shares in that work. It has, according to his direction, been deposited in the British Museum, and is printed in "The Gentleman's Magazine" for December, 1784.*

During his sleepless nights he amused himself by translating into Latin verse, from the Greek, many of the epigrams in The Anthologia. These translations, with some other poems by him in Latin, he gave to his friend Mr. Langton, who,

no very superior merit to mark it as his. Besides the publications heretofore mentioned, I am satisfied, from internal evidence, to admit also as genuine the following, which, notwithstanding all my chronological care, escaped me in the course of this work :

"Considerations on the Case of Dr. Trapp's Sermons," published in 1739, in "The Gentleman's Magazine." It is a very ingenious defence of the right of abridging an author's work, without being held as infringing his property. This is one of the nicest questions in the Law of Literature; and I cannot help thinking that the indulgence of abridging is often exceedingly injurious to authors and booksellers, and should in very few cases be permitted. At any rate, to prevent difficult and uncertain discussion, and give an absolute security to authors in the property of their labours, no abridgment whatever should be permitted, till after the expiration of such a number of years as the Legislature may be pleased to fix. But, though it has been confidently ascribed to him, I cannot allow that he wrote a Dedication to both Houses of Parliament of a book entitled "The Evangelical History Harmonized." He was no croaker; no declaimer against the times. He would not have written, "That we are fallen upon an age in which corruption is not barely universal, is universally confessed." Nor, "Rapine preys on the public without opposition, and perjury betrays it without inquiry." Nor would he, to excite a speedy reformation, have conjured up such phantoms of terror as these:"A few years longer, and perhaps all endeavours will be in vain. We may be swallowed by an earthquake; we may be delivered to our enemies." This is not Johnsonian.

There are, indeed, in this Dedication several sentences constructed upon the model of those of Johnson. But the imitation of the form, without the spirit of his style, has been so general, that this of itself is not sufficient evidence. Even our newspaper writers aspire to it. In an account of the funeral of Edwin, the comedian, in "The Diary" of Nov. 9, 1790, that son of drollery is thus described:"A man who had so often cheered the sullenness of vacancy, and suspended the approaches of sorrow." And in "The Dublin Evening Post," August 16, 1791, there is the following paragraph: "It is a singular circumstance, that in a city like this, containing 200,000 people, there are three months in the year during which no place of public amusement is open. Long vacation is here a vacation from pleasure, as well as business; nor is there any mode of passing the listless evenings of declining summer, but in the riots of a tavern, or the stupidity of a coffee house."

I have not thought it necessary to specify every copy of verses written by Johnson, it being my intention to publish an authentic edition of all his poetry, with notes. -BOSWELL.

As the letter accompanying this list (which fully sup ports the observation in the text) was written but a week before Dr. Johnson's death, the reader may not be displeased to find it here preserved:

"TO MR. NICHOLS.

having added a few notes, sold them to the booksellers for a small sum to be given to some of Johnson's relations, which was accordingly done; and they are printed in the collection of his works. A very erroneous notion has circulated as to Johnson's deficiency in the knowledge of the Greek language, partly owing to the modesty with which, from knowing how much there was to be learnt, he used to mention his own comparative acquisitions. When Mr. Cumberland talked to him of the Greek fragments which are so well illustrated in "The Observer," and of the Greek dramatists in general, he candidly acknowledged his insufficiency in that particular branch of Greek literature. Yet it may be said, that though not a great, he was a good Greek scholar. Dr. Charles Burney, the younger, who is universally acknowledged by the best judges, to be one of the few men of this age who are very eminent for their skill in that noble language, has assured me, that Johnson could give a Greek word for almost every English one; and that although not sufficiently conversant in the niceties of the language, he, upon some occasions discovered, even in these, a considerable degree of critical acumen. Dalzel, professor of Greek at Edinburgh, whose skill in it is unquestionable, mentioned to me, in very liberal terms, the impression which was made upon him by Johnson, in a conversation which they had in London concerning that language. As Johnson, therefore, was undoubtedly one of the first Latin scholars in modern times, let us not deny to his fame some additional splendour from Greek.

Mr.

I shall now fulfil my promise of exhibiting specimens of various sorts of imitation of Johnson's style.

In "The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, 1787," there is an "Essay on the Style of Dr. Samuel Johnson," by the Rev. in the Museum, that the veracity of this account may never be doubted. "I am, Sir, your most humble servant, "SAM. JOHNSON."

Dissertation on the peopling of America. independency of the Arabs. The Cosmogony, and a small part of the History imme. diately following; by Mr. Sale.

To the birth of Abraham; chiefly by Mr. Shervock. History of the Jews, Gauls, and Spaniards; by Mr. Psalmanaazar.

