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Life of Johnson Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the Life of Johnson novel. A total of 427 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : Life Of Johnson.Vol. 1.by Boswell.Edited by Birkbeck Hill.PREFACE.Fielding, it is said,
Life Of Johnson.Vol. 1.by Boswell.Edited by Birkbeck Hill.PREFACE.Fielding, it is said, drank confusion to the man who invented the fifth act of a play. He who has edited an extensive work, and has concluded his labours by the preparation of a copious ind
- 127 As we walked to St. Clement's church, and saw several shops open upon this most solemn fast-day of the Christian world, I remarked, that one disadvantage arising from the immensity of London, was, that n.o.body was heeded by his neighbour; there was
- 126 Lady Miller's collection of verses by fas.h.i.+onable people, which were put into her Vase at Batheaston villa[991], near Bath, in compet.i.tion for honorary prizes, being mentioned, he held them very cheap: '_Bouts rimes_ (said he,) is a mere c
- 125 looking downwards all the time, and, while p.r.o.nouncing the four last words, absolutely touching the ground with a kind of contorted gesticulation.Garrick, however, when he pleased, could imitate Johnson very exactly[955]; for that great actor, with his
- 124 That this pamphlet was written at the desire of those who were then in power, I have no doubt; and, indeed, he owned to me, that it had been revised and curtailed by some of them. He told me, that they had struck out one pa.s.sage, which was to this effec
- 123 'There is nothing in the book, from beginning to end, that a Scotchman need to take amiss. What he says of the country is true; and his observations on the people are what must naturally occur to a sensible, observing, and reflecting inhabitant of a
- 122 'What does Becket[868] mean by the _Originals_ of Fingal and other poems of Ossian, which he advertises to have lain in his shop?''TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.'DEAR SIR, 'You sent me a case to consider, in which I have no facts but what
- 121 'DEAR SIR, 'I have returned your play[848], which you will find underscored with red, where there was a word which I did not like. The red will be washed off with a little water.'The plot is so well framed, the intricacy so artful, and the
- 120 Asaph and Bangor, the two seats of their Bishops; have been upon Penmanmaur[835] and Snowden[836], and pa.s.sed over into Anglesea. But Wales is so little different from England, that it offers nothing to the speculation of the traveller.'When I came
- 119 'DEAR SIR, 'I wish you could have looked over my book before the printer, but it could not easily be. I suspect some mistakes; but as I deal, perhaps, more in notions than in facts, the matter is not great, and the second edition will be mended,
- 118 'I am, however, obliged to you, dear Sir, for your endeavours to help me, and hope, that between us something will some time be done, if not on this, on some occasion.'Chambers is either married, or almost married, to Miss Wilton, a girl of sixt
- 117 "_Cives seditiosi Mariam Scotorum Reginam sese muneri abdicare invitam cogunt_."'Be so good as to read the pa.s.sage in Robertson, and see if you cannot give me a better inscription. I must have it both in Latin and English; so if you shoul
- 116 'Johnson's-court, Fleet-street, July 5, 1773.''Write to me as soon as you can. Chambers is now at Oxford.'I again wrote to him, informing him that the Court of Session rose on the twelfth of August, hoping to see him before that t
- 115 JOHNSON. 'Why, Sir, you might contrive to teach your children _extra scandalum_; but, Sir, the magistrate, if he knows it, has a right to restrain you. Suppose you teach your children to be thieves?' MAYO.'This is making a joke of the subje
- 114 On Thursday, April 29, I dined with him at General Oglethorpe's, where were Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mr. Langton, Dr. Goldsmith, and Mr. Thrale. I was very desirous to get Dr. Johnson absolutely fixed in his resolution to go with me to the Hebrides this
- 113 JOHNSON. 'Nay, Sir, I say that is not _luxury_. Let us take a walk from Charing-cross to White-chapel, through, I suppose, the greatest series of shops in the world; what is there in any of these shops (if you except gin-shops,) that can do any human
