you will not think me incapable of partaking of your grief. I have a mother, now eighty-two years of age, whom, therefore, I must soon lose, unless it please God that she should rather mourn for me. I read the letters in which you relate your mother's death to Mrs. Strahan, and think I do myself honour, when I tell you that I you nor to me of any farther use, when once the tribute of nature has been paid. The business of life summons us away from useless grief, and philosopher. But men of reflection will be sensible that he has given a true representation of human existence, and that he has, at the same time, with a generous benevolence displayed every consolation which our state affords us ; not only those arising from the hopes of futurity, but such as may be attained in the immediate progress through life. He has not depressed the soul to He has despondency and indifference. greatest read them with tears; but tears are neither to calls us to the exercise of those virtues of which we are lamenting our deprivation. The benefit which one friend can confer upon another, is to guard, and excite, and elevate, his virtues. This your mother will still perform, if you diligently preserve the memory of her life, and of her death: a life, so far as I can learn, useful, wise, and innocent; and a death resigned, peaceful, and holy. I cannot forbear to mention, that neither reason nor revelation denies you to hope, that you may increase her happiness by obeying her precepts; and that she may, in her present state, look with pleasure upon every act of virtue to which her instructions or example have contributed. Whether this be more than a pleasing dream, or a just opinion of separate spitits, is, indeed, of no great importance to us, when we consider ourselves as acting under the eye of GOD: yet, surely, there is something pleas ng in the belief, that our separation from those whom we love is merely corporeal; and it may be a great incitement to virtuous friendship, if it can be made probable, that that union that has received the divine approbation shall continue to eternity. "There is one expedient by which you may, in some degree, continue her presence. If you write down minutely what you remember of her from your earliest years, you will read it with great pleasure, and receive from it many hints of soothing recollection, when time shall remove her yet farther from you, and your grief shall be matured to veneration. To this, however painful for the present, I cannot but advise you, as to a source of comfort and satisfaction in the time to come; for all comfort and all satisfaction is sincerely wished you by, Dear Sir, you most obliged, most obedient, and most humble servant, "SAM. JOHNSON." The "Rambler " has increased in fame as in age. Soon after its first folio edition was concluded, it was published in six duodecimo volumes; and its author lived to see ten numerous editions of it in London, beside those of Ireland and Scotland. I profess myself to have ever entertained a profound veneration for the astonishing force and vivacity of mind, which the "Rambler" exhibits. That Johnson had penetration enough to see and seeing would not disguise the general misery of man in this state of being may have given rise to the superficial notion of his being too stern a everywhere inculcated study, labour, and exertion. Nay, he has shewn, in a very odious light, a man whose practice is to go about darkening the views of others, by perpetual complaints of evil, and awakening those considerations of danger and distress, which are, for the most part, lulled into a quiet oblivion. This he has done very strongly in his character of from Suspirius (No.59) which Goldsmith took that of Croker, in his comedy of The Good-natured Man," as Johnson told me he acknowledged to him, and which is, indeed, very obvious. To point out the numerous subjects which the "Rambler" treats, with a dignity and perspicuity which are there united in a manner which we shall in vain look for any where else, would take up too large a portion of my book, and would, I trust, be superfluous, considering how universally those volumes are now disseminated. Even the most condensed and brilliant sentences which they contain, and which have very properly been selected under the name of "BEAUTIES," are of considerable bulk. But I may shortly observe, that the "Rambler" furnishes such an assemblage of discourses on practical religion and moral duty, of critical investigations, and allegorical and Oriental tales, that no mind can be thought very deficient that has, by constant study and meditation, assimilated to itself all that may be found there. No. 7, written in Passion-week on abstraction and self-examination, and No. 110, on penitence and the placability of the Divine selection, and wrote to