As a critic, where his political or accidental prejudices did not happen to interfere, he could seize more vigorous ly, than almost any other mind, upon the main outlines of merits and defects in poetry, and illustrate them with a force and felicity entirely his own. But we believe it will be generally granted, that though he fully possessed the great outlines of critical discernment, he had not that finer tact of sensibility which directs to the more latent and ex quisite beauties of poetry. Garrick complained, and we believe justly, that he was wholly dead to the finest im pressions of tragedy ; yet no one could give, in general terms, a more just description of the merits which tragedy should possess. His critical sensibility was sagacious, not sensitive. Those who blame him for not going deeper among our ancient poets, in his edition of them, forget that the study of our elder poets was but then begun. Of the poets whom he criticised, he made, upon the whole, a pretty fair estitnate. It is the rage of modern taste to ex aggerate the merits of all our old minor poets ; Johnson's work will probably serve, in a future age, to counteract this overweening opinion. Indeed, at this moment there is no critical authority to which we should resort more willing ly, than to his, against the tasteless depreciation of Pope, which has of late been so ominously current. The history of his life cannot be perused without many recollections of personal esteem. The traits of his charity and benevo lence to the unfortunate are very numerous. He was a dutiful son and a kind master ; and the spectacle of his early career, that of a friendless scholar, supporting him self by the toils of literature, bursting forth upon the world as a man of genius, through the clouds of poverty, de pression, and hypochondria, and maintaining all along a virtuous pride and independence of character ;—this is an object of interesting and even of elevated contemplation. It may soften our animadversion, though it cannot wholly blind us to his faults as a philosopher and a man. In neither of these views, whether we consider him as an in dividual member of society, or a teacher of the truths that publicly interest society, can he be held up as an object altogether entitled to be loved, or fit to be imitated. He seems neither to have felt nor practised one of the first duties of a member of society—that of social and civilized deportment. The history of his conversations, as related by Mr. Boswell, gives us the picture of a strong and amus ing, but of a coarse and insolent mind. Whatever praise may be due to his strictly private and domestic virtues, he often brought no better feelings into promiscuous society, than those of spleen, egotism, and domineering pride. We are told by his biographers only of his victories in the war fare of conversation ; but private tradition has preserved many anecdotes of his insolence being properly chastised, and often in the most humiliating manner, by individuals who were his inferiors in general knowledge. It would have been well if these had been recorded with equal as siduity as his triumphs ; for his example was calculated to injure the tone of general manners ; and it is certain that there were at one time many apes of his manner in conversation, as well as in writing. But, happily, the pre vailing manners of polite life are now such, that the dog matic manner of a Johnson would not at this moment be tolerated.
He was an advocate of arbitrary power in politics, though it is but justice to mention with what particular qualifica tions. He abhorred the existence of absolute slavery, and used to express his detestation of that remaining blot upon our national character, the slavery of negroes in our colonies. He wished well to Roman Catholic emancipa tion ; and even after the alarm of the memorable riots in London, rejoiced that the acquittal of Lord George Gordon had not sanctioned the doctrine of executing a man for constructive treason. So far his sense of rectitude pre
vailed, in particular cases, over his general tendency to bigottcd and despotic sentiments. But the main current of his opinions ran in the latter channel. We need not trouble the reader with quotations; for the most who have perused his life, must rememher many traits of his super stition and intolerance. He bowed to a bishop as to a be ing of a superior nature. He abused, io the most ran corous terms, a young woman who had been guilty of quitting the established church, and joining the society of Quakers, declaring that she had no right to think for her self on the subject. He spoke of Rousseau as one whom he would have rejoiced to punish as a felon. We are not disciples of Rousseau ; but we have no hesitation in de claring our opinion, that some of Dr. Johnson's tenets were not less noxious than those of the philosopher of Geneva. In point of immediate and obvious evil ten dency, nothing that Rousseau ever wrote was so pernicious as our author's pamphlet on the subject of our dispute with America. It may not be easy to ascertain how much influence that production exercised in biasing the public mind towards hostilities ; but he lent his influence, such as it was, to sanction unjust pretensions, and to promote the exasperation and sufferings of millions of his species.
The tendency of his abstract sentiments in favour of arbitrary power was, perhaps, not very mischievous. It is chiefly in confined and particular questions that the sophistry of an illiberal writer can do much harm. Taken in a general view, an animated author counteracts all the evil impressions which he can make against the cause of liberty, by the spirit of discussion which he awakens, and by the attention and contradiction which he provokes. Johnson defended principles with his pen, which, in the long run, can never be supported but by the sword.
Nevertheless, when we assign to departed individuals their respective rank in the scale of benefactors to their species, we cannot forget the question, whether they have lent the strength of their talents to promote the progress of moral civilization, or to retard the emancipation of the human mind from bigotry and servility. Had the leading spirits of our literature been all like Dr. Johnson, we might have been at this day burning witches, and believing in the second sight. With what contrasted feelings do we rise from perusing the life and writings of that Milton, whom our author has pourtrayed with the heavy hand of malignant hatred. Milton left his contemporaries behind him, in his high moral and political views, and bequeathed texts for succeeding times to comment upon, and to put in practice. Johnson straggled behind his own age, among the prejudices of the nursery; and, with all his eloquence and manly powers, came from the most en lightened capital in the world, to find the reveries of bar barism in the island of Sky congenial with his own opi nions. (t) JoINERY is that branch of civil architecture, which treats of the art of framing and joining wood together for the in ternal and external finishing of houses.
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