I am VERY SLOWLY reading all of the works of Samuel Johnson (I am surprised to find I've been reading this particular volume for two years), and once again really can't recommend the guy enough if you are a fan of British literature, pithy aphorisms, or cultural criticism. Volume nine consists of his Lives of the English Poets, originally written as introductions to printed collections of their works. This includes men I have heard of (Cowley, Milton, Dryden) and many that I had not (sorry British literature!). In each, Johnson includes biographical information, an overview of contemporary critical reception, a chronological look at their work (often including extensive quotations), and sprinkles throughout his own opinions on all the above. Johnson is truly the king of loving all over certain parts of a writer's style and work and then undercutting that with a sick burn. Like pretty much all criticism, the snarky negative stuff is a lot more fun to read, particularly if you don't know much about the 17th century writer in question. Johnson can also get quite heated in a very modern feeling way, like in this section from his piece on 17th century poet John Philips who had one of his poems published without his consent:

This poem was written for his own diversion, without any design of publication. It was communicated but to me; but soon spread and fell into the hands of pirates. It was put out, vilely mangled, by Ben Bragge; and impudently said to be corrected by the author. This grievance is now grown more epidemical; and no man now has a right to his own thoughts, or a title to his own writings. Xenophon answered the Persian, who demanded his arms: 'We have nothing now left but our arms and our valour: if we surrender the one, how shall we make use of the other?' Poets have nothing but their wits and their writings; and if they are plundered of the latter, I don't see what good the former can do them. To pirate, and publickly own it, to prefix their names to the works they steal, to own and avow the theft, I believe, was never yet heard of but in England. It will sound oddly to posterity, that, in a polite nation, in an enlightened age, under the direction of the most wise, most learned, and most generous encouragers of knowledge in the world, the property of a mechanick should be better secured than that of a scholar! that the poorest manual operations should be more valued than the noblest products of the brain! that it should be felony to rob a cobbler of a pair of shoes, and no crime to deprive the best author of his whole subsistence! that nothing should make a man a sure title to his own writings but the stupidity of them! that the works of Dryden should meet with less encouragement than those of his own Flecknoe, or Blackmore! that Tillotson and St. George, Tom Thumb and Temple, should be set on an equal foot! This is the reason why this very paper has been so long delayed; and, while the most impudent and scandalous libels are publickly vended by the pirates, this innocent work is forced to steal abroad as if it were a libel.

Can't wait to dig VERY SLOWLY into volume 10! ( )

Why, look, I have finished volume 8 of The Works of Samuel Johnson! I read the first volume at the end of 2011 and seem to be doing about one volume per year, which means that I should be done with all the the great Doctor's works in about 4 years.

Volume 8 was particularly enjoyable. Starting with some miscellaneous essays and political tracts (the most entertaining of which is an essay in response to that whole "taxation without representation" thing in the colonies, written in 1775 -- spoiler alert, he thought the colonists were in the wrong), the bulk of this book is an extended travelogue from an 83 day journey to the Western Islands of Scotland that he took with his good friend, James Boswell, in 1773. Boswell also wrote a book about this journey (published about 15 years later) that is apparently more about Samuel Johnson than Scotland and I'd love to read it.

For his part, Dr. Johnson, who was 63 at the time of the journey and had spent most of those years in London, was anthropological in his exploration of Scotland, the Scots, and the Highlander way of life. He was extremely gracious about their kind reception into large and small homes during the journey, but pretty judgey about the construction of the homes and how they kept their fires. He was also very focused on trees (or the lack thereof) and curious about the language, history, and economy. The great clans having relatively recently been broken up, and with a huge exodus to the American colonies underway, the character of the Highlands was changing, but was still pretty isolated and quite different from the streets of London. If you are interested in the early Christian church, Johnson has an eye for describing the remains of the abandoned pre-Reformation churches, convents, and monasteries in the Scottish Isles, including the island of Iona. Johnson often had to rough it on their travels, much of which were on horseback, with sleeping accommodations often in barns or even outdoors in the rough, but (at least in his version of things) kept his good humor, his appreciation for the people and countryside, and his philosophical (and judgmental) nature intact. ( )

As I continue to make my way through the complete works of Samuel Johnson, this volume (Volume 7) may be one of the most fun and readable yet. The volume consists of the entire run of The Idler, an anonymous weekly column written by Johnson (mostly -- he wrote all but 12 of them) between 1758 and 1760. The column was extremely popular, and the essays touch on topics of morality, gender, class, and character in often funny and unexpected ways. Johnson was a pro and dashed many of these off quickly, so sometimes these have the vibe of a modern day blog or hot take. The essays are often charmingly written from fictional characters as letters to The Idler asking for advice or explaining their situations. The London of 270 years ago was starting to become a lot more like the modern world. and the topics and voices in these essays easily spring to life in a 21st century mind.

A few of my favorites (with links to this great site of Johnson's essays should you care to dip in) are No. 5. Proposal for a female army (https://www.johnsonessays.com/the-idler/proposal-female-army/), No. 32. On Sleep (https://www.johnsonessays.com/the-idler/no-32-on-sleep/), No. 49. Marvel’s journey narrated (https://www.johnsonessays.com/the-idler/marvels-journey-narrated/), No. 50. Marvel’s journey paralleled (https://www.johnsonessays.com/the-idler/marvels-journey-paralleled/), and No. 94. Obstructions of learning (https://www.johnsonessays.com/the-idler/obstructions-of-learning/).

Now on to Volume 8! ( )