The Life of Samuel Johnson - James Boswell [554]
‘At least [written] compiled with integrity.
‘Faults which many tongues [were desirous] would have made haste to publish.
‘But though he [had not] could not boast of much critical knowledge.
‘He [used] waited for no felicities of fancy.
‘Or had ever elevated his [mind] views to that ideal perfection which every [mind] genius born to excel is condemned always to pursue and never overtake.
‘The [first great] fundamental principle of wisdom and of virtue.’
Various Readings in the Life of PHILIPS.
‘His dreaded [rival] antagonist POPE.
‘They [have not often much] are not loaded with thought.
‘In his translations from Pindar, he [will not be denied to have reached] found the art of reaching all the obscurity of the Theban bard.’
Various Readings in the Life of CONGREVE.
‘Congreve’s conversation must surely have been at least equally pleasing with his writings.
‘It apparently [requires] presupposes a familiar knowledge of many characters.
‘Reciprocation of [similes] conceits.
‘The dialogue is quick and [various] sparkling.
‘Love for Love; a comedy [more drawn from life] of nearer alliance to life.
‘The general character of his miscellanies is, that they shew little wit and [no] little virtue.
‘[Perhaps] certainly he had not the fire requisite for the higher species of lyrick poetry.’
Various Readings in the Life of TICKELL.
‘[Longed] long wished to peruse it.
‘At the [accession] arrival of King George.
‘Fiction [unnaturally] unskilfully compounded of Grecian deities and Gothick fairies.’
Various Readings in the Life of AKENSIDE.
‘For [another] a different purpose.
‘[A furious] an unnecessary and outrageous zeal.
‘[Something which] what he called and thought liberty.
‘A [favourer of innovation] lover of contradiction.
‘Warburton’s [censure] objections.
‘His rage [for liberty] of patriotism.
‘Mr. Dyson with [a zeal] an ardour of friendship.’
In the Life of LYTTELTON, Johnson seems to have been not favourably disposed towards that nobleman. Mrs. Thrale suggests that he was offended by Molly Aston’s996 preference of his Lordship to him.a I can by no means join in the censure bestowed by Johnson on his Lordship, whom he calls ‘poor Lyttelton,’ for returning thanks to the Critical Reviewers for having ‘kindly commended’ his Dialogues of the Dead. Such ‘acknowledgements (says my friend,) never can be proper, since they must be paid either for flattery or for justice.’ In my opinion, the most upright man, who has been tried on a false accusation, may, when he is acquitted, make a bow to his jury. And when those who are so much the arbiters of literary merit, as in a considerable degree to influence the publick opinion, review an authour’s work, placido lumine998 when I am afraid mankind in general are better pleased with severity, he may surely express a grateful sense of their civility.
Various Readings in the Life of LYTTELTON.
‘He solaced [himself] his grief by writing a long poem to her memory.
‘The production rather [of a mind that means well than thinks vigorously] as it seems of leisure than of study, rather effusions than compositions.
‘His last literary [work] production.
‘[Found the way] undertook to persuade.’
As the introduction to his critical examination of the genius and writings of YOUNG, he did Mr. Herbert Croft, then a Barrister of Lincoln’s-inn, now a clergyman, the honour to adopt a Life of Young written by that gentleman, who was the friend of Dr. Young’s son, and wished to vindicate him from some very erroneous remarks to his prejudice. Mr. Croft’s performance was subjected to the revision of Dr. Johnson, as appears from the following note to Mr. John Nichols:b-
‘This Life of Dr. Young was written by a friend of his son. What is crossed with black is expunged by the authour, what is crossed with red is expunged by me. If you find any thing more that can be well omitted, I shall not be sorry to see it yet shorter.’
It has always appeared to me to have a considerable share of merit, and to display a pretty successful imitation of Johnson’s style. When I mentioned this to