The Life of Samuel Johnson

After eight years of work, the Dictionary is published in August 1755 in two folio volumes, with an accompanying Grammar and History of the English Language. Because of the expenses of producing the work, Johnson makes only a “very inconsiderable” profit on it. As usual, Johnson’s reaction to this is mild and philosophical. In any case, the Dictionary becomes famous and admired, particularly for the fact that Johnson produced it by himself with secretarial help.

Boswell assesses the Dictionary’s strengths and weaknesses, again providing a balanced critique of Johnson’s literary work that assures readers of Boswell’s impartiality. Notably, Boswell states that the Dictionary is so widely familiar that he does not need to quote it extensively, which indicates that the book was owned by much of the English public and had become a classic. Boswell praises Johnson’s ability to define words with “acuteness of intellect and precision of language” (211) as well as the sheer study and dedication that went into the writing of the work. On the debit side, Boswell points out that a few of Johnson’s definitions are erroneous and that he sometimes allows his personal prejudices to enter into the definitions. Sometimes, however, this is in a spirit of playfulness or even self-deprecation, as when Johnson self-referentially defines a lexicographer as “a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge” (212).