The Life of Samuel Johnson - James Boswell [35]
of Session in Scotland. acknowl. Argument to prove that the Corporation of Stirling was corrupt;
dictated to me for the House of Lords. acknowl.
1776. Argument in Support of the Right of immediate, and personal rep-
rehension from the Pulpit; dictated to me. acknowl. Proposals for publishing an Analysis of the Scotch Celtick Language, by the Reverend William Shaw. acknowl.
1777. Dedication to the King of the Posthumous Works of Dr. Pearce,
Bishop of Rochester. acknowl. Additions to the Life and Character of that Prelate; prefixed to those Works. acknowl. Various Papers and Letters in Favour of the Reverend Dr. Dodd.
acknowl.
1780. Advertisement for his Friend Mr. Thrale to the Worthy Electors of the Borough of Southwark. acknowl. The first Paragraph of Mr. Thomas Davies’s Life of Garrick, acknowl.
1781. Prefaces Biographical and Critical to the Works of the most eminent English Poets; afterwards published with the Title of Lives of the English Poets. acknowl.
Argument on the Importance of the Registration of Deeds; dictated to me for an Election Committee of the House of Commons. acknowl.
On the Distinction between Tory and Whig; dictated to me. acknowl.
On Vicarious Punishments, and the great Propitiation for the Sins of the World, by Jesus Christ; dictated to me. acknowl.
Argument in favour of Joseph Knight, an African Negro, who claimed his Liberty in the Court of Session in Scotland, and obtained it; dictated to me. acknowl.
Defence of Mr. Robertson, Printer of the Caledonian Mercury, against the Society of Procurators in Edinburgh, for having inserted in his Paper a ludicrous Paragraph against them; demonstrating that it was not an injurious Libel; dictated to me. acknowl.
1782. The greatest part, if not the whole, of a Reply, by the Reverend Mr.
Shaw, to a Person at Edinburgh, of the Name of Clark, refuting his arguments for the authenticity of the Poems published by Mr. James Macpherson as Translations from Ossian. intern. evid. 1784. List of the Authours of the Universal History, deposited in the British Museum, and printed in the Gentleman’s Magazine for December, this year. acknowl.
Various Years.
Letters to Mrs. Thrale. acknowl.
Prayers and Meditations, which he delivered to the Rev. Mr. Strahan, enjoining him to publish them. acknowl.
Sermons left for Publication by John Taylor, LL.D., Prebendary of Westminster, and given to the World by the Reverend Samuel Hayes, A. M. intern. evid.
Such was the number and variety of the Prose Works of this extraordinary man, which I have been able to discover, and am at liberty to mention; but we ought to keep in mind, that there must undoubtedly have been many more which are yet concealed; and we may add to the account, the numerous Letters which he wrote, of which a considerable part are yet unpublished. It is hoped that those persons in whose possession they are, will favour the world with them.
JAMES BOSWELL.
‘After my death I wish no other herald,
‘No other speaker of my living actions,
‘To keep mine honour from corruption,
‘But such an honest chronicler as Griffith.’a16
SHAKSPEARE, Henry VIII.
THE LIFE OF
SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.
To write the Life of him who excelled all mankind in writing the lives of others, and who, whether we consider his extraordinary endowments, or his various works, has been equalled by few in any age, is an arduous, and may be reckoned in me a presumptuous task.
Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given,a that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited. But although he at different times, in a desultory manner, committed to writing