'There is a certain line, beyond which, if ridicule attempts to go, it becomes itself ridiculous, and there is a sphere of criticism in that particular region, in which, if the critic plays his batteries on toocontemptibleobjects, he must unavoidably depart from his proper dignity, and must himself be an object of the raillery he would convey[122].'
Music. '1. The science ofharmonicalsounds. 2. Instrumental, or vocalharmony.' Harmony. 'Just proportion of sound.' Melody. 'Music;harmonyof sound.' Tune. 'Tuneis a diversity of notes put together.'Locke,Milton,Dryden. Tenour,s.'Asoundin music.'
One requires little skill in music to see that the Doctor knows nothing of that science. He confoundsmelodywithharmony; the one consisting in a succession of agreeable sounds, and the other arising from coexisting sounds. His account of atuneis curious. And we may say in his own stile, that his dictionary is 'a diversity ofwordsput together.' His numerous omissions on this head will neither afflict, nor surprise us; but we must be mortified and amazed to reflect on the partial and injurious distribution of fame. For his book exhibits in every page, perhaps without a single exception, a variety of errors and absurdities. They are clear to the darkest ignorance. They are level to the lowest understanding, and yet our language is exhausted in praise oftheirauthor.Pronis animis audiendum!
Poem. 'The work of a poet; ametricalcomposition.' Poet. 'An inventor; an author of fiction; a writer of poems; one who writes in measure.' Poetess. 'Ashepoet.' Poetry. 'Metricalcomposition; the art or practice of writing poems. 2. Poems, poetical pieces.'To circumscribe poetry by aDEFINITIONwill only shew the narrowness of the definer[123]. Tragedy. 'A dramatic representation of aseriousaction.' Comedy. 'A dramatic representation of thelighter faultsof mankind.' Eclogue. 'A pastoral poem, so called, because Virgil called his pastorals eclogues.' Tragic-comedy. 'A drama compounded ofmerryandseriousevents.' Farce. 'A dramatic representation writtenwithoutregularity.' Elegy. '1. A mournful song. 2. A funeral song. 3. A short poem, without points or turns.' Idyl. 'A small short poem.' Epigram. 'A short poem terminating in apoint.' Epic,a.'Narrative; comprising narrations, not acted, but rehearsed. It is usually supposed to be heroic.' Epistle. 'A letter;' and a letter again is 'an epistle.' Ode. 'A poem written to besungto music; a lyric poem.' Ballad. 'A song.' Song. 'A poem to bemodulatedby the voice.' Catch. 'A song sung insuccession.'
I believe that Dr Johnson has written better verses than any man now alive in England. He is said to bethe first critic in that country, and therefore we had the highest reason to expect elegant entertainment and philosophical instruction, when the poet and critic was to speak in his own character.
But here, as in the rest of this work, the native vigour of his mind seems entirely to leave him. We look around us in vain for the well known hand of the Rambler, for the sensible and feeling historian of Savage, the caustic and elegant imitator of Juvenal, the man of learning, and taste, and genius. The reader's eye is repelled from the Doctor's pages, by their hopeless sterility, and their horrid nakedness.
Most of the definitions in this work may be divided into three classes; the erroneous, œnigmatical, and superfluous. And of the nineteen last quoted, every one comes under some, or all of these heads.
A poem is said to be the work of apoet: And so were Dryden's prefaces. Again it isa metrical composition. No age had ever a greater profusion of rhimes than the present. In Oxford there are two thousand persons all of whom can occasionally make verses. Yet in this abundance ofmetrical composition, we have very few poems.
A poet is—1. 'An inventor,' but so was Tubal Cain. 2. 'An author of fiction,' but so was Des Cartes. 3. 'A writer of poems;' but as he has not been able to point out what a poem is, the definition goes for nothing. 4. 'One who writesin measure.' But in Cowley's life, the Doctor himself speaks of men, who thought they were writingpoetry, when they were only writingverses. We are still exactly where we set out.
The third definition is superfluous, and the fourth is very clumsy. The fifth and sixth are still worse, for comedy[124]is frequently veryseriousand tender, as well as tragedy; and that again represents thelighterfaults of mankind, as well as comedy. By the way, what are theselighterfaults, which our comedy is said to represent. In our comic scenes, adultery, and profaneness, appear to be the chief pulse of merriment. What the Doctor says of a farce is not true, nor is elegyalwaysmournful[125]. What can he mean by a poem without points or turns? An Idyll is a small short poem. An Epigram is ashortpoem; but so is an Epitaph, or a Sonnet, and often an Ode, a Fable, &c. An Epigram terminates in apoint. Wonderful! Of the rest of these definitions, the reader will determine whether they be not every one of them pitiful; and if it was possible for the Doctor, or any other man, to conveylessinformation, on so plain a subject.
'In comparing this with other dictionaries of the same kind, it will be found that the senses of each word are morecopiouslyenumerated, and moreclearlyexplained[126].'
Of hisclearandcopiousexplanations, here is an additional specimen.
Beast. 'An animal distinguished from birds, insects, fishes, and man.' It is also distinguished fromreptiles, though the Doctor cannot tell ushow. A Reptile is (but sometimes only) 'An animal that creeps upon many feet.' A Snail is 'A slimy animal that creeps upon plants.' Many animals creep on plants besides a Snail. He dare not venture to say that a Snail isa Reptile, for he had said that a Reptile creeps upon many feet, and a Snail has none. Locke is quoted to prove that aBirdis afowl, and we are edified by hearing that afowlis a 'bird, or awingedanimal.' But this may be the butterfly, the bat, or the flying fish. He should have said afeatheredanimal. We are informed from Creech and Shakespeare, that a fish isan animal that inhabits the water. But besides amphibious animals, from the crocodile down to the water-mouse, we have seenErucæ Aquaticæ, or Water Caterpillars, which are truly aquatic animals, yet are perfectly different from all fish. Insects are 'so called from a separation in the middle of their bodies, whereby they they are cut into two parts, which are joined together by a small ligature, as we see in common flies.'
Quere.How many insects answer this description?
Dr. Johnson had certainly no great occasion to quote Peacham and Swift before he durst tell us, (as he does) that aLilyis aflower, andPosteriorsthehinderparts. He forgot to introduce the Dean when affirming, that a T——d isexcrement; but both Pope and Swift (among others) are cited for P—ss and F—t.
His learning and his ignorance amaze us in every page. Pox are, '1.Pustules;efflorescencies;exanthematouseruptions. 2. The venereal disease.' A particular species of itonly. The first part of thisclearexplanation would puzzle every old woman in England, though most of them know more of small pox than the Rambler himself.
Day. '1. The time between the rising and the setting of the sun, called theartificialday. 2. The time from noon to noon, called thenaturalday.' Natural. 'What is produced by nature,' therefore as the day from sunrise to sunset is 'produced by nature,'that, and that only, must be thenaturalday. Artificial. 'Made byart, not natural, fictitious, not genuine.' The day from noon to noon is certainlynotnatural, and of consequence,that, and that only, must be theartificialday.
Night is, '1. The time of darkness. 2. The time between sunset, and sunrise.' When the Doctor acquires the first elements of geography, he will learn, that in no climate of the world is the time between sunset and sunrise all of it a time ofdarkness. Even at the equator, night does not succeed till half an hour after sunset. If he has ever seen the sun rise here, he must also have seen that we have always day light long before the sun appears. In June our nights are never entirely dark. Neither isnight, when it really comes on, constantly the 'time ofdarkness,' for the Doctor may frequently see to read his own mistakes by moonshine. Of this profound period, the first part contradicts the second, and every body sees the absurdity of both. What are we to think of such a definer of 'scientific terms,' when his errors have not even the negative merit of consistency.
Snowbroth,s.(snowandbroth) 'very cold liquor.' And Shakespeare is quoted; but when the poet said[127]that the blood of an old courtier was as cold asSnowbroth, he meantmelted snow. Now it is somewhat odd that every body can see Shakespeare's idea exactly, except this learned commentator. Lion. 'The fiercest and most magnanimous of four-footed beasts.' But fierceness cannot consist with magnanimity[128]. Other animals exceed the Lion in fierceness; and a Horse, an Elephant, or a Dog, equal his magnanimity. This definition contains nothing but a glaring contradiction, of which neither end is true! Thunder 'Thunder is a mostbright flamerising on a sudden, moving with great violence, and with a veryrapidvelocity, through the air,accordingto any determination, and commonly ending with a loud noise or rattling.'Shakespeare.Milton.
It is needless to say that the learned and ingenious Pensioner has confounded thunder with lightning. The inelegance and tautology of this definition I pass by; but why should he profane the names of Milton and Shakespeare to support such monstrous nonsense?
Stone. 'Stones are bodies insipid, hard, notductileormalleable, norsolublein water.' This definition answers wood, or glass, or the bones of an animal. One. 'Less than two; single; denoted by an unit.'Raleigh.
Without consulting Raleigh, we know that a man may have 'less thantwo' guineas in his pocket, and yet have more thanone. But still we are not sure,that he has even a single farthing. One issingle, but we are only where we started, forsingle(more Lexiphanico) is 'one, not double; not more than one.' The matter is little mended, when he subjoins that one isthat which is expressed by an unit, for this may be the numerator ofanyfraction. Take his book to pieces, put it into the scales of common sense, and see how it kicks the beam.
A circle is, '1. A line continued till it ends where it began. 2. The space inclosed in acircularline. 3. A round body, an orb.'
The first of these definitions does not distinguish a circle from a triangle, or any other plain figure. He might have found a circle properly defined in Euclid, and a hundred other books. What are we to think of the rest of his mathematical definitions? Well, but he clears up this point, for a circle is 'thespace inclosedin acircularline,' The third definition is no less erroneous than the second, for if a man were to mention the circle of the earth, we could not suspect that he meant the globe itself.
Botany and the electrical fluid, are not inserted. Electricity he termsa propertyin bodies. From this expression, and from all he says on the subject, we can ascertain his ignorance of that most curious and important branch of natural philosophy.Electricityin general signifies 'the operations of a very subtile fluid, commonly invisible, but sometimes the object of our sight and other senses. It is one of the chief agents employed in producing the phænomena of nature.' Its identity with lightning was discovered in 1752, three years before the publication of Dr. Johnson's folio dictionary. For the author then to talk of it as 'apeculiarproperty, supposed once to belong chiefly to amber,' is shameful. It shews us the depth of his learning, and the degree of attention which he thought proper to bestow on hisgreatwork.
Elasticity. 'Force in bodies, by which they endeavour torestorethemselves.' To what? To their former figure, after some external pressure? And without adding some words like these the definition conveys no meaning.
Of Water, we get a very long winded account, which neither Dr. Johnson nor any body else can comprehend, for he sinks into mere jargon. Canst thou conceive (gentle reader) what are 'small,smooth, hard,porous, spherical particles' of water!Water, says Newton, 'is a fluid tasteless salt, which nature changes by heat, into vapour, and by cold into ice, which is a hard fusible brittle stone, and this stone returns into water by heat[129].' Boerhaave calls water, 'a kind of glass that melts at a heat any thing greater than 32 degrees of Farenheit's thermometer. The boundary between water and ice[130].'
Claw. 'Thefootof a beast or bird armed with sharp nails.' Nail. 'The talons of birds or beasts.' Talon. 'The claw of a bird of prey.'Dict. 4th edit.
Here anailistalons; Talons are aclaw; and a claw is said to be afoot(alias anail) armed withnails. The quotations are literal and complete. The words are all plain English. And if you cannot comprehenda nail armed with nails, wait upon Dr. Johnson, and perhaps he will explain it.
Legion. 'A body of Roman soldiers, consisting of aboutfivethousand.'
This is not accurate. The number of men in a Roman legion rose by degrees from about 3200 to about 7000.
Decemvirate. 'The dignity and office of thetengovernors of Rome.' Tribune. 'An officer of Rome chosen by the people.' Censor. 'An officer of Rome, who had the power of correcting manners.' Consul. 'The chief magistrate in the Roman republic.'
Wherein did the Decemviri differ from the King, the Consul, the Dictator, the Triumvir, the Military Tribune, the Cæsar, and the Emperor, for all these were likewise 'Governors of Rome?' The Decemviri were also an inferior set of men appointed to take care of the Sybil's books, to conduct colonies, &c. So that this definition is very incompleat. A Tribune was 'chosen by the people.' But this does not distinguish him from many other magistrates. The Censor had 'the power of correcting manners;' but he had other powers beside that, and every magistrate had that power as well as he, though it was a province more peculiarly his. The Censor is an officer still known in Venice, and in countries where the liberty and abuse of the press are unknown, the licensers of books are called Censors, though the Doctor does not give us these two explanations of the word. A Consul is 'the chief magistrate in the Roman republic.' He was a magistrate long after the republic was dissolved; for Caligula made his horse a Consul! But tho' the Consul was commonlyoneof the chief magistrates in Rome, he was never thechief, as the Doctor roundly expresses it, for he had always a colleague. The Censor was at least his equal, and the Dictator was by law his superior. What we learn of the Centurion, the Triumvir, and the Lictor, is very trifling. Innumerable words which puzzle the plain reader of a Roman historian are wanting, such as an Ædile, a Prætor, a Quæstor, a Cæsar, a Military Tribune, the Hastati, Principes, Triarii, Velites, the Labarum, or Imperial Standard, the Balistæ, the Balearians, &c. AManipleis 'a small band of soldiers.' And a Cohort is 'a troop of soldiers, containing about 500 foot.' A Cohort was in general the tenth part of the foot in a Roman Legion, consequently their number varied, and the Prætorian Cohort, or that to which the standard was intrusted, contained, at least in latter ages, many more men than any of the rest. But in the very page where this concise author thus blunders about a Cohort, he takes care to tell us, thatCoition, iscopulation;the act of generation. That cold is 'not hot, not warm, chill, having sense of cold, having cold qualities.' Thatcoldlyis 'without heat.' that coldness is 'want of heat;' and a heap of similar jargon. Blot. 'A blur.' Blur. 'A blot.'
