THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY John Courtenay A POETICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERARY AND MORAL CHARACTER OF THE LATE _SAMUEL JOHNSON_ (1786) _Introduction by_ ROBERT E. KELLEY PUBLICATION NUMBER 133 WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES 1969 GENERAL EDITORS William E. Conway, _William Andrews Clark Memorial Library_ George Robert Guffey, _University of California, Los Angeles_ Maximillian E. Novak, _University of California, Los Angeles_ ASSOCIATE EDITOR David S. Rodes, _University of California, Los Angeles_ ADVISORY EDITORS Richard C. Boys, _University of Michigan_ James L. Clifford, _Columbia University_ Ralph Cohen, _University of Virginia_ Vinton A. Dearing, _University of California, Los Angeles_ Arthur Friedman, _University of Chicago_ Louis A. Landa, _Princeton University_ Earl Miner, _University of California, Los Angeles_ Samuel H. Monk, _University of Minnesota_ Everett T. Moore, _University of California, Los Angeles_ Lawrence Clark Powell, _William Andrews Clark Memorial Library_ James Sutherland, _University College, London_ H. T. Swedenberg, Jr. , _University of California, Los Angeles_ Robert Vosper, _William Andrews Clark Memorial Library_ CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Edna C. Davis, _William Andrews Clark Memorial Library_ EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Mary Kerbret, _William Andrews Clark Memorial Library_ INTRODUCTION The eighteenth century was an age addicted to gossiping about itsliterary figures. This addiction was nowhere better demonstrated thanby the countless reflections, sermons, poems, pamphlets, biographicalsketches, and biographies about Samuel Johnson. The most productivephase of this activity commenced almost immediately after Johnson'sdeath in December, 1784, and continued into the next century. One item of Johnsoniana which seems to have been neglected, perhapsbecause Birkbeck Hill did not include it in his _JohnsonianMiscellanies_, is _A Poetical Review of the Literary and MoralCharacter of the Late Samuel Johnson, L. L. D. , with Notes_. This poemof three hundred and four lines was written by John Courtenay(1741-1816). First published in the spring of 1786 by Charles Dilly, the poem went through three editions in the same year. Its popularitywas determined less by Courtenay's poetic talent than by publicinterest in the Johnsoniana that flooded the market. Courtenay'sliterary output, though scanty, was diverse; he wrote light verse, character sketches, and essays, including two controversial pieces insupport of the French Revolution. [1] It is apparent, however, that forhim writing was hardly more than an avocation. Despite his notoriety as a controversial member of Parliament, as afirst-rate wit, and as an intimate friend of Boswell, Courtenayremains a shadowy figure. References to him occur often in the lastvolumes of Boswell's journal, but few of them are particularlyrevealing. Courtenay evidently never met Johnson; indeed, theanonymous author of _A Poetical Epistle from the Ghost of Dr. Johnsonto His Four Friends: The Rev. Mr. Strahan. James Boswell, Esq. Mrs. Piozzi. J. Courtenay, Esq. M. P. _ (1786) censures Courtenay for writingabout a man whom he did not know. Although a member of the LiteraryClub, Courtenay did not join this group until four years after Johnsondied. He was proposed on 9 December 1788, by Sir Joshua Reynolds(Boswell seconded), and elected two weeks later, on 23 December, during the same meeting at which it was decided to erect a monument toDr. Johnson in Westminster Abbey. [2] If, then, Courtenay did not belong to the Johnson circle, he became, shortly after Johnson's death, a valued member of the Boswell circle. Courtenay must have met Boswell in the spring or early summer of 1785, about thirteen years after arriving in England from his native Irelandin the service of Viscount Townshend. Boswell's first reference toCourtenay occurs in his journal under 7 July 1785. [3] It is clear fromthis entry that he had met Courtenay earlier, but subsequentreferences indicate that the acquaintance was a fresh one. From the start Boswell enjoyed Courtenay's company. In the firstplace, Boswell appreciated Courtenay's talent in conversation. Although he seldom recorded specimens of Courtenay's talk, Boswell wasgenerous in his praise of his wit. "Courtenay's wit, " he wrote, "sparkles more than almost any man's. "[4] On 26 March 1788, Boswelldescribed him as a "valuable addition" to a meeting of the Essex HeadClub which he attended as Boswell's guest. "Indeed, " Boswellcontinued, "his conversation is excellent; it has so much literature, wit, and at the same time manly sense, in it. "[5] An example of his"manly sense" that "struck home" to Boswell was Courtenay's remarkthat had Johnson been born to three thousand pounds a year hismelancholy would have been at greater leisure to torment him. [6] But there was a greater reason for Courtenay's intimacy with Boswell. The period following Johnson's death was for Boswell a time of intenseanxiety. By 1786 Courtenay and Edmond Malone had become Boswell'sclosest confidants. Boswell relished the long walks and the dinners hetook with Courtenay. Throughout his journal he confessed to thetherapeutic value of Courtenay's company; "I am, " he admitted, "quiteanother Man with M. C. , Malone, Courtenay. "[7] Moreover, Boswell often solicited Courtenay's advice in variouscrises. Courtenay, together with Malone, helped him out of scrapeswith Alexander Tytler and Lord Macdonald, induced him to lighten hispublished attacks on Mrs. Piozzi and helped make him aware of themerit of her edition of Johnson's correspondence, and advised him tocancel some questionable passages in the _Life_ on William GerardHamilton. From time to time he also cautioned Boswell not to expectpolitical preferment when he did not deserve it. It appears, too, thathe took part in the prolonged deliberations over Johnson's monument inWestminster Abbey. Concerned that Boswell's drinking might impede hiswork on the _Life_, Courtenay made him promise to quit drinking fromDecember 1790, to the following March, a promise which, as far as hewas able, Boswell kept. [8] Courtenay's high spirits and his ability to relieve Boswell'smelancholy were all the more remarkable because Courtenay, with a wifeand seven children to support, was poverty-stricken during most ofthis period. Boswell, lamenting the failure of the Whigs to providefinancial assistance to one of the party's most active members, foundCourtenay's "firmness of mind ... Amazing" under such difficulties. [9]No doubt Courtenay's resolve endeared him to Boswell, whose ownfinancial and psychological problems were, of course, a great burden. This is not to say that relations between the two men were alwayscordial. Courtenay was evidently a non-believer, and the two men oftendiffered on religious matters. Boswell condemned Courtenay's "wildravings" in favor of the French revolution, and once confessed hisdeep regret about quarreling with so close a friend on thissubject. [10] They also differed on the question of slavery, andBoswell good-naturedly chided Courtenay and William Windham asabolitionists in his poem, _No Abolition of Slavery; or the UniversalEmpire of Love_ (1791). [11] It is clear, too, that as Boswell'sdepression grew, Courtenay's power to brighten his spirits wanedconsiderably. Their friendship, nevertheless, seems to have ended on ahappy note, for Boswell's final mention of Courtenay in his journalincludes the remark that with Courtenay he had spent a "good day. "[12] Courtenay's _Poetical Review_, characterized by Donald A. Stauffer asan embodiment of the "vice-and-virtue philosophy" in biography, wasone