UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 . 
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 Off 
 
 SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL. D. 
 
 CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS 
 ON HIS WORKS. 
 
 ET ROBERT ANDERSON, M. D. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. & A. ARCH j AND FOR BELL & BRAEFUTF, 
 AND J. MUNDELL & CO. EDINBURGH. 
 
 9963 7
 
 OF 
 
 JOHNSON. 
 
 frt 
 
 1 HE events of the life of JOHNSON, " the 
 brighteft ornament of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury,'* who has written the lives of fo many 
 eminent perfons, and fo much enriched 
 our national flock of criticifm and bio- 
 graphy, have been related by friend and 
 foe, by panegyrifls and fatirical defamers, 
 by the lovers of anecdote, and the followers 
 of party, with a diligence of refearch, a 
 minutenefs of detail, a variety of illuftra- 
 tion, and a felicity of defcription, unex- 
 ampled in the records of literary biogra- 
 
 phy- 
 
 A
 
 t 2 ] 
 
 - Befides feveral flight fketches of his life, 
 by unknown authors, taken, fometimes 
 with a favourable, flattering pencil, fome- 
 times in the broader ftyle of caricature, 
 which lie fcattered in the periodical pu- 
 blications- of the la ft ten years > volumin- 
 ous biographical accounts of him have 
 been given to the world by Thomas Tyers, 
 Efq. Mrs. Piozzi, Dr. Towers, Sir John 
 ' Hawkins, James Bofwell, Efq. and Arthur 
 Murphy, Efq. who were his moft intimate 
 friends, and wrote from perfonal know- 
 ledge. Their feveral publications, which 
 place his character in very different, and 
 often oppofite points of light, by exhibit- 
 ing a flriking likenefs of the features of 
 his mind, which were flrong and promi- 
 nent, and by recording fo confiderable a 
 portion of his wifdom and wit, have ex- 
 quifitely gratified the lovers of literary 
 anecdotes, and largely contributed to the 
 inftrudion and entertainment of man-
 
 t 3 ] 
 
 kind. The publications -of Mr. Tyers, 
 Mrs. Piozzi, Dr. Towers, and Mr. Mur- 
 phy, come under the defcription of " Bio- 
 graphical Sketches," " Anecdotes," and 
 " Eflays." Thofe of Sir John Hawkins 
 and Mr. Bofwell are more elaborately 
 compofed, and entitle them to the ex- 
 elufive appellation of his biographers. 
 
 On an attentive perufal, it will be found 
 that the narrative of Sir John Hawkins 
 contains a collection of curious anecdotes 
 and obfervations, which few men but its 
 author could have brought together ; but 
 a very fmall part of it relates to the perfon 
 who is the fubject of the work. He ap- 
 pears to be a worthy, and often a well-in- 
 formed man, but he pofiefles neither ani- 
 mation nor correctnefs, expanfton of in- 
 tellect, nor elegance of tafte. He writes 
 without much feeling or fentiment ; his 
 work is heavy, cold, -and prolix; but we 
 
 difcover in it many gleams of good fenfe, 
 
 A ij
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 and openings of humanity, fometimes 
 checked by ignorance, and fometimes by 
 prejudice. 
 
 The narrative of Mr. Bofwell is written 
 with more comprehenfion of mind, accu- 
 racy of intelligence, clearnefs of narration, 
 and elegance of language ; and is more 
 ftrongly marked by the defiderium chart 
 capitls, which is the fir (I feature of af- 
 fectionate remembrance. He was peculi- 
 liarly fitted for the taik of recording the 
 fuyings and actions of this extraordinary 
 man, by his afilduous attention. From 
 the commencement of his acquaintance 
 with him in 1763, he had the fcheme of 
 writing his life conftantly in view ; and 
 continued his collections, with his appro- 
 bation and affiftance, with unwearied di- 
 ligence, and meritorious perfverance, for 
 upwards of twenty years. He gave a fpe- 
 cirhen of his being able to preferve his 
 converfation, in an authentic and lively
 
 manner, in his " Journal of a Tour to the 
 Hebrides," 8vo, 1786. His veneration and 
 efleem for his friend, induced him, at a 
 fubfequent period, to go through the la- 
 borious talk of digefling and arranging the 
 immenfe mafs of materials, which his own 
 diligence, and the kindnefs of others, had 
 furnifhed him, and of forming the hiflory 
 of his life ; which was publimed in 2 vols. 
 4to, 1791, and was received by the world 
 with moft extraordinary avidity. 
 
 Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates may 
 poflibly have fuggefted to Mr. Bofwell the 
 idea of preferving and giving to the world 
 the Memorabilia of his venerable friend ; 
 but he profefTes to have followed the mo- 
 del of Mafon in his " Memoirs of Gray." . 
 He has, however, the advantage of Mafon, 
 in the quantity, variety, and richnefs of 
 his materials. His work may be referred 
 to that clafs of compilements known by 
 the name of " Books in Ana" To com- 
 
 A iij
 
 pare it with Monnoye's edition of the Me- 
 naglana, one of the moft efleemed of thefe 
 publications, wbuld not be doing juftice 
 to it. The incidental conventions be- 
 tween fo eminent an inftru&or of man- 
 kind, and his friends, the numerous body 
 of anecdotes, literary and biographical, and 
 the letters which are occafionally inter- 
 fperfed, and naturally introduced, in the 
 narrative part of Mr. Bofwell's ample per- 
 formance, open and difclofe to the eager 
 curiolity of rational and laudable inquiry, 
 an immenfe ftorehoufe of mental treafure, 
 which far exceeds, in merit and value, the 
 voluminous collections of the wife and 
 witty fayings of the learned and ingenious 
 men of other nations. With fome venial 
 exceptions on the fcore of egotifm and in- 
 difcriminate admiration, his work exhibits 
 the moft copious, interefting, and finifhed 
 picture of the life and opinions of an emi- 
 nent man, that was ever executed ; and is
 
 [ 7 ] -v .: 
 
 juftly efteemed one of the mod inflructive 
 and entertaining books in the Englifh lan- 
 guage. 
 
 The eccentricities of Mr. Bofwell, it is 
 ufelefs to detail. They have already been 
 the fubject of ridicule in various different 
 forms and publications, by men of fuper- 
 ficial underflanding, and ludicrous fancy. 
 Many have fuppofed him to be a mere re- 
 later of the fayings of others ; but he pof- 
 fefled confiderable intellectual powers, for 
 which he has not had fufncient credit. It 
 is manifefl to every reader of any difcern- 
 ment, that he could never have collected 
 fuch a rnafs of information, and jufl ob- 
 fervations on human life, as his very 
 valuable work contains, without great 
 ftrength of mind, and much various 
 knowledge ; as he never could have diC- 
 played his collections in fo lively a man- 
 ner, had he not ppflefTed a very pictu- 
 refque imagination, or, in other word 3 
 
 A iiij
 
 I 3 ] 
 
 had he not had a very happy turn for 
 poetry, as well as for humour and for wit. 
 
 This lively and ingenious biographer, 
 is now beyond the reach of praife or cen^ 
 fure. He died at London, May 19, 1795, 
 in the 55th year of his age. His death 
 is an irreparable lofs to Englifh literature. 
 He had many failings ; and many virtues, 
 and many amiable qualities, which pre- 
 dominated over the frailties incident to 
 human nature. He will be long regretted 
 by a wide circle of friends, to whom his 
 good qualities and focial talents always 
 made his company a valuable acceffion. 
 
 The fads ftated in the prefent account 
 are chiefly taken from the narratives of 
 Sir John Hawkins, and Mr. Bofwell ; with 
 fhe addition of fuch particulars of the pro- 
 grefs of his mind and fortunes, as the fub- 
 fequent narrative of Mr. Murphy, and the 
 moft refpeclable periodical publications of 
 the laft ten years have fupplied.
 
 I 9 ] 
 
 SAMUEL JOHNSON was born at Litchfield, 
 in Staffordfhire, September f. 1709. His 
 father, Michael Johnfon, was a native of 
 Cubley, in Derbylhire, of obfcure extrac- 
 tion, who fettled in Litchfield as a book- 
 feller, and carried on that buiinefs at all 
 the neighbouring towns on market days ; 
 but was fo refpeclable as to be made one 
 of the magiftrates of that city. He was a 
 man of a large and robuft body, and of a 
 ilrong and active mind ; but was always 
 fubjecl to a morbid melancholy. He was 
 a zealous high-church-man and Jacobite ; 
 though he reconciled himfelf by cafuifti- 
 cal arguments of expediency and neceffity, 
 to take the oaths impofed by the prevail- 
 ing power. He was a pretty good Latin 
 fcholar, and being a man of good fenfe 
 and fkill in his trade, he acquired a rea- 
 fonable {hare of wealth, of which he after- 
 wards loft the greateft part, by engaging, 
 unfuccefsfully,in the manufacture of parch-
 
 [ 10 ] 
 
 I 
 
 fnent. His mother, Sarah Ford, defcend- 
 ed of an ancient race of fubftantial yeo- 
 manry in Warwickfhire, was the fifler of 
 'Dr. Jofeph Ford, a phyfician of confider- 
 able eminence, and father of the famous 
 Cornelius Ford, Chaplain to Lord Chefter- 
 field, fuppofed to be the Parfon in Ho- 
 garth's " Modern Midnight Converfa- 
 tion," a man of great parts, but of very- 
 profligate manners. She was a woman of 
 diftinguifhed understanding, prudence, 
 and piety. They were well advanced in 
 years when they married, and had only 
 another child, named Nathaniel, who 
 feems to have fucceeded his father in his 
 bufinefs ; but died in 1737, in the 25th 
 year of his age. 
 
 During the period of infancy, * all chil- 
 dren are prodigies of form and under- 
 ftanding to their parents. With a natu- 
 ral fondnefs, they exaggerate every fymp- 
 tom pf fenfe into the perfection of \vif*>
 
 dom, and defcribe every feature with an 
 adventitious grace. If the object of their 
 admiration mould at more mature years 
 become diflinguifhed for excellence, it is 
 hoped that we may believe wonders of the 
 child, becaufe we have feen greatnefs in 
 the man. Hence, in our fondnefs for 
 the marvellous, the traditions of the nur- 
 fery, refpecting fuch perfons, are ampli- 
 fied beyond the bounds of credibility, 
 and recited with all the confidence of 
 truth. 
 
 Every great genius muft begin with a 
 prodigy ; and it is not to be fuppofed that 
 Johnfon mould be without atteftations of 
 thefe miracles of early genius, which are 
 believed by fome to be as necefTary to thft 
 attainment of future pre-eminence, as that 
 fruits mould be preceded by the bloflbm. 
 Among other {lories of his infant precocity 
 generally circulated, and generally believ- 
 ed, we are told by Mrs, Piozzi, and Sir
 
 [ 12 ] 
 
 John Hawkins, that, at the age of three 
 years, he trod by accident upon one of a 
 brood of eleven ducks, and killed it, and 
 upon that occafion made the following 
 verfes : 
 
 Here lies good mafter duck, 
 
 Whom Samuel Johnfon trod on ; 
 
 If it had liv'd, it had been good luek t 
 For then we'd had an odd one. 
 
 This prodigy is fcarcely exceeded by the 
 bees on Plato's lips, or the doves that co- 
 vered the infant poet with leaves and flow- 
 ers ; for how fhould a child of three years 
 old make regular verfes, and in alternate 
 rhyme ? The internal evidence is fufficient 
 to counterbalance any teftimony that thefe 
 merfes could be the production of a child 
 of fuch an early age. But, fortunately, 
 credulity is relieved from the burden of 
 doubt, by Johnfon's having himfelf afTured 
 Mr. Bofwell, that they were made by his 
 father, who wifhed them to pafs for his
 
 fon's. He added, " my father was a foolirfi 
 old man, that is to fay, foolifh in talking 
 of his children." 
 
 He derived from his parents, or from an 
 unwholefome nurfe, the diflemper called 
 the King's Evil. Jacobites at that time 
 believed in the efficacy of the royal touch. 
 His mother, yielding to this fuperflitious 
 notion, in her anxiety for his cure, when 
 he was two years old (by the advice of Sir 
 John Floyer, then a phylician at Litch- 
 field), carried him to London, where he 
 was actually touched by Queen Anne. But 
 the difeafe, too obftinate to yield to reme- 
 dies more powerful, greatly disfigured his 
 countenance, naturally harfh and rugged, 
 impaired his hearing, and deprived him of 
 the fight of his left eye. 
 
 He was firfl taught to read Englifh by 
 Dame Oliver, a widow, who kept a fchool 
 for young children in Litchfield. His next 
 mftructor, in Englifh, was a mailer whom
 
 [ U J 
 
 he familiarly called Tom Brown, who hfr 
 faid " publiihed a fpelling-book, and dedi- 
 cated it to the UNIVERSE." He began to 
 learn Latin in the free-fchobl of Litchfield, 
 at firft under the care of Mr. Hawkins, the 
 under-mafler, whom he has defcrifbed as 
 " a man fkilful in his little way." In about 
 two years, he rofe to be under the tuition 
 of Mr, Hunter, the head-mafter, a very 
 refpectable teacher, and a worthy man ; 
 but who, according to his account, was 
 " very fevere, and wrong headedly fevere." 
 He had for his fchool-fellows Dr. James, 
 inventor of the fever-powder, Mr. Lowe, 
 canon of Windfor, Dr. Taylor, rector of 
 Afhbourne, and Mr. Hedor, furgeon in 
 Birmingham, with whom he contracted a 
 particular intimacy ; 
 
 While at fchool, he is faid by Mr. Hec- 
 tor to have been indolent and averfe from 
 fludy. But the procraftination of his du- 
 ties feems neither to have prevented the
 
 I 15 3 
 
 t 
 
 timely performance -of his exercifes, nor 
 to have blemifhed them with inaccuracies ; 
 for " he was never known to have been 
 corrected at fchool, unlefs for talking and 
 diverting other boys from their bufinefs." 
 Indeed, fuch was the fuperiority of his ta- 
 lents above thofe of his companions, that 
 three of the boys, of whom Mr. Hector 
 was fometimes one, are faid to have aflem- 
 bled fubmiflively every morning, to carry 
 him triumphantly upon their moulders to 
 fchool. This ovation is believed by Mr. 
 Bofwell to have been an honour paid to 
 the early predominance of his intellectual 
 powers alone ; but they who remember 
 what boys are, and who confider that 
 Johnfon's corporeal prowefs was by no 
 means defpicable, will be apt to fufpect 
 that the homage was enforced, at leaffc as 
 much by awe of the one, as by admira- 
 tion of the other.
 
 v f i6 j 
 
 After having refided for fome months 
 at the houfe of his coufin, Cornelius Ford, 
 who affifted him in the claflics, he was, by 
 his advice, at the age of fifteen, removed 
 to the fchool of Stourbridge in Worcefter- 
 fhire, of which Mr. Wentworth was then 
 mafler, whom he has defcribed as " a very 
 able man, but an idle man, and to me un- 
 reafonably fevere. Yet he taught me a 
 great deal." He feems to have been there 
 in the double capacity of a fcholar and ufli- 
 er, repaying the learning he acquired from 
 his mafter, by the inflruction he gave to 
 the younger boys. Parfon Ford he has 
 defcribed in his " Life of Fenton," as " a 
 clergyman at that time too well known, 
 whofe abilities, inftead of furnifhing con- 
 vivial merriment to the voluptuous and 
 the diflblute, might have enabled him to 
 exc"el among the virtuous and the wife." 
 
 He thus difcriminated to Dr. Percy, 
 Biftiop of Dromore, his progrefs at his
 
 two grammar-fchools : " At one I learnt 
 much in the fchool, but little from the 
 matter ; in the otnfer I learnt much from 
 the mailer, but little in the fchool." 
 
 He remained at Stourbridge little more 
 than a year, and then returned home, 
 where he purfued his ftudi.es ; but not 
 upon any regular plan. Of this method 
 of attaining knowledge, he feems ever af- 
 ter to have entertained a favourable opi- 
 nion, and to have recommended it, not 
 without reafon, to young men, as the furefh 
 means of enticing them to learn. What 
 he read was not works of mere amufement, 
 " They were not voyages and travels, but 
 all literature, all ancient authors, all man- 
 ly ; though but little Greek, only fome of 
 Anacreon and Hefiod. But in this irre- 
 gular manner, I had looked into a great 
 many books, which were not commonly 
 known at the univerfities, where they 
 
 feldom read any books but what are put 
 
 B
 
 [ IS ] 
 
 into their hands by their tutors ; fo that 
 when I came to Oxford, Dr. Adams told 
 me I was the befl qualified for the univer- 
 fity that he had ever known come there." 
 
 He had already given feveral proofs of 
 his poetical genius, both in his fchool ex- 
 ercifes, and in other occafional comport 
 tions. Of thefe Mr. Bofwell obtained a 
 confiderable collection from Mr. Went- 
 worth, the fon of his mafter, and Mr. Hec- 
 tor, his fchool-fellow ; of which he has 
 preferved fome tranflations from Homer, 
 Virgil, Horace, &c. Unfortunately the 
 communications of Mr. Wentworth are 
 not diftinguifhed from thofe of Mr. Hec- 
 tor. Such a precaution would have en- 
 abled us to have diftinguifhed with cer- 
 tainty the efforts of the boy, from the pro- 
 duction of riper years. His tranflation of 
 the/ir/l eclogue of Virgil, is not fo harmoni- 
 ous as that from the Jlxtb book of Homer 
 and both are inferior in this refpect to
 
 t i9 1 
 
 thof<$ which he has made of the Odes of 
 Horace. Indeed, in the flyle and manner 
 of verification ufed in the lafl, and in 
 fome other of his juvenile pieces, he feeing 
 to have made little alteration in his more 
 experienced days ; and it muft be added, 
 that in point of fmoothriefs, little improve- 
 ment could have been made. 
 
 After a tefidence of two years at 
 home, Mr. Andrew Corbet, a gentleman 
 of Shropfhire, undertook to fupport him 
 at Oxford, in the character of a compa- 
 nion to his fort, one of his fchool-fellows, 
 " though, in fact," fays Mr. Bofwell, upon 
 the authority of Dr. Taylor, " he never 
 received any affiftance whatever from that 
 gentleman." He was accordingly entered 
 a Commoner at Pembroke College, Ox- 
 ford, October 31. 1728; being then in his 
 nineteenth yeaf . 
 
 On the night of his arrival at Oxford, 
 his father, who had anxioufly accompa- 
 
 Bij
 
 [ 20 ] 
 
 nied him, found means to have him intro- 
 duced to Mr. Jordan, Fellow of Pembroke, 
 who was to be his tutor. According tc* 
 Dr. Adams, who was prefent, lie feemed 
 very full of the merits of his fon, and told 
 the company he was a good fcholar and a 
 poet, and wrote Latin verfes. His figure 
 and manner feemed flrange to them ; but 
 he behaved modeftly, and fat filent, till, 
 upon fomething which occurred in the 
 courfe of converfation, he fuddenly flruck 
 in, and quoted Macrobius ; and this gave 
 the firft imprefllon of that extenfive read- 
 ing in which he had indulged himfelf. 
 
 Of his tutor,. Mr. Jorden, he gave Mr. 
 Bofwell the following account : " He was 
 a very worthy man, but a heavy man, and 
 I did not profit much by his inftrudion. 
 Indeed, I did not attend him much." He- 
 had, however, a love and refpeft for Jor- 
 den, not for his literature, but for his 
 vortb. " Whenever (faid he) a young
 
 [ 2. ] 
 
 man becomes Jorden's pupil, he becomes 
 his fon." 
 
 The fifth of November was at that time 
 kept with great folemnity at Pembroke 
 College, and exercifes upon the gunpow- 
 der plot were required. Johnfon neglect- 
 ed to perform his. To apologize for his 
 neglect, he gave in a fhort copy of verfes, 
 intituled Somnium, containing a common 
 thought, " that the mufe had come to him 
 in his ileep, and whifpered that it did not 
 become him to write on fuch fubjects as 
 politics ; he fhould confine himfelf to 
 humbler themes ;" but the verfification 
 was truly Virgilian. 
 
 Having given fuch a fpecimen of his 
 poetical powers, he was afked by Mr. Jor- 
 den to tranflate Pope's MeJJlah into Latin 
 hexameter verfe, as a Chriftmas exercife. 
 He performed it with uncommon rapidi- 
 ty, and in fo maflerly a manner, that he 
 obtained great applaufe from it, which 
 
 B iij
 
 [ 22 ] 
 
 ever after kept him high in the eftima- 
 tion of his college and indeed of all the 
 univerfity. Pqpe, impelled by gratitude 
 and tafle, perhaps not unaflifled by vani- 
 ty, is reported to have faid concerning it, 
 " that the author would leave it aqueftion 
 for pofterity, whether his or mine be the 
 original ?" It was firfl printed by his fa- 
 ther, without his knowledge ; and after- 
 wards inferted in a " Mifcellany," pub- 
 limed by fubfcription at Oxford, in 1731, 
 by Mr. John Hufbands, Fellow of Pem- 
 broke College. 
 
 The particular courfe of his reading 
 while at Oxford, and during the time of 
 vacation which he patted at home, can- 
 not be traced. From his earlieft years he 
 loved to read poetry and romances of chi- 
 valry. He read Shakfpeare at a period fo 
 early, that the fpeech of the ghoft in 
 " Hamlet" terrified him when he was 
 alone. Horace's odes were the compofi-
 
 tions he moft liked in early life ; but it 
 was long before he could relifh his {atires 
 and epiflles. He told Mr. Bofwell, what 
 he read folidly at Oxford was Greek, not 
 the Grecian hiftorians, but Homer and 
 Euripides, and now and then a little epi- 
 gram ; that the ftudy of which he was moft 
 fond was metaphyfics j but he had not 
 read much even in that way. We may 
 be abfolutely certain, however, both from 
 his writings and his conyerfation, that his 
 reading was very extenfive. He projected 
 a common-place book to the extent of fix 
 folio volumes, but according to Sir John 
 Hawkins, the blank leaves far exceeded 
 the written ones. 
 
 In 1729, while at Litchfield, during the 
 college vacation, the "morbid melancho- 
 ly" which was lurking in his conflitution, 
 gathered fuch flrength as to afflict him in 
 a dreadful manner. He was overwhelmed 
 with an horrible hypocondria, with perpe- 
 
 B iiij
 
 [ 24 ] 
 
 tual irritation, fretfulnefs, and impatience, 
 and with a dejection, gloom, and defpair, 
 that made exiftence mifery. He fancied 
 himfelf feized by, or approaching to in- 
 fanity ; in conformity with which no- 
 tion he applied, when he was at the very 
 worft, to his godfather, Dr. Swinfen, phy- 
 fician in Litchfield> and put into his hand 
 a ftate of his cafe, written in Latin ; 
 " which mowed," as Mr. Bofwell expreffes 
 it, " an uncommon vigour, not only of 
 fancy and tafte, but of judgment." ^That 
 he mould have fuppofed himfelf approach- 
 ing to infanity, at the very time when he 
 was giving proofs of a more than ordinary 
 foundnefs and vigour of judgment, is lefs 
 ftrange than that Mr. Bofwell mould con- 
 fider the vigour of fancy > which he dif- 
 played on fuch a fubjecl, a proof of his fa- 
 nity. It is a common effect of melan- 
 choly to make thofe who are afflicted with 
 it imagine that they are actually fuffering
 
 C 25 j 
 
 thofe evils which happen to be moft 
 ftrongly prefented to their minds. But 
 there is a clear diftindion between a dif- 
 order which affeds only the imagination 
 and fpirits, while the judgment is found, 
 and a diforder by which the judgment it- 
 felf is impaired. Whatever be the argu- 
 ments in favour of free-will, of volition 
 unreftrained by the force and prevalence 
 of motives, it muft be allowed that the 
 effeds of reafon on the human mind are 
 not at all times, and on all fubjeds, equal- 
 ly powerful. The mind, like the body, 
 has its weak organs ; in other words, the 
 impreflions on fome fubjeds are fo deeply 
 fixed, that the judgment is no longer able 
 to guide the operations of the mind, in 
 reafoning on, or in judging of them. The 
 imagination feizes the rein, and till the 
 force of the idea is leflened from habit, 
 the ufual powers are fuipended. But this 
 is not madnefs ; for ftrong impreiilons of
 
 [ 26 ] 
 
 various kinds, will, in different minds, pro* 
 duce fimilar effects. From this difmal ma- 
 lady, which he " did not then know how 
 to manage," he never afterwards was per- 
 fectly relieved ; and all his labours, and all 
 his employments, were but temporary in^ 
 terruptions of its baleful influence. 
 
 In the hiftory of his mind, his religious 
 progrefs is an important article. He had 
 been early inftrufted in the doctrines of the 
 church of England, by his mother, who con- 
 tinued her pious care with afliduity, but in 
 his opinion, not with judgment. " Sunday" 
 faid he " was a heavy day to me when I 
 was a boy. My mother confined me on 
 Sundays, and made me read " The Whole 
 Duty of Man," from a great part of which 
 I could derive no iiiftruclion. When, for 
 inftance, I read the chapter on theft, which, 
 from infancy, I had been taught was wrong, 
 I was no more convinced that theft was 
 wrong than before ; fo there was no accef-
 
 [ 27 ] 
 
 fton of knowledge. A boy fhould be in- 
 troduced to fuch books by having his at-r 
 tention directed to the arrangement, to the 
 ftyle, and other excellencies of compofi-r 
 tion, that the mind being thus engaged by 
 an amufing variety of objecls, may not 
 grow weary," 
 
 He communicated to Mr. Bofwell the 
 following account of " the firfh occafion of 
 his thinking in earneft of religion." I fell 
 into an inattention to religion, or an in- 
 difference about it, in my ninth year. The 
 church at Litchfield, in which we had a 
 feat, wanted reparation : fo I was to go 
 and find a feat in other churches ; and 
 having bad eyes, and being awkward a- 
 bout this, I ufed to go and read in the 
 fields on Sunday. This habit continued 
 till my fourteenth year, and flill I find a 
 great reluctance to go to church* I then 
 became a fort of lax talker againfl religion, 
 for I did not much ttilnk about it ; and
 
 [ 28 ] 
 
 this lafted till I went to Oxford, where it 
 would not \>zfujfcrtd. When at Oxford, 
 I took up Law's " Serious Call to the Un- 
 converted," expecting to find it a dull 
 book (as fuch books generally are), and 
 perhaps to laugh at it. But I found Law 
 quite an over-match for me ; and this was 
 the firft occafion of my thinking in ear- 
 ned of religion, after I became capable of 
 rational inquiry." 
 
 Serious impreflions of religion, from 
 particular incidents, it is certain, have been 
 experienced by many pious perfons; though 
 it muft be acknowledged, that weak minds, 
 from an erroneous fuppofition, that no 
 man is in a ftate of grace, who has not felt 
 a particular converfion, have, in fome 
 cafes, brought a degree of ridicule upon 
 them ; a ridicule of which it is inconfide- 
 rate or unfair to make a general applica- 
 tion. How ferioufly Johnfon was impref- 
 fed with a fenfe of religion, from this time
 
 E 29 1 
 
 forward, appears from the whole tenor of 
 his life and writings. Religion was the 
 predominant object of his thoughts ; 
 though he feems not to have attained all 
 the tranquillity and affurance in his prac- 
 tice of its duties that are fo earneftly to be 
 defired. His fentiments, upon points of 
 abftracl virtue and rectitude, were in. the 
 higheft degree elevated and generous, but 
 he was unfortunate enough to have the 
 fublimity of his mind degraded by the 
 hypochondriacal propenfities of his ani- 
 mal conftitution. The ferenity, the in- 
 dependence, and the exultation of religion, 
 were fentiments to which he was a ftranger. 
 He faw the Almighty in a different light 
 from what he is reprefented in the purer 
 page of the gofpel ; and he trembled in 
 the prefence of Infinite Goodnefs. Thofe 
 tenets of the church of England, which 
 are moft nearly allied to Calvinifm, were 
 congenial to his general feelings, and they
 
 [ 3 3 
 
 made an early impreffion, which habits' 
 confirmed, and which reafon, if ever ex- 
 erted, could not efface. At the latter part 
 of his life thefe terrors had a confiderable 
 effecT:; nor was their influence loft, till 
 difeafe had weakened his powers, and 
 blunted his feelings. 
 
 The year following, 1730, Mr Corbet 
 left the univerfity,and his father, to whom* 
 according to Sir John Hawkins, he truft- 
 ed for fupport, declined contributing any 
 farther to Johnfon's maintenance, than 
 paying for his Commons. His father's 
 bufinefs was by no means lucrative. His 
 remittances, confequently, were too fmall 
 eyen to fupply the decencies of external 
 appearance ; and the very fhoes that he 
 wore were fo much torn, that they could 
 no longer conceal his feet. So jealous, 
 however, was he of appearing an objett 
 of eleemofynary contribution, that a new 
 pair having been placed at his door, by
 
 fome unknown hand, he flung them a- 
 way with indignation. 
 
 While thus oppreffed by want, he feems 
 to have yielded to that indifference to 
 fame and improvement, which is the off- 
 fpring of defpair. " He was generally 
 feen," fays Dr. Percy, " lounging at the 
 college gate, with a circle of young flu- 
 dents round him, whom he was entertain- 
 ing with wit, and keeping from their flu- 
 dies, if not fpiriting them up to rebellion 
 againft the college difcipline, which, in 
 his maturer years, he fo much extolled." 
 The accpunt of his conduct given by Dr. 
 Adams, who was at leafl his nominal tu- 
 tor for fome time before he quitted the 
 college, is more favourable to his happi- 
 nefs, but is lefs true. " Johnfon," fays 
 he, " while he was at Pembroke College, 
 was careffed and loved by all about him ; 
 he was a gay and frolicfome fellow, and 
 paffed there the happiefl part of his life/'
 
 [ .52 ] 
 
 But his own comment upon this opinion, 
 when mentioned to him by Mr Bofwell, 
 fhows how fallacious it is to eftimate hu- 
 man happinefs by external appearances : 
 " Ah Sir, I was mad and violent. It was 
 bitternefs which they miftook for frolic. 
 I was miferably poor, and I thought to 
 fight my way by my literature and my 
 wit ; fo I difregarded all power, and all 
 authority." 
 
 He ftruggled for another year in this 
 unequal conflict, and profefTed a defire to 
 practife either the Civil or the Common 
 Law ; but his debts in college increaling, 
 and his fcanty remittances from Litchfield, 
 which had all along been made with great 
 difficulty, being difcontinued, his father 
 having fallen into a ftate of infolvency, he 
 was compelled, by irreiiftible neceflity, to 
 relinquiih his fcheme, and left the college 
 inMUtumn 1735, without a degree, having 
 been a member of it little more than three
 
 [ "33 ] 
 
 jrears. This was a circumftance, which, in 
 the fubfequent part of his life, he had dc- 
 cafion to regret, as the want of it was an ob- 
 flacle to his obtaining a fettlement, whence 
 he might have derived that fubfiftence of 
 which he was certain by no other means. 
 
 From the univerfity he returned to his 
 native city, deflitute, and not knowing how 
 he fhould gain even a decent livelihood. But 
 he was fo far fortunate, that the refpe&able 
 character of his parents, and his own me- 
 rit, fecured him a kind reception in the 
 beft families of Litchfield. Mr. Gilbert 
 Walmfley, Regiiler of the Prerogative 
 Court at Litchfield, " was one of the firft 
 friends that Literature procured" him ; 
 and he pafled much time in the families 
 of Mr. Howard, and Dr. Swinfen, Mr. 
 Simpfon, Mr. Levett, and Captain Gar- 
 rick, father of the great ornament of the 
 Britifh flage. He has drawn the character 
 of Mr. Walmfley in his " Life of Smith/' 
 
 c
 
 t 34 ] 
 
 in the glowing colours of gratitude, inter- 
 mingled with the dark hues of political 
 prejudice. In his abhorrence of whiggifm, 
 he has imputed to his friend and bene- 
 fadlor, " all the virulence and malevolence 
 of his party." Yet Mr. Walmfley, whofe 
 real character is a noble one, loved John- 
 fon enough to endure in him the princi- 
 ples he defpifed. 
 
 In the circles of Litchfield, he was fre- 
 quently in the company of ladies, particu- 
 larly at Mr. Walmfley's, whofe wife and 
 
 fifter-in-law, of the name of Afton, and 
 
 .. i 
 
 the daughters of a Baronet, were remark- 
 able for elegance and good breeding. Of 
 Mifs Molly Afton, who was afterwards 
 married to Captain Brodie of the Navy, 
 he ufed to fpeak with the warmed ad- 
 miration. " Molly" (faid he) " was a 
 beauty and a fcholar, a wit and a whig, and 
 ihe talked all in praife of liberty ; and fo
 
 [ 35 ] , 
 
 I made this epigram. upon her. She was 
 the lovelieft creature I ever faw ! 
 
 Liber ut efTe velim, fuafifli, pulchra Maria, 
 Ut maneam liber ; pulchra Maria, vale." 
 
 Of this epigram, Mrs. Piozzi, and Mr. 
 Joddrel, and Mr. Bofwell, among others, 
 have offered tranflations. The following 
 verlion is given by Mr. Bofwell : 
 
 Adieu Maria ! fince you'd have me free : 
 For who beholds thy charms, a (lave muft be. 
 
 In December 1731, his father died, in 
 the ypth year of. his age, in very narrow 
 circumflances ; for, after providing for his 
 mother, that portion of the efFecls which 
 fell to his fhare amounted only to twenty 
 pounds. 
 
 In the forlorn ftate of his circumftances, 
 he accepted the employment of uftier in 
 the fchool of Market-Bofworth in Leicef- 
 
 terfliire, to which he went on foot, July 
 
 c i j
 
 t 36 ] 
 
 1 6. 1732. He refided in the houfe of Sir 
 Wool/ton Dixie, the patron of the fchool, 
 to whom he officiated as a kind of do- 
 meftic chaplain ; and who treated him with 
 intolerable harfhnefs. His employment was 
 irkfome to him in every refpect; and after 
 fuffering for a few months, what Mr. Bof- 
 well terms " complicated mifery," he re- 
 linquifhed a fituation which he ever after- 
 wards remembered with a degree of horror. 
 
 Being now again totally unoccupied, he 
 was invited by Mr. Heclor to pafs fome 
 time with him at Birmingham, as his 
 gueft, at the houfe of Mr. Warren, with 
 whom he lodged. Mr. Warren was the 
 firft eftablifhed bookfeller in Birmingham, 
 and was very attentive to Johnfon, and 
 obtained the afliftance of his pen, in fur- 
 nifhing fome periodical effays in a newf- 
 paper of which he was proprietor. 
 
 In June 1733, he refided in the houfe 
 of a perfon named Jarvis, in another part
 
 [ 37 ] 
 
 of the town, where he tranflated and a- 
 bridged, from the French of the Abbe Le 
 Grand, a Voyage to AbyJJlnla, written origi- 
 nally by Jerome Lobo, a Portuguefe Jefuit. 
 For this work, which was printed in Bir- 
 mingham, and publifhed by Bettefworth 
 and Hitch of Pater-nofter Row, London, 
 8vo, 1735, but without the tranflator's, 
 name, he had from Mr. Warren only five 
 guineas. It is the firft profe work of John- 
 fon; but it exhibits no fpecimen of elegance; 
 neither is it marked by any character of 
 flyle, which would lead to a difcovery of 
 the tranflator, from an acquaintance with 
 his latter productions. It has, however, 
 been juftly remarked by Mr. Bofwell, that 
 the Preface and Dedication, contain flrong 
 and not unfavourable fpecimens of that 
 ftyle of thought and manner of expreffion, 
 which he afterwards adopted. 
 
 In February 1734, he returned to Litch- 
 , and in Auguft following, publifhed 
 
 C iij
 
 [ 38 ] 
 
 propofals for printing by fubfcription an; 
 edition of the Latin poems of Politian, 
 Jngeli Politiani Pocmata Latin a, quibus notas, 
 cum biftoria Latin*? poefeos, a Pctrarcbtc avo 
 ad Politiani tempora dcduSla et vita Politiani 
 fufius quam antebac enarrata, addtdit SAM. 
 JOHNSON ; the work to be printed in thirty 
 8vo fheets, price 55. " Subfcriptions taken 
 in by the editor, or N. Johnfon, book- 
 feller of Litchfield," his brother, who 
 had taken up his father's trade. For 
 want of encouragement, the work never 
 appeared, and probably never was exe- 
 cuted. 
 
 We find him again this year at Birming- 
 ham ; and in order to procure fome little 
 fubfiftence by his pen, he addrefTed a let- 
 ter, under the name of S. Smith, to Mr. 
 Edward Cave, the proprietor of the " Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine," November 25. 1734, 
 in which he propofed, " on reafonable 
 terms, fometimes to fupply him with
 
 [ 39 1 
 
 poems, infcriptions, &c. never printed be- 
 fore, and ftiort literary difTertations in La- 
 tin or Englifh, critical remarks on authors, 
 ancient or modern, forgotten poems that 
 deferve revival, loofe pieces, like Floyer's, 
 worth preferring." To this letter Mr. 
 Cave returned an anfwer, dated December 
 2. 1734; but it does not appear that any 
 thing was done in confequence of it. 
 
 He had, from his infancy, been fenfible 
 to the influence of female charms. When 
 at Stourbridge fchool he was much ena- 
 moured of Olivia Llyod, a young Quaker, 
 to whom he wrote a copy of verfes ; 
 he conceived a tender paflion for Lucy 
 Porter, whofe mother he afterwards mar- 
 ried, and whom he had frequent oppor- 
 tunities of feeing at the houfe of Mr. Hun- 
 ter of Litchfield, whofe fecond wife was 
 her aunt. He addrefied to her, as me her- 
 felf informed Mifs Seward, " when he was 
 a lad," the verfes to a Lady^ on her preferring 
 
 C iiij
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 the author with afprig of myrtle; which Mr. 
 He&or fays were written at his requeft, in 
 1731, for his friend Mr. Morgan Graves; 
 but the two accounts are not irreconcile- 
 able, for he might give them to Mr. Hec- 
 tor, without thinking it material to men- 
 tion their pre-exiflence. 
 
