Joseph Addison（1672—1719）

Joseph Addison was looked upon as one of the most prestigious editors and chief contributors to the English periodical literature of the early 18th century. His works were characterized by being natural, austere and succinct, full of civilization and persuasion, which influenced the development of the English literature dramatically and played a leading role in moralizing his fellowmen.

Joseph Addison, son of a clergyman, graduated from Oxford with a MA degree, where he became a good acquaintance with Richard Steele. In 1705 he wrote and published “The Campaign”, a poem written in heroic couplets, to celebrate the victory at the battle of Blenheim. At this time, Addison renewed his friendship with Richard Steele and was a regular contributor to Steele's The Tatler, in which the essays he contributed exposed the luxuries enjoyed by those who were idling their lives in the bourgeois society. Later the two friends went on to found The Spectator which rose at its peak to a circulation of 14,000 copies. In the two periodicals, he wrote many essays satirizing those good-for-nothing for their vanity and extravagance by depicting the typical men, customs and lifestyles of all walks of life. What is suggested in the essays serves as a lasting reminder to the readers of all ages.