"SIR, To Mr. BURNEY, in Lynne Regis, Norfolk. "IF you imagine that by delaying my answer I intended to fhew any neglect of the notice with which you have favoured me, you will neither think justly of yourself nor of me. Your civilities were offered with too much elegance not to engage attention; and I have too much pleasure in pleasing men like you, not to feel very fenfibly the distinction which you have bestowed upon me. "Few confequences of my endeavours to please or to benefit mankind have delighted me more than your friendship thus voluntarily offered, which now I have it I hope to keep, because I hope to continue to deserve it. "I have no Dictionaries to difpofe of for myself, but shall be glad to have you direct your friends to Mr. Dodsley, because it was by his recommendation that I was employed in the work. "When you have leisure to think again upon me, let me be favoured with another letter; and another yet, when you have looked into my Dictionary. If you find faults, I fhall endeavour to mend them; if you find none, I fhall think you blinded by kind partiality: but to have made you partial in his favour, will very much gratify the ambition of, Sir, 1755. Etat. 46. "Your most obliged "And most humble fervant, "Gough-fquare, Fleet-street, SAM. JOHNSON." April 8, 1755. Mr. Andrew Millar, bookfeller in the Strand, took the principal charge of conducting the publication of Johnson's Dictionary; and as the patience of the proprietors was repeatedly tried and almost exhausted, by their expecting that the work would be completed within the time which Johnson had fanguinely fuppofed, the learned authour was often goaded to dispatch, more especially as he had received all the copy-money, by different drafts, a confiderable time before he had finished his task. When the meffenger who carried the last sheet to Millar returned, Johnfon asked him, "Well, what did he fay ?"-" Sir, (anfwered the messenger) he said, thank God I have done with him.” “I am glad (replied Johnson, with a fmile,) that he thanks GOD for any thing." It • Sir John Hawkins, p. 341, inferts two notes as having paffed formally between Andrew Millar and Johnson, to the above effect. I am affured this was not the cafe. In the way of incidental remark it was a pleasant play of raillery. To have deliberately written notes in fuch terms would have been morofe. is 1755. Etat. 46. is remarkable, that those with whom Johnson chiefly contracted for his literary labours were Scotchmen, Mr. Millar and Mr. Strahan. Millar, though himself no great judge of literature, had good fenfe enough to have for his friends very able men to give him their opinion and advice in the purchase of copy-right; the confequence of which was his acquiring a very large fortune, with great liberality. Johnfon faid of him, "I refpect Millar, Sir; he has raised the price of literature." The fame praise may be juftly given to Pancoek, the eminent bookfeller of Paris. Mr. Strahan's liberality, judgement, and fuccefs, are well known. To the Reverend Mr. THOMAS WARTON. "DEAR SIR, "I AM grieved that you fhould think me capable of neglecting your letters; and beg you will never admit any such suspicion again. I purpose to come down next week, if you shall be there; or any other week, that shall be more agreeable to you. Therefore let me know. I can stay this visit but a week, but intend to make preparations for a longer stay next time; being refolved not to lofe fight of the University. How goes Apollonius?? Don't let him be forgotten. Some things of this kind must be done, to keep us up. Pay my compliments to Mr. Wife, and all my other friends. I think to come to Kettel-Hall. I am, Sir, 66 [London,] May 13, 1755. "Your most affectionate, &c. SAM. JOHNSON," To the fame. "DEAR SIR, "IT is ftrange how many things will happen to intercept every pleasure, though it [be] only that of two friends meeting together. I have promised myself every day to inform you when you might expect me at Oxford, and have not been able to fix a time. The time, however, is, I think, at last come; and I promise myself to repofe in Kettel-Hall, one of the first nights of the next week. I am afraid my stay with you cannot be long; but what is the inference? We must endeavour to make it chearful. I wish your brother could meet us, that we might go and drink tea with Mr. Wife in a body. I hope he will be at Oxford, or at his neft of British and Saxon "A translation of Appollonius Rhodius was now intended by Mr. Warton." antiquities, antiquities'. I fhall expect to fee Spenfer finished, and many other things 1755. begun. Dodfley is gone to visit the Dutch. The Dictionary fells well. The Etat. 46. rest of the world goes on as it did. Dear Sir, "TO talk of coming to you, and not yet to come, has an air of trifling which I would not willingly have among you; and which, I believe, you will not willingly impute to me, when I have told you, that fince my promise, two of our partners are dead, and that I was folicited to fufpend my excurfion till we could recover from our confufion. 2 "I have not laid aside my purpose; for every day makes me more impatient of staying from you. But death, you know, hears not fupplications, nor pays any regard to the convenience of mortals. I hope now to see you next week; but next week is but another name for to-morrow, which has been noted for promifing and deceiving. "[London,] June 24, 1755. "I am, &c. SAM. JOHNSON." To the fame. "DEAR SIR, "I TOLD you, that among the manufcripts are fome things of Sir Thomas More. I beg you to pass an hour in looking on them, and procure a transcript of the ten or twenty first lines of each, to be compared with what I have; that I may know whether they are yet unpublished. The manuscripts are these : "Catalogue of Bodl. MS. pag. 122. F. 3. Sir Thomas More. "1. Fall of angels. 