 His juvenile attachments to the fair fex 
 were, however, very tranfient, and he ne r 
 ver had a criminal connection. In 1 735, he 
 became the fervent admirer of Mrs. Porter, 
 widow of Mr. Henry Porter, mercer in 
 Birmingham, to whofe family he had pro- 
 bably been introduced by his lifter Mrs. 
 Hunter of Litchfield, or through his ac- 
 quaintance with Jarvis, who might be a 
 relation of Mrs. Porter, whofe maiden 
 name was Jarvis. " It was," he faid, " a 
 love match on both fides ;" and, judging 
 from the defcription of their perfons,- we 
 muft fuppofe that the paffion was not in- 
 fpired by the beauties of form, or graces.
 
 of manner, but by a mutual admiration 
 of each others mind. Johnfon's appear- 
 ance is defcribed as being very forbidding: 
 " He was then lean and lank, fo that his 
 immenfe ftru&ure of bones was hideoufly 
 flriking to the eye, and the fears of the 
 fcrophula were deeply vifible. He alfq 
 wore his hair, which was flraight and ftiff, 
 and feparated behind ; and he often had 
 feemingly convulfive ftarts and odd gefli- 
 culations, which tended at once to excite 
 furprife and ridicule." Mrs. Porter was 
 double the age of Johnfon, and her per- 
 fon and manner, as defcribed by Garrick, 
 were by no means pleafing to others. 
 " She was very fat, with a bofom of more 
 than ordinary protuberance. Her fwelled 
 cheeks were of a florid red, produced by 
 thick painting, and increafed by the libe- 
 ral ufe of cordials, flaring and fantaflic in 
 her drefs, and affected both in her fpeecfy 
 and in her general behaviour."
 
 [ 42 ] 
 
 It is to be obferved, however, that what- 
 ever her real charms may have been, John- 
 fon thought her beautiful, for in her Epi- 
 taph he has recorded her as fuch ; and in 
 his Prayers and Meditations, we find very 
 remarkable evidence that his regard and 
 fondnefs for her never ceafed, even after 
 death. 
 
 The marriage ceremony was perform- 
 ed, July 9th, at Derby, for which place 
 the bride and bridegroom fet out on horfe- 
 back; and it muft be allowed that the 
 capricious and fantaftic behaviour of the 
 bride, during the journey to church, upon 
 the nuptial morn, as related by Mr. Bof- 
 well, was a fingular beginning of connu- 
 bial felicity. 
 
 She was worth about 8ool., which, to a 
 perfon in Johnfon's circumftances, made 
 it a defirable match. To turn this fum 
 to the beft advantage, he hired a large 
 houfe at Edial, near Litchfield, and fet
 
 [ 43 ] 
 
 up a private claflical academy, in which 
 he was encouraged by his friend Mr. 
 Walmfley. In the " Gentleman's Maga- 
 zine" for 1736, there is the following 
 '* ADVERTISEMENT At Edial, near Litch- 
 field, in StafFordfhire, young gentlemen 
 are boarded and taught the Latin and 
 Greek languages, by SAMUEL JOHNSON." 
 The plan, notwithflanding, proved abor- 
 tive. The only pupils that were put un- 
 der his care, were Garrick, and his bro- 
 ther George, and a Mr. OfFely, a young 
 gentleman of a good fortune, who died 
 early. 
 
 About this time we find him diligently 
 employed on his Irene, a tragedy, with which 
 Mr. Walmfley was fo well pleafed, that he 
 advifed him to proceed with it. It is found- 
 ed upon a pafTage in Knolles's " Hiftory 
 of the Turks," a book which he after- 
 wards highly praifed and recommended in 
 the Rambler. 4
 
 [ 44 3 
 
 Difappointed in his expectation of de- 
 riving fubfiftence from the eftablifhment 
 of a boarding-fchool, he now thought of 
 trying his fortune in London, the great 
 field of genius and exertion, where talents 
 of every kind have the fulled fcope, and 
 the higheft encouragement. 
 
 On the 2d of March 1737, being the 
 28th year of his age, he fet out for Lon- 
 don, and it is a memorable circumflance, 
 that his pupil Garrick went thither at the 
 fame time, with intention to complete his 
 education, and follow the profeflion of the 
 law. They were recommended to Mr. Col* 
 fon, mafter of the mathematical fchool at 
 Rochefter, by a letter from Mr. Walmfley, 
 who mentions the joint expedition of thefe 
 two eminent men to the metropolis, in the 
 following manner : 
 
 This young gentleman, and another 
 neighbour of mine, one Mr. Samuel John- 
 fon, fet out this morning for London to* 
 
 4
 
 gether. Davy Garrick is to be with you 
 early the next week, and Mr. Johnfon, to 
 try his fate with a tragedy, and to fee to 
 get himfelf employed in fome tranflation, 
 either from the Latin or the French. John- 
 fon is a very good fcholar and poet, and I 
 have great hopes will turn out a fine tra- 
 gedy writer." 
 
 How he employed himfelf upon his firfl 
 coming to London, is not certainly known. 
 His firfl lodgings were at the houfe of Mr. 
 Norris a flaymaker in Exeter-Street, in the 
 Strand. Here he found it neceflary to 
 practife the mofl rigid economy ; and his 
 Ofellus in the Art ofLivhj in London , is a 
 real character of an Irifh painter, who ini- 
 tiated him in the art of living cheaply in 
 London. 
 
 Soon after his arrival in London, he re- 
 newed his acquaintance with Mr. Henry 
 Hervey, one of the branches of the Briflol 
 family, whom he had known when he was
 
 [ 46 ] 
 
 quartered at Litchfield as an officer of the 
 army. At his houfe he was entertained 
 with a kindnefs and hofpitality of which 
 he ever afterwards retained a warm re- 
 membrance. Not very long before his 
 death, he defcribed this early friend " Har- 
 ry Hervey," thus : " he was a vicious man, 
 but very kind to me. If you call a dog 
 Hervey, I (hall love him." 
 
 He had now written three ads of his 
 Irene-, and he retired for fome time to 
 lodgings at Greenwich, where he proceed- 
 ed in it fomewhat farther, and ufed to 
 compofe walking in the Park ; but he did 
 not ftay long enough in that place to finifli 
 it. 
 
 At this period, he wiflied to engage 
 more clofely with Mr. Cave, and propofed 
 to him, in a letter dated Greenwich, July 
 12. 1737, to undertake a tranflation of Fa- 
 ther Paul Sarpi's " Hiftory of the Council 
 of Trent," from the French edition of Dr.
 
 t 47 J 
 
 Le Courayer. His propofal was accepted ; 
 but it mould feem from this letter, though 
 fubfcribed with his own name, that he had 
 not yet been introduced to Mr. Cave. 
 
 In the courfe of the fummer, he return- 
 ed to Litchfield, where he had left his wife ; 
 and there he at lafl fmifhed his tragedy ; 
 which was not executed with his rapidity 
 of compofition upon other occalions, but 
 was flowly and painfully elaborated. The 
 original unformed fketch of this tragedy, 
 partly in the raw materials of profe, and 
 partly worked up in verfe, in his own hand- 
 writing, is preferved in the King's Library. 
 
 In three months after, he removed to 
 London with his wife ; but her daughter, 
 who had lived with them at Edial, was left 
 with her relations in the country. His 
 lodgings were for fome time in Wood- 
 ftock-Street, near Hanover-Square, and af- 
 terwards in Caftle-Street, near Cavendifh- 
 Square. His tragedy being, as he thought,
 
 [ 48 ] 
 
 completely finifhed, and fit for the ftage, 
 he folicited Mr. Fleetwood, the manager 
 of Drury-Lane Theatre, to have it aded 
 at his houfe ; but Mr. Fleetwood would 
 not accept it. 
 
 Upon his coming to London, he was 
 inlifted by Mr. Cave, as a regular coadju- 
 tor in his magazine, which, for many years, 
 was his principal refource for employment 
 and fupport. A confiderable period of his 
 life is loft in faying that he was the hire- 
 ling of Mr. Cave. The narrative is little 
 diverfified by the enumeration of his con- 
 tributions. But the publications of a wri- 
 ter, like the battles and fieges of a general, 
 are the circumflances which muft fix the 
 feveral eras of his life. In this part of the 
 narrative, the pieces acknowledged by 
 Johnfon to be of his writing, are printed 
 in Italics, and thofe which are afcribed to 
 him upon good authority, or internal evi-
 
 [ 49 ] 
 
 dence, are diftinguifhed by inverted com- 
 mas. 
 
 His firil performance in the " Gentle- 
 man's Magazine," was a Latin Ode, Ad 
 Urbanum, in March 1738, a tranflation of 
 which, by an unknown correfpondent, ap- 
 peared in the Magazine for May follow- 
 ing. 
 
 At this period, the misfortunes and mif- 
 conducl: of Savage had reduced him to the 
 loweft flate of wretchednefs as a writer for 
 bread ; and his vifits at St. John's Gate, 
 where the " Gentleman's Magazine" was 
 originally printed, naturally brought John- 
 fon and him together. Johnfon commen- 
 ced an intimacy with this extraordinary 
 man. Both had great parts, and they were 
 equally under the prefTure of want. They 
 had .a fellow-feeling, and fympa'triy united 
 them clofer. 
 
 It is melancholy to reflect, that John- 
 fon and Savage were fometimes in fujch 
 
 D
 
 extreme indigence, that they could not 
 pay for a lodging, fo that they have wan- 
 dered together whole nights in the ftreets. 
 Yet as Savage had feen life in all its varie- 
 ties, and been much in the company of 
 the ftatefmen and wits of his time, we may 
 fuppofe, in thefe fcenes of diflrefs, that he 
 communicated to Johnfon an abundant 
 fupply of fuch materials as his philofophi- 
 cal curiofity moil eagerly defired, and men- 
 tioned many of the anecdotes with which 
 he afterwards enriched the life of his un- 
 happy companion. 
 
 He mentioned to Sir Jofhua Reynolds, 
 that one night. in particular, when Savage 
 and he walked round St. James's Square, 
 for want of a lodging, they were not at all 
 deprefled by their fituation, but in high 
 fpirits; and, brimful of patriotifm, traverf- 
 ed the Square for feveral hours, inveighed 
 again ft the minifter, and " refolved they 
 would jfo/tt/ by their country. 1 ''
 
 r -i ' 
 
 C 51 3 
 
 Sir John Hawkins fuppofes that " John- 
 fon was captivated by the addrefs and de- 
 meanour of Savage, who, as to his exterior, 
 was to a remarkable degree accomplifhed ; 
 he was a handfome well made man, and 
 very courteous in the modes of faluta- 
 tion." He took off his hat, he tells us, 
 with a good air, made a graceful bow, and 
 was a good fwordfman. " Thefe accom- 
 plifhments," he adds, " and the eafe and 
 pleafantry of his converfation, were pro- 
 bably the charms that wrought on John- 
 fon, who at this time had not been accuf- 
 tomed to the converfation of gentlemen." 
 But if, according to his biographer's no- 
 tion, he " never faw the charms of his 
 wife," how mould he perceive the graces 
 of Savage ? 
 
 Johnfon, indeed, defcribes him as ha- 
 ving " a graceful and manly deportment, 
 a folemn dignity of mien, but which, upon 
 
 a nearer acquaintance, foftened into an 
 
 Dij 

 
 [ 52 ] 
 
 engaging eafinefs of manners.'* How high- 
 ly he admired him for that knowledge, 
 which he himfelf fo much cultivated, and 
 what kindnefs he entertained for him, ap- 
 pears in the following verfes in the Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine for April 1738. 
 
 AdRlCARLUM SAVAGE Arm. humani generis 
 antatorem. 
 
 Humani ftudium generis cui pe&ore fervet, 
 O ! colat humanum te foveatque genus ! 
 
 About this time he became acquainted 
 with Mifs Elizabeth Carter, the learned 
 tranflator of " Epictetus," to whom he paid 
 a friendly attention, and in the fame Ma- 
 gazine complimented her in An JEnigma 
 to Eliza , both in Greek and Latin. He 
 writes Mr. Cave, " I think {Tie ought to be 
 celebrated in as many different languages 
 as Lewis le Grand." His verfes to a Lady, 
 (Mifs Molly Aflon) ivhofpoke in defence of 
 liberty y firft appeared in the fame Magazine,
 
 [ 53 ] 
 
 In May 1738, he publifhed his London, 
 a Poem, written in imitation of the 3d fa- 
 tire of Juvenal. It has been generally faid, 
 that he offered it to feveral bookfellers, 
 none of whom would purchafe it. Mr. 
 Cave, atlaft, communicated it to Dodfley, 
 who had tafle enough to perceive its un- 
 common merit, and thought it " credit- 
 able to be concerned with it." Dodfley 
 gave him lol. for the copy. It is remark- 
 able, that it came out on the fame morn- 
 ing with Pope's fatire, intituled, " 1738," 
 One of its warmefl patrons was General 
 Oglethorpe. Pope alfo was fo ftruck with 
 jits merit, that he fought to difcover the 
 author, and prophefied his future fame. 
 " He will," faid he, " foon be dctcrrc? 
 and it appears from his note to Lord 
 Gower, he himfelf was fuccefsful in his 
 inquiries. To " a fhort extract from Lon- 
 don' 1 in the Gentleman's Magazine for 
 May, is added, " Become remarkable for 
 
 p iij
 
 [ 54 ] 
 
 having got to the fecond edition in the 
 fpace of a week." This admirable poem 
 laid the firft foundation of his fame. Sir 
 John Hawkins obferves, that in this poem 
 he has adopted the vulgar topic of the 
 time, to gratify the malevolence of the 
 Tory faction ; and Mr, Bofwell candidly 
 allows, that " the flame of patriot ifm and 
 zeal for popular refinance with which it 
 is fraught, had no juft caufe." It contains 
 the moil fpirited invectives againft tyranny 
 and oppreflion, the warmefl predilection 
 for his own country, and the pureft love 
 of virtue, interfperfed with traits of his 
 own particular character and fituation. 
 He heated his mind with the ardour of 
 Juvenal, and he wrote with the fpirit and 
 energy of a fine poet, and a fharp critic of 
 the times, Boileau had imitated the fame 
 fatire with great fuccefs, applying it to Pa- 
 ris ; but an attentive comparifon will fa- 
 tisfy every reader that he is much excelled
 
 [ 55 3 
 
 by Johnfon. Oldham had alfo imitated 
 it, and applied it to London ; but there is 
 fcarcely any coincidence between the two 
 performances, though upon the very fame 
 fubjeft. 
 
 In the courfe of his engagement with 
 Mr. Cave, he compofed the Debates in the 
 Senate of Magna Lilliputia, me firil number 
 of which appeared in the " Gentleman's 
 Magazine" for June 1738, fometimes with 
 feigned names of the feveral fpeeches, 
 fometimes with denominations formed of 
 the letters of their real names, fo that they 
 might be eafily decyphered. Parliament 
 then kept the prefs in a kind of myfleri- 
 ous awe, which made it necefiary to have 
 recourfe to fuch devices. The debates for 
 fome time were brought home and digefled 
 by Guthrie, and afterwards fent by Mr. 
 Cave to Johnfon for his revifion. When 
 Guthrie had attained to a greater variety 
 of employment, and the fpeeches were 
 
 D iiij
 
 [ 56 ] 
 
 more and more enriched by the acceffion 
 of Johnfon's genius, it was refolved that 
 he fhould do the whole himfelf, from notes 
 furnifhed by perfons employed to attend 
 in both houfes of Parliament. His fole 
 compofition of them began November 19. 
 1740, and ended February 23. 1742-3. 
 From that time they were written by 
 Hawkefworth to the year 1 760. Johnfon 
 acknowledged the debates to be fpurious, 
 long after the world had confidered them 
 as genuine ; and fome days previous to his 
 death, declared, that of all his writings 
 they gave him the mofl uneafinefs. The 
 deceit, however, could not be very per- 
 nicious, in the effects of which fo many 
 perfons were involved. Neither are they 
 fo completely his own composition as is 
 generally fuppofed. That notes of the 
 fpeeches were taken in the Houfes of Par- 
 liament, and given to him, is evident from 
 his own declarations. And it does not
 
 [ 57 ] 
 
 appear probable that Mr. Cave, who was 
 ever attentive to the improvement of his 
 Magazine, fhould be more negligent in 
 procuring notes as accurate as he could, 
 during the time when Johnfon executed 
 this department, than when it was in the 
 hands of Guthrie. It feems at leafl moft 
 likely, therefore, that the language and il- 
 luftrations are Johnfon's own, but that the 
 arguments and general arrangements were 
 taken from the feveral fpeeches fpoken in 
 either Houfe, 
 
 The trade of writing was, however, fo 
 Jittle profitable, that notwithftanding the 
 fuccefs of his London, he wifhed to accept 
 an offer made to him, of becoming mafler 
 of the free fchool at Appleby in Leicefler- 
 fhire (Pope fays in Shropfhire), the falary 
 of which was fixty pounds a-year. But 
 the ftatutes of the fchool required that he 
 fhould be a Mafter of Arts, and it was then 
 Bought too great a favour to be afked of
 
 t 58 ] 
 
 the Umvfirfity of Oxford. Pope, without 
 any knowledge of him, but from his Lon- ' 
 don, recommended him to Lord Gower, 
 who, by a letter which has been often 
 printed, to a friend of Swift, dated 
 Trentham, Auguft i. 1738, endeavoured 
 to procure him a degree from Trinity- 
 College, Dublin. This expedient failed. 
 There is reafon to think that Swift declin- 
 ed to meddle in the bufinefs ; and to this 
 circumftance Johnfon's known diflike of 
 Swift has been often imputed. 
 
 He made one other effort to emancipate 
 himfelf from the drudgery of authorlhip, 
 by endeavouring to be introduced to the 
 bar at Doctor's Commons ; but here the 
 want of a Doctor's degree in Civil Law, 
 was alfo an unfurmountable impediment. 
 
 He was, therefore, under the neceflity 
 of perfevering in that courfe into which 
 he was forced ; and we find him profecut- 
 ing his defign of translating Father Paul's
 
 1 59 3 
 
 " Hiflory of the Council of Trent " in 2 vols. 
 4to, which was announced in the " Week- 
 ly Mifcellany," October 21. 1738. Twelve 
 fheets of this translation were printed off; 
 but the defign was dropped ; for it happen- 
 ed, that another Samuel Johnfon, Libra- 
 rian of St. Martin's in the Fields, and 
 Curate of that parifh, had engaged in the 
 fame undertaking, under the patronage of 
 Dr. Pearce ; the confequence of which was, 
 an oppofition, which mutually destroyed 
 each others hopes of fuccefs. 
 
 In the " Gentleman's Magazine" of this 
 year, befides the pieces already mentioned, 
 he gave a Life of Father Paul in the No- 
 vember Magazine, and wrote the *' Pre- 
 face" to the volume. The " Apotheofis 
 of Milton, a vifion," printed in the Maga- 
 zine for 1738 and 1739, given to him by 
 Sir John Hawkins, was the production of 
 Guthrie. The tranflation of Cronfaz's 
 " Examination of Pope's EfTay on Man,"'
 
 [ 60 ] 
 
 and printed by Cave in November 1738, 
 has been afcribed to him ; but Mifs Carter 
 has lately acknowledged that fhe was the 
 tranflator. 
 
 In 1739, befide the afliftance he gave to 
 the Debates in the Senate of tilliput, his writ- 
 ings in the " Gentleman's Magazine," 
 were, The Life of Boerbaave, An Appeal to 
 the Public in behalf of the Editor , Verfes to 
 Eliza, a Greek Epigram to Dr. Birch, and 
 " Confiderations on the cafe of Dr. Trapp's 
 Sermons," reprinted in the Magazine for 
 July 1787. 
 
 The fame year he joined in the clamour 
 * 
 
 againfl Walpole, and publifhed his famous 
 Jacobite pamphlet intituled, Marmor Norfol- 
 cienfe, or an EJ/ay on an Ancient Prophetical 
 infcription in Monki/Jy rhyme, lately difcovered 
 near Lynne, in Norfolk, by Probus Britannicus. 
 In this performance, he inveighs againfl 
 the Brunfwick fucceflion, and the mea- 
 fures of Government confequent upon it,
 
 [ 6i ] 
 
 with warm anti-Hanoverian zeal. The Ja- 
 cobite principles inculcated by it, accord- 
 ing to Sir John Hawkins, aroufed the vigi- 
 lance of the Miniftry. A warrant was if- 
 fued, and meflengers were employed to 
 apprehend the author, who, it feems, was 
 known. To elude his purfuers, he retired 
 with his wife to Lambeth-marfh, and there 
 lay concealed in an obfcure lodging till 
 the fcent grew cold. Mr. Bofwell how- 
 ever denies that there is any foundation 
 for this ftory ; for that Mr. Steele, one of 
 the late fecretaries of the Treafury, had 
 directed every polfible fearch to be made 
 in the records of the Treafury and Secre- 
 tary of State's Office, but could find no 
 trace of any warrant having been ifTued 
 to apprehend the author of this pamphlet. 
 His Marmor Norfolcknfe obtained alfo the 
 honour of Pope's commendation, as ap- 
 pears from the following note concerning 
 Johufon, copied with minute exadnefs, by
 
 C 62 ] 
 
 Mr. Bofwell, from the original in the pof- 
 feilion of Dr. Percy. 
 
 " This [London] is imitated by one John- 
 fon, who put in for a public fchool in 
 Shropfhire, but was difappointed. He has 
 an infirmity of the convulfive kind, that 
 attacks him fometimes, fo as to make him 
 a fad fpectacle. Mr. P. from the merit of 
 this work, which was all the knowledge he 
 had of him, endeavoured to ferve him 
 without his own application ; and wrote to 
 my Lord Gower, but he did not fucceed ; 
 Mr. Johnfon publifhed afterwards another 
 poem in Latin, with notes, the whole very 
 humorous, called the Norfolk Prophecy." 
 
 In the fame year 1739, he publiftied A 
 complete Vindication of the Licenfers of the 
 Stage, from the malicious and fcandalous afper- 
 fans of Mr. Brooke, author of Gujla*vus Vafa^ 
 in 4/0. This was an ironical, but a very 
 proper attack upon the Lord Chamber- 
 lain, for the injuftirlable fuppreffion of
 
 t 63 ] 
 
 that tragedy. Indeed the power vetted In 
 that officer, refpeding dramatic pieces, is 
 a difgrace to a free country ; and the act 
 which gave him that power ought to be 
 repealed. To juftify the rejection of this 
 play, Sir John Hawkins felects a few paf- 
 fages, not one of which would give um- 
 brage at this day. 
 
 In July 1739, a fubfcription was com- 
 pleted for Savage, who was to retire to 
 Swanfea ; and he parted with the compa- 
 nion of his midnight rambles, never tp 
 fee him more. This feparation was per- 
 haps a real advantage to Johnfon. By aflb- 
 ciating with Savage, who was habituated 
 to the licentioufnefs and diffipation of the 
 town, Johnfon, though his good principles 
 remained fleady, did not entirely preferve 
 that temperance for which he was remark- 
 able, in days of greater fimplicity, but was 
 imperceptibly led into fome indulgences, 
 which occafioned much diftrefs to his vir-
 
 [ 64 ] 
 
 tuous mind. It is faid by Sir John Haw- 
 kins, that during his connection with Sa^ 
 vage, a fhort reparation took place between 
 Johnfon and his wife. They were, how- 
 ever, foon brought together again. John- 
 fon loved her, and mowed his affection in 
 various modes of gallantry, which Garrick 
 ufed to mimic. The affectation of fa- 
 fhionable airs did not fit eafy on Johnfon ; 
 his gallantry was received by the wife with 
 the flutter of a coquette, and both, we may 
 believe, expofed themfelves to ridicule. 
 
 In 1740, he contributed to the " Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine," the " Preface," Life 
 of Admiral Blake y and the firft parts of 
 thofe of Sir Francis Drake , and of Philip 
 Barettier, both which he finimed the year 
 after ; An u Eflay on Epitaphs," and an 
 JLpitaph on Philips , a mufician, which was 
 afterwards publifhed, with fome other 
 pieces, in Mifs Williams's " Mifcellanies."
 
 [ 65 ] 
 
 In 1741, he wrote for the " Gentle- 
 man's Magazine," the " Preface," conclu- 
 fion of his Lives of Drake and Barettter 
 " A free translation of the Jefts of Hiero- 
 cles, with an Introduction," " Debate on 
 the propofal of Parliament to Cromwell, 
 to afTume the title of King, abridged, me- 
 thodized, and digefted ; u Tranflation of 
 Abbe Guy oil's DifTertatibn on the Ama- 
 zons ; " Tranflation of Fontenelle's Pane- 
 gyric on Dr. Morin." He, this year, and 
 the two following, wrote the Parliamentary 
 Debates. The eloquence, the force of ar- 
 gument, and the fplendour of language 
 difplayed in the feveral fpeeches, are well 
 known, and univerfally admired. To one 
 who praifedhis impartiality, obferving that 
 he had dealt out reafon and eloquence with 
 an equal hand to both parties, " That is 
 not quite true, Sir, faid Johnfon ; I faved 
 appearances well enough, but I took care* 
 
 that the WHIG DOGS fhould not have the 
 
 E
 
 / [ 66 ] . ' 
 
 be ft of it." They have been collected in 
 2 vols. 8vo, 1787, and recommended ta 
 the notice of parliamentary fpeakers, as 
 orations upon queftions of public import- 
 ance, by a "' Preface," written by George 
 Chalmers, Efq. whofe commercial and bio- 
 graphical writings are well known and e- 
 fteemed. 
 
 In 1742, he wrote for the " Gentle- 
 man's Magazine," the " Preface;" the Par- 
 liamentary Debates; Ejfay on the Account of 
 the CondutJ of the Duchefs of Marlborough, 
 then the popular topic of converfation ; 
 The Life of Peter Bur man ; Additions to- his 
 Life of Barettier; The Life of Sydenbam, af- 
 terwards prefixed to Swan's edition of his 
 works ; the " Foreign Hiftory," for De- 
 cember ; " Efiay on the Defcription of 
 China, from the French of Du Halde ; 
 Propofals for printing Bibliotbeca Harlecana ; 
 or, a Catalogue of the Library of the Earl of 
 Oxford. It was afterwards prefixed to the
 
 E .<*7 ] 
 
 nrft volume of the " Catalogue," in which 
 the Latin account of books were written 
 by him. He was employed in this bufi- 
 nefs by Mr. Thomas Ofborne, bookleller 
 in Gray's Inn, who purchafed the library 
 for i3,oooL, afum which, Mn Oldys fays, 
 in one of his manufcripts, was not more 
 than the binding of the books had coil ; 
 yet the flownefs of the fale was fuch, that 
 there was not much gained by it. It has 
 been confidently related, with many em- 
 belliftiments, that Johnfon knocked Of- 
 borne down in his fho'p with a folio, arid 
 put his foot upon his neck. Johnfon him- 
 felf relates it differently to Mr. Bofwell. 
 " Sir, he was impertinent to me, and I beat 
 him ; but it was not in his mop, it was in 
 my own chamber." This anecdote has 
 been often told to prove Johnfon's fero- 
 city ; but merit cannot always take the 
 fpurns of the unworthy with patience and 
 ft forbearing fpirit. 
 
 >j
 
 [ 68 ] ' V 
 
 He wrote in the " Gentleman's Maga- 
 zine" for 1 743, the " Preface ;" the Parlia- 
 mentary Debates for January and February; 
 " Confklerations on the Difpute between 
 Cronfaz and Warburton, on Pope's Eflay 
 on Man," in which he defends Cronfaz ; 
 Ad Lauram parlturam Epigramma; A Latin 
 tranjlation of Popes Verfes on his Grotto ; an 
 exquifitely beautiful Ode on Friend/hip; and 
 an " Advertifement" for Ofborne, con- 
 cerning the Harleian Catalogue. 
 
 The fame year he wrote for his fchool- 
 
 i 
 
 fellow, Dr James's " Medicinal Dictio- 
 nary," in 3 vols. folio, the Dedication to Dr. 
 Mead, which is conceived with great ad- 
 drefs, to conciliate the patronage of that 
 very eminent man. He had alfo written, 
 or afllfled in writing, the propofals for this 
 work ; and, being very fond of the ftudy of 
 phyfic, in which Dr. James was his matter, 
 he furnifhed fome of the articles.
 
 [ 69 J 
 
 At this time, his circumftances were 
 much embarrafied ; yet fuch was his liberal 
 affection for his mother, that he took upon 
 himfelf a debt of her's, to Mr. Levett of 
 Litchfield, which, though only twelve 
 pounds, was then confiderable to him. 
 
 In 1744, he wrote the " Preface" for 
 the Gentleman's Magazine, and the Pre- 
 face to the Harlclan Mifcdlany, The felec- 
 tion of the pamphlets of which it was com- 
 pofed was made by Mr. Oldys, a man of 
 eager curiofity, and indefatigable diligence, 
 to whom Englifh literature owes many ob- 
 ligations. 
 
 The fame year he produced one work 
 fully fufHcient to maintain the high repu- 
 tation which he had acquired. This was 
 the Life of Savage, which he had announ- 
 ced his intention of writing in the " Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine," for Auguft 1743. It 
 is faid by Sir John Hawkins, that he com- 
 pofed the whole of it in thirty-fix hours ; 
 
 iij
 
 [ 7 1 
 
 but Mr. Bofwell flares, upon Johnfon's 
 own authority, that he compofed forty- 
 eight of the prefent oclavo pages at a fit- 
 ting, but that he fat up all night. It came 
 out in February, from the fliop of Roberts, 
 who, in April following, republifhed his 
 Life of Bar et tier, in a feparate pamphlet. 
 It was no fooner publifhed than the fol- 
 lowing liberal praife was given to it by 
 Fielding, in " The Champion/' which was 
 copied into the " Gentleman's Magazine" 
 for April, and confirmed by the approba- 
 tion of the public. 
 
 " This pamphlet is, without flattery to 
 its author, as jufl and well-written a piece 
 of its kind as I ever faw. It is certainly 
 penned with equal accuracy and fpirit, of 
 which I am fo much the better judge, as I 
 knew many of the fads to be flridly true, 
 and very fairly related. It is a very a~ 
 mufing, and withal a very inftruclive and 
 valuable performance. The author's ob-
 
 [ 7i 3 
 
 fefvations are mort, fignificant, and jufl, as 
 his narrative is remarkably fmooth, and 
 well difpofed. His reflections open to all 
 the recefies of the human heart , and, in 
 a word, a more jufl or pleafant, ~a more, 
 engaging, or a more inftruclive treatife on 
 all the excellencies and defects of human 
 nature, is fcarce to be found in our own, 
 or perhaps any other language." 
 
 Johnfon had now lived nearly half his 
 days, without friends or lucrative profef- 
 flon ; he had toiled and laboured, yet ftill, 
 as he himfelf exprefles it, was " to provide 
 for the day that was pafling over him." Of 
 the profeflion of an unfriended author he 
 few the danger and the difficulties. Am- 
 hurft, who had conducted " The Craftk 
 man," Savage, Boyfe, and others who had 
 laboured in literature, without emerging 
 from diftrefs, were recent examples, an4 
 clouded his prolped. 
 
 E inj
 
 [ 72 I 
 
 Sir John Hawkins has preferved a lift of 
 literary projects, not lefs than thirty-nine 
 articles, which he had farmed in the courfe 
 of his fludies ; but fuch was his want of 
 encouragement, or the verfatility of his 
 temper, that not one of all his fchemes 
 was ever executed. 
 
 A new edition of Shakfpeare now oc- 
 curred to him, and, as a prelude to it, in 
 April 1745, he publiihed a pamphlet, in- 
 tituled Mifcellaneous Obfervations on the Tra- 
 gedy of Macbeth ,<with Remarks on Sir Thomas 
 Hanmers edition of Shakfpeare ; to which is 
 affixed* firopofals for a new edition of Shak- 
 
 **/ * 4 f */ +J / 
 
 Jpeare^ with a Specimen^ 8vo. The notice 
 of the public was, however, not excited to 
 his anonymous propofals for the execution 
 of a tafk which Warburton was known to 
 have undertaken ; the project, therefore, 
 died at that time, to revive at a future pe- 
 riod. Kis pamphlet, however, was highly 
 efteemed, and even the fupercilious War-
 
 [ 73 ] 
 
 burton, in the " Preface" to his Shak- 
 fpeare, publifhed two years afterwards, had 
 the candour to exempt it from his general 
 cenfure " of thofe things which have been 
 publifhed under the titles of " EfTays," " Re- 
 marks," " Obfervations," &c. on " Shak- 
 fpeare," and fpoke of it as the work of 
 " a man of great parts and genius." This 
 obligation Johnfon always acknowledged 
 in terms of gratitude. " He praifed me 
 (faid he) at a time when praife was of va- 
 lue to me." 
 
 In the year 1746, which was marked 
 by a civil war in Britain, when a rafh at- 
 tempt was made to reflore the houfe of 
 Stuart to the throne, his literary career 
 appears to have been almoft totally fufy 
 pended. His attachment to that unfortu- 
 nate family is well known ; fome may ima- 
 gine that a fympathetic anxiety impeded 
 the exertion of his intellectual powers ; 
 but it is probable that he was, during that
 
 ." v.jj; ' "C 74 3 ' ; :"'': 
 
 time,, employed upon his Skatypeafc, or 
 Sketching the outlines of his Dictionary of 
 the Engli/h Language. 
 
 Having formed and digefted the plan of 
 his great philological work, which might 
 then be efleemed one of the defiderata of 
 Englifh literature, he communicated it to 
 the public, in 1747, in a pamphlet intitu- 
 led, The Plan of a Dictionary of the Englfo 
 Language^ addreffcd to the Right Honourable 
 Philip Dormer, Earl of Chejlerfield, one of bis 
 Majeftys Secretaries of State. The hint o 
 undertaking this work is faid to have been 
 firfl fuggefled to Johnfon by Dodfley, who 
 contracted with him for the execution of 
 it in conjunction with Mr. Charles Hitch,* 
 Mr. Andrew Millar, the two Meflrs. Long- 
 man, and the two Meflrs. Knapton. The 
 price ftipulated was 1575!. 
 
 The Plan has not only the fubftantial 
 merit of comprehenlion, perfpicuity, and 
 precifion, but the language of it is unexr
 
 ceptionabiy excellent ; and never was there 
 a. more dignified ftrain of compliment 
 than that in which he courts the atten - 
 tion of Chefterfield, who was very ambi- 
 bitious of literary diflindion, and who, 
 upon being informed of the defign, had 
 exprefied himfelf in terms very favourable 
 to its fuccefs. The way in which it came 
 to be infcribed to Chefterfield was this : 
 " I had neglected," fays he, " to write it 
 by the time appointed. Dodiley fuggefb- 
 jed a defire to have it addrefTed to Lord 
 Cheflerfield. I laid hold of this as a pre^ 
 text for delay, that it might be better 
 done, and let Dodfley have his defire." 
 The Plan itfelf, however, proves that the 
 Earl not only favoured the defign, but that 
 there had been a particular communica- 
 tion with his Lordfhip concerning it. 
 
 To enable him to complete this vaft un- 
 dertaking, he hired a houfe in Gough- 
 Square, Fleet-Street, fitted up one of the
 
 [ 7 3 
 
 upper rooms after the manner of a count- 
 ing-houfe, and employed fix amanuenfes 
 there in tranfcribing ; five of whom were 
 natives of North Britain, Mr. Macbean, au- 
 thor of " A Syftem of Ancient Geogra- 
 phy," &c. Mr. Shiels, the principal col- 
 lector and digefler of the materials for the 
 " Lives of the Poets 1753," to which the 
 name of Mr. Theo. Gibber is prefixed ; 
 Mr. Stewart, fon of Mr. George Stewart, 
 bookfeller in Edinburgh ; and a Mr. Mait- 
 land : the fixth was Mr. Peyton, a French 
 mafter, who publifhed fome elementary 
 tracls. The words, partly taken from o- 
 ther dictionaries, and partly fupplied by 
 himfelf, having been firfl written down, 
 with fpaces left between them, he deliver- 
 ed in writing their etymologies, defini- 
 tions, and various fignifications. The au- 
 thorities were copied from the books 
 themfelves, in which he had marked the
 
 [ 77 ] 
 
 pafiages with a black lead pencil, the traces 
 of which could eafily be effaced. 
 
 This year he contributed to the " Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine," for May, five fhort 
 poetical pieces. " A tranilation of a La- 
 tin Epitaph on Sir Thomas Hanmer," " To 
 
 Mifs , on her giving the author a gold 
 
 and lilk net-work purfe of her own wea- 
 ving," " Stella in Mourning," " The Win- 
 ter's Walk," " An Ode," and " To Lyce, 
 an elderly Lady," diftinguifhed by three 
 afterifks. In the Magazine for December, 
 he inferted an Ode on Winter, which is one 
 of the beft of his lyric compoiitions. 
 
 In September, this year, his fortunate 
 pupil, Garrick, having become joint-pa- 
 tentee and manager of Drury-lane theatre, 
 he furnifhed him with a Prologue at the 
 opening of it, which, for juft and manly 
 criticifm, as well as for poetical-excellence, 
 is unrivalled in that fpecies of compofi- 
 tion.
 
