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Mr- Dodson ' s character disdains to claim any advantage from the familiar maxim , de mortuis nil nisi bonum , the ordinary sanctuary to which the many are driven for refuge ; but invites the application of an adage of superior wisdom and superior obligation , —de mo 7 tuis nil nisi verum .
His counsel , on any and every occasion , was founded in judgment , and communicated with discretion , sincerity and kindness . His friendship was with reason very highly valued by those who shared in it $ for he was mild in his manners , even in his
been communicated to Mi \ ]) . by Mr . Farmer , though afterwards destroyed with that writer ' s MSS ., according to the directions of his will . Mr . Dodson had made extracts , and left some notes , though too imperfect for use . His widow allowed the Fragment to be annexed to the "
Memoirs of Hugh Farmer , 1804 ; an anonymous publication , hut justly attributed to the Jafe Rev . Samuel Palmer . ] * [ It would be unjust to the memories of both , not to mention here Mr . Dodson ' s friendly regards to Mr . Gilbert Wakefield .
He had visited him in the King ^ s Bench prison , and contributed to that more substantial testimony of respect which his friends offered him . In the testamentary disposal of his property , Mr . D . recollected him in a wav which will he best related
by Mr . Waketield himself . In a letter to a friend , from u Dorchester Goal , Nov . 30 , 1799 , " having- mentioned Mr . Dodson ' s death , he says , I
wrote to Ins widow in terms of condolence , and in terms ardently expressive of my great regard and high veneration of his talents and virtues ; under which sentiments you remember me to have uniformly spoken of him .
u Last Sunday ( five days after my letter ) Dr . Disney , one of the executors , informed me of the legacy of five hundred pounds , which produced as much astonishment in roe as any incident of my life . I had not enjoyed the pleasure of his intimacy very lonj £ } and felt myself exceedingly gratified , indeed , to be so regarded by such a man .
u That article , at least , of Mr . Dodson \ s will must have been inserted , or added since my arrival in this place , for the bequest runs , * To Gilbert Wakefield , now a prisoner in Dorchester Goal , ' " & , c . JM emoiis of G > Watefield , 1804 II , 194 , 195 . ]
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temper , warm in his affections , and steady in his attachments , —alike in * capable of fluctuation from corroding suspicion or foreign influence . To strangers , and in mixed companies , he was shy and reserved . It was said bv Erasmus of one of
his contemporaries , * mr non exacti tantum , sed severi judicii : and of another , t veri theologus , integritate vita conspicuus . Both these characters
will deservedly apply to Mr . Dodson . He was not only a man of correct , but of critical judgment ; a learned theologian , and a man as much distinguished by his unsullied integrity , as by the simplicity of his manners .
Under these circumstances the tribute of friendship and of gratitude becomes a debt of honour and of justice . And he who , agreeably to the custom of the ancients , does not sacrifice to heroes till after sun-set ,
equally repels all suspicion of interest , J and every petulant charge of designed exaggeration , §
* Linacer . See Jortin ' s Life of } Erasmus , I . 7—10 . f William Latimer . Ib . 10 . j [ Mr . Dodson left Dr . Disney several thousand pounds , as residuary legatee , after the decease of bis widow . To this circumstance , probably , the biographer here refers . ]
§ [ Dr . Disney , in 18 OO prefixed to this Memoir , an address ** to William Mackworth Praed , Esq ., Barrister at Law , ' in these terms : " Dear Sih , u following * Memoir is inscribed to yon , because you , equally with myself , respect the character of our late common
friend , and are . a concurring" witness to the truth of my representation of it . The situation in which he has placed us as his executors , jointly with his much respected widow , is presumptive evidence at least of our competency to speak of his character ; and , I trust , such competency will not be impeached by the partialities of private friendship .
u It is a nattering circumstance to you , as well as to myself , to have been distinguished by so very respectable a person : and , while I cannot refrain from expressing the esteem I entertain for my colleagues , I am gratified in the assurances I have received that such esteem i « reciprocal . " !
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606 Memoir of Michael Dodson , Esq .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1818, page 606, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2481/page/6/
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