
Authority Cited: [Johnson, Samuel] Savage’s Life, London; Rambler, Irene; Vanity of Human Wishes; Johnson; Comment.[ary] on Pope’s Essay on Man
Author name and dates: Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
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Categories (list of works cited – preliminary) [BKG Note: See Self-Quotations and Anonymous Quotations in Johnson's Dictionary, W.K. Wimsatt, M.H. Wimsatt, ELH, Vol.15, No. 1, March 1948, Johns Hopkins University Press (also in JSTOR). See also Self-Quotations in Johnson's "Dictionary," W.R. Keast, N&Q, Sept. 1955, pp.392-393 and Another Self-Quotation in Johnson's "Dictionary," W.R. Keast, N&Q, June 1956, p.362. (Thanks to R. DeMaria for pointing out the Keast references.) See also Anthony Lee, "A New Johnson Self-Quotation in the Dictionary," Notes and Queries, Vol. 65, Issue 2, June 2018. The self-quotations are most likely from memory. The text of the following titles can be found in the Yale Edition of the Works of Samuel Johnson: Commentary, vol. 17; Rambler, vols. 3-5, Life of Savage, vol. 22; Drury Lane Prologue, Good Natur'd Man Prologue, Irene, London, Vanity of Human Wishes, An Ode, and To Miss ____ on Her Playing...., vol.6. One possible new SJ citation, for pantomime, is identified in bold below. See the Anon. page for sources of other Anonymous citations.]
Samuel Johnson self-quotations in the 1755 and 1773 Dictionaries
Author name and dates: Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
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Categories (list of works cited – preliminary) [BKG Note: See Self-Quotations and Anonymous Quotations in Johnson's Dictionary, W.K. Wimsatt, M.H. Wimsatt, ELH, Vol.15, No. 1, March 1948, Johns Hopkins University Press (also in JSTOR). See also Self-Quotations in Johnson's "Dictionary," W.R. Keast, N&Q, Sept. 1955, pp.392-393 and Another Self-Quotation in Johnson's "Dictionary," W.R. Keast, N&Q, June 1956, p.362. (Thanks to R. DeMaria for pointing out the Keast references.) See also Anthony Lee, "A New Johnson Self-Quotation in the Dictionary," Notes and Queries, Vol. 65, Issue 2, June 2018. The self-quotations are most likely from memory. The text of the following titles can be found in the Yale Edition of the Works of Samuel Johnson: Commentary, vol. 17; Rambler, vols. 3-5, Life of Savage, vol. 22; Drury Lane Prologue, Good Natur'd Man Prologue, Irene, London, Vanity of Human Wishes, An Ode, and To Miss ____ on Her Playing...., vol.6. One possible new SJ citation, for pantomime, is identified in bold below. See the Anon. page for sources of other Anonymous citations.]
Samuel Johnson self-quotations in the 1755 and 1773 Dictionaries
- Comment.[ary] on Pope’s Ess.[ay] on Man (SJ trans.); consoler (not identified by Wimsatt, identified by Keast; incorrectly attributed to Warburton in the Abstracted Dict. editions.)
- [Drury Lane Prologue]; "Anonymous" citations identified by Wimsatt as from this title: pimp (quote not in 1773 Dict.); scenick. "Anonymous" citation from this title not identified by Wimsatt or Keast: pantomime (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- Irene; disjoint; follow (quote not in the 1773 Dict.); from; idler; important; imposture; intimidate; obscurely (quote not in 1773 Dict.); penitence (quote not in 1773 Dict.); polish (quote not in 1773 Dict.); proverbial (quote not in 1773 Dict.); spare (quote not in 1773 Dict.); stagnant; stormy (quote not in 1773 Dict.); sultaness; vacant (quote not in 1773 Dict.). "Anonymous" citations identified by Wimsatt as from the Prologue to Irene: ennoble (quote not in 1773 Dict.); prejudice (quote not in 1773 Dict.).
- London; dissipate; elegant. "Anonymous" citations identified by Wimsatt as from this title: mimick; prowl (quote not in 1773 Dict.); rest (quote not in 1773 Dict.); terrour; truth (quote not in 1773 Dict.).
- Prologue to Good-natured Man; bribe (added in 1773 Dict., a play by Oliver Goldsmith, Prologue by SJ). See Anthony Lee, "A New Johnson Self-Quotation in the Dictionary," Notes and Queries, Vol. 65, Issue 2, June 2018. [BKG Note: this is the only self-quotation added in the 1773 Dict. so far identified.]
- Rambler; expiration; faint; ground (quote not in 1773 Dict.; no quote for sense 1.); instillation; medicate (quote not in 1773 Dict.); virility. "Anonymous" citation identified by Wimsatt as from this title: placableness. "Anonymous" citation from this title not identified by Wimsatt, identified by Keast: poison (quote not in the 1773 Dict.).
- Savage’s Life; dissipate
- [(Spring) An Ode]; "Anonymous" citation identified by Wimsatt as from this title: vegetation.
