E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Ben Joc’hanan’,
in the satire of Absalom and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is meant for the Rev. Samuel Johnson, who suffered much persecution for his defence of the right of private judgment.
1
“A Jew [Englishman] of humble parentage was he;
By trade a Levite [clergyman], though of low degree.”
