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Monday, May 31, 2010

Samuel Johnson on letters

In a man’s letters you know, Madam, his soul lies naked, his letters are only the mirror of his breast, whatever passes within him is shown undisguised in its natural process. Nothing is inverted, nothing distorted, you see systems in their elements, you discover actions in their motives.
~Samuel Johnson
British author, 1709-1784

These comments were written in a letter to Mrs. Hester Thrale on Oct. 27, 1777. Many of Johnson's letters, including this one, are contained in "The Works of Samuel Johnson LL.D."

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