Record Number: 21153

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'We talked of Tacitus, and I hazarded an opinion that with all his merit for penetration, shrewdness of judgment, and terseness of expression, he was too compact, too much broken into hints as it were, and therefore too difficult to be understood. To my great satisfaction Dr. Johnson sanctioned this opinion. "Tacitus, sir, seems to me rather to have made notes for an historical work than to have written a history".'

Century:

1700-1799

Date:

Until: 18 Apr 1772

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

n/a

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Samuel Johnson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

18 Sep 1709

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

writer

Religion:

Anglican

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Tacitus

Title:

Histories

Genre:

Classics, History

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

21153

Source:

Print

Author:

James Boswell

Editor:

R.W. Chapman

Title:

Life of Johnson

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1980

Vol:

n/a

Page:

491

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

James Boswell, R.W. Chapman (ed.), Life of Johnson, (Oxford, 1980), p. 491, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=21153, accessed: 10 March 2025

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Additional Comments:

Originally published 1791.