London: A Poem, in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal
By Samuel Johnson

Transcription, correction, editorial commentary, and markup by Staff and Research Assistants at The University of Virginia, Sara Brunstetter, John O'Brien, Austin Benson

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London , 1738 This edition of London was prepared by students in "Samuel Johnson: From Print to Digital Media" in the spring of 2014: Sarah Booth, Kay Marie Ferguson, Laura Gilstrap, Katelyn Hebel, Brandan Hummel, Lauren Marrero, Maureen O'Connor, and Erica Seymour. They used the TypeWright tool in 18thConnect to edit from the copy of the first edition available in the Eighteenth-Century Collections Online database. Title page image sourced from Harvard University.

Editorial Statements

Research informing these annotations draws on publicly-accessible resources, with links provided where possible. Annotations have also included common knowledge, defined as information that can be found in multiple reliable sources. If you notice an error in these annotations, please contact lic.open.anthology@gmail.com.

Original spelling and capitalization is retained, though the long s has been silently modernized and ligatured forms are not encoded.

Hyphenation has not been retained, except where necessary for the sense of the word.

Page breaks have been retained. Catchwords, signatures, and running headers have not. Where pages break in the middle of a word, the complete word has been indicated prior to the page beginning.

Materials have been transcribed from and checked against first editions, where possible. See the Sources section.

Citation

Johnson, Samuel. London: A Poem, in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal, , 1738 . Literature in Context: An Open Anthology. http://anthologydev.lib.virginia.edu/work/Johnson/johnson-london. Accessed: 2024-11-21T15:16:14.971Z

