645. Communia… occupata: ‘Here Horace means by communia the subject matter of fables which have hitherto been handled by no one; and which thus, when presented to anyone and placed before them squarely, are as it were empty and unoccupied ground.’
646. ignota indictaque: Unknown and unsung.
647. Difficile quidem… (Poet. Prcel. v. ii. p. 164.): ‘It is hard to speak properly about common things: that is to say, we readily submit to the power of common material, known and obvious to all, when altered and embellished so as to seem fresh and the original handiwork of the writer; and this observation is doubtless of great weight. But, all things considered, and allowing for the difficulty and beauty of judgement as opposed to native wit, nevertheless it seems more glorious to form a new fable from deep within yourself, than to display once again an old one, no matter how remodelled’ – Joseph Trapp, Praelectiones Poeticae, 3rd edn, 2 vols. (1736), II, 164.
648. Difficile est… Vet. Schol.: ‘It is hard to speak properly about common things, that is, to narrate common material in well-chosen language, or to impart dignity to humble topics. It is difficult to treat of common things in appropriate language. Old Scholiast.’
649. Proprie… d’Homere: ‘Proprie communia dicere; that is to say, it is not easy to impart particular and moreover probable characteristics to figures one has imagined for oneself. To the extent that one has been able to shape these figures to one’s liking, the less forgivable are the faults one commits in the process. It is for this reason that Horace advises that one should always take known subjects, such as for example those which can be drawn from the poems of Homer.’
650. Apres avoir… au premier occupant: ‘Having pointed out the two qualities one must bestow on characters one has invented, he advises tragic poets to avail themselves sparingly of the freedom they have to invent, because it is very difficult to succeed with invented characters. It is difficult, says Horace, to treat common subjects (that is to say, invented subjects, which have no basis in either history or fable) properly (that is to say appropriately); and he calls these subjects “common” because they are available to everybody, and because everybody has the right to embellish them, and because they are, as one says, open to all.’
651. in meditatione fugte: ‘Meditating flight.’
652. Diabolus Regis: ‘The King’s Devil.’
653. The proper study… Man: Pope, An Essay on Man, ii.2.
654. On each glance… the flash: John Hume, Douglas: A Tragedy (1757), p. 33.
655. rerum civilium sive naturalium: The lines from the rejected version of Goldsmith’s epitaph which Johnson is trying to remember are ‘Rerum, sive naturalium, sive civilium, | elegans, at gravis scriptor’ – ‘an elegant yet weighty writer, whether the subject be natural or civil’.
656. Olivarii Goldsmith… mdcclxxiv : ‘Oliver Goldsmith, Poet, Naturalist, Historian; who touched almost every kind of writing, and touched none that he did not adorn. A powerful but kindly master of the emotions, whether he would move to tears or to laughter. Of genius lofty, lively, versatile; in style great, graceful, and charming. This monument to his memory has been raised by the love of his companions, the fidelity of his friends, the veneration of his readers. He was born at Pallas in County Longford, 29 November 1731, educated at Dublin, and died in London, 4 April 1774.’
657. somebody: Possibly Sir Joshua Reynolds.
658. a faithful transcript: Omitted in this edition.
659. from whom… perfect gift: Cf. James 1:17.
660. Suasorium: Pleading.
661. e cathedra: Literally ‘from the chair’, i.e. in the manner of one speaking from the seat of office or professorial chair, with authority (OED).
662. While Tories… a Tory: Pope, Imitations of Horace, Satire II.i.68 (1733).
663. Betsy: Elizabeth Ball (c.1755–1816), whom Francis Barber had married on 28 January 1773.
664. Temple of Janus: In ancient Rome, a small bronze shrine in the Forum, with doors on its eastern and western sides which stood open in time of war and were closed in time of peace.
665. Foote’s patent: Samuel Foote had obtained in 1766 a patent to operate the Haymarket Theatre in the summer season. In October 1776 Foote leased this patent to George Colman.
666. Saw God in clouds: Pope, An Essay on Man, i.100.
667. Vita… lcetandum: ‘Resolved: to order my life, to read the Bible, to study theology, to serve God with gladness.’
668. De minimis… lex: The law does not concern itself with trifles.
669. Monitoire: Warning.
670. Papadendrion: Father of plantations.
671. sermones… aurei: Golden sermons – nay, more golden than gold.
672. Johnstoni Poemata: Poemata Omnia (1642) by Arthur Johnston, a Scottish Latin poet.
673. magnum nomen: Great name.
674. Timeo… ferentes: ‘I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts’ – Virgil, Aeneid, ii.49.
675. the Act of Queen Anne: The Act of 1709 of which the full title is ‘An Act for the encouragement of Learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the authors or purchasers of such copies during the times therein mentioned’. The purpose of the Act was to provide machinery for the enforcement of copyright.
676. fervour of Loyalty: James Boswell, The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785), p. 243 (13 September).
677. July 9, 1777: In fact 9 June.
678. Studious… to deceive: Matthew Prior, ‘Gualterus Danistonus ad Amicos. Imitated’ (1710), l. 1.
679. a Moravian: The Revd Benjamin Latrobe. A Moravian is a member of a Protestant Church founded in 1722 in Saxony by emigrants from Moravia, continuing the tradition of the Unitas Fratrum, a body holding Hussite doctrines (i.e. using a liturgy in the vernacular, and administering Communion to the laity in the forms of both bread and wine) which had its chief seat in Moravia and Bohemia (OED, 2).
680. viaticum: A supply of money or other necessaries for a journey (OED, 2).
681. to Mr. Edward Dilly: In fact addressed to William Sharp.
682. sedes avitce: Ancestral seat.
683. poor dear —: Bennet Langton.
684. To virtue… breast: The reference is to the concluding line of a sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney included in Sir John Harington’s Ariosto (1591), p. 87.
685. a pituitous defluxion: An excess of phlegm.
686. light afflictions: Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:17.
687. Hockley in the Hole: A bear garden and venue for dog-fights and prize fights in Clerkenwell, which had a reputation for disorder and drunkenness. In The Spectator, 436 (21 July 1712), it was celebrated as ‘a Place of no small Renown for the Gallantry of the lower Order of Britons’. In Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera Mrs Peachum, advising Filch to ‘learn Valour’, includes Hockley in the Hole among ‘the Schools that have bred so many brave Men’ (I.vi). In Fielding’s Jonathan Wild (1743), Jonathan’s mother comes from Hockley in the Hole (bk 1, ch. 2).