Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Dr. Johnson as a Grecian: A Paper Read Before the Johnson Club on June 28, 1898
What appears to have rekindled his ardour for the lan guage is the incident related by Mrs. Piozzi When the King of Denmark was in England (in 1768) one of his noblemen was brought by Mr. Coleman to see Dr. Johnson at Mr. Thrale's country house; and having heard, he said, that he was not famous for Greek literature, attacked him on the weak side, politely adding that he chose that con versation on purpose, to favour himself. Dr. Johnson, how ever, displayed so copious a knowledge of authors, books, and every branch of learning in that language, that the gentleman appeared astonished. When he was gone John son said, 'now, for all this triumph I may thank Thrale' s Xenophon here; as, I think, excepting that one, I have not looked in a Greek book these 'ten years. But see what haste my dear friends were all in, ' continued he, 'to tell this poor innocent foreigner that I knew nothing of Greekl Oh, no! He knows nothing of Greek 1' with a loud burst of laughter.
After this triumph he was evidently enamoured with Xenophon. His reference to the delineation of character in the Anabasis was made subsequently to this incident, and, ten years later, in introducing Dr. Burney, who desired to consult a Welsh ms. In the Bodleian, he wrote (2 Nov., 1778) to Dr. Edwards But we must not let Welsh drive us from Greek. What comes of Xenophon? If you do not like the trouble of publishing the book, do not let your commentaries be lost; contrive that they may be published somewhere. Boswell's editors mention that an edition of the Memorabilia was then being pre pared by Dr. Edwards, but do not state who he was and whether the book was ever published. It was, as a matter of fact, issued by H. Owen, with a short preface, from the Clarendon Press in. 1785. Edward Edwards appears to have been Johnson's fellow student referred to above (n. Z) and was then a fellow of St. John's.
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