ARTES
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
TUEBOR
NIS PENINSULAM AMO NAM
CIRCUMSPICE
GIFT OF
REGENT LLHUBBARD
PR
372
'C7
1752
Dr Swift
Ravenet joulp.
Cives aliquos virtutibus pares & habe
Zhabebimus, gloria neminem,
Plin Groce
REMARKS
ΟΝ ΤΗΕ
LIFE and WRITINGS
OF
Dr. JONATHAN SWIFT,
Dean of St. PATRICK'S, Dublin,
In a Series of
LETTERS
FROM
JOHN Earl of ORRERY
To his SON, the Honourable
HAMILTON BOYLE.
The FIFTH EDITION.
Hæc funt quæ noftrâ liceat te voce moneri.
Vade, Age.
VIRG. Æneid. iiì. y. 461.
LONDON,
Printed for A. MILLAR, in the Strand.
M. DCC.LII.
LETTER I.
HubTo the Honourable.
*
ریه
一隻
​HAMILTON BOYLE,
Student of Chrift-Church College
in
}
OXFORD.
My dear HAMILTON,
I
Want no motive to gratify your requeſt
of hearing often from me, eſpecially as
your letters always give me a particular
pleaſure. I read them over not only
with the fondnefs of a father, but with the affection
of a friend. They revive in my mind the agreeable
hours which attend a ftudious life, in that elegant feat
of the muſes, from whence they are dated. In fuch
a fituation, amidst the beft Authors, and in a free
converſation with men of letters, you will be able to
adorn your mind, and give it a ferene and a juft way
A 2
of
2
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
of thinking: And I ſhall have the happineſs not only
of feeing you forming yourſelf every day for public
life, but rendered more capable of exerting your fa-
culties, with dignity and advantage to your country,
and with a rifing reputation to yourſelf.
For my own part, early diſappointments, the per-
plexed ſtate of my affairs, indifferent health, and
many other untoward incidents, all contributed to
make me, even in my earlieſt part of life, too fond of
retirement. Years have increafed the inclination,
and time rather confirms than corrects the error;
however, I have not fuffered my mind to be totally
inactive but by holding as little connexion as poffible
with the living, I have employed myſelf in converfing,
and forming an acquaintance with the dead: and have
from thence received more real fatisfaction and im-
provement, than probably might have attended me,
had I been directed in the purfuit of fame, fortune,
or ambition.
I am much pleafed that you approve of my obfer-
vations on PLINY's letters. I engaged in that work,
with a defign of pointing out, to your brother Lord
BOYLE, the amiable qualities of that elegant Roman.
But I cannot reft fatisfied unless I offer to you alſo
fome public token of my paternal affection: and
therefore, I have lately been examining the works of
Dr. SWIFT, with an intention of gathering materials
for my future correfpondence with you: and here, my
dear HAMILTON, I dedicat to you thoſe criticiſms
which
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 3
which have occurred to me; and fhall mix with them
ſuch particulars of his life and character, as, I flatter
myſelf, may tend at leaſt to your entertainment, if
not to your improvement.
Let me begin by giving you a fhort but general
view of SWIFT's character. He was in the decline
of life when I knew him. His friendſhip was an
honour to me, and to fay the truth, I have even
drawn advantage from his errors. I have beheld
him in all humours and difpofitions, and I have
formed various ſpeculations from the feveral weak-
neſſes to which I obſerved him liable.
His ca-
pacity and ftrength of mind were undoubtedly e-
qual to any taſk whatever. His pride, his fpirit, or
his ambition, call it by what name you pleafe, was
boundleſs: but, his views were checked in his younger
years, and the anxiety of that diſappointment had a
viſible effect upon all his actions. He was four and
fevere, but not abfolutely ill-natured. He was foci-
able only to particular friends, and to them only at
particular hours. He knew politeneſs more than he
practifed it. He was a mixture of avarice and gc-
nerofity: the former was frequently prevalent, the
latter feldom appeared, unleſs excited by compaffion.
He was open to adulation, and could not, or would
not diftinguish between low flattery, and juft ap-
plaufe. His abilities rendered him fuperior to envy.
He was undifguifed and perfectly fincere. I am in-
duced to think, that he entered into orders, more
from
A 3
4
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
from fome private and fixed refolution, than from
abfolute choice: be that as it may, he performed the
duties of the church with great punctuality, and a de-
cent degree of devotion. He read prayers rather in
a ftrong nervous voice, than in a graceful manner, and
altho' he has been often accufed of irreligion, nothing
of that kind appeared in his converfation or behaviour.
His caft of mind induced him to think, and fpeak
more of politics than of religion. His perpetual
views were directed towards power and his chief
aim was to be removed into England: but when
he found himself entirely difappointed, he turned
his thoughts to oppofition, and became the patron
of Ireland, in which country he was born. Here
it may not be improper to obferve to you, that
many of his friends imagined him a native of Eng-
land, and many others, I know not whether to call
them friends or enemies, were willing to fuppofe him
the natural fon of Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE. Nei-
ther of theſe facts is true. He was born in Dublin,
November the thirtieth, in the year fixteen hundred
and fixty feven, and was carried into England foon
after his birth, by his nurfe, who being obliged to
croſs the ſea, and having a nurſe's fondneſs for the
child at her breaſt, conveyed him on ſhip board,
without the knowledge of his mother or relations, and
kept him with her at Whitehaven in Cumberland,
during her refidence three years at that place. This
extraordinary event made his return ſeem as if he had
been
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 5
been tranſplanted to Ireland, rather than that he had
owed his original exiſtence to that foil. But per-
haps, he tacitly hoped to infpire different nations
with a contention for his birth: at leaſt in his angry
moods, when he was peevish, and provoked at the
ingratitude of Ireland, he was frequently heard to fay,
"I am not of this vile country, I am an Engliſh-
"man." Such an affertion, although meant figura-
tively, was often received literally and the report
was ſtill farther affifted by Mr. POPE, who in one of
his letters has this expreffion, "Tho' one or two of
66 our friends are gone, fince you faw your native
"" country, there remain a few. " But Dr. SWIFT,
in his cooler hours, never denied his country: on the
contrary, he frequently mentioned, and pointed out
the houſe where he was born. The other fuggeftion
concerning the illegitimacy of his birth is equally falſe.
Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE was employed as a minifter
abroad from the year fixteen hundred and fixty five,
to the year fixteen hundred and feventy: firft at Bruf-
fels, and afterwards at the Hague, as you will find by
his correſpondence with the Earl of Arlington, and o-
ther minifters of ftate: So that Dr. SWIFT's mother,
who never croffed the fea, except from England to
Ireland, was out of all poffibility of a perfonal cor-
refpondence with Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE till fome
years after her fon's birth.
* Letter LXXX. Mr. POPE to Dr. SWIFT, March
23, 1736-7.
A 4
I have
6
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
He
I have already mentioned to you the exact place,
and date of Doctor SWIFT's nativity; but the rules
of biography make it neceffary to give you ſome ac-
count of his family. It fhall be as fhort as poffible;
fince, although his anceſtors were perfons of very
decent, and reputable characters, he himſelf has been
the herald to blazon the dignity of their coat,
His
grandfather was the Reverend Mr. THOMAS SWIFT,
Vicar of Goodridge near Rofs in Herefordshire.
enjoyed a paternal eftate in that county, which is ftill
in poffeffion of his great grandfon DEAN SWIFT, Efq;.
He died in the year fixteen hundred and fifty eight,
leaving fix fons, GODWIN, THOMAS, DRYDEN,
WILLIAM, JONATHAN and ADAM. Two of
them only, GODWIN and JONATHAN, left fons.
'The defcendants of GODWIN are mentioned in
GUILLIM's heraldry. JONATHAN married Mrs.
ABIGAIL ERICK of Leicestershire, by whom he had
one daughter and a fon. The daughter was born in
the first year of Mr. SWIFT's marriage; but he lived
not to fee the birth of his fon 2, who was called Jo-
NATHAN, in memory of his father, and became af-
terwards the famous Dean of St. Patrick's. The
greateſt part of Mr. JONATHAN SWIFT's income
had depended upon agencies, and other employments
of that kind: fo that most of his fortune periſhed
with him and the remainder being the only fupport
a Doc or SwIFT was born fome months after his fa-
ther's death.
that
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 7
that his widow could enjoy, the care, tuition, and
expence of her two children devolved upon her huf-
band's elder brother, Mr. GODWIN SWIFT, who
voluntarily became their guardian, and fupplied the
lofs which they had ſuſtained in a father. Mrs. SWIFT,
about two years after her huſband's death, quitted
Ireland, and retired to Leicester, the place of her na-
tivity.
The faculties of the mind appear and fhine forth
at different ages in different men. The infancy of
Doctor SWIFT paffed on without any marks of dif-
tinction. At fix years old, he was fent to ſchool at
Kilkenny, and about eight years afterwards, he was
entered a ſtudent of Trinity College in Dublin. He
lived there in perfect regularity, and under an entire
obedience to the ftatutes: but the moroſeneſs of his
temper often rendered him very unacceptable to his
companions; fo that he was little regarded, and lefs
beloved. Nor were the academical exerciſes agree-
able to his genius. He held logic and metaphyfics in
the utmoſt contempt, and he fcarce confidered ma-
thematics and natural philofophy, unlefs to turn them.
into ridicule. The ftudies which he followed were
history and poetry. In theſe he made a great pro-
grefs; but to all other branches of fcience he had
given fo very little application, that when he appear-
ed as a candidate for the degree of Batchelor of Arts,
he was fet afide on a count of infufficiency.
A 5
You
8
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
You will be ſurpriſed at fuch an incident in his life:
but the fact was undoubtedly true: and even at laſt
he obtained his admiffion fpeciali gratiâ: a phraſe
which in that Univerſity carries with it the utmoſt
marks of reproach. It is a kind of difhonourable de-
gree, and the record of it, notwithstanding Dr.
SWIFT's prefent eſtabliſhed character throughout
the learned world, muft for ever remain againſt him
in the academical regifter at Dublin.
Ambition, you will agree with me, could fcarce
have met with a ſeverer blow. HERCULES found
himſelf fet afide for want of ftrength; or, if admitted
among the wreſtlers, admitted only by favour and in-
dulgence; yet ftill he muſt be conſcious, that he was
HERCULES. Difappointments, the earlier they hap-
pen in life, the deeper impreffion they make upon the
heart. SWIFT was full of indignation at the treatment
which he had received in Ireland, and therefore re-
folved to purfue his ftudies at Oxford. However
that he might be admitted ad eundem, he was obliged
to carry with him the Teftimonium of his Degree.
The expreffion ſpeciali gratiâ is fo peculiar to the
Univerfity of Dublin, that, when Mr. SWIFT ex-
hibited his Teſtimonial at Oxford, the members of
the English Univerfity concluded, that the words
fpeciali gratiâ muft fignify a Degree conferred in re-
ward of extraordinary diligence, or learning. You
may imagine, he did not try to undeceive them. He
was immediately admitted ad eundem, and chofe to
3
enter
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 9
enter himſelf of Hart Hall, now Hartford College,
where he conftantly refided (fome vifits to his mo-
ther at Leicester and to Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE at
Moor Park excepted) till he took his degree as
Maſter of Arts, which, if I remember rightly, was
in the year ninety-one.
Having attended my friend SWIFT thus far in his
road of life, let me reft a little before I proceed far-
ther with him in the journey; and let me defire you
to keep this letter, as I intend that it ſhall be follow-
ed hereafter by others of the fame fort, and relating
to the fame perfon.
I
am, my dearest HAMILTON,
your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
*******
I
LETTER II.
Am happy, my dear HAMILTON, to find that the
talk which I have undertaken of placing together
fome memoirs of Dr. SWIFT's life, will be an accept-
A 6
able
ΙΟ
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
able prefent to you. In my laft letter, you may re-
member, that I conducted Dr. SWIFT from his birth,
in the year fixteen hundred and fixty feven, to his
taking his degree of Maſter of Arts at Oxford, in the
year fixteen hundred and ninety one. Curiofity may in-
duce you to know, in what manner he could fubfift,
or by what channel the fprings of his revenue were
ſupplied, at a time when both kingdoms, but parti-
cularly Ireland, were in great confufion. You will
almoft tremble for him, when I tell you, that in the
year of the Revolution, his uncle GODWIN SWIFT
had fallen into a kind of lethargy, or dotage, which
deprived him by degrees of his fpeech and memory;
and rendered him totally incapable of being of the leaſt
fervice to his family and friends. But, in the midft.
of this diſtreſsful fituation, as if it was ordained, that
no incident ſhould bereave mankind of fuch a genius,
Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE (whofe Lady was related
to Dr. SWIFT's mother) moft generouſly ſtept in to
his affiſtance, and avowedly fupported his education
at the Univerſity of Oxford. Acts of generoſity feldom
meet with their juſt applauſe: Sir WILLIAM TEM-
PLE's friendſhip was immediately conftrued to pro-
ceed from a conſciouſneſs, that he was the real father
of Mr. SWIFT, otherwife it was thought impoffible,
that he could be fo uncommonly munificent to a
young man, no ways related to him, and but diftant-
ly related to his wife. I am not quite certain, that
SWIFT himself did not acquiefce in the calumny.
Perhaps,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 11
Perhaps, like ALEXANDER, he thought the natural
fon of JUPITER would appear greater than the le-
gitimate fon of PHILIP.
But I muſt not omit to tell you, that another of
his father's brothers, WILLIAM SWIFT, affifted him
when at Oxford, by repeated acts of friendſhip and
affection. I have a letter now before me, which,
tho' torn, and imperfect in feveral places, fhews.
his gratitude and devotion to the uncle, whom I have
juft now mentioned, and whom he calls the best of
his relatians. I will tranfcribe this epiftolary frag-
ment; fince at leaſt it is fo far curious, as it gives us
a fpecimen of SWIFT's manner of writing and think-
ing, at that period of his life.
SIR,
M?
Moore Park, Nov. 29, 1692,
MY fifler told me, you was pleafed (when ſhe was
here) to wonder, I did fo feldom write to you. I
been fo kind, to impute it neither
to ill mann
refpect. I always
thought that fufficient from one, who
has always been but too troublefome to you: befides I knew
your averfion to impertinence, and God knows ſo very
private a life as mine can furniſh a letter with little elſe:
for I often am two or three months without ſeeing any
body befides the family; and now my fifter is gone, I am
likely to be more folitary than before. I am fill to thank
yo
12
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
you for your care in my Teftimonium, and it was to very
good purpoſe, for I never was more fatisfied than in the
behaviour of the Univerſity of Oxford to me. I had all
the civilities I could wish for, and fo many
favours, that I am ashamed to have been more obliged in
a few weeks to firangers, than ever I was in feven years
to Dublin College. I am not to take orders till the King
gives me a Prebendary: and Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE,
tho' he promiſes me the certainty of it, yet is less for-
ward than I could wiſh; becauſe, I ſuppoſe, he believes
I fhall leave him, and upon fome accounts, he thinks me a
little neceffary to him.
If I were
entertainment, or doing you any fatisfaction by
my letters, I fhall be very glad to perform it that way,
as I am bound to do it by all others. I am forry my for-
tune fhould fling me fo far from the best of my Relations,
but hope that I shall have the happiness to fee you fome
time or other. Pray my humble fervice to my good aunt,
and the rest of my relations, if you pleafe.
You do not fee in theſe few lines the leaft fymp-
toms of that peculiar turn of phrafe, which after-
wards appeared in all his writings; even in his moſt
trifling letters. Neither his learning, nor his genius
were yet arrived to any degree of ripeness. Or per-
haps the letter was rather the effect of duty than
inclination; and in that cafe, the ftyle of it muſt be
elaborate, and void of all freedom and vivacity. It
is
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 13
is dated from Moore Park, near Farnham in Surry,
where Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE then refided.
SWIFT, as foon as he had quitted the Univerſity of
Oxford, lived with Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE as his
friend, and domeftic companion. When he had
been about two years at Moore Park, he contracted
a very long and dangerous illneſs, by eating an im-
moderate quantity of fruit. To this furfeit I have
often heard him afcribe that giddinefs in his head,
which with intermiffions fometimes of a longer, and
fometimes of a fhorter continuance, purfued him till
it ſeemed to compleat its conqueft, by rendering him
the exact image of one of his own Struldbruggs, a
miferable fpectacle, devoid of every appearance of
human nature, except the outward form.
In compliance to the advice of his phyficians,
when he was ſufficiently recovered to travel, he went
into Ireland, to try the effects of his native air: and
he found ſo much benefit by the journey, that in
compliance to his own inclinations, he foon returned
into England, and was again most affectionately re-
ceived by Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE, who had now
left Moore Park, and was fettled at Sheene, where he
was often vifited by King WILLIAM. Here SWIFT
had frequent opportunities of converfing with that
Prince; in fome of which converſations, the King
offered to make him a captain of horfe: an offer,
which, in fplenetic difpofitions, he always feemed
forry to have refufed; but at that time he had refolv-
ed,
14
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ved, within his own mind, to take orders; and dur-
ing his whole life, his refolutions, like the decrees of
fate, were immoveable. Thus determined he again
went over into Ireland, and immediately enlifted
himſelf under the banner of the Church. He was
recommended by Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE to Lord
CAPEL, then Lord deputy, who gave him the firſt
vacancy, a prebend, of which the income was about
an hundred pounds a year. SWIFT foon grew weary
of this preferment: it was not fufficiently confider-
able, and was at fo great a diſtance from the metro-
polis, that it abfolutely deprived him of that kind of
converſation and fociety, in which he delighted. He
had been uſed to very different ſcenes in England, and
had naturally an averfion to folitude and retirement.
He was glad therefore to refign his prebend in favour
of a friend, and to return to Sheene, where he lived
domeftically as ufual, till the death of Sir WILLIAM
TEMPLE, who, befides a legacy in money, left to
him the care and truft of publiſhing his pofthumous
works.
As during my friend SWIFT's refidence with Sir
WILLIAM TEMPLE, he became intimately acquaint-
ed with a Lady, whom he has diftinguifhed, and of-
ten celebrated in his works, under the name of
STELLA; I cannot think, my HAM, that it will be
improper to give you at once her hiftory; although,
according to the rules of biography, I ought perhaps
to have delayed the account, till we arrived at that
period
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
15
period of his life, when he married her: but as I may
have occafion to fpeak of her in various parts of
SWIFT's Works, and as his manner of living with
her will fhew you, how much he deviated from the
common order of men, I fhall fill up the reft of my
letter with her extraordinary ftory.
STELLA's real name was JOHNSON. She was the
daughter of Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE'S fteward, and
the concealed, but undoubted wife of Dr. SWIFT.
Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE bequeathed her in his will
one thousand pounds, as an acknowledgment of her
father's faithful ſervices. I cannot tell how long ſhe
remained in England, or whether the made more
journeys than one to Ireland after Sir WILLIAM
TEMPLE's death; but if my informations are right,
ſhe was married to Dr. SWIFT in the year feventeen
hundred and fixteen, by Dr. ASHE then biſhop of
Clogher.
STELLA was a moſt amiable woman, in mind, and
perfon. She had an elevated underſtanding, with all
the delicacy and ſoftneſs of her Sex. Her voice,
however ſweet in itſelf, was ftill rendered more har-
monious by what ſhe ſaid. Her wit was poignant
without ſeverity. Her manners were humane, po-
lite, eafy, and unreferved. Wherever the came fhe
attracted attention and eſteem. As virtue was her
guide in morality, fincerity was her guide in religion.
She was conftant, but not oftentatious in her devoti-
ons. She was remarkably prudent in her converfation.
She
16
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
She had great ſkill in mufic, and was perfectly well
verſed in all the leffer arts that employ a lady's leifure.
Her wit allowed her a fund of perpetual chearfulneſs:
her prudence kept that chearfulneſs within proper li-
mits. She exactly answered the defcription of PENE-
LOPE in HOMER.
A woman loveliest of the lovely kind,
In body perfect, and compleat in mind.
