JOHNSON. 13 



in London ; and he now entered upon a life of as com- 

 plete dependence on literary labour as is to be found in 

 the history of letters. No man ever was more an author 

 by profession than he appears to have been for a quarter 

 of a century ; and he suffered during that period all the 

 evils incident to that precarious employment. Of these 

 the principal certainly is, that there being no steady 

 demand for the productions of the pen, the author is 

 perpetually obliged to find out subjects on which he may 

 be employed, and to entice employers : thus, unlike most 

 other labourers, stimulating the demand as well as fur- 

 nishing the supply. Hence we find Johnson constantly 

 suggesting works on which he is willing to be employed, 

 and often failing to obtain the concurrence of his pub- 

 lisher. For some years, before he had left Lichfield, he 

 had made unsuccessful attempts of this kind. A pro- 

 posal to publish Politian's Latin Poems was printed by 

 him in 1734, in conjunction with his brother, who had 

 succeeded to his father's shop. Notes on the history of 

 Modern Latin Poetry and a life of Politian were to be 

 subjoined; but, as might be easily foreseen, this project 

 met with no kind of encouragement. Indeed it would 

 hardly succeed in our own times as a speculation for 

 profit to the author. The success of the c Gentleman's 

 Magazine' next seems to have struck him as affording 

 the hope of a connexion with Mr. Cave, its conductor; 

 and to him he addressed a letter under a feigned 

 name, proposing to write articles the subjects of which 

 he thought he could suggest so as to benefit the work, 

 hinting also at other literary schemes which he was 

 prepared to unfold "if he could be secure from having 

 others reap the advantage of what he should suggest." 



