Note 684 — THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D. (continued 4)

Johnson defines cant as '1. A corrupt dialect used by beggars and vagabonds. 2. A particular form of speaking peculiar to some certain class or body of men. 3. A whining pretension to goodness in formal and affected terms. 4. Barbarous jargon. 5. Auction.' I have noted the following instances of his use of the word:—'I betook myself to a coffee-house frequented by wits, among whom I learned in a short time the cant of criticism.' The Rambler, No.123. 'Every class of society has its cant of lamentation.' Ib. No.128. 'Milton's invention required no assistance from the common cant of poetry.' Ib. No.140. 'We shall secure our language from being overrun with cant, from being crowded with low terms, the spawn of folly or affectation.' Works, v. II. 'This fugitive cant, which is always in a state of increase or decay, cannot be regarded as any part of the durable materials of a language.' Ib. p.45. In a note on I Henry VI, act iii. sc.1, he says: 'To roam is supposed to be derived from the cant of vagabonds, who often pretended a pilgrimage to Rome.' See ante, iii. 197, for 'modern cant.'