Such was STELLA: yet with all theſe accompliſh-
ments ſhe never could prevail upon Dr. SWIFT to
acknowledge her openly as his wife. A great genius
muſt tread in unbeaten paths, and deviate from the
common road of life: otherwife, furely a diamond of
fo much luftre might have been publickly produced,
although it had been fixed within the collet of matri-
mony: but the flaw, which in Dr. SWIFT's eye re-
duced the value of fuch a jewel, was the fervile ftate
of her father, who, as I faid before, was a menial
fervant to Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE. Ambition
and pride will, at any time, conquer reaſon and juſ-
tice; and each larger degree of pride, like the larger
fifhes of prey, will devour all the lefs: thus the vanity
of boaſting of fuch a wife was fuppreffed by the greater
vanity of keeping free from a low alliance.
Dr. SWIFT and Mrs. JOHNSON continued the
fame œconomy of life after marriage, which they had
purſued before it. They lived in feparate houſes; he
tance
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
17
remaining at the deanery, fhe, in lodgings at a dif-
tance from hin, and on the other fide of the river
Liffy. Nothing appeared in their behaviour incon-
fiftent with decorum, or beyond the limits of pla-
tonic love. They converfed like friends; but they
induſtriouſly took care, to fummon witneffes of their
converfation: a rule to which they adhered fo ftrictly,
that it would be difficult, if not impoffible, to prove
they had ever been together without fome third per-
fon.
I
A conduct fo extraordinary in itſelf always gives
room for various comments and reflexions: but,
however unaccountable this renunciation of marriage
rites might appear to the world, it certainly aroſe not
from any conſciouſneſs of too near a confanguinity
between him and Mrs. JOHNSON, although the ge-
neral voice of fame was willing to make them both
the natural children of Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE.
am perfuaded, that Dr. SWIFT was not of that o-
pinion; becauſe, the fame falſe pride that induced
him to deny the legitimate daughter of an obfcure
fervant, might have prompted him to own the na-
tural daughter of fo eminent a man as Sir WILLIAM
TEMPLE. There are actions of which the true
fources will never be difcovered. This perhaps is
one. I have told you the fact, in the manner I have
received it from ſeveral of SWIFT's friends and re-
lations, and I muſt leave you to make your own ob-
'ervations upon it.
You
18
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
You may imagine, that a woman of STELLA's
delicacy muſt repine at ſuch an extraordinary ſitua-
tion. The outward honours, which the received,
are as frequently beftowed upon a miſtreſs, as a wife.
She was abfolutely virtuous, and yet was obliged to
ſubmit to all the appearances of vice, except in the
preſence of thoſe few people, who were witneffes of
the cautious manner in which the lived with her huf-
band, who fcorned, my HAMILTON, even to be
married like any other man.
Inward anxiety affected by degrees the calmneſs of
her mind, and the ftrength of her body. She began
to decline in her health in the year feventeen hundred
and twenty-four; and from the firft fymptoms of de-
cay, ſhe rather haftened, than fhrunk back in the de-
fcent, tacitly pleaſed, to find her footſteps tending to
that place, where they neither marry nor are given in
marriage. She died towards the end of January,
feventeen hundred and twenty-feven, or eight, abſo-
lutely deftroyed by the peculiarity of her fate: a fate,
which perhaps ſhe could not have incurred by an al-
liance with any other perſon in the world.
My paper, my time, and every circumſtance, put
me in and of affuring you, my dear HAMILTON,
that I am.
Your most affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
LET-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 19
ON 96658050 STENSAXONOnoconsnöronog
I
LETTER III.
you
one
Join with you entirely in thinking STELLA one
of the most unfortunate of her fex. Her cataf-
trophe was ſuch as might have drawn pity from a
breaft lefs fufceptible of that paffion than yours. In-
jurious treatment, diſappointed love, a long lingering
illneſs, were all circumftances of the melancholy kind.
Be not furprized, my HAMILTON, when I tell you,
that he never ſpoke of her without a figh: for fuch is
the perverfeneſs of human nature, that we bewail thofe
perfons dead, whom we treated cruelly when living.
But, I am making reflexions, when I intended to
write memoirs. Let us return to SWIFT.
Upon the death of Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE he
came to London, and took the earlieſt opportunity of
delivering a petition to King WILLIAM, under the
claim of a promiſe made by his Majeſty to Sir WIL-
LIAM TEMPLE, "That Mr. SWIFT fhould have
"the firſt vacancy, which might happen among the
"prebends of Westminster or Canterbury.
promiſes of Kings are often a kind of chaff, which the
breath of a miniſter bloweth, and ſcattereth away
from the face of a court. The petition had no effect.
It was either totally forgotten, or drowned amidft the
clamoure
The
20
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
clamours of more urgent claims. From this firft dif-
appointment, may probably be dated that bitterneſs
towards Kings, and courtiers, which is to be found
fo univerfally diſperſed throughout his works.
What
After a long and fruitless attendance at Whitehall,
SWIFT reluctantly gave up all thoughts of a fettle-
ment in England. He had dedicated Sir WILLIAM
TEMPLE'S works to the King. The dedication was
neglected, nor did his Majefty take the leaſt notice of
him after Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE's death.
then was to be done? honour, or, to uſe a properer
word, pride hindered him from ſtaying long in aftate
of fervility and contempt. He complied therefore
with an invitation from the Earl of BERKLEY (ap-
pointed one of the Lords Juftices in Ireland) to at-
tend him as his chaplain and private fecretary. Lord
BERKLEY landed near Waterford; and Mr. SWIFT
acted as fecretary during the whole journey to Dub-
lin. But another of Lord BERKLEY'S attendants,
whoſe name was BUSH, had, by this time, infinuat-
ed himſelf into the Earl's favour, and had whispered
to his Lordſhip, that the poft of fecretary was not pro-
per for a Clergyman, to whom only church prefer-
ments could be fuitable or advantageous. Lord
BERKLEY liftened perhaps too attentively to theſe
infinuations, and making fome flight apology to Mr.
SWIFT, divefted him of that office, and beftowed it
upon Mr. BUSH. Here again was another diſap-
pointment, and a fresh object of indignation. The
treat-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 21
treatment was thought injurious, and SWIFT expreff-
ed his fenfibility of it in a ſhort, but fatirical copy of
verfes entitled The Diſcovery.
However, during the government of the Earls of
BERKLEY and GALWAY, who were jointly Lords
Juftices of Ireland, two livings, Laracor, and Rath-
beggan, were beftowed upon Mr. SWIFT. The firſt
of theſe rectories was worth about two hundred, and
the latter about fixty pounds a year; and they were
the only church preferments that he enjoyed, 'till he
was appointed Dean of St. Patrick's, in the year
feventeen hundred and thirteen.
As foon as he had taken poffeffion of his two liv-
ings, he went to refide at Laracor, and gave public ·
notice to his parishioners, that he would read prayers
on every Wedneſday and Friday. Upon the fubfe-
quent Wedneſday the bell was rung, and the rector
attended in his defk, when after having fat fome time,
and finding the congregation to conſiſt only of him-
felf, and his clerk ROGER, he began with great com-
pofure and gravity, but with a turn peculiar to him-
felf, "Dearly beloved ROGER, the ſcripture moveth
<C
you and me in fundry places." And then proceeded
regularly through the whole fervice. I mention
this trifling circumftance only to fhew you, that he
could not reſiſt a vein of humour, whenever he had
an opportunity of exerting it.
As I have given you a particular example of his
humour, let me give you a particular inftance of his
pride:
22
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
pride: eſpecially as it comes in properly enough in
point of time.
Whilft SWIFT was chaplain to Lord BERKLEY,
his only fifter, by the conſent and approbation of her
uncles and relations, was married to a man in trade,
whofe fortune, character and fituation, were eſteem-
ed, by all her friends, fuitable for her in every re-
fpect. But, the marriage was entirely diſagreeable to
her brother. It feemed to interrupt thofe ambitious
views, which he had long fince formed: He grew
outragious at the thoughts of being brother-in-law to
a tradeſman. He utterly refuſed all reconciliation
with his fifter, nor would he even liften to the en-
treaties of his mother, who came over to Ireland,
under the ſtrongeſt hopes of pacifying his anger, hav-
ing, in every other inftance, found him a dutiful, and
an obedient fon: but his pride was not to be conquered,
and Mrs. SWIFT finding her fon inflexible haftened
back to Leiceſter, where the continued till her death.
During his mother's life-time, he fcarce ever failed
to pay her an annual viſit. But his manner of tra
velling was as fingular as any other of his actions. He
often went in a waggon; but more frequently walk-
ed from Holyhead to Leicester, London, or any other
part of England. He generally choſe to dine with
waggoners, hoftlers, and perſons of that rank; and he
uſed to lye at night in houſes where he found writ-
ten over the door Lodgings for a penny. He delight-
ed
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
23
ed in fcenes of low life. The vulgar dialect was not
only a fund of humour for him, but I verily believe
was acceptable to his nature; otherwiſe I know not
how to account for the many filthy ideas, and inde-
cent expreffions (I mean indecent in point of clean-
linefs and delicacy) that will be found throughout
his works.
I need not tell you, that a ſtrict refidence at La-
racor was not in the leaſt ſuitable to his difpofition.
He was perpetually making excurfions not only to
Dublin, and other parts of Ireland, but into England,
eſpecially to London. So rambling a difpofition oc-
cafioned to him a confiderable lofs. The rich deanery
of Derry became vacant at this time, and was intend-
ed for him by Lord BERKLEY; if Dr. KING, then
Biſhop of Derry, and afterwards Archbiſhop of Dub-
lin, had not interpofed; entreating with great earn-
eftneſs, that the deanery might be given to fome grave
and elderly divine, rather than to fo young a man ;
"becauſe (added the Bifhop) the fituation of Derry is
"in the midſt of prefbyterians; and I ſhould be glad
"of a clergyman, who would be of affiſtance to me.
"I have no objection to Mr. SwIFT. I know him
"to be a ſprightly ingenious young man; but instead
"of refiding, I dare fay, he will be eternally flying
"backwards and forwards to London; and therefore
"I entreat, that he may be provided for in fome
"other place."
B
SWIFT
24
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
SWIFT was accordingly fet afide on account of youth;
but, as if his ſtars had deftined to him a parallel re-
venge, he lived to fee the Biſhop of Derry afterwards.
fet aſide on account of age. That Prelate had been
Archbishop of Dublin many years, and had been long
celebrated for his wit and learning, when Dr. LInd-
SEY, the Primate of Ireland, died. Upon his death
Archbishop KING immediately made claim to the
Primacy, as a preferment to which he had a right from
his ftation in the fee of Dublin, and from his acknow-
ledged character in the church. Neither of theſe
pretenfions were prevalent. He was looked upon as
too far advanced in years to be removed. The reafon
alledged was as mortifying as the refuſal itſelf: but the
Archbishop had no opportunity of fhewing his refent-
ment, except to the new Primate Dr. BOLTER, whom
he received at his own houſe, and in his dining par-
lour, without rifing from his chair, and to whom he
made an apology, by faying, in his uſual ſtrain of wit,
and with his uſual fneering countenance,
"My
"Lord, I am certain your Grace will forgive me, be-
"cauſe, You know, I am too old to rife.'
>>
In the year 1701, SWIFT took his Doctor's de-
gree, and towards the latter end of that year, or ac-
cording to our abfurd way of reckoning, in the year
17% King WILLIAM died. Queen ANNE's reign
will open a new fcene, and will probably afford
me materials for more letters than one. The
more the better, when in each of them I can affure
2
you,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 25
you, that your behaviour, as well as my own in-
clinations, oblige me to be
Your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
5356505GVG53:59:59#50:50:50:50:50SAINIA
UPC
LETTER IV.
PON the death of King WILLIAM, and the
acceffion of Queen ANNE, Dr. SWIFT came
into England. It cannot be denied, that the chief
miniſters of that Queen, whether diftinguiſhed un-
der the titles of Whigs or Tories, of High Church or
of Low Church, were, from the beginning to the
end of her reign, encouragers of learning, and pa-
trons of learned men. The wits and poets of that
æra were numerous and eminent. Amidſt the croud,
yet ſhining above the reſt, appeared Dr. SWIFT.
Ipfe ante alios pulcherrimus omnes,
Infert fe focium Encas, atque agmina jungit.
It will be impoffible, in mentioning the reign of
this Princefs, or in writing memoirs of Dr. SWIFT,
to avoid the frequent uſe of thoſe cant words Whig
B 2
and
26
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
and Tory, "two creatures, fays a modern author,
‹‹ a who are born with a fecret antipathy to each other,
" and engage as naturally when they meet, as the ele-
"
The
phant and rhinoceros." In a mixture of theſe two
jarring animals confifted the first miniſtry of Queen
ANNE; but the greater fhare of the adminiftration
was committed to the Whigs, who, with indefati-
gable induſtry, ſoon engroffed the whole; encloſing
their Sovereign within their own fortifications, and
keeping her captive within their own walls.
Queen, whofe heart was naturally inclined towards
the Tories, remained an unwilling prifoner feveral
years to the Whigs; till Mr. HARLEY, with a tory
army, undermined all the whiggiſh fortreffes, levelled
their works to the ground, feized their Princeſs, and
during the remainder of her life, furrounded, and de-
fended her with a new ſet of troops under the com-
mand of the Duke of ORMOND.
Dr. SWIFT was known to the great men of each
denomination: and although he foon attached him-
felf openly to the Tories, it is certain he had been
bred up, and educated with Whigs; at leaſt with ſuch,
who, in the Lexicon of Party, may be found ranged
under that title. His motives for quitting the lower
vallies of Whiggiſm for the higher regions of Toryiſm
appear throughout his works. The perfons who had
now ſignalized themfelves as Whigs, had renounced
* See the Spectator, No. 50.
thoſe
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 27
ture.
thoſe principles by which the old Whigs were denoted,
and had embraced ſeveral of thoſe tenets of which their
forefathers had either a real, or a pretended, abhor-
rence. The effects of power and ambition are ex-
traordinary and boundlefs. They blind our faculties,
they ſtagger our refolution, and they fubvert our na-
Not all the metamorphofes of OVID can pro-
duce a parallel equal to the change that appears in the
fame man, when from a Patriot he becomes a Cour-
tier: yet it may be afferted, and will redound to the
honour of Dr. SWIFT, that when he rofe into the
confidence and efteem of thofe great men, who ſat at
the helm of affairs during the laft years of Queen
ANNE's reign, he ſcarce ever loft himſelf, or grew gid-
dy by the plenitude of power, and the exalted ſtation
of frequently appearing in the confidence and favour
of the reigning minifter. He may have been carried
away by inconfiderate paffion; but he was not to be
fwayed by deliberate evil. He may have erred in judg-
ment, but he was upright in intention. The welfare
and profperity of theſe kingdoms were the conftant
aim of his politics, and the immediate fubject of his
thoughts and writings. But, as HAMLET fays,
"Something too much of this." Let us continue
therefore to trace the footsteps of his life; in which,
fcarce any circumftance can be found material from
the year ſeventeen hundred and two, till the change
of the miniftry in the year feventeen hundred and
During this interval, he had worked hard
ten.
B 3
with-
28
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
within thofe fubterraneous paffages, where, as has
been hinted before, the mine was formed that blew
up the whiggiſh ramparts, and opened a way for
the Tories to the Queen. SWIFT was to the To-
ries, what CÆSAR was to the Romans, at once a lead-
er of their armies, and an hiſtoriographer of their tri-
umphs. He refided very much in England: his in-
clinations were always there. His intimacy with
Lord OXFORD commenced, as far as may be de-
duced from his works, in October 1709. In a poem
written in the year 1713, he ſays,
'Tis (let me fee) three years and more
(October next it will be four)
Since HARLEY bid me first attend,
And chofe me for an humble friend.
And again in another poem written in the fame
year,
My Lord would carry on the jest,
And down to Windfor take his guest.
SWIFT much admires the place and air,
And longs to be a Canon there.
A Canon! that's a place too mean,
No, Doctor, you ſhall be a Dean.
By this last quotation, and by numberless other in-
ftances in his works, it ſeems undeniable that a ſet-
tlement
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
29
tlement in England was the unvaried object of Dr.
SWIFT's ambition: fo that his promotion to a deanery
in Ireland, was rather a difappointment than a re-
ward. In a letter to Mr. GAY, he fays, "The best
“and greateſt part of my life, untill theſe last eight
"years, I spent in England. There I made my friend-
“fhips, and there I left my defires. I am condemned
"for ever to another country:
and in anſwer to a
letter from Mr. POPE, who had offered incenfe to
him, as to a tutelar faint in a ſtate of feparation, he
writes thus. "You are an ill catholic, or a worſe geo-
..
(4
a "
grapher; for I can affure you, Ireland is not para-
dife; and I appeal even to a Spanish divine, whether
addreſſes were ever made to a friend in hell or pur-
"gatory?" I fhall cite no other quotations; but
you will find in his letter, many expreffions to the
fame purport.
Among the various branches, into which SWIFT's
expanfive genius fpread itſelf, thofe peculiar talents.
of levelling his writings to the loweſt, and ſuſtaining
their dignity to the higheft capacity, were probably
the original motives that attracted the Earl of Ox-
FORD's friendſhip to him. In the year 1709, the
character of Dr. SWIFT, as an author, was perfect-
ly eſtabliſhed: he had fhewn abilities equal to thoſe
attributed by HOMER to ULYSSES: he could appear
a beggar among beggars, and a king among kings.
2 Letter 5. Vol. 7.
B 4
↳ Letter 4. Vol 7.
From
30
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
46
From the year 1710, to the lateſt period of Queen
ANNE, we find him fighting on the fide of the mi-
nifters, and maintaining their cauſe in pamphlets,
poems, and weekly papers. In one of his letters to
Mr. POPE he has this expreffion, "I have converfed
“in fome freedom with more miniſters of ſtate, of all par-
* ties, than uſually happens to men of my level; and I
confefs, in their capacity as miniſters, I look upon them
as a race of people whofe acquaintance no man would
court otherwife than on the score of vanity, or am-
"bition." Lord OXFORD, as a gentleman, and a
ſcholar, might be open and unreſerved to Dr. SWIFT,
as far as his Lordſhip's nature would permit; but as
a miniſter of ſtate he ever appeared myſterious and
ænigmatical, delivering his oracles, like the Delphian
Deity, in occult terms and ambiguous expreffions.
A man always appears of more confequence to
bimfelf, than he is in reality to any other perfon.
Such perhaps was the cafe of Dr. SWIFT. He found
himſelf much indulged by the fmiles and converſa-
tion of the Earl of OXFORD. He knew how uſeful
he was to the adminiſtration in general: and in one
of his letters (I think the fame which I have laſt quot-
ed) he mentions, that the place of hiftoriographer
was intended for him; but I am apt to fufpect that
he flattered himſelf too highly: at leaft it is very evi-
dent, that he remained without any preferment till
the year 1713, when he was made Dean of St. Pa-
trick's. In point of power and revenue, fuch a dean-
• Letter 4 Vol. 7.
ery
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 31
ery might be eſteemed no inconfiderable promotion;
but to an ambitious mind, whofe perpetual aim was
a fettlement in England, a dignity in any other king-
dom muft appear (as perhaps it was defigned) only
an honourable, and profitable baniſhment.
But, my HAMILTON, I will never hide the free-
dom of my fentiments from you. I am much inclin-
ed to believe, that the temper of my friend SwIFT
might occafion his English friends to wifh him hap-
pily and properly promoted, at a diſtance. His fpi-
rit, for I would give it the fofteft name, was ever un-
tractable. The notions of his genius were often ir-
regular. He affumed more the air of a patron, than
of a friend. He affected rather to dictate than ad-
vife. He was elated with the appearance of enjoy-
ing minifterial confidence. He enjoyed the fhadow:
the ſubſtance was detained from him.
He was em-
ployed, not trufted; and at the fame time that he
imagined himſelf a fubtile diver, who dextroufly fhot
down into the profoundeft regions of politics, he
was ſuffered only to found the fhallows neareſt the
fhore, and was ſcarce admitted to defcend below the
froth at the top. Perhaps the deeper bottoms were
too muddy for his inſpection.
By reflexions of this fort we may account for his
diſappointment in an English bifhoprick. A difap-
pointment which, he imagined, he owed to a joint
application made againſt him to the Queen by Dr.