 . ,- E ?* i - ;;,; 
 
 In 1748, ^rhile he was employed in ni 
 Ditfionary, he exerted his talents in occa-* 
 fional corripofition, very different from 
 lexicography, and formed a club that met 
 at Horfeman's chop-houfe in Ivy-lane, 
 Pater-nofter Row, every Tuefday evening, 
 with a view to enjoy literary difcuflion, 
 and the pleafure of animated relaxation. 
 The members afibciated with him in this 
 little fociety, were his beloved friend, Dr. 
 Richard Bathurft, a phyfician, Dr. Hawked- 
 worth, Dr. Salter, father of the late mailer 
 of the charter-houfe, Mr. Ryland, a mer^ 
 chant, Mr. John Payne, then a bookfellcr 
 in Pater-nofter Row, 'Mr. Samuel Dyer, 
 a learned young > man, intended for the 
 duTenting miniftry, Dr. William M'Ghie, 
 a Scotch ^phyfician, Dr. Edmund Barker, 
 a young phylician, and Sir John Hawkins. 
 The endowments of Mr. Dyer are repre- 
 fented by Sir John Hawkins as of fuch a 
 fuperior kind, " that in fome i
 
 ; t 79 ] :.;.-> --;', 
 
 Johnfon might almofl be faid to have look- 
 ed up to him." They ufed to difpute in 
 this club, about the moral fenfe and the//- 
 nefs of things, but Johnfon was not uniform 
 in his opinions ; contending as often for 
 victory as truth. This infirmity attended 
 him through life. 
 
 In this year he publifhed, in the " Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine" for May, The Life of 
 Rofcommon, which has fince been inferted 
 in his " Lives of the Poets." He wrote 
 alfo the Preface to Dodfley's " Preceptor," 
 and the Vifion of Theodore, the Hermit of Te- 
 neriffe, found in his cell, a moft beautiful 
 allegory of human life, under the figure 
 of afcending the mountain of exigence, 
 which he himfelf thought the beft of his 
 
 writings. 
 
 . In January 1 749, he publimed The Va- 
 nity of. Human Wijhes, being the tenth Satire 
 of Juvenal imitated, with his name. Of this 
 poem, he compofed feventy lines in one
 
 [ 8o | . 
 
 day, without putting one of them upon 
 paper till tfrey were finifhed. He received 
 of Dodfley, for the copy, only fifteen gui- 
 neas. It has been thought to have lefs of 
 common life, and more of a philofophic 
 dignity than his London. It is character- 
 ized by profound reflection, more than 
 pointed fpirit. It has, however, always 
 been held in high efleem, and is certainly 
 as great an effort of ethic poetry as any 
 language can (how. The inflances of the 
 variety of difappointment are chofen fo 
 judicioufly, and painted fo ftrongly, that 
 the moment they are read, they bring con- 
 viction to every thinking mind. 
 
 On the 8th of February this year, his 
 tragedy of Irene, which had been long kept 
 back for want of encouragement, was 
 brought upon the flage at Drury-Lane, by 
 the kindnefs of Garrick. A violent dif- 
 pute arofe between him and the manager, 
 relative to the alterations neceflary to be
 
 [ 8i ] 
 
 ade to fit it for the theatre. The poet 
 for a long time refufed to fubmit his lines 
 to the critical amputation of the aclor,- and 
 the latter was obliged to apply to Dr. Tay- 
 lor to become a mediator in the difpute. 
 Johnfon's pride at length gave way to al- 
 terations ; but whether to the full extent 
 .of the manager's wifhes, is not known. 
 Dr. Adams was prefent the firfl night of 
 the reprefentation, and gave Mr. Bofwell 
 the following account : "Before "-the cur- 
 tain drew up, there were catcalls whiftling, 
 which alarmed Johnfon's friends. The 
 prologue, which was written by himfelf, 
 in a manly drain, foothed the audience, 
 and the play went off tolerably till it came 
 to the concluflon, when Mrs. PritcLard, 
 the heroine of the piece, was to be 
 ftrangled upon the flage, and was to fpeak 
 two lines with the bow firing round her 
 neck. The audience cried out, " Mur- 
 der ! Murder ! " She feveral times attempt- 
 s'
 
 [ 82 ] 
 
 ed to fpeak, but > in vain. At laft me was 
 obliged to go off the ftage alive." This 
 paiTage was afterwards ftruck out, and fhe 
 was carried off to be put to death behind 
 the fcenes, as the play now has it. Mr. 
 Bofwell afcribes the epilogue to Sir Wil- 
 liam Yonge ; but upon no good founda- 
 tion. 
 
 In the unfavourable decifion of the pu- 
 blic upon his tragedy, Johnfon acquiefced 
 without a murmur. He was convinced 
 that he had not the talents neceflary to 
 write fuccefsfully for the ftage, and never 
 made another attempt in that fpecies of 
 compofition. 
 
 In December this year, he wrote the 
 Preface and Poftfcript to Lauder's " EiTay 
 on Milton's Ufe, and Imitation of the Mo- 
 derns, in his Paradife Loft," 8vo, a book 
 made up of forgeries, and publifhed to 
 impofe upon mankind. Sir John Haw- 
 kins tells. us, that Johnfon aflifted Lauder
 
 r 8 3 ] 
 
 from motives of enmity to the memory of 
 Milton; but it appears, that while Lau- 
 der's work was in the prefs, the proof 
 fheets were fubmitted to the infpeclion of 
 the Ivy-Lane Club. If Johnfon approved 
 of the defign, it was no longer than while 
 he believed it founded in fad:. With the 
 reft of the club, he was in one common 
 error. As foon as Dr. Douglas, now Bi- 
 fhop of Salifbury, efpoufed the caufe of 
 truth, and with ability that will ever do 
 him honour, dragged the impoftor to open 
 daylight, Johnfon made ample reparation 
 to the genius of Milton. He not only 
 difclaimed the fraud, but infilled on the 
 impoftor confeffing his offence ; and for 
 this purpofe drew up a recantation, which 
 Lauder figned. ,ana publifhed, intituled, 
 " A letter to the Rev. Mr. Douglas, oc- 
 cafioned by his Vindication of Milton," 
 by William Lauder, M. A. 4to, 1751. 
 The franknefs of this confeffion would 
 
 Fij
 
 [ 84 ] 
 
 have made fome atonement for the bale- 
 nefs of the attempt, and its abje& humi- 
 lity been deemed a fufficient punifhment 
 of the impoftor, if that unhappy man had 
 not had the folly and wickednefs after- 
 wards to deny this apology, and reaflert 
 his former accufation, in a pamphlet in- 
 tituled, " King Charles Vindicated from 
 the Charge of Plagiarifm, brought againft 
 him by Milton, and Milton himfelf con- 
 vided of Forgery and a grofs impolition 
 on the Public," 8vo, 1755. This effort 
 of fpleen and malice was alfo abortive ; 
 and Lauder foon afterwards retired to 
 Barbadoes, where he died, as he had lived, 
 an object of general contempt, in 1771. 
 
 On the 2oth March 1750, he publifhed 
 the iirft paper of the Rambler, and conti- 
 nued it without interruption every Tuef- 
 day and Friday, till the i7th of March 
 1752, when it clofed. In carrying on this 
 periodical publication, he feems neither
 
 to have courted, nor to have met with 
 much affiftance, the number of papers 
 contributed by others amounting only to 
 five in number, four billets in No. 10, by 
 Mrs. Chapone, No. 30, by Mrs. Talbot, 
 No. 97, by Richardfon, and Nos. 44 v and 
 100, by Mifs Carter. Thefe admirable 
 eflays, we are told by Mr, Bofwell, were 
 written in hafle, jufl as they were wanted 
 for the prefs, without even being read over 
 by him before they were printed. 
 
 Making every allowance for powers far 
 exceeding the ufual 1 lot of man, flill there 
 are bounds which 1 we mufl fet to our be- 
 lief upon this head. It is not at every 
 feafon that the mind can concentrate its 
 faculties to a particular fubjecT: with equal 
 ftrength, or that the fancy can create ima- 
 gery fpontaneoully to adorn and enforce 
 its reafonings. That Johnfon* fometimes 
 felected his fubjed, culled his images, and 
 arranged his arguments for thefe papers. 
 
 F iij
 
 [ 86 ] 
 
 is evident from the notes of his common- 
 place book, preferved by Sir John Haw- 
 kins and Mr. Bofwell. When he planned 
 fome effays with fuch minute carefulnefs, 
 it is not ' likely that he trufted wholly to 
 
 the fudden.effunons of his mind for the 
 
 , * 
 
 remainder. Thofe which are taken from 
 the notes of his common-place book, do 
 npt manifeft by an excellence fuperior to 
 the reft, peculiar labours of mind in the 
 conception, or pains in the competition ; 
 and we cannot fuppofe a man fo happy in 
 his genius, that the new-born offspring of 
 his brain mould invariably appear as flrong 
 and perfect as thofe \vhich have been ma- 
 tured, famioned, and polifhed by fedulous 
 reflection. This, therefore, appears to be 
 moft probable, with refpecl to the won- 
 derful faculty which he* is faid to have 
 manifested in this and other of his works ; 
 that during his fleeplefs nights and fre- 
 quent abftradions from company, he con-
 
 [ 87 ] 
 
 s 
 
 ceived and fketched much of an impend- 
 ing work ; that though he had in fome 
 degree preconceived his materials, he com- 
 mitted nothing to paper, juil as he is known 
 to have done in competing his Vanity of 
 Human Wijhes. If this fuppofition ftrips 
 the account of wonder, it invefls it with 
 probability, fince a man of his powers of 
 mind and habits of compofition, might 
 well write an efTay at a fitting, and with- 
 out a blot, when he had little more to at- 
 tend to, than to clothe his conceptions in 
 vigorous language, modulated into fono- 
 rous periods. 
 
 The Rambler was not fuccefsful as a pe- 
 riodical work, not more than five hundred 
 copies of any one number having been 
 ever printed. Of courfe, the bookfeller, 
 who paid Johnfon four guineas a-week, 
 did not carry on a very fuccefsful trade ; 
 his generofity and perfeverance are to be 
 commended. While it was coming out; 
 
 F iiij
 
 [ 88 ] 
 
 in fingle papers at London, Mr. James 
 Elphinftone fuggefted, and took the charge 
 of an edition at Edinburgh, which fol- 
 lowed progreflively the London publica- 
 tion, printed by Sands, Murray and Coch- 
 rane, with uncommon elegance, upon 
 writing paper, of a duodecimo fize, and 
 was completed in eight volumes. Soon 
 after the fir ft folio edition was concluded, 
 it was publifhed in four octavo volumes ; 
 and Johnfon lived to fee a juft tribute of 
 approbation paid to its merit in the ex- 
 tenfivenefs of its fale, ten numerous edi- 
 tions of it having been printed in Lon- 
 don, before his death, befides thofe of Ire- 
 land and Scotland. 
 
 This year he wrote a Prologue, which 
 was fpoken by Garrick, before the acting 
 of Comus," at Drury-Lane theatre, 
 April 5, for the benefit of Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Fofter, Milton's grand-daughter, and the 
 only furviving branch of his family, and 
 
 *
 
 took very zealous intereft in the fuc- 
 cefs of the charity. Toiifon, the book- 
 feller, gave 20!. and Dr. Newton brought 
 a large contribution ; yet all their efforts, 
 joined to the allurements of Johnfon's pen, 
 and Garrick's performance, procured only 
 130!. 
 
 In 1751, while he was employed both 
 on the Rambler and his Dictionary, he wrote 
 the Life of Cbeynell, in " The Student, or 
 the Oxford and Cambridge Mifcellany," 
 a periodical work, in which Smart, Col- 
 man, Thornton, and other wits of both 
 the univerfities, diflinguiflied their talents. 
 
 Sir John Hawkins relates, that in the 
 fpring of this year, he indulged himfelf 
 in a frolic of midnight revelry. This was 
 to celebrate the birth of Mrs. Lennox's 
 nrft literary child, the novel of " Harriet 
 Stuart." He drew the members of the 
 Ivy-Lane Club, and others, to the num- 
 ber of twenty, to the Devil Tavern, where
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 Mrs. Lennox and her hufband met them. 
 Johnfon, after an invocation of the mufes, 
 and fome other ceremonies of his own in- 
 vention, inverted the authorefs with a lau- 
 rel crown. The feflivity was protracted 
 till morning, and Johnfon through the 
 night was a Bachanalian, without the ufe 
 of wine. 
 
 Though his.circumftances, at this time, ^ 
 were far from being eafy, he received as 
 a conflant vifitor at his houfe, Mifs Anna 
 Williams, daughter of a Welfh phyfician, 
 and a woman of more than ordinary ta- 
 lents and literature, who had juft loft her 
 fight. She had contracted a clofe inti- 
 macy with his wife ; and after her death, 
 {he had an apartment from him, at all 
 times when he had a houfe. In 1755, 
 Gar rick gave her a benefit, which produ- 
 ced 200!. In 1 766, me publifhed a quarto 
 volume of " Mifcellanies," and thereby 
 increafed her little flock to 300!. This,
 
 and Johnfon's protection, fupported her 
 during the reft of her life. 
 
 In 1752, he republifhed his verfion of 
 Pope's Mejfiab, in the Gentleman's Maga- 
 zine. Soon after his cloflng the Rambler, 
 March 2, he fuffered a lofs which affected 
 him with the deepeft diftrefs. On the 
 iyth of March, O. S. his wife died ; and 
 after a cohabitation of feventeen years, 
 left him a childlefs widower, abandoned 
 to forrow, and incapable of confolation. 
 She was buried in the chapel of Bromley 
 in Kent, under the care of his friend, Dr. 
 Hawkefworth, who refided at that place. 
 In the interval between her death and 
 burial, he compofed a funeral fe rmon for 
 her, which was never preached ; but, be- 
 ing given to Dr. Taylor, has been publifh- 
 ed lince his death. With the Angularity 
 of his prayers for Tetty, from that time 
 to the end of his life, the world is fuffi- 
 ciently acquainted. By her firft hufband
 
 C 92 ] 
 
 fhe left a daughter, and a fon, a captain 
 in the navy, who, at his death, left io,oool. 
 to his fifter. 
 
 On this melancholy event Johnfon felt 
 the mofl poignant diflrefs. She is, how- 
 ever, reported not to have been worthy 
 of this fincere attachment. Mrs. Defmou- 
 lins, who lived for fome time with her at 
 Hampflead, told Mr. Bofwell, that fhe in- 
 dulged herfelf in country air and nice li- 
 ving, at an unfuitable expence, while her 
 hufband was drudging in the fmoke of 
 London ; that fhe was negligent of eco- 
 nomy in her domeftic affairs ; and that 
 fhe by no means treated him with that 
 complacency which is the molt engaging 
 quality in a wife. But all this is perfect- 
 ly compatible with his fondnefs for her ; 
 efpecially when it is remembered, that he 
 had a high opinion of her underftanding ; 
 and that the impreffion which her beau- 
 'v, real, or imaginary, had originally made
 
 [ 93 1 
 
 upon, his imagination, being continued by 
 habit, had not been effaced, though me 
 herfelf was, doubtlefs, much altered for 
 the worfe. Sir John Hawkins has declared 
 himfelf inclined to think, " that if this 
 fondnefs of Johnfon for his wife was not 
 difTembled, it was a lefibn that he had 
 learned by rote ; and that when he pracTifed 
 it, he knew not where to flop, until he be- 
 came ridiculous." To argue from her be- 
 ing much older than Johnfon, or any other 
 circumflances, that he could not really 
 love her, is abfurd ; for love is not a fub- 
 jec~t of reafoning, but of feeling \ and, 
 therefore, there are no common principles 
 upon which one can perfuade another con- 
 cerning it. That Johnfon married her for 
 love is believed. During her life he was 
 fond and indulgent. At her death he was 
 agonized ; and, ever after, cherifhed her 
 image as the companion of his mofl fo- 
 lemn hours. If feventeen years pafled ki
 
 [ 94 ] 
 
 acls of tendernefs during their union, and 
 a longer period fpent in regret after death 
 had divided them, cannot fix our opinion 
 that Johnfon's fondnefs was not the effect 
 of dilfimulation, or the unfelt leflbn of a 
 parrot, where (hall we fix bounds to fuf- 
 picion, or place limits to the prefumption 
 of man, in palling fentence upon the feel- 
 ings of his neighbour ? 
 
 The following authentic and artlefs ac- 
 count of his fituation after his wife's death, 
 was given to Mr. Bofwell, by Francis Bar- 
 bar, his faithful negro-fervant, who was 
 brought from Jamaica by Colonel Bathurft, 
 father of his friend Dr. Bathurft, and 
 came into his family about a fortnight 
 after the difmal event. 
 
 " He was in great affliction : Mifs Wil- 
 liams was then living in his houfe, which 
 was in Gough-Square. He was bufy with 
 his Dictionary ; Mr. Shiels, and fome others 
 of the gentlemen who had formerly writ-
 
 [ 95 1 
 
 ten for him, ufed to come about him. He 
 had then little for himfelf ; but frequent- 
 ly fent money to Mr. Shiels, when in dif- 
 trefs. The friends who vilited him at that 
 time, were chiefly Dr. Bathurfl r and Mr. 
 Diamond, an apothecary in Cork-Street, 
 Burlington-Gardens, with whom he and 
 Mifs Williams generally dined every Sun- 
 day. There was a talk of his going to 
 Ireland with him, which would proba- 
 bly have happened had he lived. There 
 were alfo Mr. Cave, Dr. Hakefworth, Mr. 
 Ryland merchant on Tower-hill, Mrs. 
 Matters the poetefs, who lived with Mr. 
 Cave, Mrs. Carter, and fometimes Mrs. 
 Macaulay ; alfo Mrs. Gardiner, wife of a 
 tallow-chandler in Snowhill, not in the 
 learned way, but a worthy good woman ; 
 Mr. (now) Sir Jofhua Reynolds^ Mr. Mil- 
 lar, Mr. Dodfley, Mr. Bouquet, Mr. Payne 
 of Pater-nofter Row, bookfeller ; Mr.
 
 [ 96 ] 
 
 Strahan the printer ; the Earl of Orrery, 
 Lord Southwell, Mr. Garrick, &c." 
 
 Johnfon feems to have fought a remed)- 
 for this deprivation of domeftip fociety, 
 in the company of his acquaintance, the 
 circle of which was now very extenfive. 
 Among his more intimate companions at 
 this time, are to be reckoned, Dr. Ba- 
 thurft, Dr. Hakefworth, Sir Joflma Rey- 
 nolds; and Bemiet Langton, Efq. and 
 Topham Beauclerck, Efq. eldefl foil of 
 Lord Sidney Beauclerck, young men of 
 elegant manners, who conceived for him 
 the mofl fincere veneration and elteem. 
 Innumerable were the fcenes in which 
 he was amufed by them, who, though 
 their opinions and modes of life were dif- 
 ferent, formed an agreeable attachment. 
 
 Mr. Bofweil has given the following ac- 
 count of an adventure of Johnfon's, with 
 his gay companions, which difplays the 
 author of the Rambler in a new light, and
 
 t 97 3 
 
 ihows that his conduct was not always fo 
 folemn as his eflays. 
 
 " One night when Beauclerck and 
 Langton had flipped at a tavern in Lon- 
 don, and fat till about three in the morn- 
 ing, it came into their heads to go and 
 knock up Johnfon, and fee if they could 
 prevail on him to join them in a ramble. 
 They rapped violently at the door of his 
 chambers in the Temple, till, at laft, he 
 appeared in his (hirt, with his little black 
 wig on the top of his head, inftead of a 
 night cap, and a poker in his hand ; ima- 
 gining, probably, that fome ruffians were 
 coming to attack him. When he difcover- 
 ed who they were, and was told their errand, 
 he fmiled, and with great good humour, 
 agreed to their propofal. " What ! is it 
 you, ye dogs ! I'll have a frifk with you." 
 He was foon dreffed ', and they fallied forth 
 together into Govent-Garden, where the 
 green grocers and fruiterers were begin-
 
 [ 98 ] 
 
 ning to arrange their hampers juft corne 
 in from the country. Johnfon made fome 
 attempts to help them ; but the honefl 
 gardeners flared fo at his figure and man- 
 ner, and odd interference, that he foon 
 faw his fervices were not relifhed. They 
 .then repaired to one of the neighbouring 
 taverns, and made a bowl of that liquor 
 called Bt/hop, which Johnfon had always 
 liked ; while in joyous contempt of ileep, 
 from which he had been roufed, he re- 
 peated the feftive lines, ..-.:. 
 
 Short, O fliort then be thy reign, 
 And give us to the world again ! 
 
 " They did not flay long, but walked 
 down to the Thames, took a boat, and 
 rowed to Billingfgate. Beauclerck and John- 
 fon were fo well pleafed with their amufe- 
 ment, that they refolved to perfevere in 
 dillipation for the refl of the day) but 
 Langton deferted them, being engaged to 
 breakfafl with fome young ladies."
 
 , v ,,.,,,;, t 99 ] , 
 
 In the catalogue of Johnfon's vifitants, 
 given by his fervant, many are no doubt 
 omitted ; in particular, his humble friend 
 Robert Levett, an bbfcure practifer in phy-> 
 fie amongft the lower people, with whom 
 he had been acquainted from the year 
 1746. Such was his predilection for him > 
 and fanciful eflimation of his moderate a- 
 bilities, that he confulted him in all that 
 related to his health, and " made him fo 
 neceflary to him, as hardly to be able to 
 live without him," He now drew him 
 into a clofer intimacy with him, and not 
 long after, gave him an apartment in his 
 houfe; of which he continued a conftant 
 inmate during the remainder of his life. 
 He waited uponhim every morning through 
 the whole courfe of his tedious breakfaft, 
 and was feen generally no more by him 
 till midnight. He was of a ftrange gro- 
 tefque appearance ; ftiff and formal in his 
 manner, and feidom faid a word while any" 
 
 Gij
 
 [ TOO ] 
 
 company was prefent. He married, when 
 he was near fixty, a flreet-walker, who 
 perfuaded him that fhe was a woman of fa- 
 mily and fortune. His character was ren- 
 dered valuable by repeated proofs of ho- 
 nefty, tendernefs, and gratitude to his be* 
 nefadlor, as well as by an unceafing dili- 
 gence in his profeflion. His fmgle failing 
 was an occafional departure from fo- 
 briety. 
 
 In a fliort time after the Rambler ceafed, 
 Dr. Hawkefworth projected the " Adven- 
 turer," in connection with Bonnel Thorn- 
 ton, Dr. Bathurfl and others. The firfl 
 number was publifhed, November 7. 1752, 
 and the paper continued twice a-week, till 
 March 9. 1754. Thornton's afliftance was 
 foon withdrawn, and he fet up a new paper, 
 in conjunction with Colman, called the 
 " ConnouTeur." 
 
 Johnfon was zealous for the fuccefs of 
 the " Adventurer," which was at firft ra-
 
 [ 101 ] 
 
 ther more fuccefsful than the Rambler. He 
 engaged the affiftance of Dr. Warton, \vhofe 
 admirable efiays are well known. April 
 10. 1753, he began to write in it, marking 
 his papers with the fignature 7*; all of 
 which, except thofe which have alfo the fig- 
 nature Mifargyrus (by Dr. Bathurft), are 
 his. His price was two guineas for each 
 paper. Of all thefe papers, he gave both 
 the fame and the profit to Dr. Bathurfh 
 Indeed, the latter wrote them while John- 
 fon dictated ; though he confidered it as a 
 point of honour not to own them. He 
 even ufed to fay he did not write them, on 
 the pretext that he diftated them only ; al- 
 lowing himfelf, by this cafuiflry,to be " ac- 
 cefiary to the propagation of falfehood," 
 though his confcience had been hurt by 
 even the appearance of impofition in writ- 
 ing the Parliamentary Debates. This year 
 he wrote for Mrs. Lennox, the Dedication tc 
 
 G iij
 
 the Earl of Orrery, of her " Shakfpeare II- 
 luftrated," 2 vols. i2mo. 
 
 The death of Mr. Cave, January i o. 1 754, 
 gave him an opportnity of fhewing his re- 
 gard for his early patron, by writing hi$ 
 Life, which was publifhed in the " Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine" for February. This 
 feems to have been the only new per- 
 formance of that year, except his papers 
 in the " Adventurer." In the end of July, 
 he found leifure to make an excurlion tp 
 Oxford, for the purpofe of confu.Iting the 
 libraries there. " He flayed," fays Mr, 
 Warton, " about five weeks ; but he col- 
 lected nothing in the libraries for his Dic- 
 tionary.' 1 
 
 As the Diftiotmry drew towards a con- 
 clufion, Chefterfield, who had previoufly 
 treated Johnfon with unpardonable neglect 
 (which was the real caufe of the breach 
 between them, and not the commonly re- 
 ceived ftory of Johnfon's being denied ad*
 
 [ 103 ] 
 
 mittance while Gibber was with his. lord- 
 fliip), now as meanly courted a reconcilia- 
 tion with him, in hopes of being immor- 
 talized in a dedication. With this view, 
 he wrote two efiuys in " The World" in 
 praife of the Dictionary, and, according to 
 Sir John Hawkins, fent Sir Thomas Ro- 
 binfon to him, for the fame purpofe. But 
 Johnfon, who had not renounced the con- 
 nection, but upon the juft grounds of con- 
 tinued neglect, was fenlible, that to lifteii 
 to an accomn>odation, would be to ex- 
 change dignity for a friendfhip trifling in 
 its value, and precarious in its tenure. He 
 therefore rejected his advances, and fpurn- 
 ed his proffered patronage, by the follow- 
 ing letter, dated February 1755, which is 
 preferved here as a model of courtly far- 
 cafm, and manly repreheniioii, couched in 
 terms equally refpedlful in their form, and 
 cutting in their eflence. It affords the 
 nobleft leflbn to both authors and patrons 
 
 G iiij
 
 that {lands upon record in the annals of 
 literary hiflory. 
 
 " I have been lately informed by the 
 proprietor of " The World," that two 
 papers in which my Dictionary is recom- 
 mended to the public, were written by 
 your Lordfhip. To be fo diftinguifhed, is 
 an honour, which, being very little accuf- 
 tomed to favours from the great, I know 
 not well how to receive, or in what terms 
 to acknowledge, 
 
 " When, upon fome flight encourage- 
 ment, I firft vifited your Lordfhip, I was 
 overpowered, like the reft of mankind, by 
 your addrefs, and could not forbear to wifh 
 that I might boa ft myfelf Le vainqueur du 
 vainqueur dt la terre^ that I might obtain 
 that regard for which I faw the world con- 
 tending ; but I found my attendance fa 
 little encouraged, that neither pjride nor 
 modefty would fufier me to continue it. 
 When I had once addreflTed your Lordfhip
 
 r 105 i 
 
 , s 
 
 in public, I had exhaufled all the art of 
 pleafing, which a retired and uncourtly 
 fcholar can pofiefs. I had done all that I 
 could; and no man is well pleafed to have 
 his all neglected, be it ever fo little. 
 
 " Seven years, my Lord, have now pafTed 
 fince I waited in your outward rooms, or 
 was repulfed from your door ; during which 
 time, I have been pufhing on my work 
 through difficulties, of which it is ufelefs 
 to complain, and have brought it, at lafl, to 
 the verge of publication, without one acl: 
 of affiftance, one word of encouragement, 
 or one fmile of favour. Such treatment I 
 
 did not exped, for I never had a patron 
 
 . i , . 
 
 before. 
 
 " The Shepherd in Virgil grew at lafl 
 acquainted with Love>4bd' found him a 
 native of the rocks. 
 
 " Is not a patron, my Lord, one who 
 looks with unconcern on a man ftruggling 
 for life in the water, and, when he has
 
 [ 106 ] 
 
 reached ground, encumbers him with help? 
 The notice which you have been pleafed 
 to take of my labours,. had it been early, 
 had been kind : but it has been delayed 
 till I am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it; 
 till I am folitary, and cannot impart it ;' till 
 I am known, and do not want it: I hope 
 it is no very cynical afperity, not. to con- 
 fefs obligations where no benefit has been 
 received, or to be unwilling that the public 
 mould confider me as owing that to a pa- 
 tron, which Providence has enabled me to 
 do for myfelf. 
 
 " Having carried on my work thus far, 
 with fo little obligation to any favourer of 
 learning, I fhail not be difappointed though 
 J fhould conclude it, if lefs be poflible, 
 with lefs ; for I have been long wakened 
 from that dream of hope, in which I once 
 boafted myfelf with fo much exultation, 
 jVIy Lord, your, &c."
 
 t 107- ] 
 
 Johnfon, however, acknowledged to Mr, 
 Langton, that " he did once receive ten 
 pounds from Lord Chefterfield ; but that, 
 as that was fo inconfiderable a firm, he 
 thought the mention of it could not pro- 
 perly find place in a letter of the kind 
 that this was." Chefterfield read the letter 
 So Dodfley with an. air of indifference, 
 " fmiled at the feveral paffages, and ob- 
 ferved how well they were exprefTed." He 
 cxcufed his neglect of Johnfon, by faying, 
 " that he had heard he had changed his 
 lodgings, an4 did not know where he 
 lived ;" and declared, " that he would have 
 turned off the beft fervant he ever had, if 
 he had known that he denied him to a 
 man who would have been always more 
 than welcome/' Of Chefterfield's general 
 affability a^d eafinefs of accefs, efpecially 
 to literary men, the evidence is unquef- 
 tionable ; but, from the character which 
 he gave of Johnfon, in his " Letters to his
 
 Son" [Let. 112.], and the difference in 
 their manners, little union or friendfhip 
 could be looked for between them. Cer- 
 tain it is, however, that Johnfon remained 
 under an obligation to Chefterfield, to the 
 value of ten pounds. 
 
 On the loth of February, previous to 
 the publication of his Diftionary, the Uni- 
 verfity of Oxford, in anticipation of the 
 excellence of this work, at the folicitation 
 of his friend Mr. Warton, unanimoufly 
 conferred upon him the degree of Mailer 
 of Arts; which, it has been obferved, could 
 not be obtained for him at an early period, 
 but was now confidered as an honour of 
 confiderable importance, in order to grace 
 the title page of his Diflionary. 
 
 At length, in May following, his Diflio- 
 nary, with a Grammar and Hi/lory of the 
 EngKJb Language, was publifhed in 2 vols. 
 folio; and was received by the learned 
 world, who had long wifhed for its appear-
 
 t 109 3 
 
 ance, with an applaufe proportionable to 
 the impatience which the promife of it 
 had excited. Though we may believe 
 him, in the declaration arthe end of his 
 Preface, that he " difmifled it with frigid 
 tranquillity, having little to fear or hope 
 from cenfure or from praife ;" we cannot 
 but fuppofe that he was pleafed " in the 
 gloom of folitude," with the honour it pro- 
 cured him, both abroad and at home. The 
 Earl of Corke and Orrery, being at Flo- 
 rence, prefented it to the Academla della 
 Crufca. That academy fent Johnfon their 
 Vocabulary), and the French Academy fent 
 him their Biffionalrt, by Mr. Langton. As 
 though he had forefeen fome of the cir- 
 cumftances which would attend this pu- 
 blication, he obferves, " A few wild blun- 
 ders and rifible abfurdities, from which 
 no work of fuch multiplicity was ever free, 
 may for a time furnifh Folly with laugh- 
 ter, and harden Ignorance into contempt ;
 
 C no 3 
 
 but ufefuL Diligence will at laft prevail, 
 and there can never be wanting fome who 
 diftinguiih defert." Among thofe who a- 
 mufed themfelves and the public on this 
 occafion, Mr. Wilkes, in an EfTay printed 
 in the Public Advertifer, ridiculed the fol- 
 lowing paflage in the Grammar. " H fel- 
 dom, perhaps never, begins any but the 
 firft fy liable." The pofition is undoubt- 
 edly exprefled with too much latitude ; 
 but Johnfon never altered the paflage. 
 Dr. Kenrick's threatened attack, feve- 
 ral years after, in his Review of John- 
 fon's Sbakfpeare, never faw the light. 
 Campbell's ridicule of his ftyle under the 
 title of" Lexiphanes," 1767, and Callen- 
 der's " Deformities of Dr. Johnfon," 1782, 
 though laughable, from the application of 
 Johnfon's " words of large meaning" to 
 infignificant matters, are fcarcely worthy 
 of notice. His old pupil, Garrick, com- 
 
 ! /L,'
 
 t III 1 
 
 plimented him on its coming out firft, in 
 the following " Epigram," alluding to the 
 ill-fuccefs of the forty members of the 
 French Academy employed in fettling their 
 language. 
 
 Talk of war with a Briton, he'll boldly advance 
 That one Englifh foldier will beat ten of France : 
 Would we alter the boaft, from the fword to the pen, 
 Our odds are ftill greater, flill greater our men \ 
 In the deep mines of fcience, though Frenchmen 
 
 may toil, 
 Can their ftrength be compar'd to Locke, Newton, 
 
 and Boyle : 
 
 Let them rally their heroes, fend forth all their powers, 
 Their verfe-men, and profe-men ; then match them 
 
 with ours j 
 
 F rft Shakfpeare and Milton, like gods in the fight, ' 
 Have put their whole drama and epic to flight ; 
 In fatires, epiftles, and odes would they cope, 
 Their numbers retreat before Dryden and Pope ; 
 And Johnfon, well arm'd like a hero of yore, 
 Has beatysr/y French, and will beat forty more ! 
 
 lii this year, he afforded his afliftance to 
 Mr. Zechariah Williams, father of the 
 blind lady whom he had humanely receiy-
 
 cd under his roof, who had quitted his 
 profeflion in hopes of obtaining the great 
 parliamentary reward for the difcovering 
 of the longitude ; and benevolently wrote 
 for him, " An account of an attempt to 
 afcertain the longitude at fea, by an exacl: 
 theory of the variation of the magnetical 
 needle ; with a table of the variations at 
 the moil remarkable cities in Europe, 
 from the year 1660, to 1860, 4to, by Za- 
 chariah Williams." This pamphlet was 
 publifhed in Englifh and Italian, the tranf- 
 lation being the work, as is fuppofed, of 
 Mr. Baretti. Mr. "Williams foiled of fuc- 
 cefs, and died July 12. 1755, in his 8 3d 
 year. Johnfon placed this pamphlet in the 
 Bodleian library, and for fear of any omif- 
 fion or miflake, he entered, in the great 
 catalogue, the title page of it, with his 
 own hand. It appears from his correfpon- 
 dence with Mr. Warton, that he " intend* 
 ed, in the winter 1755, to open a.~Biblio- 
 i
 
 [ "3 ] 
 
 Ibeque, or Literary Journal, to be intituled, 
 The Annals of Literature, Foreign as well as 
 Domeftic, for which he had made forne pro- 
 vifion of materials ; but the fcheme was 
 dropped. 
 
 Having fpent, during the progrefs of 
 the work, the money for which he had 
 contracted to write his Dictionary, he was 
 ftill under the neceffity of exerting his ta- 
 lents, " in making provifion for the day 
 that was palling ovej him." The fub- 
 fcriptions taken in for his edition, of Shak- 
 fpeare, and the profits of his mifcellaneous 
 efTays, were now his principal refource for 
 fubiiftence : and it appears from the fol- 
 lowing letter to Richardibn, -dated Gough- 
 Square, March 16. 1756, that they were 
 inlufficient to Ward off the : diftrefs of an 
 arreft, on a particular emergency. 
 
 " I am obliged to entreat your affiflance ; 
 I am now under an arreft for five pounds 
 eighteen millings. Mr. Strahan, from 
 
 H
 
 whom I fhould have received the neceflary 
 help, in this cafe, is not at home, and I ant 
 afraid of not finding Mr. Millar. If you 
 could be fo good as to fend me this fum, 
 I will very gratefully repay you, and add 
 it to all former obligations." In the mar- 
 gin of this letter, there is a memorandum 
 in thefe words: " March 16. 1756. Sent 
 fix guineas. Witnefs William Richard- 
 fon." 
 
 " For the honour of an admired writer," 
 fays Mr. Murphy, " it is to be regretted 
 that we do not find a more liberal entry." 
 This anecdote may appear to fupport the 
 parfimony of the author, whofe hero gives 
 moft profufely ; but fomething may ftili 
 be.faid in favour of Richardfon. All that 
 Johnfon aiked was a temporary fupply ; and 
 that was granted. There was certainly 
 no oftentatious liberality ; but a kind ac- 
 tion feems to have been done, without de- 
 lay, and without grudging.
 
 F "5 ] 
 
 In 1756, he published an abridgment of 
 his Diftionaiy, in 2 vols, 8vo, and contri- 
 buted to a publication called " The Uni- 
 verfal Vifitor," for the afliftance of Smart, 
 one of the flated undertakers, with whofe 
 unhappy vacillation of mind he fincerely 
 fympathized, all the eflays marked with two 
 ajlerijks ; except the " Life of Chaucer," 
 " Reflections on the flate of Portugal," 
 and " Eflay on Architecture," which want 
 all the characleriflical marks of his com- 
 pofition. " Further thoughts on Agricul- 
 ture," being the fequel of a very inferior 
 eflay on the fame fubjecl," " A DifTerta- 
 tion on the State of Literature and Au- 
 thors," and " A Diflertation on the Epi- 
 taphs written by Pope," though not mark- 
 ed in the fame manner, appear to be the 
 production of Johnfon. The laft of thefe, 
 indeed, he afterwards added to his Idler. 
 