Mr. Kearsley, bookseller 1 Dr. Johnson was gratified by seeing this in Fleet-street, the following note: "Mr. Johnson sends compliments to Mr. Kearsley, and begs the favour of seeing him as soon as he can. Kearsley is desired to bring with him the last edition of what he has honoured with the name of 'BEAUTIES.' May 20, 1782." B, Mr. ITS VARIOUS QUALITIES 71 run Nature, cannot be too often read. No. | imagination, when he described characters 54, on the effect which the death of a and manners. He said to me, that before friend should have upon us, though rather he wrote that work, he had been " too dispiriting, may be occasionally very ning about the world," as he expressed it, medicinal to the mind. Every one must more than almost any body; and I have suppose the writer to have been deeply heard him relate, with much satisfaction, impressed by a real scene; but he told me that several of the characters in the that was not the case; which shews how "Rambler" were drawn so naturally, that well his fancy could conduct him to the when it first circulated in numbers, a club, "house of mourning. Some of these in one of the towns of Essex, imagined more solemn papers, I doubt not, particu- themselves to be severally exhibited in it, larly attracted the notice of Dr. Young, and were much incensed against a person the author of "The Night Thoughts," of who, they suspected, had thus made them whom my estimation is such, as to reckon objects of public notice; nor were they his applause an honour even to Johnson. quieted till authentic assurance was given I have seen volumes of Dr. Young's copy them, that the "Rambler" was written by of the "Rambler," in which he has marked a person who had never heard of any one the passages which he thought particularly of them. Some of the characters are excellent, by folding down a corner of the believed to have been actually drawn from page; and such as he rated in a super- the life, particularly that of Prospero from eminent degree, are marked by double Garrick, who never entirely forgave its folds. I am sorry that some of the pointed satire. volumes are lost. Johnson was pleased when told of the minute attention with which Young had signified his approbation of his Essays. I will venture to say, that in no writings whatever can be found more bark and steel for the mind, if I may use the expression; more that can brace and invigorate every manly and noble sentiment. No. 32, on patience, even under extreme misery, is wonderfully lofty, and as much above the rant of stoicism, as the Sun of Revelation is brighter than the twilight of Pagan philosophy. I never read the following sentence without feeling my frame thrill: "I think there is some reason for questioning whether the body and mind are not so proportioned, that the one can bear all which can be inflicted on the other; whether virtue cannot stand its ground as long as life, and whether a soul well principled will not be separated sooner than subdued." For instances of fertility of fancy, and accurate description of real life, I appeal to No. 19, a man who wanders from one profession to another, with most plausible reasons for every change: No. 34, female fastidiousness and timorous refinement: No. 82, a Virtuoso who has collected curiosities: No. 98, petty modes of entertaining a company, and conciliating kindness: No. 182, fortune-hunting: No. 194-195, a tutor's account of the follies of his pupil: No. 197-198, legacy-hunting: He has given a specimen of his nice observation of the mere external appearances of life, in the following passage in No. 179, against affectation, that frequent and most disgusting quality: that fill the streets of a populous city, will see "He that stands to contemplate the crowds many passengers, whose air and motions it will be difficult to behold without contempt and laughter; but if he examine what are the appearances that thus powerfully excite his risibility, he will find among them neither poverty nor disease, nor any involuntary or painful defect. The disposition to derision and insult, is awakinsolence, the liveliness of levity, or the solemnity ened by the softness of foppery, the swell of of grandeur; by the sprightly trip, the stately stalk, the formal strut, and the lofty mien; by gestures intended to catch the eye, and by looks elaborately formed as evidences of importance." Every page of the "Rambler" shews a mind teeming with classical allusion and poetical imagery: illustrations from other writers are, upon all occasions, so ready, and mingle so easily in his periods, that the whole appears of one uniform vivid texture. The style of this work has been censured by some shallow critics as involved and turgid, and abounding with antiquated and hard words. So ill-founded is the first part of this objection, that I will challenge