Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia
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About this ebook
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) was an English writer – a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. His works include the biography The Life of Richard Savage, an influential annotated edition of Shakespeare's plays, and the widely read tale Rasselas, the massive and influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, and most notably, A Dictionary of the English Language, the definitive British dictionary of its time.
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Reviews for Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia
6 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I read this book so I could check it off my '1001 books' list. Did I find it enlightening or life changing? Well... no. Samuel Johnson is probably best known for his English Dictionary as well as being the creator of many famous and wise sayings. Rasselas is filled with many pithy sayings, that are loosely tied together in a story about Rasselas, the Prince of Abissinia, who leaves his comfortable life as a member of the ruling family in search of wisdom and meaning. I found it hard to focus on the plot because of the many rambling discourses about a wide variety of topics, ranging from relationships between men and women to flying machines.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"That greatest of philosophical tales," as Warren Fleischauer calls The History of Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia in his introduction to the edition I read -- one of 112 listed at this site! -- will disappoint anyone prepared for something else, a novel, a story, an adventure. The adventure here is all in ideas, expressed by fairy-tale characters such as Prince, Princess, her Favorite (companion), and Poet, and the ideas are about How To Live, How to Be Happy. As old as these issues are, and as much discussed, somehow their embodiment in this charming tale makes them all fresh, and the inconclusive ending is a surprising touch that lends a note of modernity in its awareness of its own artificiality. Hillaire Belloc advocated reading it annually, and while I may not do quite that, I will revisit it, perhaps in a different, more attractive edition: the Barron's was simply at hand, and the next time around, notes would be nice. But for the first read-through, just following the ideas and enjoying the incomparable writing was good.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Samuel Johnson's fine book rather reminded me of Voltaire's 'Candide', except there isn't quite as much travelling, and the variety of philosophical ideas expounded upon is much greater. The book was remarkably readable for one quite so old, and as an English Teacher I found it fascinating to see how usage has changed in the intervening period; we use commas differently, and we no longer write musick or rustick.Johnson is also eminently quotable. This piece really stuck in my mind: "All skill ought to be exerted for universal good; every man has owed much to others, and ought to repay the kindness he has received." For me, this is the perfect way of looking at the Internet as a whole, and explains the logic behind all those wonderful writers scribbling away and posting their thoughts online for the world to see.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It was nice enough I suppose. - the writing and the idea But it's kind of pointless. Which is kind of the point.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rasselas is a brief but comprehensive introduction to some of the recurring questions of political and practical philosophy. What is the best way to live out a human life? Where is real fulfillment to be found? Of what does happiness consist?Samuel Johnson embodies these questions in the tale of Rasselas, an Ethiopian prince who has been cloistered from the cares of the world in a remote mountain fastness. But Rasselas is not satisfied with his days of leisure and amusement, so he seeks to venture forth . . . .The great Dr Johnson's style here is elegant; his questions searching; his wisdom never simplistic, but always simple. This is a perfect introduction to much broader reading in philosophy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rasselas is Samuel Johnson's vision of the world as a place where things do not always work out well. Johnson shows life at best as something to be endured. The situations encountered by Johnson's hero seems almost the opposite of those encountered by Voltaire's Candide. Time after time, things seem to be promising, even ideal. However, inevitably reality sets in and tiny, then major, chinks in the facade appear. All is not perfect. Perfection is shown as ultimately unattainable yet still desirable, leading to guaranteed dissatisfaction. All written in fine style by a superb master of the language.