Prince Rasselas escapes his sheltered palace life to explore the world and discover the secret to human happiness in Samuel Johnson's 1759 philosophical tale. The young Abyssinian prince and his companions journey through Egypt, encountering various ways of life while debating whether true contentment can ever be achieved.
YE who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope; who expect that age will perform the promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow, attend to the history of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Rasselas was the fourth son of the mighty Emperor in whose dominions the father of waters begins his course—whose bounty pours down the streams of plenty, and scatters over the world the harvests of Egypt. According to the custom which has descended from age to age among the monarchs of the torrid zone, Rasselas was confined in a private palace, with the other sons and daughters of Abyssinian royalty, till the order of succession should call him to the throne.Continue reading →
An 18th-century English lexicographer and critic who revolutionized the English language by creating the first comprehensive dictionary in 1755. His witty observations and moral essays established him as one of literature's greatest conversationalists and thinkers. Johnson's dictionary remained the standard reference for over 150 years, shaping how we understand and use English today. All works by Samuel Johnson →
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