1
Boswell's Life of Johnson
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Johnson, by James Boswell This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Life of Johnson Abridged and Edited, with an Introduction by Charles Grosvenor Osgood
Author: James Boswell
Editor: Charles Grosvenor Osgood
Release Date: May 12, 2006 [EBook #1564]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF JOHNSON ***
Produced by Donald Lainson
BOSWELL'S LIFE OF JOHNSON
By James Boswell
Abridged and edited, with an introduction
by Charles Grosvenor Osgood
Professor of English at Princeton University
Preface
In making this abridgement of Boswell's Life of Johnson I have omitted most of Boswell's criticisms, comments, and notes, all of Johnson's opinions in legal cases, most of the letters, and parts of the conversation dealing with matters which were of greater importance in Boswell's day than now. I have kept in mind an old habit, common enough, I dare say, among its devotees, of opening the book of random, and reading wherever the eye falls upon a passage of especial interest. All such passages, I hope, have been retained, and enough of the whole book to illustrate all the phases of Johnson's mind and of his time which Boswell observed.
Loyal Johnsonians may look upon such