"Dictionary of Ancient History and Mythology. | leaves, of a translation into English of Sallust, "Treatise on the Study of Polite Literature, containing the history of learning, directions for editions, commentaries, &c. Maxims, Characters, and Sentiments, after the manner of Bruyere, collected out of ancient authours, particularly the Greek, with Apophthegms. "Classical Miscellanies, Select Translations from ancient Greek and Latin authours. **Lives of Illustrious Persons, as well of the active as the learned, in imitation of Plutarch. "Judgment of the learned upon English Authours. De Bello Catilinario. When it was done 1 have no notion; but it seems to have no very superiour merit to mark it as his. Besides the publications heretofore mentioned, I am satisfied, from internal evidence, to admit also as genuine the following, which, notwithstanding all my chronological care, escaped me in the course of this work : "Considerations on the Case of Dr. Trapp's Sermons," + published in 1739, in the "Gentleman's Magazine." It is a very ingenious defence of the right of abridging an authour's work, without being held as infringing his property. This "Poetical Dictionary of the English tongue. is one of the nicest questions in the Law of Lit"Consideration upon the present State of Lon-erature; and I cannot help thinking, that the don, "Collection of Epigrams, with notes and ob servations. "Observations on the English Language, relating to words, phrases, and modes of speech. Minutia, Literaria, Miscellaneous Reflections, Criticisms, Emendations, Notes. "History of the Constitution. "Comparison of Philosophical and Christian Morality, by sentences collected from the moralists and fathers. "Plutarch's Lives in English, with notes. "POETRY AND WORKS OF IMAGINATION. "The Palace of Sloth,—a vision. indulgence of abridging is often exceedingly injarious to authours and booksellers, and should in very few cases be permitted. At any rate, to prevent difficult and uncertain discussion, and give an absolute security to authours in the property of their labours, no abridgement whatever should be permitted till after the expiration of such a number of years as the legislature may be pleased to fix. But, though it has been confidently ascribed to him, I cannot allow that he wrote a dedication to both houses of parliament of a book entitled "The Evangelical History Harmonized." He was no croaker, no declaimer against the times. He would not have written That we are fallen upon an age in which corruption is not barely universal, is universally confessed." Nor, "Rapine preys on the publick without opposition, and perjury betrays it without inquiry. Nor would he, to excite a speedy reformation, have conjured up such phantoms of terrour as these: "A few years longer, and perhaps all endeavours will be in vain. We may be swallowed by an earthquake; we may be delivered to our enemies." This is not Johnsonian. Johnson's extraordinary facility of composition, when he shook off his constitutional indolence, and resolutely sat down to write, is admirably described by Mr. Courtenay, in his "Poetical Review," which I have several times quoted: "While through life's maze he sent a piercing view, There are, indeed, in this dedication several His mind expansive to the object grew. sentences constructed upon the model of those of With various stores of erudition fraught, Johnson. But the imitation of the form, without The lively image, the deep-searching thought, the spirit of his style, has been so general, that Slept in repose-but when the moment press'd, The bright ideas stood at once confess'd; this of itself is not sufficient evidence. Even Instant his genius sped its vigorous rays,› our newspaper writers aspire to it. In an account And o'er the letter'd world diffused a blaze. of the funeral of Edwin, the comedian, in "The As womb'd with fire the cloud electrick flies, And calmly o'er th' horizon seems to rise: Diary" of Nov. 9, 190, that son of drollery is Touch'd by the pointed steel, the lightning flows, thus described: "A man who had so often And all th' expanse with rich effulgence glows." cheered the sullenness of vacancy, and suspended We shall in vain endeavour to know with ex- the approaches of sorrow." And in "The Dubact precision every production of Johnson's pen.lin Evening Post," August 16, 1791, there is the He owned to me that he had written about forty sermons; but as I understood that he had given or sold them to different persons, who were to preach them as their own, he did not consider himself at liberty to acknowledge them. Would those who were thus aided by him, who are still alive, and the friends of those who are dead, fairly inform the world, it would be obligingly gratifying a reasonable curiosity, to which there should, I think, now be no objection. Two volumes of them, published since his death, are sufficiently ascertained. Ante, p. 124. I have before mo in his handwriting a fragment of twenty quarto following