The English Dictionary, written by the Right scars of that distemper which it was once Hon. Henry Flood: " 'No need of Latin or of Greek to grace Our Johnson's memory or inscribe his grave; His native language claims this mournful space, To pay the immortality he gave.' CONCLUSION. THE character of Samuel Johnson has, I trust, been so developed in the course of this work, that they who have honoured it with a perusal, may be considered as well acquainted with him. As, however, it may be expected that I should collect into one view the capital and distinguishing features of this extraordinary man, I shall endeavour to acquit myself of that part of my biographical undertaking, however difficult it may be to do that which many of my readers will do better for themselves. His figure was large and well formed, and his countenance of the cast of an ancient statue; yet his appearance was rendered strange and somewhat uncouth by convulsive cramps, by the opened to public view, Feb. 23, 1796. The Epitaph was written by the Rev. Dr. Parr, and is as follows: A imagined the royal touch could cure, and by a slovenly mode of dress. He had the use only of one eye; yet so much does mind govern and even supply the deficiency of organs, that his visual perceptions, as far as they extended, were uncommonly quick and accurate. So morbid was his temperament, that he never knew the natural joy of a free and vigorous use of his limbs: when he walked, it was like the struggling gait of one in fetters: when he rode, he had no command or direction of his horse, but was carried as if in a balloon. That, with his constitution and habits of life, he should have lived seventy-five years, is a proof that an inherent vivida vis is a powerful preservative of the human frame. Man is, in general, made up of contradictory qualities; and these will ever show themselves in strange succession where a consistency, in appearance at least, if not reality, has not been attained by long habits of philosophical discipline. In proportion to the native vigour of the mind, the contradictory qualities will be the more prominent, and more difficult to be adjusted; and therefore we are not to wonder that Johnson exhibited an eminent example of this remark On one side of the monument-FACIEBAT JOHANNES BACON SCVLPTOR, ANN. CHRIST. M. DCC.LXXXXV. The Subscription for this monument, which cost eleven hundred guineas, was begun by the LITERARY CLUB, and completed by the aid of Dr. Johnson's other friends and admirers.-MALONE. To prevent any misconception on this subject, Mr. Malone, by whom these lines were obligingly communicated, requests me to add the following remark: In justice to the late Mr. Flood, now himself wanting, and highly meriting, an epitaph from his country to which his transcendent talents did the highest honour as well as the most important service, it should be observed, that these lines were by no means intended as a regular monumental inscription for Dr. Johnson. Had he undertaken to write an appropriate and discriminative epitaph for that excellent and extraordinary man, those who knew Mr. Flood's vigour of mind will have no doubt that he would have produced one worthy of his illustrious subject. But the fact was merely this: In Dec. 1789, after a large subscription had been made for Dr. Johnson's monument, to which Mr. Flood liberally contributed, Mr. Malone happened to call on him at his house, in Berners Street; and the conversation turning on the proposed monument, Mr. Malone maintained that the epitaph, by whomsoever it should be written, ought to be in Latin. Mr. Flood thought differently. The next morning, in the postscript to a note on another subject, he mentioned that he continued of the same opinion as on the preceding day, and subjoined the lines given above.'— BOSWELL. 2 As I do not see any reason to give a different character of my illustrious friend now, from what I formerly gave, the greatest part of the sketch of him in my Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides is here adopted. BOSWELL. At which I have made upon human nature. different times he seemed a different man, in some respects; not, however, in any great or essential article, upon which he had fully employed his mind, and settled certain principles of duty, but only in his manners, and in the display of argument and fancy in his talk. He was prone to superstition, but not to credulity. Though his imagination might incline him to a belief of the marvellous and the mysterious, his vigorous reason examined the evidence with jealousy. He was a sincere and zealous Christian, of high Church of England and monarchical principles, which he would not tamely suffer to be questioned; and had, perhaps, at an early period, narrowed his mind somewhat too much, both as to religion and politics. His being impressed with the danger of extreme latitude in either, though he was of a very independent spirit, occasioned his appearing somewhat unfavourable to the prevalence of that noble freedom of sentiment which is the best possession of man. Nor can it be denied that he had many prejudices, which, how ever, frequently suggested many of his pointed