SHARPE, Archbishop of York, and by a Lady of the
B 5
higheſt
།
32
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
higheſt rank and character. Archbishop SHARPE,
according to Dr. SWIFT's account, had reprefented
him to the Queen, as a perſon who was not a Chri-
ftian; the great Lady had fupported the afperfion;
and the Queen, upon fuch affurances, had given a-
the bishoprick, contrary to her Majeſty's firſt
intentions. SWIFT kept himſelf indeed within fome
tolerable bounds, when he ſpoke of the Queen: but
his indignation knew no limits, when he mentioned
the Archbishop, or the Lady.
way
Buſineſs and ceremony, (two commanders, that I
hope you will lift under much more willingly than
I can) call me away from my letter, although no-
thing can ever call away my thoughts from you,
or interrupt the tenderncfs with which I am, dear
HAMILTON,
Your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
10:50:5GHG53 53EMOR+ 10900330SCAN 56:50
LETTER V.
Mot
OST people, my dear HAM, are fond of a
fettlement in their native country: but Dr.
SWIFT had little reaſon to rejoice in the land where
his lot had fallen: for, upon his arrival in Ireland to
take
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 33
take poffeffion of the deanery, he found the violence
of party raging in that kingdom to the higheſt de-
gree. The common people were taught to look up-
on him as a Jacobite; and they proceeded fo far in
their deteftation, as to throw ftones and dirt at him
as he paſſed through the streets. The chapter of St.
Patrick's, like the reft of the kingdom, received
him with great reluctance. They thwarted him in
every point that he propofed. He was avoided as a
peftilence. He was oppofed as an invader. He was
marked out as an enemy to his country. Such was
his firſt reception as Dean of St. Patrick's. Fewer
talents, and lefs firmneſs, muſt have yielded to fo
outragious an oppofition; fed contra audentior ibat.
He had ſeen enough of human nature, to be con-
vinced, that the paffions of low, felf-intereſted minds,
ebb and flow continually. They love they know
not whom; they hate they know not why; they are
captivated by words: guided by names: and govern-
ed by accidents. SACHEVERELL and the Church
had been of as great fervice to one party in the year
1710, as Popery and Slavery were to the other in the
year 1713. But, to fhew you the ftrange evoluti-
ons in this world, Dr. SWIFT, who was now the
deteftation of the Irife rabble, lived to be afterwards
the moſt abſolute monarch over them that ever go-
verned men.
His first step was to reduce to reafon and obedi-
ence his reverend brethren the chapter of St. Pa-
B 6
trick
34
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
trick's: in which he fucceeded fo perfectly, and fo
fpeedily, that in a ſhort time after his arrival, not
one member of that body offered to contradict him,
even in trifles. On the contrary, they held him in
the higheſt reſpect and veneration; fo that he fat in
the Chapter-houfe, like JUPITER in the Synod of
the Gods. Whether fear or conviction were the
motives of fo immediate a change, I leave you to
confider; but certain it is
Viro Phœbi chorus affurrexerit ommis.
SWIFT made no longer a ftay in Ireland, in the
year 1713, than was requifite to eftablifh himfelf as
Dean, and to pafs through certain cuftoms and for-
malities, or to uſe his own words,
Through all vexations,
Patents, Instalments, Abjurations,
Firſt Fruits, and Tenths, and Chapter-Treats,
Dues, Payments, Fees, Demands, and-Cheats.
During the time of theſe ceremonies he kept a
conftant correſpondence with his friends in England:
all of whom were eminent, either in birth, ftation,
or abilities. Among theſe, let me begin with the
name of Mr. POPE. The world has already ſeen
a long ſeries of their correfpondence: but a remark-
able letter of Mr. POPE's having been lately com-
municated
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 35
municated to me, and bearing date at the latter end
of the year 1713, as I cannot part with the original, I
will ſend you a very faithful copy of it. I ſhould first
fay, that it is in anfwer to one from SWIFT, where-
in he had jocofely made an offer to his friend of a
ſum of money, ex caufâ religionis, or, in plain engliſh,
to induce Mr. POPE to change his religion. The
wit of the letter itſelf will excufe all further com-
mentaries.
SIR,
Binfield, December 8, 1713.
NOT to trouble
OT to trouble you at preſent with a recital of all
my obligations to you, I ſhall only mention two
things, which I take particularly kind of you: your de-
fire that I fhould write to you, and your propofal of giv
ing me twenty guineas to change my religion, which laft
you must give me leave to make the fubject of this letter.
Sure no clergyman ever offered fo much out of his
own purfe for the fake of any religion. 'Tis almost as
many pieces of gold, as an Apoſtle could get of filver from
the priests of old, on a much more valuable confiderati-
on. I believe it will be better worth my while to pro-
pofe a change of my faith by ſubſcription, than a tranſ-
lation of HOMER. And to convince you, how well dif-
pofed I am to the reformation, I ſhall be content, if
you can prevail with my Lord Treaſurer and the mi-
niſtry to riſe to the fame fum, each of them, on this pi-
cus account, as my Lord HALLIFAX has done on the
profane
36
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
profane one. I am afraid there's no being at once a port
and a good Chriſtian; and I am very much ſtraitened be-
tween two, while the Whigs feem willing to contribute
-as much, to continue me the one, as you would, to make
me the other. But if you can move every man in the
government, who has above ten thousand pounds a year,
to fubfcribe as much as yourself, I shall become a con-
vert, as most men do, when the LORD turns it to my
interest. I know they have the truth if religion fo
much at heart, that they'd certainly give more to have
one good fubject tranflated from popery to the church of
England, than twenty heathenish authors out of any
unknown tongue into ours. I therefore commiſſion you,
Mr. DEAN, with full authority, to tranfact this affair
in my name, and to propofe as follows. First, that
as to the head of our church, the Pope, I may engage
to renounce his power. whenfocver I fhall receive any
particular indulgences from the head of your church,
the Queen.
As to communion in one kind, I fall alſo premiſe to
change it for communion in both, as foon as the miniftry
will allow me.
For invocations to faints, mine ſhall be turned to de-
dications to finners, when I fall find the great ones of
this world as willing to do me any good, as I believe
thoſe of the other are.
You fee I shall not be obftinate in the main points;
but there is one article I must referve, and which you
feemed not unwilling to allow me, prayer for the dead.
There
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 37
There are people to whofe fouls I wish as well as to my
own; and I must crave leave humbly to lay before them,
that though the ſubſcriptions abovementioned will fuffice
for myſelf, there are neceſſary perquifites and additions,
which I must demand on the fcore of this charitable
article. It is alfo to be confidered, that the greater
part of those, whofe fouls I am most concerned for,
were unfortunately heretics, fchifmatics, poets, pain-
ters, or perfons of fuch lives and manners, as few or
no churches are willing to fave. The expence will
therefore be the greater to make an effectual proviſion
for the faid fouls.
Old DRYDEN, though a Roman Catholic, was a
poet; and 'tis revealed in the vifions of fome antient
faints, that no poet was ever faved under fome hundred
ef maffes. I cannot fet his delivery from purgatory at
less than fifty pounds fierling.
WALSH was not only a Socinian, but (what you'll
own is harder to be faved) a Whig. He cannot mo-
deftly be rated at less than an hundred.
L'ESTRANGE, being a Tory, we compute him but
at twenty pounds, which I hope no friend of the party
can deny to give, to keep him from damning in the next
life, confidering they never gave him fixpence to keep
him from ftarving in this.
All this together amounts to one hundred and feventy
pounds.
In the next place, I muſt deſire you to repreſent, that
there are feveral of my friends yet living, whom I de-
fign,
38
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
fign, GOD willing, to outlive, in confideration of le-
gacies; out of which it is a doctrine in the reformed
church, that not a farthing ſhall be allowed to fave their
fouls who gave them.
There is one **** who will dye within theſe few
months, with ******* one Mr. JERVAS, who hath
grievously offended in making the likeness of almost all
things in heaven above and earth below; and one Mr.
GAY, an unhappy youth, who writes paftorals during
the time of divine fervice, whofe cafe is the more de-
plorable, as he hath miſferably laviſhed away all that
filver he fhould have referved for his foul's health, in
buttons and loops for his coat.
I can't pretend to have these people honeſtly ſaved
under ſome hundred pounds, whether you confider the
difficulty of fuch a work, or the extreme love and ten-
derneſs I bear them, which will infallibly make me puſh
this charity as far as I am alle. There is but one more
whofe falvation I infift upon, and then I have done :
but indeed it may prove of fo much greater charge than
all the reft, that I will only lay the cafe before you and
the ministry, and leave to their prudence and generosity,
what fum they ſhall think fit to bestow upon it.
The perfon I mean, is Dr. SWIFT, a dignified clergy-
man, but one, who, by his own confeffion, has compofed
more libels than fermons. If it be true, what I have
heard often affirmed by innocent people, That too much
wit is dangerous to falvation, this unfortunate gentle-
man must certainly be damned to all eternity. But I
hope
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 39
hope his long experience in the world, and frequent con-
verſation with great men, will caufe him (as it has
fome others) to have lefs and lefs wit every day. Be it
as it will, I fhould not think my own foul deſerved to
be ſaved, if I did not endeavour to fave his ; for I have
all the obligations in nature to him. He has brought
me into better company than I cared for, made me mer -
rier when I was fick than I had a mind to be, and put
me upon making poems, on purpose that he might alter
them &c.
I once thought I could never have difcharged my debt
to his kindness, but have lately been informed, to my
unspeakable comfort, that I have more than paid it all.
For, MONSIEUR DE MONTAGNE has affured me,
"that the perfon who receives a benefit obliges the
"giver:" for fince the chief endeavour of one friend
is to do good to the other, he, who adminiſters both the
matter and occaſion, is the man who is liberal. At
this rate it is impoffible Dr. SWIFT ſhould be ever out
of my debt, as matters ſtand already: and, for the
future, he may expect daily more obligations from
his most faithful, affectionate
humble fervant
A. POPE.
I have
40
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
I
I have finished the Rape of the Lock; but I believe
may stay here till Chriſtmas, without hindrance of
buſineſs.
In the beginning of the year 1714, SWIFT return-
ed to England. He found his great friends, who
fat in the feat of power, much difunited among
themſelves. He faw the Queen declining in her
health, and diftreffed in her fituation while faction
was exerting itſelf, and gathering new ftrength every
day. The part which he had to act upon this oc-
cafion, was not ſo difficult, as it was diſagreeable.
He exerted the utmoſt of his ſkill to reunite the
minifters, and to cement the apertures of the ftate.
I could defcend into very minute particulars, were
I to tell you what I have heard him fay up n this
occafion: but, my dearest HAM, let me fpeak to
you with my ufual fincerity. We are at prefent too
near that æra, and have had too many unexpected
confequences from it, either to judge impartially, or
to write undauntedly, of thoſe tempeftuous times.
Be contented if I tell you, that as foon as SWIFT
found his pains fruitless, his arguments unavailing,
and his endeavours, like the ftone of SISYPHUS, rolling
back upon himſelf, he retired to a friend's houſe in
Berkshire, where he remained till the Queen died.
So fatal a catastrophe put a final period to all his views
in England, and made him return, as faft as poffible,
to his deanery in Ireland, loaded with thofe agoniz-
ing paffions, grief and difcontent. I am forry to leave
him
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
41
him in fo uneafy a fituation, but I muſt haften to
ſubſcribe myſelf,
Your affectionate Father
ORRER Y
150:50:50:50:5N IBINIGKIN INDAIAIAIASAUN
LETTER
WE
VI.
E are now, dear HAMILTON, no longer
to behold Dr. SWIFT of any importance in
England: his hopes there are cruſhed for ever: his
miniſterial friends are degraded, banifhed, or im-
prifoned. Indecent rage, fanguinary zeal, and ill-
tempered loyalty revelled at large throughout the
three kingdoms, eſpecially in Ireland, where duels
were fought almoſt every week, and where the peſt
was fo univerfal, that the ladies were as violent as
the gentlemen. Even children at fchool quarrelled
for Kings, inſtead of fighting for apples.
As SWIFT was known to have been attached to
the Queen's laſt miniſtry, to have written againſt
the Whigs, and "to have oiled many a ſpring which
“HARLEY moved," he met with frequent indigni-
ties from the populace, and indeed was equally a-
bufed by perfons of all ranks and denominations.
Such
42
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
Such a treatment foured his temper, confined his
acquaintance, and added bitterneſs to his ftyle: and,
fince the future part of his life and writings is to dif-
fer, in all circumftances, fo widely from the paſt,
fince his ſtudies and companions, his politics and his
cuſtoms, are now to be altered and exchanged for
new habits, new friends, new ambition, and a new
world, fuffer me, my HAM, to take a general rc-
view of him as an author.
If we confider his profe works, we fhall find a
certain maſterly concifenefs in their ftyle, that has
never been equalled by any other writer. The
truth of this affertion will more evidently appear by
comparing him with fome of the authors of his own
time.
Of thefe Dr. TILLOTSON and Mr. ADDI-
SON are to be numbred among the moft eminent.
ADDISON has all the powers that can captivate and
improve his diction is eafy, his periods are well
turned, his expreffions are flowing, and his humour
is delicate. TILLOTSON is nervous, grave, majeftic,
and perfpicuous. We muft join both thefe charac-
ters together to form a true idea of Dr. SWIFT: yet
as he outdoes ADDISON in humour, he excels TIL-
LOTSON in perfpicuity. The Archbiſhop indeed
confined himſelf to fubjects relative to his profeſ-
fion: but ADDISON and SWIFT are more diffufive
writers. They continually vary in their manner,
and treat different topics in a different ftyle. When
the
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 43
the writings of ADDISON terminate in party, he
loſes himſelf extremely, and from a delicate, and
juſt comedian, deviates into one of the loweſt kind ª.
Not fo Dr. SWIFT; he appears like a mafterly gla-
diator. He wields the fword of party with eaſe,
juſtneſs and dexterity: and while he entertains the
ignorant and the vulgar, he draws an equal attenti
on from the learned and the great. When he is
ferious, his gravity becomes him. When he laughs,
his readers muſt laugh with him.
But what ſhall
be faid for his love of trifles, and his want of deli-
cacy and decorum? Errors, that if he did not con-
tract, at leaſt he encreaſed in Ireland. They are
without a parallel. I hope they will ever remain ſo.
The first of them aroſe meerly from his love of flat-
tery, with which he was daily fed in that kingdom:
the ſecond proceeded from the mifanthropy of his
difpofition, which induced him peevishly to debafe
mankind, and even to ridicule human nature itſelf.
Politics were his favourite topic, as they gave him
an opportunity of gratifying his ambition, and thirſt
of power: yet even in this road, he feldom con-
tinued long in one particular path. He has written
miſcellaneouſly, and has chofen rather to appear a
wandering comet, than a fixed ftar. Had he ap-
plied the faculties of his mind to one great, and ufe-
a See the papers entitled the Freeholder.
درة
3
ful
44
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ful work, he muſt have ſhined more gloriouſly, and
might have enlightened a whole planetary fyftem in
the political world.
The poetical performances of Dr. SWIFT ought
to be confidered as occafional poems written either
to pleaſe, or vex fome particular perfons. We muſt
not ſuppoſe them defigned for pofterity: if he had
cultivated his genius in that way, he muft certainly
have excelled, eſpecially in fatir. We ſee fine
ſketches, in ſeveral of his pieces: but he ſeems more
defirous to inform and ftrengthen his mind, than
to indulge the luxuriancy of his imagination. He
chooses to diſcover and correct errors in the works
of others, rather than to illuftrate and add beauties
to his own. Like a ſkilful artiſt, he is fond of prob-
ing wounds to their depth, and of enlarging them
to open view. He prefers cauftics, which erode
proud fleſh, to fofter balfamics, which give more im-
mediate eaſe. He aims to be ſeverely uſeful, rather
than politely engaging: and as he was either not
informed, or would not take pains to excel in poetry,
he became, in fome meaſure, fuperior to it; and
affumed more the air and manners of a critic, than
of a poet. Had he lived in the fame age with Ho-
RACE, he would have approached nearer to him, than
any other poet and if we may make an allowance
for the different courfe of ftudy, and different form
of government, to which each of theſe great men
was
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 45
was ſubject, we may obferve, in feveral inftances,
a ftrong refemblance between them. Both poets are
equally diftinguiſhed for wit and humour. Each
diplays a peculiar felicity in diction: būt, of the
INO, HORACE is the more elegant and delicate:
while he condemns, he pleaſes. SWIFT takes plea-
fuse in giving pain: the diffimilitude of their tem-
pers might be owing to the different turns in their
fortune. SWIFT early formed large views of am-
bition, and was diſappointed. HORACE, from an
exiled low ftate rofe into affluence, and enjoyed the
favour and friendſhip of AUGUSTUS. Each poet
was the delight of the principal perſons of his age.
Cum magnis vixiffe was not more applicable to Ho-
RACE, than to SWIFT. They both were tempe-
rate: both were frugal; and both were of the fame
Epicurean tafte. HORACE had his LYDIA, SWIFT
had his VANESSA.
and his AGRIPPA.
his BOLINGEROKE.
SWIFT had his POPE.
HORACE had his MECENAS
SWIFT had his OXFORD and
HORACE had his VIRGIL,
After the great names, which I have juft now men-
tioned, it is matter of aſtoniſhment to find the fame
perfon, who had enjoyed the higheft, and the beſt con-
verfation, equally delighted with the loweſt and the
worst: and yet it is certain, from SWIFT's fettlement
in Dublin as Dean of St Patrick's, his choice of com-
panions in general fhewed him of a very depraved
tafte.
From
46
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
From the year feventeen hundred and fourteen,
till he appeared in the year twenty a champion for
Ireland againſt WOOD's halfpence, his fpirit of po-
litics, and of patriotiſm, was kept almoſt cloſely con-
fined within his own breaft. Idlenefs and trifles en-
groffed too many of his hours: fools and fycophants.
too much of his converfation. However, let me ob-
ſerve to you, that the treatment which he received,
after the death of Queen ANNE, was almoſt a fuffi-
cient reaſon to juſtify a contempt, if not an abhor-
rence, of the human race. He had bravely withſtood
all hoftile indignities, during the life time of that
Princeſs; but when the whole army of his friends
were not only routed, but taken prifoners, he dropt
his fword, and retired into his fortification at Dub-
lin, from whence he feldom ftirred beyond the li-
mits of his own garden, unleſs in great indulgence
to fome particular favourites.
His attendance upon the publice fervice of the
church was regular and uninterrupted: and indeed re-
gularity was peculiar to him in all his actions, even
in the greateſt trifles. His hours of walking, and
reading, never varied : His motions were guided by
his watch, which was fo conftantly held in his hand,
or placed before him upon his table, that he ſeldom
deviated many minutes, in the daily revolution of
his exerciſes and employments. His works, from
the year 1714, to the year 1720, are few in num-
ber,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 47
ber, and of ſmall importance. Poems to STELLA,
and trifles to Dr. SHERIDAN, fill up a great part of
that period.
:
In the year 1720, he began to re-affume, in fome
degree, the character of a political writer. A fmall
pamphlet in defence of the Irish manufactures, was, I
believe, his firft effay (in Ireland) in that kind of
writing and to that pamphlet he owed the turn of
the popular tide in his favour. His fayings of wit
and humour had been handed about, and repeated
from time to time among the people. They had
the effect of an artful preface, and had pre-engaged
all readers in his favour. They were adapted to the
underſtanding, and pleaſed the imagination of the
vulgar: and he was now looked upon in a new light,
and diftinguiſhed by the title of THE DEAN.
The flux and reflux of popular love and hatred
are equally violent. They are often owing to acci-
dents, but fometimes to the return of reaſon, which,
unaffifted by education, may not be able to guide
the lower clafs of people into the right track at the
beginning, but will be fufficient to keep them in it,
when experience has pointed out the road. The
pamphlet, propofing the univerfal ufe of Irish manu-
factures within the kingdom, had captivated all hearts.
