Background By 1700, Italy and France both had national dictionaries that had taken their scholars decades to complete. The few English dictionaries of the time looked puny by comparison. So in 1746, Samuel Johnson—then a penniless, unknown writer—talked several booksellers into paying him to create a dictionary worthy of the English language. It took him nine years of painstaking work to define around 43,000 words, illustrated with some 114,000 quotations.
from the Preface
It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life to be rather driven by the fear of evil than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censurewithout hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage, or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without reward.
Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries, whom mankind have considered not as the pupil, but the slave, of science, the pioneer of literature, doomed only to remove rubbish and clear obstructions from the paths through which learning and genius press forward to conquest and glory, without bestowing a smile on the humble drudge that facilitates their progress. Every other author may aspire to praise: the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach—and even this negative recompensehas been yet granted to very few.
I have, notwithstanding this discouragement, attempted a dictionary of the English language, which, while it was employed in the cultivation of every species of literature, has itself been hitherto neglected, suffered to spread, under the direction of chance, into wild exuberance, resigned to the tyranny of time and fashion, and exposed to the corruptions of ignorance and caprices of innovation.
When I took the first survey of my undertaking, I found our speech copious without order, and energetic without rules: wherever I turned my view, there was perplexity to be disentangled and confusion to be regulated; choice was to be made out of boundless variety, without any established principle of selection; adulterations were to be detected, without a settled test of purity; and modes of expression to be rejected or received, without the suffrages of any writers of classical reputation or acknowledged authority[170].
Having therefore no assistance but from general grammar, I applied myself to
the perusal of our writers; and noting whatever might be of use to ascertain or illustrate any word or phrase, accumulated in time the materials of a dictionary, which, by degrees, I reduced to method, establishing to myself, in the progress of the work, such rules as experience and analogy suggested to me—experience, which practice and observation were continually increasing, and analogy, which, though in some words obscure, was evident in others. …
When first I collected these authorities I was desirous that every quotation should be useful to some other end than the illustration of a word; I therefore extracted from philosophers principles of science, from historians remarkable facts, from chemists complete processes, from divines striking exhortations, and from poets beautiful descriptions. Such is design while it is yet at a distance from[171] execution. When the time called upon me to range this accumulation of elegance and wisdom into an alphabetical series, I soon discovered that the bulk of my volumes would fright away the student, and was forced to depart from my scheme of including all that was pleasing or useful in English literature, and reduce my transcripts very often to clusters of words in which scarcely any meaning is retained. Thus to the weariness of copying I was condemned to add the vexation of expunging. …
In hope of giving longevityto that which its own nature forbids to be immortal, I have devoted this book, the labor of years, to the honor of my country, that we may no longer yield the palm of philology, without a contest, to the nations of the continent. The chief glory of every people arises from its authors. Whether I shall add anything by my own writings to the reputation of English literature must be left to time: much of my life has been lost under the pressures of disease, much has been trifled away, and much has always been spent in provision for the day that was passing over me; but I shall not think my employment useless or ignoble if, by my assistance, foreign nations and distant ages gain access to the propagators of knowledge, and understand the teachers of truth, if my labors afford light to the repositories of science and add celebrity to Bacon, to Hooker, to Milton, and to Boyle. …[172]
In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed; and, though no book was ever spared out of tenderness to the author, and the world is little solicitous to know whence proceeded the faults of that which it condemns, yet it may gratify curiosity to inform it that 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 academic bowers, but amid inconvenience and distraction, in sickness and in sorrow. It may repress the triumph of malignant criticism to observe that, if our language is not here fully displayed, I have only failed in an attempt which no human powers have hitherto completed. If the lexicons of ancient tongues, now immutably fixed, and comprised in a few volumes, be yet, after the toil of successive ages, inadequate and delusive; if the aggregated knowledge and cooperating diligence of the Italian academicians did not secure them from the censure of Beni; if the embodied critics of France, when fifty years had been spent upon their work, were obliged to change its economy and give their second edition another form, I may surely be contented without the praise of perfection, which, if I could obtain, in this gloom of solitude, what would it avail me? 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 tranquility, having little to fear or hope from censure or from praise.
