“A book seemingly intended to sap the foundation of that morality which it is the duty of parents and all public instructors to inculcate in the minds of young people.”
Sir John Hawkins, Life of Samuel Johnson 1787
“I scarcely know a more corrupt work.”
Samuel Johnson, quoted in Memoirs, Hannah More 1780
Excerpted from: Barnard, Andre, and Bill Henderson, eds. Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1998.