paragraph: "It is a singular circumstance, that in a city like this, containing 200,000 people, there are three months in the year during which no place of publick amusement is open. Long vacation is here a vacation from pleasure, as well as business; nor is there any mode of passing the listless evenings of declining summer, but in the riots of a tavern, or the stupidity of a coffee-house.” I have not thought it necessary to specify every copy of verses written by Johnson, it being my intention to publish an authentick edition of all his poetry, with notes. No. X. [Dr. JOHNSON's portraits,-referred to in page 450, The note on Dr. Johnson's portraits being incomplete, the Editor is obliged to Mr. John Murray, junior, for considerable additions to the list, which are distinguished by brackets.] Date of painting. Engraver's name. Date of engraving. (Prior to A miniature, painter unknown, which belong1752. ed to Mrs. Johnson, now in the possession of Dr. Harwood. See preface, p. viii. n. First engraved for this edition, size of the original 1830. E. Finden A three-quarter face to the left (in an oval); he is dressed in what was styled a seven story wig, and holds a pen up to his eye. The likeness apparently taken before any of Sir Joshua's portraits No artist's name or date] [1756. 1770. BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. I. Mr. Boswell's picture; sold at James Boswell's sale for seventy guineas. Dr. Johnson in an arm chair, seated at a table with writing materials; pen in his hand.] 4to. for first edition of Boswell's Life J. Heath Ditto 8vo. for 8vo. edition of ditto. J. Baker About 1781. [This picture has been repeatedly engraved for various editions of this work. Before II. Now in the Marquis of Stafford's collection. Side face, to right, eyes almost closed, without wig; showing the nervous habit to which he was addicted, when unemployed, of. moving his hands up and down before him, with the fingers extended. It was of this picture that he said, "It is not friendly to hand down to posterity the imperfections of any man." 1773. Do. Whole length, in the dress worn by him on the journey to the Hebrides, with his stick, folio Do. Do. 1786 [Side-face, to right, the countenance haggard, and exhibiting marks of decay. This was prob ably the last portrait for which Dr. Johnson sat; it was finished a short time before his death T. Trotter T. Trotter [Do. prefixed to Harding's Shakspeare; drawing belonged to Dr. Farmer Do. Side-face, to right J. Harding Do. Do. 1796] 1792] 1782 Medallion, profile to left, with wig, prefixed to the Dictionary .1784 1787 1787 Ditto. 1787 N. Gardiner N. Gardiner For the Rambler, oval, small size 8vo. profile to right" 1830 1786 1791] 1756 P. S. Lambourn P. S. Lambourn Profile to left, prefixed to Johnsoniana Unknown J. Taylor For "Lavater's Essays on Physiognomy," in which Johnson's countenance is analysed upon the principles of that fanciful writer. A view of Tunbridge Wells, in which Dr. and Mrs. Johnson are introduced; the figures very small. See vol. i. p. 36. * Brother of Mr. Townley, of the Commons, an ingenious artist, who resided some time at Berlin, and has the honour of being engraver to his Majesty the King of Prussia. This is one of the finest mezzotintos that ever was executed; and what renders it of extraordinary value, the plate was destroyed after four or five impres sions only were taken off. One of them is in the posses sion of Sir William Scott.-BOSWELL [It is probable that these four or five were merely early impressions taken off from the same plate, the dedication to Mr. Boswell, which distinguishes them, having been erased after they were printed.-J. MURRAY, JUN.] the possession of the younger Dr. Chas. Burney. [Copied and engraved by Richter Richter 1797] Let me add, as a proof of the popularity of his character, that there are copper pieces struck at Birmingham, with his head impressed on them, which pass current as halfpence theres and in the neighbouring parts of the country. [In this list are enumerated, it is believed, all the original portraits of Dr. Johnson, but only the most remarkable of the engravings taken from them. The valuable and interesting collection of Henry Smedley, Esq. in which will be found almost every print of him which has ⚫ been published, contains more than one hundred distinct plates, which have been executed at different times. An illustrated copy of Boswell's Life, belong. ing to Mr. Smith, of the British Museum, in að. dition to numerous rare impressions of portraits of Dr. Johnson, is embellished with views of all the houses in which he resided; many of them drawn by Mr. Smith himself.-J. MURRAY, JUN.] VI. Poetical Review of the Character of Dr. Johnson, by J. Courtenay, Esq. 518 525 X. Lesson in Biography; or, How to write one's Friend's Life, by A. Chalmers, Esq. 532 XI. Mr. Boswell's Original Dedication and Advertisements of the Tour to the Hebrides XII. Catalogue of Dr. Johnson's Prose Works 534 534 |