EXPLANATORY NOTES LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON. 11. Eminent English writers of the eighteenth century. See Chronological Table. 1 4. Lichfield. A clear idea of geographical relations is indispensable to an intelligent grasp of literary history; the student, therefore, should keep a map near him, and fix in mind the location of the places associated with important persons and events. 1 11. Churchman. A member of the Established Church of England as distinguished from Nonconformists or Dissenters, i.e., the Presbyterians, the Congregationalists, the Baptists, etc. For the struggle between religious parties in England, which is a long story, beginning in the reign of Henry VIII., at the time of the Reformation in Germany, see histories of England. 1 13. The sovereigns in possession were, first, William and Mary, who ascended the throne at the Revolution of 1688, which dethroned James III.; and, afterwards, Anne, who succeeded William and Mary in 1702. Some acquaintance with the political history of this period, which may be gained from any history of England, is necessary to a full understanding of the life of Johnson. 1 14. Jacobite. From "Jacobus," the Latin form of "James.” An adherent of James II. after he was deposed, or of his son James Edward, the "Old Pretender"; or of his grandson Charles Edward, the "Young Pretender"; hence, an opposer of the Revolution of 1688. 1 15. A picture of Johnson's birthplace may be seen in G. Birkbeck Hill's edition of Boswell's Johnson. 1 26. The royal touch. It is a very old superstition that scrofula can be cured by a touch of the sovereign's hand; hence, the disease is popularly called "the king's evil." See Macbeth, IV., iii., and Addison's account of Sir Roger de Coverley's visit to Westminster Abbey (Lowell's edition, in this series, p. 146). Queen Anne was the last English sovereign to touch for "the evil." For more information on the subject, see Chambers's Book of Days, vol. i., pp. 82–85. 25. Her hand was applied in vain. Perhaps the father accounted for the failure, as did many Jacobites on similar occasions, by the reflection that Mary, William, and Anne were 66 usurpers, ," and therefore could not be expected to have inherited a power which came only with "divine right"! 2 11. A picture of the Grammar School at Lichfield, which was attended by Johnson, Garrick, and Addison, is shown in Hill's edition of Boswell's Johnson. 2 22. Attic. Attica was the district of Greece in which Athens was the principal city. 2 26. Augustan delicacy of taste. The reign of Augustus Cæsar (B.C. 27-A.D. 14) was the golden age of Roman literature and art. 2 27. The great public schools of England are Winchester, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Westminster, Charterhouse, Shrewsbury, St. Paul's, and Merchant Taylors', which are supported, not by taxation, like the free "public schools" of America, but by endowments and the tuition of pay scholars. 2 31. The great restorers of learning. During the "Dark Ages" (A.D. 600–1200), the civilization which Rome had spread over Europe decayed, and European society fell back into a state of semi-barbarism. The term "Revival of Learning" is usually applied to the special outburst of enthusiasm for Greek and Latin literature and art which originated with Italian scholars in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and which is more properly called the "Renaissance." Foremost among the restorers of learning were Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Politian (Italy), Erasmus (Holland), Casaubon (France), and Sir Thomas More (England). 2 33. Petrarch. The greatest lyric poet of Italy (1304-1374), and an ardent scholar. He wrote both in Latin and in Italian, himself prizing most his Latin works; but he is now more famous for his beautiful Italian lyrics. See Byron's Childe Harold, canto iv., stanzas 30-34 (lines 262-306). 3 10. England has five universities: two ancient, Oxford and Cambridge; and three modern, London (1836), Durham (1837), and the Victoria University (1880). 3 13. Pembroke College. One of the twenty colleges that compose the University of Oxford. For an account of the English universities see the encyclopædias under "University," "Oxford," and "Cambridge." 3 20. Macrobius. An obscure Latin author (circa 400 a.D.). 3 27. Christ Church. One of the most fashionable of the Oxford colleges. 3 32. Gentleman commoner. One who pays for his commons, i.e., a student who is not dependent on any foundation for support, but pays all the university charges; corresponding, in some American schools, to a "pay scholar" as distinguished from one on a scholarship. 4 8. Pope's Messiah." Pope's place in English literature is so important that the details of his life and work should be looked up in the encyclopædias or the histories of English literature. A good short biography will be found in the English Men of Letters Series. No poet except Shakespeare is oftener quoted. The Messiah was originally contributed to the Spectator. 