sayings, that rather show a playfulness of fancy than any settled malignity. He was steady and inflexible in maintaining the obligations of religion and morality; both from a regard for the order of society, and from a veneration for the Great Source of all order; correct, nay, stern in his taste; hard to please, and easily offended; impetuous and irritable in his temper, but of a most humane and benevolent heart,' which showed itself not only in a most liberal charity, as far as his circumstances would allow, but in a thousand instances of active benevolence. He was afflicted with a bodily disease, which made him often restless and fretful; and with a constitutional melancholy, the clouds of which darkened the brightness of his fancy, and gave a gloomy cast to his whole course of thinking. We, therefore, ought not to wonder at his sallies of impatience and passion at any time, especially when provoked by obtrusive ignorance or presuming petulance; and allowance must be made for his uttering hasty and satirical sallies even against his best friends. And, surely, when it is considered that 'amidst sickness and sorrow' he exerted his faculties in so many works for the benefit of mankind, and particularly that he achieved the great and admirable Dictionary of our language, we must be astonished at his resolution. The solemn text, 'Of him to whom much is given, much 1 In the Olla Podrida, a collection of Essays published at Oxford, there is an admirable paper upon the character of Johnson, written by the Rev. Dr. Horne, the late excellent Bishop of Norwich. The following passage is eminently happy-To reject wisdom, because the person of him who communicates it is uncouth, and his manners are inelegant,-what is it, but to throw away a pine apple, and assign for a reason the roughness of its coat?'-BOSWELL. will be required,' seems to have been ever present to his mind, in a rigorous sense, and to have made him dissatisfied with his labours and acts of goodness, however comparatively great; so that the unavoidable consciousness of his superiority was, in that respect, a cause of disquiet. He suffered so much from this, and from the gloom which perpetually haunted him, and made solitude frightful, that it may be said of him, 'If in this life only he had hope, he was of all men most miserable.' He loved praise, when it was brought to him; but was too proud to seek for it. He was somewhat susceptible of flattery. As he was general and unconfined in his studies, he cannot be considered as master of any one particular science; but he had accumulated a vast and various collection of learning and knowledge, which was so arranged in his mind as to be ever in readiness to be brought forth. But his superiority over other learned men consisted chiefly in what may be called the art of thinking, the art of using his mind-a certain continual power of seizing the useful substance of all that he knew, and exhibiting it in a clear and forcible manner; so that knowledge, which we often see to be no better than lumber in men of dull understanding, was in him true, evident, and actual wisdom. His moral precepts are practical; for they are drawn from an intimate acquaintance with human nature. His maxims carry conviction; for they are founded on the basis of common sense, and a very attentive and minute survey of real life. His mind was so full of imagery, that he might have been perpetually a poet; yet it is remarkable, that however rich his prose is in this respect, his poetical pieces, in general, have not much of that splendour, but are rather distinguished by strong sentiment and acute observation, conveyed in harmonious and energetic verse, particularly in heroic couplets. Though usually grave, and even awful in his deportment, he possessed uncommon and peculiar powers of wit and humour; he frequently indulged himself in colloquial pleasantry; and the heartiest merriment was often enjoyed in his company; with this great advantage, that as it was entirely free from any poisonous tincture of vice or impiety, it was salutary to those who shared in it. He had accustomed himself to such accuracy in his common conversation,' that he at all times expressed his thoughts with great force, and an 1 Though a perfect resemblance of Johnson is not to be found in any age, parts of his character are admirably expressed by Clarendon, in drawing that of Lord Falkland, whom the noble and masterly historian describes at his seat near Oxford: Such an immenseness of wit, such a solidity of judgment, so infinite a fancy bound in by a most logical ratiocination. His acquaintance was cultivated by the most polite and accurate men, so that his house was an university in less volume, whither they came, not so much for his talk; though, when he was in company with a single friend, he would discuss a subject with genuine fairness; but he was too conscientious to make error permanent and pernicious, by deliberately writing it; and in all his numerous works, he earnestly inculcated what appeared to him to be the truth; his piety being constant, and the ruling principle of all his conduct. elegant choice of language, the effect of which was aided by