The Doctor's admirers will answer, that in so large a work there was no room for full definitions. I reply, that his account of Whipgrafting, of Will-with-a-Wisp, of a Wood-louse, and of the Stool of Repentance, are very full; that if he was to say no more of a Roman Consul, he should have said nothing at all; but that there are other books of the same kind, and of half the price too, which find room for copious and useful definitions. Pardon's dictionary is not much less than the Doctor's octavo, though its price is only six shillings; (7th edition) and of many useful articles, such as the Roman Legion, there is a very clear and full explanation. Besides which, it contains a description of the counties, the cities, and the market towns in England; and in the end of the book there is inserted a list of near 7000 proper names, none of which are to be found in the Doctor's dictionary. With what then has Dr. Johnson filled his book? With words of his own coining, with roots, and authorities often ridiculous, and always useless; or with definitions impertinent and erroneous. A Bashaw he calls 'the viceroy of a province;' and he might as well have said that every man in England is six feet high. A Condoler is 'one whocomplimentsanother upon his misfortunes.'
From the Rambler'saccurateandprofoundknowledge of anatomy, we must form very high expectations as to his knowledge of medicine, and we are not disappointed; forArthritisis 'the Gout' and theGoutis 'Arthritis; aperiodicaldisease attended with great pain.' The first part of this definition is not true; and the second will not distinguish the Gout from the Gravel, the Tooth-ach, &c. &c.Gravelis 'sandy matter concreted in the kidneys,' andas often in the bladder too. His account of a Gonnorhœa is no less incomplete. AHeadachis 'a pain in the head.'Jaundiceis 'a distemper from obstructions of the glands of the liver, which prevent the gall being duly separated from the blood.' The Doctor seems to have borrowed his system of anatomy from the antients; for the moderns have discovered that the liver (which he ingeniously calls 'one of the entrails') is itself an indivisible gland. The Jaundice arises from an obstruction in the biliary ducts. Tympany is 'a kind of obstructedflatulence, that swells the body like a drum.'Flatulenceis not inserted; but Flatulency is said to be 'windiness; fulness of wind.' And what does he mean by an obstructed fullness of wind, or by his elegant simile of a drum? His descriptions of the Rickets, Rupture, Rheumatism, Scrophula, Dropsy, Scurvy, &c. are equally perspicuous and perfect. The Doctor had no great occasion to attest, that 'theEnglish dictionary was written with little assistance of thelearned[131].' For in almost every department of learning, from astronomy down to the first principles of grammar, his ignorance seems amazing. His book is a mass of words without ideas. Through the whole there runs a radical corruption of truth and common sense. It is most astonishing that theIdlerhas hardly ever been attacked in this quarter by any of his innumerable invidious and inveterate enemies.
I anticipate the answer of his admirers, viz. That 'thenatureof his work did not admit of a copious explanation for every word.' But let them first tell why he gave such a strange jumble of quotations, to support a word of which he himself knows not the meaning, and are we to be told that thenatureofanywork whatever, can entitle its author to write nonsense, or to write on a subject of which he knows nothing. Indeed the Doctor himself has repeatedly declared, that his book is deformed by a profusion of errors,and those who decline to credit my assertion, ought,PERHAPS, to credithis own. He says, 'I cannot hope, in the warmest moments to preserve so much caution through so long a work, as notOFTENto sink into negligence, or to obtain so much knowledge of all its parts as notFREQUENTLYto fail by ignorance. I expect that sometimes the desire of accuracy will urge me to superfluities, and sometimes the fear of prolixity betray me toomissions; that in the extent of such variety, I shall beOFTENbewildered, and in the mazes of suchintricacy[132], befrequently entangled, &c.[133]' Here is a beautiful confession, which he afterwards recants: for 'despondency has never so far prevailed, as to depress me tonegligence,' &c.[134]But his recantation is in effect immediatelyre-recanted, and we are informed, 'That a fewwild blunders, andRISIBLEabsurdities, from which no work of such multiplicity was ever free,mayfor a time furnish folly with laughter, and harden ignorance into contempt[135].' That this distrust of his own merit did not arise from want of pride or vanity we discover within a few lines: For 'in this work' (theEnglish dictionary, as its author modestly terms it) 'when it shall be found thatmuch is omitted, let it not be forgotten thatmuchlikewiseis performed. If our language is not here fully displayed, I have only failed in an attempt, which no human powers have hitherto completed.—I may surely be contented without the praise of perfection, whichifI could obtain, in this gloom of solitude' (London, or its neighbourhood) 'what would it avail me[136]?' And again, 'I have devoted this book, the labour of years, to the honour of my country[137].'Item.'I cannot but have some degree of parental fondness.' But after all this parental fondness, this zeal for the honour of his country, the Doctor's extraordinary preface concludes in perhaps the most extraordinary language that ever flowed from an author's pen. 'Success and miscarriage areempty sounds, I therefore dismiss it' (his dictionary) 'with frigid tranquillity, having little to fear orhopefrom censure, or from praise.' All this is surely despicable. The booksellers had paid their workman on the nail, or the Doctor would have had something to hope andfear.But an honest and sensible tradesman, though paid before-hand, will always wish and endeavour to please his employers. From this writer's own words, it would appear that he is incapable of a sentiment so generous.