6 11. Usher of a grammar school in Leicestershire. In Great Britain, " grammar schools" are those in which Latin and Greek are taught as the principal subjects of instruction. In their curricula they do not differ from the "public" schools. See note to 2 27. "Usher " means, of course, an "assistant master." 6 19. Politian (1454-1494). The friend of Lorenzo de' Medici (the great patron of Italian learning), and one of the leaders of the Italian Renaissance. See note to 2 31. 6 24. Mrs. Elizabeth Porter was twenty years older than Johnson. 6 29. The Queensberrys and Lepels. English families of high rank. 6 33. Titty. A nickname for "Elizabeth." 7 22. David Garrick. One of the greatest of English actors, equally at home in tragedy and comedy. Garrick was so promi nent in the life and literature of the eighteenth century that the details of his career should be looked up in an encyclopædia. See also Goldsmith's poem Retaliation, which contains a sketch of Garrick's character. 7 33. In the preceding generation, etc. See Macaulay's Essay on Boswell's Life of Johnson, pp. 52, 53, of this volume. 8 5. Several writers of the nineteenth century, etc. For instance, Byron, Scott, George Eliot, and Macaulay himself. See Introduction. 8 12. See note to 4 8. 8 17. Thomson. James Thomson, an English poet (1700-1748), whose fame rests on his Seasons, The Castle of Indolence, and Rule Britannia, which are worth the student's attention. 8 18. Fielding. Henry Fielding (1707–1754), the first great English novelist. His important novels were Joseph Andrews, Jonathan Wild, Tom Jones, and Amelia. A charming short sketch of Fielding's life is to be found in Thackeray's English Humorists. 8 20. The Beggar's Opera, by John Gay, had a run of sixtythree nights, and by its success banished from the stage for a time the Italian opera, which it ridiculed. 8 29. A porter's knot. A pad for supporting burdens on the head. 9 9. Drury Lane. A street in the heart of London, running north and south about midway between Charing Cross and St. Paul's Cathedral. In the time of the Stuarts it was an aristocratic part of the city, but about Johnson's time its respectability began to wane. 9 21. Alamode beefshops. "Alamode beef" was scraps and remainders of beef boiled down into a thick soup or stew.”. Murray's Dictionary. 10 1. Osborne. "It has been confidently related, with many embellishments, that Johnson one day knocked Osborne down in his shop, with a folio, and put his foot upon his neck. The simple truth I had from Johnson himself. 'Sir, he was impertinent to me, and I beat him. But it was not in his shop: it was in my own chamber.'"-Boswell. There is nothing to tell, dearest lady, but that he was insolent and I beat him, and that he was a blockhead and told of it, I have beat many a which I should never have done. fellow, but the rest had the wit to hold their tongues."-Piozzi's Anecdotes of Johnson. 10 4. The Harleian Library. The famous library collected by Robert Harley, First Earl of Oxford (1661–1724), and afterwards bought by Osborne. The books were described in a printed catalogue of four volumes, part of which was made by Johnson. 10 13. It was not then safe, etc. For the reason see Macaulay's History of England, chapter iii., the paragraph beginning, “No part of the load which the old mails carried out was more important than the newsletters." For a discussion of the relation of the Publicity of Parliaments to Liberty see Lieber's Civil Liberty and Self-Government, chapter xiii. 10 17. Lilliput. The land of the pygmies described in Swift's Gulliver's Travels, a book which every boy should read. The names Blefuscu, Mildendo, etc., occur in that celebrated classic. 10 29. Capulets and Montagues. The English spelling of the names of the Cappelletti and Montecchi, two noble families of Northern Italy, chiefly memorable for the legend on which Shakespeare has founded his play of Romeo and Juliet. 10 30. The Blues of the Roman Circus against the Greens. In Roman chariot races the drivers were at first distinguished by white and red liveries. Afterwards two additional colors, a light green and a cerulean blue, were introduced. In course of time the Romans, like modern "sporting-men," devoted their lives and fortunes to the color which they espoused; and thus were formed certain "factions of the circus," which often came to blows in their rivalry. For a fuller account of this subject see Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter xl. 10 32. The Church. The Established Church of England. 10 35. Sacheverell. A high church divine (1672–1724) who maintained the doctrine of non-resistance to the king. For an account of his prosecution by the Whigs see histories of England. 11 6. Jacobitical. See note to 1 14. 11 9. Tom Tempest. A character in Johnson's Idler (No. 10). 11 11. Laud (1573-1645), Archbishop of Canterbury, and principal adviser of Charles I. in all matters relating to the Church. He was of the opinion that "unity cannot long continue in the Church when uniformity is shut out of the Church door;" and |