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n054Shameless, immodest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary - [UVAstudstaff]n055To deceive or cheat. Source: Oxford English Dictionary - [UVAstudstaff]n037Members of Parliament who had been paid off to vote the government line. - [UVAstudstaff]introductionLondon, published in 1738, represents Johnson's attempt to satirize the grubby world of London and also to rise above it. The poem is an "imitation" of the third Satire of the Roman poet Juvenal, which probably dates to the first century. In this poem, Juvenal imagines a friend of the poet, named Umbricius, who is sick and tired of the city of Rome and is leaving for the countryside for good. In doing what was called an "imitation" of his classical source, Johnson is not simply translating Juvenal's poem, but updating it, finding modern correlations to the Latin original. Here, London stands in for Rome, "Thales" stands in for Juvenal's friend Umbricius, and the Tuscan countryside to which Umbricius was headed becomes Wales. Exhausted by the filth, crowds, noise of London, and the difficulty of making a living as a writer, Thales (believed by some scholars to refer to Richard Savage, another hack writer who had become a friend of Johnson's) in some ways expresses Johnson's own frustrations. But London itself, published in a handsome folio edition, written in the heroic couplet form that to readers of the 1730s identified the high style of serious poetry, using the form of the imitation to signify its neoclassical aspirations, and hyped in the pages of the Gentleman's Magazine (which published ads for the poem, and also excerpted it), is clearly an attempt to Johnson to get out of hackdom as soon as possible, to become a poet like Alexander Pope, making a good living independent of the whims and tight fists of the booksellers and magazine editors. The poem also positioned itself as part of the growing opposition to the government of Sir Robert Walpole, who had dominated British politics since taking over as the de facto Prime Minister (there was no such official position yet) in 1721. Walpole successfully suppressed dissent through a mixture of brutality, bribery, and control of the print media. By the late 1730s, however, attacks on his regime were becoming more open and frequent, prompting new attempts on the part of his government to suppress dissenting voices. In particular, the Stage Licensing Act of 1737 called for theater managers to submit all plays for government approval in advance of performance. Prompted in part by satires against the regime like John Gay's The Beggars Opera (1728) and the satirical afterpieces by Henry Fielding that had been very popular in the mid-1730s, the Stage Licensing Act had a chilling effect on the theater. In particular, the passage of the Act thwarted Johnson's attempt to become a playwright himself. Johnson had arrived in London just that year with a half-finished tragedy in his luggage, a play called Irene that he probably imagined as a vehicle by which he could make a lot of money and gain status as an author. But in the aftermath of the Stage Licensing Act, theater managers became extremely cautious about new plays in general, and Irene was not staged until 1749. By using Juvenal's Third Satire as a point of departure, London manages to critique the Walpole regime indirectly and through coded references, but contemporary readers, particularly those in sympathy with the opposition, were readily able to see how the poem mocked Walpole's reign as corrupt. Probably because of its political stance, London seems to have sold reasonably well, and Alexander Pope, the most famous poet of the period (and a sympathizer with opposition politics), praised it. But as a vehicle for establishing Johnson's reputation as a significant poet who could make a living off his art it was a dead end. Johnson had to continue to grind out work for hire for another decade and a half. It was not until he achieved fame in the 1750s, first as the author of a Spectator-like series of journalistic essays called The Rambler and then as the editor of the Dictionary of the English Language, which made him a kind of national treasure, since he had single-handedly accomplished for English what it had taken large teams of scholars to do for other European languages. Here, let's read Johnson as eighteenth-century Grub Street's finest product--and its most perceptive critic.juvenal"Who can endure this terrible city? Who is so iron-willed that he can bear it?"thalesThe character of Thales has often been seen to have been inspired by the author Richard Savage, a friend of Samuel Johnson. Richard Savage, like Thales here, left London in an attempt to live in Wales. In 1744, after the death of Savage, Johnson published his Life of Richard Savage, a full-scale biography. - [UVAstudstaff]cambriaWales. Savage did go to Wales, where he died in debtor's prison. - [UVAstudstaff]davidThe Patron saint of Wales. - [UVAstudstaff]hiberniaThe Latin name for Ireland. - [UVAstudstaff]thestrandThe main thoroughfare of London, connecting the City of London with Westminster. - [UVAstudstaff]rapinePlunder or pillage. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]rabbleAn unruly, disorganized crowd or mob. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]wherryA light rowing boat used mainly on rivers. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]thamesThe second longest river in Britain, which flows through central London. - [UVAstudstaff]elizaQueen Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace. - [UVAstudstaff]consecratedSacred, hallowed, or sanctified. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]masqueradeMasquerade balls were enormously popular in London in this period. People dressed up in costume in order to conceal their identities; critics denounced masquerades as hot-beds of sexual intrigue and immoral behavior. - [UVAstudstaff]excise Any toll or tax. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [AJB]unrewardedscienceUnacknowledged intellectual pursuits. - [UVAstudstaff]osiersAny of several willows with tough pliant branches used in basketwork. It can also be a flexible branch of any of these willows. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]valeA more or less extensive tract of land lying between two ranges of hills, or stretches of high ground, and usually traversed by a river or stream; a dale or valley, esp. one which is comparatively wide and flat. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]britonA member of one of the Brittonic-speaking (Welsh, Cornish) peoples. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]dashesReaders were invited to fill in the blanks here with people who it might be dangerous to name directly; perhaps even the name 'George,' that of the king. - [UVAstudstaff]patriot"Patriots" were those who opposed the Walpole government and "Courtiers" were those who supported his policies. - [UVAstudstaff]eunuchsCastrati singers; male singers who had been castrated as children to preserve the high register of their voices, these singers had become extremely popular to opera goers. - [UVAstudstaff]licenseThe Stage Licensing Act had been passed in 1737; it required theatres to submit plays to the government for approval in advance of their performance, and effectively censored the London stage. - [UVAstudstaff]poetJohnson is implicitly attacking Poet Laureate Colley Cibber. Cibber was a mediocre poet and playwright but he was primarily given the title because he supported Walpole and the Whig Party. The borrowed wing part may be an accusation of plagiarism. - [UVAstudstaff]gazetteThe Gazette was the official newspaper used by the Walpole government to influence public opinion, and, therefore, here labeled a total bore. - [UVAstudstaff]henlyProbably referring to John Henly, known as Orator Henly, a well-known London preacher who had become famous more for his showmanship than his religious doctrine; he drew big crowds but was also considered to be something of a buffoon, and was also known to be a Walpole supporter. - [UVAstudstaff]varnishTo cover, gloss over, or disguise. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]orgilioThe poet may not be referring to a particular person, but since orgueil means pride in French, imagining a prideful person in general. - [UVAstudstaff]marlboroughJohn Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), was a war hero for his successes in the War of the Spanish Succession at the turn of the eighteenth century; he was also widely believed to have been an enormous war profiteer, making a fortune from contracts to supply the troops. - [UVAstudstaff]villiersGeorge Villiers, the second Duke of Buckingham, (1628-87) was a notorious rake and spendthrift. - [UVAstudstaff]sewerSewer. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]transportHere referring to the sense of transport as a state of excitation, excess. - [UVAstudstaff]lineamentLine or outline. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]gibbetOrignially synonymous with gallows, but has later been used to mean an upright post with projecting arm from which the bodies of criminals were hung in chains or irons after execution. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]wheelAn instrument of torture and punishment. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]obsequiousCompliant with the will or wishes of another. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]volubleLiable to change; inconstant, variable, mutable. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]credulityReadiness to believe. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]henryProbably a reference to Henry V, who was famous for his military success in the Hundred Years War with France. - [UVAstudstaff]gulledDuped, deceived, befooled. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]gaulFrenchman. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]balboBalbo is Latin for one who stammers, so, such a person's eloquence here is an oxymoron. - [UVAstudstaff]bowerA cottage, often used as a romanticized abode in poetry. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]akingAn archaic spelling of aching. - [UVAstudstaff]laureateThe poets laureate; since this was an official position, such poets, like Cibber, did not deviate far from the government's official line. - [UVAstudstaff]vassalPart of the feudal system, vassals are the ones who own land, and thus control the workers of the land. Normally they're portrayed in a negative, arrogant manner. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]n036The River Severn is in Wales; the Trent river is a major river in England. Both are far from London. - [UVAstudstaff]repastRefreshments or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]venalCorrupt. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]fopOne who is overtly concerned about their appearance and other people's perceptions of them. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]bramblePrickly Shrubs. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]flambeauTorches. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]reposeA break or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]tyburnTyburn, roughly at the site of Marble Arch today was the location of the gallows at which criminals were hanged. Often such executions drew large crowds. - [UVAstudstaff]alfredAlfred was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. He successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is the only English monarch to be accorded the epithet the Great. His reputation has been that of a learned and merciful man who encouraged education and improved his the legal system and military structure of his kingdom. - [UVAstudstaff]kentA country in southeastern England. - [UVAstudstaff]cambrianWelsh. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]