Some little pieces of poetry to the fame purpoſe were no
* See Letter 16th,
C
lefs
48
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
lefs acceptable and engaging. The attachment which
the Dean bore to the true intereft of Ireland, was no
longer doubted. His patriotifm was as manifeft as
his wit. He was looked upon with pleaſure and re-
ſpect, as he paffed through the ſtreets: and he had
attained ſo high a degree of popularity, as to become
an arbitrator in the difputes of property among his
neighbours: nor did any man dare to appeal from
his opinion, or to murmur at his decrees.
But the popular affection, which the Dean had
hitherto acquired, may be faid not to have been uni-
verfal, till the publication of the DRAPIER's letters,
which made all ranks, and all profeffions unanimous.
in his applauſe. The occafion of thoſe letters was
a ſcarcity of copper coin in Ireland, to fo great a de-
gree, that for fome time paft the chief manufacturers
throughout the kingdom were obliged to pay their
workmen in pieces of tin, or in other tokens of fup-
pofititious value. Such a method was very difad-
vantageous to the lower parts of traffic, and was in
general an impediment to the commerce of the ſtate.
To remedy this evil, the late King granted a patent
to WILLIAM WOOD, to coin, during the term of
fourteen years, farthings and halfpence in England
for the ufe of Ireland, to the value of a certain fum
ſpecified. Theſe halfpence and farthings were to be
received by thofe perfons, who would voluntarily
accept them. But the patent was thought to be of
fuch
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 49
fuch dangerous confequence to the public, and of
fuch exorbitant advantage to the patentee, that the
DEAN, under the character of M. B. DRAPIER,
wrote a letter to the people, warning them not to
accept Wood's halfpence and farthings as current
coin. This first letter was fucceeded by feveral o-
thers to the fame purpoſe, all which are inſerted in
his works.
At the found of the DRAPIER's trumpet, a ſpirit
arofe among the people, that, in the eaſtern phrafe,
was like unto a tempeft in the day of the whirlwind.
Every perſon of every rank, party, and denomina-
tion, was convinced, that the admiflion of WOOD'S
copper muſt prove fatal to the commonwealth. The
Papift, the Fanatic, the Tory, the Whig, all lifted
themfelves volunteers under the banner of M. B.
DRAPIER, and were all equally zealous to ferve
the common caufe. Much heat, and many fiery
ſpeeches againſt the adminiftration, were the con-
fequence of this union: nor had the flames been al-
layed, notwithstanding threats and proclamations,
had not the coin been totally fuppreffed, and had
not Wood' withdrawn his patent.
This is the most fuccinct account that can be
given of an affair, which alarmed the whole Irish
nation to a degree that in a lefs loyal kingdom muſt
have fomented a rebellion: but the ftedfaft loyalty
of the Irish, and their true devotion to the prefent
C 2
royal
50
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
royal family is immoveable: and although this un-
fortunate nation may not hitherto have found many
diſtinguiſhing marks of favour and indulgence from
the throne; yet it is to be hoped in time they may
meet with their reward.
The name of AUGUSTUS was not beſtowed up-
on OCTAVIUS CAESAR with more univerfal appro-
bation, than the name of THE DRAPIER was be-
ftowed upon THE DEAN. He had no fooner af-
fumed his new cognomen, than he became the idol of
the people of Ireland to a degree of devotion, that in
the moſt fuperftitious country fcarce any idol ever
obtained. Libations to his health, or, in plain en-
glish, bumpers were poured forth to the DRAPIER
as large and as frequent, as to the glorious and immor-
tal memory of K. WILLIAM the third. His effigies
was painted in every ſtreet in Dublin. Acclamati-
ons and vows for his profperity attended his footsteps
wherever he paffed. He was confulted in all points
relating to domeſtic policy in general, and to the
trade of Ireland in particular: but he was more im-
mediately looked upon as the legiſlator of the wea-
vers, who frequently came in a body, confifting of
fifty or fixty chieftains of their trade, to receive his
advice, in fettling the rates of their manufactures,
and the wages of their journeymen. He received
their addreſſes with lefs majeſty than fternnefs; and
ranging his ſubjects in a circle round his parlour,
3
Spoke
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 51
ſpoke as copiouſly, and with as little difficulty and
heſitation, to the feveral points in which they fup-
plicated his affiftance, as if trade had been the only
fudy and employment of his life. When elections
were depending for the city of Dublin, many cor-
porations refuſed to declare themſelves, till they had
confulted his fentiments and inclinations, which were
punctually followed with equal chearfulneſs and ſub-
miffion. In this ftate of power, and popular love
and admiration, he remained till he loft his fenſes:
a loſe which lie reemed to forefee, and prophetical-
ly lamented to many of his friends².
I have now conducted the Dean through the
moſt intereſting circumftances of his life, to the fa-
tal period, wherein he was utterly deprived of reafon.
If
your curiofity leads you to enquire into the par-
ticulars of that misfortune, it muſt be the ſubject of
ſome future letter: for, at prefent, I think it is time
to indulge myſelf in aſſuring you, that I am with an
inexpreffible warmth of heart, my dear HAMILTON,
Your most affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
• See Letter XXI.
C 3
LET-
52
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
UGORLIN'INNOMINIRKONOA IRUDINOTEKIN
LETTER VII.
My dear HAMILTON,
Yo
OU feem not only defirous, but impatient,
that I ſhould pafe critically through all the
works of my friend SWIFT. Your request is un-
reaſonable if you imagine, that I muſt ſay ſomething
There are
upon every individual performance.
many pieces that I defpife, others that I loath,
and others again that delight and improve me.
Theſe laſt ſhall be difcuffed particularly. The for-
mer are not worthy of your notice. They are of
no farther uſe than to fhew us, in general, the er-
rors of human nature; and to convince us, that nei-
ther the height of wit, nor genius, can bring a man
to fuch a degree of perfection, as vanity would of-
ten prompt him to believe.
In a difquifition of the fort which you require, I
ſhall avoid as much as poffible any annotations upon
that kind of fatir, in which the Dean indulged him-
ſelf againſt particular perfons: moſt of whom it is
probable had provoked his rage by their own mif-
conduct, and confequently owed to their own rafhnefs
the
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
53
the wounds which they received from his pen: but
I have no delight in thoſe kind of writings, except
for the fake of the wit, which, either in general, or
in particular fatir, is equally to be admired. The
edge of wit will always remain keen, and its blade
will be bright and fhining, when the ſtone, upon
which it has been whetted, is worn out, or thrown
afide and forgotten. Perfonal fatir against evil ma-
giftrates, corrupt minifters, and thofe giants of power,
who gorge themſelves with the entrails of their coun-
try, is different from that perfonal fatir, which too
often proceeds merely from felf-love, or ill-nature:
the one is written in defence of the public; the o-
ther in defence of ourfelves. The one is armed by
the ſword of juſtice, and encouraged not only by the
voice of the people, but by the principles of morali-
ty: the other is dictated by paffion, ſupported by
pride, and applauded by flattery. At the fame time
that I fay this, I think every man of wit has a right
to laugh at fools, who give offence, or at coxcombs,
who are public nufances. SWIFT indeed has left no
weapon of farcaſm untried, no branch of fatir uncul-
tivated but while he has maintained a perpetual war
againſt the mighty men in power, he has remained
invulnerable, if not victorious.
:
Upon a review of the Dean's writings, it cannot be
fufficiently lamented, that there is no juft, or per-
fect edition of his works. FAULKNER's edition, at
C 4
leaft
54
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
at leaſt the four firft volumes of it (for there are now
eight) were publiſhed, by the permiffion and conni-
vance, if not by the particular appointment of the
Dean himſelf. But the feveral picces are thrown
together without any order or regularity whatever :
fo that like the antient chaos which contained an
immenfe collection of various treaſures, they remain
in their ſtate of confufion rudis indigeftaque moles:
and yet the incoherency of fituation is perhaps one of
the moſt excufable faults in the collection : for the ma-
terials are of ſo different, and fo incongruous a nature,
that it feems as if the author, (who was in reality the
editor,) imagined the public under an abfolute necef
fity of accepting the baſeſt coin from the fame hand,
that had exhibited the pureft. Surely the idle amuſe-
ments of a man's private and domeftic life, are not to
be fent forth as fufficient entertainments for the witty
or the learned. Pofthumous works indeed are often
worthless and improper, from the ill judged zeal of
ignorant executors, or imprudent friends: but a
living author remains without excufe, who either
wilfully, or wantonly impoſes upon the world.
The Engliſh edition of SWIFT's works I have
fcarce feen; and I have had little inclination to ex-
amine it; becauſe I was acquainted with the Dean
at the time when FAULKNER's edition came out,
and therefore muft always look upon that copy as
moſt authentic; well knowing that Mr. FAULKNER
had
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 55
had the advantage of printing his edition, by the con-
fſent and approbation of the author himſelf. The
four first volumes were publiſhed by ſubſcription,
and every ſheet of them was brought to the Dean
for his reviſal and correction.
The two next were
The feventh volume
publiſhed in the fame manner.
was printed from a number of furreptitious letters.
publiſhed in England: and the eighth volume did
not come out till after the Dean's death. In the
publication of the fix firſt volumes, the fituation and
arrangement of each particular piece, in verfe and
profe, was left entirely to the editor. In that point,
the Dean either could not, or would not give him
the leaſt aſſiſtance. The dates were often gueſſed at,
and every ſcrap was thruft into the parcel that might
augment the collection. Such a conduct has been
productive of a confufion that offends the eye, and
mifleads the underſtanding. We have lefs pleaſure
in looking at a palace built at different times, and
put together by ignorant workmen, than in viewing
a plain regular building compoſed by a maſterly hand
in all the beauty of ſymmetry and order. The ma-
terials of the former may be more valuable, but the
fimplicity of the latter is more acceptable. For health
and exerciſe who would not chufe rather to walk up-
on a platform than in a labyrinth? or, who does not
wiſh to ſee an edition of SWIFT's works becoming
the genius and dignity of the author? When fuch
€ 5
an
56
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
an edition is undertaken, I fhould hope that all the
minutia of his idle hours might be entirely excluded;
or at leaſt placed, like out buildings, at a diftance
from the chief edifices of ſtate.
SWIFT was naturally. fond of feeing his works in
print, and he was encouraged in this fondnefs by his
friend Dr. SHERIDAN, who had the cacoethes fcribendi
to the greateſt degree, and was continually letting
of fquibs, rockets, and all forts of little fireworks
from the prefs, by which means he offended many
particular perſons, who, although they ſtood in awe
of SWIFT, held SHERIDAN at defiance. The truth
is, the poor Doctor, by nature the moſt peaceable,
inoffenfive man alive, was in a continual ſtate of war-
fare with the minor poets, and they revenged them-
ſelves, or, in the ſtyle of Mr. BAYS, often gave him
flash for flash, and finged his feathers. The affection
between THFSEUS and PIRITHOUS was not great-
er than the affection between SWIFT and SHERI-
DAN: but the friendſhip that cemented the two an-
tient heroes probably commenced upon motives ve-
ry different from thoſe which united the two modern
divines. As in a former letter I drew a picture
of SWIFT's wife', let me here give you fome ſketches
of SWIFT's friend.
Dr. SHERIDAN was a ſchoolmafter, and, in many
Letter II. Page 14.
inſtances,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 57
inftances, perfectly well adapted for that ſtation. He
was deeply verfed in the Greek and Roman languages;
and in their cuftoms and antiquities. He had that
kind of good-nature, which abfence of mind, indo-
lence of body, and careleffnefs of fortune produce;
and although not over ſtrict in his own conduct, yet
he took care of the morality of his ſcholars, whom he
fent to the Univerſity remarkably well founded in
all claffical learning, and not ill inftructed in the focial
duties of life. He was flovenly, indigent, and chear-
ful. He knew books much better than men: and
he knew the value of money leaſt of all. In this
fituation, and with this difpofition, SWIFT faſtened
upon him, as upon a prey with which he intended to
regale himſelf, whenever his appetite ſhould prompt
him. SHERIDAN therefore was kept conftantly
within his reach: and the only time he was permitted
to go beyond the limits of his chain, was to take pof-
feffion of a living in the county of Corke, which had
been beſtowed upon him by the then Lord Lieute-
nant of Ireland, the prefent Earl of GRANVIlle.
SHERIDAN, in one fatal moment, or by one fatal text,
effected his own ruin. You will find the ſtory told
by SWIFT himself, in the fourth volume of his works*:
Page 289. In a pamphlet entitled, A Vindication of
his Excellency JoHN Lord CARTERET from the charge
of favouring none but Tories, High Churchmen, and
Jacobites.
C 6
fo
58
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
fo that here I need only tell you, that this ill-ftarred,
good-natured, improvident man returned to Dublin,
unhinged from all favour at court, and even baniſh-
ed from the caftle. But ftill he remained a punfter,
a quibbler, a fiddler, and a wit. Not a day paffed
without a rebus, an anagram, or a madrigal. His
pen and his fiddle-ſtick were in continual motion ;
and yet to little or no purpofe, if we may give credit
to the following verſes, which ſhall ſerve as the con-
clufion of his poetical character.
With muſic and poetry equally blefs'd
A bard thus APOLLO moft humbly addrefs'd,
Great author of poetry, mufic, and light,
Inftructed by thee I both fiddle and write:
Yet unheeded I fcrape, or I fcribble all day,
My tunes are neglected, my verfe flung away.
Thy ſubſtitute here VICE-APOLLO • difdains
To vouch for my numbers, or lift to my ſtrains.
Thy manual fign he refuſes to put
To the airs I produce from the pen, or the gut.
Be thou then propitious, great PHOEBUS, and grant
Relief; or reward to my merit, or want.
Tho' the DEAN and DELANY "tranſcendently ſhine,
O! brighten one folo, or fonnet of mine.
Make one work immortal; 'tis all I requeſt;
APOLLO look'd pleas'd, and refolving to jeft,
• Dr. SWIFT.
• Now Dean of Done.
Replied,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 59
Replied, honeft friend, I've confider'd your cafe,
Nor diflike your unmeaning and innocent face.
Your petition I grant, the boon is not great,
Your works ſhall continue, and here's the receipt,
One Roundos hereafter your fiddle-ſtrings ſpend,
Write verfes in circles; they never ſhall end.
In the courſe of my correfpondence, my dear
HAM, you may poffibly obſerve ſome ſeeming con-
tradictions, as I am purſuing the Dean through the
mazy turnings of his character. But they will eafi-
ly be reconciled, when you confider that, of all
mankind, SWIFT perhaps had the greateſt contrafts
in his temper. He often put me in mind of that wild
opinion, which PLUTARCH fays was entertained by
the fages of old, "That we are fubject to the in-
"fluence of two principles, or deities, who are in
"conftant oppofition to each other: the one direct-
"ing us to the right hand, and through the right
"road; the other driving us aftray, and oppofing
us from purſuing the track pointed out by his ad-
"verfary." The Manichean herefy, you know,
was built upon this hypothefis: and it is not impoffi-
ble (as the doctrine itſelf was propagated before the
time of MANES) that fome antient fpeculative phi-
A fong, or peculiar kind of poetry, which returns to
the beginning of the firft verfe, and fo continues in a per-
petual rotation.
lofopher
60
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
lofopher may have invented fuch a kind of mytho-
logy, merely to folve the various contradictions
which he found fluctuating within his own breaſt.
You will poffibly expect from me a collection of
apophthegms, which the Dean may have uttered up-
on various occafions. But the witty records of
table-talk, in my mind, feem too minute and over
curious; at leaſt I muſt wiſh to treat with you upon
fubjects of more importance. I mean fuch fubjects
as will teach you to follow fome moral virtue, or
to fhun fome moral evil.
Forgive me too, if I am now and then guilty of
repetitions. In reviewing the fame perſon ſo often,
the fame thoughts, if not the fame expreffions, will
inevitably occur. But, excufes for this kind of
errors are, I hope, unneceffary. Candour and truth
are the chief points that I have had in view, know-
ing them to be coincident with your own manner of
thinking.
You are now fufficiently prepared for that parti-
cular edition of SWIFT's works, which I intend to
purfue: and I fhall undertake the performance with
great pleaſure and alacrity; becauſe I flatter myſelf
may be acceptable to you, as it comes from
it
your most affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
LET-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 61
****
I
LETTER VIII.
Was very glad to be interrupted by your unex-
pected vifit. The fight of you, and the happineſs
which I conftantly receive in your company, are
recollected by me in your abſence, with ſuch a kind
of inexpreffible pleaſure, as the warmest affection and
the trueft tenderneſs infpire: and as I am always
earneft to comply with your requeſts, I take the
earlieſt opportunity of going on with a plan, that
hitherto has received the encouragement of your
filial partiality.
The first volume of FAULKNER's edition confifts
of various tracts jumbled together, without any re-
gularity or order. The first treatife in this volume is
intitled, A diſcourſe of the contests and diffenfions be-
tween the nobles and commons in ATHENS and ROME.
It was written in the year 1701, towards the latter
end of King WILLIAM's reign, and at a time, when
that Prince was made extremely uneafy, by the vio-
lence with which fome of his minifters and chief
favourites were purfued. However bright the crown
of England might have glittered in the eyes of the
Prince of Orange, he found it, when placed upon his
head,
62
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
head, a crown of thorns. The longer he wore the
diadem, the bandelet ftill became more tight and
irkfome. Complaints and enquiries arofe in the
fenate. Feuds and unchriſtian animofities in the
convocation. Nor had foreign affairs a more pro-
pitious afpect. LEWIS the fourteenth was making
large ftrides towards univerfal monarchy. Plots were
carrying on at St. GERMAIN's. The Dutch had
acknowledged the Duke of ANJOU as King of
Spain: and Europe in general feemed pregnant
of fire, and ready to burſt into flames. Thus began
the year 1701. King WILLIAM in hopes to difpel
this fulphureous body of clouds, which feemed to
threaten fome future thunder of extraordinary vio-
lence, had made feveral changes in his miniftry,
and had removed fome of his faithfulleft fervants
from places of the higheſt truſt and dignity. The al-
teration proved of little or no effect. The animofity
of the houſe of commons could not be appeaſed.
They looked upon the lofs of lucrative employ-
ments, as an infufficient puniſhment for high crimes.
and miſdemeanors: and they began firſt by impeach-
ing the Earl of PORTLAND; and then proceeded
2 WILLIAM BENTINK, Earl of PORTLAND, Groom
of the ftole.
to
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 63
to the impeachments of Lord SOMERS', the Earl of
ORFORD, and the Earl of HALLIFAX.
Thefe were all great men; and the three laft
were of remarkable abilities and experience. Lord
SOMERS was the general patron of the literati, and
the particular friend of Dr. SWIFT. The Earl of
ORFORD had been confidered in a manner as lord
high admiral; the whole affairs of the navy having
been committed to his charge. Lord HALLIFAX
had a fine genius for poetry, and had employed his
more youthful part of life in that ſcience. He was
diftinguiſhed by the name of MOUSE MOUNTA-
GUE, having ridiculed, jointly with MAT PRIOR,
Mr. DRYDEN's famous poem of the Hind and Pan-
ther. The parody is drawn from HORACE's fable of
the City Mouſe and Country Moufe, and begins,
A milk white mouſe, immortal and unchang'd,
Fed on foft cheeſe, and o'er the dairy rang’d.
b JOHN SOMERS, Baron SOMERS of Evesham. First,
Lord Keeper: afterwards, Lord High Chancellor.
EDWARD RUSSEL, Earl of ORFORD, Treaſurer of
the Navy, and one of the Lords Commiffioners of the
Admiralty.
d CHARLES MOUNTAGUE, Earl of HALLIFAX, ap-
pointed one of the Commiffioners of the Treaſury ;
and afterwards made Chancellor of the Exchequer.
But
64
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
But afterwards, upon Mr. MoUNTAGUE's pro-
motion to the chancellorfhip of the Exchequer,
PRIOR, with a good humoured indignation at feeing
his friend preferred, and himfelf neglected, con-
cludes an epiſtle written in the year 1698, to
FLEETWOOD SHEPHERD, Efq; with thefe three
lines,
My friend CHARLES MOUNTAGUE's prefer'd,
Nor wou'd I have it long obferv'd,
That one Moufe eats, while t'other's flarv'd.
}
You will find the characters of the four im-
peached lords defcribed under Athenian names.
