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Observations on Common Sense

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By Johnson, Samuel

Samuel Johnson: Johnson on Demand

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OBSERVATIONS ON COMMON SENSE (1738)

In 1731 Edward Cave had the brilliant idea of founding a monthly periodical, filling it with excerpts and abridgments of the contents of other journals, and calling it a “magazine”—a storehouse, the first publication to bear that title. The unwilling sources of copy for the Gentleman’s Magazine were indignant, but other printers and booksellers were quick to follow Cave’s example, and inaugurated competing “magazines.” For several years, mutual accusations of piracy and incompetence were exchanged in the columns of the rival journals, and in late 1738 the newest recruit to Cave’s staff exuberantly joined the fray. In fact, with the exception of the “Proposals for Printing Anagrammata Rediviva” (Yale, lxxxiii–xc.) and the Life of Boerhaave (Yale, XIX.19–55), all of Johnson’s remaining contributions to the Gentleman’s Magazine through May 1739, at which time he seems to have temporarily ceased writing for the magazine, are salvos in the periodical war. These editorial squibs provide amusing early testimony to Johnson’s talent for witty invective. The battle was nearing its end, however, for the Gentleman’s Magazine, partly no doubt at Johnson’s urging, was printing more and more original work and less and less from other periodicals. The soon-to-be-made decision to include a parliamentary debate in each issue, moreover, left less room for abridgements and attacks on rivals.1

F. V. Bernard (Notes and Queries, n. s. XIV [May 1967], 176–80) has argued that the following “Observations” in the Gentleman’s Magazine for December 1738 (VIII.640–41) are by Johnson. Thomas Kaminski thinks “the hand is undoubtedly Johnson’s” (Kaminski, p. 55). The piece lacks the dignity and classical references of many of Johnson’s most characteristic writings, and the ironies, though witty, are sometimes labored. The stylistic economy that is recommended and the grammatical sharpness, however, seem Johnsonian. Moreover, the use of full verbal irony was not foreign to him during this period.

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The “Observations” follow an allegorical piece which the Gentleman’s Magazine reprints from Common Sense for 2 December 1738, abridging it, however, by placing brackets around the many words and phrases in the piece that the Gentleman’s Magazine judges superfluous. As Kaminski shows (p. 55), the opening sentences suffice to demonstrate the procedure: “I am scarce able to express the pleasure your letter gave me; [for it came to my hands at a time that] I really began to fear there was not one of your branch of our family left [in the land of the living.]” The complaint about the prolixity of the writing in Common Sense—by contrast with that in the Gentleman’s Magazine, in which matters are “concisely and clearly stated”—was an old one. But the immediate occasion for this attack was the accusation in the issues of Common Sense for 18 January and 11 March that in the process of abridging essays, the Gentleman’s Magazine butchered them, eliminating “everything that looks like spirit in writing.” On the contrary, the Gentleman’s Magazine demonstrated that abridging the essays actually improved them.

Observations on the foregoing.

An ingenuous and artless confession of a fault is generally admitted as an extenuation of it, and, if accompanied with amendment, entitles the offender to pardon and compassion. In hopes therefore of regaining the favour, or at least pacifying the resentment, of these great reformers of our politicks, and refiners of our language, the illustrious authors of Common Sense, I have reprinted the foregoing elaborate and elegant dissertation literally from the weekly paper, without attempting to deprive the reader of a single syllable. This I am now convinced is the only way of doing justice to these wonderful originals, equally estimable for chastity of sentiment, and purity of diction.

This method is so safe, so obvious to discover, and so easy to follow, that it may well be wondered, how I could so long either obstinately decline, or negligently overlook it. I had imbibed an early prejudice in favour of brevity, and erroneously believed that, supposing equal perspicuity and elegance, the shortest expression was the best. I fancied that the rays of sense, like those of the sun, acquired force by converging, and acted most vigorously in a narrow compass.

That I am at length convinced of the ill tendency of these

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false opinions, I owe entirely to the candid1 admonitions of these excellent writers, and hope they will accept of my humble recantation. I now acknowledge that diffusion and redundancy “look,” at least, “like spirit in writing,” and that whoever shall impiously presume to lop from those sacred lines one monosyllable, however superfluous, or an epithet, however improper, or insignificant, is, in their own elevated and polite language, a “barbarian, a hacker, a cutter, an enemy to every ingenious sentiment, a thief, a mangler, a butcher, and a murderer.”

O thou great directress of political pens! known amongst the moderns by the names of FLUENCY and COPIOUSNESS, and amongst the men of former ages by the title of PROLIXITY! Thou, that weariest attention with invincible tautology, and bewilderest reason in inextricable mazes! Forgive, great goddess! the injuries rashly offered to the most zealous of thy votaries, the AUTHORS OF Common Sense, and accept of the small atonement which I now offer thee by publishing, in the Gentleman’s Magazine, four columns SACRED TO PROLIXITY.