all who may honour this book with a perusal, to point out any English writer whose language conveys his meaning with equal force and perspicuity. It must, indeed, be allowed, that the structure of his sentences is expanded, and often has somewhat of the inversion of Latin; and that he delighted to express familiar thoughts in philosophical language; being in this the reverse of Socrates, who, it is said, reduced philosophy to the simplicity of common life. But let us attend to what he himself says in his concluding paper: "When common words were less pleasing to the ear, or less distinct in their signification, I have familiarized the terms of philosophy, by applying them to popular ideas." And, as to the second part of this objection, upon a late careful revision of the work, I can with confidence say, that it is amazing how few of those words, for which it has been unjustly characterized, are actually to be found in it; I am sure, not the proportion of one to each paper. This idle charge has been echoed from one babbler to another, who have confounded Johnson's Essays with Johnson's Dictionary; and because he thought it right in a Lexicon of our language to collect many words which had fallen into disuse but were supported by great authorities, it has been imagined that all of these have been interwoven into his own compositions. That some of them have been adopted by him unnecessarily, may, perhaps, be allowed; but, in general they are evidently an advantage, for without them his stately ideas would be confined and cramped. "He that thinks with more extent than another, 1 Yet his style did not escape the harmless shafts of pleasant humour; for the ingenious Bonnell Thornton published a mock Rambler in the Drury-lane Journal. B. 66 The style of Johnson was, undoubtedly, much formed upon that of the great writers in the last century, Hooker, Bacon, Sanderson, Hakewell, and others; those GIANTS, as they were well characterised by A GREAT PERSONAGE [George the Third], whose authority, were I to name him, would stamp a reverence on the opinion. We may, with the utmost propriety, apply to his learned style that passage of Horace, a part of which he has taken as the motto to his Dictionary; "Cum tabulis animum censoris sumet honesti; Audebit quæcumque parum splendoris habebunt Et sine pondere erunt et hono reindigna ferentur Verba movere loco, quamvis invita recedant Cethegis atque Nunc situs informis premit et deserta vetus Yet Johnson assured me, that he had not taken upon him to add more than four or five words to the English language, of his own information; and he was very much offended at the general licence by no means "modestly taken in his time, not only to coin new words, but to use many words in senses quite different from their established meaning, and those frequently very fantastical. Sir Thomas Browne, whose Life Johnson wrote, was remarkably fond of Anglo-Latin diction; and to his example we are to ascribe Johnson's sometimes indulging himself in this kind of phraseology.1 Johnson's comprehension of mind was the mould for his language. Had his conceptions been narrower, his expression would have been easier. His sentences have a dignified march; and, it is certain, that his example has given a general elevation to the language of his country, for many of our best writers have approached very near to him; and, from the influence which he has had upon our composition, scarcely any thing is written now that is not better expressed than was usual before he appeared to lead the national taste. This circumstance, the truth of which must strike every critical reader, has been so happily enforced by Mr. Courtenay, in his "Moral and Literary Character of Dr. Johnson," that I cannot 1 The observation of his having imitated Sir Thomas Browne has been made by many people; and lately it has been insisted on, and illustrated by a variety of quotations from Browne, in one of the popular Essays written by the Reverend Mr. Knox, master of Tunbridge school, whom I have set down in my list of those who have sometimes not unsuccessfully imitated Dr. Johnson's style. B. 73 prevail on myself to withhold it, notwithstanding his, perhaps, too great partiality for one of his friends: "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 Raffaelle rise: Hence REYNOLDS' pen with REYNOLDS' pencil vies. With Johnson's flame melodious BURNEY glows, While the grand strain in smoother cadence flows. And you, MALONE, to critic learning dear, Near Johnson STEEVENS stands, on scenic ground, Acute, laborious, fertile, and profound. Ingenious HAWKESWORTH to this school we owe, And scarce the pupil from the tutor know. In Hindu fictions while we fondly trace To friends around his philosophic throne: First o'er the neighbouring meads majestic spread; Till gathering force, they