PHOCION is the Earl of PORTLAND. ARISTIDES is
Lord SOMERS. THEMISTOCLES is the Earl of
ORFORD. PERICLES is the Earl of HALLIFAX.
In parallels of this fort, it is impoffible that every
circumſtance ſhould tally with the utmoſt exactneſs:
but the whole treatife is full of hiftorical knowledge,
and excellent reflexions. It is not mixed with any
improper fallies of wit, or any light airs of humour;
and in point of ftyle and learning, is equal, if not
fuperior, to any of his political works.
Subſequent to the difcourfe concerning Ethens and
Rome, is a paper written in the year 1703, in deri-
fion of the ftyle and manner of Mr. ROBERT BOYLE.
To what a height muft the fpirit of farcafin arife in
an author, who could prevail upon himfelf to ridi-
cule
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 65
cule fo good a man as Mr. BoYLE? The fword of
wit, like the ſcythe of time, cuts down friend and
foe, and attacks every object that accidentally lies
in its way. But, fharp and irrefiftible as the edge
of it may be, Mr. BoYLF will always remain in-
vulnerable.
The fentiments of a church-of-England-man, with
respect to religion and government, was written in the
year 1708. It is adapted to that particular period.
The ſtyle of the whole pamphlet is nervous, and,
except in fome few places, the fentiments impartial.
The ſtate of Holland is fo juftly, and, at the fame time,
fo concilely dellucated, that I cannot help tranfcribing
it. Speaking of the Dutch, the author fays, "They
"are a commonwealth founded on a fudden, by a
"deſperate attempt in a deſperate condition, not form-
"ed or digefted into a regular fyftem by mature thought
"and reafon, but huddled up under the preffure of
"fudden exigencies; calculated for no long duration,
" and hitherto fubfifting by accident in the midst of
contending powers, who cannot yet agree about
"Sharing it among ft them." This tract is very well
worth your reading and attention: and it confirms
an obfervation which will perpetually occur, that
SWIFT excels in whatever ftyle or manner he
affumes. When he is in earneſt, his ſtrength of
reafon carries with it conviction. When in jeſt,
every competitor in the race of wit is left behind
him.
The
66
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
The argument againſt abolishing Chriftianity is car-
ried on with the higheſt wit and humour. Graver
divines threaten their readers with future puniſh-
ments: SWIFT artfully exhibits a picture of prefent
fhame. He judged rightly in imagining that a ſmall
treatiſe, written with a ſpirit of mirth and freedom,
muſt be more efficacious, than long fermons, or
laborious leffons of morality. He endeavours to
laugh us into religion, well knowing, that we are
often laughed out of it. As you have not read the
pamphlet, excufe a quotation, to which may be
prefixed the old proverb ex pede Herculem." I
"would fain know, (fays the Dean) how it can be
"pretended, that the Churches are misapplied. Where
"are more appointments and rendezvouses of gal-
“lantry? Where more care to appear in the foremoſt
"box with greater advantage of drefs? Where more
"meetings for business? Where more bargains driven
" of all forts? And where ſo many conveniencies or
❝ incitements to fleep?
The papers which immediately follow are entirely
humorous, and relate to PARTRIDGE the almanack
maker: and although they are not only temporary,
but local, yet by an art peculiar to SWIFT himſelf,
they are rendered immortal, fo as to be read with
pleaſure, as long as the Engliſh language fubfifts.
To theſe fucceeds, A project for the advancement
of religion, and the reformation of manners, written
in the year 1709, and dedicated to the Counteſs of
BERK-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 67
BERKLEY. The author appears in earneft through-
out the whole treatiſe, and the dedication, or intro-
duction, is in a ftrain of ferious panegyric, which
the Lady, to whom it is addreffed, undoubtedly
deſerved. But as the pamphlet is of the fatirical
kind, I am apt to imagine, that my friend the Dean
put a violence upon himſelf, in chufing to appear
candidly ſerious, rather than to laugh filently under
his uſual maſk of gravity. Read it, and tell me
your opinion for methinks, upon thefe occafions,
I perceive him writing in fhackles.
:
The tritical effay on the faculties of the mind will
make you fmile.
The letter to the Earl of OXFORD for correcting,
improving, and aſcertaining the Engliſh tongue might
have been a very ufeful performance, if it had been
longer, and leſs eclipfed by compliments to the
noble perſon to whom it is addreffed. It ſeems to
have been intended as a preface to fome more en-
larged defign: at the head of which ſuch an intro-
duction muſt have appeared with great propriety.
A work of this kind is much wanted, as our lan-
guage, inftead of being improved, is every day
growing worſe and more debaſed. We bewilder
ourſelves in various orthography; we ſpeak, and we
write at random; and if a man's common converfa-
tion were to be committed to paper, he would be
ftartled for to find himſelf guilty in a few fentences,
of fo many folecifms and fuch falfe Engliſh. I be-
lieve
68
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
!
lieve we are the only people in the Chriftian world,
who repeat the Lord's Prayer in an ungrammati-
cal manner: and I remember to have heard, that
when a motion was made in the Convocation to
alter the word [which] for the word [who] the pro-
pofition was rejected by the majority. This inftance
may fhew you of what ſort of men the moſt learned,
and even the moft reverend affemblies, are fometimes
compofed. But let us confider the conduct of a
neighbouring nation. How induftrious have the
French been to improve their language! and to
what a ftate of perfection have they brought it!
Rome, by her conquefts, made her dialect univer-
fal: France, by her policy, has done the fame. By
policy, I mean the encouragment of arts and ſci-
ences; which will often render a nation more pow-
erful than arms. Nothing has contributed fo much
to the purity and excellence of the French tongue,
as the noble academies eſtabliſhed for that purpoſe:
and, until fome public work of the fame kind is un-
dertaken in England, we cannot flatter ourſelves
with any hopes of amending the errors, or afcer-
taining the limits of our ftyle. I ſhall not prefume
even to whiſper to you, that I think a defign of
this fort is fufficiently momentous to attract the
confideration of our legiſlative powers. Their
thoughts are otherways employed, and their faculties
otherways applied. But I will venture to ſay, that
if to our hoſpitals for lunatics, an hofpital was added
for
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 69
for the reception and fupport of men of fenfe and
learning, it would be of the higheſt honour to the
prefent age, and of no lefs advantage to pofterity.
I call it an hoſpital; becauſe I ſuppoſe it to be erect-
ed for the benefit of fuch perfons, whofe infirm
fortunes, or diſeaſed revenues, may have rendered
the ſtrength and abilities of their minds weak and
uſeleſs to the public: for I entirely agree with
ARISTOTLE, where he fays, in the words of his
fcholiaft. Eum præclara et magna vix poffe exequi et
præftare, cui facultates defunt: quoniam per amicos
et civilem potentiam sciuti per inftrumenta neceffe eft
pleraque effici. The reflexions, that arife from this
theme, I find, are driving me beyond the bounds.
of a letter: therefore I fhall only add, that I hear-
tily with you may think an attention to your native
language as ufeful and improving a ftudy, as can be
purfued, in whatever ftation of life Providence may
allot you.
There are two other letters in this volume ex-
tremely worthy of your notice. The one is, To
a voung gentleman lately entered into holy orders. The
other is, To a young lady on her marriage. The for-
mer ought to be read by all the young clergymen
in the three kingdoms, and the latter by all the
new married women. But, here again is the pecu-
liar felicity of SWIFT's writings; the letters are
addreſſed only to a young clergyman and a young
lady, but they are adapted to every age and under-
2
ftand-
༡༠
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ſtanding. They contain obfervations that delight
and improve every mind; and they will be read,
with pleaſure and advantage, by the oldeft and
moft exemplary divines, and by the moſt diftin-
guiſhed, and moſt accompliſhed ladies.
The rest of the volume is filled up with fhort
tracts, and papers of various forts: moftly humo-
rous and entertaining. You will laugh at the
ftory in one of the Intelligencers, of Whiſks and
Swobbers: and you will with the Tatler on thoſe
inferior duties of life, called Les petites Morales,
hung up in every 'fquire's hall in England. I am,
my dearest HAMILTON,
Your mast affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
ONOTONONONOKOTORHONOKOT.INOS. OFONUN
LETTER IX.
WE
E are now come, my dear HAMILTON,
to the ſecond volume of SWIFT's works.
It is filled with poetry: but the poems in general
are ſhort and ſatirical. The poem of the greateſt
length, and, I believe, the longest ever compoſed
by Dr. SWIFT, is of a very extraordinary nature,
and
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 71
and upon a very extraordinary fubject. It is called
CADENUS and VANESSA. As a poem, it is excel-
lent in its kind, perfectly correct, and admirably
conducted. SWIFT, who had the niceft ear, is
remarkably chaſte and delicate in his rhymes. A
bad rhyme appeared to him one of the capital fins
in poetry; and yet it is a fin into which fome of
our greateſt poets have fallen. DRYDEN frequently:
POPE fometimes. The former was embarraffed with
a wife and family, and was often under fuch necef-
fitous circumſtances as to be obliged to publifh, or
to want fubfiftence. The latter was in a lefs con-
fined, and in a much more eafy fituation: he was
naturally judicious, and uncommonly attentive to
maintain the dignity of his character. Although his
body was weak, his mind was equal to the weight
of his laurel crown; and he wore it not only with
eaſe, but majefty. Take him as a poet, we ſhall
not fee his like again. But why do I keep you in
fufpenfe? you are impatient, I dare fay, to know
fome particulars of VANESSA. Her real name was
She was one of the
ESTHER VANHOMRIGH.
daughters of BARTHOLOMEW VANHOMRIGH, a
Dutch merchant of Amfterdam, who, upon the
revolution, went into Ireland, and was appointed,
by King WILLIAM, a commiffioner of the revenue.
Her mother, whofe name I forget, was born in Ire
land, of very mean extraction. The Dutch mer-
The name is pronounced VANNUMMERY.
D
chant
72
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
chant, by parfimony and prudence, had collected
a fortune of about fixteen thousand pounds: he be-
queathed an equal divifion of it to his wife and his four
children, of which two were fons, and two were
daughters. The fons, after the death of their fa-
ther, travelled abroad. The eldeft died beyond fea,
and the youngeſt furviving his brother only a fhort
time, the whole patrimony fell to his two fifters,
ESTHER and MARY.
With this increaſe of wealth, and with heads and
hearts elated by affluence, and unrestrained by fore-
fight or difcretion, the widow VANHOMRIGH and
her two daughters quitted the illuxurious foil of their
native country for the more elegant pleaſures of the
English court. During their refidence at London,
they lived in a courfe of prodigality that ftretched
itſelf far beyond the limits of their income, and re-
duced them to great diftrefs; in the midft of which
the mother died, and the two daughters haftened in
all fecrecy back to Ireland, beginning their journey
on a Sunday, to avoid the interruption, and impor-
tunities of a certain fierce kind of animals called
bailiffs, who are not only fworn foes to wit and
gaiety, but whoſe tyranny, although it could not
have reached the deified VANESSA, might have been
very fatal to ESTHER VANHOMRIGH. Within
two years after their arrival in Ireland, MARY the
youngeſt ſiſter died, and the fmall remains of the
fhipwreckt fortune centered in VANESSA.
Vanity
}
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 73
Vanity makes terrible devaftation in a female
breaft. It batters down all reftraints of modefty,
and carries away every feed of virtue. VANESSA
was exceffively vain. The character given of her
by CADENUS is fine painting, but in general, ficti-
tious. She was fond of dreſs: impatient to be ad-
mired: very romantic in her turn of mind: fuperi-
or, in her own opinion, to all her fex: full of pert-
nefs, gaiety, and; pride: not without ſome agreeable
accompliſhments, but far from being either beautiful
or genteel: ambitious, at any rate, to be eſteemed
a wit; and, with that view, always affecting to keep
company with wits: a great reader, and a violent
admirer of poetry: happy in the thoughts of being
reputed SWIFT's concubine: but ftill aiming and
intending to be his wife. By nature haughty, and
difdainful, looking with the pity of contempt upon
her inferiors, and with the fmiles of felf-approba-
tion upon her equals: but upon Dr. SWIFT with
the eyes of love. Her love was founded in vanity,
or, to uſe a more faſhionable phraſe, in taſte. His
own lines are the beſt proof of my affertion.
CADENUS many things had writ;
VANESSA much efteem'd his wit,
And call'd for his poetic works ;
Aean time the boy ² in fecret lurks,
a
a CUPID.
D 2
And
74
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
And while the book was in her hand,
The urchin, from his private ftand,
Took aim, and ſhot with all his ſtrength
A dart of fuch prodigious length;
It pierc'd the feeble volume thro',
And deep transfix'd her bofom too.
Some lines, more moving than the reſt,
Stuck to the point that pierc'd her breast;
And borne directly to her heart
With pains unknown encreas'd the ſmart.
VANESSA, not in years a ſcore,
Dreams of a gown of forty four;
Imaginary charms can find,
In eyes, with reading, almoft blind :
CADENUS now no more appears
Declin'd in health, advanc'd in years:
She fancies mufic in his tongue,
Nor further looks, but thinks him young.
The poem itſelf is dated in the year 1713, when
SWIFT was in his meridian altitude; favoured by
the courtiers; flattered, feared, and admired by the
greateſt men in the nation.
By the verſes which I have already recited, it may
be prefumed, that the lady was firft fmitten with
the fame and character of CADENUS, and after-
wards with his perfon. Her first thoughts purſued
a phantom. Her latter paffion defired a fubftance.
The manner in which the diſcovered her inclinati-
ons, is poetically deſcribed in theſe lines.
She
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 75
She own'd the wand'ring of her thoughts,
But he must answer for her faults.
She well remember'd, to her coft,
That all his leſſons were not loft.
Two maxims he cou'd still produce,
And fad experience taught their uſe:
That virtue, pleas'd by being ſhown,
Knows nothing which it dare not own :
Can make us, without fear, difclofe
Our inmoft fecrets to our foes :
That common forms were not defign'd
Directors to a noble mind.
Now, faid the nymph, to let you fee,
My actions with your rules agree;
That I can vulgar forms deſpiſe,
And have no fecrets to diſguiſe,
I knew, by what you faid and writ,
How dang'rous things were men of wit;
You caution'd me against their charms,
But never gave me equal arms:
Your leſſons found the weakest part,
Aim'd at the head, and reach'd the heart.
Suppofing this account to be true, and I own to
you, my HAM, I can fcarce think it otherwife, it
is evident, that the fair VANESSA had made a fur-
priſing progreſs in the philofophic doctrines, which
D 3
fhe
6
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
fhe had received from her preceptor. His rules
were certainly of a moft extraordinary kind. He
taught her, that vice, as foon as it defied fhame,
was immediately changed into virtue. That vulgar
forms were not binding upon certain choice ſpirits,
to whom either the writings, or the perfons of men
of wit were acceptable. She heard the leffon with
attention, and imbibed the philofophy with eager-
nefs.
The maxims ſuited her exalted turn of mind.
She imagined that if the theory appeared fo charm-
ing, the practice muſt be much more delightful.
The clofe connexion of foul and body feemed to
require, in the eye of a female philofopher, that
each fhould fucceed the other in all pleaſurable
enjoyments. The former had been fufficiently re-
galed, why muft the latter remain unfatisfied?
"Nature, faid VANESSA, abhors a vacuum, and
66 nature ought always to be obeyed." She com-
municated theſe ſentiments to her tutor, but he
feemed not to comprehend her meaning, nor to
conceive the diftinétio rationis that had taken rife in
his own ſchool. He anſwered her in the non effential
modes. He talked of friendſhip, of the delights of
reafon, of gratitude, refpect and efteem. He almoſt
preached upon virtue, and he muttered fome indi-
ftinct phraſes concerning chaſtity.
So unaccountable a conduct in CADENUS may be
thought rather to proceed from defects in nature,
than
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 77
than from the fcrupulous difficulties of a tender con-
fcience. Such a fuppofition will ftill appear more
ftrong, if we recollect the diftant manner in which
SWIFT cohabited with STELLA, colder, if poffible,
after, than before, fhe was his wife and I now
recollect fome of his own lines that feem to confirm
the furmife, as they contain an infinuation against
VANESSA, not perhaps fo much intended to wound
her reputation, as to fave his own.
But what fuccefs VANESSA met
Is to the world a fecret yet.
Whether the nymph, to pleaſe her fwain,
Talks in a high romantic ſtrain ;
Or whether he at laſt defcends,
To act with less feraphic ends;
Or to compound the bufinefs whether
They temper love and books together,
Muft never to mankind be told,
Nor fhall the conscious muſe unfold.
It is impoffible to read this cruel hint without
great indignation against the conscious muſe, eſpecially
as it is the finiſhing ſtroke of a picture, which was
already drawn in too looſe a garment, and too un-
guarded a poſture. In this inftance, I am afraid the
Dean muft remain inexcufable.
VANESSA, in fome time after the death of her
fifter, retired to Selbridge, a fmall houfe and eftate
D 4
that
78
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
that had been purchaſed by her father, within ten
or twelve miles of Dublin. Spleen and diſappoint-
ment were the companions of her folitude. The
narrowness of her income, the coldness of her lover,
the lofs of her reputation, all contributed to make
her miferable, and to encreaſe the frenzical difpofi-
tion of her mind. In this melancholy fituation fhe
remained feveral years, during which time CADE-
NUS vifited her frequently. Their particular con-
verfation, as it paffed without witneffes, muſt for
ever remain unknown: but, in general, it is certain,
that ſhe often preffed him to marry her. His an-
ſwers were rather turns of wit than pofitive denials;
till at last, being unable to fuftain her weight of
mifery any longer, fhe writ a very tender epiftle to
CADENUS, infifting peremptorily upon as ferious
an anſwer, and an immediate acceptance, or abſo-
lute refuſal of her, as his wife. His reply was de-
livered by his own hand. He brought it with him
when he made his final vifit at Selbridge: and
throwing down the letter upon her table, with great
paffion haftened back to his horfe, carrying in his
countenance the frowns of anger and indignation.
Dr. SWIFT had a natural ſeverity of face, which
even his fimiles could fcarce foften, or his utmoſt
gaiety render placid and ferene: but when that
fternness of viſage was encreafed by rage, it is
ſcarce poffible to imagine looks, or features, that
carried in them more terror and aufterity. VANES-
SA
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 79
SA had ſeen him in all tempers, and from his out-
ward appearance fhe gueffed at the inward contents
of his letter. She read it with as much refolution
as the prefent cruelty of her fate, and the raging
pride of her heart, would permit. She found her-
felf entirely difcarded from his friendſhip and con-
verfation. Her offers were treated with infolence
and difdain. She met with reproaches instead of
love, and with tyranny inſtead of affection. She
had long thrown away the gentle lenitives of virtue;
which, upon this occafion, might have proved heal-
ing ingredients to fo deep, and fo dangerous a
wound. She had preferred wit to religion, fhe had
utterly deſtroyed her character, and her confcience:
and ſhe was now fallen a prey to the horror of her
own thoughts.
Tum vero infelix fatis exterrita Dido
Mortem orat: tædet cœli convexa tueri.
She did not furvive many days the letter deliver-
ed to her by CADENUS, but, during that ſhort in-
terval, fhe was fufficiently compofed, to cancel a
will made in SWIFT's favour, and to make another,
wherein the left her fortune (which, by long re-
tirement, was in fome meafure retrieved) to her two
executors, Dr. BERKLEY, the prefent Biſhop of
Clayne, and Mr. MARSHAL, one of the King's Ser-
jeants at law. She had chofen Mr. MARSHAL, not
D5
only
80
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
only as he had an excellent character, but as he was
her relation. She had little perfonal acquaintance
with Dr. BERKLEY: his virtues, and his genius,
were univerfally known: yet other motives perhaps
induced her to appoint him a joint executor: in ſuch
an appointment, fhe probably defigned to mortify
the pride of Dr. SWIFT, by letting him fee, that,
in her last thoughts, fhe preferred a ſtranger before
him.
Thus perifhed, at Selbridge, under all the agonies
of defpair, Mrs. ESTHER VANHOMRIGH; a mi-
ferable example of an ill-fpent life, fantaftic wit,
vifionary ſchemes, and female weakneſs.