 He engaged alfo to fuperintend and con- 
 tribute largely to another monthly publi- 
 
 Hij
 
 J 
 
 cation, intituled, " The Literary Maga- 
 zine, or Univerfal Review ;" the firfl num- 
 ber of which came out on the I5th of 
 May this year. He continued to write in 
 it, with intermiffions, till the I5th num- 
 ber. His original efTays are, " The Pre- 
 liminary Addrefs," " An Introduction to 
 the Political State of Great Britain/* 
 " Remarks on the Militia Bill," " Obfer- 
 vations on his Britannic Majefty's Trea- 
 ties with the Emprefs of Ruflia, and the 
 Landgrave of HefTe CafTel," " Obfervations 
 on the Prefent State of Affairs/' and " Me- 
 moirs of Frederick II. King of Pruflia." 
 His reviews of the works of others are, 
 " Birch's Hifiory of the Royal Society," 
 " Murphy's Gray's-Inn Journal," " War- 
 ton's EfTay on the Genius and Writings 
 of Pope, vol. i ft." " Hampton's Tranfla- 
 tion of Polybius," " Blackwell's Memoirs 
 of the Court of Auguftus," " RufTel's Na- 
 tural Hifiory of Aleppo," " Sir Ifaac New-
 
 tori's Arguments in proof of a Deity," 
 " Borlafe's Hiftory of the Ifles of Scilly," 
 " Home's Experiments on Bleaching," 
 " Brown's .Chriftian Morals," " Hales on 
 Diftilling Sea-Water, &c." " Lucas's Ef- 
 fay on Waters," " Keith's Catalogue of 
 the Scottifh Bifhops," " Browne's Hiftory 
 of Jamaica," " Philofophical Tranfactions, 
 vol. 49th," " Mrs. Lenox's Tranjlation of 
 Sully V Memoirs" " Mifcellanies by Eliza- 
 fceth Harrifon," " Evans's Map, and Ac- 
 count of the Middle Colonies in America," 
 " Letter on the Cafe of Admiral Byng" 
 " Appeal to the People concerning Admiral 
 Byng" " Hanways Eight Days Journey, 
 and EJfay on Tea" * The Cadet, a Mili- 
 tary Treatife," " Some further Particulars 
 in relation to the Cafe of Admiral Byng, by a 
 Gentleman of Oxford" "'The Conduct of 
 the Miniftry relating to the prefent War, 
 'impartially examined," and " Jenyns's Free 
 Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil" 
 
 Hiij
 
 Mr. Davies, in his " Mifcellaneous and 
 Fugitive Pieces," has afcribed to him the 
 " Review of Burke's Inquiry into the 
 Origin, of our Ideas of the Sublime," and 
 Sir John Hawkins has inferted it in his 
 collection of Johnfon's works ; but it was 
 written by Mr. Murphy. In his original 
 eflkys, he difplays extenfive political know- 
 ledge, exprefied with uncommon energy 
 and perfpicuity. Some of his reviews are 
 very fhort accounts of the pieces noticed ; 
 but many of them are examples of elabo- 
 rate criticifm, in the mofl maflerly ftyle, 
 particularly the review of Jenyns's " In- 
 quiry into the Origin of Evil." In his der 
 fence of Tea, againft Mr. Han way's violent 
 attack upon that popular beveiage, he de- 
 fcribes himfelf as " a hardened and fhame- 
 lefs tea-drinker, who has for many years 
 diluted his meals with only the infufion 
 of this facinating plant ; whofe kettle has 
 fcarcely time to coel ; who with tea ac
 
 t "9 3 
 
 snufes the evening, with tea folaces the 
 midnight, and with tea welcomes the 
 morning," te veniente die^ te decedents. Mr. 
 Hanway wrote an angry anfwer to John- 
 fon's review of his " EfTay;" and Johnfon, 
 after a full and deliberate paufe, made a 
 reply to it ; the only inftance in the 
 whole courfe of his life, when he conde- 
 fcended to oppofe any thing that was writ- 
 ten againfl him. Of the good Mr. Han- 
 way he faid, " He is a man whofe fail- 
 ings may be well pardoned for his vir- 
 tues." 
 
 The fame year he gave an edition of 
 Sir Thomas Browne's " Chriftian Morals," 
 with his Life prefixed to it, which is one 
 of his beft biographical performances. He 
 wrote alfo a Dedication and Preface to the 
 Earl of Rocbford, to Payne's " Eflay on the 
 Game of Draughts," and accepted of a 
 guinea from Dodiley, for writing the ///- 
 JroduQion to " The London 'Chronicle :* 
 
 Hiiij
 
 [ 120 J 
 
 and even in fo flight a performance ex 
 hibited peculiar talents. At the fame time 
 he ifliied Propofals of conliderable length 
 for his edition of Sbakfpeare, with Notes ; 
 and his fancied activity was fuch, that he 
 promifed his work ihould be publifhed 
 before Chriflmas 1757, though it was nine 
 years before it faw the light. 
 
 About this period, he was offered by Mr. 
 Langton, the father of his much valued 
 friend, a living of confiderable value in 
 Lincolnftiire, if he would accept it and 
 take orders ; " but he chofe not to put off 
 his lay habit." This year the Ivy-Lane 
 club was diflblved, by the difperfion of 
 the members. 
 
 In 1757, it does not appear that he 
 publifhed any thin^, except fome of thofe 
 eiTciys in the " Literary Magazine," which 
 have been mentioned. , That magazine, 
 after he ceafed to wrke in it, gra luiliy 
 declined ; and in July 1758, it expired.
 
 He dictated, this year, a " Speech on the 
 Subject of an Addrefs to the Throne," 
 after the expedition to Rochefort, which 
 was delivered by one of his friends in a 
 public meeting. It is printed in the " Gen^ 
 tleman's Magazine" for October 1785. 
 
 On the 1 5th of April 1758, he began 
 *Tbe Idler, which came out every Saturday, 
 in a weekly newfpaper called the " -Uni- 
 verfal Chronicle," publifhed by Newbery, 
 and was continued till April 5th 1760. 
 Of 103, the total number of efTays, twelve 
 were contributed by his friends ; of which 
 Nos. 33, 93. and 96, were written by Mr. 
 Warton, No. 67 by Mr, Langton, and 
 Nos. 76, 79, and 82, by Sir Jofhua Rey- 
 nolds ; the concluding words of No. 82, 
 " and pollute his canvafs with deformity," 
 being added by Johnfon. The Idler is e- 
 vidently the work of the fame mind which 
 produced the Rambler, but has lefs body 
 ,and more fpirit. It has more variety of
 
 [ 122 ] 
 
 real life, and greater facility of language, 
 Yet Nos. 14, 24, 41, 43, 51, 52, 58, and 
 89, fhow as much profundity of thought, 
 and labour of language, as any of his wri- 
 tings. To The Idler y when collected in 
 volumes, he added ^befide the EJfay on E- 
 pitapbs, and the Differtation on thofe of 
 Pope), an Effay on the Bravery of the Eng- 
 lifh common Soldiers. 
 
 In January 1759, his mother died, at 
 the age of ninety ; an event which deep- 
 ly affected him. He regretted his not ha- 
 ving gone to vifit her for feveral years 
 previous to her death ; but he had long 
 contributed liberally to her fupport. 
 
 Soon after this event, he wrote his Raf- 
 fdas^ Prince of Abyfllma, that, with the pro- 
 fits, he might defray the expence of his 
 mother's funeral, and pay fome little debts 
 which (he had left. He told Sir Jofhua 
 Reynolds, that he compofed it in the even- 
 ings of one week, fent it to the prefs in 

 
 t 123 ] 
 
 portions as it was written, and had never 
 lince read it over. He received for the 
 copy i.ool. and 25!. when it came to a 
 fecond edition. The applaufe given to the 
 hiftory of R.tJJelas, has been fuch, as muft 
 fatisfy an author the moft avaricious of 
 fame. It has been tranflated into various 
 modern languages, and received the ad- 
 miration of Europe. 
 
 During all this year, he carried on his 
 Idler, and was proceeding, though ilowly, 
 in his edition of Shakfbeare. He, however, 
 found time to tranflate for Mrs. Lenox's 
 Englifh verfion of Brumoy's " Greek 
 Theatre," " A DiiTertation on the Greek 
 Comedy," and the general " conclufion" 
 of the book. On the controverfy arifing 
 concerning the eliptical or circular form 
 of arches for Blackfriar's bridge, Johnfon 
 engaged in it, on behalf of his friend Mr. 
 ,Gwyn, and wrote three letters in the " Ga- 
 zetteer," in opppfition to the eliptical i
 
 [ 124 J 
 
 of the queftioii ; but without any illiberal 
 antipathy to Mr. Myine, with whom he 
 afterwards lived upon very agreeable terms, 
 of acquaintance. 
 
 While he was employed in writing The 
 Idler, he quitted his houfe in Gough- 
 Square, and retired to Gray's-Inn ; and 
 foon after Mifs Williams went to lodgings. 
 This year he removed to chambers in the 
 Inner-Temple Lane, " where he lived," 
 fays Mr. Murphy, " in poverty, total idle- 
 nefs, and the pride of literature, Magni 
 flat naminis umbra. Mr. Fitzherbet (the 
 father of Lord St. Helens), ufed to fay, 
 that he paid a morning vilit to Johnfon, 
 intending from his chambers to fend a 
 letter into the city ; but, to his great fur- 
 prife, he found an author by profeflion, 
 without pen, ink, or paper." 
 
 His black fervant Francis Barber having 
 left him, and entered on board a man of 
 war, " he was humble enough to defirc
 
 J 
 
 I 
 
 the afliftance" of Smollet in procuring 
 his releafe. Smollet made intereft through 
 Mr. Wilkes ; and he was difcharged with- 
 out any wifh of his own, in the latter end 
 of 1759, and returned to his matter's fer- 
 vice. 
 
 In 1760, he wrote the " Addrefs of the 
 Painters to George III. on his acceffion ;", 
 an " Introduction" to the proceedings of 
 the Committee for Clothing the French 
 Prifoners ; the " Dedication" for Mr. Ba- 
 retti, of his " Italian andEnglifh Diction- 
 ary," to the Marquis of Abreu, the Spa- 
 nilh ambaflador ; and an Account of Mr. 
 Tytlers Vindication of Mary ^ucen of Scofs, 
 in the Gentleman's Magazine for October. 
 
 This year Mr. Murphy having thought 
 himfelf ill-treated by Dr. Franklin, in his 
 " Diflertation on Tragedy, ",publifhed an 
 indignant vindication in " A Poetical E- 
 piftle to Samuel Johnfon, A. M." in which 
 he complimented Johnfon in a juft and 
 5
 
 t 125 1 
 
 elegant manner. This epiftle has been 
 reprinted, with confiderable alterations and 
 additions, in the collection of his works, 
 in 7 vols, 8vo, 1786. As an ingenious, 
 an elegant, and moral writer, Mr. Murphy 
 is entitled to rank in a fuperior clafs. In 
 collecting his works, it is to be regretted 
 that he fhould have taken fo rriuch pains 
 to re (cue from oblivion this epiftle, writ- 
 ten during the violence of literary diflen- 
 tion, and which bears evident marks of 
 an exafperated mind. The expulfion of 
 the refpeclable names of Dr. Warton and 
 Mr. Mafon from their former places, can- 
 not ea'fily be defended upon any other 
 ground than caprice, or perfonal diflike. 
 
 An acquaintance firft commenced be- 
 tween Johnfon and Mr. Murphy in the 
 following manner : During the publica- 
 tion of his " Gray's-Tnn Journal," Mr. 
 Murphy happened to be in the country
 
 with Foote, and having mentioned that 
 he was obliged to go to London to get 
 ready for the prefs one of the numbers, 
 Foote faid to him, " You need not go on 
 that account : Here is a French magazine, 
 in which you will find a very pretty orien- 
 tal tale ; tranflate that, and fend it to your 
 printer." Mr. Murphy having read the 
 tale, was highly pleafed with it, and fol- 
 lowed Foote's advice. "\Yhen he return- 
 ed to town, this tale was pointed out to 
 him in the Rambler, from whence it had 
 been tranflated into the French Magazine. 
 Mr. Murphy then waited upon Johnfon, 
 to explain this curious incident ; and a 
 friendfhip was formed, that continued 
 without interruption till the death of 
 Johnfon. 
 
 In 1761, he wrote for the bookfellers 
 the " Preface" to Rolt's Dictionary of 
 Trade and Commerce ; which difplays a
 
 C 128 ] 
 
 clear and compreheniive knowledge of thd 
 fubjedt, though he " never (as he faid) 
 faw the man, and never read the book." 
 He alfo corre&ed a pamphlet written by 
 Mr. Gwyn, intituled, " Thoughts on the 
 Coronation of George III.," and wrote 
 for Mr. Newbery the Introduction to a Col- 
 lection of Voyages and Travels publifhed 
 by him, under the title of " The World 
 Difplayed," which contains, in a plealing 
 flyle, the hiilory of navigation, and the 
 difcovery of America and the Illands of 
 the Weft Indies. 
 
 In 1762, he wrote for Dr. Kennedy, in 
 a flrain of very courtly elegance, A Dedi- 
 cation to the King, of his " Complete Sy 
 tern of Aftronomical Chronology," " De- 
 dication" for Mrs. Lenox, to the Earl of , 
 Middlefex, of her " Female Quixotte," 
 and the " Preface" to the " Catalogue 
 of the Artift's Exhibition."
 
 t 129 ] 
 
 In this year, Fortune, who had hitherto 
 left him to flruggle with the inconveni- 
 ences of a precarious fubfiftence, arifing 
 entirely from his own labours, gave him 
 that independence which his talents and 
 virtues long before ought to have obtained 
 for him. In the month of July he was 
 graced with a penfion of 300!. per annum, 
 by the King, as a recompence for the ho- 
 nour which the excellence of his writings, 
 and the benefit which their moral ten- 
 dency had been of to thefe kingdoms. He 
 obtained it by the interference of Lord 
 Bute, then firft Lord Commiflioner of the 
 Treafury, upon the fttggeftion of Mr. Wed- 
 derburn, now Lord Loughborough, at the 
 inflance of Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Murphy. 
 For this independence he paid the ufual 
 tax. Envy and refentment foon made him 
 die mark to fhoot their arrows at. Some 
 appeared to think themfelves more entitled 
 to royal favour, and others recollecled hi? 
 
 r
 
 
 E 130 ] 
 
 political opinions, and fentiments of the 
 reigning family. By fome he was cenfur- 
 ed as an apoftate, and by others ridiculed 
 for becoming a pensioner. The " North 
 Briton" fupplied himfelf with arguments 
 againft the Minifter for rewarding a Tory 
 and a Jacobite, and Churchill faterized his 
 political verfatility with the mofl poignant 
 
 feverity. 
 * 
 
 How to all principles untrue, 
 
 Not fix'd to old friends, nor to new ; 
 
 He damns the penfion which he takes, 
 
 And loves the Stuart he forfakes. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 By this acceptance of the King's boun- 
 ty, he had undoubtedly fubje&ed himfelf 
 to the appellation of a penfioner, to which 
 he had annexed an ignominious definition 
 in his Diftionary. He had received a fa- 
 vour from two Scotchmen, againft whofe 
 country he had joined in the rabble cry of 
 indifcriminating invective. It was thus 
 that even-handed Juftice commended the
 
 C 
 
 poifoned chalice to his own lips, and coin- 
 pelled him to an awkward, though not un- 
 pleafant penance, for indulging in a fple- 
 netic prejudice, equally unworthy of his 
 underflanding and his heart. 
 
 The affair itfelf was equally honourable 
 to the giver and the receiver. The offer 
 was clogged with no ftipulations for party 
 fer vices, and accepted under no implied 
 idea of being fecompenfed by political 
 writings. It was perfectly underflood by 
 all parties, that the penfion was merely ho- 
 norary. It is true that Johnfon did after- 
 wards write political pamphlets in favour 
 of adminiftration ; but it was at a period 
 long fubfequent to the grant of his pen- 
 fion, and in fupport of a minifler to whom 
 he owed no perfonal obligation. It was 
 for the eftablilhment of opinions, which, 
 however uncbrimtutional, he had uniform* 
 ly held, and publicly avowed.
 
 [ 132 ] 
 
 In 1763, he fumiflied to " The Poetical 
 Calendar," publiihed by Fawkes and Woty, 
 a Char after of Collins, which he afterwards 
 engrafted into his entire Life of Collins. He 
 alfo favoured Mr. Hoole with the Dedi- 
 cation of his translation of Taflb to the 
 Queen. 
 
 This year Mr. Bofwell was introduced 
 to Johnfon, by Mr. Davies the bookfeller, 
 and continued to live in the greatefl inti- 
 macy with him from that time till his 
 death. 
 
 Churchill, in his " Ghoft," availed him- 
 felf of the common opinion of Johnfon's 
 credulity, and drew a caricature of him, 
 under the name of Pompofo-, reprefenting 
 him as one of the believers of the ftory of 
 a ghoft in Cock-Lane, which, in 1762, had 
 gained very general credit in London. 
 Johnfon made no reply ; " for with other 
 wife folks he fat up with the ghoft." Po- 
 fterity muft be allowed to fmile at the ere-
 
 L 
 
 , \ 
 
 dulity of that period. Contrary, however, 
 to the common opinion of Johnibn's cre- 
 dulity, Mr. Bofwell afTerts that he was a 
 principal agent in detecting the impofture; 
 and undeceived the world, by publifhing 
 an account of it in the " Gentleman's Ma- 
 gazine" for January 1762. Yet, by the 
 circumstances of the examination, he feems 
 to have gone with almoft a willingnefs to 
 believe, and a mind fcarcely in fufpenfe. 
 He would have been glad to fee a traveller 
 from that undifcovered country, over which, 
 like the reft of mankind, he faw nothing 
 but clouds and darknefs. 
 
 In one of the converfations at the Mitre 
 Tavern this year, Mr. Bofwell relates the 
 following inftance of Johnfon's profound 
 and liberal way of thinking, on a very nice 
 conftitutional point, which may, in fome 
 meafure, render people cautious of pro- 
 nouncing decifively on his political creed, 
 
 ? ij j
 
 [ 134 ] 
 
 " Goldfmith difputed very warmly with 
 Johnfon, againfl the well known maxim 
 of the Britifh conflitution, " The king can 
 do no wrong," affirming, that what was 
 morally falfe, could not be politically true ; 
 and as the king might, in the exercife of 
 his regal power, command, and caufe the 
 doing of what was wrong, it certainly might 
 be faid, in fenfe and in reafon, that he 
 could do wrong." Jobnfon. " Sir, you are 
 to confider, that in our conflitution, ac- 
 cording to its true principles, the king is 
 the head, he is fupreme, he is above every 
 thing, and there is no power by which he 
 can be tried. Therefore it is, Sir, that we 
 hold the king can do no wrong; that what- 
 ever may happen to be wrong in govern- 
 ment may not be above our reach, by be- 
 ing afcribed to majefty. Redrefs is always 
 to be had againfl oppreffion, by punifh* 
 ing the immediate agents. The king, 
 though he fhould command, cannot force
 
 [ 135 ] 
 
 a judge to condemn a man unjuftly ; there- 
 fore it is the judge whom we profecute and 
 punifh. Political inflitutions are formed 
 on the confideration of what will mod fre- 
 quently tend to the good of the whole, al- 
 though now and then exceptions may oc- 
 cur. Thus, it is better that a nation fhould 
 have a fupreme legiflative power, although 
 it may at times be abufed. And then, Sir, 
 there is this confideration, that, if the abufe 
 be enormous , nature 'will rife up, and claiming 
 
 her original right, overturn a corrupt political 
 
 r a. 
 Jyftem. 
 
 " This generous fentiment," Mr. Bof- 
 well adds, " which he uttered with great 
 fervour, ilruck me exceedingly, and ilir- 
 red my blood to that pitch of fancied re- 
 fiflance, the poffibility of which I am glad 
 to keep in mind, but to which, I truft, I 
 fhall never be forced." 
 
 In this year, he alfo wrote the " Life of 
 Afcham," and the " Dedication to the Earl 
 
 I iiij
 
 pf Shaftfbury," prefixed to the edition of 
 his Englifh works, publifhed by Mr. Ben- 
 net. 
 
 To enlarge his circle, and to find oppor- 
 tunities for converfation, Johnfon once 
 more had recourfe to a club. In February 
 1764, was founded that club, which after- 
 wards became tiiftinguifhed by the title of 
 the LITERARY CLUB. Sir Joihua Reynolds 
 was the firft propofer, to which Johnfon 
 acceded ; and the original members were, 
 befide himfelf, Sir Jofhua Reynolds, Mr. 
 Burke, Dr. Nugent, Mr. Beauclerk, Mr. 
 Langton, Mr. Chamier, Sir John Hawkins, 
 and Goldfmith. They met at the Turk's 
 Head, in Gerard Street, Soho, on every 
 Monday evening through the year. 
 
 He wrote this year " A Review" of Grain- 
 ger's " Sugar Cane," in the " London Chro- 
 nicle," in conjunction with Dr. Percy; and 
 an account of Goldfmith's " Traveller," ir* 
 
 the " Critical Review." 
 
 i /. . ...,..
 
 [[ 137 1 
 
 About this time, he was afflicted with a 
 fevere return of the hypochondriac difor- 
 der, which was ever lurking about him. 
 He was fo ill as to be entirely averfe to 
 fociety, the mofl fatal fymptom of that 
 malady. 
 
 The fucceeding year, 1765, was remark- 
 able for the commencement of his ac- 
 quaintance with Henry Thrale, Efq. one 
 of the mofl eminent brewers in England, 
 and member of parliament for Southwark. 
 Mr. Murphy, who was intimate with Mr. 
 Thrale, having fpoken very highly of John- 
 fon's converfation, he was requefled to make 
 them acquainted. This being mentioned 
 to Johnfon, he accepted an invitation to 
 dinner at Mr. Thrale's, and was fo much 
 pleafed with his reception, both by Mr. 
 and Mrs. Thrale, and they fo much pleaf- 
 ed with him, that his invitations to their 
 hpufe were more and more frequent ; till 
 at laft, in 1776, he became one of the fa-
 
 C 138 3 
 
 mily ; and an apartment was appropriated 
 to him, both in their houfe in South wark, 
 and in their villa at Streatham. 
 
 Nothing <:ould be more fortunate for 
 Johnfon than this connection. He had at 
 Mr. Thrale's all the comforts, and even the 
 luxuries of life ; his melancholy was divert- 
 ed, and his irregular habits lefiened, by af- 
 fociation with an agreeable and well-order- 
 ed family. He was treated with the utmoft 
 refpedi, and even aftedtion. Johnfon had a 
 very fmcere efleem for Mr. Thrale, as a 
 man of excellent principles, a goodfcholar, 
 well-fkilled in trade, of a found underftand- 
 ing, and of manners fuch as prefented the 
 character of a plain independent Englifli 
 'fquire. He underflood and valued John- 
 fon, without remiflion, from their firft ac- 
 quaintance to the day of his death. Of 
 Mrs. Thrale, now Mrs. Piozzi, a lady of 
 
 % 
 
 lively parts, improved by education, " lefs 
 cannot be (aid," fays Mr. Tyers, "than
 
 C 139 ] 
 
 that in one of the latter opinions of John- 
 fon :" " If me was not the wifeft woman 
 in the world, me was undoubtedly one of 
 the wittieft." She took fuch care of him, 
 during an illnefs of fome continuance, that 
 Goldfmith told her, " he owed his life to 
 her attention." " To a natural vivacity in 
 converfation, fhe had reading enough, and 
 the gods had made her poetical." The vi- 
 vacity of Mrs. Thrale's literary talk rouzed 
 him to cheerfulnefs and attention, even 
 when they were alone. But this was not 
 often the cafe ; for he found here a conflant 
 fucceflion of what gave him the higheft en- 
 joyment. The fociety of the learned, the 
 witty, and the eminent in every way, who 
 were afTembled in numerous companies, 
 called forth his wonderful powers, and gra- 
 tified him with admiration, to which no 
 man could be infenfible. 
 
 There is fomething in the conduct of this 
 worthy pouefibr of wealth, which the mind
 
 [ 140 ] 
 
 loves to contemplate. Next to the poflef- 
 fion of great powers, the moft enviable qua- 
 lities, are a capacity to difcover, and an in- 
 clination to honour them. To the credit 
 of Thrale, let it be recorded, that the pa- 
 tron of literature and talents, of which 
 Johnfon fought in vain for the traces in 
 Chefterfield, he found realized in Thrale. 
 
 In July of this year, he was compliment- 
 ed by the Univeriity of Dublin with the 
 degree of Doctor of Laws, as the Diploma 
 exprefTes it, ob egregiam fcriptorem elegantiam 
 et utilitatem, though he does not appear to 
 have taken the title in confequence of it. 
 In October, he at length gave to the world 
 his edition of The Plays of William Shakfpeare, 
 'with the Corrections and lllujlrations of vari- 
 ous Commentators ; to which are added^ Notts 
 by Sam. Johnfan, 8vo ; which, as far as it 
 fell fhort of affording that ample fatisfac- 
 tion which was expected from it, may be 
 to his not having " read the books
 
 which the author read, traced his know- 
 ledge to the fource, and compared his co- 
 pies with their originals ;" a promife he 
 gave, but was not able to perform. Sir 
 John Hawkins thinks it a meagre work ; he 
 complains of the paucity of the notes, of 
 Johnfon's want of induflry, and indeed un- 
 fitnefs for the office of a Scholiaft. It was 
 treated with great illiberality by Dr. Ken- 
 rick, in the firft part of a " Review" of it, 
 which was never completed. It is to be ad- 
 mitted, that he has neither fo fully reform- 
 ed the text, by accurate collations of the 
 firft editions, nor fo fairly illuflrated his au- 
 thor, in his notes, by quotations from thft 
 " writers who lived at the fame time, inw 
 mediately preceded, or immediately follow- 
 ed him," as has been done by other able 
 and ingenious critics, who have , followed 
 him; Mr. Steevens, Mr. Capel, Mr. Ma- 
 lone, Mr. Reed, &c. whofe labours have 
 left little to add to the commentaries on
 
 [ 142 ] 
 
 Shakfpeare. But what he did as a com- 
 mentator, has no fmall fhare of merit, 
 though his refearches were not fo ample, 
 and his inveftigations fo acute as they might 
 have been. He has enriched his edition 
 with a concife account of each play, and of 
 its characterise excellence. In the faga- 
 city of his emendatory criticifms, and the 
 happinefs of his interpretations of obfcure 
 paflages, he furpafles every editor of this 
 poet. Mr. Malone confefles, " that John- 
 fon's vigorous and comprehenfive under- 
 flanding threw more light on his author, 
 than all his predeceflbrs had done." His 
 Preface has been pronounced by Mr. Ma- 
 lone, to be the fmeft compofition in our 
 language ; and having regard to its fub- 
 jecl and extent, it certainly would be diffi- 
 cult to name one pofTeflmg a fuperior claim 
 to fuch fuperlative praife. Whether we 
 confider the beauty and vigour of its com- 
 polition, the abundance and claffical felec-
 
 [ '43 3 
 
 tion of its allufions, the juftnefs of the ge- 
 neral precepts of criticifm, and its accurate 
 eftimate of the excellencies or defects of his 
 author, it isr equally admirable. He feems 
 to raife his talents upon a level with thofe 
 of his poet, upon whofe works he fits as a 
 critical judge, to rival, by the luftre of his 
 praifes, the fplendour of the original, and to 
 follow this eagle of Britifh poetry through 
 all his gyres, with as keen an eye, and upon 
 as flrong a wing. The Preface 'to his Dictio- 
 nary, correct as it is, muft yield the palm of 
 excellence to that prefixed to his Shak- 
 fpeare ; but it yields it only becaufe the 
 fubjed: was lefs favourable to the full difplay 
 of his powers. 
 
 In 1766, he removed from the Inner- 
 Temple Lane, to a good houfe in Johnfon's 
 Court, Fleet Street, in which he accommo- 
 dated Mifs Williams with an apartment on 
 the ground floor, while Mr. Levett occupied 
 his poft in the garret.
 
 [ 144 J 
 
 This year he only wrote the Dedication to 
 the King, of Gwyn's " London and Weft- 
 minfter Improved," and furnifhed the Pre- 
 face, and the following pieces for Mifs Wil- 
 liams's " Mifcellanies in Profe and Verfe," 
 4to : The Ant; " To Mifs , on her giv- 
 ing the Author a Gold and Silk Net- 
 work Purfe of her own weaving ;" " The 
 Happy Life;" On the Death of Stephen Gray, 
 the EleHrician ; and " The Fountains," a 
 Fairy Tale, in Profe. The firft fketch of 
 the poem on Stephen Gray, was written by 
 Mifs Williams, but Johnfon told Mr. Bof- 
 well, " that he wrote it all over again, ex- 
 cept two lines." This publication was en- 
 couraged by a genteel fubfcription. 
 
 In 1767, he only wrote the Dedication to 
 the King, for Mr. Adams's " Treatife on the 
 Globes." In February, he was honoured 
 by a private converfation with the king, in 
 the library at Buckingham Houfe, " which 
 gratified his monarchic enthufiafm." The
 
 [ 145 3 
 
 interview was fought by the king without 
 the knowledge of Johnfon. His majefty^ 
 among other things, afked the author of fo 
 many valuable works, if he intended to 
 publifh any more ? Johnfon modeftly an- 
 fwered, that he thought he had written e~ 
 nough. " And fo fhould I too," replied 
 the king, " if you had not written fo well." 
 Johnfon was highly pleafed with his majef- 
 ty's courteoufnefs ; and afterwards obferved 
 to Mr. Langton, " Sir, his manners are 
 thofe of. as fine a gentleman as we may 
 fuppofe Lewis XIV. or Charles II." 
 
 Johnfon had now arrived at that emi- 
 nence which is the prize that cultivated ge^ 
 nius always ftruggles for, and but feldom 
 obtains. His fortune, though not great, 
 was adequate to his wants, and of moft ho- 
 nourable acquifttion ; for it was derived 
 from the produce of his labours, and the 
 rewards which his country had beftowed 
 
 upon merit, -He received during life that 
 
 K
 
 unqualified applaufe from the world, which 
 is in general paid only to departed excel- 
 lence, and he beheld his fame feated firmly 
 in the public mind, without the danger of 
 its being fhaken by obloquy, or the hazard 
 of its being fhared by a rival. He could 
 number among his friends the greateft and 
 moft improved talents of the country. His 
 company was courted by wealth, dignity, 
 and beauty. His many peculiarities were 
 overlooked, or forgotten in the admiration 
 of his under (landing ; while his virtues were 
 regarded with veneration, and his opinions 
 adopted with fubmifTion. Of the ufual in- 
 fenfibility of mankind to living merit, 
 johnfon, at lead, had no reafon to com- 
 plain. 
 
 In 1768, nothing of his writing was giv- 
 en to the public, except the Prologue to his 
 friend Goldfmith's comedy of the " Good 
 Natured Man."
 
 [ H7 1 
 
 In 1769, he was altogether quiefcent as 
 an author. On the eflablifhment of the 
 Royal Academy this year, he accepted the 
 title of ProfefTor of Ancient Literature. 
 
 In 1770, he publifhed a political pam- 
 phlet, intituled The Falfe Alarm, 8vo.; in- 
 tended to juftify the conduct of miniflry, 
 and their majority in the Houfe of Commons, 
 for having virtually aflumed it as an axiom, 
 that the expulfion of a member of parlia- 
 ment was equivalent to exclufion, and their 
 having declared Colonel Luttrel to be du- 
 ly elected for the county of Middlefex, not- 
 withftanding Mr. Wilkes had a great ma- 
 jority of votes. This being very juflly con- 
 lidered as a grofs violation of the right of 
 election, an alarm for the conftitiition ex- 
 tended itfelf all over the kingdom. To 
 prove this alarm to be falfe, was the pur- 
 pofe of Johnfon's pamphlet ; but his argu-> 
 ments and eloquence failed of effect, and 
 
 the Houfe of Commons has fince erafed the 
 
 Kij
 
 [ 148 I 
 
 offenfive refolution from the journals. This 
 pamphlet has great merit in point of lan- 
 guage ; but it contains much grofs mifre- 
 prefentation, and much malignity, and a- 
 bounds with fuch arbitrary principles, as 
 are totally inconfiftent with a free confli- 
 tution. 
 
 The next year, 1771, he defended the 
 meafures adopted by the miniftry, in the 
 difpute with the court of Spain, 'in a pam- 
 phlet, intituled Thoughts on the late Tranf ac- 
 tions refpe Sling Falkland's I/land^ 8vo. On 
 the fubjed of Falkland's Iflands, fpots 
 " thrown afide from human ufe, barren in 
 fummer, and ftormy in winter," he ap- 
 pears to have followed the direction, and 
 adopted the' opinions which a pufillani- 
 mous adminiftration wiflied to inculcate. 
 They were certainly erroneous in a politi- 
 cal view ; and if they were his own, (how, 
 that on fuch fubjecls he was incapable of 
 forming a jufl opinion. His defcriptiori of
 
 [ 149 1 
 
 the miferies of war, in this pamphlet, is a 
 fine piece of eloquence ; and his character 
 of Junius is executed with all the force of 
 his genius, and with the higheil care. 
 
 When Johnfon fhone in the plenitude 
 of his p'olitical glory, from the celebrity of 
 his minifterial pamphlets, an attempt was 
 made to bring him into the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, by Mr. Strahan, the king's printer, 
 who was himfelf in parliament, and wrote 
 to the fecretary of the treafury upon the 
 fubjecl: ; but the application was unfucceff- 
 ful. Whether there were any particular 
 reafons for the refufal, has not tranfpired. 
 That Johnfon very much wifhed to " try 
 his hand" in the fenate, he has himfelf de- 
 clared ; but that he would have fucceed- 
 ed as a parliamentary fpeaker, is at lea/l 
 doubtful. Few have diftinguimed them- 
 felves as orators, who have not begun the 
 practice of fpeaking in public early in life ; 
 and it may be doubted whether the habits 
 
 K iij
 
 150 ] 
 
 of regular and correct compofition are not 
 unfavourable to that quick unpremeditated 
 elocution, which is fo much admired, and 
 fo ufeful in animated debate. This at leaft 
 is certain, that of the many perfons emi- 
 nent for literary abilities, who have had 
 feats in parliament, none have gained a re- 
 putation for eloquence commenfurate with 
 their talents and information ; and of John- 
 fon, in particular, it is reported upon the 
 authority of Sir William Scott, that he had 
 feveral times tried to fpeak in the Society 
 of Arts, &c. but " had found that he could 
 not get on." It was obftrved by the late 
 Henry Flood, Efq. who was himfelf an emi- 
 nent orator, that ' Johnfon having been 
 long ufed to fententious brevity, and the 
 fhort flights of converfation, might have 
 failed in that continued and expanded kind 
 of argument, which is requifite in dating 
 complicated matters in public fpeaking."
 
 [ I5i 3 
 
 In 1772, he produced no literary per- 
 formance. His only publication in 1773, 
 J was a new edition of his Dictionary, with 
 additions and corrections. In the autumn 
 of 1 773, he gratified a " v/iih which he had 
 fo long entertained, that he fcarcely re- 
 membered how it was formed, of vinting 
 the Hebrides, or Weflern Iflands of Scot- 
 land." He was accompanied by Mr. Bof- 
 well, " whofe acutenefs," he afterwards ob- 
 ferved, "would help his inquiry, and whole 
 gaiety of converfation, and civility of man- 
 ners, were furficient to countera6l the in- 
 con veniencies of travel in countries lefs hof- 
 pitable than thofe they were to pafs." 
 
 His flay in Scotland was from the iSth. 
 of Auguft, till the 22d of November, when 
 he fet out on his return to London. His 
 various adventures, and the force and viva- 
 city of his mind, as exercifed during his 
 tour, have been defcribed by Mr. Bofwell, 
 jn -his "" Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides," 
 
 K iiij
 
 [ 152 ] 
 
 8vo, 1786, in a ftyle that fhows he poilefied, 
 in an eminent degree, the fkill to give con-, 
 nedion to mifcellaneous matter, and viva- 
 city to the whole of his narrative. 
 
 At the approach of the general election, 
 in 1 774, he publifhed a fhort political pam- 
 phlet, intituled, The. Patriot ; addreffed to 
 the Eteflors of Great Britain, 8vo, not with 
 any vifible application to Mr. Wilkes, but 
 to teach the people to reject the leaders of 
 oppofition, who called themfelves patriots. 
 It was called for, he tells us, by his politi- 
 cal friends, on Friday, and was written on 
 Saturday. 
 
 The firft effort of his pen, in 1775, was 
 " Propofals for publiihing by fubfcription, 
 the works of Mrs. Charlotte Lennox, in 3 
 vols. 4to." which was foon fucceeded by a. 
 pamphlet, intituled, Taxation no "Tyranny, 
 An Anfwer to the Refolutions and Addrefs of 
 the American Congrefs, 8vo. The fcope of 
 the argument was, that diftant colonies
 
 I 153 J 
 
 which had in their aflemblies a legiflature 
 of their own, were, notwithflanding, liable 
 to be taxed in a Britiih Parliament, where 
 they had neither peers in one houfe, nor re- 
 prefentatives in the other. The principle 
 has been long abandoned ; but Johnfon 
 was of opinion, that this country was flrong 
 enough to enforce obedience ; " When," 
 fays he "an Englifhman is told that the 
 Americans Ihoot up like a hydra, he natur- 
 ally coniiders how the hydra was deflroy- 
 ed." The event has fhown how much he 
 was miftaken. This pamphlet was writ- 
 ten at the delire of the miniflry, and in 
 fome places corrected by them. It con- 
 tained the fame pofitive affertions, farcafti- 
 cal feverity, extravagant ridicule, and arbi- 
 trary principles, with his former political 
 pieces, and the groflefl and moft virulent 
 abufe of the Americans. 
 
 
 
 Thefe pamphlets were publimed on his 
 pwn account, and were afterwards collect-
 
 ed by him into a volume, under the title 
 of Political Trafls, by the author of the Ram- 
 bler, Svo, 1775. 
 
 In the month of March this year, he was 
 gratified by the title of Doctor of Laws, 
 conferred on him by the Univerfity of Ox- 
 ford, at the folicitation of Lord North. In 
 September he vifited France, for the fir ft 
 time, with Mr. and Mrs. Thrale, and Mr. 
 Baretti ; and returned to England in about 
 two months after he quitted it. Foote, 
 who happened to be in Paris at the fame 
 time, faid, that the French were perfectly 
 aftonifhed at his figure and manner, and at 
 his drefs ; which was exactly the fame 
 with what he was accuflomed to in Lon- 
 don : his brown clothes, black ftockings, 
 and plain fhirt. Of the occurrences of 
 this tour, he kept a journal, in all proba- 
 bility with a defign of writing an account 
 of it. The world has to regret, that from
 
 [ 155 ] 
 
 want of leifure or inclination, he never 
 perfected it. 
 
