“Sociability.” The Oxford Handbook to Samuel Johnson. Editor, Jack Lynch. Oxford University Press: 2022.
"Johnson's sole extended work of fiction demonstrates egalitarianism that amends Greek conceptions of friendship while preserving their essence. The travelers in Rasselas are a heterogeneous group. An older man, Imlac has lived several lives before retiring to Abysinnia, and this is not his first expedition. Johnson uses his age for thematic effect, hinting that if a solution to this group's problem exists, Imlac would already have found it. Apart from this, Imlac's age is unimportant. Johnson does not equate maturity with wisdom."