My paper ſcarce allows room for the affectionate
name of
ORRER Y.
UGUGUR 5050566565UTINIS IG53
LETTER X.
My dear HAMILton,
Have received yours of the 24th inftant. You
feem fo much pleafed with the commentaries re-
lating to VANESSA, and you have expreſſed fo much
fatisfaction in my account of STELLA, that proba-
bly you wiſh SWIFT to have had as many wives and
miftreffes as SOLOMON, in order to furnish me with
perpetual
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 81
perpetual materials for the hiftory of a Lady. It is
true, my friend the Dean kept company with many
of the fair fex, but they were rather his amuſement
than his admiration. He trifled away many hours
in their converfation, he filled many pages in their
praife, and by the power of his head, he gained the
character of a lover, without the leaft affiſtance from
his heart. To this particular kind of pride, fupport-
ed by the bent of his genius, and joined by the excef-
five coldness of his nature, VANESSA owed the
ruin of her reputation, and from the fame cauſes,
STELLA remained an unacknowledged wife. If we
confider SWIFT's behaviour, fo far only as it
relates to women, we thall find, that he looked
upon them rather as bufts, than as whole figures.
In his panegyrical defcriptions, he has feldom de-
fcended lower than the center of their hearts: or if
ever he has defigned a compleat ftatue, it has been
generally caft in a dirty, or in a difagreeable mould :
as if the ftatuary had not conceived, or had not
experienced, that juftneſs of proportion, that deli-
cacy of limbs, and thofe pleafing and graceful at-
titudes which have conftituted the fex to be the
moft beautiful part of the creation. If you re-
view his feveral poems to STELLA, you will find
them fuller of affection than defire, and more ex-
preffive of friendſhip than of love. For example,
16
Thou,
82
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
Thou, STELLA, Tvert no longer young,
When first for thee my harp I ftrung;
Without one word of CUPID's darts,
Of killing eyes, or bleeding hearts:
With friendſhip and esteem poſſeſt
I ne'er admitted love a guest.
}
Moſt of the poems, which are abfolutely ad-
dreffed to STELLA, or which defcribe her in a
variety of attitudes, turn upon her age: a kind of
excufe perhaps for Swirr's want of love.
I began one of my former letters, my dear
HAMILTON, by a declaration that it was impof-
fible for me to pafs a very minute comment up-
on the various pieces that he has written; and I
muſt renew the fame declaration in regard to his
poems. They are not only mingled improperly,
in points of dates, and fubjects, but many, very
many of them, are temporary, trifling, and I had
almoft faid puerile. Several of them are perfun-
al and confequently fcarce amufing; or at leaſt,
they leave a very finall impreffion upon our minds.
Such indeed as are likely to draw your attention,
are exquifite, and fo peculiarly his own, that who-
ever has dared to imitate him in thefe, or in any
of his works, has conftantly failed in the attempt.
Upon a general view of his poetry, we fhall find
him, as in his other performances, an uncommon,
furprizing,
2
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
83
furprizing, heteroclite genius, luxurious in his
fancy, lively in his ideas, humorous in his defcrip-
tions, and bitter, exceeding bitter in his fatir.
The reſtleſſneſs of his imagination, and the dif-
appointment of his ambition, have both contri-
buted to hinder him from undertaking any poeti-
cal work of length or importance. His wit was
fufficient to every labour: no flight could have
wearied the ftrength of his pinions: perhaps if the
extenſive views of his nature had been fully fatisfi-
ed, his airy motions had been more regular, and
lefs fudden. But he now appears, like an eagle
that is fometimes chained, and at that particular
time, for want of nobler, and more proper food,
diverts his confinement, and appeafes his hunger, by
deftroying the gnats, butterflies, and other wretch-
ed infects, that unluckily happen to buzz, or flut-
ter within his reach.
While I have been reading over this volume of
his poetry, I have confidered him as an Ægyptian
hieroglyphic, which, though it had an unnatural, and
frequently an indecent appearance, yet it always
contained fome fecret marks of wifdom, and fome-
times of deep morality. The fubjects of his poems
are often nauſeous, and the performances beauti-
fully difagreeable.
The Lady's Dreffing Room has been univerfally
condemned, as deficient in point of delicacy, even
to the higheſt degree. The best apology that can
be
84
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
be made in its favour, is to fuppofe, that the author
exhibited his CELIA in the moſt hideous colours
he could find, left ſhe might be miſtaken as a god-
deſs, when ſhe was only a mortal. External beauty
is very alluring to youth and inexperience; and
SWIFT, by pulling off the borrowed plumes of his
harpy, diſcovers at once a frightful bird of prey,
and by making her offenfive, renders her lefs dan- -
gerous and inviting. Such, I hope, was his deſign;
but let his views and motives have been ever fo
beneficial, his general want of delicacy and deco-
rum muſt not hope to find even the fhadow of an
excufe; for it is impoffible not to own, that he too
frequently forgets that politenefs and tendernefs of
manners, which are undoubtedly due to human
kind. From his early, and repeated difappoint-
ments, he became a mifanthrope. If his mind had
been more equal and content, I am willing to be-
lieve, that he would have viewed the works of nature
with a more benign afpect. And perhaps, under
a lefs conftant rotation of anxiety, he might have
preferved his fenfes to the laft fcene of life, and
might have enjoyed that calm exit from the ſtage,
for which his friend HORACE fo earneftly fuppli-
cates APOLLO.
Frui paratis et valido mihi
Latoe dones, ct precor, integrâ
Cum mente, nec turpem fene&tam
Degere nec citharâ carentem.
I have
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 85
I have already told you, that his pride was fo
great as ſcarce to admit any body to the leaſt ſhare
of his friendſhip, except fuch who could amuſe
him, or fuch who could do him honour. To theſe
two different claffes we owe many of his poems.
His companions and humble followers find them-
ſelves immortalized by the infertion of their names
in addreffes to STELLA, or in other mifcellane-
ous pieces written in an eaſy, although not in a
careleſs manner. His more exalted friends, whoſe
ſtations and characters did him honour, are treated
in a different ftyle: and you will perceive a real dig-
nity, and a most delicate kind of wit in all his po-
ems to Lord OXFORD, Lord PETERBOROUGH,
Lord CARTERET, Mr. PULTNEY, and I think
I may particularly add, in a poem to the Counteſs
of WINCHELSEA, and another to Mrs. BIDDY
FLOYDE. Thefe names abetted him in his purfuit
of fame. They reflected back the glory which he
gave. But, ftill I cannot recollect one poem, nay,
fcarce a couplet, to his noble patron Lord BOLING-
BROKE. In that inftance he has been as filent,
as VIRGIL has been to HORACE, and yet he cer-
tainly had not a grain of envy in his compofition.
I think I can difcern a third kind of ftyle in his
poems addrefled to Mr. POPE, Mr. Gay, Dr.
• Now Earl of GRANVILLE. Now Earl of BATH.
t
Under the name of ARDELIA.
DELANY,
86
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
DELANY, and Dr. YOUNG. When he writes to
them, there is a mixture of eale, dignity, familiari-
ty, and affection. They were his intimate friends,
whom he loved fincerely, and whom he wifhed to
accompany into the poetical regions of eternity.
I have juſt now caft my eye over a poem called
Death and Daphne, which makes me recollect an
odd incident relating to that nymph. SWIFT, foon
after our acquaintance, introduced me to her, as to
one of his female favourites. I had fearce been
half an hour in her company, before fhe aſked
me, if I had feen the DEAN's poem upon Death
and Daphne. As I told her I had not, the im-
mediately unlocked a cabinet, and bringing out the
manufcript, read it to me with a feeming fatisfac-
tion, of which, at that time, I doubted the finceri-
ty. While fhe was reading, the Dean was per-
petually correcting her for bad pronunciation,
and for placing a wrong emphafis upon particular
words. As foon as she had gone thorough the com-
pofition, the affured me fmilingly, that the por-
trait of DAPHNE was drawn for herfelf: I begged
to be excufed from believing it, and protefted that
I could not fee one feature that had the leaft re-
ſemblance; but the Dean immediately burst into a
fit of laughter. "You fancy, fays he, that you
are very polite, but you are much mistaken.
"That Lady had rather be a DAPHNE drawn by
"me, than a SACHARISSA by any other pencil."
She
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
87
She confirmed what he had faid, with great earneſt-
nefs, fo that I had no other method of retrieving
my error, than by whifpering in her ear, as I was
conducting her down ftairs to dinner, that indeed
I found
"Her hand as dry and cold as lead."
You fee the command which SWIFT had over
all his females; and you would have fmiled to have
found his houſe a conftant feraglio of very virtu-
ous women, who attended him from morning till
night, with an obedience, an awe, and an af-
fiduity, that are feldom paid to the richeft, or the
moft powerful lovers; no, not even to the Grand
Seignior himſelf.
To thefe Ladies SWIFT owed the publication
of many pieces, which ought never to have been
delivered to the prefs. He communicated every
compofition as foon as finifhed, to his female fe-
nate, who not only paffed their judgement on the
performance, but conftantly afked, and almoft as
conftantly obtained, a copy of it. You cannot be
furprized that it was immediately afterwards feen
in print and when printed, became a part of his
works. He lived much at home, and was con-
tinually writing, when alone. Not any of his
Senators prefumed to approach him when he figni-
fied his pleaſure to remain in private, and without
interrup-
88
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
interruption. His nightgown and flippers were not
eaſier put on or off, than his attendants. No Prince
ever met with more flattery to his perfon, or more
devotion to his own mandates. This defpotic power
not only blinded him, but gave a looſe to paffions
that ought to have been kept under a proper re-
ftraint. I am ſorry to ſay, that whole nations are
fometimes facrificed to his refentment. Reflexions
of that fort appear to me the leaft juftifiable of any
kind of fatir. You will read his Acerrima with
indignation, and his Minutie with regret. Yet I
muſt add, that fince he has defcended ſo low as to
write, and, ſtill ſo much lower, as to print riddles,
he is excellent even in that kind of verfification.
The lines are ſmoother, the expreffions are neater,
and the thought is clofer purſued than in any other
riddle-writer whatever. But, SWIFT compofing
riddles is TITIAN painting draught-boards, which
muſt have been inexcufable, while there remained
a fign-poft painter in the world.
At the latter end of the volume you will find
two Latin poems. The firft, An Epistle to Dr.
SHERIDAN; the laſt, A deſcription of the rocks at
Carbery in Ireland. The Dean was extremely fo-
licitous, that they fhould be printed among his
works: and what is no leſs true than amazing, he
affumed to himſelf more vanity upon theſe two La-
tin poems, than upon many of his beſt Engliſh per-
formances. It is faid, that MILTON in his own
judgement
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 89
judgement preferred the Paradife regaired to the Pa-
radife loft. There poffibly might be found fome ex-
cufe for fuch a preference, but in SWIFT's cafe
there can be none. He understood the Latin lan-
guage perfectly well, and he read it conftantly, but
he was no Latin poet.
And if the Carberiæ rupes,
and the Epiftola ad THOMAM SHERIDAN, had
been the produce of any other author, they muſt
have undergone a fevere cenfure from Dr. SwIFT.
Here I fhall difmifs this volume of his poems,
which has drawn me into a greater length of letter
than I intended. Adieu, my HAM, believe me ever
Your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
ORIGINSHIN IRININ + 50:IKINIRINIG'ININ
LETTER XI.
My dear HAMILTON,
T
HE third volume of SWIFT's works con-
tains The travels of LEMUEL GULLIVER
into ſeveral remote nations of the world. They are
divided into four parts; the firft, a voyage to Lilli-
put; the fecond, a voyage to Brobdingnag; the
third, to Laputa and other islands; the fourth,
and
90
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
and moft extraordinary, to the country of the
Houyhnhnms. Thefe voyages are intended as a mo-
ral political romance, in which SWIFT feems to
have exerted the ftrongeft efforts of a fine irregular
genius. But while his imagination and his wit de-
light, the venomous ſtrokes of his fatir, although in
fome places juft, are carried into fo univerfal a fe-
verity, that not only all human actions, but human
nature itſelf, is placed in the worst light. Perfection
in every attribute is not indeed allotted to particu-
lar men but, among the whole fpecies, we difco-
ver fuch an affemblage of all the great and ami-
able virtues, as may convince us, that the original
order of nature contains in it the greateſt beauty.
It is directed in a right line, but it deviates into
curves and irregular motions, by various attractions,
and diſturbing caufes. Different qualifications fhine
out in different men. BACON and NEWTON (not
to mention BOYLE) fhew the divine extent of the
human mind: of which power SWIFT could not be
infenfible but as I have often told you, his difap-
pointments rendered him fplenetic, and angry with
the whole world.
Education, habit, and conflitution, give a furpriz-
ing variety of characters; and, while they produce
fome particular qualities, are apt to check others.
Fortitude of mind feldom attends a fedentary life:
nor is the man, whofe ambitious views are crofled,
fcarce
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 91
ſcarce ever afterwards indued with benevolence of
heart. The fame mind, that is capable of exerting
the greateſt virtue, by foine defect in the firſt ſteps
of education, often degenerates into the greateſt vice.
Thefe effects take their fource from cauſes almoſt
mechanical. The foul, in our prefent fituation, is
blended and encloſed with corporeal fubftance, and
the matter of which our body is compofed, pro-
duces ftrange impulfes upon the mind: but the in-
ſtances that might illuftrate, and explain the differ-
ent effects arifing from this formation, would carry
me into a digreffion too extenfive for my prefent
plan.
To correct vice, by fhewing its deformity in op-
poſition to the beauty of virtue, and to amend the
falſe ſyſtems of philofophy, by pointing out the er-
rors, and applying falutary means to avoid them, is
a noble defign. This was the general intent, I
would fain flatter myſelf, of my hieroglyphic friend.
GULLIVER's travels are chiefly to be looked upon
as an irregular effay of SwIFT's peculiar wit and
humour. Let us take a view of the two first parts
together. The inhabitants of Lilliput are repre-
fented, as if reflected from a convex mirrour, by
which every object is reduced to a defpicable mi-
nuteneſs. The inhabitants of Brobdingnag, by a
contrary mirrour, are enlarged to a ſhocking defor-
mity.
92
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
mity. In Lilliput we behold a fet of puny infects,
or animalcules in human ſhape, ridiculously engaged
in affairs of importance. In Brobdingnag the mon-
ſters of enormous fize are employed in trifles.
LEMUEL GULLIVER has obferved great exact-
neſs in the juſt proportion, and appearances of the
feveral objects thus leffened and magnified: but he
dwells too much upon theſe optical deceptions. The
mind is tired with a repetition of them, efpecially as
he points out no beauty, nor ufe in fuch amazing
diſcoveries, which might have been fo continued
as to have afforded improvement, at the fame time
that they gave aſtoniſhment. Upon the whole, he
too often ſhews an indelicacy that is not agreeable,
and exerts his vein of humour moſt improperly in
fome places, where (I am afraid) he glances at reli-
gion.
In his deſcription of Lilliput, he ſeems to have had
England more immediately in view. In his defcrip-
tion of Blefuſcu he ſeems to intend the people and
kingdom of France: yet the allegory between theſe
nations is frequently interrupted, and ſcarce any
where compleat. Several juft ftrokes of fatir are
fcattered here and there upon errors in the conduct
of our government: and, in the fixth chapter of his
voyage to Brobdingnag, he gives an account of the
political ftate of Europe: his obfervations are deli-
vered with his ufual fpirit of humour and feverity.
3
He
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
93
He appears moſt particularly affected with the pro-
ceedings of the courts of judicature, and complains
of being almoſt ruined by a Chancery fuit, which
was determined in his favour with cofts. It must be
confeſſed, that inftances of this kind are too fre-
quent in our courts of juftice, and they leave us no
room to boast of the execution of our prefent laws,
however excellent the laws, in their own original
foundation, may have been. Judgement, when turned
into wormwood, is bitter, but delays, as Lord BACON
obferves, turn it into vinegar: it becomes fharp,
and corroding and certainly it is more eligible to
die immediately by the wound of an enemy, than
to decay lingering by poifon adminiftered from a
feeming friend.
The feventh chapter of the voyage to Brobding-
nag contains fuch farcaſms on the ſtructure of the
human body, as too plainly fhew us, that the au-
thor was unwilling to lofe any opportunity of de-
bafing and ridiculing his own ſpecies.
Here a reflexion naturally occurs, which, without
any fuperftition, leads me tacitly to admire, and con-
feſs the ways of Providence for this great genius,
this mighty wit, who feemed to fcorn and fcoff at
all mankind, lived not only to be an example of
pride puniſhed in his own perfon, and an example
of terror to the pride of others; but lived to under-
go fome of the greateſt miferies to which human na-
ture
94
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ture is liable. The particulars of this affertion will
appear, by copying a letter which one of his relati-
ons fent to me, in anfwer to my enquiries after his
fituation.
Dublin, November 22, 1742.
My LORD,
THE cafy manner, in which you reproach me
for not acquainting you with the poor Dean's
fituation, lays a fresh obligation upon me; yet mean
as an excufe is for a fault, I ſhall attempt one to
your Lordship, and only for this reaſon, that you may
not think me capable of neglecting any thing you could
command me. I told you in my last letter, the
Dean's underſtanding was quite gone, and I feared
the farther particulars would only ſhock the tenderneſs
of your nature, and the melancholy fcene make your
heart ach, as it has often done mine. I was the
last perfon whom he knew, and when that part of
his memory failed, he was fo outragious at Seeing
any body, that I was forced to leave him, nor could
he rest for a night or two after seeing any perſon :
fo that all the attendance which I could pay him was
calling twice a week to enquire after his health, and
to obferve that proper care was taken of him, and
durft only look at him while his back was towards
me, fearing to difcompofe him. He walked ten hours
a day, would not eat or drink if his fervant ſtayed
in the room. His meat was ſerved up ready cut,
and
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
95
and ſometimes it would lie an hour on the table before
he would touch it, and then eat it walking. About
fix weeks ago, in one night's time, his left eye fwelled
as large as an egg, and the lid Mr. NICHOLS (his
furgeon) thought would mortify, and many large boils
appeared upon his arms and body. The torture be
was in is not to be defcribed. Five perfons could
Scarce hold him for a week from tearing out his own
eyes: and, for near a month, he did not fleep two hours
in twenty four: yet a moderate appetite continued; and
what is more to be wondered at, the last day of his
illneſs he knew me perfectly well, took me by the
hand, called me by my name, and fhewed the fame
pleaſure as ufual in feeing me. I aſked him if he
would give me a dinner? He ſaid to be fure, my old
friend. Thus he continued that day, and knew the
Doctor and Surgeon, and all his family fo well, that
Mr. NICHOLS thought it poſſible he might return to
a share of understanding, so as to be able to call for
what he wanted, and to bear fome of his old friends
to amufe him. But alas! this pleaſure to me was but
of ſhort duration; for the next day or two it was all
over, and proved to be only pain that had rouzed him.
He is now free from torture: his eye almoſt well ;
very quiet, and begins to feep, but cannot, without
great difficulty, be prevailed on to walk a turn about
E
bis
96
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
his room: and yet in this way the Phyficians think he
may hold out for fome time. I am, my Lord,
Your Lordship's moft obedient
humble fervant,
M. WHITEWAY.
What a fhocking, what a melancholy account is
this; of how ſmall eftimation muſt the greateſt
genius appear in the fight of GOD!
About a year and a half afterwards, I received a
letter from another of his relations, DEANE SWIFT,
Efq; in anfwer to a report which I had mention-
ed to him, of Dr. SWIFT's having viewed him-
felf (as he was led across the room) in a glaſs,
and crying out, "O poor old man!" The letter is
written long after the Dean had been totally de-
prived of reafon.
ઃઃ
My LORD,
As
Dublin, April 4, 1744.
S to the story of O poor old man! I enquired
into it. The Dean did fay fomething upon his
Seeing himself in the glass, but neither Mrs. RIDGE-
WAY, nor the lower fervants could tell me what
it was he faid. I defired them to recollect it, by
the time when I should come again to the deanery.
I have been there fince, they cannot recollect it.
A thouſand
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 97
A thouſand ftories have been invented of him with-
in theſe two years, and impofed upon the world.