- 112 'I have taken the liberty of troubling you with a packet, to which I wish a safe and speedy conveyance, because I wish a safe and speedy voyage to him that conveys it. I am, Sir, 'Your most humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.''London,
- 111 'To make a penal law reasonable and just, two conditions are necessary, and two proper. It is necessary that the law should be adequate to its end; that, if it be observed, it shall prevent the evil against which it is directed. It is, secondly, nece
- 110 Goldsmith told us, that he was now busy in writing a natural history[537], and, that he might have full leisure for it, he had taken lodgings, at a farmer's house, near to the six mile-stone, on the Edgeware road, and had carried down his books in tw
- 109 On Tuesday, March 31, he and I dined at General Paoli's. A question was started, whether the state of marriage was natural to man. JOHNSON.'Sir, it is so far from being natural for a man and woman to live in a state of marriage, that we find all
- 108 'DEAR SIR, 'I congratulate you and Lady Rothes[427] on your little man, and hope you will all be many years happy together.'Poor Miss Langton can have little part in the joy of her family. She this day called her aunt Langton to receive the
- 107 'Ashbourn in Derbys.h.i.+re, July 17, 1771.'Compliments to Miss Reynolds,''To DR. JOHNSON.'Edinburgh, July 27, 1771.'MY DEAR SIR, 'The bearer of this, Mr. Beattie[419], Professor of Moral Philosophy at Aberdeen, is desir
- 106 'We dined _tete a tete_ at the Mitre, as I was preparing to return to Ireland, after an absence of many years. I regretted much leaving London, where I had formed many agreeable connexions: "Sir, (said he,) I don't wonder at it; no man, fon
- 105 "Strange cozenage! none would live past years again, Yet all hope pleasure from what still remain[363]."For his part, he said, he never pa.s.sed that week in his life which he would wish to repeat, were an angel to make the proposal to him.'
- 104 'Do not imagine that I shall forget or forsake you; for if, when I examine you, I find that you have not lost your time, you shall want no encouragement from 'Yours affectionately, 'SAM. JOHNSON.''London, Sept. 25, 1770.'
- 103 I maintained it to be a poetical conceit. A Pict being painted, if he is slain in battle, and a vest is made of his skin, it is a painted vest won from him, though he was naked[322].Johnson spoke unfavourably of a certain pretty voluminous authour, saying
- 102 'The ballad of Hardyknute[275] has no great merit, if it be really ancient. People talk of nature. But mere obvious nature may be exhibited with very little power of mind.'On Thursday, October 19, I pa.s.sed the evening with him at his house. He
- 101 'I do not find that I am likely to come back very soon from this place.I shall, perhaps, stay a fortnight longer; and a fortnight is a long time to a lover absent from his mistress. Would a fortnight ever have an end?'I am, dear Sir, 'Your
- 100 'TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.'MY DEAR BOSWELL, 'I have omitted a long time to write to you, without knowing very well why. I could now tell why I should not write; for who would write to men who publish the letters of their friends, without their
- 99 'August 2, 1767. I have been disturbed and unsettled for a long time, and have been without resolution to apply to study or to business, being hindered by sudden s.n.a.t.c.hes[122].'He, however, furnished Mr. Adams with a Dedication[*] to the Ki
- 98 'If you can consult Dr. Robertson, to whom I am a little known, I shall be satisfied about the propriety of whatever he shall direct. If he thinks that it should be printed, I entreat him to revise it; there may, perhaps, be some negligent lines writ
- 97 "Spemque _gregemque simul_,"for the lambs and the sheep. Yet it is also used to express any thing on which we have a present dependence, and is well applied to a man of distinguished influence, our support, our refuge, our _praesidium_, as Horac
- 96 Life Of Johnson.Vol. 2.by Boswell.In 1764 and 1765 it should seem that Dr. Johnson was so busily employed with his edition of Shakspeare, as to have had little leisure for any other literary exertion, or, indeed, even for private correspondence[1].He did
- 95 [1444] On this Mrs. Piozzi notes:--'No, no! Mr. Thrale's manners presented the character of a gay man of the town; like Millamant, in Congreve's comedy, he abhorred the country and everything in it.'Hayward's _Piozzi_, i. 10. Mrs.
