Moses referred to the “finest pieces of polite vituperation
in the annals of English literature” when alluding to the “help” he received
from Ickes …
Here’s what Moses was getting at, as per “The Power Broker”
by Robert Caro:
Johnson to Lord Chesterfield, after Chesterfield sought to
represent himself as Johnson’s patron seven years after rebuffing the scholar’s
request for financial support for his great dictionary project:
“Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a
man struggling for life in the water, and when has reached ground, encumbers
him with help?
“I hope it is no very cynical asperity to be unwilling that the
Publick should consider me as owing that to a patron, which Providence has
enabled me to do for myself.”
Next: Running for Your
Life: What’s Up With the Late 60’s?