Bawd 'A Procurer, or Procuress.' To bawd,v. n.'To procure.' Bawdily (frombawdy) 'obscenely.' Bawdiness (frombawdy) 'obsceneness.' Bawdry,s.'1. A wicked practise of procuring and bringing whores androguestogether. 2. Obscenity.' Bawdy,a.(frombawdy) 'Obscene, unchaste.' Bawdyhouse. 'A house where traffic is made by wickedness and debauchery.' Baggage. 'A worthless woman.' Bitch. '1. The female of thecaninekind. 2. A name of reproach for a woman.' Blackguard[138]. 'A dirty fellow.' Block. 'A Blockhead.' Blockhead. 'A stupid fellow; a dolt; a man without parts,' Blunderer. 'A blockhead.' Blockhead 'A stupid fellow' Bloodletter. 'A Phlebotomist.' Suds. 'A Lixiviumof soap and water.' Sun. 'The luminary that makes the day.'
TheEnglish dictionary is prodigiously defective—Nervi desunt.It has no force of thought. This wilderness of words displays a mind, patient, but almost incapable of reasoning; ignorant, but oppressed by a load of frivolous ideas; proud of its own powers, but languishing in the last stage of hopeless debility. We have long extolled it with the wildest luxuriance of adulation, and we pretend to despise the worshippers ofthe golden calf.
No man has done more honour to England, than Mr Locke. What would he have said or thought, had Dr Johnson's dictionary been published in his days? We can easily determine his opinion from several passages in his works. I select the following, because it is both short and decisive; and he who feels any respect for Mr Locke will retain little for the author of the Rambler. His words are these: 'If any one askswhat this solidity is[139], I send him to his senses to inform him. Let him put a flint, or a football between his hands, and then endeavour to join themand he will know. If he thinks this not a sufficient explication ofsolidity, what it is, and wherein it consists, I promise to tell him, what it is, and wherein it consists, when he tells me, whatthinkingis, or wherein it consists, or explains to me whatextensionormotionis, which perhaps seems much easier. The simple ideas we have are such as experience teaches them us; butif, beyond that, we endeavour by words to make them clearerin the mind, we shall succeed no better, than if we went about to clear up the darkness of a blind man's mind by talking, and discourse into him the ideas of light and colours[140].'
In the title page of his octavo, we learn, that 'the words are deduced from their originals.' And in the preface, he adds, that 'the etymologies and derivations, whether from foreign languages or native roots, are more diligently traced, and more distinctly noted, than in other dictionaries of the same kind.' Mr Whitaker assures us that in this single article the Doctor has committed upwards ofthree thousanderrors: And the historical pioneer produces abundant evidence in support of his assertion[141]. But independent of this curious circumstance, let usask the Doctor what he means by crouding such trifles into an abstract, which is, he says, intended for those who are 'to gain degrees of knowledge suitable to lower characters, or necessary to the common business of life.' To tell such people, that the wordporridgepotis compounded ofporridge, andpot, is to insult their understandings; and of his Greek and Saxon roots, not one individual in a thousand can read even a single letter. The preface commences with a pitiful untruth. Having mentioned the publication of his folio dictionary, he subjoins, 'it hassincebeen considered that works of that kind are by no means necessary for the bulk of readers.' Here he would insinuate that theabstractwas anafter-thought: But every body sees, that its publication was delayed, only to accelerate the sale of his folio dictionary. There is not room now left, to dissect every sentence in the preface to his octavo. I shall therefore conclude that subject with one particular, wherein the Doctor's taste, learning, and genius, blaze in their meridian.
In the title page to his octavo dictionary, we are informed, that the words are 'authorised by the names of the writers in whose works they are found.' And this tale is repeated at greater length in the preface, where 'it will be found that truth requires him tosay less[142]': For under letter A only, there are between four and five hundred words, for which theIdlerhas not assigned any authority—and of these one hundred and eighty are to be found in no language under heaven. He boasts indeed that his dictionary 'contains many words not to be found in any other.' But it also contains many words, not to be found at all in any other book. If we compute that letter A has a thirteenth part of theserecruits, we shall find that the whole number scattered through his compilation exceeds two thousand. A purchaser of hisabstracthas a title to ask the Doctor, why the work is loaded with such a profusion of trash, which serves only to testify the folly of him who collected or created it. Men of eminent learning have been consulted, who disown all acquaintance (in English) with most articles in the following list:
Abacus, Abandonement, Abarticulation, Abcedarian, Abcedary, Aberrant, Aberuncate, Abject,v. a.Ablactate, Ablactation, Ablation, Ablegate, Ablegation, Ablepsy, Abluent, Abrasion, Abscissa, Absinthiated, Abitention, Absterge, Accessariness, Accidentalness, Accipient, Acclivious, Accolent, Accompanable, Accroach, Accustomarily, Acroamatical, Acronycal, Acroters, or Acroteria, Acuate, Aculerate, Addulce, Addenography, Ademption, Adiaphory, Adjectitious,Adition, Abstergent, Acceptilation, Adjugate, Adjument, Adjunction, Adjunctive, Adjutor, Adjutory, Adjuvant, Adjuvate, Admensuration, Adminicle, Adminicular, Admix, Admonishment,Admurmuration, Adscititious, Adstriction, Advesperate, Adulator, Adulterant, Adulterine, Adumbrant, Advolation, Advolution, Adustible, Aerology, Aeromancy, Aerometry, Aeroscopy, Affabrous, Affectuous, Affixion, Afflation, Afflatus, Agglomerate, Agnation, Agnition, Agreeingness, Alate, Abb, Alegar, Alligate, Alligation, Allocution, Amalgmate, Amandation, Ambidexterity, Ambilogy, Ambiloquous, Ambry, Ambustion, Amende, Amercer, Amethodical,Amphibological,Amphibologically, Amphisch, Amplificate, Amygdalate, Amygdaline, Anacamptick, Anacampticks,Anaclacticks, Anadiplosis, Anagogetical, Anagrammatize, Anamorphosis, Anaphora, Anastomosis, Anastrope, Anathematical, Androgynal, Androgynally, Androgynus, Anemography, Anemometer,Anfractuousness, Angelicalness,Angiomonospermous, Angularity, Angularness, Anhelation, Aniented, Anileness, Anility, Animative, Annumerate, Annumeration, Annunciate, Anomalously, Ansated, Antaphroditick, Antapoplectick, Antarthritick, Antasthmatick, Anteact, Auscultation, Antemundane, Antepenult, Antepredicament, Anthology,Anthroposophy, Anthypnotick, Antichristianity, Auxiliation, Antinephritick, Antinomy, Antiquatedness, Apert, Apertly, Aphilanthrophy, Aphrodisiacal, Aphrodosiack, Apocope, Apocryphalness, Apomecometry, Appellatory, Apsis, Aptate, Aptote, Aqua, Aquatile, Aqueousness, Aquose, Aquosity, Araignee, Aratory, Arbuscle, Archchanter, Archaiology, Archailogick, Archeus, Arcuation, Arenose, Arenulous, Argil, Argillaceous, Argute, Arietate, Aristocraticallness, Armental, Armentine, Armigerous, Armillary, Armipotence, Arrentation, Arreptitious, Arrison, Authentickness, Arrosion, Articular, Articulateness, Austral, Arundinaceous, Arundineous, Asbestine, Ascriptitious, Asinary, Asperation, Asperifolious, Aspirate,v. a.Assassinator, Assumptive, Astonishingness, Astrography, Attiguous, Attinge, Aucupation, Avowee.
