1,355. Abuse of Power; Seduction "I know not why it should afford subject of exultation, to overpower on any terms the resolution, or surprise the caution of a girl; but of all the boasters that deck themselves in the spoils of innocence and beauty, they surely have the least pretensions to triumph, who submit to owe their success to some casual influence. They neither employ the graces of fancy nor the force of understanding in their attempts; they cannot please their vanity with the art of their approaches, the delicacy of their adulations, the elegance of their address, or the efficacy of their eloquence; nor applaud themselves as possessed of any qualities by which affection is attracted. They surmount no obstacles, they defeat no rivals, but attack only those who cannot resist, and are often content to possess the body, without any solicitude to gain the heart." Johnson: Rambler #170 (November 2, 1751); from "Misella," a fictional correspondent. Link 1,373. Conversation; Seduction "Every man has some favourite topic of conversation, on which, by a feigned seriousness of attention, he may be drawn to expatiate without end." Johnson: Rambler #174 (November 15, 1751) (a fictional correspondent, Dicaculus) Link