 This year he alfo wrote the Preface to 
 Mr. Baretti's " LefTons, Italian and Eng- 
 lifh," and publifhed an account of his Tour 
 to the Hebrides, under the title of A Jour- 
 ney to the Weftern JJlands of Scotland, 8vo. 
 This elegant narrative has been varioufly 
 p-aifed and abufed inthenewfpapers, ma- 
 -gazines, and other fugitive publications, 
 It was formally attacked by the Rev. Do- 
 nald M'Nicol, in his " Remarks," &c. 8vo. 
 1780. That it is written with an undue 
 prejudice againft both the country and 
 people of Scotland, mufl be allowed ; but 
 it abounds in extenflve philofophical views 
 of fociety, and in ingenious fentiments and 
 lively defcription. Among many other 
 difquifitions equally inftructing and amuf- 
 ing, he exprefles His difbelief of the au- 
 thenticity of the poems of Oflian, prefent- 
 ed to the public as a tranflatioq. from the
 
 t 156 ] 
 
 Erfe, in fuch terms as honefl indignation, 
 is apt to hurl againft impofition. If there 
 was a manufcript, in what age was it writ- 
 ten ? and where, is it ? If it was collected 
 from oral recitation in different parts of 
 the Highlands, who put it together in its 
 prefent form ? Thefe, and fuch like ob- 
 fervations, provoked the refentment of Mr. 
 Macpherfon ; he, fent a threatening letter 
 to the author, and Johnfon anfwered him 
 in the rough phrafe of ftern defiance. 
 " I received your foolifh and impudent 
 
 letter. Any violence offered me, I fhall 
 
 J : 
 
 do my befl to repel ; and what I cannot 
 do for myfelf, the law fhall do for me. I 
 hope I fhall never be deterred from detect- 
 ing what I think a cheat, by the menaces, 
 of a ruffian. 
 
 " What would you have me retract ? I 
 thought your book an impoflure ; I think 
 it an impoflure ftill. For this opinion I 
 have given my reafons to the public, which
 
 [ 157 ] 
 
 I here dare you to refute. Your rage I 
 defy. Your abilities, fince your Homer, 
 are not fo formidable ; and what I hear of 
 your morals, inclines me to pay regard not 
 to what you mail fay, but what you mail 
 prove. You may print this if you will." 
 
 The threats alluded to in this letter ne- 
 \ 
 
 ver were attempted to be put in execution. 
 But Johnfon, as a provifion for defence, 
 furniihed himfelf with a large oaken plant, 
 fix feet in height, of the diameter of an 
 inch at the lower end, increafing to three 
 inches at the top, and terminating in a 
 head (once the root) of the fize of a large 
 orange. This he kept in his bed-chamber, 
 fo near his chair, as to be within his 
 reach. 
 
 In 1776, he wrote nothing for the pub- 
 lic. This year he removed from No. 7. 
 Johnfon's Court, to a larger houfe, No. 8. 
 Bolt-Court, Fleet-Street, with a garden, 
 " which he took delight in watering." A
 
 [ '58 ] 
 
 room on. the ground-floor was affigned to 
 Mifk Williams ; and the whole of the two 
 pair of Hairs floors was made a repofitory 
 for his books, confirming of about 5000 
 volumes. Here, in the intervals of his re- 
 fidence at Streatham, he fat every morn- 
 ing receiving vifits, and hearing the topics 
 of the day, and indolently trifling away 
 the time ; and to the moft intimate of his 
 friends, Dr. Burney, Mr. Hoole, Mr. Mur- 
 phy, Mr. Davies, Mr. Baretti, Mr. Bofwell, 
 Mr. Langton, &c. fometimes gave not in- 
 elegant dinners. Chemiflry afforded fome 
 amufement. In Gough-Square, and in 
 Johnfon's-Court, rie had an apparatus for 
 that purpofe ; and the fame, with perhaps 
 a few additions, was now fixed up in Bolt- 
 Court. He hadalfo a fort of laboratory at 
 Streatham, and diverted himfelf with draw- 
 ing eflences, arid colouring liquors for Mrs* 
 Thrale.
 
 t '59 3 
 
 Johnibn's benevolence to the unfortu- 
 nate, was, at all periods of his life, very 
 remarkable. In his houfe at Bolt-Court, 
 an apartment was appropriated to Mrs. 
 Defmoulins, daughter of his god-father, 
 Dr. Swinfen, and widow of Mr. Defmou- 
 lins, a writing-mafler, and her daughter, 
 and a Mifs Garmichael. Such was his hu- 
 manity, and fuch his generolity, that he 
 allowed Mrs. Defmoulins half-a-guinea a- 
 week, which was above a twelfth part of 
 his penfion. 
 
 " It feems," fays Mrs. Piozzi, " at once 
 vexatious and comical, to reflecT: that the 
 diffenfions thofe people chofe to live in, 
 diftrefied and mortified him exceedingly. 
 He really was oftentimes afraid of going 
 home, becaufe he was fure to be met at the 
 door with numberlefs complaints ; and he 
 ufed frequently to lament pathetically to me, 
 and to Mr. Saftres, the Italian mafler, who 
 was much his favourite, that they made his
 
 [ 160 ] 
 
 life miferable, from the impoflibility he 
 found of making theirs happy ; when every 
 favour he beftowed on one, was wormwood 
 to the reft. If, however, I ventured to 
 blame their ingratitude, and condemn their 
 conduct, he would inflantly fe-; about foften- 
 ing the one, and juftifying the other ; and 
 finifhed commonly by telling me, that I 
 knew not to make allowances for fituations 
 I never experienced : 
 
 To thee no reafon, who know 'ft onlj good, 
 
 But evil haft not try'd. Miltort." 
 
 In 1777, the fate of Dr. Dodd excited 
 Johnfon's compaflion, and called forth the 
 flrenuous exertion of his vaft comprehen- 
 five mind. He thought his fentence juft ; 
 yet, perhaps, fearing that religion might 
 fuffer from the errors of one of its miniflers, 
 he endeavoured to prevent the laft ignomi- 
 nious fpedacle. He wrote for that un- 
 happy man, his Speech to the Recorder of 
 
 ''^-
 
 London , at the Old Bailey, when the fen- 
 tence of death was about to be pronounced 
 upon him ; The Convict Addrefs to his un- 
 happy Brethren, a fermon delivered by him 
 in the chapel of Newgate ; two Letter s> one 
 to Lord Chancellor Bathurfc, and one to 
 Lord Mansfield ; A Petition from Dr. Dodd 
 to the King; A Petition from Mrs. Dodd to 
 the Qneen; Obfcrvations in the newfpapers 
 on occafion of Earl Percy's having prefent- 
 ed a petition for mercy to Dodd, figned by 
 twenty thoufand people ; A Petition from 
 the City of London ; and Dr. Dodd's Loft So- 
 lemn Declaration, which he left with the 
 fherifF at the place of execution. 
 
 In the fummer, he wrote a Prologue to 
 Kelly's comedy of " A Word to the Wife," 
 acted at Covent-Garden Theatre, for one 
 night, for the benefit of the author's wi- 
 dow and children. He alfo made fome ad- 
 ditions to the life of Bifhop Pearce (who af~ 
 filled him with fome etymologies in the 
 
 L.
 
 [ 162 ] 
 
 compilation of his Dictionary), prefixed to 
 his pofthumous works, in 2 vols. 410, and 
 wrote the Dedication to the King. 
 
 This year he engaged to write a concife 
 account of the Lives of the Engli/Jy Poets, 
 whofe works were inferted in an edition 
 undertaken by the London bookfellers, at 
 that time, in oppofition to the edition of 
 the " Britifh Poets," printing by the Mar- 
 tins at Edinburgh, and to be fold by Mr. 
 Eell in London. As a recompence for an 
 undertaking, as he thought, " not very te- 
 dious or difficult," he bargained for two 
 hundred guineas ; and was afterwards pre- 
 fented by the proprietors with one hund- 
 red pounds. His defigri was only to have 
 allotted to every poet an Advertiftment, like 
 that which we find in the French mifcel- 
 lanies, containing a few dates, and a gene- 
 ral character, which would have conferred 
 not much reputation upon the writer, nor 
 have communicated much information to
 
 163 ] 
 
 his readers. Happily for both, " the ho- 
 neft defire of giving iifeful pleafure," led 
 him beyond his firft intention. In execut- 
 ing this limited defignj he found his atteri- 
 tion fo much engaged, that he enlarged his 
 fcheme, and entered more fully into the 
 merits and value of the principal writers ; 
 and produced an ample, rich, and enter- 
 taining view of them 'in every refped:. The 
 firfl four volumes of this work were pub- 
 lifhed in 1779, under the title of Biogra- 
 phical and Critical Prefaces, and the remain- 
 ing five in 1781. " Some time in March," 
 he fays, in his Meditations, " I finifhed the 
 Lives of the Poets, which I wrote in my 
 ufual way, dilatorily ,and haflily ; unwilling 
 to work, and working with vigour and 
 hafte." In a memorandum previous to 
 this, he fays of them: " Written, I hope, 
 in fuch a manner, as may tend to the pro- 
 motion of piety." *?? 
 
 tij
 
 I 164 ] 
 
 In the felection of the poets he had no 
 refponfible concern; but Blackmore, Watts, 
 Pomfret, and Yalden, were inferted by his 
 recommendation ; and Mr. Nichols tells 
 us, he was frequently confulted during the 
 printing of the collection, and revifed many 
 of the fheets. 
 
 This was the laft of Johnfon's literary la- 
 bours ; and though " completed when he 
 was in his feventy-firfl year, mows that his 
 faculties were in as vigorous a ftateas ever. 
 His judgment and his taile, his quicknefs 
 in the difcrimination of motives, and fa- 
 cility of -moral reflection, mine as ftrongly 
 in thefe narratives, as in any of his more 
 early performances ; and his flyle, if not 
 fo energetic, is at leaft more fmoothed 
 down to the tafle of the generality of criti- 
 cal objectors. 
 
 The Lives of the Etigll/Ij Poets formed a 
 memorable era in Johnfon's life. It is a 
 work which has contributed to immor-
 
 talize his name, and has fecured that ra- 
 tional efteem which party or partiality 
 could not procure, and which even the in- 
 judicious zeal of his friends has not been 
 able to leflen. 
 
 From the clofe of his laft great work, 
 the malady that perfecuted him through 
 life, came upon him with redoubled force, 
 His conftitution declined fail, and the fa- 
 bric of his mind feemed to be tottering. 
 The contemplation of his approaching end 
 was conftantly before his eyes ; and the 
 profpecT: of death, he declared, was ter- 
 rible. . 
 
 On the 4th of May 1781, he loft his 
 valuable friend Thrale, who appointed him 
 one of his executors, with a legacy of 200!. 
 " I felt," he faid, " almofl the lafl flutter 
 of his pulfe, and looked for the laft time 
 upon the face that, for fifteen years, had 
 never been turned upon me but with re- 
 fpect an4 benignity." Of his departed 
 
 L iij
 
 L 166 ] 
 
 friend he has given a true character in a 
 Latin Epitaph, to be feen in the church qf 
 Streatham. 
 
 With Thrale, many of the comforts of* 
 Johnfon's life may be faid to have expired. 
 In the courfe of 1782, he complains that 
 he " paired the fummer at Streatham, but 
 there was no Thrale." In the fame year, 
 he received another fhock. He was fud- 
 denly deprived of his old domeftic com- 
 panion Levett, and paid a tribute to his 
 memory in an affecting and characteriflic 
 Elegy. 
 
 The fucceflive lofles of thofe acquaint- 
 ances whom kindnefs had rendered dear, 
 or habit made neceflary to him, reminded 
 Johnfon of his own mortality. 
 
 After the death of Thrale, his vifits to 
 Streatham, where he no longer looked up- 
 on himfelf as a welcome gueft, became lefs. 
 and lefs frequent ; and on the 5th of April 
 1783, he took his final leave of Mr. Thrale,
 
 [ i<5 7 J 
 
 to whom, for near twenty years, he was 
 under the higheft obligations. 
 
 " The original reafon of our connec- 
 tion," fays Mrs. Piozzi, in her lively and 
 entertaining " Anecdotes," his particularly 
 dlfordered health andfplrits^ had been long 
 at an end. Veneration for his virtues, re- 
 verence for his talents, delight in his con- 
 verfation, and habitual endurance of a yoke 
 rriy hufband firfl put upon me, and of 
 which he contentedly bore his fhare for 
 fixteen or feventeen years, made me go on 
 fo long with Mr. Johnfon ; but the perpe- 
 tual confinement, I will own to have been 
 terrifying in the firil years of our friend- 
 fhip, and irkfome in the lafl ; nor would I 
 pretend to fupport it without help, when 
 my coadjutor was no more." 
 
 A friendly correfponden.ee continued, 
 however, between Johnfon and Mrs. Thrale, 
 without interruption, till the fummer fol- 
 lowing, when flie retired to Bath, and in- 
 
 L iilj
 
 [ 168 ] 
 
 formed him, that {he was going to difpofe 
 of herfelf in marriage to Signior Piozzi, an 
 Italian muilc mailer. Johnfon, in his re- 
 lation of executor to her hufband, as alfo 
 in gratitude to his memory, was under an 
 obligation to promote the welfare of his 
 family. He endeavoured, therefore, by 
 prudent counfels and friendly admonition, 
 to prevent that which he thought one of 
 the greateft evils which could befal the 
 children of his friend, the alienation of the 
 affections of their mother. " The anfwer 
 to his friendly monition," fays Sir John 
 Hawkins, " I have feen ; it is written from 
 Bath, and contains an indignant vindica- 
 tion, as well of her conduct as her fame, 
 an inhibition of Johnfon from following 
 her to Bath, and a farewel, concluding, 
 " Till you have changed your opinion of 
 
 , let us converfe no more." In his 
 
 laft letter, 8th July 1784, directed to Mrs. 
 Piczzt, who then had announced her mar-
 
 [ 169 ] 
 
 riage to him, he fays, " I breathe out one 
 figh more of tendernefs, perhaps ufelefs, 
 but at lead fincere." He gives herhisbeft 
 advice, and adds, " the tears ftand in my 
 eyes." 
 
 Excluded from the dwelling and family 
 of his friend, he was compelled to return 
 to his own houfe, to fpend cheerlefs hours 
 among the objects of his bounty, when in- 
 creafing age and infirmities had made their 
 company more obnoxious than when he 
 left them, and the fociety of which he had 
 been recently deprived, rendered him, by 
 comparifon, lefs patient to endure it. 
 
 From this time, the narrative of his life 
 is little more than a recital of the prefTures 
 of melancholy and difeafe, and of num- 
 berlefs excurfions, taken to calm his anxiety, 
 and foothe his apprehenlions of the terrors 
 of death, by flying, as it were, from him- 
 felf. He was now doomed to feel all thofe 
 calamities incident to length of days, which
 
 [ 170 ] 
 
 he had fo eloquently enumerated in his 
 Vanity of Human Wi/hes. 
 
 On the i yth of June 1783, he was afflicl:- 
 ed with a paralytic flroke, which deprived 
 him of fpeech ; from which, however, he 
 gradually recovered ; fo that in July he was 
 &ble to make a vifit to Mr. Langton, at 
 Rochefler ; and made little excurfions, as 
 eafily as at any time of his life. 
 
 In September, while he was on a vifit at 
 Heale, the feat of Mr. Bowles, in Wiltfhire, 
 he loft Mrs. "Williams, whofe death he la- 
 mented with all the tendernefs which a long 
 connection naturally infpires. This was 
 another (hock to a mind like his, ever agi- 
 tated with the dread of his own diflblution. 
 
 Befides the palfy, he was all this year af- 
 flided with the gout, as well as with a far- 
 cocele, which he bore with uncommon firm- 
 nefs. 
 
 In December, he fought a weak refuge 
 from anxiety, in the inftitution of a week-
 
 ly club, at the Eflex Head, in Eflex Street, 
 then kept by an old fervant of Mr. Thrale's; 
 but the amufement which he promifed 
 himfelf from this inflitution, was but of 
 Ihort duration, 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1784, he 
 was feized with a fpafmodic afthma, which 
 was foon accompanied by fome degree of 
 dropfy. From the latter of thefe com- 
 plaints, however, he was greatly relieved by 
 a courfe of medicine. 
 
 The interval of convalefcence, which he 
 enjoyed during the fummer, induced him 
 to exprefs a wifh to vifit Italy. Upon this 
 fubjed:, however, his wifhes had been anti- 
 cipated by the anxiety of his friends to pre- 
 ferve his health. His penfion not being 
 deemed by them adequate to fupport the 
 expence of the journey, application was 
 made to the minifler, by Mr. Bofwell and 
 Sir Jofhua Reynolds, unknown to Johnfon, 
 through Lord Chancellor Thurlow, For an
 
 I 172 ] 
 
 augmentation of it, by 200!. The applica- 
 tion was unfuccefsful ; but the Chancellor, 
 in the handibmeft manner, offered to let 
 him have 500!. from his own purfe, under 
 the appellation of a loan, but with the inten- 
 tion of conferring it as a prefent. It is alfo 
 to be recorded to the honour of Dr. Brock- 
 lefby, that he offered to contribute icol. 
 per annum, during his refidence abroad. 
 Johnfon, however, declined both thefe of- 
 fers, with a gratitude and dignity of fenti- 
 ment, rifing almoft to an equal elevation 
 with the generofity of Lord Thurlow, and 
 Dr. Brocklefby ; and, indeed, he was now 
 approaching fail to a ftate in which money 
 could be of no avail. 
 
 In the beginning of July, he fet out on a 
 vifit to Dr. Taylor, at Afhbourn in Derby- 
 Ihire, where his complaints appear to have 
 met with but little alleviation. From Der- 
 byfhire he proceeded to Litchfield, to take 
 a laft view of his native city. After leav- 
 ing Litchfield, he vifited Birmingham and
 
 Oxford, and arrived in London on the 1 6th 
 of November. 
 
 The fine and firm feelings of friendfhip 
 which occupied fo large a portion of John- 
 fon's heart, were eminently difplayed, in 
 the many tender interviews which took 
 place between him and his friends in the 
 country, during his excurfion into the 
 North: an excurfion which feems to have 
 been undertaken rather from a fenfe of his 
 approaching diflblution, and a warm wifh 
 to bid thofe he loved a laft and long fare- 
 wel, than from any rational hope that air 
 and exercife would reftore him to his for- 
 mer health and vigour. 
 
 Soon after his return to London, both 
 the aflhma and dropfyv became more violent 
 and diftrefsful. Eternity prefented. to his 
 imagination an awful profped, and with as 
 much virtue as in general is the lot of man, 
 he fhuddered at the approach of his diflblu- 
 tion. He felt ftrong perturbations of mind.
 
 [ 174 ] 
 
 His friends endeavoured all in their power 
 to awaken the comfortable reflections of a 
 life well fpent. They prayed with him ; and 
 Johnfon poured out occafionally the warm- 
 eft efrufions of piety and devotion. 
 
 He had for fome time kept a journal in 
 Latin of the ftate of his illnefs, and the re- 
 medies which he ufed, under the title of 
 JE.gr i Ephemeris, which he began on the 6th 
 July, but continued it no longer than the 
 8th November, finding, perhaps, that it was 
 a mournful and unavailing regifter. 
 
 His attention to the caufe of literature 
 was evinced, among other circumftances, 
 by his communicating to Mr. Nichols a lift 
 of the original authors of " The Univerfal 
 Hiftory," mentioning their feveral mares 
 in that work. It has, according to his di- 
 rection, been depofited in the " Britifh Mu- 
 feum," and is printed in the Gentleman's 
 Magazine for December 1784. His inte- 
 grity was evinced, by paying a fmall debt 

 
 [ i?5 I 
 
 to Mr. Faden, which he had borrowed of 
 his father, and a larger one to Mr. Hamil- 
 ton. But the queftion will recur, why 
 were thefe debts fo long fuffered to remain ? 
 for we cannot fuppofe that his mind was 
 fuddenly enlightened, and his memory re- 
 novated. 
 
 During his ileeplefs nights, alfo, he a- 
 mufed himfelf by tranflating into Latin 
 verfe, from the Greek, many of the Epi- 
 grams in the Antholog'ta. 
 
 The fenfe of his fituation predominated, 
 and " his affection for his departed rela- 
 tions," fays Mr. Bofwell, " feemed to grow 
 warmer, as he approached nearer to. the 
 time when he might hope to fee them a- 
 gain." In a letter to Mr. Green, at Litch- 
 field, 2d December 1784, he enclofed the 
 Epitaph on his father, mother, and brother, 
 and ordered it to be engraved on a ftoiie, 
 " deep, mafly, and hard," and laid on " the 
 exact place of interment," in the middle
 
 [ 176 J 
 
 aifle of St. Michael's church. In the Sum- 
 mer he laid a ftone with a Latin Epitaph 
 over his wife in the chapel of Bromley, in 
 Kent. 
 
 During his illnefs, he experienced the 
 fteady and kind attachment of his numer- 
 ous friends. Nobody was more attentive 
 to him than Mr. Langton, to whom he 
 tenderly faid, Ye teneam moriens, deficient 'e 
 manu. Dr. Heberden, Dr. Brocklefby, Dr. 
 Warren, Dr. Butter, and Mr. Cruikfhank, 
 generoufly attended him without accepting 
 any fees ; and all that could be done from 
 profeffional fkill and ability, was done, to 
 prolong a life fo truly valuable. But his 
 conftitution was decayed beyond the refto- 
 rative powers of the medical art. Unfor- 
 tunately for him, he himfelf had a {matter- 
 ing of the medical fcience ; and imagining 
 that the dropflcal collection of water which 
 opprefledhim, might be drawn off, by mak-
 
 [ i?7 3 
 
 ing incifions in the calves of his legs, with 
 his ufual defiance of pain, cut deep, when 
 he thought Mr. Cruikfhank had done it 
 too tenderly. An effufi on of blood follow- 
 ed, which brought on a dozing. Previous 
 to his difiblution, he burnt indifcriminate- 
 ly large mafTes of paper, and among others, 
 two quarto volumes, " containing a full and 
 moft particular Account of his own Life," ' 
 the lofs of which is much to be regretted. 
 The lail days of this great man's exiftence 
 appear to have been unclouded by the 
 gloomy apprehenfions which he had for- 
 merly entertained. Full of resignation, 
 flrengthened in faith, and joyful in hope, 
 on the 1 3th of December, in the evening, 
 being in the 75th year of his age, he relign- 
 ed his breath with fo much compofure, 
 
 s 
 
 that his death was only known by the ceaf- 
 ing of his refpiration, which had been ren- 
 dered difficult by debility and afthma. He 
 
 was buried in Weflminfler- Abbey, near the 
 
 M
 
 f i7 ] 
 
 foot of Shakfpeare's monument, and clofe 
 to the coffin of his friend Garrick. His 
 funeral was attended by a refpeclable num- 
 ber of his friends ; particularly by many 
 of the members of the LITERARY CLUB,, 
 who were then in town, and feveral of the 
 reverend Chapter of Weftminfler. His 
 fchool-fellow and friend, Dr. Taylor, read 
 the funeral fervice. Agreeable to his own 
 requeft, a large blue flag-ftone was placed 
 over his grave, with this infcription : 
 
 SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL. D. 
 
 Obiit xiir die Decembris 
 
 Anno Domini 
 
 MDCCLXXXV. 
 
 ./Etatis&ia; LXXV- 
 
 A monument for Johnfon, in the Cathe- 
 dral church of St. Paul's, in conjunction 
 with the illuflrious Howard, was refolved 
 upon, with the approbation of the Dean 
 and Chapter, in 1789, and has been fup~
 
 parted by a moft refpeclable contribution. 
 It is in fuch for.wardnefs, that it is expect- 
 ed to be opened in October 1795. 
 
 Having no near relations, he left the 
 bulk of his property, amounting to 1500!. 
 to his faithful fervant, Francis Barber, 
 whom he looked upon as particularly un- 
 der his protection, and whom he had all a- 
 long treated as an humble friend. He ap- 
 pointed Sir Jofhua Reynolds, Sir John Haw- 
 kins, and Dr. (now Sir) William Scott, his 
 executors. 
 
 His death attracted the public attention- 
 i& an uncommon degree, and was followed 
 by an unprecedented accumulation of lite- 
 rary honours, in the Various forms of Ser- 
 mons, Elegies, Memoirs, Lives, Eflays, and 
 Anecdotes. A fermon on that event was 
 preached before the Univerfity of Oxford, 
 by Mr. Augutter ; and Dr. Fordyce, in his 
 " Addrefles to the Deity," i2mo, 1785, 
 and an " Epitaph" printed in the " Gen- 
 
 M ij
 
 [ x8o ] 
 
 tleman's Magazine" for 1785, paid an ele- 
 gant and affectionate tribute to his memo- 
 ry. The " Elegy on the Death of Dr. 
 Johnfon," by Samuel Hobhoufe, Efq. 410, 
 1785, was diflingaifhed from the mafs of 
 elegiac verfes on that occafion ; and the 
 juft, difcriminative, and elegant " Poetical 
 Review of the Moral and Literary Charac- 
 ter of Dr. Johnfon," by John Courtenay, 
 Efq. M. P. 4to, 1788, was perufed with a- 
 vidity by the admirers of wit and learning, 
 and the real friends of virtue and liberty. 
 His conduct and genius were examined and 
 illuflrated in the rapid " Biographical 
 Sketch of Dr. Johnfon," by Thomas Tyers, 
 Efq. in the " Gentleman's Magazine" for 
 1784; the fprightlyand entertaining " A- 
 necdotes of Dr. Johnfon," by Mrs. Piozzi, 
 8vo, 1785; the candid and judicious " Ef- 
 fay on the Life, Character, and Writings of 
 Dr. Johnfon," by Jofeph Towers, LL. D- 
 8vo, 1786; and the inftr.ucUve and inte-
 
 rcfling " Life of Samuel Johnfon, LL. D." 
 by James Bofwell, Efq. 2 vols. 410, 1791, 
 which are fumciently known to the world. 
 His Works were collected and publifhed by 
 Sir John Hawkins, with his " Life," in 
 eleven volumes, 1787. In this edition, the 
 Lives of the Poets are placed firft, and feve- 
 ral pieces are attributed to Johnfon with- 
 out foundation. In the " Life," too much 
 foreign matter is intermixed, and Johnfon 
 himfelf is fcarcely vifible in the mafs. A 
 new edition was publifhed in 1 2 vols. 8vo, 
 1792, with an " EfTay on his Life and Ge- 
 nius," by Arthur Murphy, Efq., the former 
 . " Life" being thought too unwieldy for re- 
 publication. In this edition, the order ob- 
 ferved in the former edition is inverted, and 
 the feveral pieces are chronologically ar- 
 ranged, omitting thofe attributed to him 
 without foundation. Some of his Prayers 
 are printed, and feveral of his Letters add- 
 ed to the 1 2th volume. Mr. Murphy has 
 
 M iij
 
 no new fads to embellifh bis work ; but the 
 tafk which has been left him, of giving a 
 fhort, yet full, a faithful, yet temperate hif- 
 tory of Johnfon, has been ably executed. 
 In the fuccindl review of his Writings, Mr. 
 Murphy difplays his own learning, judg- 
 ment, and tafte. His Prayers and Me ait a- 
 ticns were publifhed from his manufcripts, 
 by George Strahari, A. M. Vicar of Ifling- 
 ton, in 8vo, 1785. Letters to and from Sa- 
 muel Johnfon, LL. D. were publifhed by Mrs. 
 Piozzi, in 2 vols. 8vo, 1788. The Sermons 
 8vo, 1790, left for publication, by Dr. Tay- 
 lor, were unqueflionably Johnfon's ; and 
 the facl is now afcertained on the authori- 
 ty of Mr. Hayes, the editor. An imper- 
 fect collection of his Poems was publifhed 
 by Kearfley, in I2mo, 1785; and infert- 
 ed, with confiderable additions, in the edi- 
 tion of " The Works of the Englifh Poets," 
 1790. They are reprinted in the prefent 
 collection, together with the tragedy of
 
 [ 183 3 
 
 Irene, and feveral additional pieces collecl- 
 ed from Mr. Bofwell's " Life of Johnfon," 
 and other publications. 
 
 The religious, moral, political, and lite- 
 rary character of Johnfon, will be better un- 
 derflood by this account of his life, than by 
 any laboured and critical comments. Yet 
 it may not be fuperfluous here to attempt 
 to collect, into one view, his moil promi- 
 nent excellencies, and diftinguilhing parti- 
 cularities. 
 
 His figure and manner are more gene- 
 rally known than thofe of almofl any other 
 man. His perfon was large, robufl, and un- . 
 wieldy from corpulency. His carriage was 
 disfigured by fudden emotions which ap- 
 peared to a common obferver to be invo- 
 luntary and convuliive. But in the opi- 
 nion of Sir Jofhua Reynolds, they were the 
 confequence of a depraved habit of accom- 
 panying his thoughts with certain unto- 
 ward actions, which feemed as if they were 
 
 M iiij
 
 meant to* reprobate fome part of his pafl 
 conduct. Of his limbs, he is faid never to 
 have enjoyed the free and vigorous ufe. 
 When he walked, it feemed the ftruggling 
 gait of one in fetters ; and when he rode, 
 he appeared to have no command over his 
 horfe. His ftrength, however, was great, 
 and his perfonal courage no lefs fo. A- 
 mong other inftances, which exemplify his 
 pofieflion of both, it is related, that, be- 
 ing once at the Litchfield theatre, he fat 
 upon a chair placed for him befide the 
 fcenes. Having had occafion to quit his 
 feat, he found it occupied, upon his return, 
 by an innkeeper of the town. He civilly 
 demanded that it mould be reftored to him ; 
 but meeting with a rude refufal, he laid 
 hold of the chair, and with it, of the in- 
 truder, and flung them both, without fur- 
 ther ceremony, into the pit. At another 
 time, having engaged in a fcume with four 
 men in the ftreet, he refolutely refufed to
 
 yield to fuperior numbers, and kept them 
 all at bay, until the watch came up and car- 
 ried him and his antagonifts to the watch- 
 houfe. In his drefs he was fingular and 
 flovenly ; and though he improved fome- 
 what under the lectures of Mrs. Thrale, 
 during his long refidence at Streatham, yet 
 he was never able completely to furmount 
 particularity. He never wpre a watch till 
 he was fixty years of age, and then caufed 
 one to be made for him by Mudge and 
 Dutton, which coft him feventeen guineas, 
 with this infcription on the dial-plate, " For 
 the night cometh." He was fond of good 
 company, and of good living ; and, to the 
 lafl, he knew of no method of regulating 
 his appetites, but abfolute reftraint or unli- 
 mited indulgence. " Many a day," fays 
 Mr. Bofwell, " did he faft; many a year re- 
 frain from wine : but when he did ear, it 
 was voracioufly; when he did drink wine, 
 
 4 
 
 it was copioufly. He could praftife abfti-
 
 nence^ but not temperance" Inconverfation, 
 he was rude, intemperate, overbearing, and 
 impatient of contradiction. Addicted to 
 argument, and greedy of victory, he was 
 equally regardlefs of truth and fair reafon- 
 ing in his approaches to conquefl. " There 
 is no arguing with him," faid Goldfmith, 
 alluding to a fpeech in one of Gibber's 
 plays; " for if his piftol miffes fire, he 
 knocks you down with the butt end of it." 
 In the early part of his life, he had been 
 too much depreffed ; in his latter years, too 
 lavifhly indulged. His temper had at firft 
 been foured by difappointment and penu- 
 ry, and his petulance was afterwards flatter- 
 ed by univerfalfubmiflion. In his conver- 
 fation and goodnefs of heart, his friends 
 met with a recompenfe for that fubmiflion 
 which the fovereignty of his genius chal- 
 lenged, and his temper exacted from them 
 to the uttermoft. To great powers, he 
 united a perpetual and ardent defire to ex*
 
 eel ; and even in an argument on the moft 
 indifferent fubjecl:, he generally engaged 
 with the whole force and energy of his great 
 abilities. Of his converfatioa, it is true, 
 all that has been retained .by Mr. Bofwell, 
 does not feem to be worth recording. 
 Judging of it mo ft favourably, it is not 
 much diftinguifhed by the flafhes of wit, or 
 the ftrokes of humour. Where he appears 
 ferious, we are not always fure that he fpeaks 
 the fentiments of his conviction. Mr. Bof- 
 well allows that he often talked for victo- 
 ry, and fometimes took up the weaker fide, 
 as the moft ingenious things could be faid 
 on it. Truth, and the ableft defences of 
 truth, are mixed with error, and the moil 
 ingenious glofles which ingenuity could in- 
 vent, or addrefs enforce. Authors are ex- 
 alted, or depreciated, as the moment of hi- 
 larity or gloom was connected with the fub- 
 ject, or as the opinion of the fpeaker was 
 ^dverfe; and the whole is given as the fen-
 
 timent of Johnfon. But for the inferiority 
 of his converfation, to our opinion of the 
 man, he has himfelf made a prophetic apo- 
 logy, in his firft interview with his biogra- 
 pher, who was deflined to retail it. " Peo- 
 ple may be taken in once, who imagine 
 that an author is greater in private life than 
 another man. Uncommon parts require 
 uncommon opportunities for their exer- 
 tions." 
 
 -With thefe defects, there was, however, 
 fcarcely a virtue of which he was not in 
 principle poffefled. He was humane, cha- 
 ritable, affectionate, and generous. His 
 moil intemperate fallies were the effects of 
 an irrritable habit ; he offended only to re- 
 pent. To the warm and active benevo- 
 lence of his heart, all his friends have borne 
 teftimony. " He had nothing," fays Gold- 
 fmith, " of the bear, but his fkin." Mis- 
 fortune had only to form her claim, in or- 
 der to found her right to the ufe of his
 
 it 189 1 
 
 purfe, or the exercife of his talents. His 
 houfe was an- afylum for the unhappy, be- 
 yond what a regard to perfonal conveni- 
 ence would have allowed ; and his income 
 was diftributed in the fupport of his in- 
 mates, to an extent greater than general 
 prudence would have permitted. The 
 moil honourable teftimony to his moral 
 and focial character, is the cordial efteem 
 of his friends and acquaintances*. - He was 
 known by no man by whom his lofs was 
 not regretted. Another great feature of his 
 mind , was the love of independence . While 
 he felt the flrength of his own powers, he 
 defpifed, except in one inflance, pecuniary 
 aid. His peniion has been often mention- 
 ed, and fubjeclied him to fevere imputa- 
 tions. But let thofe, who, like Johnfon, 
 had no patrimony, who were not always 
 willing to labour, and felt the conftant re- 
 currence of neceflities, reject, without an 
 adequate reafon, .an independent income,
 
 [ 1 90 ] 
 
 whkh left his fentiments free, and requir- 
 ed neither the fertility of adulation, nor 
 the labours of fervice. It is not uncom- 
 mon to fee a defire to be independent, de- 
 generate into avarice. Johnfon did not 
 feel it early, for his benevolence counter- 
 acted it ; but he declined going into Italy, 
 when worth 1500!. befldes his penfion, be- 
 caufe of the expence ; and we fee the furly 
 dignity, which formerly fpurned at an ob- 
 ligation, relaxed, in his refufal of Dr. Brock- 
 lefby's afliftance, and Lord Thurlow's very 
 delicate offer of the fame kind. Some 
 little cenfure is due to him for his eafy 
 faith, occafioned by his political prejudices, 
 m the forgeries of Lauder. That he mould 
 have appeared in public, in company with 
 this defame r of Milton, is to be lamented. 
 Yet his renunciation of all connection with 
 Lauder, when his forgeries were detected, 
 is only a proof of his having believed (a 
 common weaknefs of worthy minds), with-
 
 [ igi J 
 
 out examination, not that he was an ac- 1 
 complice with the impoftor. 
 If there is any one trait by which John- 
 fon's mind can be difcriminated, it is gi- 
 gantic vigour. In information and taile he 
 was excelled; but what he fenoufly at- 
 tempted, he executed with that mailerly 
 original boldnefs, which leaves us to regret 
 his indolence, that he exerted himfelf on- 
 ly in the moment when his powers were 
 wanting, and relapfed again into his litera- 
 ry idlenefs. He united in himfelf what fel- 
 dom are united, a vigorous and excurfive 
 imagination, with a ftrong and Heady judg- 
 ment. His memory was remarkably tena- 
 cious, and his apprehenlion wonderfully 
 quick and accurate. He was rather a man 
 of learning than of fcience. He had ac- 
 cumulated a vail fund of knowledge, with- 
 out much of fyflem or methodical arrange- 
 ment. His reading feems to have been 
 cafual, generally defultory. To converfar
 
 [ 192 ] 
 
 tion he owed much of his varied know- 
 ledge ; and to his vigorous comprehenfive 
 powers, he was indebted for that clearnefs 
 of diflmcTion, that pointed judicious difcri- 
 mination, which elucidated every queftion, 
 and aftonifhed every hearer. From this 
 cafual reading, he rofe with a mind feldom 
 fatigued, endowed with a clear, accurate 
 perception ; the variety of his fludies re- 
 lieved, without fatiguing or perplexing him ; 
 the-ideas arranged in order, were ready for 
 ufe, adorned with all the energy of lan- 
 guage, and the force of manner. But the 
 labour of literature was a tafk from which 
 he always wiflied to efcape ; and as he could 
 excel others without great exertion, we fel- 
 dom perceive his faculties brought forward 
 in their full power. We fcarcely fee any 
 attempt, beyond a periodical paper, which 
 he .did not profefledly continue with lafli- 
 tude and fatigue.
 