his having a loud voice, and a slow deliberate utterance. In him were united a most logical head with a most fertile imagination, which gave him an extraordinary advantage in arguing; for he could reason close or wide, as he saw best for the moment. Exulting in his intellectual strength and dexterity, he could, when he pleased, be the greatest sophist that ever contended in the lists of declamation; Such was Samuel Johnson, a man whose and, from a spirit of contradiction and a delight talents, acquirements, and virtues, were so exin showing his powers, he would often maintain traordinary, that the more his character is conthe wrong side with equal warmth and in-sidered, the more he will be regarded by the genuity; so that when there was an audience, his real opinions could seldom be gathered from repose as study, and to examine and refine those grosser propositions which laziness and consent made current in conversation.' ་ Bayle's account of Menage may also be quoted as exceedingly applicable to the great subject of this work: His illustrious friends erected a very glorious monument to him in the collection entitled Menagiana. Those who judge of things aright will confess that this collection is very proper to show the extent of genius and learning which was the character of Menage. And may be bold to say, that the excellent works he published will not distinguish him from other learned men 80 advantageously as this. To publish books of great learning, to make Greek and Latin verses exceedingly well turned, is not a common talent, I own; neither is it extremely rare. It is incomparably more difficult to find men who can furnish discourse about an infinite number of things, and who can diversify them a hundred ways. How many authors are there who are admired for their works, on account of the vast learning that is displayed in them, who are not able to present age, and by posterity, with admiration and reverence. sustain a conversation! Those who know Menage only by his books might think he resembled those learned men; but if you show the Menagiana, you distinguish him from them, and make him known by a talent which is given to very few learned men. There it appears that he was a man who spoke off-hand a thousand good things. His memory extended to what was ancient and modern; to the court and to the city; to the dead and to the living languages; to things serious and things jocose: in a word, to a thousand sorts of subjects. That which appeared a trifle to some readers of the Menagiana, who did not consider circumstances, caused admiration in other readers, who minded the difference between what a man speaks without preparation, and that which he prepares for the press; and therefore we cannot sufficiently commend the care which his illustrious friends took to erect a monument so capable of giving him immortal glory. They were not obliged to rectify what they had heard him say: for, in so doing, they had not been faithful historians of his conversation.'-BosWELL CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF DR. JOHNSON'S WORKS. The works to which an asterisk (*) is affixed are those of which Dr. Johnson acknowledged the authorship to his friends, while those marked by a dagger (†) are ascertained to be his by internal evidence. In this list, drawn up by the biographer, the poetical works are not included. These consist of a Latin translation of Pope's Messiah, London, and The Vanity of Human Wishes, imitated from Juvenal; a prologue on the opening of Drury Lane Theatre by Mr. Garrick: and Irene, a tragedy, besides some minor pieces. afterwards prefixed to the first volume of that Catalogue, in which the Latin Accounts of the books were written by him.* Abridgment, entitled Foreign History.† Essay on the Description of China from the French of Du Halde.t 1743. Dedication to Dr. Mead of Dr. James's Medicinal FOR THE 'GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE.' Parliamentary Debates under the name of Debates Considerations on the dispute between Crousaz Advertisement for Osborne concerning the Har- 1744. Life of Richard Savage.' Preface to the Harleian Miscellany.* FOR THE 'GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE 1748. Life of Roscommon.* Foreign History, November. † FOR MR. DODSLEY'S 'PRECEPTOR.' Vision of Theodore the Hermit.* 1750. The Rambler,' the first Paper of which was published 20th of March this year, and the last 17th of March 1752, the day on which Mrs. Johnson died. *1 Letter in The General Advertiser' to excite the attention of the public to the performance of Comus,' which was next day to be acted at Drury Lane Playhouse for the benefit of Milton's Grand-daughter.* Preface and Postscript to Lauder's Pamphlet, entitled, An Essay on Milton's Use and Imitation of the Moderns in his Paradise Lost.'* 1 This is a mistake. The last number of the Rambler appeared on the fourteenth of March, three days before Mrs. Johnson died.- MALONE. 1751. Life of Cheynel, in the Miscellany called "The Student.'* Letter for Lauder, addressed to the Rev. Dr. John Douglas, acknowledging his Fraud concerning Milton, in terms of suitable Contrition.