Johnson, "London," ed. Lynch

L O N D O N: A P O E M,
In Imitation of the Third SATIRE of JUVENAL.

- - - - - - - - - - Quis ineptæ Tam patiens Urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se? Juv.	“Who can be so tolerant of this awful city, who has such a soul of iron?” — Juvenal

Tho’ Grief and Fondness in my Breast rebel,
When injur’d Thales bids the Town farewell,
Yet still my calmer Thoughts his Choice commend,°	approve
I praise the Hermit, but regret the Friend,
Resolved° at length, from Vice and London far, [5]	decided
To breathe in distant Fields a purer Air,
And, fix’d on Cambria’s° solitary shore,	Wales’s
Give to St. David one true Briton more.

For who would leave, unbrib’d, Hibernia’s° Land,	Ireland’s
Or change the Rocks of Scotland for the Strand?° [10]	a major London street
There none are swept by sudden Fate away,
But all whom Hunger spares, with Age decay:
Here Malice, Rapine,° Accident, conspire,°	theft — work together
And now a Rabble° Rages, now a Fire;	mob
Their Ambush here relentless Ruffians° lay, [15]	criminals
And here the fell° Attorney prowls for Prey;	ravenous
Here falling Houses thunder on your Head,
And here a female Atheist talks you dead.

While Thales waits° the Wherry° that contains	waits for — small boat
Of dissipated° Wealth the small Remains, [20]	spent
On Thames’s Banks, in silent Thought we stood,
Where Greenwich smiles upon the silver Flood:
Struck with the Seat° that gave Eliza Birth,	place
We kneel, and kiss the consecrated° Earth;	sacred
In pleasing Dreams the blissful Age renew, [25]
And call Britannia’s Glories back to view;
Behold her Cross triumphant on the Main,°	ocean
The Guard of Commerce, and the Dread of Spain,
Ere° Masquerades debauch’d,° Excise oppress’d,	before — corrupted
Or English Honour grew a standing Jest. [30]

A transient° Calm the happy Scenes bestow,	passing
And for a Moment lull the Sense of Woe.
At length awaking, with contemptuous Frown,
Indignant Thales eyes the neighb’ring Town.

Since Worth, he cries, in these degen’rate Days, [35]
Wants° ev’n the cheap Reward of empty Praise;	lacks
In those curst Walls, devote to Vice and Gain,
Since unrewarded Science° toils in vain;	knowledge
Since Hope but sooths to double my Distress,
And ev’ry Moment leaves my Little less; [40]
While yet my steady Steps no Staff sustains,°	supports
And Life still vig’rous revels in my Veins;
Grant me, kind Heaven, to find some happier Place,
Where Honesty and Sense are no Disgrace;
Some pleasing Bank where verdant Osiers° play, [45]	green reeds
Some peaceful Vale with Nature’s Paintings gay;
Where once the harass’d Briton found Repose,
And safe in Poverty defy’d his Foes;
Some secret Cell,° ye Pow’rs, indulgent give.	small room
Let —— live here, for —— has learn’d to live. [50]
Here let those reign, whom Pensions can incite°	provoke
To vote a Patriot black, a Courtier white;
Explain their Country’s dear-bought Rights away,
And plead for Pirates in the Face of Day;
With slavish Tenets taint our poison’d Youth, [55]
And lend a Lye the confidence of Truth.

Let such raise Palaces, and Manors buy,
Collect a Tax, or farm a Lottery,
With warbling Eunuchs fill a licens’d Stage,
And lull to Servitude a thoughtless Age. [60]

Heroes, proceed! What Bounds your Pride shall hold?
What Check restrain your Thirst of Pow’r and Gold?
Behold rebellious Virtue quite° o’erthrown,	entirely
Behold our Fame, our Wealth, our Lives your own.

