Johnson was born at Lichfield, Staffordshire, and studied at Oxford. His early years were one continuous struggle with poverty, first as a teacher at Lichfield and other places and afterwards as a hack writer in London. During the latter period, besides his ordinary duties as an editor of various magazines, he found time to turn his hand to the most diverse forms of literature. He wrote poems, "London" and the "Vanity of Human Wishes"; a drama, "Irene"; a philosophic romance, "Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia"; two series of essays, the "Rambler" and the "Idler," after the model of Addison's "Spectator"; and prepared the first English dictionary. In 1862 he was granted a pension of £300 by Lord Bute, from which time dates his literary dictatorship. His only subsequent works of importance were his "Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland" and his "Lives of the Poets." The latter is his best work and one of the monuments of English criticism in spite of its prejudiced tone. During the latter half of his life he gathered about him a coterie of the most intellectual men of the day, nearly all of whom belonged to the literary society known as the Club. Burke, Goldsmith, Gibbon, Garrick, Reynolds, and Boswell were among his intimates. THE MAN 1. To see Johnson, the thinker and the man, read Boswell's "Life," II, 100 ff., and then take up the following questions: 2. What attitude did Johnson maintain toward religious questions? 3. Quote Goldsmith on his roughness of manner. 4. What was Johnson's opinion of the married state? 5. Would you judge him to have been of a harsh or tender disposition? 6. See Frances Burney's account of his sociability. II, 339 ff. 7. In what respect was the Doctor a typical Anglo-Saxon? VIII, 259. 8. What distinguishes Boswell from most biographers? II, 100. 9. Where did Johnson win his fame, in writing, or in society? 10. Is he a true follower of the spirit of Classicism? STYLE AND WORKS 1. What peculiar position did Johnson occupy in the literary world of his day? 2. If Johnson is to be called heroic for having kept at his dictionary until its completion, why should not the term be applied to later lexicographers, whose dictionaries are much more extensive? 3. Under what circumstances does Johnson justify dissimulation? 4. Was his criticism of Milton fair? VIII, 350. 5. Why was he a poor critic of the Latin productions of modern writers? VIII, 354. 6. Give Johnson's view of death. 7. By what works is he best known? 8. Is he comparable with Addison as an essayist in your opinion? Why? "THE VALLEY OF HAPPINESS" 1. 'The father of waters' is an appellation applied to what African stream? 2. Can man be truly happy with luxury alone? 3. What occupations give the greatest pleasure to the normal person? 4. How long is the active life of the average man or woman?