I thought this might have been one of them; and
yet I am now inclined to think there may be f.me
truth in it: for on Sunday the 17th of March,
as he fat in his chair, upon the houſekeeper's mov-
ing a knife from him as he was going to catch at
it, he fhrugged his ſhoulders, and, rocking himſelf,
ſaid, I am what I am, I am what I am: and,
about fix minutes afterwards, repeated the fame words
two or three times over.
His fervant fhaves his cheeks, and all his face
as low as the tip of his chin, once a week: but un-
der the chin, and about the throat, when the hair
grows long, it is cut with feiſſars.
Sometimes he will not utter a fyllable: at other
times he will speak incoherent words: but he never
yet, as far as I could hear, talked nonſenſe, or faid
a foolish thing.
About four months ago he gave me great trouble:
he feemed to have a mind to talk to me. In order to
try what he would fay, I told him, I came to dine
with him, and immediately his housekeeper, Mrs.
RIDGEWAY, Said, Won't you give Mr. SwIFT
a glaſs of wine, Sir? he ſhrugged his ſhoulders, juſt
as he used to do when he had a mind that a friend
Should Spend the evening with him. Shrugging
bis fhoulders, your Lordship may remember, was as
E 2
much
}
98
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
much as to ſay, "You'll ruin me in wine." I
own, I was fearce able to bear the fight. Soon
after, he again endeavoured, with a good deal of pain,
to find words to ſpeak to me: at last, not being able,
after many efforts, he gave a heavy figh, and, I
think, was afterwards filent. This puts me in
mind of what he faid about five days ago. He
endeavoured ſeveral times to speak to his fervant
(new and then he calls him by his name) at laft, not
finding words to express what he would be at, after
fome uneasiness, he ſaid, "I am a fool."
long ago, the fervant took up his watch that lay
Nat
upon the table to ſee what o'clock it was, he ſaid,
46
Bring it here:" and when it was brought, he
looked very attentively at it: fome time ago, the fer-
vant was breaking a large ftubborn coal, he ſaid,
"That's a ſtone, you blockhead."
In a few days, or some very short time, after
guardians had been appointed for him, I went in-
to his dining room, where he was walking; I faid
Something to him very infignificant, I know not what;
but instead of making any kind of answer to it, he
faid, “Go, go,” pointing with his hand to the
door, and immediately afterwards, raifing his hand
to
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 99
to his head, he faid, "My best understanding,
and ſo broke off abruptly, and walked away.
my Lord,
Your Lordship's moſt obedient,
and most humble fervant,
I am,
DEANE SWIFT,
Thefe two letters will not probably occafion in
you very chearful fpeculations. Let us return back
therefore to the Lilliputians, and the Brobdingnag-
gians; where you will find many ridiculous adven-
tures, even fuch as muſt have excited mirth in
HERACLITUS. Where indelicacies do not inter-
vene, the narrative is very entertaining and humor-
ous. Several juft ftrokes of fatir are ſcattered up
and down upon political errors in government. In
fome parts, GULLIVER feems to have had parti-
cular incidents, if not particular perfons, in his
view. His obfervations on education are ufeful:
and fo are his improvements on the inftitutions of
LYCURGUS.
Upon reading over the two first
parts of theſe travels, I think that I can diſcover a
very great reſemblance between certain paffages in
GULLIVER'S Voyage to Lilliput, and the voyage
of CYRANO DE BERGERAC to the fun and moon.
CYRANO
E 3
100
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
CYRANO DE BERGERAC is a French author of
a fingular character, who had a very peculiar turn
of wit and humour, in many refpects refembling
that of SWIFT. He wanted the advantages of
learning, and a regular education: his imaginati-
on was lefs guarded, and correct, but more agree-
ably extravagant. He has introduced into his phi-
lofophical romance, the fyftem of DESCARTES
(which was then much admired) intermixt with
feveral fine ftrokes of juſt ſatir on the wild and
immechanical enquiries of the philofophers and
aftonomers of that age: and in many parts he has
evidently directed the plan, which the Dean of St.
PATRICK'S has purſued.
I am forry, and yet, in candour, I ought to
obferve, that GULLIVER, in his voyage to Lilli-
put, dares even to exert his vein of humour fo
liberally, as to place the refurrection (one of the
moſt encouraging principles of the Chriftian re-
ligion) in a ridiculous and contemptible light.
Why ſhould that appointment be denied to man,
or appear ſo very extraordinary in the human
kind, which the Author of nature has illuftrated
in the vegetable ſpecies, where the feed dies and
corrupts, before it can rife again to new beauty
and glory? But I am writing out of my pro-
a
Page 55-
vince;
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. ΙΟΙ
vince; and that I may be tempted no farther, here
let me end the criticiſm upon the two firft parts of
GULLIVER'S travels, the conclufion of which, I
mean GULLIVER's eſcape from BRO3DINGNAG, is
humorous, fatirical, and decent. I am, my deareſt
HAM, by duty and inclination,
Your best Friend,
and moſt affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
193:SOYSALONINORITSA #50:50:50:50 SOA565353
LETTER XII.
My dear HAMILTON,
THE
HE third part of GULLIVER's travels is in ge-
neral written againſt chymifts, mathemati-
cians, mechanics, and projectors of all kinds.
SWIFT was little acquainted with mathematical
knowledge, and was prejudiced against it, by ob-
ferving the ſtrange effects it produced in thofe, who
applied themſelves entirely to that fcience. No part
of human literature has given greater ftrength to
£ 4.
the
102
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
the mind, or has produced greater benefits to man-
kind, than the ſeveral branches of learning that may
pafs under the general denomination of mathema-
tics. But the abuſes of this ſtudy, the idle, thin,
immechanical refinements of it, are juſt fubjects of
fatir. The real ufe of knowledge is to invigorate,
not to enervate the faculties of reafon. Learning
degenerates into a fpe ies of madnefs, when it is
not fuperior to what it poffeffeth. The fcientific.
powers are moft evident, when they are capable of
exerting themselves in the focial duties of life: when
they wear no chains, but can freely difengage them-
felves, and, like a found conftitution of body, rife
chearful, and more vigorous by the food they have
acquired, being neither oppreffed, nor rendered ſtu-
pid by the labours of digeftion.
Lord BACON has juftly expoſed the vain purſuits
of oftentatious pedants in the different parts of learn-
ing, and their unaccountable temerity in deducing
general rules from arbitrary maxims, or few expe-
riments: he has likewife fixed upon a fure and cer-
tain baſis, the procedure and limits of the human un-
derſtanding. SwIFT has purfued the fame plan in
a different manner, and has placed the imaginary
ſchemes of all pretenders in a more ludicrous, and
therefore in a more proper light.
Ridi-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 103
Ridiculum acri
Fortius ac melius magnas plerumque feca' res.
He cannot be ſuppoſed to condemn uſeful experi-
ments, or the right application of them: but he ri-
dicules the vain attempts, and irregular productions
of thoſe raſh men, who, like IXION, embracing a
cloud inſtead of a goddefs, plagued the world with
centaurs, whilft JUPITER, from the embraces of
a JUNO, and an ALCMENA, bleffed the earth with
an HERE, and an HERCULES.
However wild the deſcription of the flying island,
and the manners and various projects of the philo-
fophers of Lagado may appear; yet it is a real pic-
ture embelliſhed with much latent wit and humour.
It is a fatir upon thofe aftronomers and mathemati-
cians, who have fo entirely dedicated their time to
the planets, that they have been carelefs of their fa-
mily and country, and have been chiefly anxious a-
bout the œconomy and welfare of the upper worlds.
But if we confider SWIFT's romance in a ſerious
light, we fhall find him of opinion, that thofe de-
terminations in philofophy, which at prefent feem
to the most knowing men to be perfectly well
founded and underſtood, are in reality unfettled, or
uncertain, and may perhaps fome ages hence be
as much decried, as the axioms of ARISTOTLE are
E 5
at
104
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
at this day. Sir ISAAC NEWTON and his notions
may hereafter be out of fashion. There is a kind
of mode in philofophy, as well as in other things:
and fuch modes often change more from the humour
and caprice of men, than either from the unreafon-
able, or the ill-founded conclufions of the philofophy
itſelf. The reafonings of fome philofophers have
undoubtedly better foundations than thofe of o-
thers but I am of opinion (and SWIFT feems to be
in the fame way of thinking) that the moſt applaud-
ed philofophy hitherto extant has not fully, clearly
and certainly explained many difficulties in the phæ-
nomena of nature. I am induced to believe, that
God may have abfolutely denied us the perfect
knowledge of many points in philofophy, ſo that we
ſhall never arrive at that perfection, however cer-
tain we may fuppofe ourſelves of having attained to
it already. Upon the whole, we may fay with
TULLY, Omnibus ferè in rebus, et maximè in phyficis
quid non fit citius, quam quid fit, dixerim.
The project for a more eaſy and expeditious me-
thod of writing a treatife in any ſcience, by a wooden
engine, is entertainingly fatirical, and is aimed at
thoſe authors, who, instead of receiving materials
from their own thoughts and obfervations, collet
a Page 218.
2,
from
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 105
from dictionaries and common place-books, an ir-
regular variety, without order, ufe or defign,
Ut nec pes nec caput uni
Reddatur forma.
The project of fhortning a difcourfe, by cutting
polyfyllables into one, and leaving out verbs and
participles, is pointed at the pernicious cuf-
tom of contracting the English language, the dia-
lect of which is naturally harſh, and that harſhneſs
is ftill encreaſed by improper contractions. As
SWIFT was fcrupulously exact in the pronuncia-
tion of his own tongue, not the leaft improper ex-
preffion ever eſcaped his cenfure and I remember
to have ſeen in manuſcript a dictionary of hard
words, compofed by him for the ufe of his female
fenate.
b
The fixth chapter is full of ſeverity and fatir.
Sometimes it is exerted against the legiflative power:
fometimes againſt particular politicians: fometimes
againſt women and ſometimes it degenerates into
filth. True humour ought to be kept up with de-
cency, and dignity, or it lofes every tincture of en-
tertainment. Defcriptions that fhock our delicacy,
cannot have the leaſt good effect upon our minds.
▸ Page 223.
a Page 220,
E 6
They
106
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
1
They offend us, and we fly precipitately from the
fight. We cannot ſtay long enough to examine,
whether wit, ſenſe, or morality, may be couched
under fuch odious appearances. I am forry to fay,
that this fort of defcriptions, which are too often
interſperſed throughout all SWIFT's works, are fel-
dom written with any other view, or from any
other motive, than a wild unbridled indulgence of
his own humour and diſpoſition.
He ſeems to have finiſhed his voyage to LAPU-
TA in a careleſs hurrying manner, which makes me
almoſt think that fometimes he was tired of his
work, and attempted to run through it as faft as he
could; otherwife why was the curtain dropped fo
foon? or why were we deprived of fo noble a ſcene
as might have been diſcovered in the iſland of Glub-
dubdrib, where the governor, by his fkill in necro-
mancy, had the power of calling whom he pleafed from
the dead? I have not time by this poft to write to
you my thoughts upon a ſubject, which I confefs
awakened, but by no means fatisfied my curiofity.
I lamented to find fo many illuftrious ghoſts vaniſh
fo quickly, and fo abruptly from my fight, many of
whom were of the brighteſt characters in hiftory.
In my next letter I ſhall endeavour to detain them
2
Chap 7. Page 254.
a little
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 107
a little longer in Leicester-fields, than SWIFT fuffered
them to ſtay in the iſland of Sorcerers.
I am,
My dear HAMILTON,
Your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
CESTOGOSO5:56:05.65.28-IFOTOCODIGOGOROG
I
LETTER XIII.
My dearest HAMILTON,
Believe it would be impoffible to find out the
defign of Dr. SWIFT, in fummoning up a par-
cel of apparitions, that from their behaviour, or
from any thing they fay, are almoft of as little con-
fequence, as the ghofts in GAY's farce of the Ihat
d'ye call it. Perhaps, SWIFT's general defign might
be, to arraign the conduct of eminent perfons after
their death, and to convey their names and images
to pofterity, deprived of thofe falfe colours, in
which they formerly appeared. If thefe were his
intentions, he has miffed his aim; or at leaft, has
3
been
108
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
been ſo far carried away by his difpofition to raillery,
that the moral, which ought to arife from fuch a fa-
ble, is buried in obfcurity.
The first airy fubftance introduced is ALEXAN-
DER the Great'. After a hint from GULLIVER,
that we have loft the true Greek idiom, the con-
queror of the univerfe is made to declare upon his
honour, "That he died by exceffive drinking, not by
"poiſon. A trifling and an improper obſervation;
becauſe the apparition is called up as he appeared at
the head of his army, juſt after the battle of Arbela.
I own my expectations were great, when I found
his appearance was to be at fuch a remarkable junc-
ture and I particularly wifhed to fee him properly
introduced after that battle, as the compaffion and
generofity which he fhewed to the family of DARI-
Us, was highly worthy of imitation. There are
other circumitances in the hiſtorical records of him,
that redound to his honour. His tender regard to
PINDAR, by fparing the houfe of that poet (when he
rafed the city of Thebes) feems to demand perpetual
gratitude from all fucceeding bards. The manner
in which he vifited the tomb of ACHILLES: the af-
fection and refpest paid by him to ARISTOTLE;
the undaunted confidence placed in his phyfician
Chap. 7. Page 134.
THILIP,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 109
PHILIP, are inſtances ſufficient to fhew, that ALEX-
ANDER did not want fome virtues of humanity :
and when we confider ſeveral of his rafh actions of
ebriety, they convince us, how far the native excel-
lencies of the mind may be debafed and changed by
paffions which too often attend fuccefs and luxury.
Utcunque defecere mores,
Dedecorant benè nata culpæ.
It is evident, my HAM, that SWIFT had con-
ceived an abfolute difguft to ALEXANDER, whofe
character he aims to deftroy, by touching it in fo
flight a manner, that he puts me in mind of the viſit
paid by AUGUSTUS CESAR to ALEXANDER's fe-
pulchre at Alexandria. Upon the Emperor's ar-
rival, the body of the Macedonian hero was found
in its full dimenfions, but fo tender notwithstanding
all the former embalming, that CESAR, by touch-
ing only the noſe of it, defaced the whole figure im-
mediately.
3
HANNIBAL feems to have been fummoned with
no other view than to cenfure Livy the hiftorian.
It is not only improbable, but impoffible, that HAN-
NIBAL fhould have carried a fufficient quantity of
vinegar for the purpoſe related by Livy: but as vi-
a Page 235.
negar
110
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
negar will certainly foften, and diffolve ftones, the
experiment might have been improved, or fo con-
trived by HANNIBAL, as to appear to make an eafy
and expeditious opening through fome particular
paffage, already fitted for the purpofe. Such a tri-
al, practiſed in that age of darknefs, and properly
managed, might have been univerfally received as
a kind of miracle: fo that LIVY could fcarce have
avoided inferting the report as an acknowledged
truth: especially when the fact itſelf feems to infer
that the Romans were invincible, unlefs from fome
fupernatural caufe. SWIFT (no friend to military
men) thinks the Carthaginian general unworthy of
any farther notice; and haftens to call up the fenate
of Rome. This gives him an opportunity of being
very fevere upon a certain modern affembly, which
he treats in a manner more refembling the Cynic in
his cell, than the free humoured Rabelais in his eaſy
chair.
POMPEY and CESAR appear only to grace the
entry of BRUTUS, who is SWIFT's favourite pa-
triot: but as CESAR generously confeffed to GUL-
LIVER, "That the greatest actions of his life were
"not, by many degrees, equal to the glory of taking
“it away," it would have been a proper allevia-
tion of the dictator's crimes, to have acknowledged
him the greateft ftatefman, orator, and foldier of
the
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
111
the age, in which he lived: an age, fertile of emi-
nent men: an age, when ambition was fcarce look-
ed upon as a crime: and when the Roman virtue
(once the fupport and prefervation of the common-
wealth) was long fince loft in vice and luxury at
fuch a time a ſingle mafter was become neceffary,
and POMPEY would have feized the reins of go-
vernment had not CESAR interpofed. If the con-
ſpirators had reſtored liberty to their country, their
act had been completely glorious, and would have
fhewed, that CÆSAR, not Rome, was degenerated.
But if we may judge from the confequences, Hea-
ven diſapproved of the deed: a particular fate at-
tended the confpirators, not one of whom died a
natural death and even BRUTUS, perhaps recol-
lecting in his laſt moments the benefits, which he
had received from CESAR, was ftaggered in his
thoughts of virtue, and imagining himself deceived
by a fhadow broke out into a pathetical expreffion,
fignifying, "that he had worshipped virtue as a fub-
ftance, and had found it only a ſhadow :” ſo that
he feems to have wanted that fortitude of mind,
which conftantly attends true virtue to the grave.
This defect in the character of BRUTUS is not im-
properly expreffed in the famous gallery of the great
duke of Tuscany, where there is a very fine head of
BRUTUS begun by MICHAEL ANGELO, but left
unfiniſhed :
CC
112
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
unfiniſhed: under it is engraven upon a copper
plate, this diſtich,
Dum BRUTI effigiem ſculptor de marmore ducit,
In mentem fceleris venit, et abftinuit.
:
If BRUTUS erred, it was from a wrong notion of
virtue. The character of CÆSAR is perhaps more
amiable, but lefs perfect his faults were great;
however, many of them were foils to his virtues.
A modern eminent writer has repreſented him as a
glutton he tells us, that when CESAR went to the
public feafts, he conftantly took a vomit in the
morning, with a defign to indulge himſelf with more
keennefs, and to increaſe his appetite for the enfuing
feaft. The fact is true; but I would willingly be-
lieve the inference unjuft. It is more than probable
that he practifed this cuftom by the advice of his
phyficians, who might direct fuch a regimen, as the
moſt certain and immediate prefervation againſt
epileptic fits, to which the Dictator was often liable.
Your grandfather, my honoured father, (who was
excelled by few phyſicians in the theory of phyfic)
has often told me, that convulfions of this kind were
of fuch a nature as generally to come on after eat-
ing, and more violently, if the ftomach was over-
loaded. CESAR was fo careful in obferving a de-
cent
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 113
cent dignity in his behaviour, that he dreaded the
ſhame of expoſing publickly this weakneſs in his con-
ftitution; and therefore guarded againſt it in a pru-
dent manner, which has fince been conftrued into a
reproach. This furmife, my HAM, refts upon the
ftronger foundation, as all authors agree, that he was
moſt ſtrictly, and remarkably abftemious.
In his public character, CESAR appears a ſtrong
example, how far the greateſt natural and acquired
accompliſhments may lofe their luftre, when made
fubfervient to falfe glory, and an immoderate thirſt
of power; as on the other hand, the hiſtory of
BRUTUS may inftruct us, what unhappy effects the
rigid exerciſe of fuperiour virtue, when mifapplied
and carried too far, may produce in the moſt ſtead-
faft mind, or the foundeft judgment.
GULLIVER has given to BRUTUS five compani-
ons, JUN. BRUTUS, SOCRATES, EPAMINONDAS,
CATO the cenfor, and Sir THOMAS MOORE. Such
a fextumvirate is not eafily to be encreaſed: yet,
let me hope, that the reflexion is too feverely criti-
cal, when he adds, "that all the ages of the world
"cannot furnish out a feventh." Every age has
produced men of virtue and abilities in the higheſt
degree. The race of mankind, fince their firft cre-
ation, have been always the fame. The greateſt
characters
114
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
characters have been blended with the greateft faults.
Poets and hiſtorians have fingled out particular per-
fons for fame and immortality: they have adorned
them with accompliſhments, which perhaps they
never poffeffed, while other men equally meritori-
ous have been filently buried in oblivion, with only
the felf conſciouſneſs of deferving a rank among the
companions of BRUTUS in the Elyſian fields.
In this illuftrious fextumvirate, SOCRATES and
Sir THOMAS MOORE undoubtedly deferve the pre-
eminence. The extravagant virtue of JUNIUS
BRUTUS is ſhocking to every parent, and every
good-natured mind. The important fervices of
the father might juftly have claimed from the pub-
lic the pardon of his fons: and if his paternal piety
had faved their lives, his precepts and example might
fo effectually have reclaimed their errors, as to
have made them become uſeful members of the
commonwealth. I am fully perfuaded, that if Dr.