To such, a groaning Nation’s Spoils are giv’n, [65]
When publick Crimes inflame the Wrath of Heav’n:
But what, my Friend, what Hope remains for me,
Who start° at Theft, and blush at Perjury?	am startled
Who scarce forbear,° tho’ Britain’s Court he sing,	resist
To pluck a titled Poet’s borrow’d Wing; [70]
A Statesman’s Logic, unconvinc’d can hear,
And dare to slumber o’er the Gazetteer;
Despise a Fool in half his Pension drest,
And strive in vain to laugh at H——y’s jest.

Others with softer Smiles, and subtler Art, [75]
Can sap the Principles, or taint the Heart;
With more Address° a Lover’s Note convey,	skill
Or bribe a Virgin’s Innocence away.
Well may they rise, while I, whose Rustic° Tongue	country
Ne’er knew to puzzle° Right, or varnish Wrong, [80]	confuse
Spurn’d as a Beggar, dreaded as a Spy,
Live unregarded, unlamented die.

For what but social Guilt the Friend endears?
Who shares Orgilio’s Crimes, his Fortune shares.
But thou, should tempting Villainy present [85]
All Marlb’rough hoarded, or all Villiers spent;
Turn from the glitt’ring Bribe thy scornful Eye,
Nor sell for Gold, what Gold could never buy,
The peaceful Slumber, self-approving Day,
Unsullied° Fame, and Conscience ever gay.° [90]	not dirtied — cheerful

The cheated Nation’s happy Fav’rites, see!
Mark° whom the Great caress,° who frown on me!	notice — pay attention to
London! the needy Villain’s gen’ral Home,
The Common Shore° of Paris and of Rome;	sewer
With eager Thirst, by Folly or by Fate, [95]
Sucks in the Dregs of each corrupted State.°	country
Forgive my Transports° on a Theme like this,	getting carried away
I cannot bear a French metropolis.

Illustrious Edward! from the Realms of Day,
The Land of Heroes and of Saints survey; [100]
Nor hope the British Lineaments to trace,
The rustic Grandeur, or the surly Grace;
But lost in thoughtless Ease, and empty Show,
Behold the Warriour dwindled to a Beau;°	fashionable man
Sense, Freedom, Piety, refin’d away, [105]
Of France the Mimic, and of Spain the Prey.

All that at home no more can beg or steal,
Or like a Gibbet° better than a Wheel;°	gallows — French torture device
Hiss’d from the Stage, or hooted from the Court,
Their Air,° their Dress, their Politicks import; [110]	manner
Obsequious,° artful,° voluble° and gay,	fawning — calculating — talkative
On Britain’s fond° Credulity they prey.	foolish
No gainful° Trade their Industry can ’scape,	worthwhile
They sing, they dance, clean Shoes, or cure a Clap;°	sexually transmitted disease
All Sciences° a fasting Monsieur° knows, [115]	fields of knowledge — Frenchman
And bid him go to Hell, to Hell he goes.

Ah! what avails° it, that, from Slav’ry far,	matters
I drew the Breath of Life in English Air;
Was early taught a Briton’s Right to prize,
And lisp° the Tale of Henry’s Victories; [120]	speak like a child
If the gull’d Conqueror receives the Chain,
And what their Armies lost, their Cringes gain?

Studious° to please, and ready to submit,	eager
The supple Gaul° was born a Parasite:	Frenchman
Still to his Int’rest true, where’er he goes, [125]
Wit, Brav’ry, Worth, his lavish Tongue bestows;
In ev’ry Face a Thousand Graces shine,
From ev’ry Tongue flows Harmony divine.
These Arts° in vain our rugged Natives try,	skills
Strain out with fault’ring Diffidence° a Lye, [130]	lack of confidence
And get a Kick for awkward Flattery.