 [ 193 1 
 
 He defcrves the character of mailer of the 
 Latin language ; but it is eafy to perceive 
 that his acquaintance with Greek litera- 
 ture was, what it is commonly fuppofed to 
 be, general and fuperficial, rather than cu- 
 f rious or profound. Of natural fcience he 
 knew but little ; and moft of his notions 
 on that branch of philofophy were obfolete 
 and erroneous. In his writings he appears 
 to have taken more from his own mind 
 than from books, and he difplays his learn- 
 ing rather in allufions to the opinions of 
 others, than in the direct ufe of them. 
 Hiftory he profefTed to difregard ; yet his 
 memory was fo tenacious, ^that we feldom 
 find him at a lofs upon any topic, ancient 
 or modern. 
 
 From early prejudices, which all his phi- 
 lofphy and learning could never overcome, 
 he was a zealous and fcrupulous high- 
 church-man, following to the uttermofl 
 tenet, the notions of Land^ whofe talents
 
 C 
 
 talents he has praifed, and whofe genius 
 he has deplored in his Vanity of Human 
 Wifies. In his political fentiments, he was 
 a rank Tory, and till his prefent Majefty's 
 acceflion to the throne, a violent Jacobite, 
 He had never examined either his religious 
 or political creed. Bigotted as to- a parti- 
 cular fyftem of politics, he appears obfli- 
 nately to have clofed his eyes againft the 
 light of truth ; and fo far from feeking in- 
 formation on the fub}ec\ fhudioufly refiu> 
 ed it. His piety was truly venerable and 
 edifying. In divinity r however, his re- 
 fearches were limited. He was well ac- 
 quainted with the general evidences of 
 Chriftianity ; but he does not appear to 
 have read his Bible with a critical eye, nor 
 to have interefled himfelf concerning the 
 elucidation of obfcure or difficult paflages, 
 It was his favourite maxim, " that the 
 proper ftudy of mankind is man ;" and we 
 muft confefs that in all the departments of
 
 E '95 ] 
 
 moral fcience, his excellence is unrivalled, 
 His acute penetration was conftantly alive 
 to " catch the manners living as they rife," 
 and but few follies or peculiarities could 
 efcape his obfervation. 
 
 The habitual weakneffes of his mind 
 form a ftriking and melancholy contrafl to 
 the vigour of his underflanding* His opi- 
 nions were tainted with prejudices almoft 
 too coarfe and childifh for the vulgar to 
 imbibe. His attachment to the univerfity 
 of Oxford, to which in his youth he owed 
 no great obligations, led him unjuftly to 
 depreciate the merit of every perfon who 
 had ftudied at that of Cambridge. - His 
 aver (ion to Whigs, Difienters, and Prefby- 
 terians, and his diilike to Scotland, and 
 many more extravagancies of opinion, that 
 it would be painful to enumerate, inflamed 
 his converfation, and influenced his con- 
 duel. He was fo prone to fuperftition as 
 
 N ii
 
 t '9<5 J 
 
 to make it a rule that a 'particular foot 
 fhould conftantly make the firft adlual 
 movement, when he came clofe to the 
 threfhold of any door or paflage, which he 
 was about to enter, or to quit. So deeply 
 was he infedled upon this fubjecl:, that Mr, 
 Bofwell relates that he has often feen him 
 " when he had neglected or gone wrong 
 in this fort of magical movement, go back 
 again, put himfelf in a proper pofture to 
 begin the ceremony, and having gone 
 through it, break from his abflraction, 
 walk brifkly on, and join his companion." 
 He took off his hat in token of reverence, 
 when he approached the places on which 
 Popiih churches had formerly ftood ; and 
 bowed before the monaftic vefliges. He 
 was folicitous to give authenticity to flories 
 of apparitions, and eager to credit the ex- 
 iflence of a fecond-fight, while he appear- 
 ed fcrupulous and fceptical as to particu- 
 lar fa&s. Thefe mental diflempers were
 
 r 197 3 
 
 the offspring of his melancholic tempera- 
 ment, and were foftered by folitary con- 
 templation, till they had laid fetters upon 
 the imagination too ftrong for reafon to 
 burft through. We fee it exerted in dif- 
 ferent circumflances, and expanding its 
 gloomy influence, till at lafl it terminated 
 little fhort of infanity. To this flate we 
 mufl attribute his mentioning fee ret tranf- 
 greflions-, his conflant fear of death, and 
 his religious terrors, not very confident 
 with his flrength of mind, or his convic- 
 tion of the goodnefs of God. This, at 
 leafl, feems to have been his own opinion 
 of the progrefs of thefe difeafes, as appears 
 from his hiftory of the Mad AJlronomer in 
 Raflelas, the defcription of whofe mind he 
 feems to have intended as a reprefentation 
 of his own. 
 
 But let us turn from thefe foibles and 
 Angularities, which fhow him weaker than 
 the generality of his fellow men, and point 
 
 N iij
 
 [ 198 1 
 
 to thofe perfections of mind, which prove 
 . him to have been of a rank fo much above 
 them. 
 
 As an author, Johnfon has diftinguifhed 
 himfelf as a philologifl, a biographer, a critic , 
 a moralift, a novelift, a political writer, and a 
 v poet, 
 
 On his Dictionary of the Englijh Language, 
 it is unneceflary to enlarge. It is in every 
 body's hands ; its utility is univerfally ac- 
 knowledged ; and its popularity is its beft 
 eulogium. The etymologies, though they 
 exhibit learning and judgment, are not 
 entitled to unqualified praife. The defiU 
 nitions exhibit aftonifhing proofs of acute- 
 nefs of intellect, and precifion of language. 
 A few of them muft be admitted to be er- 
 roneous. Thus, Windward and Leeward, 
 though diredlly of oppofite meaning, are 
 defined identically the fame way. The 
 definition of Net- work has been often quot- 
 ed with fportive malignity, as obfcuring
 
 [ 199 1 
 
 a thing in itfelf very plain. His introdu- 
 cing his own opinions, and even prejudices, 
 under general definitions of words, as Tory, 
 Whig, Penjion, Oats, Excife,and a few more, 
 rnuft be placed to the account of caprici- 
 ous and humourous indulgence. To his 
 lift of technical and provincial words, nine 
 thoufand have been added by Mr. Herbert 
 
 9 
 
 Croft, in his " Dictionary of the Englifh 
 Language ;" the publication of which is 
 delayed for want of fuitable encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 As a biographer ', his merit is of the high- 
 eft kind. His narration in general- is vi- 
 gorous, connected, and perfpicuous^; arid 
 his reflections numerous, appofite, and mo- 
 ral. But it muft be owned that he neither 
 -dwells with pleafure or fuccefs upon thofe 
 minuter anecdotes of life which oftener 
 mow the genuine man, than actions of 
 greater importance. Sometimes, alfo, his 
 colourings receive a tinge from preju- 
 
 N iijj
 
 [ 2OO ] 
 
 dice, #nd his judgment is infenfibly warp- 
 ed by the particularity of his private opi- 
 nion. Thefe obfervations apply to his Life 
 of Savage, the mofl finifhed of his biogra- 
 phical difquifitions ; and his Lives of feve- 
 ral other eminent men, which were origi- 
 nally printed in the " Gentleman's Maga^ 
 zine," and in other periodical publications, 
 and afterwards collected by Mr. Davies, in 
 his " Mifcellaneous and Fugitive Pieces," 
 and to his Lives of the Poets. 
 
 As a critic i he is entitled to the praife of 
 being the greateft that our nation has pro T 
 duced. He has not, like his prodeceflbrs, 
 tried merely to learn the art, and npt to 
 feel it. He has not gone to Dacier or to 
 BofTu, to borrow rules to fetter genius by 
 example, and impart diflinclions which 
 lead to no end ; but, pofTefled of two qua- 
 lities, without which a critic is no more 
 than a. caviller, ftrong fenfe, and an inti- 
 mate knowledge of human nature, he has
 
 [ 201 ] 
 
 followed his own judgment, unbiafled by 
 authority, and has adopted all the good 
 fenfe of Ariftotle, untrammelled by his 
 forms. This praife he has merited by his 
 Preface to Sbakfpeare, and the detached 
 pieces of criticifm which appear among 
 his works. But his critical powers fhine 
 with more concentrated radiance in the 
 Lives of the Poets. Thefe compofitions, a- 
 bounding in flrong and jufl illuflrations 
 of criticifm, evince the vigour of his mind, 
 and that happy art of moralization, by 
 which he gives to well-known incidents 
 the grace of novelty and the force of in- 
 flruction; and " grapples the attention," 
 by expreffing common thoughts with un- 
 common flrength and elegance. Of many 
 pafTages, it is fcarcely hyperbolical to af- 
 firm,; that they are executed with all the 
 Ikill and penetration of Ariflotle, and ani- 
 mated and embcllifhed with all the fire of 
 Longinus. The Lives of Cowley, Milton,
 
 I 202 ] 
 
 Butler, Waller, Dry den, Addifon, and Pope, 
 are elaborately compofed, and exhibit the 
 noblefl fpecimens of entertaining and folid 
 critic ifrn, that ancient or modern times 
 have produced. The diflertation in the 
 Life of Cowley, on the metaphyfkal poets 
 of the laft century, has all the attraction of 
 novelty, as well as found obfervation. In 
 the review of his works, falfe wit is detect- 
 ed in all its lhapes ; and the Gothic tafte 
 for glittering conceits, and far-fetched al- 
 lufions, is exploded, never, it is hoped, to 
 revive again. The " Paradife Loft," is a 
 poem which the mind of Milton only could 
 have produced ; the criticifm upon it is 
 fuch as, perhaps, the pen of Johnfon only 
 could have written. His eflimate of Dry- 
 den and Pope, challenges Quintilian's re- 
 marks upon Demoflhenes and Cicero, and 
 rivals the fineft fpecimens of elegant com- 
 pofition and critical acutenefs in the Eng- 
 liih language. Some caution, however, is
 
 p 203 ] 
 
 required to perufe thefe admirable com- 
 pofitions with advantage. The prefent 
 writer means not to fay that they are per- 
 fect, or that, on the whole, they are exe- 
 cuted with propriety. If they be regard- 
 ed merely as containing narrations of the 
 lives, delineations of the characters, and 
 ftrictures of the feveral authors, they are 
 far from being always to be depended up- 
 on. Johnfon, as he has had occafion to 
 remark, in reviewing his judgments of the 
 feveral poets who have fallen under his 
 confideration, brought to the production 
 of this work ideas already formed, opi- 
 nions tinctured with his ufual hues of par- 
 ty and prejudice, and the rigid unfeeling 
 philofophy, which could neither bend to 
 excufe failings, or judge of what was not 
 capable of a difpalfionate difquifition. 
 
 To think for himfelf in critical, as in all 
 other matters, is a privilege to which every 
 is undoubtedly entitled. This privi-
 
 t 204 3 
 
 lege of critical independence, an afFecla- 
 tion of {angularity, or fome other principle 
 not immediately vifible, is frequently be- x 
 traying into a dogmatical fpirit of contra- 
 diction to received opinion. Of this there 
 need no further proofs, than his almoft 
 uniform attempt to depreciate the/ writers 
 of blank verfe, and his degrading eftimate 
 of the exquifite competitions of Prior, 
 Hammond, Collins, Gray, Shenftone, and 
 Akenfide, and his pronouncing the " Pa- 
 radife Loft" " one of thofe books which 
 the reader admires and lays down, and for- 
 gets to take it up again." In his judg- 
 ments of thefe poets, he may be juflly ac- 
 cufed of being inflamed by prejudice, re- 
 folutely blind to merit. His rigorous con- 
 demnation, and puerile cfiticifms upon 
 Gray, and his faflidious judgment of Shen- 
 ftone, have drawn down upon him the unit- 
 ed cenfures of thofe who admire poetry in 
 her moft daring attitudes and gorgeous at-
 
 [ 205 3 
 
 tire, and thofe who are pleafed with her 
 modeft beauties, mofl humble fleps, and 
 leaft adorned guife. He obferves of Shen- 
 Hone, that he fet little value upon thofe 
 parts of knowledge which he had not cul- 
 tivated himfelf. His own tafte of poetry 
 feems in fome degree regulated by a fi- 
 milar flandard ; method, ratiocination, and 
 argument, efpecially if the vehicle be 
 rhyme, often obtaining his regard and 
 commendation, while the bold and enthu- 
 fiaflic, though perhaps irregular flights of 
 imagination, are pafled by with obflinate 
 and perverfe indifference. It is not, then, 
 to be wondered at, that the panegyrift of 
 Blackmore fhould withhold from Collins 
 and Gray the commendation he has be- 
 flowed on Savage and Yalden ; and that 
 his praifes of the whole clafs of defcriptive 
 poets are parfimonioufly beftowed, and too 
 frigid to make an impreflion. This is to 
 be attributed to the natural turn of his
 
 t 206 ] 
 
 mind, and to the bent which his feelings 
 had received from the habits of his life. 
 A certain inelegance of tafte, a frigid chur- 
 lifhnefs of temper, unfubdued and unqua- 
 lified by that melting fenfibility, that di- 
 vine enthufiafm of foul, which are eflen- 
 tial to a hearty relifh of poetical compofi- 
 tion, too often counteracted and corrupt- 
 ed the other poetical virtues of his intel- 
 lect. Poetry pleafes only as it is the image 
 of reality. He who has never delighted 
 in the filent beauties of creation, can feel 
 no emotions, as they are reflected to him 
 in defcription. Accuftomed to dogmatize 
 in his clofet, and fwelter in fome alley in 
 the city, Johnfon's mind never throbbed 
 with poetic thrills, as nature expanded her 
 rural glories to his eye ; and he preferred 
 the duft of Fleet-Street, or the windings 
 of the Strand, to the air of Hampftead, or 
 the beauties of Greenwich.
 
 [ 207 ] 
 
 One general remark may be ventured 
 upon here : Through the whole of his 
 work, the defire of praife, except in the 
 cafe of fome very favourite author, is al^ 
 mofl always overpowered by his difpofi- 
 tion to cenfure ; and while beauties are 
 pafFed over " with the neutrality of a 
 flranger, and the coldnefs of a critic," the 
 ilightefl blemifh is examined with micro- 
 fcopical fagacity. The truth of this ob- 
 fervation is particularly obvious, when he 
 defcends to his contemporaries, for whom 
 he appears to have little more brotherly 
 kindnefs, than they might have expecled 
 at Conftantinople. The prefent writer is 
 under no apprehenfion of being charged 
 with an unjuftifiable partiality in this opi- 
 nion of him, by thofe who know his dif- 
 poiition and the habits of his life. All 
 that is great and genuinely good in John- 
 fon, have had no warmer encomiaft.' He 
 has uniformly praifed his genius, his learn-
 
 [ 208 ] 
 
 ing, his good fenfe, the ftrength of his rea- 
 Ibnings, the fagacity of his critical deci- 
 fions, the happinefs of his illuftrations, and 
 the animation and energy of his ftyle : He 
 has acknowledged that there is no fatiety 
 in the delight he infpires on moral and re- 
 ligious themes ; and he makes no fcruple to 
 declare, that, though there are many opi- 
 nions erroneous, and many obfervations im- 
 proper, a great part of his Lives of the Poets 
 is fuch as no one but himfelf could have 
 executed, and in which he will not be fol- 
 lowed with fuccefs. 
 
 As a moralijl, his periodical papers are 
 diftinguifhed from thofe of other writers, 
 who have derived celebrity from fimilar 
 publications. He has neither the wit nor 
 the graceful eafe of Addifon ; nor does he 
 fhine with the humour and claflic fuavity 
 of Goldfrmth. His powers are of a more 
 grave, encrgic, and dignified kind, than 
 any of his competitors ; and if he enter-
 
 [ 209 J 
 
 tains us lefs, he inftrucls us more. He 
 ihows himfelf mafter of all the recedes of 
 the human mind, able to detect vice, when 
 difguifed in her moft fpecious form, and 
 equally pofTefled of a corrofive to eradicate, 
 or a lenitive to afluage the follies and for- 
 rows of the heart. Virtuous in his object, 
 jufl in his conceptions, ftrong in his ar- 
 guments, and powerful in his exhortations, 
 he arrefls the attention of levity by the 
 luxuriance of his imagery, and grandilo- 
 quence of his diction ; while he awes de- 
 tected guilt into fubtniflion by the ma- 
 jefty of his declamation, and the fterling 
 weight of his opinions. But his genius is 
 only formed to chaftife graver faults, which 
 require to be touched with an heavier 
 hand. He could not chafe away fuch 
 lighter foibles as buzz in our ears in fo- 
 ciety, and fret the feelings of .our lefs im- 
 portant hours. His gigantic powers were 
 
 able to prepare the immortal path to hea- 
 
 o
 
 [ 210 ] 
 
 ven, but could not Hoop to decorate our 
 manners with thefe lefler graces, which 
 make life amiable. Johnfon, at fuch a 
 tafk, was Hercules at the diftafT, a lion 
 courfing of a moufe, or an eagle Hooping 
 at a fly. He was formed to fuflain the 
 character of a majeftic teacher of moral 
 and religious wifdom. Hrs Rambler fur- 
 nifhes fuch an aflemblage of difcourfes on 
 practical religion and moral duty, of cri- 
 tical inveftigations, and allegorical and o- 
 riental tales, that no mind can be thought 
 very deficient, that has by conftant ftudy 
 and meditation aflimilated to itfelf all that 
 may be found there. Though inftruction 
 be its predominant purpofe, yet it is en- 
 livened with a confiderable portion of a- 
 mufement. Nos. 19, 44, 82, 88, 179, 
 182, 194, 195, 197, and 198, may be ap- 
 pealed to for inftances of fertility of fancy, 
 and accurate defcription of real life. Every 
 page of the Rambler mows a mind teem-
 
 ing with claffical allufion and poetical ima- 
 gery : illuftrations from other writers, are 
 upon all occafions fo ready, and mingle fo ' 
 eafily in his periods, that the whole ap- 
 pears of one uniform vivid texture. The 
 ferious papers in his Idler, though inferior 
 to thofe in the Rambler, in fublimity and 
 fplendor, are diftingvtifhed by the fame 
 dignified morality and folemn philofophy, 
 and lead to the fame great end of diffuiing 
 wifdom, virtue, and happinefs. The hu- 
 mourous papers are light and lively, and 
 more in the manner of Addifon. 
 
 As a novdift, the amazing powers of his 
 imagination, and his unbounded know- 
 ledge of men and manners, may be plain- 
 ly traced in the oriental tales in the Ram- 
 bler, in which he has not only fupported 
 to the utrrioft, the fublimity of the eaflern 
 manner of expreflion, but even greatly 
 excelled any of the oriental writers, in the 
 
 fertility of his invention, the conduct of 
 
 Oij
 
 [ 212 ] 
 
 his plots, and the juftnefs and ftrength of 
 his fentiments. His capital work of that 
 kind is his Raffelas. None of his writings 
 have been fo extensively diffufed over Eu- 
 rope. Such a reception demonft rates great 
 beauties in the work ; and there is no 
 doubt that great beauties do exift there. 
 The language enchants us with harmony ; 
 the arguments are acute and ingenious ; 
 the reflections novel, yet juft. It aftonifhes 
 with the fublimity of its fentiments, and 
 at the fertility of its illuilrations, and de- 
 lights with the abundance and propriety 
 of its imagery. The fund of thinking 
 which it contains, is fuch, that almoft e- 
 very fentence of it may furnifh a fubject 
 of long meditation. But it is not without 
 its faults. It is barren of interefting inci- 
 dents, and deilitute of originality, or di- 
 flinclion of characters. There is little dif- 
 ference in the manner of thinking and 
 reafoning of the philofopher and the fe~
 
 [ 213 ] 
 
 tnale, of the prince and the waiting wo- 
 man. Nehagab and Imlac, RaJJelas and 
 Pebuab, are all equally argumentative, ab- 
 ftracled, eloquent, and obflinate. Of that 
 dark catalogue of calamities, which are 
 defcribed as incident to the feveral fitua- 
 tions of life which he contemplates, fome 
 are not the neceflary confequence of the 
 fituation, but of the temper ; and others 
 are not thofe which are mofl generally or 
 feverely felt there. The moral that he 
 feeks to inculcate, that there is no fuch 
 thing as happinefs, is one ungrateful to 
 the human heart. If he could fucceed in 
 eftabliming it, -it would cripple every in- 
 citement to virtue, and palfy every fli- 
 mulus to action. It would leave man con- 
 tented to be drifted down the ftream of 
 life, without an object or an end ; to lofe 
 attainable excellence for the want of ex- 
 ertion, and link under furmountable dif- 
 ficulties, without a flruggle. Though there 
 
 O iij
 
 [-214 3 
 
 may not be permanent happinefs in the 
 gratification of our wifhes, there is much 
 in our expectations that they will be gra- 
 tified. Hope is the fweet and innocent 
 folace of our frail natures. It is the flan 
 of the unhappy, and however feeble its, 
 fupport, it is immoral and unkind to wreil 
 it from our hands. 
 
 The effect of Raflelas, and of Johnfon's 
 other moral tales, is thus beautifully illuf- 
 trated by Mr. Courtenay, in his " Poe^ 
 tical Review ;" 
 
 Impreflive truth, in fplendid fiHon dreft, 
 
 Checks the vain wifli, and calms the troubled breaft j 
 
 O'er the dark mind a light celeftial throws, 
 
 And fooths the angry paflions to repofe. 
 
 As oil effus'd illumes and fmooths the deep, 
 
 When round the bark the fwelling furges fweep. 
 
 As a political writer, his productions are 
 more diftinguifhed by fubtiety of difqui- 
 fition, poignancy of farcafm, and dignity 
 and energy of flyle, than by truth, equity, 
 or candour. He makes much more ufe
 
 [-215 ] 
 
 of his rhetoric than of his logic, and often 
 gives his reader high-founding declama- 
 tion inftead of fair argument. In perufing 
 his reprefentations of thofe who differed 
 from him on political fubjects, we are 
 fometimes inclined to aflent to a propofi- 
 tion of his own, that " there is no credit 
 due to a rhetorician's account, either of 
 good or evil." Many portions are laid 
 down in admirable language, and in high- 
 ly-polifhed periods, which are inconfiftent 
 with the principles of the Britifh confti- 
 tution, and repugnant to the common 
 rights of mankind. It muft always be re- 
 gretted, that a man of Johnion's intellec- 
 tual powers, mould have had fo ilrong a 
 propenfity to defend arbitrary principles 
 of government. But, on this fubjecl, the 
 ftrength of his language was not more 
 manifeft, than the weaknefs of his argu- 
 ments. In apology for him, it may be 
 admitted, that he was a Tory from prin- 
 
 O iiy
 
 ciple, and that mod of what he wrote, was 
 conformable to his real fentiments. But 
 to defend all that was .written by him, his 
 warmeft friends will find impoflible. 
 
 In his pofthumous writings, there is lit- 
 tle that can be faid to be interefting to 
 fcience or criticifm. His Letters are va- 
 luable, as we find in them the picture, 
 which, without intending it, he has left 
 of himfelf, to be that of a man, who, to 
 great intellectual powers, added extraordi- 
 nary piety, and many excellent moral qua- 
 lities. Of letter writing, he gives his idea 
 in the following paflage : " Some, when 
 they write to their friends, are all affec- 
 tion ; fome are wife and fententious ; fome 
 flrain their powers for effects of gravity ; 
 fome write news ; and fome write fecrets ; 
 but to make a letter without affection, 
 without wifdom, without gravity, without 
 news, and without fecrets, is doubtlefs the 
 great epiftolic flyle. There is a pleafure
 
 [ 217 ] 
 
 in correfponding with a friend, where 
 doubt and miftruft have no place, and e- 
 very thing is faid as it is thought. Thefe 
 are the letters by which fouls are united, 
 and by which minds, naturally in unifon, 
 move each other, as they are moved them- 
 felves. Let me know where you are, how 
 you got thither, how you live there ? and 
 every thing that one friend loves to know 
 of another." Such is the account of his 
 
 Letters. The value of them is, that we 
 
 " ' i i 
 
 have the man before us for near twenty 
 years. We fee him in his undrefs, that 
 is, the undrefs of his mind, which, unlike 
 that of his body, was never ilovenly. We 
 fee him in health and in licknefs, and in 
 all the petty bufinefs of life. From him- 
 felf, and in his own words, we are enabled 
 to colled the trueft and beft information. 
 He writes always in his own flyle. His 
 words are now and then too pompous for 
 familiar letters ; but his fkill in letter writ-
 
 [ 218 ] 
 
 ing comes out fully in this collection, and 
 entitles him to rank with the beft epifto- 
 lary writers of our nation. His letters on 
 the 'death of Mrs. Salufbury (mother of 
 Mrs. Piozzi), and Mr. Thrale's eldeft fon, 
 are at once moral and pathetic. They 
 flow from a man, who loved them, and 
 the furviving family. His folicitude for 
 Mr. Thrale, during a long illnefs, and his 
 feelings at his death, do honour to the 
 memory of Mr. Thrale, and to Johnfon's 
 gratitude and fenfibility. " I am afraid," 
 he fays, " of thinking what I have loft : 
 I never had fuch a friend before." To 
 Mrs. Thrale, he fays, " To fee and hear 
 you, is always to hear wit and fee virtue." 
 He feems at times to think her regard for 
 him is abated ; and a letter of kindnefs 
 from her appears to have revived and 
 comforted him. After lamenting the lofs 
 of Williams and Levett, he fays : " Such 
 fociety I had with them, and fuch I had
 
 [ 2I 9 -I 
 
 where I am never likely to have it 
 
 mare." When I came to " love and ho- 
 nour," in your letter, I faid to myfelf, 
 " How lov'd, how honoured once, avails 
 me not." Shall we never again exchange 
 our thoughts by the firefide ?" After fee- 
 ing him flruggle with illnefs and morbid 
 melancholy, it is comfortable to hear him 
 fay, almoil at the clofe of life " Attention 
 and refpec"l give pleafure, however late, 
 and however ufelefs. But they are not 
 ufelefs, even when they are late ; it is rea- 
 fonable to rejoice as the day declines, to 
 find that it has been fpent with the ap- 
 probation of mankind." 
 
 His Prayers and Meditations, publifhed 
 by Mr. Strahan, " at his own requeil," 
 have ' occafioned much concern,, difquie- 
 tude, and offence in the minds of many, 
 who apprehend that the caufe in which he 
 flood forth, will fuffer by the infirmities of 
 the advocate being expofed in this publi-
 
 [ 220 ] 
 
 cation, to the prying and malignant eye 
 of the world. It is not merely the name 
 of Johnfon that is to do fervice to any 
 caufe. His admirable arguments in favour 
 of religion and morality, are not weaken- 
 ed by the proofs of his pra&ical errors. 
 Thefe are always precifely what they were, 
 once good, and always good. His argu- 
 ments in favour of felf-denial do not lofe 
 their force becaufe he fafted, nor thofe in fa- 
 vour of devotion, becaufe bsfaid bis prayers. 
 His fafting and his prayers add ftrength 
 to his pious reafonings, from the proof 
 
 they afford, that he believed in the reli- 
 gion he inculcated. Human nature is 
 frail ; common frailties muft inevitably 
 preclude perfection to the leaflr faulty pro- 
 fefibr of Chriftianity. The world never 
 fuppofed Johnfon to have been a perfect 
 character. His ftupendous abilities, and 
 great learning, it is well known, could not 
 preferve their pofleflbr from the depreda-
 
 [ 221 ] 
 
 tions of melancholy. But his failing;? 
 leaned to the fide of virtue. His fuperfti- 
 tion feems to have arifen from the moft 
 amiable difpoiition in the world, " a pious 
 awe, and fear to have offended," a wifh 
 rather to do too much than too little. 
 Such a difpofition one loves, and always 
 wifhes to find in a friend ; and it can- 
 not be difagreeable in the fight of him 
 who made us. It argues a fenfibility of 
 heart, a tendernefs of confcience, and the 
 fear of God. That he fhould not be con- 
 . fcious of the abilities with which Provi- 
 dence had blefled him, was impoffible. He 
 felt his own powers ; he felt what he was 
 capable of having performed, and he faw 
 how little, comparatively fpeaking, he had 
 performed. Hence his apprehenfions on 
 the near profpeclof the account to be made, 
 viewed through the medium of conflitu- 
 tional and morbid melancholy, which of- 
 ten excluded from his fight the bright
 
 [ 222 ] 
 
 beams of divine mercy. His felf-abafe- 
 ment was ftridly ingenuous ; but his ex- 
 preflions, when compared with the tenor 
 of his conduct, fe^m too difparaging. 
 Chriftianity does not require us to deny 
 any one quality we poflefs, or to reprefent 
 ourfelves, in defiance of truth, as one mafs 
 of deformity and guilt. The inftructioii 
 of St. Paul, enforced by the moll facred 
 example, is fingly this, that we " think 
 not of ourfelves more highly than we ought 
 to think ; but that we think foberly." 
 Johnfon walked at all times humbly with 
 his God ; but when we follow him through 
 all his weaknefTes, his religious horrors, 
 and facred punctilios, we are inclined to 
 pity the conflitutional feeblenefs of his 
 nature, while we admire the perfeverance 
 and fervour of his devotion. We owe to 
 the excellencies of the Supreme Being, 
 every poflible degree of veneration and 
 honour ; but that virtue fhould tremble in
 
 [ 223 1 
 
 the prefence of Infinite Goodnefs, is not 
 lefs contrary to reafon, than it is contrary 
 to heroifm. In the prefence of Infinite 
 Goodnefs it feels a congeniality, and af- 
 fumes a confidence, that leaps, as it were, 
 the gulf between, and dares to afpire to 
 fentiments of attachment, fidelity and love. 
 But it would be unfair to conclude from 
 this circumftance, that the piety and hu- 
 mility of Johnfon were of no value ; and 
 the fincerity of his repentance, the fled- 
 faflnefs of his faith, and the fervour of his 
 charity, of no ufe. There is fomething fo 
 great and awful in the idea of a God, and 
 fomething fo fafcinating in the efTiifions 
 of gratitude, that there are numbers of men 
 intrepid and heroical, in every other re- 
 gard, that cannot boaft of all the ferenity 
 and afliirance in the bufinefs of religion, 
 that are fo earneftly to be defired ; and yet 
 the piety of thefe men is edifying and 
 venerable. Indeed the fate of " the
 
 f 224 3 
 
 profitable fervant" may juftly beget appre-* 
 henfions in the flouteft mind. " Language 1 
 affords no finer expreflioiis than thofe in 
 which the Prayers of Johnfon are conceiv- 
 ed. They are fhort, fimple, and unadorn- 
 ed. They bear fome refemblance to the 
 Collects in the " Common Prayer-Book," 
 without that dignity which is derived to 
 the latter, from the venerable antiquity of 
 the flyle and expreflion. They have no 
 particular method, no difplay of genius, 
 and no beauties that mould characterize 
 the man undf r whofe name they appear. 
 They have nothing that might not have 
 been produced by any man of plain com- 
 mon fenfe. At the fame time they con- 
 tain few traces of weaknefs-or abfurdity. 
 Never did there exift a greater difparity 
 between the performances of the fame au- 
 thor, than between this publication and 
 the Lives of the Poets, or the numbers of the 
 Rambler. His Meditations, as they are im- 

 
 [ 225 ] 
 
 properly called, are merely minutes ; at one 
 time of refolutions for his future conduct; 
 and at another, in the ftyle of a diary or 
 journal. Nether of them deferve the com- 
 mendation which has been bellowed upon 
 the Prayers . They are full of frivolous 
 minutenefTes, and feminine weaknefs, be- 
 yond any thing of which an abflracl de- 
 fcription can fuggeft the idea. They tell 
 us, that Johnfon,in fpite of all the contemp- 
 tuous ridicule with which he has treated 
 that delicate frame, which depends for its 
 compofure on the clouds and the winds, 
 was himfelf not exempt from languor, 
 fluggifhnefsj and procrastination ; that he 
 was full of the mofl pitiable religious cre- 
 dulity; and that his attention was often 
 engrofied by things in the lafl degree fri- 
 volous, futile j and unimportant;. But if 
 thefe obfervations are rather difadvanta- 
 geous to Johnfon, it is no lefs unqueflion- 
 
 able that he difplays a fenfibility and a 
 
 P
 
 [ 226 J 
 
 humane benevolence of heart, that have 
 rarely been equalled. Mr. Strahan's apo- 
 logy for Johnfon's feeming to pray for his 
 deceafed wife, is fupported by his opinion, 
 refpecting purgatory, recorded by Mr. 
 Bofwell. In his cooler moments he did not . 
 think fuc'h prayers proper, except with 
 the limitations there exprefled; but his 
 morbid melancholy did not always allow 
 him to be cool ; there were many mo- 
 ments when his language countenanced a 
 very different opinion. The ftruggle in 
 a breaft, conftituted as his was, between 
 the fever e principles of Proteftantifm, and 
 the genuine undifciplinable feelings of the 
 heart, illuflrates the kindnefs of his na- 
 ture more than it could be illuftrated by 
 any other circumftance. 
 
 His Sermons, publifhed under the name 
 of Dr. Taylor, are not unworthy of the 
 author of the Rambler, and afford addi- 
 tional proof of his ardour in the caufe of
 
 piety, and every moral duty. The laft 
 difcourfe in the collection was intended 
 to be delivered by Dr. Taylor, at the fu- 
 neral of Johnfon's wife, but he declined 
 the office, becaufe, as he told Mr. Hayes, 
 the praife of the deeeafed was too much 
 amplified. He who reads the difcourfe, 
 will find it a beautiful moral leflbn, writ- 
 ten with temper* and no where overchar- 
 ged with ambitious ornaments. The reft 
 of the difcourfes were the fund which Dr. 
 Taylor, from time to time, carried with 
 him to the pulpit. 
 
 T\itjtyle of his profe writings has been 
 too often criticifed, to need being noticed 
 here. It has been cenfured, applauded, 
 and imitated, to extremes equally dan^er- 
 ous to the purity of the ^nglifh tongue. 
 That he has innovated upon u:- language 
 by his adoption of Latin derivatives and 
 his preference of abftracT: to concrete terms, 
 cannot be denied. But the danger from 
 
 *
 
 t 228 ] 
 
 his innovation would be trifling, if thofe 1 
 alone would copy him who can think with 
 equal precifion ; for few paflages can be 
 pointed out from his works, in which 
 his meaning could be as accurately ex- 
 prefied by fuch words as are in more 
 familiar ufe. His comprehenfion of mind 
 was the mould for his language. Had 
 his comprehenfion been narrower, his 
 expreflion would have been eafier. His 
 fentences have a dignified march, fuit- 
 able to the elevation of his fentiments, 
 and the pomp of his fonorous phrafeology. 
 And it is to be remembered, that while 
 he has added harmony and dignity to GUI" 
 language, he has neither vitiated it by the 
 infertion of foreign idioms, .or the affecta- 
 tion of anomaly in the conftrudion of his 
 fentences. While the flowers of poetic 
 imagination luxuriantly adorn his flyle, it 
 is never enfeebled by their plentitude. It 
 is clofe without obtenebration, perfpicuous 
 without languor, and flrong without im-
 
 I 229 ] 
 
 
 
 petuofity. No periods are fo harmonious , 
 none fo nervous. He bas laboured his ftyle 
 with the greateft attention ; perhaps its e- 
 laboratenefs is too apparent. It has, per- 
 haps, too unwieldy and too uniform a 
 dignity. He feems to have been particu- 
 larly ftudious of the glitter of an antithe- 
 iis between the epithet and the fubflantive. 
 This flrikes while it is new ; but to the 
 more experienced reader, though it may 
 feem fometimes forcible, yet it will often 
 prove tirefome. It is remarkable that 
 Johnfon's early performances bear few 
 marks of the ftyle which he adopted in 
 his Rambkr. In his Life of Savage, the 
 ilyleis elegant, but not oftentatious. His 
 fentences are naturally arranged, and mtt- 
 fical without artifice. He affects not the 
 meafuring of claufes, and the balancing 
 of periods. He aims not at fplendid, 
 glowing diction. He feeks not pointed 
 , and elaborate contrafts. It is al- 
 
 P-Hj
 
 [ 230 ] 
 
 
 
 fo worthy of remark, on this fubjecl:, that 
 Johiifbn has altered , and perhaps improv-. 
 ed his ftyle, long after his reputation had 
 been eftablifhed, and his Rambltr had ap-f 
 peared. The compolition of this work 
 differs a good deal from that of Raflelas, 
 the Journey to the Weftern I/lands, and The 
 Lives of the Poets. The native vigour, and 
 peculiarity of feature, are indeed preferved, 
 but they are polifhed to greater elegance, 
 and taught to wear the appearance of a 
 happier eafe. In the Rambler his periods 
 are longer, and his meaning more conden- 
 fed ; he is more fond of abftraft terms, 
 and ambitious of fefquipedalian words. 
 But this work was written while he was 
 occupied in collecting authorities for his 
 Dictionary ; at a time when Browne and 
 Hooker, Bacon and Hakewell, were conti- 
 nually before him ; men whom it was dif- 
 ficult to read, and remain free from the 
 temptation to imitate. In his latter pro ? 
 du&ions, particularly his Lives of the Poets 9
 
 Tns fentences are fhorter, their conftrudion 
 more fimple, and the ufe. of Latin deriva- 
 tions lefs frequent. He has made his ftyle 
 in a greater degree elegant without con- 
 ilraint, dignified without ambitious orna- 
 ment, ftrong without rigidity, and har- 
 monious without elaboration. He has a- 
 d opted a meafured paufe, and a correfpond- 
 ent length in the numbers of tiis periods, 
 which gives to his profe much of the har- 
 mony, and fbmetimes fomewhat of the mo- 
 
 > 
 
 notony of verfe. As Homer gave a pecu- 
 liar language to his gods, to exprefs their 
 divine conceptions, let us allow to John- 
 fon, and to men like him, a ftyle fuch as 
 he has ufed; for we have as yet found 
 none more grand and energetic. It is cer- 
 tain that his example has given a general 
 elevation to the language of his country ; 
 for many of our befl writers have approach- 
 ed very near to him ; and from the in- 
 fluence which he has had upon our com- 
 
 P iiij
 
 pofition, fcarcely any thing is written no\v, 
 that is not better exprefTed than was ufual 
 before he appeared to lead the national 
 tafte. This circumftance is well defcribed 
 by Mr. Courtenay, in his " Poetical Re- 
 view ;" a performance which fhows that h 
 has caught no mean degree of the expan-* 
 fion and harmony which characterize the 
 flyle of Johnfon. 
 
