| John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919. |
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| NUMBER: | 4107 |
| AUTHOR: | Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) |
| QUOTATION: | The atrocious crime of being a young man, which the honourable gentleman has with such spirit and decency charged upon me, I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny; but content myself with wishing that I may be one of those whose follies may cease with their youth, and not of that number who are ignorant in spite of experience. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Pitt’s Reply to Walpole. Speech, March 6, 1741. |
| BIOGRAPHY: | Columbia Encyclopedia. |
| | Note 1.
This is the composition of Johnson, founded on some note or statement of the actual speech. Johnson said, “That speech I wrote in a garret, in Exeter Street.” Boswell: Life of Johnson, 1741. [back] |
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