This novella is ostensibly a tale about an Ethiopian prince, Rasselas, who, chafing under the boredom of the life of luxury he leads in the Happy Valley, contrives to escape with two companions, his sister Nekayeh, and a man named Imlac. In fact this is a vehicle for Johnson's exploring various philosophical ideas, in particular around the sources of and how to seek happiness in life, including who in society has or might achieve happiness and how, whether through living a good life or not, and what that means. There are some interesting pithy aphorisms arising from their conversations with each other and with other characters, including with a philosopher-astronomer who believes he has the personal power to move the sun and planets. Quite amusing and interesting. ( )

Johnson’s Bildungsroman is the tale of a bored young Ethiopian prince imprisoned in a “happy valley,” an artificial Eden reserved for progeny of the emperor and their servants and companions.

"The valley, wide and fruitful, supplied its inhabitants with the necessities of life, and all delights and superfluities were added at the annual visit which the emperor paid his children, when the iron gate was opened to the sound of music; and, during eight days, everyone that desired resided in the valley was required to propose whatever might contribute to make seclusion pleasant, to fill up the vacancies of attentions and lessen the tediousness of time. Every desire was immediately granted." (page 8)

Yet Prince Rasselas is bored. He longs for a purpose in life. When told that he is being spared the miseries of the outside world, he yearns to experience them. When he meets Imlac, a poet and world traveler, he begs him to help him escape and be his guide to the outside world so that he can see how others live and
decide on a choice of life. Reluctantly Imlac agrees, and with Rasselas’s sister Nekayah and a small group of attendants they discover a path over the surrounding mountains and out into the world.

They travel north following the course of the Nile to the great metropolis of Cairo. There they meet the active young and the disillusioned old. Rasselas meets a successful man whose happiness is ruined by the death of his daughter, encounters hermits, monks, scholars, and a delusional astronomer. He and his sister try the pastoral life, debate the pros and cons of domesticity and marriage, visit the rich and the great, and explore the pyramids.

During their time inside a pyramid, a band of marauding Arabs kidnap Nekayah’s lady-in-waiting, and favorite Pekuah, and hold her for ransom. When the ransom is paid Pekuah reveals that she had been well treated and reports on life in the castle of the rogue with genteel manners. She finds life among the womenfolk to be lacking in good conversation.

But Rasselas and Nekayah are unable to discover any of these outsiders that have found true happiness, or a way of life that they want to adopt as their own. So having experienced all the outside world has to offer, they decide to return home.

With the precision of language characteristic of the lexicographer, Johnson returns—this time in prose—to the theme of his earlier poem “The Vanity of Human Wishes” to make the point that happiness is not to be found in earthly existence. ( )

Excellent little book and quite an easy read for having been written in the 1750s. Although styled as a novel, it is more a book of philosophy--how to live the good life. Reminiscent of Candide (or of what I remember from high school french class in the mid-1980s). ( )

Nobody reads Johnson anymore except english majors. Which is a shame since while Johnson is disdained for his lack of political correctness in his conservative particulars, his wisdom in generalization is unassailable. Much can be gleaned from his philosophy and general opinions about life and our condition on this mortal coil.

Hence, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia a moral tale if there ever was one. One of the things one has to keep in mind when reading Rasselas is that Johnson is an adherent to the 18th century pre-Romantic notion that writing should be elevating, morality-wise. Therefore, this is a tale of moral opposites in order to not only entertain but teach us something, make us better persons, along the way. Forget this and you are in for a dull and confusing journey.

Prince Rasselas lives in the "Happy Valley," a veritable Garden of Eden, but he is bored by the prospect of unmitigated happiness and yearns to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, so to speak. The prince wants to see life. He feels that happiness is not valued unless the opposite can be obtained and studied. The entire narrative revolves around Rasselas escaping from the Valley along with his sister, the princess, her entourage, and a wise man named Imlac. Along the way various adventures and lessons are learned. It is a no-brainer to see that after years of a taste of life on the outside of their gilded cage they all return to the valley.

Many conceive Rasselas as a children's moral tale but children today would neither understand the language nor have the emotional maturity to understand the philosophy and lessons involved (at one point Johnson takes on the philosopher David Hume). The story does have a 1,001 Nights feel to it. At other times it is like Poor Richard's First Almanac.

If you are into 18th english literature or history, or Johnson in general, you owe it to yourself to read Wrastle-Ass. ( )

I expected this to be a quick read. It started out as such but I lost steam about a third into the book. Maybe I was distracted with life or the unusual spellings of words slowed me down. Or perhaps the repeated idea of life being a slog got old.

In short, it is hard work being happy. You have to actively pursue happiness and accept that by focusing on one activity means that other activities will go unpursued.

Another way to describe this is that there is no silver bullet for happiness. You have to work for it and understand the tradeoffs that come with different types of pursuit.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34766 ( )