‘Translation of the History of Herodian.
‘New edition of Fairfax’s Translation of Tasso, with notes, glossary, &c.
‘Chaucer, a new edition of him, from manuscripts and old editions, with various readings, conjectures, remarks on his language, and the changes it had undergone from the earliest times to his age, and from his to the present: with notes explanatory of customs, &c, and references to Boccace, and other authours from whom he has borrowed, with an account of the liberties he has taken in telling the stories; his life, and an exact etymological glossary.
Aristotle’s Rbetorick, a translation of it into English.
A Collection of Letters, translated from the modern writers, with some account of the several authours.
‘Oldham’s Poems, with notes, historical and critical.
‘Roscommon’s Poems, with notes.
‘Lives of the Philosophers, written with a polite air, in such a manner as may divert as well as instruct.
‘History of the Heathen Mythology, with an explication of the fables, both allegorical and historical; with references to the poets.
‘History of the State of Venice, in a compendious manner.
Aristotle’s Etbicks, an English translation of them, with notes.
‘Geographical Dictionary, from the French.
‘Hierocles upon Pythagoras, translated into English, perhaps with notes. This is done by Norris.
A book of Letters, upon all kinds of subjects.
‘Claudian, a new edition of his works, cum notis variorum,1250 in the manner of Burman.
‘Tully’s Tusculan Questions, a translation of them.
‘Tully’s De Natura Deorum,1251 a translation of those books.
‘Benzo’s New History of the New World, to be translated.
‘Machiavel’s History of Florence, to be translated.
‘History of the Revival of Learning in Europe, containing an account of whatever contributed to the restoration of literature; such as controversies, printing, the destruction of the Greek empire, the encouragement of great men, with the lives of the most eminent patrons and most eminent early professors of all kinds of learning in different countries.
‘A Body of Chronology, in verse, with historical notes.
‘A Table of the Spectators, Tatlers, and Guardians, distinguished by figures into six degrees of value, with notes, giving the reasons of preference or degradation.
‘A Collection of Letters from English authours, with a preface giving some account of the writers; with reasons for selection, and criticism upon styles; remarks on each letter, if needful.
‘A Collection of Proverbs from various languages. Jan. 6, –53.
‘A Dictionary to the Common Prayer, in imitation of Calmet’s Dictionary of the Bible. March, –52.
‘A Collection of Stories and Examples, like those of Valerius Maximus. Jan. 10, –53.
‘From/Elian, a volume of select Stories, perhaps from others. Jan. 28, –53.
‘Collection of Travels, Voyages, Adventures, and Descriptions of Countries.
‘Dictionary of Ancient History and Mythology.
‘Treatise on the Study of Polite Literature, containing the history of learning, directions for editions, commentaries, &c.
‘Maxims, Characters, and Sentiments, after the manner of Bruyere, collected out of ancient authours, particularly the Greek, with Apophthegms.
‘Classical Miscellanies, Select Translations from ancient Greek and Latin authours.
‘Lives of Illustrious Persons, as well of the active as the learned, in imitation of Plutarch.
‘Judgement of the learned upon English authours.
‘Poetical Dictionary of the English tongue.
‘Considerations upon the present state of London.
‘Collection of Epigrams, with notes and observations.
‘Observations on the English language, relating to words, phrases, and modes of Speech.
‘Minutiae Literariae,1252 Miscellaneous reflections, criticisms, emendations, notes.
‘History of the Constitution.
‘Comparison of Philosophical and Christian Morality, by sentences collected from the moralists and fathers.
‘Plutarch’s Lives, in English, with notes.
‘POETRY and works of IMAGINATION.
‘Hymn to Ignorance.
‘The Palace of Sloth, – a vision.
‘Coluthus, to be translated.
‘Prejudice, – a poetical essay.
‘The Palace of Nonsense, – a vision.’
Johnson’s extraordinary facility of composition, when he shook off his constitutional indolence, and resolutely sat down to write, is admirably described by Mr. Courtenay, in his Poetical Review, which I have several times quoted:
‘While through life’s maze he sent a piercing view,
His mind expansive to the object grew.
With various stores of erudition fraught,
The lively image, the deep-searching thought,
Slept in repose; – but when the moment press’d,
The bright ideas stood at once confess’d;
Instant his genius sped its vigorous rays,
And o’er the letter’d world diffus’d a blaze;
As womb’d with fire the cloud electrick flies,
And calmly o’er th’ horizon seems to rise;
Touch’d by the pointed steel, the lightning flows,
And all th’ expanse with rich effulgence glows.’1253
We shall in vain endeavour to know with exact precision every production of Johnson’s pen. He owned to me, that he had written about forty sermons; but as I understood that he had given or sold them to different persons, who were to preach them as their own, he did not consider himself at liberty to acknowledge them. Would those who were thus aided by him, who are still alive, and the friends of those who are dead, fairly inform the world, it would be obligingly gratifying a reasonable curiosity, to which there should, I think, now be no objection. Two volumes of them, published since his death, are sufficiently ascertained; see p. 621. I have before me, in his hand-writing, a fragment of twenty quarto leaves, of a translation into English of Sallust, De Bello Catilinario.1254 When it was done I have no notion; but it seems to have no very superior merit to mark it as his. Beside the publications heretofore mentioned, I am satisfied, from internal evidence, to admit also as genuine the following, which, notwithstanding all my chronological care, escaped me in the course of this work:
‘Considerations on the Case of Dr. Trapp’s Sermons,’† published in 1739, in the Gentleman’s Magazine. It is a very ingenious defence of the right of abridging an authour’s work, without being held as infringing his property. This is one of the nicest questions in the Law of Literature; and I cannot help thinking, that the indulgence of abridging is often exceedingly injurious to authours and booksellers, and should in very few cases be permitted. At any rate, to prevent difficult and uncertain discussion, and give an absolute security to authours in the property of their labours, no abridgement whatever should be permitted, till after the expiration of such a number of years as the Legislature may be pleased to fix.
But, though it has been confidently ascribed to him, I cannot allow that he wrote a Dedication to both Houses of Parliament of a book entitled The Evangelical History Harmonized. He was no croaker; no declaimer against the times. He would not have written, ‘That we are fallen upon an age in which corruption is not barely universal, is universally confessed.’ Nor ‘Rapine preys on the publick without opposition, and perjury betrays it without inquiry.’ Nor would he, to excite a speedy reformation, have conjured up such phantoms of terrour as these: ‘A few years longer, and perhaps all endeavours will be in vain. We may be swallowed by an earthquake: we may be delivered to our enemies.’ This is not Johnsonian.