of the most spirited pieces of Johnsoniana to appear. [13] Thepoem begins with disdain, but at line sixty-one reverses direction andbecomes vigorously commendatory. Courtenay did not attempt to addfresh information about Johnson's life and career. Consequently, theunfavorable portion of the poem is a conventional catalog of Johnson'soften publicized foibles and prejudices, just as the favorable sectionis in part a commonplace survey of his artistic achievement. This contrast, as Stauffer remarks, renders Courtenay's praise morepowerful. [14] More important, the play between scorn and praisereflects the ambivalence which colors contemporary accounts ofJohnson. We are now accustomed to the notion of great art as theproduct of a flawed life. But in the eighteenth century, an agelargely devoted to the idea of discreet biography which concealed orminimized the subject's weaknesses, a man like Johnson presentedformidable problems to the biographer and his readers. AlthoughCourtenay merely versified material which other writers had discussedin much more detail, his poem is important because it synthesizes theconflicting attitudes towards Johnson which prevailed immediatelyafter his death. Courtenay, like many others, saw in Johnson apowerful mixture of great virtues and vices; and though he is notimpartial, he effects, through his honesty, an admirable balancebetween Johnson's strengths and weaknesses. The final forty lines ofthe _Review_ constitute one of the most balanced of all contemporarytributes to Johnson as a human being. For the most part, the commendatory section of the poem is anunsystematic tracing of Johnson's moral and literary merits. Courtenay's rhapsodizing on the _Dictionary_, the _Rambler_, and the_Lives of the Poets_ is conventional. Clearly, he admired the widescope of Johnson's learning and his ability to communicate hisknowledge of men and manners in his writings. But his admirationoccasionally betrays him; for instance, in describing the "brilliantschool" through which Johnson's influence was perpetuated, heoverestimated the extent to which Reynolds, Malone, Burney, Jones, Goldsmith, Steevens, Hawkesworth, and Boswell were indebted toJohnson's writings. [15] Usually, however, he was on firmer ground. Courtenay was the only writer before Boswell to praise Johnson's Latinverse, a body of poetry virtually ignored by other contemporarybiographers and memorialists. [16] Furthermore, he employs footnotesskillfully. Though they impede the progress of the poem, they dosupport poetic statement with factual evidence and explain and amplifycertain points made in the verses. The clearest evidence for the care which Courtenay took with the_Review_ can be found upon examination of his revisions. He made fewsubstantial changes in the second edition, but the third editioncontains important revisions. Courtenay added ten lines and fivefootnotes in the final version, and lightened some of the scorn in thefirst portion by substituting weaker phrases for stronger ones. Healso enclosed lines seven through twenty in quotation marks to make itappear that the sentiment expressed therein was not his own, but ajudgment he had heard elsewhere. But the most significant revisions are concerned with organization. Bytransferring segments of certain verse paragraphs to others, heachieves a more unified portrait of Johnson. By means of suchrevision, he forms his general evaluation of Johnson's writing intoone unit and his comments on individual works into another, wherebefore they had been awkwardly interwoven. Courtenay's _Review_ did not go unnoticed at the time, though forobvious reasons it was given less attention by the reviewers than themore notorious Johnsoniana. Extracts from the poem were printed inseveral magazines. The reviewers were almost unanimous in damning thepoem's inelegance, unevenness, and lack of harmony, but reservedpraise for the sentiments and candor. [17] Chesterfield's apologist inWilliam Hayley's _Two Dialogues; Containing a Comparative View of theLives, Characters, and Writings of Philip, the Late Earl ofChesterfield, and Dr. Samuel Johnson_ (1787) protested that Courtenaywas too kind to Johnson. The severest indictment of the Review camefrom the anonymous author of _A Poetical Epistle from the Ghost of Dr. Johnson_, mentioned earlier, who charged Courtenay with poor taste andwith belaboring the obvious by proving that Johnson was "not quitedestitute of brains. "[18] The greatest champion of the _Review_ was, of course, Boswell. The_Life_ is sprinkled with quotations from the third edition, 118 linesin all, mostly from Courtenay's commendatory verses. In view of themany published attacks on Johnson, Boswell must have appreciatedCourtenay's sentiments all the more. Doubtless Courtenay's warm praiseof the _Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides_ also found favor withBoswell. [19] Perhaps Boswell's final and least partial judgment of the_Review_ was expressed in his letter to James Abercrombie ofPhiladelphia dated 11 June 1792. He sent Abercrombie a copy of thepoem, commenting that "though I except to several passages, you willfind some very good writing. "[20] Courtenay's _Review_, together with several other little known_memorabilia_ concerning Johnson, stimulated one of the most energeticand splenetic literary controversies of the late eighteenth century. In addition, the _Review_ and pieces like it aroused a considerableamount of useful, if vitriolic, discussion about the art of biography. University of Iowa NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION [1] See _DNB_. [2] For the information about Courtenay's election, I am indebted toProfessor James M. Osborn of Yale University. Boswell gives no precisedate for Courtenay's entry into the Club. His first reference toCourtenay's membership occurs in his journal entry of 19 January 1790. See _Private Papers of James Boswell_, ed. Geoffrey Scott andFrederick A. Pottle (Privately Printed, 1928-1934), XVIII, 22. Seealso Boswell's letter to Edmond Malone dated 16 December 1790, _Letters of James Boswell_, ed. C. B. Tinker (Oxford, 1924), II, 409-410. Courtenay and other intimates of Boswell were called "TheGang" by Philip Metcalfe. See _Private Papers_, XVII, 52, 55; XVIII, 15. [3] _Private Papers_, XVI, 106. [4] _Ibid. _, XVII, 80. For additional testimony to Courtenay'sreputation as a wit, see _Thraliana_, ed. Katharine C. Balderston(Oxford, 1951), I, 486, and James Prior, _Life of Edmond Malone_(London, 1860), 287-288. [5] _Private Papers_, XVII, 86. [6] _Ibid. _, pp. 76-77. [7] _Ibid. _, XVI, 178. "M. C. " is Mrs. Rudd. [8] See Boswell's letters to Malone, _Letters_, II, 405, 427, and_Private Papers_, XVIII, 100. Courtenay became alarmed over Boswell'sdeepening melancholy, as seen in this passage from his letter toMalone of 22 February 1791: "Poor Boswell is very low, & desperate &... Melancholy mad, feels no spring, no pleasure in existence, & is soperceptibly altered for the worse that it is remarked everywhere. Itry all I can to revivify him, but he [turns?] so tiresomely &tediously--for the same cursed trite commonplace topics, about death&c. --that we grow old, and when we are old, we are not young--that Idespair of effecting a cure. Doctors Warren and Devaynes very kindlyinterest themselves about him, but you wd be of more service to himthan anyone. " Quoted from a MS at Yale University Library by JamesOsborn, "Edmond Malone and Dr. Johnson, " _Johnson, Boswell and TheirCircle: Essays Presented to Lawrence Fitzroy Powell in Honour of HisEighty-fourth Birthday_ (Oxford, 1965), p. 16. [9] _Letters_, II, 428, 425. Boswell tried to negotiate loans forCourtenay, and made a successful application to Reynolds. See _PrivatePapers_, XVII, 