Besides, with Justice, this discerning Age
Admires their wond’rous Talents for the Stage:
Well may they venture on the Mimic’s art,°	technique
Who play from Morn to Night a borrow’d Part; [135]
Practis’d their Master’s Notions to embrace,
Repeat his Maxims,° and reflect his Face;	sayings
With ev’ry wild Absurdity comply,
And view each Object with another’s Eye;
To shake with Laughter ere° the Jest they hear, [140]	before
To pour at Will the counterfeited° Tear;	fake
And as their Patron hints the Cold or Heat,
To shake in Dog-days,° in December sweat.	August

How, when Competitors like these contend,
Can surly Virtue hope to fix a Friend? [145]
Slaves that with serious Impudence beguile,
And lye without a Blush, without a Smile;
Exalt° each Trifle, ev’ry Vice adore,	treat seriously
Your Taste in Snuff,° your Judgment in a Whore;	powdered tobacco to snort
Can Balbo’s Eloquence applaud, and swear [150]
He gropes his Breeches° with a Monarch’s Air.	pants

For Arts° like these preferr’d, admir’d, carest,	skills
They first invade your Table, then your Breast;
Explore your Secrets with insidious° Art,	treacherous
Watch the weak Hour, and ransack all the Heart; [155]
Then soon your ill-plac’d Confidence repay,
Commence your Lords, and govern or betray.
By Numbers° here from Shame or Censure free,	crowds of people
All Crimes are safe, but hated Poverty.
This, only this, the rigid Law persues, [160]
This, only this, provokes the snarling Muse;
The sober Trader at a tatter’d Cloak,
Wakes from his Dream, and labours for a Joke;
With brisker Air the silken Courtiers gaze,
And turn the varied Taunt° a thousand Ways. [165]	insult
Of all the Griefs that harrass the Distrest,
Sure the most bitter is a scornful Jest;
Fate never wounds more deep the gen’rous Heart,
Than when a Blockhead’s Insult points the Dart.°	sharpens the spear

Has Heaven reserv’d, in Pity to the Poor, [170]
No pathless Waste,° or undiscover’d Shore?	undeveloped land
No secret Island in the boundless Main?°	ocean
No peaceful Desart yet unclaim’d by Spain?
Quick let us rise, the happy Seats° explore,	locations
And bear Oppression’s Insolence no more. [175]
This mournful Truth is ev’ry where confest,
Slow rises worth, by poverty deprest:
But here more slow, where all are Slaves to Gold,
Where Looks are Merchandise, and Smiles are sold,
Where won by Bribes, by Flatteries implor’d,° [180]	begged
The Groom° retails° the Favours of his Lord.	servant — repeats

But hark!° th’ affrighted Crowd’s tumultuous Cries	listen
Roll thro’ the Streets, and thunder to the Skies;
Rais’d from some pleasing Dream of Wealth and Pow’r,
Some pompous Palace, or some blissful Bow’r, [185]
Aghast you start,° and scarce with aking Sight,	are startled
Sustain th’ approaching Fire’s tremendous Light;
Swift from pursuing Horrors take your Way,
And Leave your little All to Flames a Prey;
Then thro’ the World a wretched Vagrant roam, [190]
For where can starving Merit find a Home?
In vain your mournful Narrative disclose,°	tell
While all neglect, and most insult your Woes.

Should Heaven’s just Bolts Orgilio’s Wealth confound,
And spread his flaming Palace on the Ground, [195]
Swift o’er the Land the dismal Rumour flies,
And publick Mournings pacify the Skies;
The Laureat° Tribe in servile° Verse relate,	government-sponsored poets — slavish
How Virtue wars with persecuting Fate;
With well-feign’d Gratitude the pension’s Band° [200]	those supported by government pensions
Refund the Plunder of the begger’d Land.
See! while he builds, the gaudy Vassals° come,	subservient people
And crowd with sudden Wealth the rising Dome;°	building
The Price of Boroughs and of Souls restore,
And raise his Treasures higher than before. [205]
Now bless’d with all the Baubles° of the Great,	trinkets
The polish’d Marble, and the shining Plate,°	silver dishes
Orgilio sees the golden Pile° aspire,	building
And hopes from angry Heav’n another Fire.