Of these words about forty only are proper, yet though they are so, and though they are frequently to be found in the best authors, yet the Doctor has not given any authority for them. His reading therefore must have been very circumscribed, or his negligence very great. Is the wordAvowee, for instance, one of those which 'are however, to be yet considered as resting only upon the credit of former dictionaries[143].' Besides these forty, there are under letter A, some hundreds of the most common words, for which no author's name is quoted. A gross omission according to the plan which he lays down.
Let us put the case, that a foreigner sits down to compose a page of English, by the help of Dr Johnson's work. The strange combinations of letters(for I darenot call them words) which swell his book to its present bloated size, are not marked with an asterisk, to distinguish them as barbarous: The novice would therefore adopt a stile unknown to any native of England. Here is a short specimen of what he would say.
'AnAdmurmurationhas long wandered about the world, that the pensioner's political principles areanfractuous. Theiranfractuousness, theirinsipience, and theirturpitude, are no longeramphibological. Hisnefarious repercussionofobloquymustcontaminate, andobumbrate, and who can tell but it may evenaberuncatehisfeculentandexcrementitious celebrity. Hisperspicacitywill see withoutcomity, orhilarity, that his character as an author and a gentleman, requiresresuscitation, for it is neitherimmanenorimmarcessible. This is ahomogeneoustruth[144]. Let him distend, like theflaccidsides of a football[145], hissal, hissapience, and his powers ofratiocination. Themellifluousandnumerose cadenceofequiponderantperiods cannot ensure him from aluxation, alaceration, and aresiliencyof hisadminicular concatenationwith therugged mercantilerace[146]. The loss of thisadscititious adminiclewould make the sage'simpeccable, butlugubriousbosom vibrate with the horrors ofdilutionanddereliction. His organs of vision would gush withsalsamentarioustorrents of spherical particles, of equal diameters, and of equal specific gravities, as Dr Cheyne observes—their smoothness—their sphericity—their frictions, and their hardness,'[147]&c.
To the last edition (the 4th) of the folio dictionary, there is prefixed an advertisement, from which I have extracted a few lines: 'Finding my dictionary about to be reprinted, I have endeavoured by a revisal to make it less reprehensible. I will not deny that I foundmany parts requiring emendation, andmany more capable of improvement.Many faultsI have corrected, some superfluities I have taken away, and some deficiencies I have supplied. I have methodised some parts that weredisordered, and illuminated some that wereobscure. Yet the changes or additions bear a very small proportion to the whole.' That his improvements, bear a very small proportion to the quantity of errors still in his book is true, for after a long and painful search, I have only been able to trace outONEalteration. The wordGazetteeris now defined without that insolent scurrility formerly quoted. But in this correct edition, thunder continues to be amost bright flame. Whig is still the name of a faction; and a Tory is said to be an adherent to the antient constitution of England. Oats, Excise,Monarch, &c. are all in the same stile. Nowise,n. s.'(noandwise: this is commonly spoken and written byIGNORANT BARBARIANS,noways). Not in any manner, or degree.' Theorem,n. s.'A position laid down as an acknowledged truth.'
Here a schoolboy can detect the Doctor's ignorance, for every body knows that this word has theoppositemeaning, which is indeed evident from the quotations that are intended to exemplify it.
'Having found this the headtheoremof all their discourses, we hold it necessary that theproofsthereof be weighed.'Hooker.'Here are threetheorems, that from thence we may draw some conclusions[148].'Dryden.No words can paint the Doctor's want of attention.
To piss,v. n.(pisser Fr. pissen Dutch) 'To make water. I charge thepissingconduit run nothing but claret.Shakespeare.One ass pisses, the restpissfor company.L'Estrange.The wanton boyspissupon your grave.Dryden.' Whoredom,n. s.(fromwhore) 'Fornication. Some let gowhoredomas an indifferent matter.Hale.' Whorish,a.(from whore) 'Unchaste, incontinent. By means of awhorishwoman a man is brought to a piece ofbread.Proverbs.I had as lief you should tell me of a mess ofporridge[149].'
The reader has seen what a profusion of low, and even blackguard expressions are to be met with in the Doctor's celebrated work. I shall now give anadditional specimen of hisgreatwork; and if, like some American savages, we cannot count our fingers, Dr Johnson himself will teach us how to do it;for hetells us, onShakespeare'sauthority, that two is, 'one and one,' Pope and Creech are quoted to prove, that three is, 'two and one.' Four is, 'two and two;' and, if you have the least doubt that 'four and one' make five, or that five is, 'the half of ten,' you will be silenced by the name of Dryden. Six is, 'twice three, one more than five.' Seven is, 'four and three, one more than six.' Eight is, 'twice four, a word of number.' Nine is, 'one more than eight.' Ninth is, 'that which precedes the tenth.' Ten is, 'the decimal number, twice five.' Tenth is, 'first after the ninth, the ordinal of ten.' Eleven is, 'ten and one.' Eleventh is, 'the next in order to the tenth, and is derived from eleven.' Twelve is, 'two and ten;' and twelfth, 'second after the tenth, the ordinal of twelve.' Thirteen is, 'ten and three.' Fourteen is, 'four and ten.' Fifteen is, 'five and ten.' Fifteen, 'the ordinal of fifteen, the fifth after the tenth;' and, if you entertain any suspicion as to the verity of these definitions, read over Boyle, Brown, Dryden, Moses, Raleigh, Sandys, Shakespeare, and Bacon. Thirdly is, in the 'third place.' Thrice, 'three times,' threefold, 'thrice repeated, consistingof three.' Threepence, (threeandpence) 'a small silver coin, valued at thrice a penny.' Threescore, a. (threeandscore) 'thrice twenty, sixty.' Pope, Raleigh, Wiseman, Shakespeare, Brown, Dryden, and Spencer, are cited to convince you, that these explanations are accurate. And the other articles of numeration, with all their derivations, definitions, and the passages which are quoted to support them, would fill a sixpenny pamphlet. And this is one recipe for making a book worth four guineas!