85-86, 101-102; XVIII, 120. [10] _Private Papers_, XVIII, 171, 178, 184. [11] See Frank Brady, _Boswell's Political Career_ (New Haven, 1965), p. 169, and Frederick A. Pottle, _The Literary Career of JamesBoswell, Esq. _ (Oxford, 1929), p. 147. [12] _Private Papers_, XVIII, 271. This entry is dated 31 March 1794, not long before the journal ends and some thirteen months beforeBoswell's death. [13] _The Art of Biography in Eighteenth Century England_ (Princeton, 1941), p. 345. [14] _Ibid. _, p. 346. [15] W. K. Wimsatt, Jr. , in _The Prose Style of Samuel Johnson_ (NewHaven, 1941), pp. 135-138, argues against the notion that Johnson'sfriends formed such a "school. " [16] Boswell praised Courtenay's "just and discriminative eulogy" onJohnson's Latin poems, and quoted it. See _Boswell's Life of Johnson_, ed. G. B. Hill, revised L. F. Powell (Oxford, 1934-1950), I, 62. [17] See _European Magazine_, IX (April 1786), 266; _Gentleman'sMagazine_, LVI (May 1786), 415; _Monthly Review_, LXXV (September1786), 229. [18] It should be noted that the attack on Courtenay in this poem isthe mildest of the four. The famous caricaturist, Sayer, includedCourtenay in a poetic attack on Mrs. Piozzi appended to his print, _Frontispiece to the 2nd Edition of Johnson's Letters_, published 7April 1788. See James L. Clifford, _Hester Lynch Piozzi (Mrs. Thrale)_(Oxford, 1952), p. 329. [19] Boswell quoted Courtenay's compliment in _Life_, II, 268. [20] _Letters_, II, 444. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE The text of this edition of _A Poetical Review of the Literary andMoral Character of the Late Samuel Johnson, L. L. D. , with Notes_ isreproduced from a copy in the Beinecke Rare Book and ManuscriptLibrary, Yale University. A POETICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERARY AND MORAL CHARACTER OF THE LATE _SAMUEL JOHNSON, L. L. D. _ WITH NOTES. BY JOHN COURTENAY, ESQ. THE THIRD EDITION, CORRECTED. Man is thy theme; his virtue, or his rage, Drawn to the life, in each elaborate page. WALLER. ----_immensæ veluti connexa carinæ Cymba minor. _ STATIUS. LONDON: PRINTED FOR CHARLES DILLY IN THE POULTRY. M DCC LXXXVI. A POETICAL REVIEW, &c. A Generous tear will Caledonia shed? Her ancient foe, illustrious Johnson's dead; Mac-Ossian's sons may now securely rest, Safe from the bitter sneer, the cynick jest. [21] The song of triumph now I seem to hear, And these the sounds that vibrate on my ear: "Low lies the man, who scarce deigns Gray to praise, But from the tomb calls Blackmore's sleeping lays; A passport grants to Pomfret's dismal chimes, To Yalden's hymns, and Watts's holy rhimes;[22] By subtle doubts would Swift's fair fame invade, And round his brows the ray of glory shade;[23] With poignant taunt mild Shenstone's life arraigns, His taste contemns, and sweetly-flowing strains; At zealous Milton aims his tory dart, But in his Savage finds a moral heart; At great Nassau despiteful rancour flings, [24] But pension'd kneels ev'n to usurping kings: Rich, old and dying, bows his laurel'd head, And almost deigns to ask superfluous bread. "[25] A sceptick once, he taught the letter'd throng To doubt the existence of fam'd Ossian's song; Yet by the eye of faith, in reason's spite, Saw ghosts and witches, preach'd up _second sight_: For o'er his soul sad Superstition threw Her gloom, and ting'd his genius with her hue. On popish ground he takes his high church station, To sound mysterious tenets through the nation;[26] On Scotland's kirk he vents a bigot's gall, [27] Though her young chieftains prophecy like SAUL![28] On Tetty's state his frighted fancy runs, [29] And Heaven's appeas'd by cross unbutter'd buns:[30] He sleeps and fasts[31], pens on himself a libel, [32] And still believes, but never reads the Bible. [33] Fame says, at school, of scripture science vain, Bel and the Dragon smote him on the brain;[34] Scar'd with the blow, he shun'd the Jewish law, And eyed the Ark with reverential awe:[35] Let priestly S--h--n in a godly fit The tale relate, in aid of Holy Writ; Though candid Adams, by whom DAVID fell, [36] Who ancient miracles sustain'd so well, To recent wonders may deny his aid, [37] Nor own a buzy zealot of the trade. A coward wish, long stigmatiz'd by fame, Devotes Mæcenas to eternal shame;[38] Religious Johnson, future life to gain, Would ev'n submit to everlasting pain: How clear, how strong, such kindred colours paint The Roman epicure and Christian saint! O, had he liv'd in more enlighten'd times, When signs from heaven proclaim'd vile mortals' crimes, How had he groan'd, with sacred horrors pale, When Noah's comet shook her angry tail[39]; That wicked comet, which Will Whiston swore Would burn the earth that she had drown'd before![40] Or when Moll Tosts, by throes parturient vext, Saw her young rabbets peep from Esdras' text![41] To him such signs, prepar'd by mystick grace, Had shewn the impending doom of Adam's race. But who to blaze his frailties feels delight, When the great author rises to our sight? When the pure tenour of his life we view, Himself the bright exemplar that he drew? Whose works console the good, instruct the wise, And teach the soul to claim her kindred skies. By grateful bards his name be ever sung, Whose sterling touch has fix'd the English tongue! Fortune's dire weight, the patron's cold disdain, "Shook off, as dew-drops from the lion's mane;"[42] Unknown, unaided, in a friendless state, [43] Without one smile of favour from the great; The bulky tome his curious care refines, Till the great work in full perfection shines; His wide research and patient skill displays What scarce was sketch'd in ANNA's golden days;[44] What only learning's aggregated toil Slowly accomplish'd in each foreign soil. [45] Yet to the mine though the rich coin he trace, No current marks his early essays grace; For in each page we find a massy store Of English bullion mix'd with Latian ore: In solemn pomp, with pedantry combin'd, He vents the morbid sadness of his mind;[46] In scientifick phrase affects to smile, Form'd on Brown's turgid Latin-English style:[47] Too oft the abstract decorates his prose, [48] While measur'd ternaries the periods close: But all propriety his Ramblers mock, When Betty prates from Newton and from Locke; When no diversity we trace between The lofty moralist and gay fifteen--[49] Yet genius still breaks through the encumbering phrase; His taste we censure, but the work we praise: There learning beams with fancy's brilliant dyes, Vivid as lights that gild the northern skies; Man's complex heart he bares to open day, Clear as the prism unfolds the blended ray: The picture from his mind assumes its hue; The shades too dark, but the design still true. Though Johnson's merits thus I freely scan, And paint the foibles of this wond'rous man; Yet can I coolly read, and not admire, When Learning, Wit and Poetry conspire To shed a radiance o'er his moral page, And spread truth's sacred light to many an age? For all his works with innate lustre shine, Strength all his own, and energy divine. While through life's maze he sent a piercing view, His mind expansive to the object grew. With various stores of erudition fraught, The lively image, the deep-searching thought, Slept in repose;--but when the moment press'd, The bright ideas flood at once confess'd;[50] Instant his genius sped its vigorous rays, And o'er the letter'd world diffus'd a blaze: As womb'd with fire the cloud electrick flies, And calmly o'er the horizon seems to rise; Touch'd by the pointed steel, the lightning flows, And all the expanse with rich effulgence glows. In judgment keen, he acts the critick's part, By reason proves the feelings of the heart; In thought profound, in nature's study wise, Shews from what source our fine