actions, it was not for the purpose of sparing earnest effort. "He reads twenty books to write a sentence; he travels a hundred miles to make a fine description," said Thackeray. Every essay showed that he had thoroughly saturated his mind with the subject to be treated. He was never satisfied until he had selected from his vast store of learning numberless allusions, illustrations, and comparisons to enforce and embellish his ideas.

Macaulay's favorite themes were great men and great deeds, and his essays, with but few exceptions, were devoted to subjects in literature and history. In the first group are the well known articles on Milton, Dryden, Southey, Bacon, Madame D'Arblay, Bunyan, Goldsmith, and Johnson; in the history group are the able papers on Machiavelli, Mirabeau, Walpole, Pitt, Clive, Hastings, Frederick the Great, and the Earl of Chatham.

MACAULAY ON JOHNSON

Macaulay wrote the Life of Samuel Johnson in 1856 for the eighth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Twentyfive years before this he had written an essay on Johnson for the Edinburgh Review. But his real purpose at that time was to criticise an edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson by John Wilson Croker. Macaulay had a bitter contempt for Croker, not so much on account of the man's political views as on account of the scandals of his literary life. It is not surprising, therefore, to find more than half of this earlier essay occupied with the most severe arraignment of Croker for his ignorance and carelessness as an editor. The essay itself is much below the standard of Macaulay's other contributions to the Review.

The later article on Johnson, belonging to that matchless group of essays on Atterbury, Bunyan, Goldsmith, and Pitt which are to be found in the Britannica, reveals Macaulay

at his very best. The sketches were written during the last six years of his life and were the happy diversion of his literary ease. That their composition grew out of a pure love for writing probably accounts for the request which Macaulay made to the editor, Mr. Adam Black, that remuneration should not be so much as mentioned.

A better estimate of these Britannica articles could hardly be found than that offered by Trevelyan: 'Compact in form, crisp and nervous in style, these five little essays are everything which an article in an encyclopædia should be. The reader, as he travels softly and swiftly along, congratulates himself on having lighted upon what he regards as a most fascinating literary or political memoir; but the student, on a closer examination, discovers that every fact and date and circumstance is distinctly and faithfully recorded in due chronological sequence. Macaulay's belief about himself as a writer was that he improved to the last; and the question of the superiority of his later over his earlier manner may securely be staked upon a comparison between the article on Johnson in the Edinburgh Review and the article on Johnson in the Encyclopædia Britannica. The latter of the two is, indeed, a model of that which its eminent subject pronounced to be the essential qualification of a biographer the art of writing trifles with dignity."

THE READING AND STUDY OF THE TEXT

No one who reads an article in an encyclopædia would think of pausing to make a critical study of the author's language or to consult other books for the meaning of various allusions. It is worth while to remember this fact when we are taking up the biography presented in our text. When Macaulay wrote the Life of Samuel Johnson for the Encyclopædia Britannica, he had no idea that his essay would be studied. Indeed, the critical attitude cannot long be maintained while reading any volume of Macaulay for the first time. "To get at his meaning people have never the need to think twice and they certainly have seldom the time."

First of all the Life of Samuel Johnson should be read from beginning to end simply to get the effect as a whole of Macaulay's exquisite portrayal. This initial reading, though undertaken chiefly for the sake of entertainment, should enable a student to recall most of the topics which have been discussed. He should be able to tell in a general way how much of the essay concerns Johnson's personality and how much concerns his writings; and he should be able to name the particular phases of Johnson's life and character which stand out most clearly in the discussion.

The real study of the text should not be either dull or irksome. The contents of the essay will provide the most attractive material for topical recitations. What an interesting fund of knowledge can be turned to immediate use in oral and written compositions upon such subjects as the following: Johnson's independence of spirit; his life at Oxford; the hardships of the first thirty years in London; the production of

READING AND STUDY OF TEXT

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his tragedy, Irene; the pension from George III; the Literary Club; Johnson's conversation; the household in Fleet Street; Johnson's friendships, early and late; his death. Again, the discussion in the recitation may sometimes show opposite opinions among the students, and these can be expanded into brief and fruitful debates. Thus, some members of the class will be ready to defend Chesterfield for his conduct toward Johnson; others will decline to approve of Johnson's acceptance of the pension, or will refuse to forgive him for certain of his prejudices. Macaulay's attitude in a few matters will be challenged, particularly his severe depreciation of Boswell.

Careful attention should be given to Macaulay's methods of expression and to the rhetorical features of his paragraphs and sentences. Does he as a rule observe the principle of unity in constructing paragraphs? Does he often make use of a topic statement? Can we readily frame such a statement for ourselves when the thought of the paragraph is not summed up? Then there is the principle of continuity. Is the coherence between paragraphs well established? Several important questions will arise in our minds when we examine the structure of Macaulay's sentences. What is to be said regarding his practice of using many short sentences; of employing many balanced phrases? What arrangement the loose or periodic does he seem to prefer?

We have a profound admiration for the author's directness and wonderful lucidity. How is the remarkable clearness attained? Some particular features of Macaulay's style are treated in the following section. Which of these artifices of style does the author employ most frequently? Where in the essay are they used with marked success? On the other hand, certain objections have been urged against Macaulay's manner of dealing with a topic; namely, that he is overconfident or "cocksure" in his opinions; that he too oftenexaggerates; that he too frequently resorts to the effect of climax. Do any or all of these faults appear in the essay

on Johnson? The student should look carefully for these characteristics and thus form his own estimate of the validity of these objections which have been raised by Macaulay's critics.

PROMINENT FEATURES OF MACAULAY'S STYLE

Use of specific, definite terms. In a letter to Mr. Napier, dated April 18, 1842, Macaulay says: "The first rule of all writing is that the words used by the writer shall be such as most fully and concisely convey his meaning to the great body of his readers." If examples are needed to enforce this precept, they may be taken in plentiful numbers from the pages of Macaulay's own works. The words which convey his meaning so clearly and effectively are always specific, definite terms. He discusses everything in the concrete. His liking for a particular illustration rather than a general statement is strikingly displayed in the following examples selected from a paragraph in the Life of Samuel Johnson: "One surrounded by dukes and earls, the other by starving pamphleteers and index makers;" "Who had feasted among blue ribands in Saint James Square and had lain with fifty pounds weight of iron on his legs in the condemned ward of Newgate;" "His pen had failed him;" "He dined on venison and champagne whenever he had been so fortunate as to borrow a guinea;" "He had heard the prime minister roar with laughter."

Comparison and contrast. Macaulay makes abundant use of comparisons. An unfamiliar object, person, or circumstance is clearly explained by a reference to an idea well known to the reader. Cf. "Johnson dressed like a scarecrow, and ate like a cormorant;" "The pleasantry was as awkward as the gambols of a hippopotamus;" "Boswell's mind resembled those creepers which the botanists call parasites;"