It is advantageous to an author, that his book should be attacked as well as praised. Fame is a shuttlecock. If it be struck at one end of the room, it will soon fall to the ground. To keep it up, it must be struck at both ends.

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic

Comment (11-19 Nov 1793), in James Boswell, Journey of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785)
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