Johnsoniana : or, Supplement to Boswell : being anecdotes and sayings of Dr Johnson / collected by Piozzi, Hawkins, Tyers .. [et al.]. . a tatterd cloakWakes from his dream, and labours for a joke;With brisker air the silken courtiers gaze,And turn the varied taunt a thousand ways. Of all the griefs that harass the distressd,Sure the most bitter is a scornful jest;Fate never wounds more deep the genrous heart,Than when a blockheads insult points the dart. Has Heaven reserved, in pity to the poor,No pathless waste, or undiscoverd shore? (1) [One of the warmest patrons of Johnsons London, on its
Johnsoniana : or, Supplement to Boswell : being anecdotes and sayings of Dr Johnson / collected by Piozzi, Hawkins, Tyers .. [et al.]. . a tatterd cloakWakes from his dream, and labours for a joke;With brisker air the silken courtiers gaze,And turn the varied taunt a thousand ways. Of all the griefs that harass the distressd,Sure the most bitter is a scornful jest;Fate never wounds more deep the genrous heart,Than when a blockheads insult points the dart. Has Heaven reserved, in pity to the poor,No pathless waste, or undiscoverd shore? (1) [One of the warmest patrons of Johnsons London, on its first appear-ance in 1738, was General Oglethorpe; and the Doctor, throughout life,gratefully acknowledged the kind and effectual support which he gave to thatpoem, though totally unacquainted with its author. The accompanying engrav-ing is made from a pen-and-ink sketch, taken February 28th, 1785, by the lateSamuel Ireland, while the General was attending the sale of Di. Johnsonslibrary at Christies great room in Pall Mall. The original is in the possessionof Mr. Upcott. He died in the July following, in his eighty-fifth year.]. .: ;h., IK DRAKE. 379 No secret island in the boundless main !No peaceful desert yet unclaimd by Spain ?Quick let us rise, the happy seats explore,And bear oppressions insolence no mournful truth is every where confessd,Slow rises worth, by poverty depressd 583. Vanity of Human Wishes The Vanity of Human Wishes, the subject of whichis in a great degree founded on the Alcibiades of Plato,possesses not the point and fire which animate the London. It breathes, however, a strain of calmand dignified philosophy, much more pleasing to themind, and certainly much more consonant to truth, thanthe party exaggeration of the prior satire. The poetschoice of modern examples, in place of those broughtforward by the ancient bard, is happy and judicious ; andhe has every where availed himself, and in a style themost impressive, of the solemnity,
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