LIFE OF Samuel

JOHNSON

[1709-1784]

By James Boswell

· Birth - Childhood –

Young adulthood - Early London years

Johnson‟s breakthrough – Later years –

Assessment

Birth:

- Born in Lichfield (Staffordshire, north of Birmingham) on September 18, 1709

- Father Michael was a bookseller

- A sickly infant, on the brink of death, was baptized almost immediately

- Scarred from scrofula, affected by partial loss of hearing, blind in one eye (thanks

largely to nursing from a tubercular nursemaid)

- During toddler years, he had an open “issue” in his arm, to drain fluids

2

Childhood: infirmities, early tale of

his independence

Once, when his babysitter failed to pick him up on time from nursery school,

Johnson decided he would get home on his own, crawling on all fours in order to

see the gutter and avoid falling in; the babysitter followed at some distance, but

when Johnson saw her watching, protested against her following him, vehemently.

3

Physical training

His uncle was a boxing champion, and he taught Sam to fight. Once four robbers attacked him, and he held his own until the watch arrived and arrested them.

Sports where he had to see a ball were out of the question. He turned instead to swimming, leaping, and climbing (and, in season, to sliding on frozen lakes and ponds).

4

Physical training

In his seventies, revisiting his native Lichfield, he looked for a rail that he used to jump over as a boy, and having found it, he laid aside his hat and wig, and his coat, and leaped over it twice, a feat that left him, as he said, "in a transport of joy".

5

Early Handicap: eyesight

Young Johnson had the misfortune to be much afflicted with the scrophula, or king's evil, which disfigured a countenance naturally well formed, and hurt his visual nerves so much, that he did not see at all with one of his eyes, though its appearance was little different from that of the other.

6

‘hypochondria’ at twenty

A 'morbid melancholy,' afflicted in his

twentieth year. While he was at

Lichfield, in the college vacation of

the year 1729, he felt himself

overwhelmed with hypochondria

[Chronic and abnormal anxiety about

imaginary symptoms and ailments].

7

A dismal malady

To Johnson, whose supreme enjoyment

was the exercise of his reason, the

disturbance or obscuration of that faculty

was the evil most to be dreaded.

He fancied himself seized by depression,

or approaching to it, at the very time

when he was giving proofs of a more than

ordinary soundness and vigour of

judgement.

8

Young adulthood

Attended Oxford for about a year (1728–29), but left for financial reasons

His poverty at Oxford was noticed by another student, who left a pair of new

shoes outside Johnson‟s door during the night; while Johnson‟s poverty was itself

humiliating, the fact that another would notice and make Johnson an object of

charity enraged him, so the story goes he threw the pair of shoes down the stairs

in furious anger

9

Johnson about himself as a young

university student at Oxford:

“I was mad and violent. It was bitterness that they [at Oxford] mistook for frolick [pride]. I was miserably poor, and thought to fight my way by literature and my wit; so I disregarded all power and all authority.”

In 1729, Johnson had to leave Oxford, which must have been a horrible disappointment; during this period he went into a severe depression.

10

Personality and merit

Literary genius, moral courage, companionship

Compassionate nature

Literary genius, impressive speaker

In all respects he was of great stature. His

contemporaries called him a colossus, the

literary Goliath, the Giant, the great Champ

of literature, a tremendous companion.

His frame was majestic; he strode when he

walked, and his physical strength and

courage were heroic.

His mode of speaking was 'very

impressive,' his utterance 'deliberate and

strong.' His conversation was compared to

'an antique statue, where every vein and

muscle is distinct and bold.' 12

Spiritual & academic merit and

piety Here is the instance of a man who

was born into a life stripped of all ornament and artificiality.

His equipment in mind and stature was Olympian, but the odds against him were proportionate to his powers.

Without fear or complaint, without boast or noise, he fairly joined issue with the world and overcame it.

He scorned circumstance, and laid bare the unvarying realities of the contest.

