"All knowledge is of itself of some value. There
is nothing so minute or inconsiderable that I would not rather know it than not."(Samuel Johnson)
Samuel Johnson (
essayist,
poet,
scholar,
playwright and
lexicographer), in his own words, was born "almost dead". While young he contracted
scrofula,
or
tuberculosis of the
lymph glands, which perhaps caused his badly
scarred face and neck, incredibly
poor eyesight in his left
eye and a facial
tic. Samuel, at age two and a half, was taken to visit
Queen Anne with the "
golden touch" in
London, where he was given a golden piece he carried on his person for the rest of his life. He did, however, grow up into a
strong and healthy man, his strength proved when a
heckler annoyed him during a theatre show; according to
legend, Samuel picked up the man and
threw him and his chair into the
stage pit.
"A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with
pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing."
(Samuel Johnson)
It is now known that Samuel was most likely affected by
Tourette's
Syndrome and
obsessive compulsive disorder, but he was then
considered weird and semi-
insane. He would often
grimace, mutter and gesture wildly, and was known to reach down and pull the shoes off nearby women for no discernible reason. He would
whistle and make odd noises,
repeating words and sounds while talking to others. Samuel was also a very messy and
enthusiastic eater; James Boswell, his biographer, said that Samuel ate like a
wild animal, even when eating with
royalty. He could not tell the time on
a clock, no matter how hard he tried to learn. Samuel tried to teach students in his home to earn some money but was not too successful; only three pupils could stand the combination of facial tics and "
crazy" behaviour.
Samuel's obsessive compulsive disorder was illustrated in a number of
ways. He avoided many streets and avenues like the plague, devising
elaborate plans to avoid them. While walking he had to touch every post,
and if he missed one he had to stop his companions and go back to tap
it. Samuel didn't step on any cracks, for fear of getting ill or
dying. His biographer stated the he had "some superstitious habit" which
caused "his anxious care to go out or in a door or passage, by a certain
number of steps from a certain point, or at least so as that either his right
or his left foot... should consistently make the first actual movement
when he came close to the door or passage" (The Mammoth Book of Oddballs
and Eccentrics, by Karl Shaw).
"A gentleman who had been very unhappy in marriage,
married immediately after his wife died: Johnson said, it was the
triumph of hope over experience."(www.uselessknowledge.com)
Samuel married at the age of 28. His wife was crude, loud, twice his
age,
vertically challenged and
obese. They lived almost in
poverty, Samuel once saying that he lived "a life radically
wretched" but upon
his death his will uncovered several thousand pounds which were then
paid to
creditors and
friends. In spite of the poverty Samuel always kept
his
sense of humour, illustrated by his dictionary entry under the word '
fart': "Wind from behind. 'Love is the fart/Of every heart;/It pains a man when 'tis kept close;/and others doth offend, when 'tis let loose'".
There are many biographies about Samuel, the best known being The
Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D by James Boswell, as mentioned earlier.
The book was also known as Boswell's Life of Johnson, Boswell's Life or just Boswell. Six versions have been released since the original in 1897. The final version is six volumes long and chronicals every aspect of the life and work of Samuel Johnson.
"All theory is against the freedom of the will;
all experience for it."(Samuel Johnson)