1,738. Collecting
"The advertisement of a sale is a signal which at once puts a
thousand hearts in motion, and brings contenders from every part
to the scene of distribution. He that had resolved to buy no
more, feels his constancy subdued; there is now something in the
catalogue which completes his cabinet, and which he was never
before able to find. He whose sober reflections inform him, that
of adding collection to collection there is no end, and that it
is wise to leave early that which must be left imperfect at last,
yet cannot withhold himself from coming to see what it is that
brings so many together, and when he comes is soon overpowered by
his habitual passion; he is attracted by rarity, seduced by
example, and inflamed by competition."
Johnson: Idler #56 (May 12, 1759)
Link
1,739. Collecting
"The pride or the pleasure of making collections, if it be
restrained by prudence or morality, produces a pleasing remission
after more laborious studies; furnishes an amusement not wholly
unprofitable for that part of life, the greater part of many
lives, which would otherwise be lost in idleness or vice; it
produces an useful traffick between the industry of indigence and
the curiosity of wealth; it brings many things to notice that
would be neglected; and, by fixing the thoughts upon intellectual
pleasures, resists the natural encroachments of sensuality, and
maintains the mind in her lawful superiority."
Johnson: Idler #56 (May 12, 1759)
Link
