'This Vast Sea of Words'

Dr. Johnson is writing to his friend Thomas Warton on this date, February 1, in 1755: 

“I now begin to see land. After having wandered . . . in this vast sea of words. What reception I shall meet with on the shore, I know not; whether the sound of bells, and acclamations of the people, which Ariosto talks of in his last Canto, or a general murmur of dislike, I know not . . .”

 

Johnson’s “vast sea of words” -- his Dictionary of the English Language – would be published two months later, on April 15, with 42,773 entries. He had worked on it for nine years and later described his labors as a mingling of “anxious diligence” and “persevering activity.” Johnson was assisted by six amanuenses. He would read a book and mark the words he wished to cite. Then he passed it along to his assistants. The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum describes the rest of the procedure:

 

“They would then copy the underlined word on to a sheet of paper that had been folded into quarto sections and divided by a pencil line into two columns. On the far left of the margin, they wrote the main word and underneath, they wrote the definition/example from the book with a large enough gap above and below, so that Johnson could later add his own definitions, explanations and etymologies. Having done this, the amanuensis would strike through the letter in the margin to show that that word has already been copied.”

 

All done by hand, in an analog world of poor lighting, ink and quill pens. In his “Plan of an English  Dictionary (1747), Johnson writes: “The great labour is yet to come, the labour of interpreting these words and phrases with brevity, fullness and perspicuity.” His more comical definitions – oats: “a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people” -- have been quoted too often, whether out of derision or cheap laughs.

 

I choose to celebrate Johnson’s Dictionary as an overflowing anthology of English prose and verse. Johnson had his favorites when looking for citations – Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope – and one could acquire a first-rate education by simply reading the quotations and pursuing the original sources. Robert Browning would claim he read the two folio volumes of the Dictionary in order to “qualify” as a writer. Here is John Wain’s description of Johnson’s use of quotations, which he judges “one of the glories of the Dictionary”:  

 

“To begin with, the idea of illustrating – and, by implication, enforcing – definition and usage by citing authorities was Johnson’s most important original contribution to lexicography, and would have remained so even if he had made a mess of the selection. In fact, he made a brilliant success of it. The Dictionary is one long fascinating anthology. He consciously chose the quotations not only to illustrate the words but to convey valuable thoughts or interesting information.”

 

Johnson’s Dictionary, like its great successor, the Oxford English Dictionary (the first volume of which – A to Ant – was published on this date, February 1, in 1884), is cause for celebration  by all English-speakers, especially writers.