13

Johnson was ever the sworn enemy...

of speciousness, of nonsense, of idle

and insincere speculation,

of the mind that does not take

seriously the duty of making itself up,

of neglect in the gravest consideration

of life.

14

More about dictionary Johnson ?

He insisted upon the rights and dignity of

the individual man, and at the same time

upon

the vital necessity to man of reverence and

submission, and

no man ever more beautifully illustrated

their interdependence, and their exquisite

combination in a noble nature.

15

Academic excellence

Sam seemed to learn by intuition; for though indolence and procrastination were inherent in his constitution, whenever he made an exertion he did more than any one else.

He discovered a great ambition to excel, which roused him to counteract his indolence. He was uncommonly inquisitive; and his memory was so tenacious, that he never forgot any thing that he either heard or read.

16

LIFE... parentage

Qualities inherited

Michael, Sarah & Sam Samuel Johnson was born at Lichfield, in

Staffordshire, on the 18th of September, N.

S., 1709.

His father was Michael Johnson, a man of

large, athletic make, and violent passions;

wrong-headed, positive, and, at times,

afflicted with a degree of melancholy, little

short of madness.

His mother was Sarah Ford, descended of

an ancient race of substantial yeomanry in

Warwickshire. 18

Paternal legacy of personal

qualities

From his father, he inherited, with

some other qualities, 'a vile

melancholy,' which in his too strong

expression of any disturbance of the

mind, 'made him mad all his life, at

least not sober.'

He had jealous independence of spirit, and impetuosity of temper.

19

Maternal legacy of personal

qualities

Johnson's mother was a woman of

distinguished understanding.

Her piety was not inferior to her understanding; and to her must be ascribed those early impressions of religion upon the mind of her son, from which the world afterwards derived so much benefit.

20

…no ear for music and no eye for

painting…

With all the greatness of his mind he had no talent in sufficient measure by which fully to express him. He had no ear for music and no eye for painting, and the finest qualities in the creations of Goldsmith were lost upon him. But his genius found its talents in others, and through the talents of his personal friends expressed itself as it were by proxy.

21

about inattention to religion before entering Oxford,

Sam said:

'I fell into an inattention to religion, or indifference about it, in my ninth year. The church at Litchfield, in which we had a seat, wanted reparation, so I was to go and find a seat in other churches; and having bad eyes, and being awkward about this, I used to go and read in the fields on Sunday. This habit continued till my fourteenth year; and still I find a great reluctance to go to church. ...‟

22

Learning to read...

He was first taught to read English by Dame Oliver, a widow, who kept a school for young children in Lichfield.

When he was going to Oxford, she came to take leave of him, brought him, in the simplicity of her kindness, a present of gingerbread, and said, he was the best scholar she ever had.

23

Learning Latin....

He began to learn Latin with Mr. Hawkins, usher, or under-master of Lichfield school, 'a man (said he) very skilful in his little way.' With him he continued two years, and then rose to be under the care of Mr. Hunter, the headmaster, who, according to his account, 'was very severe, and wrong-headedly severe.

24

inclination to learning, Availability of the books in his

father‟s shop, and his natural inclination to learning, lead to his accumulating extensive knowledge at an early age

When Johnson spent time with an elder cousin (the Rev. Cornelius Ford), he was exposed to a broad range of thinking and cultivation, of the sort he wouldn‟t have ordinarily seen in Lichfield

25

Visit to his cousin Cornelius Ford

In 1725, when he was about sixteen

years old, he went on a visit to his

cousin Cornelius Ford, who detained

him for some months, and, in the

mean time, assisted him in the

classics. The general direction for his

studies, which he then received was:

26

.....Cornelius Ford

"Obtain," says Ford, "some general principles of every science: he who can talk only on one subject, or act only in one department, is seldom wanted, and, perhaps, never wished for; while the man of general

knowledge can often benefit, and always please."