Xenophon's Retreat; by the same. History of the Persians and the Constantinopolitan Empire; by Dr. Campbell.

History of the Romans; by Mr. Bower.-BOSWELL.

KX

Robert Burrowes, whose respect for the great object of his criticism* is thus evinced in the concluding paragraph :

"I have singled him out from the great body of the English writers, because his universally acknowledged beauties would be most apt to indice imitation; and I have treated rather on his faults than his perfections, because an essay might comprise all the observations I could make upon his faults, while volumes would not be sufficient for a treatise on his perfections."

Mr. Burrowes has analyzed the composition of Johnson, and pointed out its peculiarities with much acuteness; and I would recommend a careful perusal of his Essay to those, who being captivated by the union of perspicuity and splendour which the writings of Johnson contain, without having a sufficient portion of his vigour of mind, may be in danger of becoming bad copyists of his manner. I, however, cannot but observe, and I observe it to his credit, that this learned gentleman has himself caught no mean degree of the expansion and harmony, which, independent of all other circumstances, characterize the sentences of Johnson. Thus, in the preface to the volume in which the Essay appears, we find"If it be said that in societies of this sort, too much attention is frequently bestowed on subjects barren and speculative, it may be answered, that

no one science is so little connected with the rest, as not to afford many principles whose use may extend considerably beyond the science to which they primarily belong; and that no proposition is so purely theoretical as to be totally incapable of being applied to practical purposes. There is no apparent connexion between duration and the cycloidal arch, the properties of which duly attended to, have furnished us with our best regulated methods of measuring time; and he who has made himself master of the nature and affections of the logarithmic curve, is not aware that he has advanced considerably towards ascertaining the proportionable density of the air at its various distances from the surface of the earth."

The ludicrous imitators of Johnson's style are innumerable. Their general method is to accumulate hard words, without considering that, although he was fond of introducing them occasionally, there is not a single sentence in all his writings where they are crowded together, as in the first verse of the following imaginary ode by him to Mrs. Thrale,† which appeared in the newspapers :

"Cervisial coctor's viduate dame,
Opins't thou his gigantic fame,
Procumbing at that shrine;
Shall, catenated by thy charms,
A captive in thy ambient arms,
Perennially be thine?"

This, and a thousand other such attempts, are

* We must smile at a little inaccuracy of metaphor in the Preface to the Transactions, which is written by Mr. Burrowes. The critic of the style of Johnson having, with a just zeal for literature, observed, that the whole nation are called on to exert themselves, afterwards says: "They are called on by every tie which can have a laudable influence on the heart of man."-BOSWELL. Johnson's wishing to unite himself with this rich widow

totally unlike the original, which the writers imagined they were turning into ridicule. There is not similarity enough for burlesque, or even for caricature.

Mr. Colman, in his "Prose on several Occasions," has "A Letter from Lexiphanes; containing Proposals for a Glossary or Vocabulary ment to a larger Dictionary." It is evidently of the Vulgar Tongue: intended as a supplemeant as a sportive sally of ridicule on Johnson, whose style is thus imitated, without being grossly overcharged :

"It is easy to foresee that the idle and illiterate will complain that I have increased their labours by endeavouring to diminish them; and that I have explained what is more easy by what is more difficult-ignotum per ignotius. I expect, on the other hand, the liberal acknowledg ments of the learned. He who is buried in scholastic retirement, secluded from the assemblies of the gay, and remote from the circles o the polite, will at once comprehend the definitions, and be grateful for such a seasonable and necessary elucidation of his mother-tongue.'

state, appears as Lord of the creation, giving law to various tribes of animals which he has tamed and reduced to subjection. The Tartar follows his prey on the horse which he has reared, or tends lis numerous herds which furnish him both with food and clothing; the Arab has rendered the camel docile, and avails himself of its persevering strength; the Laplander has formed the reindeer to be subservient to his will; and even the people of Kamschatka have trained their dogs to labour. This command over the inferior creatures is one of the noblest prerogatives of man, and among the greatest efforts of his wisdom and power. Without this, his dominion is incomplete. He is a monarch who has no subjects; a master without servants; and must perform every operation by the strength of his own arm.'

EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. "Of all our passions and appetites, the love of power is of the most imperious and unsociable nature, since the pride of one man requires the submission of the multitude. In the tumult of civil discord the laws of society lose their force, and their place is seldom supplied by those of humanity. The ardour of contention, the pride of victory, the despair of success, the memory of past injuries, and the fear of future dangers, all contribute to inflame the mind, and to silence the voice of pity." t

MISS BURNEY.

