JOHNSO N. 
«C8- 
when brought to the te(t he (bowed that he had little of 
the fpirit of the martyr in him, and that he was incapable 
of-imitating the fortitude and confiftency of his friend 
Dr. Ilickes. This profecution brought him to fubmif- 
fion, which he humbly’ expreffed in different letters to 
archbilhop Wake, who, in confideration of his worth and 
learning, treated him with tendernefs, and put a Hop to 
the profecution upon his delivering up all the copies of 
his Defence which were unfold, as well as promifing to 
print no more. In the year 1717, he published a fecond 
part of “ The unbloody Sacrifice;” intended to fliow the 
agreement and difagreement of the eucharilt with the fa- 
crifices of the ancients; the excellency of the former; 
and its great importance both as a feaft and facrifice. In 
the year 1720, he publilhed “A Collection of Eccle- 
liaftical Laws, Canons, &c. concerning the Government, 
Biicipline, and Worfliip, of the Church of England, &c.” 
in a vols. 8vo. the firft containing the ecclefiaftical laws to 
the Conqueft, and the fecond from the Conqueft to the Re¬ 
formation. As there were many in his parifh who were of the 
Baptift denomination, he wrote a piece addrefled to them, 
entitled “ An Admonition to the Unbaptized, Sec." and 
alfo provided a font fufficiently large for dipping thofe 
who might require that mode ; but it does not appear 
that it was ever ufed. It feems that Mr. Johnfon was 
brought into fome difficulty by refufing to obferve the 
occalional falls, and again purchafed his peace by fub- 
miflion. His haughty fpirit was fo affeCted by the mor¬ 
tification which his fubmiffions occafioned, and he alfo 
received Inch a fhock from the fudden death of his only 
ion, who had juft fettled in the poffelfioq of a valuable 
living, that his health was deftroyed, and he died in 172s, 
when about fixty-three years of age. He was a man of 
learning and piety, whole morals were exemplary, and 
whole diligence in the difeharge of the duties of the paf- 
toral office was highly praife-worthy. He had, however, 
finch, a lhare of bigotry and felf-conceit in his difpofition, 
as greatly detracted from the value of his good qualities, 
and led him to hold thofe in the utmoft contempt who 
differed from him in opinion. After his death, his only 
furviving daughter publilhed two volumes of his pofthti- 
mous Sermons and Dilcourfes, 8vo. in which his favou¬ 
rite notions are very prevalent. Belides the pieces al¬ 
ready mentioned, he was the author of fome (ingle fer¬ 
mions; in the preface to one of which he endeavoured to 
Ihow, that alphabetical letters were never ufed before the 
time of Moles, and that he firft learned the alphabet from 
God. This, with The Primitive Communicant, The 
Explanation of Daniel’s LXX. Weeks, Sec. was reprinted 
by Dr. Brett, and publilhed with the author’s Life pre¬ 
fixed, in 1748, Svo. 
JOHN'SON (Samuel, LL.D.), an Englilh writer of great 
eminence, was born in 1709, at Litchfield, in which city 
his father was a petty bookfeller. He inherited from that 
parent, with a ftrong athletic body, a fcrofulous taint 
which impaired his fight and hearing, and a difpofition to 
morbid melancholy. He alfo derived from him thofe 
civil and religious principles or prejudices which diftin- 
guilhed the Jacobite party, at that time numerous in the 
kingdom. He received a fchool-education, partly at the 
free-fehool of Litchfield, partly at Stourbridge in Wor- 
cefterlhire. Though his progrefs in literature was by no 
means extraordinary, yet a tenacious memory enabled 
him to lay up a (lore of various knowledge from defultory 
reading. This was increafed by a refidence of two years, 
after leaving fchool, at the houfe of his father, who pro¬ 
bably defigned him for his own trade. As he had already 
acquired reputation from his exercifes, particularly of the 
poetical clafs, his father'willingly complied with the pro- 
polal of a neighbouring gentleman, Mr. Corbet, of main¬ 
taining Samuel at Oxford as companion to his ion. Ac¬ 
cordingly, in 172s, his nineteenth year, he was entered 
a commoner of Pembroke college. His tutor, Mr. jorden, 
was a man whole abilities could command little refpeCt 
from a pupil who, doubtlefs, had begun to fed the powers 
of his own mind, and who was furnifhed with literary 
information not ufually acquired in the trammels of an 
uiliverfity-courfe. He feems to have been carelefs of hia 
character with refpeCt both to the dil'cipline and the ftu- 
dies of the place; and the ftate of indigence into which 
he fell after the departure of young Corbet, threw him 
into a kind of defpair, which lie attempted to hide by af¬ 
fected frolic and turbulence. Yet he obtained credit by 
fome occalional compofitions, of which the molt diftin- 
guilhed was a tranllation in Latin hexameters of Pope’s 
Meffiah, written with uncommon vigour, if not with 
clalfical purity. After ftruggling with penury till he 
had completed a refidence of three years, he left Oxford 
ivithout taking a degree; nor can he be reckoned among 
thofe whole literary character lias been formed in that il- 
luftrious feminary. In reality, the furniture of Johnfon’s 
mind was chiefly of his own acquifition; and the advice 
of his coufin Cornelius Ford, a diffofute but ingenious 
clergyman, to aim at general knowledge, rather than fix 
his attention upon any one particular objeCl of ftudy, 
feems to have given the decifive turn to his purfuits. 