- 94 [1409] Pope's _Moral Essays_, iii. 242.[1410] Malone says that it was from him that Boswell had his account of Garrick's election, and that he had it from Reynolds. He adds that 'Johnson warmly supported Garrick, being in reality a very ten
- 93 [1379] Johnson's visit to Gordon and Maclaurin are just mentioned in Boswell's _Hebrides_, under Nov. 11, 1772.[1380] The only n.o.bleman with whom he dined 'about the same time' was Lord Elibank. After dining with him, 'he supped
- 92 [1344] He published a biographical work, containing an account of eminent writers, in three vols. 8vo. BOSWELL.[1345]'Thus the soft gifts of sleep conclude the day, And stretched on bulks, as usual, poets lay.'_The Dunciad_, ii. 420.In _Humphry
- 91 [1311] The writer of the article _Vacuum_ in the _Penny Cyclo_. (xxvi.76), quoting Johnson's words, adds:--'That is, either all s.p.a.ce is full of matter, or there are parts of s.p.a.ce which have no matter. The alternative is undeniable, and t
- 90 [1276] See _ante_, p. 336.[1277] He used to tell, with great humour, from my relation to him, the following little story of my early years, which was literally true: 'Boswell, in the year 1745, was a fine boy, wore a white c.o.c.kade, and prayed for
- 89 [1240] Reynolds said of Johnson:--'He was not easily imposed upon by professions to honesty and candour; but he appeared to have little suspicion of hypocrisy in religion.' Taylor's _Reynolds_, ii. 459.Boswell, in one of his penitent letter
- 88 [1203] See _ante_, i. 365.[1204] 'Dr. Burney spoke with great warmth of affection of Dr. Johnson; said he was the kindest creature in the world when he thought he was loved and respected by others. He would play the fool among friends, but he require
- 87 'When her pride, fierce in arms, Would to Europe give law; At her cost let her come, To our cheer of huzza!Not lightning with thunder more terrible darts, Than the burst of huzza from our bold _British_ hearts.'_Gent. Mag_. xxv. 515.WM. WHITEHEA
- 86 [1147] P. 447. BOSWELL. 'There is another writer, at present of gigantic fame in these days of little men, who has pretended to scratch out a life of Swift, but so miserably executed as only to reflect back on himself that disgrace which he meant to
- 85 'SAM. JOHNSON.'[1113] They left London on Aug. 16 and returned to it on Sept. 26.Taylor's _Reynolds_, i. 214. Northcote records of this visit:--'I remember when Mr. Reynolds was pointed out to me at a public meeting, where a great crow
- 84 [1078] By Colman--'There is nothing else new,' wrote Horace Walpole on March 7, 1761 (_Letters,_ in. 382), 'but a very indifferent play, called _The Jealous Wife_, so well acted as to have succeeded greatly.'[1079] In Chap. 47 of _Ra.s
- 83 Simpson was in the higher parts of abstract mathematical science, he was little versed in mixed and practical mechanicks. Mr. Muller, of Woolwich Academy, the scholastick father of all the great engineers which this country has employed for forty years, d
- 82 _Ra.s.selas_, chap, xi. His step-daughter, Miss Porter, though for many years she was well off, had never been to London. _Post_, March 23, 1776. Nay, according to Horace Walpole (_Memoirs of the Reign of George III_, iv. 327), 'George III. had never
- 81 Stevens. On Jan. 5, 1760, the t.i.tle was changed to _The Universal Chronicle and Westminster Journal_, and it was published by W. Faden and R. Stevens. On March 15, 1760, it was published by R. Stevens alone. The paper consisted of eight pages. _The Idle
- 80 [954] See _post_, May 19, 1777.[955] See _post_, March 21, 1772.[956] 'I have often observed with wonder, that we should know less of Ireland than of any other country in Europe.' Temple's _Works_, iii. 82.[957] The celebrated oratour, Mr.