"My family, mistaking ambition for honour, and rank for dignity, have long planned a splendid connection for me, to which, though my invariable repugnance has stopped any advances, their wishes and their views immovably adhere. I am but too certain they will now listen to no other. I dread, therefore, to make a trial where I despair of success; I know not how to risk a prayer with those who may silence me by a command." +

REVEREND MR. NARES.§

"In an enlightened and improving age, much perhaps is not to be apprehended from the inroads of mere caprice; at such a period it will generally be perceived, that needless irregularity is the worst of all deformities, and that nothing is so truly elegant in language as the simplicity of unviolated analogy.-Rules will, therefore, be observed, so far as they are known and acknowledged: but, at the same time, the desire of improvement having been once excited will not remain inactive; and its efforts, unless assisted by knowledge, as much as they are prompted by

"History of America," vol. i. quarto, p. 332.-BOS

WELL.

+"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. i. chap. iv.-BOSWELL.

"Cecilia," book vii. chap i.-BOSWELL. The passage which I quote is taken from that gentleman's "Elements of Orthoepy;" containing a distinct View of the whole Analogy of the English Language, so far as relates to Pronunciation, Accent, and Quantity," London, 1784. I beg leave to offer my particular acknowledgments to the author of a work of uncommon merit and great utility. I know no book which contains, in the same compass, more learning, polite literature, sqund sense, accuracy of arrangement, and perspicuity of expression.--BOSWELL.

zeal, will not unfrequently be found pernicious, so that the very persons whose intention it is to perfect the instrument of reason, will deprave and disorder it unknowingly. At such a time, then, it becomes peculiarly necessary that the analogy of language should be fully examined and understood; that its rules should be carefully laid down; and that it should be clearly known how much it contains, which being already right should be defended from change and violation; how much it has that demands amendment; and how much that, for fear of greater inconveniences, must, perhaps, be left unaltered though irregular."

2

A distinguished author in "The Mirror,"* periodical paper, published at Edinburgh, has imitated Johnson very closely. Thus, in No. 16,

"The effects of the return of spring have been frequently remarked as well in relation to the human mind as to the animal and vegetable world. The reviving power of this season has been traced from the fields to the herbs that inhabit them, and from the lower class of beings up to man. Gladness and joy are described as prevailing through universal Nature, animating the low of the cattle, the carol of the birds, and the pipe of the shepherd."

The Rev. Dr. Knox, master of Tunbridge school, appears to have the imitari aveo of his assiduous, though not servile, study of it, we Johnson's style perpetually in his mind; and to may partly ascribe the extensive popularity of his writings.t

In his " Essays, Moral and Literary," No. 3, we find the following passage :

When

"The polish of external grace may indeed be deferred till the approach of manhood. solidity is obtained by pursuing the modes prescribed by our forefathers, then may the file be used. The firm substance will bear attrition, and the lustre then acquired will be durable."

lieve, by its authors; and I heard him speak very well of

That collection was presented to Dr. Johnson, I be.

it.-BOSWELL.

+ It were to be wished, that he had imitated that great man in every respect, and had not followed the example of Dr. Adam Smith, in ungraciously attacking his venerable that he is much less to blame than Smith: he only objects Alma Mater, Oxford. It must, however, be observed, to certain particulars; Smith to the whole institution, though indebted for much of his learning to an exhibition Neither of them, however, will do any hurt to the noblest which he enjoyed for many years at Baliol College. university in the world. While I animadvert on what appears to me exceptionable in some of the works of Dr. Knox, I cannot refuse due praise to others of his productions; particularly his sermons, and to the spirit with which he maintains, against presumptuous heretics, the consolatory doctrines peculiar to the Christian Revelation. This he has done in a manner equally strenuous and conciliating. Neither ought I to omit mentioning a remarkable_instance of his candour. Notwithstanding the wide difference of our opinions, upon the important subject of University education, in a letter to me concerning this work, he thus expresses himself: "I thank you for the very great entertainment your Life of Johnson gives me. It is a most valuable work.. Yours is a new species of biography. Happy for Johnson that he had so able a recorder of his wit and wisdom."-BOSWELL.

uneasiness which he expressed on account of offences with which he charged himself, may give occasion to injurious suspicions, as if there had been something of more than ordinary criminality weighing upon his conscience. On that account, therefore, as well as from the regard to truth which he inculcated, I am to mention (with all possible respect and delicacy, however,) that his conduct, after he came to London, and had associated with Savage and others, was not so strictly virtuous, in one respect, as when he was a younger man. It was well known that his amorous inclinations were uncommonly strong and impetuous. He owned to many of his friends, that he used to take women of the town to taverns, and hear them relate their history. In short, it must not be concealed, that, like many other good and pious men, among whom we may place the apostle Paul upon his own authority, Johnson was not free from propensities which were ever "warring against the law of his mind,"-and that in his combats with them, he was sometimes overcome.