Selected Entries
adu´lt.A person above the age of infancy, or grown to some degree of strength; sometimes full grown: a word used chiefly by medicinal writers.
to a´mble.To move easily, without hard shocks, or shaking.
ape.A kind of monkey remarkable for imitating what he sees.
corn.The seeds which grow in ears, not in pods; such as are made into bread.
dull.Not exhilarating; not delightful; as, to make dictionaries is dull work.
fish.An animal that inhabits the water.
to hiss.To utter a noise like that of a serpent and some other animals. It is remarkable, that this word cannot be pronounced without making the noise which it signifies[173].
louse.A small animal, of which different species live on the bodies of men, beasts, and perhaps of all living creatures.
mi´ser.A wretched person; one overwhelmed with calamity.
mould.A kind of concretion on the top or outside of things kept, motionless and damp; now discovered by microscopes to be perfect plants.
mouse.The smallest of all beasts; a little animal haunting houses and corn fields, destroyed by cats.
no´vel.A small tale, generally of love.
pop.A small smart quick sound. It is formed from the sound.
re´cipe.A medical prescription.
ri´ver.A land current of water bigger than a brook.
to slu´bber.To do any thing lazily, imperfectly, or with idle hurry.
sun.The luminary that makes the day.
te´mpest.The utmost violence of the wind; the names by which the wind is called according to the gradual increase of its force seems to be, a breeze; a gale; a gust; a storm; a tempest.
wa´rren.A kind of park for rabbits.
After Reading
Comprehension: Recall and Interpret
1.In the first paragraph of the preface, what purpose does Johnson say he hopes the Dictionary will fulfill? How might the definitions in the Dictionary help fulfill this purpose?
2. List three of the reasons Johnson gives to explain why dictionaries are never perfect. Why might Johnson have chosen to include these reasons in the preface?
3. Which of Johnson’s definitions are sarcastic? Why might Johnson have chosen to include these definitions?
Literary analysis: Evaluate and Connect
4. Identify Author’s PurposeBased on his comments in the preface, what audience did Johnson have in mind when he compiled his dictionary? What was his purpose or purposes in writing the preface?
5. Analyze VoiceExamine the stylistic elements that create Johnson’s voice. Then, in your own words, describe his voice and provide examples from the text to support your response. Do you think Johnson’s voice is appropriate and effective for a preface to a dictionary? Explain why or why not.
6. Draw ConclusionsFind clues in the preface that express Johnson’s deepest feelings about his great work, especially his hopes and fears about how it would be received. What conclusions about the author’s valuesand beliefscan you draw from Johnson’s remarks on the following topics?
• the state of the English language (lines 12–23)
• his explanation of the process for compiling the dictionary (lines 24–42)
• his personal ambitions (lines 43–54)
• the conditions under which he worked (lines 55–83)
7. Evaluate a Primary SourceExamine the selected entries from Johnson’s dictionary. Using a chart like the one shown, choose two or three words that have a substantially different meaning in our languagetoday, and explain how their usage or meanings have changed. Considering these changes, what is the best use of Johnson’s dictionary today?
Literary Criticism
8. Critical InterpretationsCritics have said that Johnson’s writing is knowledgeable, honest, humane, and quick to seize the truth. On the basis of the preface and the entries from A Dictionary of the English Language, would you say that is an appropriate description of his writing? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.
9. Writing About LiteratureHow does the style of Johnson’s letter differ from the style we generally use in letter writing today? In a few paragraphs, compare letter styles, focusing on the following points: the formality of language and tone, the length and structure of sentences, and the salutations and closings used. What might the different styles suggest about society then and now? Save your work for your portfolio.
10. Creative Writing Create a mini-dictionary of at least six terms that newcomers to the United Kingdom should know. You might define slang popular among a specific group, or jargon related to a specific interest. For each term, provide the part of speech, a brief definition, and a sentence illustrating the proper use of the word. Save your work for your portfolio.
Reading Focus VII: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
(Poem by Thomas Gray)
KEY IDEAIn our world of modern conveniences and endless possibilities, it’s hard to think about limits. But for most people in the 18th c., life’s limitations were readily apparent. From scarce resources and opportunities to dangerous health threats and premature death, ordinary people faced innumerable obstacles in their lives. Gray’s Elegy addresses the limitations that kept people of his time from achieving all they could.
7. Evaluate a Primary SourceExamine the selected entries from Johnson’s dictionary. Using a chart like the one shown, choose two or three words that have a substantially different meaning in our languagetoday, and explain how their usage or meanings have changed. Considering these changes, what is the best use of Johnson’s dictionary today?