He has sometimes sported with lucky malice; but to him that knows his company, it is not hard to be sarcastic in a mask. ... Junius burst into notice with a blaze of impudence which has rarely glared upon the world before, and drew the rabble after him as a monster makes a show. When he had once provided for his safety by impenetrable secrecy, he had nothing to combat but truth and justice, enemies whom he knows to be feeble in the dark. ... out of the reach of danger, he has been bold: out of the reach of shame, he has been confident. As a rhetorician, he has had the art of persuading when he seconded desire; as a reasoner, he has convinced those who had no doubt before; as a moralist, he has taught that virtue may disgrace; and as a patriot, he has gratified the mean by insults on the high. Finding sedition ascendant, he has been able to advance it; finding the nation combustible, he has been able to inflame.
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "He has sometimes sported with lucky malice; but to him that knows his company, it is not hard to be sarcastic in a mask. ... Junius burst into notice with a blaze of impudence which has rarely glared upon the world before, and drew the rabble after him as a monster makes a show. When he had once provided for his safety by impenetrable secrecy, he had nothing to combat but truth and justice, enemies whom he knows to be feeble in the dark. ... out of the reach of danger, he has been bold: out of the reach of shame, he has been confident. As a rhetorician, he has had the art of persuading when he seconded desire; as a reasoner, he has convinced those who had no doubt before; as a moralist, he has taught that virtue may disgrace; and as a patriot, he has gratified the mean by insults on the high. Finding sedition ascendant, he has been able to advance it; finding the nation combustible, he has been able to inflame." in the context of "Samuel Johnson, Thoughts on the late transactions respecting the Falkland's Islands (1771), quoted in The Works of Samuel Johnson, L.L.D.: Vol. IV (1825), pp. 315–316" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
