Donate to LibriVox Thank a reader

LibriVox recordings are Public Domain in the USA. If you are not in the USA, please verify the copyright status of these works in your own country before downloading, otherwise you may be violating copyright laws.

Download cover art Download CD case insert

Selected Essays of Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784) and Stuart Johnson Reid (1848 - 1927)

This is a volume of selected essays by "the great master of reason" Samuel Johnson. The most famous exerpts from The Rambler, The Adventurer and The Idler are included, covering a vast range of topics. - Summary by Carolin

Genre(s): Essays & Short Works

Language: English

Section	Chapter	Reader	Time
Play 01	Bibliographical Introduction, part 1	Barbara Baker	00:38:22
Play 02	Biographical Introduction, part 2	Barbara Baker	00:35:50
Play 03	The Necessity and Danger of Looking into Futurity. Writers Naturally Sanguine. Their Hopes Liable to Disappointment	Barbara Baker	00:16:23
Play 04	An Allegory on Criticism	Barbara Baker	00:12:14
Play 05	The Modern Form of Romances Preferable to the Ancient. The Necessity of Characters Morally Good	Barbara Baker	00:15:06
Play 06	The Folly of Anger. The Misery of a Peevish Old Age	Barbara Baker	00:15:05
Play 07	The Difference Between an Author's Writings and his Conversation	Barbara Baker	00:14:46
Play 08	The Dangers and Miseries of Literary Eminence	Barbara Baker	00:14:00
Play 09	The Anxieties of Literature not Less than Those of Publick Stations. The Inequality of Authors' Writings	Barbara Baker	00:13:27
Play 10	An Allegory on Wit and Learning	Barbara Baker	00:12:25
Play 11	The Contrariety of Criticism. The Vanity of Objection. An Author Obliged to Depend upon his own Judgment	Bill Boerst	00:09:36
Play 12	The Various Arts of Self-Delusion	Availle	00:14:11
Play 13	The Difficulty of Giving Advice Without Offending	Availle	00:12:25
Play 14	The Proper Means of Regulating Sorrow	Bill Boerst	00:11:55
Play 15	A Virtuous Old Age Always Reverenced	Bill Boerst	00:10:10
Play 16	The Desire of Wealth Moderated by Philosophy	Bill Boerst	00:09:28
Play 17	The Dignity and Usefulness of Biography	Pamela Nagami	00:12:49
Play 18	Inconstancy Always a Weakness	Pamela Nagami	00:11:49
Play 19	The Requisites to True Friendship	Availle	00:11:48
Play 20	The Garden of Hope - A Dream	Denise Nordell	00:08:50
Play 21	Every Man Chiefly Happy or Miserable at Home. The Opinions of Servants not to be Despised	Jesse Zuba	00:09:37
Play 22	The Necessity of Good Humor	Availle	00:10:56
Play 23	The Learned Seldom Despised but when they Deserve Contempt	Pamela Nagami	00:13:05
Play 24	The Reasons Why Advice is Generally Ineffectual	Availle	00:11:35
Play 25	The Luxury of Vain Imagination	Roohi	00:11:21
Play 26	The Voyage of Life	Roohi	00:12:00
Play 27	Life Sufficient to All Purposes if well Employed	Barbara Baker	00:12:05
Play 28	The Advantages of Living in a Garret	Barbara Baker	00:16:24
Play 29	Diligence too Soon Relaxed. Necessity of Perseverance	Barbara Baker	00:11:50
Play 30	The Necessity of Literary Courage	Barbara Baker	00:11:46
Play 31	The Criterions of Plagiarism	Barbara Baker	00:16:01
Play 32	The Usefulness of Advice. The Danger of Habits. The Necessity of Reviewing Life	Availle	00:13:28
Play 33	The Revelations of a Garret	Bill Boerst	00:10:18
Play 34	Labour Necessary to Excellence	Bill Boerst	00:10:11
Play 35	Directions to Authors Attacked by Criticks. The Various Degrees of Critical Perspicacity	Jesse Zuba	00:08:27
Play 36	Many Advantages not to be Enjoyed Together	Pamela Nagami	00:09:33
Play 37	The Prohibition of Revenge Justifiable by Reason. The Meanness of Regulating our Conduct by the Opinions of Men	Pamela Nagami	00:12:48
Play 38	Human Opinions Suitable. The Hopes of Youth Fallacious	Jesse Zuba	00:08:24
Play 39	The Importance of Punctuality	Availle	00:10:33
Play 40	The Art of Living at the Cost of Others	Jesse Zuba	00:09:24
Play 41	The Folly of Continuing too Long upon the Stage	Jesse Zuba	00:10:11
Play 42	The Character of a Liar	Jesse Zuba	00:11:14
Play 43	The Faults of Books Sometimes Imputable to the Reader	Pamela Nagami	00:13:19
Play 44	To Read, Write, and Conserve in Due Proportions the Business of a Man of Letters	Barbara Baker	00:15:14
Play 45	Unjust Charges of Plagiarism	Pamela Nagami	00:11:43
Play 46	Mercator Complains that he can Find no Happiness in Rural Life	Michele Fry	00:12:01
Play 47	That kind of Life most Happy which Affords us most Opportunities of Gaining our own Esteem	Barbara Baker	00:13:41
Play 48	Our Present State one of Danger and Infelicity	J. McDougall	00:10:59
Play 49	On the Duty of Self-Examination	Pamela Nagami	00:13:27
Play 50	The Happiness and Vexation of Authors	Jesse Zuba	00:10:12
Play 51	The Idler's Character	Anders V Lankford	00:08:56
Play 52	Invitation to Correspondents	Anders V Lankford	00:07:01
Play 53	Robbery of Time	Anders V Lankford	00:06:10
Play 54	Uncertainty of Friendship	Pamela Nagami	00:07:12
Play 55	Corruptions of News-Writers	Pamela Nagami	00:07:25
Play 56	Disguises of Idleness. Sober's Character	Pamela Nagami	00:08:32
Play 57	The Terrifick Diction	Pamela Nagami	00:10:01
Play 58	On the Death of a Friend	Pamela Nagami	00:08:33
Play 59	Monitions on the Flight of Time	Philippa	00:05:56
Play 60	Deborah Ginger's Account of City Wits	Philippa	00:07:37
Play 61	Minim the Critick I.	Jesse Zuba	00:09:37
Play 62	Minim the Critick II.	Jesse Zuba	00:06:56
Play 63	Dick Shifter's Rural Excursion	Anders V Lankford	00:08:57
Play 64	Steady, Snug, Startle, Solid, and Misty	Anders V Lankford	00:08:10
Play 65	Biography, How Best Performed	Anders V Lankford	00:06:45
Play 66	Books Multiplied by Useless Compilations	Roohi	00:05:30
Play 67	What Have Ye Done?	Roohi	00:05:24
Play 68	Omar's Plan of Life	Roohi	00:07:18
Play 69	The Itch of Writing Universal	Barbara Baker	00:13:13

LibriVox

Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain

Browse the catalog

Listen/Download (help?)

Production details

Links

Selected Essays of Samuel Johnson