Could’st thou resign° the Park and Play content, [210]	give up
For the fair Banks of Severn or of Trent;
There might’st thou find some elegant Retreat,
Some hireling Senator’s deserted Seat;°	country house
And stretch thy Prospects o’er the smiling Land,
For less than rent the Dungeons of the Strand;° [215]	major London street
There prune° thy Walks, support thy drooping Flow’rs,	trim
Direct thy Rivulets,° and twine thy Bow’rs;	streams
And, while thy Beds a cheap Repast° afford,°	meal — offer
Despise the Dainties° of a venal° Lord:	luxuries — corrupt
There ev’ry Bush with Nature’s Music rings, [220]
There ev’ry Breeze bears Health upon its Wings;
On all thy Hours Security shall smile,
And bless thine Evening Walk and Morning Toil.

Prepare for Death, if here at Night you roam,
And sign your Will before you sup from Home. [225]
Some fiery Fop,° with new Commission vain,	showily dressed man
Who sleeps on Brambles till he kills his Man;
Some frolick Drunkard, reeling° from a Feast,	staggering
Provokes a Broil,° and stabs you for a Jest.	starts a fight
Yet ev’n these Heroes, mischievously gay, [230]
Lords of the Street, and Terrors of the Way;
Flush’d as they are with Folly, Youth and Wine,
Their prudent Insults to the Poor confine;
Afar they mark the Flambeau’s° bright Approach,	torch
And shun the shining Train,° and golden Coach. [235]	followers

In vain, these Dangers past, your Doors you close,
And hope the balmy° Blessings of Repose:°	soothing — rest
Cruel with Guilt, and daring with Despair,
The midnight Murd’rer bursts the faithless Bar;
Invades the sacred Hour of silent Rest, [240]
And plants, unseen, a Dagger in your Breast.

Scarce° can our Fields, such Crowds at Tyburn° die,	hardly — location of executions
With Hemp° the Gallows and the Fleet supply.	rope
Propose your Schemes, ye Senatorian° Band,	political
Whose Ways and Means support the sinking Land; [245]
Lest Ropes be wanting° in the tempting Spring,	lacking
To rig another Convoy° for the K—g.	fleet of ships

A single Jail, in Alfred’s golden Reign,
Could half the Nation’s Criminals contain;
Fair Justice then, without Constraint ador’d, [250]
Sustain’d the Ballance, but resign’d° the Sword;	gave up
No Spies were paid, no Special Juries known,
Blest Age! But ah! how diff’rent from our own!

Much could I add,—but see the Boat at hand,
The Tide retiring,° calls me from the Land: [255]	going out
Farewel!—When Youth, and Health, and Fortune spent,
Thou fly’st for Refuge to the Wilds of Kent;
And tir’d like me with Follies and with Crimes,
In angry Numbers° warn’st succeeding Times;	poetic meter
Then shall thy Friend, nor thou refuse his Aid, [260]
Still Foe to Vice forsake his Cambrian° Shade;	Welsh
In Virtue’s Cause once more exert his Rage,
Thy Satire point,° and animate° thy Page.	sharpen — bring to life

