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 which I have made upon human nature. At 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, however, 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,1 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 will be required," seems to have been ever present to his mind, in a rigorous 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 last 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. "" 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 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,1 that he at all times ex 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 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 I may be bold to say that the excellent works he published will not distinguish him from other learned men so advantageously as this. To publish books of great learning, to make Greek and Latin verses exceedingly well turned, is not pressed his thoughts with great force, and an 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; and, from a spirit of contradiction and a delight in showing his powers, he would often maintain the wrong side with equal warmth and ingenuity; so that when there was an audience, his real opinions could seldom be gathered from 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. Such was Samuel Johnson, a man whose talents, acquirements, and virtues, were so extraordinary, that the more his character is considered, the more he will be regarded by the present age, and by posterity, with admiration and reverence. 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 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. 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. 1735. Abridgment and Translation of Lobo's Voyage to Abyssinia.* 1738. Part of a translation of Father Paul Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent.* [N. B. As this work, after some sheets were printed, suddenly stopped, I know not whether any part of it is now to be found.] Preface.+ FOR THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. Life of Father Paul.* 1739. A complete vindication of the Licenser of the Stage from the malicious and scandalous aspersions of Mr. Brooke, author of Gustavus Vasa.* Marmor Norfolciense: or, an Essay on an ancient prophetical inscription in monkish rhyme, lately discovered near Lynne in Norfolk: by Probus Britannicus.* 1740. 1741. 1742. FOR THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. Life of Boerhaave.* Address to the Reader.+ Appeal to the Public in behalf of the Editor.+ Considerations on the case of Dr. Trapp's Sermons; a plausible attempt to prove that an Author's work may be abridged without injuring his property.* A free translation of the Jests of Hierocles, with an introduction.+ Translation of Abbé Guyon's Dissertation on the Amazons.+ Preface.+ FOR THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. Essay on the Account of the Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough.* The Life of Sydenham, afterwards prefixed to Dr. Swan's Edition of his Proposals for printing Bibliotheca Harleiana, or a Catalogue of the Abridgment, entitled Foreign History.+ Essay on the Description of China, from the French of Du Halde.+ 1743. Dedication to Dr. Mead of Dr. James's Medicinal Dictionary.+ Preface.+ FOR THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. Parliamentary Debates under the name of Debates in the Senate of Considerations on the Dispute between Crousaz and Warburton on A Letter, announcing that the Life of Mr. Savage was speedily to be 1744. Life of Richard Savage.* Preface to the Harleian Miscellany.* Preface.+ FOR THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. 1745. Miscellaneous observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth, with remarks on Sir T. H.'s (Sir Thomas Hanmer's) Edition of Shakspeare, and proposals for a new Edition of that Poet.* 1747. Plan for a Dictionary of the English Language, addressed to Philip Dormer, Earl of Chesterfield.* FOR THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. 1748. Life of Roscommon.* Foreign History, November.t Preface.* 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 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.* 1 This is a mistake. The last number of "The Rambler" appeared on the fourteenth of March, three days before Mrs. Johnson died. MALONE. |