with honours due
Exalt;--but be thyself what they record".'
Century: 1700-1799 Reader/Listener/Group: Samuel Johnson Print: Book