Dr. John Armstrong, Littérateur, and Associate of Smollett, Thomson, Wilkes, and Other Celebrities

Abstract

Two hundred years ago, in April, 1744, there was printed in London a long didactic poem in blank verse, The Art of Preserving Health, which brought its author, Dr. John Armstrong, considerable literary reputation during the following century in England, Italy, and America. In this work there are occasional passages of very pleasing poetry, but the goddess Hygeia, whom Armstrong invoked with all due fervor, failed to inspire him to create an enduring masterpiece on such themes as air, diet, and exercise. Consequently, during the last century there has been little interest in his poems and essays, or in his life, personality, and friendships. There is, of course, A. H. Bullen's short article in the Dictionary of National Biography, which added little, however, to Robert Anderson's memoir, or to Robert Chambers' account, and more recently Mr. Iolo A. Williams paid tribute to The Art of Preserving Health and published a bibliography of Armstrong's works. But there is no likelihood that Armstrong's writings will be much read or discussed in the future except by literary antiquarians and special students of the eighteenth century.