Here let the profane and licentious pause; let them not thoughtlessly say that Johnson was an hypocrite, or that his principles were not firm, because his practice was not uniformly conformable to what he professed.

Let the question be considered independent of moral and religious associations; and no man will deny that thousands, in many instances, act against conviction. Is a prodigal, for example, an hypocrite, when he owns he is satisfied that his extravagance will bring him to ruin and misery? We are sure he believes it: but immediate inclination, strengthened by indulgence, prevails over that belief in influencing his conduct. Why then shall credit be refused to the sincerity of those who acknowledge their persuasion of moral and religious duty, yet sometimes fail of living as it requires? I heard Dr. Johnson once observe, "There is something noble in publishing truth, though it condemns one's self."+ And one who said in his presence, "he had no notion of people being in earnest in their good professions, whose practice was not suitable to them," was thus reprimanded by him :-"Sir, are you so grossly ignorant of human nature as not to know that a man may be very sincere in good principles without having good practice?"‡

But let no man encourage or soothe himself in "presumptuous sin," from knowing that Johnson was sometimes hurried into indulgences which he thought criminal. I have exhibited this circumstance as a shade in so great a character, both from my sacred love of truth, and to show that he was not so weakly scrupulous as he had been represented by those who imagine that the sins, of which a deep sense was upon his mind, were

*See what he said to Mr. Malone, p. 400.-BOSWELL. "Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides," 3rd edit. P. 209. On the same subject, in his letter to Mrs. Thrale, dated Nov. 29, 1783, he makes the following just observation.. "Life to be worthy of a rational being, must be always in progression; we must always purpose to do more or better than in time past. The mind is enlarged and elevated by mere purposes, though they end as they began, by airy contemplation. We compare and judge, though we do not practise,"-BOSWELL.

WELL

Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides,” p. 374.—BOS

merely such little venial trifles as pouring milk into his tea on Good Friday. His understanding will be defended by my statement, if his consistency of conduct be in some degree impaired. But what wise man would, for momentary gratifications, deliberately subject himself to suffer such uneasiness as we find was experienced by Johnson in reviewing his conduct as compared with his notion of the ethics of the gospel? Let the following passages be kept in remembrance:

"O GOD, giver and preserver of all life, by whose dense power I was created, and by whose proviam sustained, look down upon me with tenderness and mercy; grant that I may not have been created to be finally destroyed; that I may not be preserved to add wickedness to wickedness."-(Prayers and Med. p. 47.)

"O LORD, let me not sink into total depravity: look down upon me, and rescue me at last from the captivity of sin." (p. 68.)

"Almighty and most merciful Father, who hast continued my life from year to year, grant that by longer life I may become less desirous of sinful pleasures, and more careful of eternal happiness." (p. 84.)

"Let not my years be multiplied to increase my guilt; but as my age advances, let me become more pure in my thoughts, more regular in my desires, and more obedient to thy laws." (p. 120.)

"Forgive, O merciful LORD, whatever I have done contrary to thy laws. Give me such a sense of my wickedness as may produce true contrition and effectual repentance; so that when I shall be called into another state, I may be received among the sinners to whom sorrow and reformation have obtained pardon, for JESUS CHRIST'S sake. Amen." (p. 130.)

Such was the distress of mind, such the penitence of Johnson, in his hours of privacy, and in his devout approaches to his Maker. His sincerity, therefore, must appear to every candid mind unquestionable.

that there was in this excellent man's conduct no It is of essential consequence to keep in view, indulgence in sin, in consideration of a counterfalse principle of commutation, no deliberate balance of duty. His offending, and his repenting, were distinct and separate, and when we consider his almost unexampled attention to truth, his inflexible integrity, his constant piety, who will dare to "cast a stone at him?" Besides, let it never be forgotten, that he cannot be charged with any offence indicating badness of heart, anything dishonest, base, or malignant; but that, dinary degree; so that even in one of his own on the contrary, he was charitable in an extraor rigid judgments of himself (Easter-Eve, 1781), while he says, "I have corrected no external habits," he is obliged to own, "I hope that since my last communion I have advanced by pious

* Dr. Johnson related, with very earnest approbation, a story of a gentleman, who, in an impulse of passion, overcame the virtue of a young woman. When she said to him, "I am afraid we have done wrong !" he answered, "Yes, we have done wrong; for I would not debauch her mind."-BOSWELL.