sensations rise; With truth, precision, fancy's claims defines, And throws new splendour o'er the poet's lines. [51] When specious sophists with presumption scan The source of evil, hidden still from man;[52] Revive Arabian tales[53], and vainly hope To rival St. John, and his scholar, Pope;[54] Though metaphysicks spread the gloom of night, By reason's star he guides our aching sight; The bounds of knowledge marks; and points the way To pathless wastes, where wilder'd sages stray; Where, like a farthing linkboy, Jennings stands, And the dim torch drops from his feeble hands. Impressive truth, in splendid fiction drest, [55] Checks the vain wish, and calms the troubled breast; O'er the dark mind a light celestial throws, And sooths the angry passions to repose; As oil effus'd illumes and smooths the deep, [56] When round the bark the foaming surges sweep. -- But hark, he sings! the strain ev'n Pope admires; Indignant Virtue her own bard inspires; Sublime as Juvenal, he pours his lays, [57] And with the Roman shares congenial praise:-- In glowing numbers now he fires the age, And Shakspeare's sun relumes the clouded stage. [58] So full his mind with images was fraught, The rapid strains scarce claim'd a second thought; And with like ease his vivid lines assume The garb and dignity of ancient Rome. -- Let college _versemen_ trite conceits express, Trick'd out in splendid shreds of Virgil's dress; From playful Ovid cull the tinsel phrase, And vapid notions hitch in pilfer'd lays; Then with mosaick art the piece combine, And boast the glitter of each dulcet line: Johnson adventur'd boldly to transfuse His vigorous sense into the Latian muse; Aspir'd to shine by unreflected light, And with a Roman's ardour _think_ and write. He felt the tuneful Nine his breast inspire, And, like a master, wak'd the[59] soothing lyre: Horatian strains a grateful heart proclaim, While Sky's wild rocks resound his Thralia's name. -- Hesperia's plant, in some less skillful hands, To bloom a while, factitious heat demands; Though glowing Maro a faint warmth supplies, The sickly blossom in the hot-house dies: By Johnson's genial culture, art, and toil, Its root strikes deep, and owns the fost'ring soil; Imbibes our sun through all its swelling veins, And grows a native of Britannia's plains. Soft-ey'd compassion, with a look benign His fervent vows he offer'd at thy shrine; To guilt, to woe, the sacred debt was paid, [60] And helpless females bless'd his pious aid: Snatch'd from disease, and want's abandon'd crew, Despair and anguish from their victims flew; Hope's soothing balm into their bosoms stole, And tears of penitence restor'd the soul. Nor did philanthrophy alone expand His liberal heart, and ope his bounteous hand; His _talents_ ev'n he gave to friendship's claim, [61] And by the gift imparted wealth and fame: His mind exhaustless sped its vivid force, Yet with unbated vigour held its course; As some fix'd star fulfills heaven's great designs, Lights other spheres, yet undiminish'd shines. How few distinguish'd of the studious train At the gay board their empire can maintain! In their own books intomb'd their wisdom lies; Too dull for talk, their slow conceptions rise: Yet the mute author, of his writings proud, For wit unshewn claims homage from the crowd; As thread-bare misers, by mean avarice school'd, Expect obeisance from their hidden gold. -- In converse quick, impetuous Johnson press'd His weighty logick, or sarcastick jest: Strong in the chace, and nimble in the turns, [62] For victory still his fervid spirit burns; Subtle when wrong, invincible when right, Arm'd at all points, and glorying in his might, Gladiator-like, he traverses the field, And strength and skill compel the foe to yield. -- Yet have I seen him, with a milder air, Encircled by the witty and the fair, Ev'n in old age with placid mien rejoice At beauty's smile, and beauty's flattering voice. -- With Reynolds' pencil, vivid, bold, and true, So fervent Boswell gives him to our view. In every trait we see his mind expand; The master rises by the pupil's hand; We love the writer, praise his happy vein, Grac'd with the naiveté of the sage Montaigne. Hence not alone are brighter parts display'd, But ev'n the specks of character portray'd: We _see_ the Rambler with fastidious smile Mark the lone tree, and note the heath-clad isle; But when the heroick tale of Flora charms, [63] Deck'd in a kilt, he wields a chieftain's arms: The tuneful piper sounds a martial strain, And Samuel sings, "The King shall have his ain": Two Georges in his loyal zeal are slur'd, [64] A gracious pension only saves the third!-- By Nature's gifts ordain'd mankind to rule, He, like a Titian, form'd his brilliant school; And taught congenial spirits to excel, While from his lips impressive wisdom fell. Our boasted GOLDSMITH felt the sovereign sway; From him deriv'd the sweet yet nervous lay. To Fame's proud cliff he bade our Raphael rise; Hence REYNOLDS' pen with REYNOLDS' pencil vyes. With Johnson's flame melodious BURNEY glows, [65] While the grand strain in smoother cadence flows. And you, MALONE, to critick learning dear, Correct and elegant, refin'd, though clear, By studying him, acquir'd that classick taste, Which high in Shakspeare's fane thy statue plac'd. Near Johnson STEEVENS stands, on scenick ground, Acute, laborious, fertile, and profound. Ingenious HAWKESWORTH to this school we owe, And scarce the pupil from the tutor know. Here early parts accomplish'd JONES[66] sublimes, And science blends with Asia's lofty rhimes: Harmonious JONES! who in his splendid strains Sings Camdeo's sports, on Agra's flowery plains; In Hindu fictions while we fondly trace Love and the Muses, deck'd with Attick grace. [67] Amid these names can BOSWELL be forgot, Scarce by North Britons now esteem'd a Scot?[68] Who to the sage devoted from his youth, Imbib'd from him the sacred love of truth; The keen research, the exercise of mind, And that best art, the art to know mankind. -- Nor was his energy confin'd alone To friends around his philosophick throne; Its influence wide improv'd our letter'd isle, And lucid vigour mark'd the general style: As Nile's proud waves, swol'n from their oozy bed, First o'er the neighbouring meads majestick spread; Till gathering force, they more and more expand, And with new virtue fertilise the land. Thus sings the Muse, to Johnson's memory just, And scatters praise and censure o'er his dust; For through each checker'd scene a contrast ran, Too sad a proof, how great, how weak is man! Though o'er his passions conscience held the rein, He shook at dismal phantoms of the brain: A boundless faith that noble mind debas'd, By piercing wit, energick reason grac'd: A generous Briton, [69] yet he seems to hope For James's grandson, and for James's Pope: With courtly zeal fair freedom's sons defames, [70] Yet, like a Hamden, pleads Ierne's claims. [71] Though proudly splenetick, yet idly vain, Accepted flattery, and dealt disdain. -- E'en shades like these, to brilliancy ally'd, May comfort fools, and curb the Sage's pride. Yet Learning's sons, who o'er his foibles mourn, To latest time shall fondly view his urn; And wond'ring praise, to human frailties blind, Talents and virtue of the brightest kind; Revere the man, with various knowledge stor'd, Who science, arts, and life's whole scheme explor'd; Who firmly scorn'd, when in a lowly state, To flatter vice, or court the vain and great;[72] Whose heart still felt a sympathetick glow, Prompt to relieve man's variegated woe; Whose ardent hope, intensely fix'd on high, Saw future bliss with intellectual eye. Still in his breast Religion held her sway, Disclosing visions of celestial day; And gave his soul, amidst this world of strife, The blest reversion