The Rambler as Rotarian : H.L. Mencken's Samuel Johnson

This short essay takes stock of H.L. Mencken's portrayal of Samuel Johnson as the quot;first Rotarianquot; and as nothing more than a mouthpiece for the prejudices and defender of the authorities of his time. I suggest by contrast that Johnson was fully appreciative of the need for the writer to be at a distance from the prejudices of his age and that rather than a mind blinkered by deep national prejudices Johnson was in fact a quot;Good Europeanquot; as cosmopolitan in spirit as he was English in his character