- 79 [929]'I have ventured, Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, This many summers in a sea of glory, But far beyond my depth.'Henry VIII, Act iii. sc. 2.[930] _Musical Travels through England_, by Joel Collier [not Collyer], Organist, 1774
- 78 267), dated Feb. 3, 1753:--'I visited one in the Marshalsea prison, a nursery of all manner of wickedness. O shame to man, that there should be such a place, such a picture of h.e.l.l upon earth!' A few days later he writes:--'I visited as
- 77 '_The author's definition being observed by the Commissioners of Excise, they desire the favour of your opinion_. "Qu. Whether it will not be considered as a libel, and if so, whether it is not proper to proceed against the author, printers
- 76 [834] 'The words in Italicks are allusions to pa.s.sages in Mr. Warton's poem, called _The Progress of Discontent_, now lately published.'WARTON.--BOSWELL.'And now intent on new designs, Sighs for a fellows.h.i.+p--and fines.These fell
- 75 [796] A Fellow of Pembroke College, of Johnson's time, described the college servants as in 'the state of servitude the most miserable that can be conceived amongst so many masters.' He says that 'the kicks and cuffs and bruises they s
- 74 [767] 'Je chante le vainqueur des vainqueurs de la terre.' Boileau, _L'Art poetique_, iii. 272.[768] The following note is subjoined by Mr. Langton:--'Dr. Johnson, when he gave me this copy of his letter, desired that I would annex to
- 73 [729] 'My friend Maltby and I,' said Samuel Rogers, 'when we were very young men, had a strong desire to see Dr. Johnson; and we determined to call upon him, and introduce ourselves. We accordingly proceeded to his house in Bolt Court; and
- 72 [696] Irene, Act i. sc. 1.[697] See _post_, Nov. 16, 1784, note.[698] The Anderdon MSS. contain an importunate letter, dated July 3, 1751, from one Mitch.e.l.l, a tradesman in Chandos-street, pressing Johnson to pay 2, due by his wife ever since August, 1
- 71 _Rambler_, No. 208.[668] I have little doubt that this attack on the concluding verse is an indirect blow at Hawkins, who had quoted the whole pa.s.sage, and had clearly thought it the more 'awful' on account of the couplet. See Hawkins's _
- 70 [637] Miss Burney records in her Diary that one day at Streatham, while she and Mrs. Thrale 'were reading this Rambler, Dr. Johnson came in. We told him what we were about. "Ah, madam!" cried he, "Goldsmith was not scrupulous; but he w
- 69 At last, the company having separated, without any thing of which they approved having been offered, Dodsley himself thought of _The World_. BOSWELL.[602] In the original MS. 'in this _my_ undertaking,' and below, 'the salvation _both_ of m
- 68 [574] In the original _Inquirer_.[575] '... nonumque prematur in annum.' Horace, _Ars Poet_. l. 388.[576] 'Of all authors,' wrote Johnson, 'those are the most wretched who exhibit their productions on the theatre, and who are to p
- 67 [540] Birch, _MSS. Brit. Mus_. 4303. BOSWELL.[541] 'When I survey the _Plan_ which I have laid before you, I cannot, my Lord, but confess that I am frighted at its extent, and, like the soldiers of Caesar, look on Britain as a new world, which it is
- 66 [513] Boswell proceeds to mention six.[514] In Mrs. Williams's Miscellanies, in which this paraphrase is inserted, it is stated that the Latin epitaph was written by Dr. Freind.I do not think that the English version is by Johnson. I should be sorry
- 65 19, 1773]. BOSWELL.[482] 'mint _of_ ecstasy:' Savage's _Works_ (1777), ii. 91.[483] 'He lives to build, not boast a generous race: No tenth transmitter of a foolish face.' _Ib_.[484] '_The b.a.s.t.a.r.d_: A poem, inscribed wi
