Original artwork, not a still
Life of Johnson by James Boswell • 1791
He has, indeed, done it very well; but it is a foolish thing well done.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Johnson grants that the man did the task skillfully. But he's not impressed, because the task itself was pointless. It's a dry put-down, since in his view flawless execution can't rescue an effort that wasn't worth making in the first place.
Context reviewed
