| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | December 13 | | On the Death of Dr. Johnson | | By William Cowper (1731–1800) |
| | | | Dr. Samuel Johnson, the famous English lexicographer, poet and essayist, died Dec. 13, 1784. |
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HERE Johnson lies—a sage by all allowed, | |
| Whom to have bred may well make England proud, | |
| Whose prose was eloquence by wisdom taught, | |
| The graceful vehicle of virtuous thought; | |
| Whose verse may claim—grave, masculine, and strong, | 5 |
| Superior praise to the mere poet’s song; | |
| Who many a noble gift from heaven possessed, | |
| And faith at last—alone worth all the rest. | |
| O man immortal by a double prize, | |
| By fame on earth—by glory in the skies! | 10 | | |
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