2. Creation and fall of mankind. 3. Determination of the Trinity for the rescue of mankind. 4. Five lectures of our Saviour's paffion. 5. Of the inftitution of the facrament, three lectures. 6. How to receive the blessed body of our Lord facramentally. 7. Neomenia, the new moon. 8. De triftitia, tædio, pavore, et oratione Chrifti, ante captionem ejus, "At Ellsfield, a village three miles from Oxford." 2 Bookfellers concerned in his Dictionary." Y "Catalogue, 1755. "Catalogue, pag. 154. Life of Sir Thomas More. Qu. Whether Etat. 46. Roper's? Pag. 363. De refignatione Magni Sigilli in manus Regis per D. Thomam Morum. Pag. 364. Mori Defenfio Moriæ. "If you procure the young gentleman in the library to write out what you think fit to be written, I will fend to Mr. Prince the bookfeller to pay him what fhall think proper. . you "Be pleased to make my compliments to Mr. Wife, and all my friends. I am, Sir, The Dictionary, with a Grammar and History of the English Language, being now at length published, in two volumes folio, the world contemplated with wonder fo ftupendous a work atchieved by one man, while other countries had thought fuch undertakings fit only for whole academies. Vaft as his powers were, I cannot but think that his imagination deceived him, when he fuppofed that by constant application he might have performed the task in three years. Let the Preface be attentively perused, in which is given, in a clear, strong, and glowing style, a comprehensive, yet particular view of what he had done; and it will be evident, that the time he employed upon it was comparatively short. I am unwilling to fwell my book with long quotations from what is in every body's hands; and I believe there are few profe compofitions in the English language that are read with more delight, or are more impreffed upon the memory, than that preliminary discourse. One of its excellencies has always struck me with peculiar admiration; I mean the perfpicuity with which he has expressed abstract scientifick notions. As an inftance of this, I fhall quote the following fentence: "When the radical idea branches out into parallel ramifications, how can a confecutive feries be formed of fenfes in their own nature collateral?" We have here an example of what has been often faid, and I believe with justice, that there is for every thought a certain nice adaptation of words which none other could equal, and which, when a man has been fo fortunate as to hit, he has attained, in that particular cafe, to the perfection of language. The extenfive reading which was abfolutely neceffary for the accumulation of authorities, and which alone may account for Johnson's retentive mind being enriched with a very large and various store of knowledge and imagery, must have occupied several years. The Preface furnishes an eminent instance of a double talent, of which Johnson was fully confcious. Sir Joshua Reynolds 1755 has heard him fay, "There are two things which I am confident I can do very well: one is an introduction to any literary work, ftating what it is to Atat. 46. contain, and how it should be executed in the most perfect manner; the other is a conclufion, fhewing from various causes why the execution has not been equal to what the authour promised to himself and to the publick." How fhould puny fcribblers be abafhed and disappointed, when they find him displaying a perfect theory of lexicographical excellence, yet at the fame time candidly and modeftly allowing that he "had not fatisfied his own expectations.” Here was a fair occafion for the exercise of Johnson's modesty, when he was called upon to compare his own arduous performance, not with those of other individuals, (in which cafe his inflexible regard to truth would have been violated, had he affected diffidence,) but with speculative perfection; as he, who can outstrip all his competitors in the race, may yet be sensible of his deficiency when he runs against time. Well might he fay, that "the English Dictionary was written with little affiftance of the learned;" for he told me, that the only aid which he received was a paper containing twenty etymologies, fent to him by a perfon then unknown, who he was afterwards informed was Dr. Pearce, Bishop of Rochester. The etymologies, though they exhibit learning and judgement, are not, I think, entitled to the first praise amongst the various parts of this immense work, The definitions have always appeared to me fuch astonishing proofs of acuteness of intellect and precision of language, as indicate a genius of the highest rank. This it is which marks the fuperiour excellence of Johnson's Dictionary over others equally or even more voluminous, and must have made it a work of much greater mental labour than mere Lexicons, or Word Books, as the Dutch call them. They, who will make the experiment of trying how they can define a few words of whatever nature, will foon be fatisfied of the unquestionable justice of this obfervation, which I can affure my readers is founded upon much study, and upon communication with more minds than my own. A few of his definitions must be admitted to be erroneous. Thus, Windward and Leeward, though directly of oppofite meaning, are defined identically the fame way; as to which inconfiderable specks it is enough to obferve, that his Preface announces that he was aware there might be many such in so immense a work; nor was he at all difconcerted when an inftance was pointed out to him. A lady once asked him how he came to define Pastern the knee of a horse instead of making an elaborate defence, as fhe expected, he at once answered, "Ignorance, Madam, pure ignorance." His definition of Network has been often quoted with sportive malignity, as obfcuring a thing 1 |