LONDON:^introduction
A
POEM,
In IMITATION of the
THIRD SATIRE of JUVENAL
by Samuel Johnson
---------Quis ineptæ
Tam patiens Urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se?^juvenal Juv.
LONDON:
Printed for R. Doddesley, at Tully's Head in Pall-Mall.
MDCCXXXVIII.

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Footnotes

a054Shameless, immodest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary

a055To deceive or cheat. Source: Oxford English Dictionary

a037Members of Parliament who had been paid off to vote the government line.

thales_The character of Thales has often been seen to have been inspired by the author Richard Savage, a friend of Samuel Johnson. Richard Savage, like Thales here, left London in an attempt to live in Wales. In 1744, after the death of Savage, Johnson published his Life of Richard Savage, a full-scale biography.

cambria_Wales. Savage did go to Wales, where he died in debtor's prison.

david_The Patron saint of Wales.

hibernia_The Latin name for Ireland.

thestrand_The main thoroughfare of London, connecting the City of London with Westminster.

rapine_Plunder or pillage. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

rabble_An unruly, disorganized crowd or mob. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

wherry_A light rowing boat used mainly on rivers. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

thames_The second longest river in Britain, which flows through central London.

eliza_Queen Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace.

consecrated_Sacred, hallowed, or sanctified. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

masquerade_Masquerade balls were enormously popular in London in this period. People dressed up in costume in order to conceal their identities; critics denounced masquerades as hot-beds of sexual intrigue and immoral behavior.

excise_ Any toll or tax. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

unrewardedscience_Unacknowledged intellectual pursuits.

osiers_Any of several willows with tough pliant branches used in basketwork. It can also be a flexible branch of any of these willows. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

vale_A more or less extensive tract of land lying between two ranges of hills, or stretches of high ground, and usually traversed by a river or stream; a dale or valley, esp. one which is comparatively wide and flat. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

briton_A member of one of the Brittonic-speaking (Welsh, Cornish) peoples. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

dashes_Readers were invited to fill in the blanks here with people who it might be dangerous to name directly; perhaps even the name 'George,' that of the king.

patriot_"Patriots" were those who opposed the Walpole government and "Courtiers" were those who supported his policies.

eunuchs_Castrati singers; male singers who had been castrated as children to preserve the high register of their voices, these singers had become extremely popular to opera goers.

license_The Stage Licensing Act had been passed in 1737; it required theatres to submit plays to the government for approval in advance of their performance, and effectively censored the London stage.

poet_Johnson is implicitly attacking Poet Laureate Colley Cibber. Cibber was a mediocre poet and playwright but he was primarily given the title because he supported Walpole and the Whig Party. The borrowed wing part may be an accusation of plagiarism.

gazette_The Gazette was the official newspaper used by the Walpole government to influence public opinion, and, therefore, here labeled a total bore.

henly_Probably referring to John Henly, known as Orator Henly, a well-known London preacher who had become famous more for his showmanship than his religious doctrine; he drew big crowds but was also considered to be something of a buffoon, and was also known to be a Walpole supporter.

varnish_To cover, gloss over, or disguise. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

orgilio_The poet may not be referring to a particular person, but since orgueil means pride in French, imagining a prideful person in general.

marlborough_John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), was a war hero for his successes in the War of the Spanish Succession at the turn of the eighteenth century; he was also widely believed to have been an enormous war profiteer, making a fortune from contracts to supply the troops.

villiers_George Villiers, the second Duke of Buckingham, (1628-87) was a notorious rake and spendthrift.

sewer_Sewer. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

transport_Here referring to the sense of transport as a state of excitation, excess.

lineament_Line or outline. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

gibbet_Orignially synonymous with gallows, but has later been used to mean an upright post with projecting arm from which the bodies of criminals were hung in chains or irons after execution. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

wheel_An instrument of torture and punishment. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

obsequious_Compliant with the will or wishes of another. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

voluble_Liable to change; inconstant, variable, mutable. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

credulity_Readiness to believe. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

henry_Probably a reference to Henry V, who was famous for his military success in the Hundred Years War with France.

gulled_Duped, deceived, befooled. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

gaul_Frenchman. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

balbo_Balbo is Latin for one who stammers, so, such a person's eloquence here is an oxymoron.

bower_A cottage, often used as a romanticized abode in poetry. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

aking_An archaic spelling of aching.

laureate_The poets laureate; since this was an official position, such poets, like Cibber, did not deviate far from the government's official line.

vassal_Part of the feudal system, vassals are the ones who own land, and thus control the workers of the land. Normally they're portrayed in a negative, arrogant manner. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

a036The River Severn is in Wales; the Trent river is a major river in England. Both are far from London.

repast_Refreshments or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

venal_Corrupt. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

fop_One who is overtly concerned about their appearance and other people's perceptions of them. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

bramble_Prickly Shrubs. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

flambeau_Torches. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

repose_A break or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.

tyburn_Tyburn, roughly at the site of Marble Arch today was the location of the gallows at which criminals were hanged. Often such executions drew large crowds.

alfred_Alfred was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. He successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is the only English monarch to be accorded the epithet the Great. His reputation has been that of a learned and merciful man who encouraged education and improved his the legal system and military structure of his kingdom.

kent_A country in southeastern England.

cambrian_Welsh. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.