Which statement describes Johnson's method of selecting authorities for his dictionary?

Which statement describes Johnson's method of selecting authorities for his dictionary?

• A. He ignores poets.
• B. He relies on a single source.
• C. He extracts from historians only.
• D. He uses authorities from philosophers, historians, chemists, divines, and poets.

Answer: (D)

Johnson’s approach rests on using a wide range of authorities from different fields to ground each entry. He wanted definitions to reflect credible usage drawn from voices across philosophy, history, science, theology, and literature. Philosophers help clarify ideas and terms of reason; historians bring historical usage and context; chemists contribute to scientific and everyday language; divines cover moral and religious terms; poets supply idiomatic, literary usage and phrasing. This broad mix ensures the dictionary shows how words are actually used across diverse domains, not just within one tradition. That breadth distinguishes his method from approaches that rely on a single source or a narrow group, and it explains why referencing multiple kinds of authorities makes the work feel authoritative and well-rounded.

Johnson’s approach rests on using a wide range of authorities from different fields to ground each entry. He wanted definitions to reflect credible usage drawn from voices across philosophy, history, science, theology, and literature. Philosophers help clarify ideas and terms of reason; historians bring historical usage and context; chemists contribute to scientific and everyday language; divines cover moral and religious terms; poets supply idiomatic, literary usage and phrasing. This broad mix ensures the dictionary shows how words are actually used across diverse domains, not just within one tradition. That breadth distinguishes his method from approaches that rely on a single source or a narrow group, and it explains why referencing multiple kinds of authorities makes the work feel authoritative and well-rounded.