27

At age 16 to 18

He was placed at Stourbridge in Worcestershire, under the care of Mr. Wentworth. Having gone through the rudiments of classic literature, he

returned to his father's house, and was probably intended for the trade of a bookseller.

He has been heard to say that he could bind a book.

At the end of two years, being then about nineteen, he went to assist the studies of a young gentleman, of the name of Corbet, to the university of Oxford

28

At Oxford

He went to Oxford, and was entered a Commoner of Pembroke College on the 31st of October, 1728, being then in his nineteenth year.

Compelled by irresistible necessity, he left the College in autumn, 1731, without a degree, having been a member of it little more than three years.

29

His tutor, Mr. Jorden, was a fellow

of Pembroke.

Sam was asked by Mr. Jorden, to translate Pope's Messiah into Latin verse, as a Christmas exercise. He performed it with uncommon rapidity, and in so masterly a manner, that he obtained great applause from it, which ever after kept him high in the estimation of his College, and, indeed, of all the University.

30

his religious progress at Oxford

When at Oxford, he took up Law's „Serious Call to a Holy Life‟, and this was the first occasion of his thinking in earnest of religion, after he became capable of rational inquiry. From this time forward religion was the predominant object of his thoughts though, with the just sentiments of a conscientious Christian, he lamented that his practice of its duties fell far short of what it ought to be.

31

the fallacy of appearances Dr. Adams of Oxford

said that Johnson, while he was at Pembroke College, 'was caressed and loved by all about him, was a gay and frolicsome fellow, and passed there the happiest part of his life.' The truth is, that Sam was then depressed by poverty, and irritated by disease.

'Ah, Sir, I was mad

and violent. It was

bitterness which they

mistook for frolick. I

was miserably poor,

and I thought to fight

my way by my

literature and my wit;

so I disregarded all

power and all

authority.' _Sam

32

State of depression

Out of Oxford, with no hope of the academic career for which his native talents suited him, Johnson sank for two years into a deep depression.

He feared that he was falling into insanity, and considered suicide. He developed convulsive tics, jerks, and twitches, that remained with him for the remainder of his life, and often caused observers who did not know him to think him an idiot.

33

the first literary work:1733

In 1733, he went on a visit to Mr. Hector,

who had been his schoolfellow, and was

then a surgeon at Birmingham, lodging at

the house of Warren, a bookseller.

At that place Johnson translated a Voyage

to Abyssinia, written by Jerome Lobo, a

Portuguese missionary.

This was the first literary work from the

pen of Dr. Johnson

34

Marriage-1735

From the Porters, Johnson gained renewed self-confidence, and largely emerged from his depressed state.

After the death of Henry Porter, his wife Elizabeth ("Tetty", as Johnson came to call her) encouraged Johnson into a closer friendship, and in 1735 they were married.

She was 20 years older than he, and brought to the marriage a dowry of over 600 pounds.

35

Marriage-1735

Though Mrs. Porter was nearly double the age of Johnson, and her person and manner, were by no means pleasing to others, she must have had a superiority of understanding and talents, as she certainly inspired him with a more than ordinary passion; and she having signified her willingness to accept of his hand, he went to Lichfield to ask his mother's consent to the marriage....

36

Marriage-1735

Sam proved a most affectionate and

indulgent husband to the last

moment of Mrs. Johnson's life: and

in his Prayers and Meditations, we

find very remarkable evidence that

his regard and fondness for her

never ceased, even after her death.

37

….the usher of a school

Johnson tried out a career as a schoolmaster, which didn‟t lead to much success – largely because he didn‟t have a degree, but also, due to his ungainly appearance, twitches, and mannerisms; Boswell: “From Mr. Garrick‟s account he did not appear to have been profoundly reverenced by his pupils. His oddities of manner, and uncouth gesticulations, could not but be the subject of merriment to them ”

38

A private ‘Academy’ - experiment

'At Edial, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, young gentlemen are boarded and taught the Latin and Greek languages, by SAMUEL JOHNSON.„-Gentleman's Magazine, 1736

Johnson was not more satisfied with his situation as the master of an academy, than with that of the usher of a school; therefore, he did not keep his academy above a year and a half.

