It helps to know that Boswell hated cats, as he mentions before citing the "ludicrous account" that forms the epigraph of PF ("I am, unluckily, one of those who has an antipathy to a cat, so that I am uneasy when in the room with one; and I own, I frequently suffered a good deal from the presence of this same Hodge.").
Boswell's Journal for December, 1764, relates a discussion with Rousseau about cats that may be of interest to readers of PF:
""ROUSSEAU. 'Do you like cats?' BOSWELL. 'No.' ROUSSEAU. 'I was sure of that. It is my test of character. There you have the despotic instinct of men. They do not like cats because the cat is free and will never consent to become a slave. He will do nothing to your order, as the other animals do.' BOSWELL. 'Nor a hen, either.' ROUSSEAU. 'A hen would obey your orders if you could make her understand them. But a cat will understand you perfectly and not obey them.' BOSWELL. 'But a cat is ungrateful and treacherous.' ROUSSEAU. 'No. That's all untrue. A cat is an animal that can be very much attached to you; he will do anything you please out of friendship...'"
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