more and more expand, And with new virtue fertilize the land." 2 The following observation in Mr. Eoswell's sufficiently account for that gentleman's being Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides may 66 now scarcely esteemed a Scot" by many of his countrymen : “If he (Dr. Johnson) was particularly prejudiced against the Scots, it was because they were more in his way; because he thought their success in England rather exceeded the due proportion of their real merit; and because he could not but see in them that nationality which, I believe, no liberal minded Scotchman will deny. Mr. Boswell, indeed, is so free from national prejudices, that he might with equal propriety have been described as "Scarce by South Britons now esteem'd a Scot." COURTENAY. B, Johnson's language, however, must be allowed to be too masculine for the delicate gentleness of female writing. His ladies, therefore, seem strangely formal, even to ridicule; and are well denominated by the names which he has given them, as Misella, Zozima, Properantia, Rhodoclia. It has of late been the fashion to compare the style of Addison and Johnson, and to depreciate, I think, very unjustly, the style of Addison as nerveless and feeble, because it has not the strength and energy of that of Johnson. Their prose may be balanced like the poetry of Dryden and Pope. Both are excellent, though in different ways. Addison writes with the ease of a gentleman. His readers fancy that a wise and accomplished companion is talking to them; so that he insinuates his sentiments and taste into their minds by an imperceptible influence. Johnson writes like a teacher. He dictates to his readers as if from an academical chair. They attend with awe and admiration; and his precepts are impressed upon them by his commanding eloquence. Addison's style, like a light wine, pleases everybody from the first. Johnson's, like a liquor of more body, seems too strong at first, but, by degrees, is highly relished; and such is the melody of his periods, so much do they captivate the ear, and seize upon the attention, that there is scarcely any writer, however inconsiderable, who does not aim, in some degree, at the same. species of excellence. But let us not ungratefully undervalue that beautiful style, which has pleasingly conveyed to us much instruction and entertainment. Though comparatively weak, opposed to Johnson's Herculean vigour, let us not call it positively feeble. Let us remember the character of his style, as given by Johnson himself: "What he attempted, he performed; he is never feeble, and he did not wish to be energetic; he is never rapid, and he never stagnates. His sentences have neither studied amplitude, nor affected brevity: his periods, though not diligently rounded, are voluble and easy. Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison." 66 66 Though the " 'Rambler was not concluded till the year 1752, I shall, under this year, say all that I have to observe upon it. Some of the translations of the mottoes by himself, are admirably done. He acknowledges to have received elegant translations" of many of them from Mr. James Elphinston; and some are very happily translated by a Mr. F. Lewis, of whom I never heard more, except that Johnson thus described him to Mr. Malone: Sir, he lived in London, and hung loose upon society. The concluding paper of his "Rambler" is at once dignified and pathetic. I cannot, however, but wish, that he had not ended it with an unnecessary Greek verse, translated* also into an English couplet. It is too much like the conceit of those dramatic poets, who used to conclude each act with a rhyme; and the expression in the first line of his couplet, "Celestial powers," though proper in Pagan poetry, is ill suited to Christianity, with a conformity to which he consoles himself. How much better would it have been, to have ended with the prose sentence: "I shall never envy the honours which wit and learning obtain in any other cause, if I can be numbered among the writers who have given ardour to virtue, and confidence to truth. 66 His friend, Dr. Birch, being now engaged in preparing an edition of Ralegh's smaller pieces, Dr. Johnson wrote the following letter to that gentleman: "TO DR. BIRCH. Gough-square, May 12, 1750. favour the public with a new edition of Ralegh's "KNOWING that you are now preparing to miscellaneous pieces, I have taken the liberty to send you a Manuscript, which fell by chance within my notice. I perceive no proofs of forgery in my examination of it; and the owner tells me that, as he has heard, the handwriting is Sir 1 I shall probably, in another work, maintain the merit of Addison's poetry, which has been very unjustly depreciated. B. This work shared the fate of most of Boswell's literary projects, and was never executed. |