The world in thirty-eight chapters : or Dr Johnson's guide to life

"Dr Johnson was a dazzling conversationalist, a polymath and a moralist, whose intellectual and social curiosity were boundless. Yet he was also a deeply melancholy man, haunted by dark thoughts, sickness and a diseased imagination. In his own life, both public and private, he sought to choose a virtuous and prudent path, negotiating everyday hazards and temptations. His writings and aphorisms illuminate what it means to lead a life of integrity, and his experience, abundantly documented by him and by others (such as James Boswell and Hester Thrale), is a lesson in the art of regulating the mind and the body. Johnson's story touches on many themes that have enduring significance. He was, and remains, a perceptive commentator on the vanity of human wishes, the rewards and dangers of charity, the need to cultivate kindness, the complexities of family life (especially marriage), the effects of boredom and the fleeting nature of pleasure. He writes and speaks incisively and humanely about the ego, ambition, hypocrisy, fallibility and disorders of the mind, as well as the corrosive effects of obsession, the precariousness of fame and the skulduggery of the literary world. He is a source of profound good sense about what it means to be a lawyer, a teacher and a doctor. More than that, though, he continually translates his experience of poverty, scorn, pain and madness into a rich understanding of how to be."--Jacket Samuel Johnson Was A Critic, An Essayist, A Poet And A Biographer. He Was Also, Famously, The Compiler Of The First Good English Dictionary, Published In 1755. A Polymath And A Great Conversationalist, His Intellectual And Social Curiosity Were Boundless. Yet He Was A Deeply Melancholy Man, Haunted By Dark Thoughts, Sickness And A Diseased Imagination. In His Own Life, Both Public And Private, He Sought To Choose A Virtuous And Prudent Path, Negotiating Everyday Hazards And Temptations. His Writings And Aphorisms Illuminate What It Means To Lead A Life Of Integrity, And His Experience, Abundantly Documented By Him And By Others (such As James Boswell And Hester Thrale), Is A Lesson In The Art Of Regulating The Mind And The Body. 1. An Inscription Over The Door, To Show What Kind Of Book This Is -- 2. Of Personal Oddity: Which Is No Obstacle To Personal Authority -- 3. The Community Of Pains And Pleasures -- Our Subject's Origins And Upbringing, With Some Speculations On What We May Learn From Them -- 4. The Description Of A Young Man's Disappointment, With Some Sidelights Courtesy Of A Certain Switzer, Dr. Jung -- 5. A Philosophical Meditation Upon The Nature And Rewards Of Accident, In Which Are Used The Strange Words 'galilean Serendipity' -- 6. In Which Samuel Johnson, Being Entrusted With A Mission Of Love, Proceeds To Execute It; With What Success Will Hereinafter Appear -- 7. The Mournful Truth Of London Life; Or, An Author Embarks Upon The Sea Of Literature (with But A Smattering Of Wormy Cliché) -- 8. In Which We Observe The Peculiarities Of Friendship, Manifest In Samuel Johnson's Association With The Notorious Mr. Richard Savage ; 9. A Resting Place -- Where The Reader May Take Refreshment, And Where Vexed Matters Are Resolved -- 10. Of Genius, With Sundry Other Scenes From The Face Of Life. 11. In Which The Craft Of Literary Biographer Is Expounded -- 12. An Excursion To The Theatre, With Some Brief Diversions Into Other Arts -- 13. In Which We Ponder The Making Of A Dictionary -- With Thoughts On The True Meaning Of Lexicography And The Particular Flavours Of Its Solitude -- 14. A Chapter About Grief (for One Word Must Serve Where In Truth No Assemblage Of Words Will Be Sufficient) -- 15. Containing Some Essential Points Of Information On The Life Of Reading, Whereamong Are The Most Fugacious Mention Of Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu And Even Mr. Stephen King -- 16. A Chapter That Reflects On The Uses Of Sickness, And Of Patrons -- 17. An Essay, Or 'loose Sally Of The Mind', Upon The Methods Of A Moralist, In Which Are Considered Prose Style And Its Higher Functions -- 18. Some Further Thoughts On The Rambler And The Intricacies Of Ordinary Life -- 19. A Short Musing, Upon Exemption From Oblivion (or What Is Otherwise Called Memory) -- 20. Containing Much To Exercise The Reader's Thoughts Upon The Questions Of Fear And Sanity. 21. A Chapter One Might, In A More Facetious Spirit, Have Chosen To Label 'shakespeare Matters' -- 22. In Which Samuel Johnson Idles, To Some Avail, Not Least By Enquiring Into The Soul Of Advertisement And Our Artificial Passions -- 23. Of Tea And Abyssinia -- A Chapter About Choices, In Which We Have Chosen To Include The Word 'lumbersome' (a Curio You May Reasonably Think A Mistake For 'cumbersome') -- 24. In Which The Definition Of Network Provides An Opportunity To Appraise Certain Marvels Of The Twenty-first Century, Not Least The Inventions Of Mr. Mark Zuckerburg -- 25. On The Business Of A Club -- Being Not A 'heavy Stick; A Staff Intended For Offence' But Rather 'an Assembly Of Good Fellows' (where The Staff May Cause Offence, Without Intent) -- 26. A Chapter Upon Samuel Johnosn's Lawyerly Inclinations, In Which We May Wonder At The Conduct Of Signor Giuseppe Baretti And The Philosophy Of Dr. George Berkeley -- Of Whom , We Can Be Sure, Only The Latter Was Fit To Be A Bishop -- 27. In Which, At Last We Attend To The Life And Loves Of Hester Thrale, A Foisonous Fund Of Anecdote -- 28. Some Ruminations Upon Scepticism, Amid Which Appear The Names Of Both Sir Thomas Browne And Scratching Fanny -- 29. A Short Chapter On Politics And Public Life, Wherein The Radical John Wilkes Does Rear His Head -- 30. Containing A Sketch Of Dr. Johnson's Visit To The Caledonian Regions -- And Matters Pertinent Thereunto. 31. On The Fleeting Nature Of Pleasure And The State Of Felicity -- 32. In Which Thought Is Applied To An Awkward Question: Whether Dr. Johnson Subscribed To The Doctrines Of S****ism -- 33. Upon Charity -- Whether It Be Cold, And How It Is Performed -- 34. A Chapter About Boredom, Which May Serve To Remind Us That There Are No Truly Uninteresting Things -- 35. Of Johnson Among The Bluestockings -- Though It Behoves Us To Remark That He Did Not Refer To Them Thus, And That We Might Now Be Wise To Foreswear This Somewhat Disdainous Appellation -- 36. One Of Our Longer Chapters, Directed With No Little Incongruity To The Matter Of Life's Brevity -- 37. Some Thoughts Upon The Business Of Cultural Legislation, Which Is Less Atrocious Than It Sounds -- 38. In Which The Account Of The Great Johnson Is Concluded, With A Farewell To The Reader. Henry Hitchings. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 328-342).