Students thoroughly furnished in the literature of the English language know about the magnificent biography of Samuel Johnson written by James Boswell. Johnson was, in some ways, England’s, Benjamin Franklin. Biographers are often measured by the work of Boswell. On occasion Boswell would forego the rights of a guest at a formal dinner to sit back of Johnson so to record his words in rich conversation. Boswell knew that he had a prime subject about whom to write. His work gave the world as much history as it did literature. Historians write about what happens to heads of state, of military, of economies and natural discoveries. We have to dig, as Boswell did, to find out what happened to regular persons, gifted or common. What are daily guiding factors in the lives of the masses? Knowing about those factors leads us to effective evaluation of life.
Persons like Johnson or Boswell provide the enduring images of what was happening to people in their time. They also show us how differently one person sees life from another. In that, they point to the tragedies and triumphs of the generations. Johnson was, from the beginning, something of a problem for others. Without wisdom in family or friends on the guidance of a lad who was different, the odd Johnson made his way. He was a mind-driven man. Physically he was seen as somewhat repulsive to many in that he was a hulk of a man, with a large head that descended all the way to his shoulders, his neck as wide as his head. His face and head were affected by a childhood affliction (scrofula) that was a source of some disfiguring – gland related. It had something to do with his asthma, which sometimes made him withdraw from others in spasms of choking and coughing. His muscles moved in jerky fashion affecting his arms and legs so that, on occasion, he was presumed to be drunk. (He did not drink spirits.) His favorite beverage was tea, consumed in great quantities. He was blind in one eye, and deaf in one ear. But, it was nearly miraculous what he could do, despite impaired vision and hearing. He was a prodigious reader, remembering what he read and what he heard. He could read rapidly and pass examination on what he read while also reproducing the conversations of the couples around him as he read. Observers knew they were in an unusual presence, so blotting out the negatives.
Johnson was sometimes slovenly in his conduct and dress. He could become fiercely angry. In a moment tender, he bowed to the welfare of others. He was kindly to the indigent and sometimes insulting to persons of privilege. He had a voracious appetite. He often acted with no thought of his own physical limitations so to participate in the joys of play. His wife, 22 years his senior, was dearly loved by him, and he seemed to have a constancy to love others without any concern about what he might receive in return. He once rescued a harlot from a bar, and offered his home as a refuge for her. There is no evidence that he was sexually involved with any person outside his marriage. He took indigent persons into his home, and provided sustenance for them. The story continues in that vein. He claimed openly to be a Christian, and made it clear to friends that any prayer in his home should be addressed in Jesus’ name. There were many situations, well reported, of his Christian interests, biblically based. One comes away from Johnson with the feeling that he learns something about the human condition, and the hope of heaven. I have known persons of significant differences in their attitudes toward this or that preferred attitude, convention or life context that seemed to fit Biblical narrative better than that of Samuel Johnson. Then I am arrested by such verses as: Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8) (Was this written for Johnson/Boswell as well as for me?) The earthly truth is that we do not celebrate well the holy love of God for us. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020