A farthing is, 'the fourth part of a penny, and a penny is,a small coin[150], of which twelve make ashilling.' A shilling is 'now twelve pence.' A Pound is, 'the sum of twenty shillings;' and, if thou hast forgot the worth of a Guinea, know that it is 'a gold coin, valued at one and twenty shillings;' for Dryden, Locke, and Cocker, have said all this. A Punk is, 'a whore, a common prostitute;' and a Puppy is, 'a whelp, the progeny of a bitch, a name of contemptuous reproach to a man.' ToMewis, 'to cry as a cat.' To Kaw is, 'to cry as a Raven, Crow, or Rook; and the cry of a Raven or Crow (and he might have added, of a Jack Daw too) is kaw.'
'There are men (says Dr Johnson) who claim the name of authors, merely to disgrace it, and fill the world with volumes, only to bury letters in their own rubbish. The traveller who tells, in a pompous Folio, that he saw thePantheonatRome, and theMedicean VenusatFlorence; the natural historian, who, describing the productions of a narrow island, recounts all that it has in common with every other part of the world; the collector of antiquities, that accounts every thing a curiosity, which the ruins of Herculaneum happen to emit, though an instrument already shown in a thousand repositories, or a cup common to the antients, the moderns, and all mankind, may be justly censured as the persecutors of students, and thethievesof that time, which never can be restored[151].'
The traveller who visits Rome and Florence, and gives an account of what he saw to the world, without describing the Pantheon and the Medicean Venus, will, very properly, be censured as an ignorant and tasteless wanderer. The historian who describes an island, whether wide or narrow, ought to begin by telling if it produces water, grass, wood, and corn. A sword, a bow, and a dagger, are common to the antients, the moderns, and almost all mankind; yet, if any Roman military weapon were discovered in theruins of Herculaneum, it would deservedly be the object of curiosity, and a collector of antiquities might describe it without being censured, in Dr Johnson's polite style, as athief of time. Of this passage, however, the leading idea is just; and, had the Doctor been able to express himself with precision, it would have served, in an admirable manner, to delineate the character of the author of those passages which we have just now been reading from his Dictionary.
A Puppy is said to be, 'the progeny of a bitch,' but so is the bitch herself. Repleviable is, 'what may bereplevined.' Repair is, 'reparation;' and reparation is, 'the act of repairing.' A Republican is, 'one who thinks a commonwealth, without monarchy, the best government.' But this is only half a definition; for every subject of a republic, is a republican, whether he think it the best government or not. Republican, a. (from republic) is, 'placing the government in the people.' Is Venice under the government of the people? It is curious enough to hear such an author as Ben Johnson cited to prove what a republic is. The reader will compute what title the Doctor has to the character given him by a late writer, viz. that 'his great learning and genius render him one of the mostshiningornaments of the present age.' A Looking-glass is, 'a glass which shews forms reflected;' but so will a common glass bottle; though we never term it a looking-glass. He says it is compounded oflookandglass; but, if the reader happens to think it is derived fromlookingandglass, the Doctor cannot confute him. A knave is, 'a petty rascal, a scoundrel.' ALoonis, 'a sorry fellow, a scoundrel.' ALoobyis, 'a lubber, a clumsy clown.' ALubberis, 'a sturdy drone, an idle, fat, bulkylosel, a booby.' ALoselis, 'a scoundrel, a sorry worthless fellow.' ALubbardis, 'a lazy sturdy fellow.' ABoobyis—but you must know what it is, while you read, in these elegant definitions, the taste and genius of Dr Johnson. He says,that Bone is, 'the solid parts of the body of an animal.' Are not the fat and the muscles also solid? A Volume is, 'something rolled or convolved;' and so is a barrel, a foot-ball, and a blanket. But a volume is likewise 'as much as seems convolved at once;' an expression hardly intelligible; and it is a book. A Book, we are told, is, 'a volume, in which we reador write;'and whether we read and write in it or not.
'V has two powers expressed in English by two characters, v, consonant, and u, vowel.' One would think these were two different letters, as much as any others in the alphabet. The same remark applies to letters I and J, which the Doctor has blended. It is remarkable that thisEnglishDictionary begins with aLatinword; and the Doctor has inserted it without giving an authority.
A Ketch is, 'aheavyship;'and a Junk is, 'asmallship of China.' A Sloop is, 'a small ship;' and a Brigantine is, 'a light vessel;' but, it would have required little learning or ingenuity to have said, that, in our marine, a sloop has only one mast, except sloops of war, which have three; and, that a brigantine is a merchant ship with two. A brig, a lugger, a hooker, a schooner, a galliot, a galleon, a proa, a punt, a xebeque, and a snow, are not inserted in thiscompleatEnglish Dictionary; but a Cutter is, 'a nimble boat thatcutsthe water.' Did we ever hear of a boat that did not cut the water? This explanation, like that of at least twenty thousand others, is defective; because, besides a man of war's boat, the word Cutter is applied to a small vessel with one mast, rigged as a sloop, that sails very near thewind; from which peculiarity, its appellation is derived.
A Cannon is, 'a gun larger than can be managed by the hand.' Cannon-ball and Cannon shot are, 'the balls which are shot from great guns.' Mr Locke is cited to shew, thatcannotis compounded ofcanandnot. Menstruous is, 'having the catamenia;'and this last word is wanting, a frequent mode ofdefinitionin this book. The Eye is, 'the organ of vision.' Eye-drop, (eyeanddrop) 'tear.' See also Eye-ball, Eye-brow, Eye-glance, Eye-glass, Eyeless, Eye-lid, Eye-sight, Eye-sore, Eye-tooth, Eye-wink, Eye-witness. Eye-string is, 'the string of the eye[152].' The following names are cited to support the explanations: Dryden, Spencer, Newton, Milton, Garth, Bacon, Samuel, Peter, and Shakespeare four times. The man who can make such a pedantic parade of erudition, must be a mere quack in the business of book-building; and the reader who thinks himself edified by hearing, that an eye-wink is, 'a wink as a hint or token,' must be an object of pity. But there is no such reader.Quere.Do we never wink but as a hint or token? Achor is, 'a species of theHerpes;' and Hey, 'an expression of joy.' A Mocker is,'one who mocks;' and a Laughing-stock, (laughandstock) a 'butt, an object of ridicule.' Iron, a. is, 'made of iron;' and Iron, s. is said to be, 'a metal common to all parts of the world;' which is not the fact.