Never was I so sensible of the advantages of this reformed taste, as in the perusal of the foregoing paper, so full of those elegancies which I have lately learned to value. I could not forbear looking back upon my days of ignorance, and congratulating myself, that this inestimable piece was not violated by my “merciless” hand. How many delicacies of expression

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had I contemptuously expunged! How many beautiful circumlocutions had I reduced to single words! How had I “mangled” and “butchered” this most finish’d piece of modern rhetoric! Fill’d with these thoughts, I returned to my author, and, that I might have a full sense of my obligations to him, collected into one view (by the help of the marks [ ] I made in perusinga this epistle) those enchanting phrases, and graceful figures, which I was accustom’d formerly to despise and cut away. And I doubt not but all my readers will peruse them in the2 margin with no less pleasurec than improvement.

As a farther proof of gratitude, I shall, without any regard to the censures that I have reason to apprehend for so rash and arduous an attempt, endeavour to assist these great authors in the noble design which they have formed, of reducing our language, like the Chinese, to monosyllables. Long have they conceived this useful scheme, and much have they laboured

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to compleat it; but as they have not hitherto, with all their efforts, been able to bring together more than THREE AND TWENTY words of one syllable, I hope entirely to recover their good opinion, by pointing out a method by which they may extend their rank of monosyllables to THIRTY. The unlucky word always, might, by following the most ancient and most authorized orthography, be resolved into “in all ways.” His sentence will then flow with wonderful harmony thus— “She will have her in all ways close at her heels, as if she was proud to let the world see how she treats her. I leave you to judge.”3

The same analysis may be very successfully practised in other places, and by the assistance of a few men of equal genius with our authors, might in less than fifty years be brought to perfection. S. U.4

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Editorial Notes

1 Detailed accounts of the warfare are given in C. Lennart Carlson, The First Magazine: A History of the Gentleman’s Magazine, Brown University Studies, vol. 4 (1938); Albert Pailler, Edward Cave et le Gentleman’s Magazine, 1731–1754 (1975); and Barker.

1 [SJ’s note.] Common Sense, January 18, has the following ELEGANT paragraph:

We can’t help bestowing a word or two upon the Gentleman’s Magazine, of WHOM we may truly say, HE has not only robb’d but murder’d common-sense: not content with stealing every thing he can lay his hands on, he so mangles and defaces WHAT he steals, that it is impossible their natural parents should know THEM. This butcher bears a most barbarous hatred against every THING that looks like SPIRIT in writing,—an ingenious sentiment has some THING in it he cannot bear; wherever he meets a thought of wit, he cuts it off without mercy; he is determined no such THING shall be seen in his magazine.

In their paper of March 11, the Gentleman’s Magazine is complimented with the title of barbarian, and pirate, to which they add, instead of performing the operation like an artist, he cuts and hacks like a butcher.

a perusing emend] pursing GM

2 [SJ’s note] In my unenlightened state I should have changed or dropt the following expressions in this essay.—— I should certainly have put it out of your head to think of ——The people who ruled the roostb——It is not to be expressed what——does no one thing in this world——this being the case—— If that should happen.——We had best troop off together.——There is one there.——Opposite in person and mind——was owing——As your fathers had done BEFORE you.——What he has done has been——upon this.—— She’d have her to know, she.——Now and then——I should not wonder at it. ——At her first appearance in THIS TOWN IT was expected SHE would have been admired by all the world, but those at that time at the head of the fashion, thought otherwise.——She retired into France, where, when strangers became acquainted with her, all the world was in love with her.——Two most opposites.——Topic of conversation was to rail at you.——reasons why. I will tell it you in as FEW (’tis supposed he means SHORT) words as I can.——His name is WIT, he formerly writ.——Carry along with us——At a time that——I began to fear there was not one, I assure you there was——Without making enquiry [AT THE INNS OF COURT should be added] I went into the City.——Once more before I died——You were retired to America, for they had heard you say, you were——And the cant amongst them was” ——Beauties, which the reader will perceive included within hooks [] or distinguished in italic, I shou’d have very much defaced.

b roost emend] roast GM

c no less pleasure emend] no pleasure GM

3 This sentence appears in the abridged piece; “she” is Luxury, and “her” is poverty in the Common Sense allegory.

4 Sylvanus Urban, Edward Cave’s pseudonym. The London Magazine and other opponents lampooned him as Dr. Urban, a quack.

Transcription

Document Details

Document TitleObservations on Common Sense

AuthorJohnson, Samuel

Creation Date1738

Publ. DateN/A

Alt. TitleN/A

Contrib. AuthorCave, Edward

ClassificationSubject: Periodical; Subject: Common Sense; Subject: Plagiarism; Subject: Criticism; Subject: Language; Genre: Book Review; Genre: Magazine controversy; Genre: Satire

PrinterN/A

PublisherEdward Cave

Publ. PlaceLondon

VolumeSamuel Johnson: Johnson on Demand

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