“The English Dictionary was written with little assistance of the learned, and without any patronage of the great; not in the soft obscurities of retirement, or under the shelter of academick bowers, but amidst inconvenience and distraction, in sickness and in sorrow. . . . I have protracted my work till most of those whom I wished to please, have sunk into the grave, and success and miscarriage are empty sounds: I therefore dismiss it with frigid tranquillity, having little to fear or hope from censure or from praise.”
— Samuel Johnson
Insightful article about The Yale Edition of the Works of Samuel Johnson – which has been in the editing and preparation process since the 1950s – now being released.
This is a remarkable article. I have been designing reading programs for kids with disabilities. My first study was Phlanagan Phonics. And just like the author suggests, English is a complex, ruel breaking language. I cannot imagine the research poor old Johnson did. A thankless task. Drudgery.
Thanks Sheila, I always learn something here.
Two observations:
1 – The Yale Edition has been in preparation so long that Johnson’s quote about his own Dictionary applies to it quite aptly.
2 – I’ve printed the Weekly Standard article for a little lunch reading, but in skimming it I see the author saying that Johnson has few big, original ideas. It may be accurate (I don’t know enough to dispute or confirm it), but it seems to miss the point: his genius was that he was thorough and prolific. He set about to learn pretty damn near everything. For him to speak so well and deeply on such a broad range of topics is truly extraordinary.
Besides, to repeat CS Lewis’ observation, if you simply want to tell the truth, nine times of ten you’ll wind up being original anyway. The world hasn’t produced another Johnson lately…
Susan – Amazing, indeed! What a mind.