Numskull,s.(numbandskull) 'aDullard; a dunce; a dolt; a blockhead.' Numskulled,a.(fromNumskull) 'dull; stupid; doltish.' Nun,s.'a woman dedicated to the severer duties of religion, secluded in a cloister from the world.' The Nuns of London werenotemployed in the severer duties of religion, which has nothing to do with severity. The institution of nunneries is the most atrocious insult upon human feelings, that ever disgraced the selfish and brutal policy of the Roman priesthood, and its consequences are the most shocking and criminal. The man who would palliate such an outrage on Christianity, deserves no quarter[153]. From this sample of his goodsense and piety, one would hardly rank the Rambler above 'a domestic animal, that catches mice.'
Jack is, '1. The diminutive of John. 2. The name ofinstruments, which supply the place of a boy,as an instrumentto pull off boots.' Bronchocele,s.'a tumor of that part of theaspera tertia, called theBronchos,' and this last word is wanting. Broom is 'a shrub;' and Brogue 'a kind of shoe.' See also Broomstaff, Broomy, Broth, Brothel, andBrothelhouse. Bubo, 'the groin from the bending of the thigh to thescrotum;' but thescrotumis not explained.
Snot. 'The mucus of the nose.' Nose. 'The prominence on the face, which is the organ ofscent, and the emunctory of the brain.'
He should have said the organ ofsmell, for we do not say the sense ofscenting. But from what he says of them, it appears that he is ignorant of the distinction between these two words. If the nose were the emunctory of the brain (which every surgeon's apprentice knows that it isnot), in that case snot could not be the mucus of the nose, but the mucus of the brain. It belongs to neither. It is entirely, or principally formed in the glands of the throat, as we see every day in coughing. To contradict such inconsistencies, would be below the dignity of any writer, if they were found in a book less famous than the English Dictionary.
Rust. 'The redDesquamationof old iron.' Desquamation. 'The act of scaling foul bones.' Sinew. '1. A tendon; the ligaments by which the joints are moved. 2.Muscleornerve!' Other metals rust as well as iron, and rust is not always red; that of copper for instance is blue or green. It is not quite clear why the wordDesquamationis introduced. But his account ofsinewexceeds every thing of the kind.
Highflier. 'One that carries his opinion to extravagance.' The word relates to a particular set of men in this country, and to them only. A Dervise, a Friar, and a Bramin, profess extravagant opinions; but an English writer would not call themHighfliers, nor would he be understood if he did.
Chervill. 'Anumbelliferousplant.' Periwig. 'Adscititioushair.' Chemist, and Chemistry are omitted, but Chymistry is, 'philosophy byFIRE;' and Chymist, 'a philosopher byFIRE!' With what inexpressible contempt would the youngest of Dr Black's audience hear these definitions? The folly of the man, who can scribble such jargon is eclipsed by the superlative ignorance of those who vindicate and admire him. Dr Johnson asserts, that Shakespeare 'has corrupted language by every mode of depravation[154].' The remark applies to himself. And his advocates must allow, that 'they endure inhimwhat they should in another loath and despise[155].' Indeed I can very well believe the Doctor, when he says, that his book was composed while he was in a state ofDistraction[156]. For the honour of his veracity, we may hope, that he was likewisedistractedwhen he observed of the social, facetious, and celebrated John Wilkes, Esq; that 'Lampoon would disdain to speak ill of him, of whom no man speaks well[157].'
Part of his book has merit; but take it altogether, and perhaps it is the strangest farrago which pedantry ever produced. It will be said that these are partial specimens, but we have traced him through variousramificationsof learning, and found his ignorance extreme. A sensible reader will try his own abilities, in judging of the Doctor'sgreatperformance. Nor will he throw down this pamphlet without a candid perusal, because, by some unaccountable infatuation, the dictionary has for twenty seven years been admired by thousands and ten thousands, who have neverseenit. Let us exert that courage of thought, and that contempt of quackery, which to feel, and to display, is the privilege and the pride of a Briton. In a country where no man fears his king, can any man fear the sound of a celebrated name, or crouch behind the the banner of Dullness, because it is born bySamuel Johnson, A. M. & LL.D.?
I shall now take leave of this enormous compilation, and return, for a few pages, to the rest of his works.
Speaking of Pope's edition of Shakespeare, Dr Johnson observes, 'That on this undertaking, to which Pope was induced by a reward of two hundred and seventeen pounds, twelve shillings, he seems never to have reflected afterwardswithout vexation[158].' The Doctor ought never to reflect 'without vexation' on his own edition of Shakespeare. He published his proposals in 1756, but the work itself did not appear till 1768, and then, though the world was warmly prejudiced in his favour, and tho' he had plundered every thing which he thought valuable, from all his predecessors, yet his performance was received with general disregard. His preface was the particular butt of censure; his deficiencies were detected 'with all the insolence of victory;' and thepublic were, for once, inclined to say of him, what he says of Mr Theobald, viz. that he was 'a man of heavy diligence, with very slender powers[159].'
Indeed the Doctor persecutes the name of Theobald with the most rancorous spirit of revenge. In his proposals for printing Shakespeare, he tells us, 'that Mr Theobald, if fame be just to his memory, considered his learning only as an instrument of gain, and made no farther enquiry after his authour's meaning, when once he had notes sufficient to embellish his page with the expected decorations.' If Theobald was poor, he was certainly prudent in considering his learning as an instrument of gain. In this point, he has been exactly copied by no less a personage than Dr Johnson himself. But the Doctor has not ventured to say that Theobald was a venal prostituted dabbler in politics; that he insulted his King, till he received a pension; and that when he had received his pension, he insulted his country. No. 'The old books, the cold pedantry, and sluggish pertinacity of Theobald,' never excited the serious contempt or indignation of mankind. Dr Johnson asserts, 'That when Theobald published Shakespeare in opposition to Pope, thebestnotes were supplied by Warburton[160].' This is an assertion without a proof, and merits no regard; for his veracity keeps pace with his candour.
The admirers of Pope will be sensible of the good nature and honesty of Dr Johnson, from the following unqualified assertion: 'The great object of his (Pope's) ridicule ispoverty; the crimes with which he reproaches his antagonists are their debts, their habitation in the mint, and their want of a dinner. He seems to be of an opinion, not very uncommon in the world, that to want money is to want every thing[161].' The crimes with which Pope reproaches the Duncenian heroes are slander andforgery[162], mostof them were not only bad writers, but bad men; and it is only in the latter point of view, that the poet considered them as fair objects of ridicule. Had Pope been capable of insulting honest indigence, his reputation and his glory must have been for ever blasted. The humanity of Englishmen would have rejected, with horror, such impious wit. The last part of this malicious paragraph is, after a few pages, contradicted by Dr Johnson himself. Had Pope been of opinion, thatto want money is to want every thing, he would not have assisted Dodsley 'with a hundred pounds that he might open a shop—of the subscription of forty pounds a-year that he raised for Savage,TWENTYwere paid by himself. He was accused of loving money, but his love was eagerness to gain, not solicitude to keep it. In the duties of friendship, he was zealous and constant. It does not appear that he lost asinglefriend by coldness, or by injury; those who loved him once, continued their kindness[163].' This cannot be the picture of a man who insulted innocent misery.