 By nature's gifts ordain'd mankind to rule, 
 He like a Titian form'd his brilliant fchool, 
 And taught congenial fpirits to excel, 
 While from his lips impreffive wifdom fell, 
 
 Among the congenial fpirits " who 
 formed the fchool of Johnfon," Mr. Cour- 
 tenay celebrates the refpe&able names of 
 Goldfmith, Sir Jofhua Reynolds, Dr. Bur- 
 ney, Mr.Malone,Mr.Steevens,Dr.Hawkef- 
 worth, Sir William Jones, and Mr. Bofwell, 
 and concludes his defcription in the fol- 
 lowing animated lines ;
 
 [ 233 3 
 
 Nor was his energy confin'd alone 
 
 To friends around his philofophic throne ; 
 
 His influence wide improved our letter* d ijle, 
 
 And lucid vigour mark'd the general fyle ; 
 
 As Nile's proud waves, fwoln from their oo7y bed, 
 
 Firfl o'er the neighboring mead majeftic fpread, 
 
 Till, gathering force, they more and more expand, 
 
 And with due virtue fertilize the land. 
 
 Among the imitators of Johnfon's flyle, 
 whether intentionally, or by the imper- 
 ceptible effect of itsftrength and animation, 
 may be reckoned a great proportion of 
 the moft diftinguifhed writers in our lan- 
 guage lince he appeared, Dr. Robertfon, 
 Dr. Blair, Mr. Gibbon, Dr. Leland, Dr. 
 Fergufon, Dr. Knox, Dr. Stuart, Dr. Parr, 
 Dr. Thomfon, Dr. Gillies, Mr. Mac- 
 kenzie, and Mr. Chalmers, &c. Perhaps 
 the moft perfect imitation of Johnfon is a 
 profefTed one, intituled " A Criticifm on 
 Gray's Elegy in a Country Church- Yard," 
 faid to be written by Dr. Young, Profeflbr 
 of Greek at Glafgow. It has not only the
 
 [ 234 ] 
 
 peculiarities of Johnfon's ftyle, but that 
 very fpecies of literary difcuffion and illuf- 
 t Cation for which he was eminent. But 
 let men of moderate conceptions beware 
 of ill judged imitations. Their attempt to 
 copy his language is Salmoneus thunder- 
 ing at Elis, or a mortal wielding the fpear 
 of Pelides. It is to raife a melancholy con- 
 traft between the flimnefs of the thought, 
 and the capacity of the expreflion, to cover 
 theheadofapigmywiththecafqueofagiant. 
 As a poet, the merit of Johnfon, though 
 confidera'ule, yet falls far fhort of that 
 which he has difplayed in thofe ' provinces 
 of literature in which we have already fur- 
 veyed him. As far as ftrength of expref- 
 fion, fruitfulnefs of invention, and abun-' 
 dance of imagery, conftitute poetry, he is 
 much more of a poet in his profe works, 
 than in his metrical competitions. Meta- 
 phor, to the merit of which he was blind 
 and uncharitable, is fo much the foul and
 
 C 235 3 
 
 effence of poetry, that without it rhyme 
 and metre are vain. There may be fmooth- 
 nefs, fyllabic arrangement, and good fenfe, 
 in a metrical production ; but there can be 
 no true poetry without imagery, warm ex* 
 prefiion, and an enthufiafm which in- 
 toxicates the reader, lifts him above the 
 ground, and makes him forget that he is 
 mortal. Poetry is paflion ; paflion is a tem- 
 porary phrenzy, during which we both 
 hear and fee wliat we are totally infenfible 
 to in our Tober fenfes. What did the an- 
 cients mean by the Pythian prieftefs being 
 numine afflata, when me received infpira<- 
 tion, and delivered it in verfe, and in ap- 
 plying the fame idea to poets, but that they 
 had fuch a temporary delirium ? Ratioci- 
 nation prevailed in Johnfon much more 
 than fenfibility. He has no daring fu- 
 blimities, nor gentle graces; he never glows 
 with the enthufiafm of the god, or kindles 
 a-fympathetic emotion in the bofom of his
 
 [ 236 ] 
 
 readers. His poems are the plain and fen- 
 fible effufions of a mind never hurried be- 
 yond itfelf, to which the ufe of rhyme 
 adds no beauty, and from which the ufe 
 of profe would detract no force. His 
 verfification is fmooth, flowing, and un- 
 reftrained ; but his paufes are not fuffi- 
 ciently varied, to refcue him from the im- 
 putation of monotony. He feems never at 
 a lofs for rhyme, or deflitute of a proper 
 cxpreflion ; and the manner of his verfe 
 appears admirably adapted to didactic or 
 fatiric poetry, for which his powers were 
 equally, and perhaps alone qualified. 
 
 His tragedy of Irene may be coniidered 
 as the greatefl effort of his genius. It is a 
 legitimate dramatic composition. The u- 
 nities of time, place, and action, are ftrict- 
 ly obferved. The diction is nervous, rich, 
 and elegant ; but fplendid language, and 
 melodious numbers, will make a fine poem, 
 not a tragedy. The fubftance of the ftory
 
 . t 237 3 
 
 is fhortly this. In 1453, Mahomet the 
 Great, firft emperor of the Turks, laid 
 iiege to Conilantinople,and having reduc- 
 ed the place, became enamoured of a fair 
 Greek, whofe name was Irene. The fultan 
 invited her to embrace the law of Maho- 
 met, and to grace his throne. Enraged at 
 this intended marriage, the janizaries form- 
 ed a confpiracy to dethrone the emperor. 
 To avert the impending danger, Mahomet, 
 in a full afiembly of the grandees, " catch- 
 ing with one hand," as Knolles exprefles it, 
 " the fair Greek by the hair of her head, 
 and drawing his faulchion with the other, 
 he, at one blow, ftruck off her head, to the 
 great terror of them all ; and having fo 
 done, faid unto them, " Now, by this, judge 
 whether your emperor is able to bridle his 
 affections or not." The ftory is fimple, and 
 it remained for Johnfon to amplify it with 
 proper epifodes, and give it complication 
 and variety. But he has altered the cha*
 
 f 238 ] 
 
 and cataftrophe, which he found in . 
 the hiftorian, fo as to diminifh the drama- 
 tic effect. Many faults may be found with 
 the conduct of the fable. The principal 
 one is, that the plot is double, and has the 
 moil flriking faults of fuch a fable ; for it 
 divides the fpectator's attention and regard 
 between characters, whofe interefts are op- 
 pofite, and whofe happinefs or mifery is 
 made to depend upon the fame events. We 
 cannot hope the efcape of Demetrius and 
 AJpnfia, without dreading the condemna- 
 tion of Irene ; and our wifhes as to each, 
 operating in contradiction, muft uiminim 
 our concern for both. The caiaftrophe, 
 which is made to depend upon the fate of 
 Irene, is meanly worked up. It is brought 
 about too fuddenly, without a due con- 
 nection with preparatory incidents, anoTat 
 the very moment when we have not lei- 
 fure to contemplate it, and are alone in- 
 tereifled for the efcape of Demetrius and
 
 [ 239 1 
 
 pajia. We neither anticipate >it with fuffi~ 
 cient perfpicuity, nor confider it with fo- 
 kmn.ity, fo as to be affected, upon its oc- 
 currence, with genuine dramatic grief or 
 terror. The characters of the piece have 
 nothing difcriminative. They are not re- 
 prefentations of different tempers, paflions, 
 and minds, but of different degrees of vir- 
 tue and vice. They are fo naked of pe- 
 culiarity, that we cannot know why the 
 fame incidents fhould operate differently 
 upon any one of them, fo as to impel them 
 to a different action, or produce an emo- 
 tion even varying in flrength from what it 
 would have done in any other. They pof- 
 fefs too much of a balanced importance in 
 the conduct of the drama, fo that the mind 
 knows not how to make its election of a 
 principal character, or to fix its attention 
 upon any perfonage to whofe felicity it 
 may attach its wifhes, and upon whofe fate 
 it may fufpend its fympathy. From the
 
 name of the tragedy, we mull fuppofe that 
 Johnfon confidered Irene as the heroine, yet 
 the reader feels more concern, even for 
 the ftoic virtue and cool fondnefs of Afpa- 
 Jta. The former is too much of a mixed 
 character ; neither her goodnefs, nor her 
 weaknefs, nor her depravity are predomi- 
 nant. She has not fufficient virtue to 
 awaken our fympathy for the fufFerings of 
 innocence, nor fufficient vice to aroufe 
 our terror at the punifhment of guilt. The 
 fpeeches are oftener the recollections of 
 pad feelings, than the ebullitions of im- 
 mediate paffions, ftarted by the paffing 
 actions of the fcene. Little is made pre- 
 fe.nt to the fpedtator's mind, and of that 
 little, nothing has life. His critique upon 
 the tragic poets, of the commencement 
 of this century, is, perhaps, in no inftance, 
 more true than it is of himfelf. 
 
 From bard to bard the frigid caution crept, 
 And declamation roar*d whilft paflion flept ;
 
 m- c , 
 
 Yet flill did virtue deign the ftage to tread, 
 Philofophy remain'd, though nature fled. 
 
 He has nothing of the fire of Lee, or 
 the pathos of Otway. He is more decla- 
 matory than Rowe, and Irene, if poflible, 
 is colder than " Cato." There is not, 
 throughout the play, a fingle fituation to 
 excite curiolity, and raife a conflict of 
 paffions. The fentiments are juft and al- 
 ways moral, but feldom appropriated to 
 the character, and generally too philofo- 
 phic. His poetical imagery is neither 
 ilriking nor abundant. The language in 
 which the thoughts are conveyed, is, in 
 general, vigorous, accurately polifhed, and 
 regularly mufical. It would be difficult 
 to felecl: a pafTage in dramatic poetry more 
 nobly conceived, or finely exprefled, than 
 the reply of Demetrius to the complaint of 
 his friend, that no prodigy from Heaven 
 had foretold the calamities of Greece.
 
 C 2*2 ] 
 
 A thoufand horrid prodigies foretold it ; 
 A feeble government, eluded laws, 
 A factious populace, luxurious nobles, 
 , And all the maladies of finking ftates. 
 When public villany, too ftrong for juftice, 
 Shows his bold front, the harbinger of ruin, 
 Gan brave Leontius call for any wonders, 
 Which cheats interpret, and which fools regard \ 
 When fome neglected fabric nods beneath 
 The weight of years, and totters to the tempeft, 
 Mud Heaven difpatch the meflengers of light, 
 
 Or wake the dead to warn us of its fall ? 
 
 i 
 
 As an alloy to the beauties of this paf- 
 fage, impartial criticifm is compelled to 
 tarn to another, which is furely little fhort 
 of nonfenfe, and well worthy of a place in 
 the treatife of " Scriblerus." 
 
 Oft have I rag'd, when their wide-wafting cannon 
 Lay pointed at our batteries,'^/ unfornfdy 
 And broke the meditated lines of war. 
 
 Irene may be added to fome other plays 
 in our language, which have loft their 
 place in the theatre, but continue to pleafe 
 in the clofet. As it is the drama of our
 
 [ 243 I 
 
 great Englifh moralift; the prefent writer 
 fhould \vifh to fee it revived; 
 
 Of the poetical competitions, which are 
 known to be of his writing, the Imitations 
 of Juvenal are the beft ; and are, perhaps, 
 the nobleft imitations to be found in any 
 language. They are not fo clofe as thofe 
 done by Pope from Horace, but they are 
 infinitely more fpirited and energetic. In 
 .Pope, the moft peculiar images of Roman 
 life are adapted with fingular addrefs to 
 our own times ; in Johnfon, the fimilitude 
 is only in general paflages, fuitable to e- 
 very age in which refinement has degene- 
 rated into depravity. 
 
 His London breathes the true vehement 
 contemptuous indignation of Juvenal's fa- 
 tire. It is more popular in its fubject, and 
 more animated in its compofition, than his 
 Vanity of Human Wijhes. It blazes forth 
 with the genuine fire of poetry, in the 
 liveiinefs of its cotrefpondent allufions, the
 
 [ 244 J 
 
 energy of its expreffions, and the frequen- 
 cy of its apoftrophes. The Vanity of Hu- 
 man Wijhes is more grave, moral, fenten- 
 tious, and ftately. In his London he often 
 takes nothing more than the fubjecl from 
 the Roman poet, proves or illuftrates it ac- 
 cording to the originality of his own con- 
 ceptions, or thfr warmth of his own fancy ; 
 and fometimes, too, he deferts him alto- 
 gether, and that not only where the mo- 
 defty of an Englifh ear, and the inappli- 
 cability of the original to modern cuftoms 
 require it, but in places where the topics 
 and the moral ufe is as applicable to Lon- 
 don as they are to ancient Rome. Thus 
 he has either totally negleded, or but 
 flightly imitated that beautiful paflage be- 
 ginning at ver. 1 373 
 
 Dat teftem Romse tarn fan&um, quam fuit hofpes 
 Numinis Idaei, &c. 
 
 and ending with ver. 190,
 
 [ 245 3 
 
 ~ -praeftare tributa clientes 
 Cogimur, et cultis augere peculia fervis. 
 
 The Vanity of Human Wt/hes follows the 
 original more clofely, but ftill with many 
 omiflions. The fubjed is taken from the 
 fecond " Alcibiades" of Plato, and has an 
 intermixture of the fentiments of Socra- 
 tes, concerning the object of prayers of- 
 fered up to the Deity. The general pro- 
 pofition is, that good and evil are fo little 
 underftood by mankind, that their wifhes, 
 when granted, are always deftrucTive. This 
 is exemplified in a variety of inflances ; 
 fuch as riches, flate-preferment, eloquence, 
 military glory, long life, and the advan- 
 tages of beauty. Juvenal's conclufion is 
 Admirable, " Let us," he fays, " leave 
 it to the gods to judge what is fittefl for 
 us. Man is dearer to his Creator than to 
 himfeif. If we muft pray for any fpecial 
 grace, let it be for a found mind, in a 
 found body. Let us pray for fortitude,
 
 that we may think the labours of Herein 
 les, and all his fufferings, preferable to a 
 life of luxury, diflipation, and the foft re- 
 pofe of Sardanapulus. This is a blefling 
 within the reach of every man ; this we 
 can give ourfelves. It is virtue, and vir- 
 tue only, that can make us happy." For 
 the characters which Juvenal has chofen 
 to illuftrate his doclrin^, Johnfon has fub- 
 ftituted others from modern hiftory ; for 
 Sejanus, he gives Cardinal Wolf&y^ Bucking- 
 bam, ftabbed by Felton, Str afford and Cla- 
 rendon ; for Demofthenes and Cicero, Ly- 
 diat, Galileo, and Laud; for Hannibal', 
 Charles XII; and to fhow the confequen- 
 ces of long life, he fays, 
 
 From MarlVrougVs eyes the ft reams of dotage flow, 
 And Swift expires a driveller and a {how : 
 
 And of beauty he fays, 
 
 Yet V.ane woyld tell what ills from beauty ipring, 
 And Sedley curs'd the form that plc:is'd a ki n ?-
 
 [ 247 I 
 
 This laft example is ill chofen ; for it is 
 well known that the Countefs of Dorchef- 
 ter, miftrefs to James IL was not hand- 
 fome. Owing to the dearth of modern ex- 
 amples, his inftances are lefs numerous 
 and lefs ftriking than thofe of Juvenal. 
 His thoughts are not fo comprefled in the 
 expreffion, or fo energetically conveyed to 
 the mind, as thofe of the Roman fatirift ; 
 but his diction is lefs laboured and affed- 
 ed, and he flows in a flream of verifica- 
 tion fcarcely lefs rapid and eloquent, but 
 infinitely more fmooth than the Latin 
 poet. He has preferved all the beauties 
 and virtue of the original moral, but ftrip- 
 ped it, with infinite art, from all appear- 
 ance of Epicurean infidelity, and filled it 
 with precepts worthy of a philofopher, and 
 wifhes fitting for a Chriflian. He has fuc- 
 ceeded wonderfully in giving to his imi- 
 tation the air of an original. The Chrif- 
 
 9 
 
 had to ilruggle with the Heathen
 
 [ 248 ] 
 
 poet, and though we cannot fay that he 
 has furpafled him, he has, at leaft, enter- 
 ed into a noble competition. 
 
 Of his fmaller poems, the Prologue for 
 the Opening of Drury-Lane Theatre, has been 
 univerfally admired, as a matter ly and 
 comprehenfive criticifm upon the feveral 
 ages of Englifh dramatic poetry. The 
 fubjecT: and the moral were well conceived, 
 and are as nobly exprefled. The charac- 
 ter of Shakfpeare is delineated with a fe- 
 licity of expreflion, that challenges the 
 whole compafs of Englifh poetry. His 
 other Prologues are copies of his mind, 
 clear and comprehenfive, pointed and e- 
 nergetic. Of his Odes upon the feafons, 
 his^addrelTes to Autumn and Winter feem 
 the beft. Many of the flanzas are exceed- 
 ingly beautiful ; as ufual, moral, and un- 
 ufually pathetic. 'They manifeft, howe- 
 ver, that his defcnptive poetry is not the 
 production of a warm fancy, impelled to
 
 [ 249 3 
 
 give vent by poefy to its overflowing feel- 
 ings. Thofe paflions and obje&s' which 
 would infpire the genuine poetic mind 
 with enthufiafm, pafs by him unfelt and 
 unnoticed. He is melancholy in Spring, 
 jocund in Winter ; he lavifhes no enco- 
 miums upon the perfumed zephyrs, but 
 flies to melancholy morals, or commemo- 
 rates the comforts of a cheering flaggon 
 and a fnug fire-fide. His Ode to Evening, 
 addreffed to Stella, the Natural Beauty, and 
 the Vanity of Wealth, are in- general ele- 
 gant. The fir ft is warm and fentimental, 
 and fhows that he was neither ignorant 
 of the feelings, nor infenfible to the joys 
 of a lover. The Ode to Friend/hip \^ diftin- 
 guifhed by delicacy of fentiment and beau- 
 ty of expreflion. Of his addrefs To Lyce, the 
 idea perhaps is not original ; but the ima- 
 ges are happily felected, and well exprefled. 
 Stella in Mourning, the verfes to Lady Fire- 
 brace , To an elderly Lady, and On the Sprig
 
 [ 250 ] 
 
 of Myrtle, are occafional compofitions, and 
 of courfe derive their merit chiefly from 
 local and temporary circumftances. The 
 principal art in fuch performances, is to 
 make a trifling circumftance poetical or 
 witty. In the verfes On the Sprig of Myrtle, 
 he has very happily fucceeded. The Ant 
 muft be allowed to be nervous and ele- 
 gant. The verfes On the Death rf Stephen 
 Grey, are worthy the pen of Pope. 
 
 The Elegy on the Death of Mr. Levetf, 
 as it was among the laft, fo it is one of the 
 beft of his performances. It is moral, 
 characleriftic, and pathetic. The follow- 
 ing ftanzas are exq.uifitely beautiful. 
 
 Yet flill he fills affection's eye, 
 
 Obfcurely wife and coarfely kind j 
 Nor letter'd arrogance deny 
 
 This praife to merit unrefm'd. 
 When fainting nature call'd for aid, 
 
 And hovering death prepar'd the blow, 
 His vigorous remedy difplay'd 
 
 The power of art without the fliow .
 
 [ 351 ] 
 
 Iii rnifery's darkeft cavern known, 
 
 His ufeful care was ever nigh, 
 Where hopelefs anguifli pourM his groan, 
 " And lonely want retir'd to die. 
 No fummons mock'd by chill delay, 
 
 No petty gain difdain'd by pride ; 
 The modeft wants of every day 
 
 The Loil of every day fupply'd. 
 
 The concluding lines are exceptionable ;. 
 
 Death broke at once the vital chaw, 
 And forc'd his foul the neareft way, 
 
 Since it is the foul which gives life, the 
 chain that confines the foul is coporeal : 
 The vital chain cannot be faid, with pro- 
 priety, to be broken by death. Johnfon 
 would not have forgiven an error of this 
 kind in Gray. 
 
 Of his remaining pieces, fome are mere 
 impromptus, which were never intended 
 for the public eye, and others were the 
 fuggeftions of temporary incidents. Many 
 of them are fprightly and elegant, and may 
 be read with pleafure; but they require
 
 t 252 ] 
 
 no diftincT: enumeration, or particular crU 
 ticifm. 
 
 Among our Englifh poets, it is no un-^ 
 pleafant reflexion to be able to find fo 
 many elegant writers of Latin verfe ; in 
 the fir ft rank of which, Johnfon ftands very 
 high. Jonfon, Crafhaw, Cowley, May, 
 Milton, Marve4, Addifon, Gray, Smart, 
 Warton, and Johnfon, are fuch writers of 
 Latin verfe, as any country might with 
 juftice be proud to own. Johnfon was e^ 
 minently (killed in the Latin tongue, and 
 ftrongly attached to the cultivation of La- 
 tin poetry. The firfl fruits of his genius 
 were compofitions in Latin verfe. His 
 tranflation of the Mejfiab, gained him re- 
 putation in the college in which it was 
 written, and was approved by Pope. Vir- 
 gil feems to have been his model for lan- 
 guage and verification. He has copied 
 the varied paufes of his verfe, the length 
 of his periods, the peculiar grace of bis
 
 t ^53 3 
 
 expreffions, and his majeflic dignity, with 
 confiderable fuccefs. But his competition 
 is fometimes unclaffical and incorrect. 
 The molt exceptionable line is the firft ; 
 tollere concentum, if allowable, is furely an 
 awkward phrafe for " begin the fong." 
 His Odes, particularly, the Ode Incbkennetb, 
 Ode in the IJle of Sky, and that to Mrs. 
 Thrale, from the fame place, are eafy, ele- 
 gant, and poetical. They -unite claflical 
 language, tender fentiment, and harmoni- 
 ous verfe. His poem, Tvwdi trsavrov, is ner- 
 vous and energetic. His Epitaphs are di- 
 ftinguiflied by claflical elegance and ner- 
 vous fimplicity. Thofe on Goldfmith and 
 Tbrale feem the beft. His Epigrams are, in 
 general, neat and pointed. In the Antbo- 
 logia, we admire fometimes a happy imita- 
 tion, and fometimes regret inekgant ex- 
 prefiions. 
 
 For obvious reafons, his Latin pieces, 
 though excellent in their kind, can never
 
 254- J 
 
 acquire the popularity of the Ehglifh. 
 Thofe who read with pleafure tlhe Latin 
 claffics, fee their inferiority ; to others, 
 they are uninterefting and unintelligible. 
 " The delight which they afford ;" to ufe 
 his own words, in .criticifing the Latin 
 poetry of Milton, " is rather by the ex- 
 quifite imitation of the ancient writers^ 
 by the purity of the diction, and the har- 
 rrtbny of the numbers, than by any power 
 of invention, or vigour of fentiment." 
 This character will generally fuit our mo- 
 dern Latin poetry ; for if we except that 
 noble ode of Gray's, written at the Grande 
 Chartreufe, and fome few others, there 
 are not many of the Poemata Angtorum, 
 that contain much " power of invention, 
 or vigour of fentiment." 
 
 Upon the whole, the various productions 
 of Johnfon mow a life fpent in ftudy and 
 meditation. It may be fairly allowed, as 
 he ufed to fay of himfelf, that be has writ-
 
 t 255 ] 
 
 ten his /hare. His oddities and infirmities 
 in common life, will, after a while, be 
 overlooked and forgotten ; but his writ- 
 ings will remain a monument of his ge- 
 nius . and learning ; flill more and more 
 fludied and admired, while Britons mall 
 continue to be characterized by a love of 
 elegance and fublimity, of good fenfe and 
 virtue. In the works of Johnfon, the 
 reader will find a perpetual fource of plea- 
 fure and inftruftion. With due precau- 
 tion, men may learn to give to their ftyle, 
 elegance, harmony, and precifion ; they 
 may be taught to think with vigour and 
 perfpicuity ; and all, by a diligent attention 
 to his writings, may advance in virtue. 
 
 The character of Johnfon, as given by 
 Mr. Bofwell in the conclufion of his work, 
 is delineated with a mafterly pencil, The 
 drawing appears to be fufficiently accurate, 
 the light and fhade well diftributed, and 
 the colouring very little overcharged or
 
 heightened ; though a favourable likenefs 
 was perhaps in fome degree intended, as 
 far as might feem confiftent with the truth 
 of refemblance, and no farther. 
 
 " His figure was large and well-formed, 
 and his countenance of the cafl of an an- 
 cient fiatue; yet his appearance was ren- 
 dered ftrange and fomewhat uncouth, by 
 convulfive cramps, by the fears of that dif- 
 temper which it was once imagined the 
 royal touch could cure, and by a llovenly 
 mode of drefs. He had the ufe only of one 
 eye ; yet fo much does mind govern, and 
 even fupply the deficiency of organs, that 
 his vifual perceptions, as far as they ex- 
 tended, were uncommonly quick and a'c- 
 curate. So morbid was his temperament, 
 that he never knew the natural joy of a 
 free and vigorous ufe of his limbs : when 
 lie walked, it was like the ftruggling gait 
 of one in fetters ; when he rode, he had
 
 [ 257 3 
 
 no command or direction of his horfe, but 
 was carried as if in a balloon. That, 
 with his conflitution and habits of life, he 
 fhould have lived feventy-five years, is a 
 proof that an inherent vivida vis is a power- 
 ful prefervative of the human frame. 
 
 " Man is in general made up of contra- 
 dictory qualities, and thefe will ever fhow 
 themfelves in flrange fucceflion, where a 
 confiflency, in appearance at leaft, if not in 
 reality, has not been attained by long ha- 
 bits of philofophical difcipline. In propor- 
 tion to the native vigour of the mind, the 
 contradictory qualities will be the more 
 prominent, and more difficult to be adjuft- 
 ed ; and therefore we are not to wonder, 
 that John fon exhibited an eminent ex- 
 ample of this remark which I have made 
 upon human nature. At different times 
 he feemed a different man, in fome.re- 
 ipects ; not f however, in any great or ef- 
 lential article, upon which he had fully em-
 
 
 
 ployed his mind, and fettled certain prin* 
 ciples of duty, but -only in his manners, 
 and in difplays of argument and fancy in 
 his talk. - He was prone to fuperflition, but 
 not to credulity. Though his imagination 
 might incline him to a belief of the mar- 
 vellous and the myflerious, his vigorous 
 reafon examined the evidence with jealou- 
 fy. He was a fincere and zealous Chrif- 
 tian, of high church of England and mo- 
 narchical principles, which he would nott 
 tamely fufFer ta be queflioned ; and had, 
 perhaps, at an early period, narrowed his 
 mind fomewhat too much, both as to reli- 
 gion and politics. His being imprefled with 
 the danger of extreme latitude in eit^.er r 
 though he was of a very independent fpirit, 
 occafioned his appearing fomewhat unfa- 
 vourable to the prevalence of that noble 
 freedom of fentiment which is the beft pof- 
 feffion of man. Nor can it be denied, that 
 he had many prejudices; which, however,
 
 [ 259 3 
 
 frequently fuggefted many of his pointed 
 fayings, that rather mow a playfulnefs of 
 fancy, than any fettled malignity. He was 
 fleady and inflexible in maintaining the ob- 
 ligations of religion and morality, both 
 from a regard for the order of fociety, and 
 from a veneration for the Great Source of 
 all order ; correct, nay ftern in his tafle ; 
 hard to pleafe, and eafily offended ; impe- 
 tuous and irritable in his temper, but of a 
 mofl humane and benevolent heart, which 
 mowed itfelf not only in a moft liberal cha- 
 rity, as far as his circumftances would al- 
 low, but in a thoufand inflances of active 
 benevolence. He was afflicted with a bo- 
 dily difeafe which made him reftlefs and 
 fretful, and with a conflitutional melancho- 
 ly, the clouds of which darkened the bright- 
 nefs of his fancy, and gave a gloomy caft 
 to his whole courfe of thinking : we there- 
 fore ought not to wonder at his fallies of 
 impatience and paffion at any time, efpe- 
 
 Rij
 
 [ 260 ] 
 
 cially when provoked by obtrufive igno- 
 rance, or prefuming petulance ; and allow- 
 ance muft be made for his uttering hafty 
 and fatirical fallies, even againft his befl 
 friends. And furely, when it is confider- 
 ed, that " amidfl ficknefs and forrow," 
 he exerted his faculties in fo many works 
 for the benefit of mankind, and particu- 
 larly that he achieved the great and admir- 
 able Dictionary of our language, we muft 
 be aftonifhed at his refolution. The fo- 
 lemn text of " him to whom much is giv- 
 en, much will be. required," feems to have 
 ' 
 
 been ever prefent to his mind in a rigor- 
 ous fenfe, and to have made him diflatisfied 
 with his labours and ads of goodnefs-, how- 
 ever comparatively great ; fo that the un- 
 avoidable confcioufnefs of his fuperiority 
 was in that refpecl a caufe of difquiet: He 
 fuffered fo much from this, and from the 
 gloom which perpetually haunted him, and 
 made folitude frightful, that it may be faid
 
 [ 261 ] 
 
 of him, " If in this life only he had hope, 4 ' 
 he was of all men moft miferable." He 
 loved praife when it was brought to him ; 
 but was too proud to feek for it. He was 
 fomewhat fufceptible of flattery. As he 
 was general and uiiconfined in his fludies, 
 he cannot be confidered as matter of any 
 one particular fcience ; but he had accu- 
 mulated a vaft and various collection of 
 learning and knowledge, which was, fo ar- 
 ranged in his mind, as to be ever in rea- 
 dinefs to be brought forth. But his fupe- 
 riority over other learned men coniifted 
 chiefly in what may be called the art of 
 thinking, the art of ufing his mind ; a cer- 
 tain continual power of feizing the ufeful 
 fubflance of all that he knew, and exhibit- 
 ing it in a clear and forcible manner ; fo 
 that knowledge which we often fee to be 
 'no better than lumber in men of dull un- 
 derftanding, was in him true, evident, and 
 wifdom. His moral precepts are 
 
 R iij
 
 [ 262 ] 
 
 practical ; for they are drawn from an in* 
 timate acquaintance with human nature. 
 His maxims carry conviction ; for they are 
 founded on the ban's of common fenfe. His 
 mind was fo full of imagery, that he might 
 have been perpetually a poet ; yet it is re- 
 markable, that however rich his profe is in 
 that refpect, the poetical pieces which he 
 wrote were in general not fo, but rather 
 ftrong fentiment and acute obfervation> 
 conveyed in good verfe, particularly in he- 
 roic couplets. Though ufually grave, and 
 even awful in his deportment, he poflefT- 
 ed uncommon and peculiar powers of wit 
 and humour : he frequently indulged him- 
 felf in colloquial pleafantry ; and the hearti- 
 efl merriment was often enjoyed in his 
 company ; with this great advantage, that 
 as it was entirely free from any poifonous 
 tincture of vice or impiety, it was falutary 
 to thofe who fhared in it. He had accuf- 
 tomed himfelf to fuch accuracy in his com-
 
 nion converfation, that he at all times de- 
 livered himfelf with a force, choice, and 
 elegance of expreflion, the effect of which 
 was aided by his having a loud voice, arid 
 a flow and deliberate utterance. He unit- 
 ed a moft logical head with a inoft fertile 
 imagination, which gave him an extraordi- 
 nary advantage in arguing ; for he could 
 reafon clofe or wide, as he faw heft for the 
 moment. Exulting in his intellectual 
 ftrength and dexterity, he could, when he 
 pleafed, be the greater! fophift that ever 
 contended in the lifts of declamation ; and 
 from a fpirit of contradiction, and a delight 
 in fhowing his powers, he would often 
 maintain the wrong fide with equal warmth 
 and ingenuity : fo that when there was an 
 audience, his real opinions could feldom be 
 gathered from his talk ; though when he 
 was in company with a ftngle friend, he 
 would difcufs a fubjecT: with genuine fair- 
 nefs. But he was too confcientious to make 
 
 R iiij
 
 I 264 ] 
 
 error permanent and pernicious, by deli- 
 berately writing it; and in all his nume- 
 rous works, he earneftly inculcated what 
 appeared to him to be the truth. His pie- 
 ty was conftant, and was the ruling princi- 
 ple of all his conduct ; and the more we. 
 confider his character, we mall be the more 
 difpofed to regard him with admiration 
 and reverence." 
 
 His character, as given by Mrs. Piozziin 
 her " Anecdotes," is drawn, with ipiritand 
 propriety, though fomewhat lefs favour- 
 ably. 
 
 tf 
 
 11 His flature was remarkably high, and 
 his limbs exceedingly large : his ftreiigth 
 was more than common, I believe, and his 
 activity had been greater, I have heard, than 
 fuch a form gave one reafon to expect : his 
 features were ftrongly marked, and his coun- 
 tenance particularly rugged ; though the 
 original complexion had certainly been fair, 
 a circumftance fomewnat unufual, his fight
 
 was near, and otherwife imperfect ; yet his 
 ey.es, though of a light-gray colour, were fo 
 wild, fo piercing, and at times fo fierce, 
 that fear was, I believe, the firil emotion in 
 the hearts of all his beholders. His mind 
 was fo comprehenfive, that no language but 
 that he ufed could have exprefled its con- 
 tents ; and fo ponderous was his language, 
 that fentiments lefs lofty and lefs folid than 
 his were, would have been encumbered, 
 not adorned by it, 
 
 " Mr. Johnfon was not intentionally, 
 however, a pompous converfer : and though 
 he was accufed of ufing big words, as they 
 are called, it was only when little ones could 
 not exprefs his meaning as clearly, or when, 
 perhaps, the elevation of the thought would 
 have been difgraced by a drefs lefs fuperb. 
 He ufed to fay, " that the fize of a man's 
 underftanding might always be juflly mea- 
 fured by his mirth ;" and his own was ne- 
 ver contemptible. He would laugh at 9.
 
 t 266 ] 
 
 ftroke of genuine humour, or fudden fully 
 of odd abfurdity, as heartily and freely as I 
 ever yet faw any man ; and though the jeft 
 was often fuch as few felt befides himfelf, 
 yet his laugh was irreliftible, and was ob- 
 ferved immediately to produce that of the 
 company, not merely from the notion that 
 it was proper to laugh when he did, but 
 purely out of want of power to forbear it. 
 He was no enemy to fplendour of apparel, 
 or pomp of equipage. " Life,** he would 
 fay, 4t is barren enough, furely, with all her 
 trappings; let us therefore be cautious how 
 we ftrip her." 
 
 " Of Mr. Johnfon's erudition the world 
 has been the judge; and we who produce 
 each a fcore of his layings, as proofs of that 
 wit which in him was inexhauftible, re- 
 femble travellers, who, having vifked Delhi 
 or Golconda, bring home each a handful 
 of oriental pearl, to evince the riches of 
 the Great Mogul.
 
 r 267 i 
 
 " As his purfe was ever open to alms- 
 giving, fo was his heart tender to thofe who 
 wanted relief, and his foul fufceptible of 
 gratitude, and of every kind impreflion ; 
 yet, though he had refined his fenfibility, 
 he had not endangered his quiet, by encou- 
 raging in himfelf a folicitude about trifles, 
 which he treated with the contempt they 
 deferve. 
 
 " Mr. Johnfon had a roughnefs in his 
 manner, which fubdued the faucy, and 
 terrified the meek : this was, when I knew 
 him, the prominent part of a character 
 which few durfl venture to approach fo 
 nearly, and which was for that reafon in 
 many refpecls grofsly and frequently rnifr 
 taken ; and it was, perhaps, peculiar to 
 him, that the lofty confcioufnefs of his own 
 fuperiority, which animated his looks, and 
 Taifed his voice in converfation, caft like- 
 wife an impenetrable veil over him when 
 be faid nothing. His talk, therefore, had
 
 [ 268 J 
 
 commonly the complexion of arrogance, 
 his filence of fupercilioufiiefs. He was, 
 however, feldom inclined to be filent when 
 any moral or literary queftion was flarted ; 
 and it was on fuch ocean" ons that, like the 
 fage in Raffelaf, he fpoke, and attention 
 watched his lips ; he reafoned, and convic- 
 tion clofed his periods. If poetry was talk- 
 ed of, his quotations were the readied ; and 
 had he not been eminent for more folid 
 and brilliant qualities, mankind would have 
 united to extol his extraordinary memory. 
 His manner of repeating deferves to be de- 
 fcribed, though, at the fame time, it de- 
 feats all power of defcription ; but whoever 
 once heard him repeat an ode of Horace, 
 would be long before they could endure to 
 hear it repeated by another. 
 
 " His equity in giving the character of 
 living acquaintance, ought not, undoubt- 
 edly, to be omitted in his own, whence par- 
 tiality and prejudice were totally excluded^
 
 [ 269 1 
 
 and truth alone prefided in his tongue ; a 
 fteadinefs of condud the more to be com- 
 mended, as no man hadftronger likings or 
 averfions. His veracity was, indeed, from 
 the moft trivial to the moft folemn occa- 
 fions, ftrict, even to feverity ; he fcorned to 
 
 embellifh a ftorv with fictitious circumftan- 
 
 j 
 
 ces, which (he ufed to fay), took off from 
 its real value. " A fhory," fays Johnfon, 
 " fhould be a fpecimen of life and man- 
 ners ; but if the furrounding circumftances 
 are falfe, as it is no more a reprefentation 
 of reality, it is no longer worthy our atten- 
 tion."" 
 