Notes

Thales: Thales is pronounced as two syllables, Tháy-leez. There’s been much dispute over whether Thales represents Johnson’s friend, Richard Savage, who left London for Wales. Despite the close match with the character in the poem, all the evidence suggests that Johnson met Savage only after the poem was written.
St. David: Cambria is an old name for Wales, and St. David is the country’s patron saint. The poem describes Thales’s plan to leave corrupt London and go to rural Wales.
Greenwich: Greenwich is a river town a few miles to the east of London, and the site of the Royal Observatory. Johnson was living in Greenwich when he wrote the poem.
gave Eliza birth
: Queen Elizabeth (1533–1603) was born in Greenwich. Her reign was an age of many English triumphs, both military and cultural.
Dread of Spain: Queen Elizabeth ruled England when the English forces defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. In 1738, when London was written, many people (including Johnson) were agitating for war with Spain, and often invoked Elizabeth’s precedent.
Excise: Johnson’s Dictionary definition of excise almost got him into serious legal trouble: “A hateful tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid.”
Since Worth . . .: Now the narrator stops speaking in his own voice and records what Thales tells him. From this point on, the poem is spoken by Thales.
the harass’d Briton: A reference to the Anglo-Saxon and Danish invasions.
Let —— live here: Probably a reference to King George II.
Pensions: The British government sometimes awarded (what it considered) deserving subjects with an annual pension to honor their contributions. Johnson wasn’t impressed, at least early in his career, and his definition of pension was notorious: “An allowance made to any one without an equivalent. In England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his country.” It came back to haunt him when he was awarded a government pension in 1762.
plead for Pirates: Johnson’s note: “The invasions of the Spaniards were defended in the houses of Parliament.” The British government was allowing the Spanish to search British ships in America.
And lend a Lye the confidence of Truth: Johnson quotes this line in his Dictionary under truth, and attributes it to “Anonymous.”
licens’d Stage: Johnson’s note: “The licensing act was then lately made.” The “warbling Eunuchs” are the castrati, castated men, who sang the highest parts in opera. The “licens’d Stage” refers to the Stage Licensing Act of 1737, which required that all stage plays be subjected to government censorship before they could be presented.
Gazetteer: Johnson’s note: “The paper which at that time contained apologies [defenses] for the Court.” The Daily Gazetteer was a government newspaper.
H——’s: Probably John “Orator” Henley, a member of parliament and a supporter of the government, notorious for his crude jokes. Others have suggested Lord Hervey.
Marlb’rough: The Duke of Marlborough was a military hero who grew extremely wealthy from the war on France: as Johnson wrote later, “The war was unnecessarily protracted to fill the pockets of Marlborough, and . . . it would have been continued without end if he could have continued his annual plunder.” George Villiers, 2d Duke of Buckingham, squandered a huge fortune and died poor.
Illustrious Edward: Edward III, who defeated the French at Crécy in 1346.
Henry’s Victories: Henry V, whose victories over the French at Agincourt in 1415 are celebrated in Shakespeare’s play.
Balbo: Balbo is Latin for “stammerer.” It may not refer to any particular person.
No peaceful Desart yet unclaim’d by Spain: Johnson’s note: “The Spaniards at this time were said to make claim to some of our American proviences.” The English often criticized the Spanish for their colonization of the New World. Desart means any unoccupied (“deserted”) area, not just the arid, sandy wastelands we describe as deserts today.
Orgilio’s Wealth: Johnson’s note: “This was by Hitch a Bookseller justly remarked to be no picture of modern manners, though it might be true at Rome.” Charles Hitch was one of the publishers of Johnson’s Dictionary in 1755.
Banks of Severn or of Trent: The Severn is a river that runs through Wales and the southwest of England; the Trent is in the north of England near Scotland. Johnson contrasts these faraway scenes with London’s attractions.
Lords of the Street, and Terrors of the Way: Johnson quotes this line in his Dictionary under terrour, attributing it to “Anonym.”
With Hemp the Gallows and the Fleet supply: Tyburn was the site of public hangings in the eighteenth century. Hemp was used for making ropes, both for hangings and for the rigging of ships.
Ways and Means: Johnson’s note: “A cant term in the House of Commons for methods of raising money.”
Convoy for the K—g: Johnson’s friend and biographer, Sir John Hawkins, explains that “The nation was discontented at the visits made by the king [George II] to Hanover,” where he was born. A writer who criticized the king outright could be arrested for treason, a capital offense, so many resorted to transparent tricks like this.
Alfred’s golden Reign: King Alfred the Great ruled England in the ninth century (nearly a thousand years before Johnson).
Wilds of Kent: Kent is a county to the southeast of London.

LONDON

By Samuel Johnson

Edited and annotated by Jack Lynch

L O N D O N:

A

P O E M,

In Imitation of the
Third SATIRE of JUVENAL.

Notes

LONDON

By Samuel Johnson

Edited and annotated by Jack Lynch

L O N D O N:

A

P O E M,

In Imitation of the Third SATIRE of JUVENAL.

Notes

In Imitation of the
Third SATIRE of JUVENAL.