The Doctor is perpetually giving us strokes of his own character. Thus, of Mr Thomson we are informed, 'that he was "more fat than bard beseems," of adullcountenance, and agross, unanimated, uninvitingappearance.' This is the Rambler's portrait, but when applied to the author of the Seasons, it is not true, for Mr Murdoch assures us, 'that his worst appearance was, when you saw him walking alone, in a thoughtful mood; but let a friend accost him, and enter into conversation, he would instantly brighten into a most amiable aspect, his features no longer the same, and his eye darting a peculiar animated fire. His looks always announced, and half expressed what he was about to say[164].'
The Doctor fills up several pages with blotted variations from Pope's manuscript translation of the Iliad. He exults in this precious production, and foresees that the wisest of his readers will wish for more. Having perused a few lines of it only, I cannot pretend to rate the value of this commodity: But a plain reader will be apt to suspect that the Doctor has on this, as on former occasions, adopted the prudent proverb,multum scribere, multum solvere. If Lexiphanesoverflows with Greek, he may, by comparing Pope with Homer, afford much entertainment.
'Wives and husbands are, indeed, incessantly complaining of each other[165].'—Not unless both are fools, nor always then. For the credit of its author, I suppress the sequel of this unhappy period.
Dr Johnson observes, that Mr Addison, 'by a serious display of the beauties of Chevy Chace, exposed himself to the ridicule of Wagstaff.—In Chevy Chace there isnot muchof either bombast or affectation, but there is chill and lifeless imbecility. The story cannot possibly be told in a manner that shall makelessimpression on the mind[166].' This is a most scandalous criticism; no man who ever heard the ballad, will hear it with patience. The Doctor's pious intention seems to have been to lessen the reputation of Addison. Let him who falsifies without shame, be chastised without mercy[167].
Though Dr Johnson long acted as Reviewer of books for the Gentleman's Magazine, and though he often exercised his pen in that capacity with the most grovelling insolence, yet he cannot speak with patience of his rivals in that branch of trade. 'We have now,' says he, 'among other disturbers of human quiet, a numerous body of Reviewers and Remarkers[168].' He is angry with Lord Lyttleton, for having once condescended to correspond with the Critical Reviewers. He observes, that theCritical Reviewers, 'can satisfy their hunger only by devouring their brethren. I am far from imagining that they are naturally more ravenous orblood-thirsty, than those on whom they fall with so much violence and fury; but they arehungry, andhungermust be satisfied; and theseSavages, when their bellies are full, will fawn on those whom they now bite[169].' They have lately[170]celebrated the Doctor's great candour, of which this passage is the best evidence that 'will easily be found.'
I finish this essay by reciting the circumstance which gave it birth.
In 1778, Mr William Shaw published an Analysis of the Gaelic language. He quoted specimens of Gaelic poetry, and harangued on its beauties, with the aukward elocution of one who did not understand them. A few months ago, he printed a pamphlet. He traduced decent characters. He denied the existence of Gaelic poetry, and his name was echoed in the newspapers as a miracle of candour. Is there in the annals of Grubæan impudence any parallel to this? Is there any nation in the world exceptone, perpetually deluded by a succession of impostors? Are these the blessed fruits of that freedom which patriots perish to defend? If there be no pillory, no whipping post for such accumulated guilt, we may truly saywith Shakespeare, that 'Liberty plucks Justice by the nose.' This incomparable bookbuilder, who writes a dictionary before he can write grammar, had previously boasted what a harvest he would reap from English credulity. He was not deceived. The bait was caught; and the voice of truth was for some time drowned in the clamours of the rabble. Mr Shaw wants only money. He thinks only how to get it, and with a courage that is respectable, avowed his intentions. But better things might have been expected from the moral and majestic author of the Rambler. He must have seen the Analysis of the Gaelic language, for Shaw mentions him as the patron of that work. He must have seen the specimens of Celtic poetry there inserted. That he is likewise the patron of this poor scribble, no man, I suppose, will offer to deny. From this single circumstance, Dr Johnson stands convicted ofan illiberal intention to deceive. Candour can hardly hesitate to sum up his character in the vulgar but expressive pollysyllable.
It will be demanded, why a private individual, without interest or connections, presumes to interfere in the quarrels of the learned? But when the most shameless of mankind, ishiredto abuse the characters of his countrymen, to blast the reputations of the living and the dead; whensucha tool is employed forsucha purpose, that those who are insulted cannot with propriety stoop to a reply,—Thenthe highest degree of goodness may degenerate into the lowest degree of weakness, silence becomes approbation, and tenderness and delicacy deserve different names. He is unfit to be the friend of virtue who cannot defend her dignity; who dares not execute her vengeance. In this shameful affair, one circumstance does honour to Dr Johnson.His friendship is not exhausted in a compliment.He does not excite expectation merely to disappoint it. He resembles not some perfidious wretches, whom his intrepid eloquence hath so properly pointed out to public indignation.Exerting the generosity which often ennobles the character of an Englishman, he engages not his dependant in a performance for which he scruples to pay.
To glean the tithe of this man's absurdities cannot be of peculiar consequence to me: But the world is long since weary of his arrogant pedantry, his officious malice, his detested assiduity to undermine his superiors, and overbear his equals. Reformation is never quite hopeless, and by submitting to make a catalogue of his errors, there is a chance to humble and reform him. Perhaps indeed, like 'The drudges of sedition,HEwill hear in sullen silence,HEwill feel conviction without shame, and be confounded, but not abashed[171].' I have not arrested a few careless expressions, which, in the glow of composition, will sometimes escape, but by fair, and copious quotations from Dr Johnson's ponderous abortions, have attempted to illustrate his covetous and shameless prolixity; his corruptions of our language; his very limited literature; his entire want of general learning; his antipathy to rival merit; his paralytick reasoning; his solemn trifling pedantry; his narrow views of human life; his adherence to contradictions; his defiance of decency; and his contempt of truth. I have not been sporting in the mere wantonness of assertion. I have produced such various, such invincible, such damning proofs, that the Doctor himself must feel a burst of conviction. To collect every particle ofinanitywhich may be found in ourpatriot'sworks is infinitely beyond the limits of an eighteen-pence pamphlet. I stop at present here, but the subject seemsinexhaustible[172]!