On Ben Johnson's Rasselas
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia is very much a book about philosophy. With all the various chapters, each dealing with some moral or another, it would appear at first to be a book primarily concerned with that aspect of philosophy known as ethics. However, what we find repeatedly are actions by moral teaching characters that undermine the very things they teach. In that sense it doesn't seem to be a very moralistic book at all for no conclusion seems to be ever drawn. The undermining of the morals, coupled with the understanding that Samuel Johnson himself was a moralist in every sense of the word only confounds the inconsistencies to be found in it. With all these inconsistencies, there is still one thread that keeps this a tightly woven philosophical book nonetheless. That thread is Rasselas' journey. The journey in Rasselas is not only a physical journey through an exotic country, it is also an intellectually progressive journey. It is a journey of experience and learning. Thus, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia a story about an epistemological journey, one that ends in the realization that the journey in search of happiness is in itself the very core of what of he is looking for.
In contrast to how the fall of man, or the leaving of the Garden of Eden was a punishment for Adam and Eve, for Rasselas, it would be considered a reward. Thus, our protagonist ends the story a failure in his quest. Rasselas is a book about an epistemological journey that is realized in various stages. Imlac is also unlike Rasselas in that he was fortunate to learn that the key to happiness is only to be found in the search for it. Johnson starts to perpetuate the moral, by introducing Imlac who attends to helping Rasselas realize what he needs to do to find happiness in life is to experience it. They have spent their lives actively pursuing their curiosity's, each with no other reason if for the sake of experiencing as much as they can. This is precisely what happens to Rasselas. Rasselas begins to sense the desire for experience but does not fully realize what this sense is and consequently falls into a state of depression. It is reasonable to acknowledge that any new experience, especially one where that has potential risk, may be met with some internal resistance. The result in this event is similar to one seen earlier in Rasselas. His knowledge of the elements is a secret that can only be trusted to someone who has also embraced the concept that the path to happiness is also the destination. In this passage the ocean is much like Abyssinia, it lacks variety and one soon grows weary of it. Thus, the Astronomer is portrayed as having the highest of learning so as to convey the greatest value in his grasping of the benefits of experience. There is no destination because the very means are also the ends. So perfect is the location, inhabitants, wealth and shelter of Abyssinia that it is described by Johnson, almost as a Garden of Eden.
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