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Doctor Johnson

I don't consider myself to be an avid watcher of television, the very idea of sitting down to an evening of soaps and lifestyle shows depresses me to within thirty minutes of asylum committal. This is not to say that I dislike television as a whole, but rather that I only watch a select few programs, as opposed to turning on the television and finding something to watch. One program I do enjoy watching is Blackadder, the comedy series written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton which is currently being re-shown on BBC2. I personally find that the program works on two key levels: not only does it amuse (and offend) with its satirical irreverent tone; it also has an educational value for anybody with an interest in the history of Britain . In a recent interview about the making of Blackadder, Richard Curtis gave Ben Elton full credit for this aspect of the show, citing him as an expert historian.

The reason that I am specifically using Blackadder as an example of good television is because I recently discovered that 2005 marks the 250 th anniversary of the publication of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, and I first became aware of the work of Doctor Johnson by watching Blackadder. In one particular episode (entitled Ink and Incapability ) the Prince Regent receives a visit from Samuel Johnson, inventor of the English dictionary as we know it, and Edmund Blackadder proceeds to taunt him with non-existent words, partially exposing the major flaw with the majority of reference books - that they become outdated as soon as they are published.

Samuel Johnson's dictionary was not, as often thought, the first English dictionary. However it was a landmark achievement because it set new standards for definition and the various senses of a term, and it also used quotations to illustrate usage. His work became the standard English dictionary for a century and the basis for all that followed

The work of Samuel Johnson is all the more remarkable when we examine the circumstances in which he was able to produce such a book. Childhood illness including smallpox and scrofula left Johnson blind in one eye and almost deaf in one ear, which would have made life difficult enough for him without the added task of attempting to comprehensively define and categorise a language. Johnson was contracted by a group of publishers to produce a dictionary in 3 years, an idea inspired by the work of early French and Italian academies. When reminded that it had taken 40 French academics 40 years to complete their dictionary, Johnson apparently replied: "Forty times forty is sixteen hundred. As three to sixteen hundred, so is the proportion of an Englishman to a Frenchman." He was clearly a very determined individual, and eventually completed his dictionary after nine years.

Samuel Johnson's dictionary had no entries for the letter "X" as he claimed that it begins no word in the English language. The noun Xylophone, everybody's favourite 'x' letter word, was not officially recorded in this country until April 7 th 1866 (source: www.dictionary.com ), some 116 years after his dictionary was completed. Some of Johnson's definitions blatantly exposed his personal prejudices. He defined "patron" as "Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery". Another notorious definition was for "oats", which he said were "A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people."

Johnson is said to be the second most-quoted person in English after Shakespeare. When asked about over-indulgence with drink he replied: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." He is believed to have later considered and decided against remarrying, describing second marriages as: "The triumph of hope over experience."

Samuel Johnson was awarded Doctor of Laws degrees by Dublin University in 1765 and Oxford University in 1775, and is often referred to simply as Dr Johnson. He died on 13 th December 1784 and was buried in London 's Westminster Abbey.

One of Johnson's most memorable quotes centres on his love for the city of London : "When a man is tired of London , he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." London at that time was a very English city, and quite a contrast to modern day cosmopolitan London . I wonder what Doctor Johnson would make of London today? Many of his quotes portray him as a xenophobe, particularly his opinions on the Scots ( "Much may be made of a Scotchman, if he be caught young.") , however it would be unfair to diagnose him with a condition which didn't exist according to his dictionary.

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