
Hodge the Cat
Hodge was “a very fine cat indeed”, said Dr. Samuel Johnson to his biographer, James Boswell. In fact, the lexicographer thought so highly of his furry companion that he would often go out to buy oysters for him to eat, though he made sure to do so himself, as he felt to send his servants out to buy food for a cat would be far too degrading.
This statue is dedicated to both Hodge, and perhaps just as importantly (perhaps) his owner, who’s work on the English language earnt him the title of “arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history.”
Hodge sits upon his master's most famed work,A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language.
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He certainly wrote very well, and with a sense of humour. The definition of a lexicographer famously reads: "A writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge."