hasty and satirical sallies even against his best friends. And, surely, when, it is considered, that, "amidst sickness and sorrow," he exerted his faculties in so many works for the benefit of mankind, and particularly that he atchieved the great and admirable Dictionary of our language, we must be astonished at his resolution. The solemn text, "of him to whom much is given, much will be required," seems to have been ever present to his mind, in a rigorous sense, and to have made him dissatisfied with his labours and acts of goodness, however comparatively great; so that the unavoidable consciousness of his superiority was, in that respect, a cause of disquiet. He suffered so much from this, and from the gloom which perpetually haunted him, and made solitude frightful, that it may be said of him. "If in this life only he had hope, he was of all men most miserable." He loved praise, when it was brought to him; but was too proud to seek for it. He was somewhat susceptible of flattery. As he was general and unconfined in his studies, he cannot be considered as master of any one particular science; but he had accumulated a vast and various collection of learning and knowledge, which was so arranged in his mind, as to be ever in readiness to be brought forth. But his superiority over other learned men consisted chiefly in what may be called the art of thinking, the art of using his mind; a certain continual power of seizing the useful substance of all that he knew, and exhibiting it in a clear and forcible manner; so that knowledge, which we often see to be no better than lumber in men of dull understanding, was, in him, true, evident, and actual wisdom. His moral precepts are practical; for they are drawn from an intimate acquaintance with human nature. His maxims carry conviction; for they are founded on the basis of common-sense, and a very attentive and minute survey of real life. His mind was so full of imagery, that he might have been perpetually a poet; yet it is remarkable, that, however rich his prose is in this respect, bis poetical pieces, in general, have not much of that splendour, but are rather distinguished by strong sentiment, and acute observation, conveyed in harmonious and energetic verse, particularly in heroic couplets. Though usually grave, and even awful in his deportment, he possessed uncommon and peculiar powers of wit and humour; he frequently indulged himself in colloquial pleasantry; and the heartiest merriment has been enjoyed in his company; with this great advantage, that, as it was entirely free from any poisonous tincture of vice or impiety, it was salutary to those who shared in it. He had accustomed himself to such accuracy in his common conversation, that he at all times expressed his thoughts with great force, and an elegant choice of language, the effect of which was aided by his having a loud voice, and a slow deliberate utterance. In bim were united a most logical head with a most fertile imagination, which gave him an extraordinary advantage in arguing; for he could reason close or wide, as he saw best for the moment. Exulting in his intellectual strength and dexterity, he could, when he pleased, be the greatest sophist that ever contended in the list of declamation; and from a spirit of contradiction, and a delight in shewing his powers, be would often maintain the wrong side with equal warmth and ingenuity; so that, when there was an audience, his real opinions could seldom be gathered from his talk; though when he was in company with a single friend, he would discuss a subject with genuine fairness; but he was too conscientious to make error permanent and pernicious, by deliberately writing it; and, in all his numerous works, he earnestly inculcated what appeared to him to be the truth; his piety being constant, and the ruling principle of all his couduct. Such was Samuel Johnson, a man whose talents, acquirements, and virtues, were so extraordinary, that the more his character is considered, the more he will be regarded by the present age, and by posterity, with admiration and reverence. THE END. ABILITIES, great, not necessary | Bing, epitaph on admiral, 143 for an historian, 197 Adams, Dr. account of, 463 Akenside's Pleasures of Imagination, Akerman, Mr.anecdotes of, 717,718 Anecdotes and Bon Mots, 381 382 383 341 342 343 344 345 346 Arbuthnot, Dr. an universal genius, Armorial bearings, the antiquity of, Biographia Britannica, the, 577 Bolingbroke, Lord, character of the Boswell, Mr. account of his first Boy, the, a man in miniature, 11 208 Bread and the bread tree, 362 Buchanan, a fine poet, 212 Burke's Essay on the Sublime and Burney, Dr. sketch of Dr. Johnson Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, Bute, Lord, censured, 412,413 Calendar, the Poetical, by Fawkes Campbell, Dr. John, a celebrated Campbell, Rev. Dr. Thomas, 145 511 Edwards, Mr. Canons of Criticism Eglingtoune, the late Earl of, 262 Cookery, remarks on the subject of, Elphinstou, Mr. James, editor of 637 Coriat Junior, travels of, 322 Cotterells, the Misses, visited by Dalrymple, Sir David, his opinion of - fre- Dr. Johnson, 201 Diary, a, frequently laughable, by Dodd, Dr. put to death, 545, 549- correspondence between and Dr. | the Rambler in Scotland, 90- Equality, probable effects of upon Erskine,the Honourable Thomas,321 Fear, one of the passions, 270 Fielding, how far a blockhead, 321 322 Fitzherbert, Mr. a portrait of, 564 Foote, his singular talent of imita- tion, 275-how like a dog, ib. 580 Foppery never cured, 296 Fox, Mr. a most extraordinary man, Freedom of the will, what, 640, 641 |