of eternal life: By this dispell'd, each doubt and horrour flies, And calm at length in holy peace he dies. The sculptur'd trophy, and imperial bust, That proudly rise around his hallow'd dust, Shall mould'ring fall, by Time's slow hand decay'd, But the bright meed of virtue ne'er shall fade. Exulting Genius stamps his sacred name, Enroll'd for ever in the dome of Fame. THE END. Footnotes: [21] "A Scotchman must be a sturdy moralist, who does not preferScotland to truth. " Johnson's _Journey to the Western Isles ofScotland_. [22] "The Poems of Dr. Watts were by my recommendation inserted inthis collection; the readers of which are to impute to me whateverpleasure or weariness they may find in the perusal of Blackmore, Watts, Pomfret and Yalden. " Johnson's _Life of Watts_. The following specimen of their productions may be sufficient toenable the reader to judge of their respective merits: "Alas, Jerusalem! alas! where's now Thy pristine glory, thy unmatch'd renown, To which the heathen monarchies did bow? Ah, hapless, miserable town!" Eleazar's _Lamentation over Jerusalem, paraphrased by_ Pomfret. "Before the Almighty Artist fram'd the sky, Or gave the earth its harmony, His first command was for thy light; He view'd the lovely birth, and blessed it: _In purple swaddling bands it struggling lay_, Old Chaos then a chearful smile put on, And from thy beauteous form did first presage its own. " Yalden's _Hymn to Light_. "My chearful soul now all the day Sits waiting here and sings; Looks through the ruins of her clay, And practises her wings. O, rather let this flesh decay, The ruins wider grow! Till glad to see the enlarged way, I stretch my pinions through. " _A Sight of Heaven in Sickness, by_ Isaac Watts. [23] "He seemed to me to have an unaccountable prejudice againstSwift. --He said to-day, --I doubt if the _Tale of a Tub_ was his; ithas so much more thinking, more knowledge, more power, more colour, than any of the works that are indisputably his. If it was his, Ishall only say, he was _impar sibi_. " Boswell's _Tour to theHebrides_, p. 38. Doctor Johnson's "unaccountable prejudice against Swift" may probablybe derived from the same source as Blackmore's, if we may venture toform a judgement from the panegyrick he bestows on the followinggroundless invective, expressly aimed at Swift as the author of _ATale of a Tub_, which he quotes in his life of Blackmore: "Several, intheir books, have many sarcastical and spiteful strokes at religion ingeneral; while others make themselves pleasant with the principles ofthe Christian. Of the last kind, this age has seen a most audaciousexample, in the book intituled "_A Tale of a Tub_. " Had this writingbeen published in a pagan or _popish_ nation, who are _justly_impatient of all indignity offered to the established religion oftheir country, no doubt but the author would have received thepunishment he deserved. --But the fate of this impious buffoon is verydifferent; for in a protestant kingdom, zealous of their civil andreligious immunities, he has not only escaped affronts and the effectsof publick resentment, but has been caressed and patronised by personsof great figure of all denominations. " The malevolent dullness of bigotry alone could have inspired Blackmorewith these sentiments. The fact is, that the _Tale of a Tub_ is acontinued panegyrick on the Church of England, and a bitter satire onPopery, Calvinism, and every sect of dissenters. At the same time I ampersuaded, that every reader of taste and discernment will perceive inmany parts of Swift's other writings strong internal proofs of thatstyle which characterises the _Tale of a Tub_; especially in the_Publick Spirit of the Whigs_. It is well known, that he affectedsimplicity, and studiously avoided any display of learning, exceptwhere the subject made it absolutely necessary. Temporary, local, andpolitical topicks compose too great a part of his works; but in atreatise that admitted "more thinking, more knowledge, " &c. Henaturally exerted all his powers. --Let us hear the author himself onthis point. "The greatest part of that book was finished above thirteen yearssince, (1696) which is eight years before it was published. The authorwas then young, his invention at the height, and his reading fresh inhis head. " And again: "Men should be more cautious in losing theirtime, if they did but consider, that to answer a book effectuallyrequireth more pains and skill, more wit, learning and judgement, thanwere employed in writing it. --And the author assureth those gentlemen, who have given themselves that trouble with him, that his discourse isthe product of the study, the observation, and the invention of_several years_; that he often blotted out more than he left; and ifhis papers had not been a long time out of his possession, they muststill have undergone more severe corrections. " _An Apology for theTale of a Tub. _--With respect to this work being the production ofSwift, see his letter to the printer, Mr. Benjamin Tooke, datedDublin, June 29, 1710, and Tooke's Answer on the publication of _theApology_ and a new edition of the _Tale of a Tub_. Hawkesworth'sedition of Swift's Works, 8vo. Vol. Xvi. P. 145. Doctor Hawkesworth mentions, in his preface, that the edition of _ATale of a Tub_, printed in 1710, was revised and corrected by the Deana short time before his understanding was impaired, and that thecorrected copy was, in the year 1760, in the hands of his kinsman, Mr. Deane Swift. [24] _Johnson. _ "I would tell truth of the two Georges, or of that_scoundrel_, King William. " Boswell's _Tour to the Hebrides_, p. 312. [25] See his letter to Lord Thurlow, in which he seems to approve ofthe application (though he was not previously consulted), thanks hisLordship for having made it, and even expresses some degree ofsurprize and resentment on the proposed addition to his pension beingrefused. [26] "If (added Dr. Johnson) GOD had never spoken figuratively, wemight hold that he speaks literally, when he says, "This is my body. "Boswell's _Tour_, p. 67. --Here his only objection to transubstantiationseems to rest on the style of the Scripture being figurative elsewhereas well as in this passage. Hence we may infer, that he wouldotherwise have believed in it. --But Archbishop Tillotson and Mr. Lockereason more philosophically, by asserting that "no doctrine, howeverclearly expressed in Scripture, is to be admitted, if it contradictthe evidence of our senses:--For our evidence for the truth ofrevealed religion is _less_ than the evidence for the truth of oursenses, because, _even_ in the first authors of our religion, it wasno greater; and it is evident it must diminish in passing from them tous, through the medium of human testimony. "--This question, however, may perhaps be better elucidated by the following Anecdote, preservedby Mr. Richardson, than by a more serious discussion: "Mr. Pope, who loved to talk of Titcum, (one who used to be of theparty with him, Gay, Swift, Craggs, and Addison, and that set, in hisyouth, ) told us, that Gay went to see him as he was dying, and askedhim, if he would have a priest; (for he was a papist, ) 'No, said he, what should I do with them? But I would rather have one of them, thanone of yours, of the two. Our fools, (continued he) write great booksto prove that _bread_ is _God_; but your booby (he meant Tillotson)has wrote a long argument to prove that _bread_ is _bread_. '"_Richardsoniana_, p. 167. [27] See his conversation with Lord Auchinleck. Boswell's _Tour_. [28] See the First Book of Samuel, ch. X. [29] "And I commend to thy fatherly goodness the soul of my departedwife, beseeching thee to grant her whatever is best in her present state. " Johnson's _Meditations_. [30] "I returned