Editing Samuel Johnson (section)

===''A Dictionary of the English Language''===
{{See also|A Dictionary of the English Language|The Rambler|The Vanity of Human Wishes|Irene (play)}}
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|caption1= Johnson's ''Dictionary'' Vol. 1 (1755) title page
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|caption2= Johnson's ''Dictionary'' Vol. 2 (1755) title page
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In 1746, a group of publishers approached Johnson with the idea of creating an authoritative dictionary of the English language.<ref name="Lynch p. 5"/> A contract with [[William Strahan (publisher)|William Strahan]] and associates, worth 1,500 [[Guinea (British coin)|guineas]], was signed on the morning of 18 June 1746.<ref name="Hitchings">{{Harvnb|Hitchings|2005|p=58}}</ref> Johnson claimed that he could finish the project in three years. In comparison, the [[Académie Française]] had 40 scholars spending 40 years to complete their dictionary, which prompted Johnson to claim, "This is the proportion. Let me see; forty times forty is sixteen hundred. As three to sixteen hundred, so is the proportion of an Englishman to a Frenchman."<ref name="Lynch p. 5"/> Although he did not succeed in completing the work in three years, he did manage to finish it in eight.<ref name="Lynch p. 5"/> Some criticised the dictionary, including the historian [[Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay|Thomas Babington Macaulay]], who described Johnson as "a wretched etymologist,"<ref>{{Harvnb|Winchester|2003|p=33}}</ref> but according to Bate, the ''Dictionary'' "easily ranks as one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship, and probably the greatest ever performed by one individual who laboured under anything like the disadvantages in a comparable length of time."<ref name="Bate240">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=240}}</ref>

Johnson's constant work on the ''Dictionary'' disrupted his and Tetty's living conditions. He had to employ a number of assistants for the copying and mechanical work, which filled the house with incessant noise and clutter. He was always busy, and kept hundreds of books around him.<ref name="Lane p. 109">{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=109}}</ref> [[John Hawkins (author)|John Hawkins]] described the scene: "The books he used for this purpose were what he had in his own collection, a copious but a miserably ragged one, and all such as he could borrow; which latter, if ever they came back to those that lent them, were so defaced as to be scarce worth owning."<ref>{{Harvnb|Hawkins|1787|p=175}}</ref>  Johnson's process included underlining words in the numerous books he wanted to include in his ''Dictionary''. The assistants would copy out the underlined sentences on individual paper slips, which would later be alphabetized and accompanied with examples. Johnson was also distracted by Tetty's poor health as she began to show signs of a terminal illness.<ref name="Lane p. 109"/> To accommodate both his wife and his work, he moved to [[Dr. Johnson's House|17 Gough Square]] near his printer, William Strahan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=110}}</ref>

[[File:EMWardDrJohnson.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|''Dr. Johnson in the ante-room of Lord Chesterfield''. Coloured engraving by [[E.M. Ward]].]]
In preparation, Johnson wrote ''Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language'' in 1747, of which [[Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield]] was the patron, to Johnson's displeasure.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|pp=117–118}}</ref> Seven years after first meeting Johnson to go over the work, Chesterfield wrote two anonymous essays in ''The World'' recommending the ''Dictionary''.<ref name="Lane p. 118">{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=118}}</ref> He complained that the English language lacked structure and argued in support of the dictionary. Johnson did not like the tone of the essays, and he felt that Chesterfield had not fulfilled his obligations as the work's patron.<ref name="Lane p. 121">{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=121}}</ref> In a [[letter to Chesterfield]], Johnson expressed this view and harshly criticised Chesterfield, saying "Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been kind: but it has been delayed till I am indifferent and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary and cannot impart it; till I am known and do not want it."<ref name="Bate p. 257">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=257}}</ref> Chesterfield, impressed by the language, kept the letter displayed on a table for anyone to read.<ref name="Bate p. 257"/>

The ''Dictionary'' was finally published in April 1755, with the title page noting that the University of Oxford had awarded Johnson a Master of Arts degree in anticipation of the work.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=256, 318}}</ref> The dictionary as published was a large book. Its pages were nearly {{convert|18|in|cm|0}} tall, and the book was {{convert|20|in|cm|0}} wide when opened; it contained 42,773 entries, to which only a few more were added in subsequent editions, and it sold for the extravagant price of £4 10s, perhaps the rough equivalent of £350 today.<ref name=CC>{{citation|chapter=Currency Converter|chapter-url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/|title=The National Archives|place=Kew, Richmond, Surrey|access-date=24 July 2008|archive-date=5 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905025228/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/|url-status=live}}</ref> An important innovation in English [[lexicography]] was to illustrate the meanings of his words by literary quotation, of which there were approximately 114,000. The authors most frequently cited include [[William Shakespeare]], [[John Milton]] and [[John Dryden]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lynch|2003|pp=8–11}}</ref> It was years before ''Johnson's Dictionary'', as it came to be known, turned a profit. Authors' royalties were unknown at the time, and Johnson, once his contract to deliver the book was fulfilled, received no further money from its sale. Years later, many of its quotations would be repeated by various editions of the ''[[Webster's Dictionary]]'' and the ''[[New English Dictionary]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1955|p=25}}</ref>

