사무엘 존슨과 기독교적 인문주의

Abstract

Samuel Johnson and His Christian Humanism Perhaps the most notable feature of Johnson's poetry as a whole is its combination of erudition and piety. Johnson's poems seem to be the fruit of a soil rich in learning. His knowledge of classical literature enables him to produce masterful Latin verse in a variety of forms, and his English poetry is everywhere characterized by his frequent allusions to earlier English literature. Although as a critic Johnson shows himself to be uneasy about explicitly religious verse, his religious sensibility strong marks his poems. Some of his finest Latin poetry deals explicitly with religious themes, and even his lighter English verse is frequently colored by the moral sensibility which he derived ultimately from his religion. This double quality of piety and learning is not merely the accidental reflection of Johnson's personalty; it constitutes rather a conscious effort to make explicit what might call Johnson's Christian humanism. What drew Johnson so strongly these humanists is doubtless their vast attainments in knowledge. Johnson acknowledges that learning has legitimate uses; second, he argues that knowledge is good only when used to promote virtue; and, third, he places greater emphasis on the practice than on the contemplation of virtue. Most importantly, however, he acknowledges that learning can lead to the sin which earlier in his sermon he defined as the most insidious of moral distempers, unless controlled by religion.