At this period of his life, as he himfelf related, he was 
firft led to think in earned: of religion, by the perufal of 
Law’s “ Serious Call to the Unconverted;” and it cannot 
be doubted that his feelings on this important topic re¬ 
ceived an indelible imprelfion from the principles incul- 
cated in that powerfully-written book. 
Soon after his return from the univerfity to his'native 
city, his father died in very narrow circumftances ; and 
he found no better means of fupport than the place of 
u(her to the grammar-fchool of Market-Bofwdrth in Lei- 
celterlhire. This his impatience under the haughty treat¬ 
ment of the patron of the fchool foon induced him to 
quit; and he palled fome time as a gueft with Mr. Hec¬ 
tor, furgeon, at Birmingham, who had been his fchool- 
fcllow. In that place he w'rote fome literary eflays for 
Mr. Warren, bookfeller, and proprietor of a newfpaper; 
ami he tranflated and abridged from the French the ac¬ 
count of a voyage to Abyftinia by father Lcbo. This 
was printed at Birmingham, and was publilhed in Lon¬ 
don in 1735, without the tranflator’s name. It has no 
pretention to peculiar elegance; but the preface is ftrongly 
marked with the character of ftyle and thinking which 
afterwards fo much diltinguilhed the author. Returning 
to Litchfield, he iffiied propofals for publifliing by lub- 
fciaption the Latin poem of Politian, with his life, and a 
hiltory of Latin poetry from the asra of Petrarch to the 
time of Politian; but fuch a project was not likely to 
meet with adequate encouragement in a country town, 
and the defign was never executed. It may, indeed, be 
queltioned whether Johnfon had at this time fufficient 
accefs to books, and acquaintance enough with Italian 
literature, to have performed the talk with credit. He 
next endeavoured to obtain fome profitable employment 
for his pen by an engagement with Cave, -the editor of 
the Gentleman’s Magazine. This, however, was a fmall 
refource for a maintenance; and in 1735 he >nade a bold 
effort to improve his condition by a marriage with Mrs. 
Porter, the widow of a mercer in Birmingham. Johnfon 
muff furely have deceived himfelf in afterwards (peaking 
of it “ as a love-match on both iides;” for the lady was 
twice his age, and very far from being attractive either in 
her perfon or manners; and moreover, he had entertained 
a juvenile palfion for her daughter. But Hie was pof- 
feffed of 800I. w hich in Johnfon’s eltimation was at that 
time a magnificent objeCt. His little acquaintance with 
the fex, and with polite life, probably fiofte’ned all her 
defeats to him, and he feems always to have regarded her 
with fondnefs. The immediate confequence of this con¬ 
nection was. that he took a large houfe at Edial, near 
Litchfield, and adVertifed for fcholars, to be boarded and 
taught the Greek and Latin languages. Though much 
elteemed for his morals and learning, the fcheme did not 
fncceed ; and, after about a year’s trial, he gave it up, 
imd refolved to become a literary adventurer at the great 
map? 