Johnson's dictionary was not the first, nor was it unique. Other dictionaries, such as [[Nathan Bailey]]'s ''Dictionarium Britannicum'', included more words,<ref name="Lynch p. 1"/> and in the 150 years preceding Johnson's dictionary about twenty other general-purpose monolingual "English" dictionaries had been produced.<ref name="Lynch p. 2">{{Harvnb|Lynch|2003|p=2}}</ref> However, there was open dissatisfaction with the dictionaries of the period. In 1741, [[David Hume]] claimed: "The Elegance and Propriety of Stile have been very much neglected among us. We have no Dictionary of our Language, and scarce a tolerable Grammar."<ref name="Lynch p. 4">{{Harvnb|Lynch|2003|p=4}}</ref> Johnson's ''Dictionary'' offers insights into the 18th century and "a faithful record of the language people used".<ref name="Lynch p. 1"/> It is more than a reference book; it is a work of literature.<ref name="Lynch p. 2"/> It was the most commonly used and imitated for the 150 years between its first publication and the completion of the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in 1928.<ref name="Lynch p. 1"/>

Johnson also wrote numerous essays, sermons, and poems during his years working on the dictionary.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=113}}</ref> In 1750, he decided to produce a series of essays under the title ''[[The Rambler]]'' that were to be published every Tuesday and Saturday and sell for [[Twopence (British pre-decimal coin)|twopence]] each. During this time, Johnson published no fewer than 208 essays, each around 1,200–1,500 words long. Explaining the title years later, he told his friend and portraitist [[Joshua Reynolds]]: "I was at a loss how to name it. I sat down at night upon my bedside, and resolved that I would not go to sleep till I had fixed its title. ''The Rambler'' seemed the best that occurred, and I took it."<ref name="Lane p. 115">{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=115}}</ref> These essays, often on moral and religious topics, tended to be more grave than the title of the series would suggest; his first comments in ''The Rambler'' were to ask "that in this undertaking thy Holy Spirit may not be withheld from me, but that I may promote thy glory, and the salvation of myself and others."<ref name="Lane p. 115"/> The popularity of ''The Rambler'' took off once the issues were collected in a volume; they were reprinted nine times during Johnson's life. Writer and printer [[Samuel Richardson]], enjoying the essays greatly, questioned the publisher as to who wrote the works; only he and a few of Johnson's friends were told of Johnson's authorship.<ref name="Lane p. 116">{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=116}}</ref> One friend, the novelist [[Charlotte Lennox]], includes a defence of ''The Rambler'' in her novel ''The Female Quixote'' (1752). In particular, the character Mr. Glanville says, "you may sit in Judgment upon the Productions of a ''Young'', a ''Richardson'', or a ''Johnson''. Rail with premeditated Malice at the ''Rambler''; and for the want of Faults, turn even its inimitable Beauties into Ridicule." (Book VI, Chapter XI) Later, the novel describes Johnson as "the greatest Genius in the present Age."<ref>{{Harvnb|Lynn|1997|p=241}}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=35em|quote=His necessary attendance while his play was in rehearsal, and during its performance, brought him acquainted with many of the performers of both sexes, which produced a more favourable opinion of their profession than he had harshly expressed in his Life of Savage. With some of them he kept up an acquaintance as long as he and they lived, and was ever ready to shew them acts of kindness. He for a considerable time used to frequent the Green Room, and seemed to take delight in dissipating his gloom, by mixing in the sprightly chit-chat of the motley circle then to be found there. Mr. David Hume related to me from Mr. Garrick, that Johnson at last denied himself this amusement, from considerations of rigid virtue; saying, 'I'll come no more behind your scenes, David; for the silk stockings and white bosoms of your actresses excite my amorous propensities.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boswell|1986|p=67}}</ref>|source=Boswell's ''Life of Samuel Johnson''}}

Not all of his work was confined to ''The Rambler''. His most highly regarded poem, ''[[The Vanity of Human Wishes]]'', was written with such "extraordinary speed" that Boswell claimed Johnson "might have been perpetually a poet".<ref name="Bate Achievement p. 22">{{Harvnb|Bate|1955|p=22}}</ref> The poem is an imitation of Juvenal's ''[[Satires of Juvenal#Satire X: Wrong Desire is the Source of Suffering|Satire X]]'' and claims that "the antidote to vain human wishes is non-vain spiritual wishes".<ref>{{Harvnb|Weinbrot|1997|p=49}}</ref> In particular, Johnson emphasises "the helpless vulnerability of the individual before the social context" and the "inevitable self-deception by which human beings are led astray".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=281}}</ref> The poem was critically celebrated but it failed to become popular, and sold fewer copies than ''London''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|pp=113–114}}</ref> In 1749, Garrick made good on his promise that he would produce ''Irene'', but its title was altered to ''[[Irene (play)#Stage history|Mahomet and Irene]]'' to make it "fit for the stage."<ref name="Lane p. 114">{{Harvnb|Lane|1975|p=114}}</ref> ''Irene,'' which was written in blank verse, was received rather poorly with a friend of Boswell's commenting the play to be "as frigid as the regions of Nova Zembla: now and then you felt a little heat like what is produced by touching ice."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boswell |first=James |title=Life of Samuel Johnson |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1926}}</ref> The show eventually ran for nine nights.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1955|p=17}}</ref>

Tetty Johnson was ill during most of her time in London, and in 1752 she decided to return to the countryside while Johnson was busy working on his ''Dictionary''. She died on 17 March 1752, and, at word of her death, Johnson wrote a letter to his old friend Taylor, which according to Taylor "expressed grief in the strongest manner he had ever read".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=272–273}}</ref> Johnson wrote a sermon in her honour, to be read at her funeral, but Taylor refused to read it, for reasons which are unknown. This only exacerbated Johnson's feelings of loss and despair. Consequently, [[John Hawkesworth (book editor)|John Hawkesworth]] had to organise the funeral. Johnson felt guilty about the poverty in which he believed he had forced Tetty to live, and blamed himself for neglecting her. He became outwardly discontented, and his diary was filled with prayers and laments over her death which continued until his own. She was his primary motivation, and her death hindered his ability to complete his work.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=273–275}}</ref>