Seeking to get at the root of the mysterious fascination of the British for the "luminous flask," the "heavenly globe," the "platinum goblet" (Pablo Neruda), what more natural course could I follow than to start with master lexicographer Dr Johnson?
The answer came as no less than an epiphany:
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| Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Dictionary of the English Language, in which the Words are Deduced from their Originals, Explained in their Different Meanings, & Authorized by the Names of the Writers in whose Works they are Found. London: T. Longman, 1794. |
