perfon who had never heard of any one of them. 193 1750. Ætat. 41. 1 Every page of the Rambler fhews a mind teem ing with claffical allufion and poetical imagery: illuftrations from other writers are, upon all occafions, fo ready, and mingle so easily in his periods, that the whole appears of one uniform vivid texture. The ftyle of this work has been cenfured by fome fhallow criticks as involved and turgid, and abounding with antiquated and hard words. So ill founded is the first part of this objection, that I will challenge all who may honour this book with a perufal, to point out any English writer whose language conveys his meaning with equal force and perfpicuity. It muft, indeed, be allowed, that the structure of his fentences is expanded, and often has fomewhat of the inverfion of Latin; and that he delighted to exprefs familiar thoughts in philofophical language; being in this the reverse of Socrates, who, it was faid, reduced philosophy to the fimplicity of common life. But let us attend to what he himself fays in his concluding paper: "When common words were less pleasing to the ear, or less distinct in their fignification, I have familiariíed the terms of philosophy, by applying them to popular ideas +." And, as to the fecond part of this objection, upon a late careful revifion of the work, I can with confidence fay, that it is amazing how few of those words, for which it has been unjustly characterised, are actually to be found in it; I am fure, not the propor * Yet his ftyle did not escape the harmless fhafts of pleasant humour; for the ingenious Bonnell Thornton published a mock Rambler in the Drury-lane Journal. 1750. tion of one to each paper. This idle charge has been echoed from one babbler to another, who Etat. 41. have confounded Johnfon's Effays with Johnson's Dictionary; and because he thought it right in a Lexicon of our language to collect many words which had fallen into difufe, but were supported by great authorities, it has been imagined that all of these have been interwoven into his own com pofitions. That fome of them have been adopted by him unneceffarily, may, perhaps, be allowed; but, in general they are evidently an advantage, for without them his stately ideas would be confined and cramped. "He that thinks with more extent than another, will want words of larger meaning"." He once told me, that he had formed his style upon that of Sir William Temple, and upon Chambers's Propofal for his Dictionary. He certainly was mistaken; or if he imagined at first that he was imitating Temple, he was very unfuccessful; for nothing can be more unlike than the fimplicity of Temple, and the richness of Johnson. Their ftyles differ as plain cloth and brocade. Temple, indeed, seems equally erroneous in fuppofing that he himself had formed his style upon Sandys's View of the State of Religion in the Western parts of the World. The style of Johnson was, undoubtedly, much formed upon that of the great writers in the last century, Hooker, Bacon, Sanderfon, Hakewell, and others; thofe "GIANTS," as they were well characterised by A GREAT PERSONAGE, whofe s Idler, No. 70. O 2 authority 1750. Etat. 41. authority, were I to name him, would ftamp a reverence on the opinion. We may, with the utmost propriety, apply to his learned-style that paffage of Horace, a part of which he has taken as the motto to his Dictionary: « Cum tabulis animum cenforis fumet bonesti : Proferet in lucem fpeciofa vocabula rerum, Qua prifcis memorata Catonibus atque Cethegis, "Nunc fitus informis premit et deferta vetuftas: Adfcifcet nova, quæ genitor produxerit ufus: "Vehemens, et liquidus, puroque fimillimus amni, "Fundet opes Latiumque beabit divite lingua?." To fo great a mafter of thinking, to one of fuch vaft and various knowledge as Johnson, might have been allowed a liberal indulgence of that licence which Horace claims in another place: “Indiciis monftrare recentibus abdita rerum, Continget, dabiturque licentia fumpta pudenter: "Et nova filtaque nuper habebunt verba fidem fi "Græco fonte cadant, parce detorta. Quid autem "Cecilio Plautoque dabit Romanus, ademptum Horat. Epift. Lib. ii. Epist. ii. Virgilio "Si poffum, invideor; cum lingua Catonis et Enni Etat. 41. "Sermonem patrium ditaverit, et nova rerum "Nomina protulerit? Licuit femperque licebit "Signatum præfente nota producere nomen "." Yet Johnson affured me, that he had not taken upon him to add more than four or five words to the English language, of his own formation; and he was very much offended at the general licence by no means, " modeftly taken" in his time, not only to coin new words, but to use many words in fenfes quite different from their established meaning, and those frequently very fantastical. Sir Thomas Brown, whofe life Johnson wrote, was remarkably fond of Anglo-Latian diction; and to his example we are to afcribe Johnson's fometimes indulging himself in this kind of phraseology. Johnson's comprehenfion of mind was the mould for his language, Had his conceptions been narrower, his expreffion would have been eafier. His fentences have a dignified march ; and, it is certain, that his example has given a general elevation to the language of his country, for many of our best writers have approached very near to him; and, from the influence which he has 7 Horat. De Arte Poeticà. * The obfervation of his having imitated Sir Thomas Brown has been made by many people; and lately it has been infifted on, and illustrated by a variety of quotations from Brown, in one of the popular Effays written by the Reverend Mr. Knox, master of Tunbridge school, whom I have fet down in my lift of thofe who have fometimes not unsuccessfully imitated Dr. Johnson's #yle. |