home, but could not settle my mind. At last I read achapter. Then went down about six or seven, and eat two _cross-buns_. " _Meditations_, p. 154. [31] "I fasted, though less rigorously than at other times. I bynegligence poured some milk into my tea. _Ibid. _ p. 146. --Yesterday, Ifasted, as I have always, or commonly done, since the death of Tetty;the fast was more painful than usual. " [32] "PURPOSES. To keep a journal. To begin this day. (Sept. 18th, 1766. ) To spend four hours in study every day, and as much more as I can. To read a portion of Scripture in Greek every Sunday. To rise at eight. --Oct. 3d. Of all this I have done nothing. " _Ibid. _ [33] "I resolved last Easter to read, within the year, the wholeBible; a great part of which I had never looked upon. " _Meditations. _ [34] "I have never yet read the Apocrypha. When I was a boy I haveread or heard Bel and the Dragon. " _Meditations. _ [35] See the First Book of Samuel, ch. V. And vi. In which an accountis given of the punishment of the Philistines for looking into theark. [36] The Rev. Dr. Adams of Oxford, distinguished for his answer toDavid Hume's _Essay on Miracles_. [37] From the following letter there is reason to apprehend that Dr. Adams would not support Mr. S----n, if he should add this to the othersingular anecdotes that he has published relative to Dr. Johnson. Mr. Urban, Oxford, Oct. 22d, 1785. In your last month's Review of books, you have asserted, that thepublication of Dr. Johnson's _Prayers_ and _Meditations_ appears tohave been at the instance of Dr. Adams, Master of Pembroke College, Oxford. This, I think, is more than you are warranted by the editor'spreface to say; and is so far from being true, that Dr. Adams neversaw a line of these compositions, before they appeared in print, norever heard from Dr. Johnson, or the editor, that any such existed. Hadhe been consulted about the publication, he would certainly have givenhis voice against it: and he therefore hopes, that you will clear him, in as publick a manner as you can, from being any way accessary to it. Wm. Adams. [38] "Debilem facite manu, Debilem pede, coxa; Tuber adstrue gibberum; Lubricos quate dentes; Vita dum superest, bene est: Hanc mihi, vel acuta Si sedeam cruce, sustine. " SENEC. EPIST. 101. Let me but live, the fam'd Mæcenas cries, Lame of both hands, and lame in feet and thighs; Hump-back'd, and toothless;--all convuls'd with pain, Ev'n on the cross, --so precious life remain. Dr. Johnson, in his last illness, is said to have declared (in thepresence of Doctors H. And B. ) that he would prefer a state ofexistence in eternal pain to annihilation. [39] "This last comet (which appeared in the year 1680) I may wellcall the most remarkable one that ever appeared; since, besides theformer consideration, I shall presently shew, that it is no other thanthat very comet, which came by the earth at the time of Noah's deluge, and _which was the cause of the same_. " Whiston's _Theory of theEarth_, p. 188. [40] "Since 575 years appear to be the period of the comet that causedthe deluge, what a learned friend who was the occasion of myexamination of this matter, suggests, will deserve to be considered;viz. Whether the story of the phoenix, that celebrated emblem of theresurrection in Christian antiquity, (that it returns once after fivecenturies, and goes to the altar and city of the sun, and is thereburnt; and another arises out of its ashes, and carries away theremains of the former; &c. ) be not an allegorical representation ofthis comet, which returns once after five centuries, and goes down tothe sun, and is there vehemently heated, and its outward regionsdissolved; yet that it flies off again, and carries away what remainsafter that terrible burning; &c. And whether the _conflagration_ andrenovation of things, which some such comet may bring on the earth, benot hereby prefigured, I will not here be positive: but I own, that Ido not know of any solution of this famous piece of mythology andhieroglyphics, as this seems to be, that can be compared with it. "_Ibid. _ p. 196. [41] "'Tis here foretold [by Esdras] that there should be _signs inthe woman_; and before all others this prediction has been verified inthe famous _rabbet-woman of Surrey_, in the days of King GeorgeI. --This story has been so unjustly laughed out of countenance, that Imust distinctly give my reasons for believing it to be true, andalleging it here as the fulfilling of this ancient prophecy beforeus. --1st. The man-midwife, Mr. Howard of Godalmin in Surrey, a personof very great honesty, skill and reputation in his profession, attested it. --It was believed by King George to be real; and it wasalso believed by my old friends the Speaker and Mr. Samuel Collet, asthey told me themselves, and was generally by sober persons in theneighbourhood. Nay Mr. Molyneux, the Prince's Secretary, a veryinquisitive person, and my very worthy friend, assured me he had atfirst so great a diffidence in the truth of the fact, and was solittle biassed by the other believers, even by the King himself, thathe would not be satisfied till he was permitted both to see and feelthe rabbet, _in that very passage, whence we all come into thisworld_. " Whiston's _Memoirs_, vol. Ii. P. 110. [42] "The incumbrances of fortune were shaken from his mind as_dew-drops from the lion's mane_. " Johnson's _Preface to his editionof Shakespeare_. [43] Every reader of sensibility must be strongly affected by thefollowing pathetick passages:--"Much of my life has been lost underthe pressures of disease; much has been trifled away; and much hasalways been spent in provision for the day that was passing over me;but I shall not think my employment useless or ignoble, if by myassistance foreign nations and distant ages gain access to thepropagators of knowledge, and understand the teachers of truth; if mylabours afford light to the repositories of science, and add celebrityto Bacon, to Hooker, to Milton, and to Boyle. " "In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it notbe forgotten that much likewise is performed; and though no book wasever spared out of tenderness to the authour, and the world is littlesolicitous to know whence proceeded the faults of that which itcondemns, yet it may gratify curiosity to inform it, that the ENGLISHDICTIONARY was written with _little assistance of the learned, andwithout any patronage of the great; not in the soft obscurities ofretirement, or under the shelter of academick bowers, but amidstinconvenience and distraction, in sickness and in sorrow_. " Preface toDr. Johnson's Dictionary. [44] See Swift's letter to Lord Oxford for the institution of anacademy to improve and fix the English language. [45] The great French and Italian Dictionaries were not theproductions of an individual, but were compiled by a body ofAcademicians in each country. [46] "In times and regions so disjoined from each other, that therecan scarcely be imagined any communication of sentiments, either bycommerce or tradition, has prevailed a general and uniform expectationof propitiating GOD by corporal austerities, of anticipating hisvengeance by voluntary inflictions, and appeasing his justice by aspeedy and cheerful submission to a less penalty when a greater isincurred. " _Rambler_, No. 110. [47] The style of the _Ramblers_ seem to have been formed on that ofSir Thomas Brown's _Vulgar Errors_ and _Christian Morals_. "But ice is water congealed by the frigidity of the air, whereby itacquireth no new form, but rather a consistence or determination ofits defluency, and amitteth not its essence, but condition offluidity. Neither doth there any thing properly conglaciate but water, or watery humidity, for the determination of quicksilver is