- 64 [457] In the _Life of Pope_ (Johnson's _Works_, viii. 287) Johnson says that Crousaz, 'however little known or regarded here, was no mean antagonist'[458] It is not easy to believe that Boswell had read this essay, for there is nothing meta
- 63 [418] Barretier's childhood surpa.s.sed even that of J. S. Mill. At the age of nine he was master of five languages, Greek and Hebrew being two of them. 'In his twelfth year he applied more particularly to the study of the fathers.' At the
- 62 [382] In the _Weekly Miscellany_, October 21, 1738, there appeared the following advertis.e.m.e.nt:--'Just published, Proposals for printing the _History of the Council of Trent_, translated from the Italian of Father Paul Sarpi; with the Authour
- 61 [359] The Monks of Medmenham Abbey. See Almon's _Life of Wilkes_, iii.60, for Wilkes's account of this club. Horace Walpole (_Letters_, i. 92) calls Whitehead 'an infamous, but not despicable poet.'[360] From _The Conference_, Churchil
- 60 [333] He had read Petrarch 'when but a boy;' _ante_, p. 57.[334] Horace Walpole, writing of the year 1770, about libels, says: 'Their excess was shocking, and in nothing more condemnable than in the dangers they brought on the liberty of th
- 59 [305] Bernard Lintot (_post_, July 19, 1763) died Feb. 3, 1736. _Gent.Mag_. vi. 110. This, no doubt, was his son.[306] Dr. A. Carlyle (_Auto_. p. 195) says that being in London in 1746 he dined frequently with a club of officers, where they had an excelle
- 58 197. BOSWELL. This letter shews how uncommon a thing a cold bath was.Floyer, after recommending 'a general method of bleeding and purging'before the patient uses cold bathing, continues, 'I have commonly cured the rickets by dipping childre
- 57 [241] See _post_, Dec. 1, 1743, note. Robert Levett, made famous by Johnson's lines (_post_, Jan. 20, 1782), was not of this family.[242] Mr. Warton informs me, 'that this early friend of Johnson was entered a Commoner of Trinity College, Oxford
- 56 [218] 'August 1, 1715. This being the day on which the late Queen Anne died, and on which George, Duke and Elector of Brunswick, usurped the English throne, there was very little rejoicing in Oxford.... There was a sermon at St. Marie's by Dr. P
- 55 As his prose compositions have never been published I will give one:-- 'Mea nec Falernae Temperant Vites, neque Formiani Pocula Colles.''Quaedam minus attente spectata absurda videntur, quae tamen penitus perspecta rationi sunt consentanea.
- 54 Gibbon in his _Autobiography_ says:--'The domestic discipline of our ancestors has been relaxed by the philosophy and softness of the age: and if my father remembered that he had trembled before a stern parent, it was only to adopt with his son an op
- 53 [114] Her epitaph says that she was born at Kingsnorton. Kingsnorton is in Worcesters.h.i.+re, and not, as the epitaph says, 'in agro Varvicensi.'When Johnson a few days before his death burnt his papers, some fragments of his _Annals_ escaped t
- 52 [75] In his _Letter to the People of Scotland, p. 92, he wrote:--'Allow me, my friends and countrymen, while I with honest zeal maintain _your_ cause--allow me to indulge a little more my _own egotism_ and _vanity_.They are the indigenous plants of m
- 51 [53] Six years before this Dedication Sir Joshua had conferred on him another favour. 'I have a proposal to make to you,' Boswell had written to him, 'I am for certain to be called to the English bar next February.Will you now do my picture
- 50 [4] _History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, ed. 1807, vol. i. p. xi. [5] _Post_, iii. 230. [6] _Post_, i. 7. [7] _Post_, ii. 212. [8] _Post_, i. 7. [9] _Post_, iv. 444. [10] _Post_, ii. 100. [11] _Post_, iv. 429; v. 17. [12] _Post_, v. 117.