- [To Miss _____ on Her Playing on the Harpsicord, in a Room Hung with some Flower-Pieces of Her Own Painting]; modulate (per Wimsatt); strife (quote not in 1773 Dict., cited as Johnson in 1755 Dict.; incorrectly cited as B. Johnson or Ben. Johnson in Abstracted Dict. editions; not identified by Wimsatt, identified by Keast. Keast also says that the 3rd Dict. edition cites B. Johnson.) [BKG Note: "gives" rather than "makes" in Yale Vol. VI, p.78, text]
- Vanity of Human Wishes; dog; just (quote not in 1773 Dict.); lacerate; lord; march (quote not in 1773 Dict.); relax; transmute (quote not in 1773 Dict.); unconquered (quote not in 1773 Dict., cited as Johnson in 1755 Dict). "Anonymous" citations identified by Wimsatt as from this title: luxurious; peace (quote not in 1773 Dict.); private (quote not in 1773 Dict.); septennial (quote not in 1773 Dict.).
- Johnson (no work cited); island [BKG Note: Cited as Johnson in the 1755 Dict. Anthony Lee identifies this cite as a Pope quotation from Essay on Man and indicates that it is similar to a passage in London that also includes island. The citation is corrected to Pope in the 1765 Dict. 3rd edition. The quote does not appear in the 1773 Dict.]
Alphabetical list of SJ self-quotations [BKG Note: A total of 54 SJ self-quotes have been identified. 18 self-quotes in 1755 Dict. vol. 1, two anonymous, four not in 1773 Dict.; 35 self-quotes in 1755 Dict. vol.2, 17 anonymous, two "Johnson," 22 not in 1773 Dict. These deletions left two senses without an illustrative quote in the 1773 Dict. So, 14 self-quotes in 1755 vol. 1 and 13 self-quotes in vol. 2 survived to the 1773 and subsequent Dict. editions, and one was added in the 1773 Dict.]
- bribe, v.a. 1. Prologue to Good-Natured Man (added in 1773 Dict.)
- consoler, n.s. Comment.[ary] on Pope’s Ess.[ay] on Man
- disjoint, v.a. 2. Irene
- dissipate, v.a. 2. Savage’s Life
- dissipate, v.a. 3. London
- dog, v.a. Vanity of Human Wishes
- elegant, adj. 1. London
- ennoble, v.a. 3. Anon. [Irene, Prologue] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- expiration, n.s. 2. Rambler
- faint, adj. 4. Rambler
- follow, v.a. 2. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- from, prep. 3. Irene
- ground, v.a. 1. Rambler (quote not in 1773 Dict.; no quote for sense 1.)
- idler, n.s. Irene
- important, adj. 1. Irene
- imposture, n.s. Irene
- instillation, n.s. Rambler
- intimidate, v.a. Irene
- just, adj. 11. Vanity of Human Wishes (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- lacerate, v.a. Vanity of Human Wishes
- lord, n.s.1. Vanity of Human Wishes
- luxurious, adj. 2. Anon. [Vanity of Human Wishes]
- march, n.s. 1. Vanity of Human Wishes (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- medicate, v.a. Rambler (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- mimick, n.s. 2. Anon. [London]
- modulate, v.a. Anon. [To Miss _____ on Her Playing on the Harpsicord, in a Room Hung with some Flower-Pieces of Her Own Painting]
- obscurely, adv. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- pantomime, n.s. 2. Anon. [Drury Lane Prologue] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- peace, n.s. 1. Anon. [Vanity of Human Wishes] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- penitence, n.s. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- pimp, v.a. Anonymous [Drury Lane Prologue] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- placableness, n.s. Anonymous [Rambler]
- poison, v.a. 1. Anonymous [Rambler] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- polish, v.a. 2. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- prejudice, v.a. 1. Anonym. [Irene, Prologue] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- private, adj. 1. Anon. [Vanity of Human Wishes] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- proverbial, adj. 1. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- prowl, v.n. Anon. [London] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- relax, v.a. 3. Vanity of Human Wishes
- rest, n.s. 4. Anonym. [London] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- scenick, adj. Anonym. [Drury Lane Prologue]
- septennial, adj. 2. Anonym. [Vanity of Human Wishes] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- spare, v.a. 5. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- stagnant, adj. Irene
- stormy, adj. 2. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.; no quote for sense 2.)
- strife, n.s. 2. Johnson [To Miss _____ on Her Playing on the Harpsicord, in a Room Hung with some Flower-Pieces of Her Own Painting] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- sultaness, n.s. Irene
- terrour, n.s. 3. Anonym. [London]
- transmute, v.n. Vanity of Human Wishes (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- truth, n.s. 2 Anonymous [London] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- unconquered, adj. 2. Johnson [Vanity of Human Wishes] (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- vacant, adj. 5. Irene (quote not in 1773 Dict.)
- vegetation, n.s. 1. Anonymous [(Spring) An Ode]
- virility, n.s.1. Rambler