 " For the reft That beneficence which," 
 during his life, increafedthe comforts of fo 
 many, may, after his death, be, perhaps, 
 ungratefully forgotten; but that piety which 
 dictated the ferious papers in the Rambler, 
 will be for ever remembered, for ever, I 
 think, revered. That ample repofitory of 
 religious truth, moral wifdom, and accu-
 
 rate criticifm, breathes, indeed, the genu- 
 ine emanations of its great author's mind, 
 exprefled, too, in a ftyle fo natural to him, 
 and fo much like his common mode of 
 converting, that I was myfelf but little a- 
 ftonifhed, when he told me that he had 
 fcarcely read over one of thofe inimitable 
 eflays before they went to the prefs. 
 
 *' I will add one or two peculiarities 
 more : Though at an immeafurable dif- 
 tance from content in the contemplation 
 of his own uncouth form and figure, he did 
 not like another man much the lefs for be- 
 ing a coxcomb. Though a man of obfcure 
 birth himfelf, his partiality to people of fa- 
 mily was vifihle on every occafion ; his zeal 
 for fubordination warm even to bigotry ; 
 his hatred to innovation, and reverence for 
 the old feudal times, apparent, whenever 
 any poflible manner of mowing tr^em oc- 
 curred. I have fpoken of his piety, his 
 charity, and his truth, the enlargement of
 
 [ 271 J 
 
 his heart, and the delicacy of his fenti- 
 ments ; and when I fearch for fhadow to 
 my portrait, none can I find but what was 
 formed by pride, differently modified as dif- 
 ferent occafions fhowed it ; yet never was 
 pride fo purified as Johnfon's, at once from 
 meannefs and from vanity. The mind of 
 this man was, indeed, expanded beyond the 
 common limits of human nature, and ftor- 
 ed with fuch variety of knowledge, that I 
 ufed to think it refembled a royal plea- 
 fure-ground, where every plant, of every 
 name and nation, flourifhed in the full per- 
 fection of their powers, and where, though 
 lofty woods and falling catarads firft caught 
 the eye, and fixed the earlieft attention of 
 beholders, yet neither the trim parterre, 
 nor the pleafing fhrubbery, nor even the 
 antiquated evergreens, were denied a place 
 in fome fit corner of the happy valley." 
 
 His character, as given by Dr. Towers* 
 in his " Eflky," appears to have been writ-
 
 [ 272 ] 
 
 fen under no imprefllons of prepofleffion or 
 prejudice, and exhibits a very commend- 
 able degree of candour, impartiality, and 
 precifion. 
 
 " He poflefTed extraordinary powers of 
 understanding, which were much cultivat- 
 ed by ftudy, and flill more by meditation 
 and reflection. His memory was remark- 
 ably retentive, his imagination uncommon- 
 ly vigorous, and his judgment keen and pe- 
 netrating. He had a flrong fenfe of the 
 importance of religion ; his piety was fin- 
 cere, and fometimes ardent ; and his zeal 
 for the interefts of virtue was often mani- 
 fefted in his converfation and in his writ- 
 ings. The fame energy which was difplay- 
 ed in his literary productions, was exhibit- 
 ed alfo in his converfation, which was vari- 
 ous, flriking, and inftruclive ; and, per- 
 haps, no man ever equalled him for ner- 
 vous and pointed repartees.
 
 " The great originality which fometimes 
 appeared in his conceptions, and the per- 
 fpicuity and force with which he delivered 
 them, greatly enhanced the value of his 
 converfation ; and the remarks that he de- 
 livered, received additional weight from the 
 ftrength of his voice, and the folemnity of 
 his manner. He was confcious of his own 
 fuperiority ; and when in company with 
 literary men, or with thofe with whom 
 there was any pofiibility bf.rivalfhip or 
 competition, this confcioufnefs was too ap- 
 parent. With inferiors, and thofe who 
 readily admitted all his claims, he was often 
 mild and agreeable ; but to others, fuch was 
 often the arrogance of his manners, that 
 the endurance of it required no ordinary 
 degree of patience. He was very dexterous 
 at argumentation ; and when his reafon- 
 ings were not folid, they were at leaf! art- 
 ful and plauiible. His retorts were fo 
 powerful, that his friends and acquaint- 
 
 S
 
 [ 274 ] 
 
 ance were generally cautious of entering 
 the lifts againft him ; and the ready acqui- 
 efcence of thofe with whom he afibciated, 
 in his opinions and affertions, probably ren- 
 dered him more dogmatic than he might 
 otherwife have been. With thofe, how- 
 ever, with whom he lived, and with whom 
 he was familiar, he was fometimes cheerful 
 and fprightly, and fometimes indulged him- 
 felf in fallies of wit and pleafantry. He 
 fpent much of his time, efpecially his lat- 
 'ter years, in converfation, and feems to 
 have had fuch an averfion to being left 
 without company, as Was fometimes ex- 
 traordinary in a man pofleiTed of fuch in- 
 tellectual powers j and whofe underftanding 
 had been fo highly cultivated. 
 
 " He fometimes difcovered much impe- 
 tuofity of temper, and was too ready to take 
 offence at others ; but when conceffions 
 were made, he was eafily appeafed. For 
 thofe from whom he had received kind-
 
 [ 275 3 
 
 nefs in the earlier part of his life, he feem- 
 ed ever to retain a particular regard, and 
 manifefted much gratitude towards thofe 
 by whom he had at any time been bene- 
 fited. He was foon offended with pert- 
 nefs or ignorance ; but he fometimes feem- 
 ed to be confcious of having anfwered the 
 queflions of others with too much rough- 
 nefs, and was then defirous to difcover 
 more gentlenefs of temper, and to com- 
 municate information with more fuavity 
 of manners. When not under the influ- 
 ence of perfonal pique, of pride, or of reli- 
 gious or' political prejudices, he feems to 
 have had great ardour of benevolence ; and, 
 on fome occafions, he gave iignal proofs of 
 generofity and humanity. 
 
 " He was naturally melancholy, and his 
 views of human life appear to have been 
 habitually gloomy. This appears from his 
 Raffelas, and in many pafTages of his writ- 
 ings. It was alfo a finking part of the cha- 
 
 Sij
 
 t 276 ] 
 
 racier of Johnfon, that with powers of 
 mind that did honour to human nature, he 
 had weaknefTes and prejudices that feemed 
 fuited only to the lowefl of the fpecies. His 
 piety was ftrongly tinctured with fuperfti- 
 tion; and we are aftonifhed to find the au- 
 thor of the Rambler exprefiing ferious con- 
 cern, becaufe he had put milk into his tea 
 on a Good-Friday. His cuftom of pray- 
 ing for the dead, though unfupported by 
 reafon or by Scripture, was a lefs irration- 
 al fuperflition. Indeed, one of the great 
 features of Johnfon's character, was a de- 
 gree of bigotry, both in politics and in re- 
 ligion, which is now feldom to be met with 
 in perfons of a cultivated underftanding. 
 Few other men could have been found in 
 the prefent age, whofe political bigotry 
 would have led them to flyle the celebrated 
 John Hampden " the zealot of rebellion;'* 
 and the religious bigotry of the man, who, 
 when at Edinburgh, would not go to hear
 
 [ 277 3 
 
 Dr. Robertfon preach, becaufe he would 
 not be prefent at a Prefbyterian affembly, 
 is not eafily to be paralleled in this age and 
 in this country. His habitual incredulity 
 with refpect to facts, of which there was nd 
 reafonable ground for doubt, as ilated by 
 Mrs, Piozzi, and which was remarked by 
 Hogarth, was alfo a fingular trait in his 
 character, and efpecially when contrary to 
 his fuperftitious credulity on other occa- 
 lions. To^'tne 'clofe' of life he was not 
 only occupied in forming fchemes of reli- 
 gious reformation ; but, even to a very late 
 period of it, he feems to have been folici- 
 tous to apply himfelf to ftudy with renew- 
 ed diligence and vigour. It is remarkable, 
 that in his fixty-fourth year, he attempted 
 to learn the low Dutch language ; and in 
 his fixty-feventh year he made a refolution 
 to apply himfejf vigoroufly to ftudy, parti- 
 cularly the Greek and Italian tongues* 
 
 S iij
 
 [ 2 7 8 ] 
 
 " The faults and the foibles of Johnfon, 
 whatever they were, are now defcended with 
 him to the grave ; but his virtues fliould be 
 the object of our imitation. His works, 
 with all their defecls, are a moft valuable 
 and important acceffion to the literature of 
 England. His political writings will pro- 
 bably be little read on any other account, 
 than for the dignity and energy of his flyle ; 
 but his Dictionary, his Moral EiTays, and 
 his productions in polite literature, will 
 convey ufeful iuftruction and elegant en- 
 tertainment, as long as the language in 
 which they are written fhall be underflood, 
 and give him a juft claim to a diftinguifhed 
 rank among 'the beft and ablefl writers 
 that England has produced." 
 
 The eftimate of his literary character 
 given by Mr. Murphy in his " Eflay," is, 
 with a very few exceptions, fair, candid, 
 and juft. He fometimes admits his errors, 
 and fometimes endeavours to apologize for
 
 [ 279 ] 
 
 them. His comparifon between Johnfon 
 and Addifon is excellent; and, though long, 
 is of too much value to be withheld. 
 
 " Like Milton and Addifon, Dr. John- 
 fon feems to have been fond of his Latin 
 poetry. Thafe compositions fliow that he 
 was an early fcholar ; but his verfes have 
 not the graceful eafe that gave fo much 
 fuavity to the poems of Addifon. The 
 tranflation of the Meiliah labours under 
 two difadvantages ; it is firft to be com- 
 pared with Pope's inimitable performance, 
 and afterwards with the Pollio of Virgil. 
 It may appear trifling to remark, that he 
 has made the letter 0, in the word Virgo, 
 long and fhort in the fame line ; Virgo t Virgo 
 parit. But the tranflation has great merit, 
 and fome admirable lines. In the Odes 
 there is a fweet flexibility, particularly To 
 his Worthy Friend Dr. Laurence, on Himfelf 
 Qt the Theatre, March 8. 1771, the Ode in 
 
 Siiij
 
 r 280 3 
 
 the Ifle of Sky, and that to Mrs. Tbra!e y 
 from the fame place. 
 
 " His Englifh poetry is fuch as leaves 
 room to think, if he had devoted himfelf 
 to the Mufes, that he would have been the 
 rival of Pope. His firfl production in this 
 kind was London^ a poem, in imitation of 
 the third fatire of Juvenal. The vices of 
 the metropolis are placed in the room of 
 ancient manners. The author had heated 
 his mind with the ardour of Juvenal ; and, 
 having the (kill to polifh his numbers, he 
 became a fharp accufer of the times. The 
 Vanity of Human Wijhes is an imitation of 
 the tenth fatire of the fame author. Though 
 it is tranflated by Dryden, Johnfon's imita- 
 tion approaches neareil to the fpirit of the 
 original. 
 
 " What Johnfon has faid of the Tragedy 
 of Cato, may be applied to, Irene: " It is 
 rather a poem in dialogue than a drama ; 
 rather a fucceflion of juft fentiments inele-
 
 I 281 ] 
 
 gant language, than a reprefentation of na- 
 tural affe&ions. Nothing excites or af- 
 fuages emotion. The events are expected 
 without folicitude, and are remembered 
 without joy or forrow. Of the agents we 
 have no care ; we confider not what they 
 are doing, nor what they are fufTering; 
 we wifh only to know what they have to 
 fay. It is unaffecTing elegance, and chill 
 philofophy. 
 
 " The prologue to Irene is written with 
 elegance, and, in a peculiar ftrain, (hows 
 the literary pride and lofty fpirit of the 
 author. The epilogue, we are told in a late 
 publication, was written by Sir William 
 Yonge. This is a new difcovery, but by 
 no means probable. When the append- 
 ages to a dramatic performance are not af- 
 fignedto a friend, or an unknown hand, or 
 a perfon of fkfhion, they are always fup- 
 pofed to be written by the author of the 
 play. It is to be wifhed, however, that the
 
 [ 282 ] 
 
 epilogue in queftion could be transferred to 
 any other writer. It is the worft Jeu d' 
 Efprit that ever fell from Johnfon's pen. 
 
 " Of his Mifcellaneous Drafts and Philolo- 
 gical Differtations, it will fuffice to fay, they 
 are the productions of a man who never 
 wanted decorations of language, and always 
 taught his reader to think. The Life of 
 the late King of PruJJia, as far as it extends, 
 is a model of the biographical ftyle. The 
 review of the " Origin of Evil," was, per- 
 haps, written with afperity ; but the angry 
 epitaph, which it provoked from Soame 
 Jenyns, was an ill-timed refentment, un- 
 worthy of the genius of that amiable author. 
 
 " The Rambler may be confidered as 
 Johnfon's great work. It was the bafts of 
 that high reputation which went on increaf- 
 ing to the end of his days. In this collec- 
 tion, Johnfon is the great moral teacher of 
 his countrymen ; his eflays form a body of 
 ethics ; the obfervations on life and man.-
 
 J 
 
 ners are acute and inftructi ve ; and the pa^ 
 pers, profeffedly critical, ferve to promote 
 the caufe of literature. It mufl, however, 
 be acknowledged, that a fettled gloom hangs 
 over the author's mind ; and all the efTays, 
 except eight or ten, coming from the fame 
 fountain-head, no wonder that they have 
 the racinefs of the foil from which they 
 fprung. Of this uniformity Johnfon was 
 fenfible. He ufed to fay, that if he had 
 joined a friend or two, who would have 
 been able to intermix papers of a fpright- 
 ly turn, the collection would have been 
 more mifcellaneous, and by confequence, 
 more agreeable to the generality of readers. 
 " It is remarkable that the pomp of dic- 
 tion, which has been objected to Johnfon, 
 was firft afiumed in the Rambler. His 
 DiBionary was going on at the fame time ; 
 and in the courfe of that work, as he grew 
 familiar with technical and fcholaflic words, 
 he thought that the bulk of his readers
 
 [ 284 J 
 
 were equally learned, or at leaft would ad- 
 mire the fplendour and dignity of the ftyle. 
 And yet it is well known, that he praifed 
 in Cowley the eafe and unaffe&ed ftruc- 
 ture of the fentences. Cowley maybe pla- 
 ced at the head of thofe who cultivated a 
 clear and natural ftyle. Dry den, Tillotfon, 
 and Sir William Temple followed. Addi- 
 fon, Swift, and Pope, with more correcl:- 
 nefs, carried our language well nigh to per- 
 fection. Of Addifon, Johnfon was ufed 
 to fay, he is the Raphael of efTay writers. 
 How he differed fo widely from fuch ele- 
 gant models, is a problem not to be folved, 
 unlefs it be true that he took an early tinc- 
 ture from the writers of the laft century, 
 particularly Sir Thomas Brown. Hence 
 the peculiarities of his ftyle, new combina- 
 tions, fentences of an unufual ftruclure, and 
 words derived from the learned languages. 
 His own account of the matter is, " when 
 common words were lefs pleafing to the ear,
 
 C 285 ] 
 
 or lefs diftinct in their fignification, I fa- 
 miliarized the terms of philofophy, by ap- 
 plying them to popular ideas." But he 
 forgot the obfervation of Dryden : If too 
 many foreign words are poured in upon tes t if 
 looks as if they were dejigned, not to ajjift the 
 natives, but to conquer them. There is, it 
 muft be admitted, a fwell of language, oi> 
 ten out of all proportion to the fentiment ; 
 but there is, in general, a fulnefs of mind, 
 and the thought feems to expand with the 
 found of the words. Determined to dif- 
 card colloquial barbarifms and licentious 
 idioms, he forgot the elegant fimplicity that 
 diftinguifhes the writings of Addifon. He 
 had what Locke calls a round-about view 
 of his fubjecl ; and, though he was never 
 tainted like many modern wits, with the 
 ambition of mining in the paradox, he may 
 be fairly called an original thinker. His 
 reading was exteniive. He treafured in his 
 mind whatever was worthy of notice ; but
 
 [ 286 ] 
 
 he added to it from his own meditation. 
 He collected, qua reconderet^ aftaque prome- 
 ret. Addifon was not fo profound a think- 
 er. He was born to write, converfe, and 
 live with eafe ; and he found an early pa- 
 tron in Lord Somers. He depended, how- 
 ever, more upon a fine tafte, than the vi- 
 gour of his mind. His Latin poetry mows, 
 that he reliftied, with a juft feleclion, all 
 the refined and delicate beauties of the Ro- 
 man claflics ; and when he cultivated his 
 native language, no wonder that he form- 
 ed that graceful ftyle, which has been fo 
 juftly admired ; fimple, yet elegant ; adorn- 
 ed, yet never over-wrought ; rich in illu- 
 fion, yet pure and perfpicuous ; correct, 
 without labour; and, though fometimes de- 
 ficient in flrength, yet always mufical. 
 His efTays, in general, are on the furface 
 of life ; if ever original, it was in pieces of 
 humour. Sir Roger de Coverly, and the 
 Tory Fox-hunter, need not be mentioned.
 
 [ 287 ] 
 
 Johnfon had a fund of humour, but he did 
 not know it ; nor was he willing to defcend 
 to the familiar idiom, and the variety of 
 diction which that mode of compolition re- 
 quired. The letter, in the Rambler, No. 
 12. from a young girl that wants a place, 
 will illuftrate this obfervation. Addifon 
 poflefied an unclouded imagination, alive to 
 the firft objects of nature and of art. He 
 reaches the fublime without any apparent 
 effort. When he tells us, " if we confider 
 the fixed ftars as fo many oceans of flame, 
 that are each of them attended with a dif- 
 ferent fet of planets ; if we flill difcover 
 new firmaments and new lights, that are 
 funk further in thofe unfathomable depths 
 of aether, we are loft in a labyrinth of funs 
 and worlds, and confounded with the mag- 
 nificence and immenfity of nature." The 
 eafe with which this pafTage rifes to an un- 
 affected grandeur, is the fecret charm that 
 captivates the reader. Johnfon is always
 
 L 288 ] 
 
 lofty ; he feems to ufe Dry den's phrafe, to 
 be o'er inform'd with meaning, and his 
 words do not appear to himfelf adequate to 
 his conception. He moves in Hate, and 
 his periods are always harmonious. His 
 Oriental T'ales are in the true flyle of eaft- 
 ern magnificence, and yet none of them 
 are fo much admired as the vifions of Mirza. 
 In matters of criticifm, Johnfon is never 
 the echo of preceding writers. He thinks 
 and decides for himfelf. If we except the 
 EfTays on the pleafures of imagination, Ad~ 
 difon cannot be called a philofophical cri- 
 tic. His moral EfTays are beautiful ; but 
 in that province nothing can exceed the 
 Rambler ; though Johnfon ufed to fay, that 
 the efTay on the burdens of mankind (in 
 the Spectator, No. 558) was the moft ex- 
 quifite he had ever read. Talking of him- 
 felf, Johnfon faid, " Topham Beauclerk 
 has wit, and every thing comes from him
 
 r 289 3 
 
 ; butwhenlfay a goodthing,Ifeem 
 to labour." When we compare him with 
 Addifon, the contraft is ftill ftronger. Ad- 
 difon lends grace and ornament to truth ; 
 Johnfon gives it force and energy. Ad- 
 difon makes virtue amiable ; Johnfon re- 
 prefents it as an awful duty. Addifon in- 
 finuates himfelf with an air of modefty ; 
 Johnfon commands like a dictator ; but a 
 dictator in his fplendid robes, not labour- 
 ing at his plough. Addifon is the Jupiter 
 of Virgil, with placid ferenity talking to 
 Venus : 
 
 " Vultu, quo coclum tempeftatefque ferenat.*' 
 
 Johnfon is Jupiter tonans ; he darts his 
 lightning, and rolls his thunder, in the 
 caufe of virtue and piety. The language 
 feems to fall fhort of his ideas ; he pours 
 along, familiarifing the terms of philofo- 
 phy with bold inverfions and fonorous pe- 
 riods ; but we may apply to him what 
 
 T
 
 Popehasfaid of Homer: " It is the fentiment 
 that fwells and fills out the di&ion, which 
 rifes with it, and forms itfelf about it * 
 like glafs in the furnace, which grows to 
 a greater magnitude, as the breath within 
 is more powerful, and the heat more in- 
 tenfe." 
 
 " The efFays written by Johnfon in the 
 " Adventurer," may be called a continur 
 ation of the Rambler. The Idler, in order 
 to be confident with the afiumed characr 
 ter, is written with abated vigour, in a ftyle 
 of eafe and unlaboured elegance. It is 
 the OdyfTey after the Iliad. Intenfe think- 
 ing would nor become the Idler. The 
 firft number prefents a well-drawn por- 
 trait of an idler ; and from that character 
 no deviation could be made. According- 
 ly JohrjioTi forgets his auilere manner, and 
 plays us into fei.fe. fie flill continues his 
 lectures on human life ; but he adverts to 
 common occurrences, and is often content
 
 [ 291 ] 
 
 with the topic of the day. This account 
 of the Idler may be clofed, after obferving, 
 that the author's mother being buried on 
 the 23d of January 1759, there is an ad- 
 mirable paper, occafioned by that event, 
 on Saturday the 2yth of the fame month , 
 No. 41. The reader, if he pleafes, may 
 compare it with another fine paper in the 
 Rambler, No. 41, on the conviction that 
 rufhes on the mind at the bed of a dying 
 friend. 
 
 " Raffelas? fays Sir John Hawkins, " is 
 a fpecimen of our language fcarcely to be 
 paralleled ; it is written in a ftyle refined 
 to a degree of immaculate purity, and dif- 
 plays the whole force of turgid eloquence." 
 One cannot but fmile at this encomium. 
 RafTeias is undoubtedly both elegant and 
 fublime. Tt is a view of human life, difplay- 
 ed, it muft be owned, in gloomy colours. 
 The author's natural melancholy, depref- 
 fed at the time by the approaching diflblu- 
 
 Tij.
 
 tion of his mother, darkened the pi&ure. 
 A tale that fhould keep curiofity awake 
 by the artifice of unexpected incidents, 
 
 was not the defign of a mind pregnant 
 i 
 
 with better things. He who reads the 
 heads of the chapters, will find that it is 
 not a courfe of adventures that invites 
 him forward, but a difculfion of interefl- 
 ing queftions ; Reflections on Human 
 Life ; the Hiftory of Imlac, the Man of 
 Learning ; a PifTertation upon Poetry ; 
 the Character of a Wife and Happy Man, 
 who difcourfes with energy on the govern- 
 ment of the paflions, and on a fudden, 
 when death deprives him of his daughter, 
 forgets all his maxims of wifdom, and the 
 eloquence that adorned them, yielding to 
 the ftroke of arH:6tion with all the vehe- 
 mence of the bittereft anguifh. It is by 
 p ;res of life, and profound moral re- 
 fl. r ; on, that expectation is engaged and 
 gratitied throughout the work. The Hif-
 
 I 293 ] 
 
 tory of the Mad Aftronomer, who imagines 
 that for five years he pofTefTed the regula- 
 tion of the weather, and that the fun pafled 
 from tropic to tropic by his direction, re- 
 prefents, in flricting colours, the fad effects 
 of a diftempered imagination. It becomes 
 the more affedling, when we recollect that 
 it proceeds from one who lived in fear of 
 the fame dreadful vifitation ; from one, 
 who fays emphatically, " Of the uncer- 
 tainties in our prefent Hate, the moft 
 dreadful and alarming is the uncertain con- 
 tinuance of reafon." The inquiry into the 
 caufe of madnefs, and the dangerous pre- 
 valence of imagination, till in time fome 
 particular train of ideas fixes the attention, 
 and the mind recurs conftantly to the fa- 
 vourite conception, is carried on in a {train 
 of acute obfervation ; but it leaves us room 
 to think that the author was tranfcribing 
 from his own apprehenfions. The dif- 
 tourfe on the nature of the foul gives us 
 
 Tiij
 
 t *94 3 
 
 all that philofophy knows ; not without t 
 tincture of fuperftition. It is remarkable 
 that the vanity of human purfuits was, 
 about the fame time, the fubject that em- 
 ployed both Johnfon and Voltaire ; but 
 Candidc is the work of a lively imagina*- 
 tion, and RafTelas, with all its fplendour 
 of eloquence, exhibits a gloomy picture. 
 
 " The Dictionary, though in fome in- 
 ftances abufe has been loud, and in others 
 malice has endeavoured to undetermine its 
 fame, flill remains the Mount Atlas of Eng- 
 lifh literature. 
 
 Though ftorms and tempefts thunder on its brow, 
 And oceans break their billows at its feet, 
 It ftands unmov'dj and glories in its height. 
 
 " That Johnfon was eminently qualified 
 
 for the office of a commentator on Shak- 
 
 fpeare, no man can doubt ; but it was an 
 
 office which he never cordially embraced. 
 
 The public expected more than he had
 
 t 295 5 
 
 diligence to perform ; arid yet his edition 
 has been the ground on which every fub- 
 fequent commentator has chofe to build. 
 The general obfervations at the end of the 
 feveral plays, with great elegance and pre- 
 cifloii, give a fummary view of each 
 drama. The preface is a tfacl: of great eru- 
 dition and philofophical criticifm. 
 
 " ]Q\morfs political pamphlets, whatever 
 was his motive for writing them, whether 
 gratitude for his penfion, or the folicita- 
 tioii of men in power, did not fujpport the 
 caufe for which they were undertaken. 
 They are written in a ftyle truly harmoni- 
 ous, and with his ufual dignity of lan- 
 guage. When it is faid that he advanced 
 pofitions repugnant to the comma rirhts of 
 mankind, the virulence of party may be 
 fufpedled. It is, perhaps, rrue, that in the 
 clamour raifed throughout the kingdom, 
 Johnfon over-heated his mind ; but -ie was 
 a friend to the rights of man, and he was 
 
 T iiij
 
 r 296 i 
 
 greatly fuperior to the littlenefs of fpirit 
 that might incline him to advance what 
 he did not think and firmly believe. 
 
 " The account of his Journey to t-be He- 
 brides or Weftern Ifles of Scotland, is a, 
 model for fuch as fhall hereafter relate 
 their travels. The author did not vifit 
 that part of the world in the character of 
 an antiquary, to amufe us with wonders- 
 taken from the dark and fabulous ages; 
 nor as a mathematician, to meafure a de- 
 gree, and fettle the longitude and latitude 
 of the feveral iflands. Thofe who expect- 
 ed fuch information, expected what was 
 never intended. 
 
 
 
 In every work regard the writer's end. 
 
 Johnfon went to fee men and manners, 
 modes of life, and the progrefs of civiliza- 
 tion. His remarks are fo artfully blended 
 with the rapidity and elegance of his nar- 
 rative, that the reader is inclined to wifh,
 
 r 
 
 As Johnfon did with regard to Gray, that 
 to travel, and to ull his travels, had been more 
 of his employment. 
 
 " We come now to the Lives of the Poets, 
 a work undertaken at the age of feventy, 
 yet the moft brilliant, and certainly the 
 mofl popular of all our author's writings. 
 For this performance he needed little pre- 
 paration. Attentive always to the hif- 
 tory of letters, and by his own natural 
 bias fond of biography, he was the more 
 willing to embrace the propofition of the 
 bookfellers. He was verfed in the whole 
 body of the Englifh poetry, and his rules 
 of criticifm were fettled with precilion. 
 The facts are related upon the beft intelli- 
 gence, and the beft vouchers that could 
 be gleaned, after a great lapfe of time. 
 Probability was to be inferred from fuch 
 materials as could be procured, and no 
 man better underftood the nature of hifto- 
 rical evidence than Johnfon ; no man was
 
 f 29* 1 
 
 more religioufly an obferver of truth: If 
 his hiflory is any where defective, it muft 
 be imputed to the want of better infor- 
 mation, and the errors of uncertain tra- 
 dition. 
 
 Ad nos vix tenuis famae prelabitur aura. 
 
 " If the ftric~hires on the works of the va- 
 rious authors are not always fatisfadory* 
 and if erroneous criticifm may fometimes 
 be fufpe&ed, who can hope, that, in mat- 
 ters of tafle, all fhall agree ? The in- 
 ftances in which the public mind has 
 differed from the pontions advanced by 
 the author, are few in number^ It hag 
 been faid, that juftiee has not been done 
 to Swift ; that Gay and Prior are under- 
 valued; and that Gray has been harfhly 
 treated. This charge, perhaps, ought not 
 to be difputed. Johnfon, it is well knowri, 
 had conceived a prejudice againft Swifti 
 His friends trembled for him when he was
 
 t 299 ] 
 
 writing that life, but were pleafed, at laft, 
 to fee it executed with temper and mode- 
 ration. As to Prior, it is probable that he 
 gave his real opinion; but an opinion that 
 will not be adopted by men of lively fancy. 
 With regard to Gray, when he condemns 
 the apoflrophe, in which Father Thames is 
 defired to tell who drives the hoop or tofles 
 the ball, and then adds, that Father Thames 
 had no better means of knowing than him- 
 felf ; when he compares the abrupt begin- 
 ning of the firfl ftanza of the *' Bard" to 
 the ballad of " Johnny Armftrong," " Is 
 there ever a man in all Scotland " there are, 
 perhaps, few friends of Johnfon,who would 
 not wifh to blot out both the paflages." 
 
 The following quotation from Horace is 
 given by Mr. Murphy, as containing John- 
 fon's picture in miniature. 
 
 (t Iracundior eft paulo minus aptus acutis 
 Naribus horum hominum, rideri poflit, eo quid
 
 r 306 i 
 
 Rufticius tonfo toga defluit, et male laxus 
 In pede calceus hseret. At eft bonus, ut melior vir 
 toon alms quifquam; at tibi amicus,at ingenium ingens 
 Inculto latet hoc fub corpore." ~~ 
 
 His moral and literary character has 
 been delineated by Mifs Seward the poet- 
 efs of Lhchfield, in the " European Ma- 
 gazine" for 1785, with equal accuracy of 
 difcrimination and ftrength of colouring. 
 
 " Dr. Johnfon's learning and know- 
 ledge were deep and univerfaL His con- 
 ception was fo clear, and his intellectual 
 {lores were marfhalled with fuch precifion, 
 that his ftyle in common converfatiorl 
 equalled that of his moral efTays. What- 
 ever charge of pedantic ftiffnefs may have 
 been brought againft thole eflays, by pre- 
 judice, or by perfonal refentment, they are 
 certainly npt lefsfuperior to all other Englifti 
 compofitions of chat fort, in the happy 
 fertility and efflorefcence of imagination, 
 harmony of period, and luminous arrange-
 
 tnent of ideas, than they are in ftrength 
 qf expreflion, and force of argument. His 
 Latinifms, for which he has been much 
 cenfureJ, have extended the limits of our 
 native dialed, befides enriching its founds 
 with that fonorous iweetneis, which the 
 intermixture of words from a more har- 
 monious language muft necefTarily pro- 
 duce ; I mean in general, for it cannot 
 be denied that they fometimes deform the 
 Johnfonian page, though they much of- 
 tener adorn it. His London is a very bril- 
 liant and nervous fatiric poem, and his 
 Vanity ofHumanWiJbeswpTpz&TS to me a much 
 finer fatire than the beft of Pope's. Per- 
 haps its poetic beauty is not excelled by 
 any composition in heroic rhyme which 
 this country can boaft, rich as me is in 
 that fpecies of writing. As a moralifl, 
 Dr. Johnfon was refpeclable, fplendid, fu- 
 blime ; but as a critic, the faults of his 
 difpontion have difgraced much of his fine
 
 r 302 i 
 
 \n-itings with frequent paradox, 
 cipled mifreprefentation, mean and need- 
 lefs expofure of bodily infirmities (as in 
 the life of Pope), irreconcileable contra- 
 dictions, and with decifions of the lafl ab- 
 furdity. Dr. Johnfon had ftrong affec- 
 tions where literary envy did not inter- 
 fere ; but that envy was of fuch deadly 
 potency, as to load his converfation, as it 
 has loaded his biographic works, with the 
 rancour of party violence, with national 
 averiion, bitter farcafm, and unchriftian- 
 like inveclive. It is in vain to defcant 
 upon the improbability that Dr. Johnfon, 
 under the confcioufnefs of abilities fo 
 great, and of a fame fo extenfive, mould 
 envy any man, fince it is more than im- 
 probable, it is wholly impoffible, that an 
 imagination fo fublime, and a judgment 
 fo correcl:, on all abftrad fubjects, mould 
 decide as he has decided upon the works 
 of Jome who were at leaft his equals, and
 
 I 
 
 Upon one who is yet greater than himfelf. 
 Pr. Johnfon was a furious Jacobite, while 
 one hope for the Stuart line remained ; and 
 his politics, always leaning towards detpo- 
 tifm, were inimical to liberty, and the na- 
 tural rights of mankind. He was punctual 
 in his devotions ; but his religious faith had 
 much more of bigot-fiercenefs than of that; 
 gentlenefs which the gofpel inculcates. To 
 thofe who had never entered the literary 
 confines, or, entering them, had paid him 
 the tribute of unbounded praife and total 
 fubjeclion, he was an affectionate and ge- 
 nerous friend, foothing in his behaviour to 
 them, and active in promoting their do- 
 medic comforts ; though, in fome fpleen* 
 ful moments, he could not help fpeaking 
 difrefpectfully both of their mental powers 
 and of their virtues. His pride was infinite ; 
 yet, amidfl all the overbearing arrogance 
 it produced, his- heart melted at the fight 
 ^r at the reprefentation of difeafe and po-
 
 r 304 3 
 
 verty ; and, in the hours of affluence, his 
 purfe was ever open to relieve them. In, 
 feveral in fiances, his affe&ions feemed un- 
 accountably engaged by people of whofe 
 difpofition and abilities he fcrupled not to 
 fpeak contemptuously at all times, and in 
 all humours. To iuch he often devoted, 
 and efpecially of late years, a large por- 
 tion of that time which might naturally 
 be fuppofed to have been precious to him, 
 who fo well knew how to employ it. 
 When his attention was called to modern, 
 writings, particularly if they were cele- 
 brated, and not written by any of his 
 " little fenate," he generally liflened with 
 angry impatience. " No, Sir, I fhall not 
 read the book," was his common reply. 
 He turned from the competitions of rifing 
 genius with a vifible horror, which too 
 plainly proved, that envy was the bofom 
 ferpent of this literary defpot, whofe life 
 had been unpolluted by licentious crimes,
 
 [ 305 ] 
 
 and who had fome great and noble qua- 
 lities, accompanying a ilupendous reach of 
 underflanding." 
 
 His character, as a poetical biographer, 
 has been given by his townfman Dr. 
 Newton, in his pofthumous work, not 
 perhaps with his powers, but with his de- 
 cilion and feverity of cenfure. 
 
 " Dr. Johnfon's Lives of the Poets afford 
 much amufement, but candour was hurt and 
 offended at the malevolence that prepon- 
 derated in every part. Never was any bio- 
 grapher more fparing of his praifes, or more 
 abundant in his cenfures. He delights 
 more in expofing blemifhes, than in re- 
 commending beauties ; flightly pafies over 
 excellencies ; enlarges upon imperfections ; 
 and, not content with his own fevere re- 
 flections, revives old fcandal, and produces 
 large quotations from the long-forgotten 
 works of former critics. The panegyrift of 
 Savage in his youth, may, in his old age, 
 
 U
 
 become the fatirift of the mofl favoured 
 authors, his encomium as unjuft and unde- 
 ferved as his cenfures.*' 
 
 The teftimony of the claflical editor 
 of Milton may be compared with the eu- 
 logy pronounced by Dr. Parr, the learned 
 and eloquent editor of " Bellendenus," in 
 his edition of " Traces by Warburton and 
 a Warburtonian." 
 
 " Of literary merit, Johnfon, as we all 
 know, was a fagacious but a moft fevere 
 judge. Such was his difcernment, that he 
 pierced into the moft fecret fprings of hu- 
 man adions ; and fuch was his integrity, 
 that he always weighed the moral charac- 
 ters of his fellow creatures in " the balance 
 of the fancluary." 
 
 His peculiarities and foibles are painted 
 in ftrong colours by Mr. Courtenay, in his 
 " Poetical Review ;" but, in return, his vir- 
 tues and abilities are candidly acknowledg- 
 ed, and placed in their proper light. Hav-
 
 [ 30? ] 
 
 ing alternately commended his merits, and 
 cenfured his faults, he .fums up the whole 
 in the following lines^ which ftrongty mark 
 the character of his work. 
 
 " Thus fings the mufe, to Johnfon's mem'ry juft, 
 And fcatters praife and cenfure o'er his duft ; 
 . For, through each chequer'd fcene a contraft ran, 
 Too fad a proof, how great, how weak is man ! 
 Though o'er his paffions confcience held the rein, 
 He (hook at difmal phantoms of the brain ; 
 A boundlefs faith that noble mind debas'd, 
 By piercing wit, energic reafon grac'd : 
 Ev'n fliades like thefe, t#r brilliancy allied, 
 May comfort fools, and curb the fage's pride ; 
 Yet learning's fons, who o'er his foibles mourn, 
 To lateft time fhall fondly view his urn ; 
 And, wond'ring, praife, to human frailties blind, 
 Talents and virtues of the brighter! kind. 
 The fculptur'd trophy and imperial buft, 
 That proudly rife around his hallow'd duft, 
 Shall rnould'ring fall, by time's flow hand decay'd ; 
 But the bright meed of virtue ne'er fhall fade. 
 Exulting genius ftamps his facred name, 
 Enroll'U for ever in the dome of fame." 
 
 FINIS.
 
 99 63
 
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