You understand perfectly. Thank you.

Dr. Johnson is probably most famous for having compiled one of the first dictionaries of the English language.

Yeah, sure, I suppose patriotism could be used as a refuge before all other options have been exhausted.

@Flyingsaucesir

1. A conservative probably chooses patriotism first.

2. Do last refuges survive all challenges?

Thanks for asking. I had to think harder.

Another. In Johnson’s time did “last” have a meaning it has lost? Since then has it gained a meaning? An I compulsive enough to check an old or new multi-volume OED?

@yvilletom Johnson's comment was actually about a particular scoundrel, one William Pitt, 1st Earle of Chatham.

I always thought that religion fitted the bill better. But it is probably a close race to the bottom, and you could perhaps define patriotism as a form of religion.

@yvilletom His dictionary is noted for its humour. As in.

Lexicographer. A writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.
Patron. Commonly a wretch, who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.

@Fernapple Or this one:

Horse: a dangerous and stupid animal.

@Fernapple

I have long seen pat’ism as a form of religion; both parties serve a ruling class (Lincoln’s Republicans were more democratic than our Dems, Teddy Roosevelt’s R’s were progressive, the 1920s Dems were KKK allies, FDR broke that connection) our Dems are easier to work with, the 1960-era Repubs started toward racism, late 1970s-era Repubs started toward religious insanity with), and both pat’ism and religion would take everything I have, including my life.

@Flyingsaucesir Yes, maybe he had that opinion of a horse, but then he had never met an American evangelical.