properlyfixation, that of milk coagulation, and that of oil and unctuousbodies only incrassation. "--Is this written by Brown or Johnson? [48] In the _Ramblers_ the abstract too often occurs instead of theconcrete;--one of Dr. Johnson's peculiarities. [49] See Victoria's Letter, RAMBLER, No. 130. --"I was never permittedto sleep till I had passed through the cosmetick discipline, part ofwhich was a regular lustration performed with bean-flower water andmay-dews; my hair was perfumed with a variety of unguents, by some ofwhich it was to be thickened, and by others to be curled. The softnessof my hands was secured by medicated gloves, and my bosom rubbed witha pomade prepared by my mother, of virtue to discuss pimples, andclear discolorations. " [50] Dr. Johnson's extraordinary facility of composition is well knownfrom many circumstances. He wrote forty pages of the Life of Savage inone night. He composed seventy lines of his Imitation of the TenthSatire of Juvenal, and wrote them down from memory, without altering aword. In the Prologue on opening Drury-Lane theatre, he changed butone word, and that in compliment to Mr. Garrick. Some of his_Ramblers_ were written while the printer's messenger was waiting tocarry the copy to the press. Many of the _Idlers_ were written atOxford; Dr. Johnson often began his talk only just in time not to missthe post, and sent away the paper without reading it over. [51] See his admirable _Lives of the Poets_, and particularly hisDisquisition on metaphysical and religious poetry. [52] See his Review of Soame Jennings's _Essay on the Origin of Evil_;a masterpiece of composition, both for vigour of style and precisionof ideas. [53] Pope's or rather Bolingbroke's system was borrowed from theArabian metaphysicians. [54] The scheme of the _Essay on Man_ was given by Lord Bolingbroke toPope. [55] See that sublime and beautiful Tale, _The Prince of Abyssinia_;and _The Rambler_, No. 65, 204, &c. &c. [56] "The world is disposed to call this a discovery of Dr. Franklin's, (from his paper inserted in the PhilosophicalTransactions) but in this they are much mistaken. Pliny, Plutarch, andother naturalists were acquainted with it. "--"Ea natura est olei, utlucem afferat, ac tranquillar omnia, etiam mare, quo non aliudelementum implacabilius. " _Memoirs of the Society of Manchester. _ [57] _London_, a Satire, and _The Vanity of Human Wishes_, are bothimitations of Juvenal. On the publication of _London_ in 1738, Mr. Pope was so much struck by it, that he desired Mr. Dodsley, hisbookseller, to find out the author. Dodsley having sought him in vainfor some time, Mr. Pope said, he would very soon be _deterré_. Afterwards Mr. Richardson the painter found out Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Pope recommended him to Lord Gower. [58] See the Prologue spoken by Mr. Garrick in 1747, on the opening ofDrury-Lane theatre. [59] "Inter _ignotæ_ strepitus _loquelæ_. "--Ode to Mrs. Thrale. [60] The dignified and affecting letter written by him to the King inthe name of Doctor Dodd, after his condemnation, is justly, and, Ibelieve, universally admired. His benevolence, indeed, was uniform andunbounded. ----I have been assured, that he has often been so muchaffected by the sight of several unfortunate women, whom he has seenalmost perishing in the streets, that he has taken them to his ownhouse; had them attended with care and tenderness; and, on theirrecovery, clothed, and placed them in a way of life to earn theirbread by honest industry. [61] The papers in the ADVENTURER, signed with the letter T, arecommonly attributed to one of Dr. Johnson's earliest and most intimatefriends, Dr. Bathurst; but there is good reason to believe that theywere written by Dr. Johnson, and given by him to his friend. At thattime Dr. Johnson was himself engaged in writing the _Rambler_, andcould ill afford to make a present of his labours. The various otherpieces that he gave away, have bestowed fame, and probably fortune, onseveral persons. To the great disgrace of some of his clericalfriends, forty sermons, which he himself tells us he wrote, have notyet been _deterré_. [62] "A good continued speech (says Bacon in his ESSAYS) without agood speech of interlocution, shews slowness; and a good reply orsecond speech, without a good settled speech, sheweth shallowness andweakness. As we see in beasts, that those that are weakest in thecourse, are yet _nimblest in the turn_; as it is betwixt the greyhoundand the hare. "--If this observation be just, Dr. Johnson is anexception to the rule; for he was certainly as _strong_ "in thecourse, as nimble in the turn"; as ready in "reply, " as in "a settledspeech. " [63] The celebrated Flora Macdonald. See Boswell's _Tour_. [64] See Note 4. [65] Dr. Burney's _History of Musick_ is equally distinguished byelegance and perspicuity of style, and for scientifick knowledge. [66] Sir William Jones produced that learned and ingenious work, _Poeseos Asiaticæ Commentarii_, at a very early age. [67] "The Hindu God, to whom the following poem is addressed, appearsevidently the same with the Grecian EROS, and the Roman CUPIDO. ----Hisfavourite place of resort is a large tract of country round AGRA, andprincipally the plains of Matra, where KRISHEN also and the nineGOPIA, who are clearly the Apollo and Muses of the Greeks, usuallyspend the night with musick and dance. " Preface to the HYMN to CAMDEO, translated from the Hindu language into Persian, and re-translated bySir William Jones. There can be little doubt, considering the antiquity and earlycivilisation of Hindostan, that both the philosophy and beautifulmythology of the Greeks were drawn from that part of Asia. [68] The following observation in Mr. Boswell's _Journal of a Tour tothe Hebrides_, may sufficiently account for that gentleman's being"now scarcely esteem'd a Scot" by many of his countrymen; "If he [Dr. Johnson] was particularly prejudiced against the Scots it was becausethey were more in his way; because he thought their success in Englandrather exceeded the due proportion of their real merit; and because hecould not but see in them that nationality which, I believe, noliberal-minded Scotchman will deny. " Mr. Boswell indeed is so freefrom national prejudices, that he might with equal propriety have beendescribed as-- "Scarce by _South_ Britons now esteem'd a Scot. " [69] When Dr. Johnson repeated to Mr. Boswell Goldsmith's beautifuleulogium on the English nation, his eyes filled with tears. --Boswell's_Tour_, p. 431. --See also the Dissertation on the Bravery of theEnglish common Soldiers, at the end of the _Idler_. [70] See _Taxation no Tyranny_. [71] Though Dr. Johnson has called Hamden the _zealot of rebellion_, yet that distinguished patriot could not have expressed himself withmore ardour in the cause of liberty, than Dr. Johnson does in thefollowing passage in his Life of Swift: "In the succeeding reign [thatof George I. ] he delivered Ireland from plunder and _oppression_; andshewed that wit, confederated with _truth_, had such force asauthority was unable to resist. --It was from the time when he firstbegan to patronize the Irish, that they may date their riches, andprosperity. He taught them first to know their own interest, theirweight and their strength, and gave them spirit to assert that_equality_ with their fellow-subjects to which they have been eversince making vigorous advances, and to claim those _rights_ which theyhave at last established. " The truth indeed seems to be, that Dr. Johnson, though he had beenbred in high-church principles, and always expressed himself incontroversial argument like a Tory, possessed a high independentspirit, and appears to have been a friend to the rights of man. Hisdefinition of the word _Caitiff_, in his Dictionary, may throw somelight on this part of his character. "Caitiff. [_cattivo_, Ital. Aslave; whence it came to signify a bad man, with some implication ofmeanness; as _knave_ in English, and _fur_ in Latin; so _certainlydoes slavery destroy virtue_. Hêmisu tês aretês apoainutai doulion êmar. A slave and a scoundrel are signified by the same words in manylanguages. ] A mean villain, " &c. See also that animated passage in his_London_, beginning, "Here let those reign, " &c. [72] It is observable that Dr. Johnson did not prefix a dedication toany one of his various works. THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT 1948-1949 16. Henry Nevil Payne, _The Fatal Jealousie_ (1673). 