39

To London_1737

Johnson tried his „fortune‟ in London, the

great field of genius and exertion, where

talents of every kind have the fullest

scope, and the highest encouragement.

His pupil David Garrick went thither at the

same time, with intention to complete his

education, and follow the profession of the

law, from which he was soon diverted by

his decided preference for the stage.

40

An adventurer in literature

at London

The Gentleman's Magazine, begun and carried on by Mr. Edward Cave, under the name of SYLVANUS URBAN, had attracted the notice and esteem of Johnson, in an eminent degree, before he came to London as an adventurer in literature.

It appears that he was now enlisted by Mr. Cave as a regular coadjutor in his magazine, by which he probably obtained a tolerable livelihood.

41

Early London days....

Sam had acquired a competent knowledge both of French and Italian and he was so well skilled in them, as to be sufficiently qualified for a translator.

The Debates in both houses of Parliament, under the name of 'The Senate of Lilliput,' sometimes with feigned denominations of the several speakers were rendered by him

42

London, a Poem

What first displayed his transcendent powers, and 'gave the world assurance of the MAN,' was his London, a Poem, in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal: which came out in May 1738, and burst forth with a splendour, the rays of which will for ever encircle his name.

43

London, a Poem-2

It is remarkable, that it came out on the

same morning with Pope's satire, entitled

'1738;' so that England had at once its

Juvenal and Horace as poetical monitors.

Every body was delighted with it; and

there being no name to it, the first buz of

the literary circles was 'here is an

unknown poet, greater even than Pope.'

44

at the age of thirty-1739

Bred to no profession,

without relations, friends, or interest

he was condemned to drudgery in the service of Cave, his only patron.

It is a mortifying reflection, that Johnson, with a store of learning

and extraordinary talents, was not able, at the age of thirty, to force

his way to the favour of the public:

45

"Slow rises worth by poverty depress'd."

That the history of an author must be found in his works is, in general, a true observation; and was apparent in Sam‟s narrative.

Every era of Johnson's life is fixed by his writings.

In 1740, Sam wrote the „Life of Richard Savage.‟

He composed the parliamentary speeches for a magazine from 1740 to 1742; work was admired but his authorship of it remaining unknown.

46

The year 1747 is distinguished as

the epoch:

Johnson's arduous and important work, his DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, was announced to the world, by the publication of its Plan or Prospectus; for the purpose of carrying on his arduous undertaking, and to be nearer his printer and friend, Mr. Strahan, he ventured to take a house in Gough square, Fleet street.

47

1749

In January, 1749, he published the Vanity of human Wishes, being the Tenth Satire of Juvenal imitated.

The first paper of The Rambler was published on Tuesday the 20th of March, 1750; and its authour was enabled to continue it, without interruption, every Tuesday and Friday, till Saturday the 17th of March, 1752, on which day it closed.

48

the literary club in Ivy lane,1749

At Horseman's, in Ivy lane, a club was

established that met on every Tuesday

evening. This is the first scene of social

life to which Johnson can be traced, out

of his own house.

At the time of instituting the club in Ivy

lane, Johnson had projected the

Rambler. The title was most probably

suggested by the Wanderer; a poem

which he mentions, with the warmest

praise, in the life of Savage.

49

by what means had Sam attained his extraordinary

accuracy and flow of language ?

He had resolved to do his best on every occasion.

In every company, to impart whatever he knew in the most forcible language he could put it in.

By constant practice, he never suffeed any careless expressions to escape him.

Attempting to deliver his thoughts having arranged them in the clearest manner, it became habitual to him.

50

Sam’s humane and charitable disposition-1751

Though Johnson's circumstances were at this

time not easy, his humane and charitable

disposition was constantly exerting itself.

Mrs. Anna Williams, daughter of a physician, and

a woman of talents and literature, became blind

and was kindly received as a constant visitor at

his house while Mrs. Johnson lived; and after her

death, having come under his roof in order to

have an operation upon her eyes performed with

more comfort to her than in lodgings, she had an

apartment from him during the rest of her life, at

all times when he had a house.

51

On the 17th of March, 1752, his

wife died.

He suffered a loss which, there can

be no doubt, affected him with the

deepest distress. His love for his wife

was of the most ardent kind, and,

during the long period of fifty years,

was unimpaired by the lapse of time

52

'Jan. 1, 1753, Sam prayed:

'Almighty God, who hast continued my life to this day, grant that, by the assistance of thy Holy Spirit, I may improve the time which thou shalt grant me, to my eternal salvation. Make me to remember, to thy glory, thy judgements and thy mercies. Make me so to consider the loss of my wife, whom thou hast taken from me, that it may dispose me, by thy grace, to lead the residue of my life in thy fear. Grant this, O LORD, for JESUS CHRIST'S sake. Amen.' 53

1755 - 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 so stupendous a work achieved by one man, while other countries had thought such undertakings fit only for whole academies.

Vast as his powers were, I cannot but think that his imagination deceived him, when he supposed that by constant application he might have performed the task in three years. -Boswell

54

at forty-five…seeking more friends

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. He said to Sir Joshua Reynolds, 'If a man does not make new acquaintance as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, Sir, should keep his friendship in constant repair.'

55

1756 to 1759

Proposal for a new edition of Shakespeare, was made in the year 1756, and, in the mean time, he engaged in a new periodical production, called The Idler. The first number appeared on Saturday, April 15, 1758 and the last, April 5, 1760.

The profits of this work, and the subscriptions for the new edition of Shakespeare, were the means by which he supported himself for four or five years.

In 1759, was published Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. He lost his mother in 1759

56

Possession of a regular income

In May, 1762, his majesty, to reward literary merit, granted to Johnson a pension of three hundred pounds a year

Sam was introduced to

Mr. Thrale and his family

in 1765.

In the month of October, 1765, Shakespeare was published.

57

• On Monday 16 May 1763, Johnson met

James Boswell for the first time, at the

bookshop of one Tom Davies, friend to them

both.

•Boswell was an admirer of Johnson's

writing and had long desired the meeting.

•Ten years later, Boswell decided to write a

life of Johnson, a "life in Scenes," one that

would feature eyewitness accounts (mostly

by Boswell) of conversations with Johnson

and events in the life of Johnson. 58

Award of Doctor of Literature

The university of Dublin sent over a

diploma, in honourable terms,

creating him a doctor of laws.

Oxford, in eight or ten years

afterwards, followed the example;

and, Johnson assumed the title of

doctor

59

the Lives of the Poets

The first publication was in 1779,

and the whole was completed in

1781.

biography has the best part of her

function, which is, to instruct

mankind by examples taken from

the school of life.

60

1781 to1783

In April, 1781, he lost his friend Mr. Thrale.

In 1782, his old friend,

Levet,

expired, without warning and without a groan.

In the month of June, 1783, Johnson had a paralytic stroke, which affected his speech only.

61

1783-1784

Mrs. Williams died, at his house

in Bolt court, in the month of September, during his absence.

In November, 1783, he was swelled from head to foot with a dropsy.

On Monday, the 13th day of December 1784, at about seven in the evening Dr. Johnson expired.

62

“Johnson‟s work creates a tough-minded

synthesis of old and new, pessimism and

optimism. He reaffirms ancient wisdom and

moral absolutes against what seems to him

a dangerous new complacency, subjectivity

and relativism, but he makes use of the

new psychology in so doing.

63

He is thus able to mediate between a

traditional moral discourse and the new

empiricism, and this gives his work

enormous centrality and authority in the new

circumstances.

He offers genuine hope to his readers, but

one that seems to come out of a profound

realism, and he never underestimates the

difficulty of the human task.” (Woodman)

64