His views are interesting.

Americans “are a race of convicts, and ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hanging.”

Ireland is “Worth seeing, but not worth going to see.”

The finest sight a Scottish person can see is the high road leading to England.

However he did admit that “The Irish are a fair people; they never speak well of one another.”

Some of his better definitions are given in http://www.samueljohnson.com/definitions.html.

My pet peeve you ask? The “non sexist” language crowd misusing the word person! The whole philosophical aspect of the word is missing (as in One God three persons, and angels are persons) and it has become a clumsly and incorrect way of replacing “man.” Man was, incidently, was a neutral noun in old english, so changing it was completely unneccessary.

Plus, even with no real education folks had to develop understanding of their languages as they lived in need of words for effective communication. Part of our own integral Mass readings, in our communal groupings, came from the need of the educated celebrant giving long homilies of explaining what might not yet be understood for unfamiliarity with vocabulary. I imagine that Q&A Bible study frequently followed the Mass.

Notice in the foreign expressions of modern-language texts that the old language needs less words and has most direct application. Nuances are limited and ‘euphemism’ becomes apparent as the modernist neologism it is.

And, of course, knowledge of just about anything without significant footing (as one can own) in history is as if one would think to know of oceans from where in places they are but three inches deep. And, therefore, ‘God’ is ‘just a word’ – His transcendent concept from more profound understanding (EDUCATION!) has been lost.

(Let’s not get me started, eh?)

Or, take another example. It has become quite unremarkable to hear even very young children (not to mention folks old enough to know better) take God’s Name in vain or use the Name of Our Lord to express frustration and disgust. I’ve only had one opportunity with one person to express my indignation. Her response was, “Oh, please! It’s only a word”. If it’s “only a word” (like any other word), why couldn’t she say, “Joe damn it”, or “Dan-iel Christ”? She was quick to inform me of my “puritanical ignorance”, and laughed it off. But, within weeks, I noticed she dropped both “words” from her vocabulary.

I’m well aware that a dictionary is not listed in Ephesians 6. Perhaps, it should be.