18. Anonymous, "Of Genius, " in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719), and Aaron Hill, Preface to _The Creation_ (1720). 1949-1950 19. Susanna Centlivre, _The Busie Body_ (1709). 20. Lewis Theobald, _Preface to the Works of Shakespeare_ (1734). 22. Samuel Johnson, _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749), and two_Rambler_ papers (1750). 23. John Dryden, _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681). 1951-1952 31. Thomas Gray, _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard_ (1751), and_The Eton College Manuscript_. 1952-1953 41. Bernard Mandeville, _A Letter to Dion_ (1732). 1963-1964 104. Thomas D'Urfey, _Wonders in the Sun_; or, _The Kingdom of theBirds_ (1706). 1964-1965 110. John Tutchin, _Selected Poems_ (1685-1700). 111. Anonymous, _Political Justice_ (1736). 112. Robert Dodsley, _An Essay on Fable_ (1764). 113. T. R. , _An Essay Concerning Critical and Curious Learning_(1698). 114. _Two Poems Against Pope_: Leonard Welsted, _One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope_ (1730), and _Anonymous, The Blatant Beast_ (1742). 1965-1966 115. Daniel Defoe and others, _Accounts of the Apparition of Mrs. Veal_. 116. Charles Macklin, _The Covent Garden Theatre_ (1752). 117. Sir George L'Estrange, _Citt and Bumpkin_ (1680). 118. Henry More, _Enthusiasmus Triumphatus_ (1662). 119. Thomas Traherne, _Meditations on the Six Days of the Creation_(1717). 120. Bernard Mandeville, _Aesop Dress'd or a Collection of Fables_(1704). 1966-1967 123. Edmond Malone, _Cursory Observations on the Poems Attributed toMr. Thomas Rowley_ (1782). 124. Anonymous, _The Female Wits_ (1704). 125. Anonymous, _The Scribleriad_ (1742). Lord Hervey, _The DifferenceBetween Verbal and Practical Virtue_ (1742). 126. _Le Lutrin: an Heroick Poem, Written Originally in French byMonsieur Boileau: Made English by N. O. _ (1682). 1967-1968 127-128. Charles Macklin, _A Will and No Will, or a Bone for theLawyers_ (1746). _The New Play Criticiz'd, or The Plagueof Envy_ (1747). Introduction by Jean B. Kern. 129. Lawrence Echard, Prefaces to _Terence's Comedies_ (1694) and_Plautus's Comedies_ (1694). Introduction by John Barnard. 130. Henry More, _Democritus Platonissans_ (1646). Introduction by P. G. Stanwood. 131. John Evelyn, _The History of ... Sabatai Sevi ... The Suppos'dMessiah of the Jews_ (1669). Introduction by Christopher W. Grose. 132. Walter Harte, _An Essay on Satire, Particularly on the Dunciad_(1730). Introduction by Thomas B. Gilmore. Subsequent publications may be checked in the annual prospectus. Publications of the first fifteen years of the Society (numbers 1-90)are available in paperbound units of six issues at $16. 00 per unit, from the Kraus Reprint Company, 16 East 46th Street, New York, N. Y. 10017. Publications in print are available at the regular membership rate of$5. 00 yearly. Prices of single issues may be obtained upon request. William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California, LosAngeles THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY 2520 CIMARRON STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90018 _General Editors_: William E. Conway, William Andrews Clark MemorialLibrary; George Robert Guffey, University of California, Los Angeles;Maximillian E. Novak, University of California, Los Angeles _Corresponding Secretary_: Mrs. Edna C. Davis, William Andrews ClarkMemorial Library The Society's purpose is to publish rare Restoration andeighteenth-century works (usually as facsimile reproductions). Allincome of the Society is devoted to defraying costs of publication andmailing. Correspondence concerning memberships in the United States and Canadashould be addressed to the Corresponding Secretary at the WilliamAndrews Clark Memorial Library, 2520 Cimarron Street, Los Angeles, California. Correspondence concerning editorial matters may beaddressed to the General Editors at the same address. Manuscripts ofintroductions should conform to the recommendations of the MLA _StyleSheet_. The membership fee is $5. 00 a year in the United States andCanada and £1. 16. 6 in Great Britain and Europe. British and Europeanprospective members should address B. H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England. Copies of back issues in print may be obtained fromthe Corresponding Secretary. Publications of the first fifteen years of the Society (numbers 1-90)are available in paperbound units of six issues at $16. 00 per unit, from the Kraus Reprint Company, 16 East 46th Street, New York, N. Y. 10017. Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OFCALIFORNIA REGULAR PUBLICATIONS FOR 1968-1969 133. John Courtenay, _A Poetical Review of the Literary and MoralCharacter of the Late Samuel Johnson_ (1786). Introduction by RobertE. Kelley. 134. John Downes, _Roscius Anglicanus_ (1708). Introduction by JohnLoftis. 135. Sir John Hill, _Hypochondriasis, a Practical Treatise on theNature and Cure of that Disorder Call'd the Hyp or Hypo_ (1766). Introduction by G. S. Rousseau. 136. Thomas Sheridan, _Discourse ... Being Introductory to His Courseof Lectures on Elocution and the English Language_ (1759). Introduction by G. P. Mohrman. 137. Arthur Murphy, _The Englishman From Paris_ (1756). Introductionby Simon Trefman. Previously unpublished manuscript. 138. [Catherine Trotter], _Olinda's Adventures_ (1718). Introductionby Robert Adams Day. SPECIAL PUBLICATION FOR 1968-1969 _After THE TEMPEST. _ Introduction by George Robert Guffey. Next in the continuing series of special publications by the Societywill be _After THE TEMPEST_, a volume including the Dryden-Davenantversion of _The Tempest_ (1670); the "operatic" _Tempest_ (1674);Thomas Duffet's _Mock-Tempest_ (1675); and the "Garrick" _Tempest_(1756), with an Introduction by George Robert Guffey. Already published in this series are: 1. John Ogilby, _The Fables of Aesop Paraphras'd in Verse_ (1668), with an Introduction by Earl Miner. 2. John Gay, _Fables_ (1727, 1738), with an Introduction by Vinton A. Dearing. 3. Elkanah Settle, _The Empress of Morocco_ (1673) with five plates;_Notes and Observations on the Empress of Morocco_ (1674) by JohnDryden, John Crowne and Thomas Shadwell; _Notes and Observations onthe Empress of Morocco Revised_ (1674) by Elkanah Settle; and _TheEmpress of Morocco. A Farce_ (1674) by Thomas Duffet; with anIntroduction by Maximillian E. Novak. Price to members of the Society, $2. 50 for the first copy of eachtitle, and $3. 25 for additional copies. Price to non-members, $4. 00. Standing orders for this continuing series of Special Publicationswill be accepted. British and European orders should be addressed toB. H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England. Transcriber's Notes: Passages in italics indicated by underscore _italics_. The original text includes Greek characters. For this text version these letters have been replaced with transliterations. Misprints corrected: "ther" corrected to "their" (footnote 23) "Crticiz'd" corrected to "Criticiz'd" (advertisements)