* Dedication to the Earl of Middlesex, of Mrs. Charlotte Lennox's 'Female Quixote.' + 1753. Dedication to John, Earl of Orrery, of Shakspeare Illustrated, by Mrs. Charlotte Lennox.* During this and the following year he wrote and gave to his much-loved friend Dr. Bathurst, the Papers in The Adventurer,' signed T.* 1754. Life of Edward Cave in The Gentleman's Magazine.'* 1755. A Dictionary, with a Grammar and History of the English Language.* An Account of an Attempt to ascertain the Longitude at Sea, by an exact Theory of the Variations of the Magnetical Needle, with a Table of the Variations at the most remarkable Cities in Europe, from the year 1660 to 1780.* This he wrote for Mr. Zachariah Williams, an ingenious ancient Welsh gentleman, father of Mrs. Ann Williams, whom he for many years kindly lodged in his house. It was published with a Translation into Italian by Signor Baretti. In a Copy of it, which he presented to the Bodleian Library at Oxford, is pasted a character of the late Mr. Zachariah Williams, plainly written by Johnson. † 1756. An Abridgment of his Dictionary.* Several Essays in The Universal Visitor,' which there is some difficulty in ascertaining. All that are marked with two asterisks have been ascribed to him, although I am confident, from internal evidence, that we should except from these "The Life of Chaucer,' 'Reflections on the State of Portugal,' and 'An Essay on Architecture :' and from the same evidence I am confident that he wrote Further Thoughts on Agriculture,' and 'A Dissertation on the State of Literature and Authors.' The Dissertation on the Epitaphs written by Pope he afterwards acknowledged, and added to his 'Idler.' Life of Sir Thomas Browne, prefixed to a new edition of his Christian Morals.* IN THE LITERARY MAGAZINE, OR Which began in January 1756, his Original The Preliminary Address. † An Introduction to the Political State of Great Britain. † Remarks on the Militia Bill.† Observations on his Britannic Majesty's Treaties with the Empress of Russia and the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel. † Observations on the Present State of Affairs. † Memoirs of Frederick III. King of Prussia. † In the same Magazine his Reviews are of the following books:-Birch's History of the Royal Society.'' Browne's Christian Morals.'-' Warton's Essay on the Writings and Genius of Pope, vol. i.'-'Hampton's Translation of Polybius.''Sir Isaac Newton's arguments in proof of a Deity.'-'Borlase's History of the Isles of Scilly.' -'Home's Experiments on Bleaching.''Browne's History of Jamaica.'-' Hales on Distilling Sea Waters, Ventilators in Ships, and curing an ill taste in Milk. Lucas's Essay on Waters.'-'Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops. Philosophical Transactions, vol. xlix.'' Miscellanies, by Elizabeth Harrison.'--'Evans's Map, and Account of the Middle Colonies in America.-The Cadet, a Military Treatise. The Conduct of the Ministry relating to the present War impartially ex amined.'t 'Mrs. Lennox's Translation of Sully's Memoirs. -Letter on the Case of Admiral Byng.''Appeal to the People concerning Admiral Byng.'-Hanway's Eight Days' Journey, and Essay on Tea.'-'Some further Particulars in Relation to the Case of Admiral Byng, by a gentleman of Oxford.'* Mr. Jonas Hanway having written an angry Answer to the Review of his Essay on Tea, Johnson in the same Collection made a reply to it. This is the only instance, it is believed, when he condescended to take notice of anything that had been written against him; and here his chief intention seems to have been to make sport. Dedication to the Earl of Rochford of, and Preface to, Mr. Payne's Introduction to the Game of Draughts.* Introduction to The London Chronicle,' an evening paper which still subsists with deserved credit.* 1757. Speech on the subject of an Address to the Throne after the Expedition to Rochfort, delivered by one of his friends in some public meeting. It is printed in The Gentleman's Magazine' for October 1785. ↑ The first two paragraphs of the Preface to Sir William Chambers's Designs of Chinese Buildings, etc.* 1758. The Idler,' which began April 5, in this year, and was continued till April 5, 1760.* An Essay on the Bravery of the English Common Soldiers was added to it when published in volumes.* 1759. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, a Tale.* Advertisement for the proprietors of The Idler' against certain persons who pirated those Papers as they came out singly, in a Newspaper called 'The Universal Chronicle, or Weekly Gazette.'t For Mrs. Charlotte Lennox's English Version Introduction to The World Displayed,' a collec tion of Voyages and Travels.* Three letters in The Gazetteer,' concerning the best plan for Blackfriars Bridge.* 1760. Address of the Painters to George III. on his Accession to the Throne. t Dedication of Baretti's Italian and English Dic- Review in The Gentleman's Magazine,' of Mr. Introduction to the Proceedings of the Committee for Clothing the French Prisoners.* 1761. Preface to 'Rolt's Dictionary of Trade and Commerce.'* Corrections and Improvements for Mr. Gwyn the Architect's Pamphlet, entitled, Thoughts on the Coronation of George III.'* |