- 49 repeated the whole sonnet instantly, _memoriter_, and shewed it us in Newton's book. After which he learnedly harangued on sonnet-writing, and its different numbers. He tells me he will come hither again quickly, and is promised "an habitation i
- 48 'Neither your condition nor your character make it fit for me to say much. You have been the best mother, and I believe the best woman in the world. I thank you for your indulgence to me, and beg forgiveness of all that I have done ill, and all that
- 47 APPENDIX B.JOHNSON'S LETTERS TO HIS MOTHER AND MISS PORTER IN 1759. (_Page 340_.) Malone published seven of the following letters in the fourth edition, and Mr. Croker the rest.'TO MRS. JOHNSON IN LICHFIELD.'HONOURED MADAM, 'The accoun
- 46 Gulliver has thrown them into one to prevent unnecessary repet.i.tions.'(_Gent. Mag_. Dec. 1742, p. 676.) In each House during the winter of 1742-3 there was a debate on taking the Hanoverian troops into pay. The debate in the Lords was spread over f
- 45 His _Shakespeare_ was virulently attacked by Mr. William Kenrick, who obtained the degree of LL.D. from a Scotch University, and wrote for the booksellers in a great variety of branches. Though he certainly was not without considerable merit, he wrote wit
- 44 'And most humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.''At the Rev. Mr. Percy's, at Easton Maudit, Northamptons.h.i.+re, (by Castle Ashby,) Aug. 19, 1764.'[Page 487: Johnson at Cambridge. aetat 56.]1765: aeTAT. 56.--Early in the year 1765
- 43 Professor Trotz, who formerly was of the University of Vranyken in Friesland, and is at present preparing an edition of all the Frisick laws, gave me this information. Of the modern Frisick, or what is spoken by the boors at this day, I have procured a sp
- 42 Next day, Sunday, July 31, I told him I had been that morning at a meeting of the people called Quakers, where I had heard a woman preach.JOHNSON. 'Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; bu
- 41 He could not have viewed those two candles burning but with a poetical eye[1332].''Has not ----[1333] a great deal of wit, Sir?' JOHNSON. 'I do not think so, Sir. He is, indeed, continually attempting wit, but he fails. And I have no m
- 40 Mr. Alexander Donaldson, bookseller of Edinburgh, had for some time opened a shop in London, and sold his cheap editions of the most popular English books, in defiance of the supposed common-law right of _Literary Property_[1295]. Johnson, though he concu
- 39 affirming, that 'what was morally false could not be politically true; and as the King might, in the exercise of his regal power, command and cause the doing of what was wrong, it certainly might be said, in sense and in reason, that he could do wron
- 38 We talked of belief in ghosts. He said, 'Sir, I make a distinction between what a man may experience by the mere strength of his imagination, and what imagination cannot possibly produce. Thus, suppose I should think that I saw a form, and heard a vo
- 37 'Derrick may do very well, as long as he can outrun his character; but the moment his character gets up with him, it is all over.'[Page 395: Boswell's first call on Johnson. aetat 54.]It is, however, but just to record, that some years afte
- 36 'Temple Lane 'SAM. JOHNSON.''Nov. 3, 1762.''TO MR. JOSEPH BARETTI, AT MILAN.'London, Dec. 21, 1762.SIR, [Page 381: Love and marriage. aetat 53.]'You are not to suppose, with all your conviction of my idleness, that
- 35 Miss Cotterel[1093] still continues to cling to Mrs. Porter, and Charlotte[1094] is now big of the fourth child. Mr. Reynolds gets six thousands a year[1095]. Levet is lately married, not without much suspicion that he has been wretchedly cheated in his m
- 34 'I know not whether I can heartily rejoice at the kind reception which you have found, or at the popularity to which you are exalted. I am willing that your merit should be distinguished; but cannot wish that your affections may be gained. I would ha
- 33 'T. SMOLLET.'Mr. Wilkes, who upon all occasions has acted, as a private gentleman, with most polite liberality, applied to his friend Sir George Hay, then one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; and Francis Barber was discharged, as he
- 32 [Page 338: A violent death. A.D. 1759.]'I love, dear Sir, to think on you, and therefore, should willingly write more to you, but that the post will not now give me leave to do more than send my compliments to Mr. Warton, and tell you that I am, dear
- 31 'I am, Sir, 'Your most obliged 'And most humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.''London, March 8, 1758.'Dr. Burney has kindly favoured me with the following memorandum, which I take the liberty to insert in his own genuine easy
- 30 'DEAR SIR, 'Dr. Marsili[959] of Padua, a learned gentleman, and good Latin poet, has a mind to see Oxford. I have given him a letter to Dr. Huddesford[960], and shall be glad if you will introduce him, and shew him any thing in Oxford.'I am
- 29 'I know not why any one but a school-boy in his declamation should whine over the Common-wealth of Rome, which grew great only by the misery of the rest of mankind. The Romans, like others, as soon as they grew rich, grew corrupt; and in their corrup
- 28 It is a sad saying, that 'most of those whom he wished to please had sunk into the grave;' and his case at forty-five was singularly unhappy, unless the circle of his friends was very narrow. I have often thought, that as longevity is generally