SWIFT had been a father, we ſhould not have
found the name of JUNIUS BRUTUS where it is now
placed.
In EPAMINONDAS the Theban glory firft ap-
peared, and died. His own merit, in overcoming
the greateſt difficulties, entirely fixed his reputation.
A happy concurrence of circumftances has often
given
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 115
given fame to others; but EPAMINONDAS was in-
debted for his fuperior character only to himſelf.
I am in fome doubt, whether CATO the Cenfor
can fairly claim a rank among ſo choice a groope of
ghofts. He juftly indeed condemned the luxury of
the Romans, and he puniſhed their vices with an
impartial feverity: but herein he ſeems to have in-
dulged his own natural temper rather than to have
acted abfolutely from a love of virtue: he was a
declared enemy to poetry, painting, and all the po-
liter arts: he was proud, vain, and morofe: but
above all, he was fo extremely avaritious, that RHA-
DAMANTHUS in the Archbishop of CAMBRAY's di-
alogues of the dead, after expreffing fome regard
to his merits, tells him, as he was an uſurer he could
not be admitted into the Elyfian fields: and there-
fore orders him to keep the gate as porter: in
which fituation, he might gratify the cenforiouſneſs
of his difpofition, by examining every ghoſt that at-
tempted to come into Elyfium, and by ſhutting the
door againſt all thofe, who were not qualified for
admittance. RHADAMANTHUS then gives him mo-
ney, to pay CHARON for fuch paflengers, who were
not able to pay for themſelves, and at the fame
time declares, that he will punish him as a robber,
if he offers to lend out that money upon ufury.
How very different, you will fay, are the fentiments
of
116
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
of Archbishop FENELON, and of Dr. SWIFT in
their judgement of CATO. The one thinks him
unworthy of a place among millions in Elyfium,
while the other diſtinguiſhes him among the greateſt
men of antiquity. From this diffenfion of opinions
may be traced, perhaps, the particular temper both
of the Archbishop and of the Dean, and from thence
may be deduced the reaſon, why the Cenfor was
eſteemed by the latter, and condemned by the for-
mer.
GULLIVER, after having taken a tranfient view of
numberless illuſtrious perfons, whom he does not
name, cloſes the chapter, and gives me an opportu-
nity of finiſhing my letter. Late, very late, may
you become a ghoſt! And when one, may you e-
qual any of SWIFT's fextumvirate, and may his ghoft
(grown lefs cynical and better inſtructed) rejoice to
admit you into the company, from which he has fo
arbitrarily excluded all future generations. So wiſhes,
fo prays
Your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
LET,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 117
G
LETTER XIV.
ULLIVER, tired of heroes, changes the
ſcene in the eighth chapter of his voyage to
Laputa, and becomes curious to know the fituation
of poets and philofophers, who, in their turn, have
as eagerly contended for fame, as CESAR for power
or BRUTUS for liberty. He defires, that HOMER
and ARISTOTLE may make their appearance at the
head of their commentators. HOMER, fays our tra-
veller, "was the taller, and comelier perfon of the
66 two: walked very erect for one of his age, and his
eyes were the most quick and piercing I ever beheld.”
It is certain, that HOMER has rather gained, than
loft vigour by his years. Twenty fix centuries have
not unbraced his nerves, or given one wrinkle to
his brow and although GULLIVER has beftowed
upon him the additional ornament of fine eyes, yet
I am apt to think they made the figure of this di-
vine old man leſs awful: at leaſt I am glad that he
wanted his eye fight while he lived, fince it is impof-
fible, not to conclude from the productions of Ho-
CC
MER
118
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
MER and MILTON, that the Mind's eye be-
comes more intenfely difcerning, when it is not
interrupted by external objects. It is an old ob-
fervation, that HOMER has nouriſhed more per-
fons than SYLLA, CESAR, and AUGUSTUS; and
while their pictures have decayed, not a letter
of the Iliad has been loft. The Grecian poet
not only preferves his original form, but breathes
freely, and looks beautiful in other languages:
a happier metempfychofis than PYTHAGORAS
ever dreamt of. However, if HOMER was ab-
folutely obliged to wear the different dreffes,
which have been given to him, he would fome-
times, I believe, find the motion of his limbs
uneafy and confined; and would prefer his own
fimple attire even to the birth day fuit, which our
Engliſh bard has given him. The commentators
have done lefs honour to HOMER than the tranf-
lators. Some of thofe learned pedants have en-
tirely wafted their obfervations upon particles and
words others have run into a minute exactness,
in comparing the propriety of his images: while
others again, have endeavoured to trace out from
the Iliad and Odyffey, all the rudiments of arts
and fciences. Some there are, who dwell on
fuch narrow circumftances, as were neglected by
HOMER, and can be fuitable only to their own
confined genius. They are not able to purſue
him
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 119
him upon a level with themfelves. Their low"
mechanical notions remind me of an abfurd pro-
blem propoſed by the famous Monfieur HUET,
whether the Iliad might not be written upon vel-
lum in fo fmall a hand, that the whole might be
contained within a nutshell? This important quef-
tion is faid to have engaged the thoughts and at-
tention of the French court, and gives us a true
picture of a laborious, taftelefs critic upon HOMEr.
The Dauphin, and his train, are for putting the
Iliad into a nutshell, when ALEXANDER, and his
courtiers, choſe the richest, and moft curious ca-
binet of DARIUS, as the only proper repofitory
for HOMER's works.
HOMER and ARISTOTLE were as oppofite as
poffible in their characters: but Dr. SWIFT hast
placed them together, chiefly with a view of fhew-
ing their commentators, in that juft and ridiculous
light, in which thoſe fcholiafts ought to appear.
When an age is bleffed with the productions of
an uncommon genius, fuch as refembles HOMER,
it muft, in fome meaſure, be puniſhed by bad imi-
tations and comments; in the fame manner that
you may have obferved the fun by its heat and
influence raiſing vapours, and animating infects,
that infect and perhaps corrupt the air, in which
he ſhines with fo much luftre. But, when an
original admired author, as ARISTOTLE, is really
erroneous,
F
120
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
erroneous, and deceives with falſe ſpecious prin-
ciples, what a train of errors muſt arife from
commentators on ſuch ſubjects, who, while they
endeavour to purfue and extend a pleafing en-
chanted profpect, that has no real foundation,
deviate into a dark, difagreeable road of briers and
thorns!
It is on this account that the Dean has intro-
duced ARISTOTLE in company with HOMER.
The deſcription of that philofopher is fine, and
in a few words reprefents the true nature of his
works. "He stooped much, and made use of a ſtaff.
"His vifage was meagre, his hair lank and thin,
"and his voice hollow." By not having the im-
mortal ſpirit of HOMER, he was unable to keep
his body erect and the ſtaff which weakly fup-
ported him, like his commentators, made this de-
fect more confpicuous. He wanted not fome
uſeful qualities; but theſe real ornaments, like his
hair, were thin and ungraceful. His ftyle was
harfh, and, like his voice, had neither force nor
harmony. He was without doubt a man of great
genius and penetration; but he did infinitely more
prejudice than fervice to real literature. He ftu-
died words more than facts, and delivered his phi-
lofophy perplexed with fuch intricate logical terms,
as have laid a foundation for the endleſs fcholaftic
difputations, which have corrupted and retarded the
progrefs
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 121
progress of learning. He waged war with all
his predeceffors. He never quotes an author, ex-
cept with a view to refute his opinion. Like the
Ottoman Emperor, he could not reign in fafety,
till he had firft deftroyed his brethren. He was
as ambitious in fcience, as his pupil ALEXANDER
was in arms. He aimed to be a defpotic origin-
al; and not only to be the Prince, but the Ty-
rant of philoſophy. What then can be expected
from the commentators on his works, who were
devoid of his ingenuity, and poffeffed all his
intricate follies? RAMUS with his covert igno-
rance, and ScoTUS and AQUINAS with their ſub-
divifions, and imaginary nothings, must make a
contemptible figure in the Elyfian fields, which
are the fuppofed manfions of chearfulneſs, truth,
and candour, and confequently must be a very
improper fituation for that tribe of philofophers.
"I then defired, fays GULLIVER, that DESCAR-
"TES and GASSENDI might be called up: with whom
"I prevailed to explain their ſyſtems to ARISTOTle.
"This great philofopher freely acknowledged his own
(6
miſtakes in natural philofophy, becauſe he proceeded in
"many things upon conjecture, as all men mußt do; and
"he found that GASSENDI, who had made the doc-
"trine of EPICURUS as palatable as he could, and the
"vortices of DESCARTES were equally to be exploded.
I believe you will find, my dear HAMILTON, that
ARISTOTLE
F 2
122
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ARISTOTLE is ftill to be preferred to EPICURUS.
The former made fome uſeful experiments and
difcoveries, and was engaged in a real purfuit of
knowledge, although his manner is much per-
plexed. The latter was full of vanity and am-
bition. He was an impoftor, and only aimed at
deceiving. He feemed not to believe the prin-
ciples which he has afferted. He committed the
government of all things to chance. His natural
philoſophy is abfurd. His moral philofophy wants
its proper bafis, the fear of God. Monfieur
BAYLE, one of his warmeft advocates, is of this
laft opinion, where he fays, "On ne fcauroit pas
"dire affez de bien de l'honneteré de fes mœurs, ni
<<
affez de mal de fes opinions fur la religion." His
general maxim, that happinefs confifted in pleafure
was too much unguarded, and muft lay a foun-
dation of a moſt deſtructive practice: although
from his temper and conftitution, he made his
actions fufficiently pleaſurable to himſelf, and a-
greeable to the rules of true philofophy. His for-
tune exempted him from care and follicitude. His
valetudinarian habit of body from intemperance.
He paffed the greateſt part of his time in his garden,
where he enjoyed all the elegant amufements of
life. There he ftudied. There he taught his phi-
lofophy. This particular happy fituation greatly
contributed to that, tranquillity of mind, and in-
dolence
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 123
dolence of body which he made his chief ends.
He had not however refolution fufficient to meet
the gradual approaches of death, and wanted that
conftancy which Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE afcribes
to him for in his last moments, when he found
that his condition was deſperate, he took fuch large
draughts of wine, that he was abfolutely intoxi-
cated, and deprived of his fenfes; fo that he died
more like a bacchanal, than a philofopher: to
which the epigram alludes,
Hinc Stygias ebrius haufit aquas.
I fhould not have ventured into this criticiſm
and cenfure upon theſe antient philofophers, not
even to you, my dearest HAM, if my opinion was
not in a great meaſure ſupported by Lord BACON,
who, as he was certainly the moſt accurate judge
of this ſubject, might be perhaps, from that pre-
eminence, too fevere a critic. It must be owned,
that EPICURUS in particular has many followers
and admirers among the antients, and among the
moderns. CICERO commends him for cultivating
his friendſhips in the most exquifite manner. The
book lyes open before me, and I will tranfcribe
the words, De quâ [amicitiâ] EPICURUS quidem ita
dicit; omnium rerum quas ad beatè vivendum fa-
pientia comparaverit, nihil eſſe majus amicitiâ, ni-
F 3
bil
124
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
bil uberius, nibil jucundius, neque verò hoc oratione
folùm, fed multo magis vita & factis, et moribus com-
probavit. DIOGENES LAERTIUS praifes his virtue
and learning. In the Auguftan age the greateſt
names are inferted among his followers. CASAR,
ATTICUS, MACENAS, LUCRETIUS, VIRGIL, and
HORACE embraced his philofophy, and gave a luftre
to his fect, and doctrines. Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE
fays, "that he wonders, why fuch sharp invectives
"were fo generally made against EPICURUS, by the
દ ages
that followed him: efpecially as his admirable
"wit, felicity of expreffion, excellence of nature,
fweetness of converfation, temperance of life, and
"conftancy of death, made bim fo much beloved by
" his friends, admired by his fcholars, and honoured
t
by the Athenians." Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE im-
putes this injuftice" to the envy and malignity of
"the Stoics, and to fome grofs pretenders, who affumed
"the denomination of that felt: who mistook his fa-
"vourite principle," (THAT ALL HAPPINESS
CONSISTED IN PLEASURE)" by confining it to fen-
Jual pleasure only. To thefe fucceeded the Chrifti-
66
66
ans, who eſteemed his principles of natural philofo-
phy more oppofite to thofe of our religion than either
"the Platonifts, the Peripatetics, or even the Stoics
"themfelves." This is the opinion, and theſe are
almoft the exact words of the great Sir WILLIAM
TEMPLE.
SWIFT
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 125
SWIFT equally explodes EPICURUS, and the
more modern philofophers DESCARTES and GAS-
SENDI.
DESCARTES was a knight errant in philofophy,
perpetually miſtaking windmills for giants; yet by
the ſtrength of a warm imagination he ftarted fome
opinions, which probably put Sir ISAAC NEWTON,
and others, on making many experiments that pro-
duced moſt uſeful diſcoveries.
GASSENDI was eſteemed one of the greateſt or-
naments of FRANCE. He was a doctor of divinity,
and royal profeffor of mathematics. He was born
in Provence in 1592, and died in 1655. With
great induſtry he collected whatever related to the
perfon, and to the philofophy of EPICURUS, the
latter of which he has reduced into a compleat
ſyſtem.
I have now, my HAMILTON, curforily gone tho-
rough the characters of fuch ghofts, as are nomi-
nally ſpecified by GULLIVER. I may be wrong ci-
ther in my account, or in my obfervations: and I
fhall rejoice to be confuted by you in any point of
learning whatever.
The defcription of the STRULDBRUGGS, in the
tenth chapter, is an inftructive piece of morality:
for, if we confider it in a ferious light, it tends to
reconcile us to our final diffolution. Death, when
ſet in contraſt to the immortality of the STRULD-
F 4
BRUGGS,
126
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
BRUGGS, is no longer the King of Terrors: he
Jofes his fting: he appears to us as a friend: and we
chearfully obey his fummons, becauſe it brings cer-
tain relief to the greateſt miſeries. It is in this de-
fcription, that SWIFT fhines in a particular manner.
He probably felt in himſelf the effects of approach-
ing age, and tacitly dreaded that period of life, in
which he might become a reprefentative of thoſe
miſerable immortals. His apprehenſions were unfor-
tunately fulfilled. He lived to be the moſt melan-
holy fight that was ever beheld: yet, even in that
condition, he continued to inftruct, by appearing a
providential inſtance to mortify the vanity, which
is too apt to arife in the human breaft. Our life
cannot be pronounced happy, till the laft fcene is
cloſed with eafe and refignation; the mind ftill con-
tinuing to preſerve its uſual dignity, and falling into
the arms of death, as a wearied traveller finks into
reft. This is that Euthanafia which AUGUSTUS
often defired, which ANTONINUS PIUS enjoyed,
and for which every wife man will pray. Gop Al-
mighty's providence protect and guide you, my
HAM, whatever fate of life or fortune attends
Your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
LET-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 127
OSSRUSSTIO 5050 60+ STOPINJASA SA OPIN
I
LETTER XV.
T is with great reluctance, I fhall make fome
remarks on GULLIVER's voyage to the Houyhn-
hnms. In this laft part of his imaginary travels,
SWIFT has indulged a mifanthropy that is intolera-
ble. The repreſentation which he has given us of
human nature muft terrify, and even debafe the
mind of the reader who views it. His fallies of wit
and humour lofe all their force, nothing remaining
but a melancholy and diſagreeable impreffion: and,
as I have faid to you, on other parts of his works,
we are difgufted, not entertained; we are ſhocked,
not inftructed by the fable. I fhould therefore
chuſe to take no notice of his YAHOOS, did I not
think it neceffary to affert the dignity of human na-
ture, and thereby, in ſome meaſure, to pay my duty
to the great author of our fpecies, who has created
us in a very fearful, and a very wonderful man-
ner.
We are compofed of a mind, and of a body, inti-
mately united, and mutually affecting each other.
Their operations indeed are entirely different.
Whether the immortal fpirit, that enlivens this fine
machine,
F 5
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
machine, is originally of a fuperior nature in various
bodies (which, I own, feems moft confiftent and
agreeable to the ſcale and order of beings) or, whe-
ther the difference depends on a ſymmetry, or pe-
culiar ſtructure of the organs combined with it, is
beyond my reach to determine. It is evidently cer-
tain, that the body is curiouſly formed with proper
organs to delight, and ſuch as are adapted to all the
neceffary uſes of life. The ſpirit animates the whole;
it guides the natural appetites, and confines them
within juft limits. But, the natural force of this
ſpirit is often immerſed in matter; and the mind be-
comes fubfervient to paffions, which it ought to go-
vern and direct. Your friend HORACE, although
of the Epicurean doctrine, acknowledges this truth,
where he fays,
Atque affigit bumo divinæ particulam auræ.
It is no lefs evident, that this immortal fpirit has
an independent power of acting, and, when culti-
vated in a proper manner, feemingly quits the cor-
poreal frame within which it is imprifoned, and foars
into higher, and more fpacious regions; where,
with an energy, which I had almoſt ſaid was divine,
it ranges among thofe heavenly bodies, that, in this
lower world, are ſcarce viſible to our eyes; and we
can at once explain the diftance, magnitude, and
velocity
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 129
velocity of the planets, and can foretel, even to a
degree of minutenefs, the particular time when a
comet will return, and when the fun will be eclipſ-
ed in the next century. Theſe powers certainly
evince the dignity of human nature, and the furpri
fing effects of the immaterial fpirit within us, which,
in fo confined a ftate, can thus difengage itſelf from
the fetters of matter. It is from this pre-eminence
of the foul over the body, that we are enabled to
view the exact order, and curious variety of differ-
ent beings; to confider, and cultivate the natural
productions of the earth; and to admire and imi-
tate the wife benevolence which reigns throughout
the whole ſyſtem of the univerſe. It is from hence,
that we form moral laws for our conduct.
hence, we delight in copying that great original,
who, in his effence, is utterly incomprehenfible,
but, in his influence, is powerfully apparent to every
degree of his creation. From hence too, we per-
ceive a real beauty in virtue, and a diſtinction be
tween good and evil. Virtue acts with the utmoſt
generofity, and with no view to her own advantage:
while vice, like a glutton, feeds herſelf enormously,
and then is willing to difgorge the naufeous offalş
of her feaft. But I fhall wander too far, efpecially
as I flatter myſelf, that your mind is ſo good, and
fo unprejudiced, that you will more eaſily feel, than
I can illuſtrate, the truth of thefe affertions.
F 6
From
SWIFT
130
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
SWIFT deduces his pbfervations from wrong
principles; for, in his land of Houyhnhnms, he con-
fiders the foul and body in their most degenerate
and uncultivated ftate: the former as a flave to the
appetites of the latter. He feems infenfible of the
furpriſing mechanifm and beauty of every part of
the human compofition. He forgets the fine defcrip-
tion which OVID gives of mankind.
Os homini fublime dedit, cœlumque tueri
Fuit, et erectes ad fidera tollere vultus.
**
In painting YAHOOS he becomes one himſelf.
Nor is the picture which he draws of the Houyhn-
hnms, inviting or amufing. It wants both light
and fhade to adorn it. It is cold and infipid. We
there view the pure inftincts of brutes, unaffifted by
any knowledge of letters, acting within their own
narrow ſphere, merely for their immediate preferva-
tion. They are incapable of doing wrong, there-
fore they act right. It is furely a very low character
given to creatures, in whom the author would infi-
nuate fome degree of reaſon, that they at inoffen-
fively, when they have neither the motive nor the
power to act otherwife. Their virtuous qualities.
are only negative. SWIFT himſelf, amidſt all his
irony, muſt have confeffed, that to moderate our
paffions, to extend our munificence to others, to
enlarge
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 131
enlarge our understanding, and to raife our idea of
the Almighty by contemplating his works, is not
only the buſineſs, but often the practice, and the
ftudy of the human mind. It is too certain, that
no one individual has ever poffeffed every qualifica-
tion and excellence: however, fuch an affemblage
of different virtues may ftill be collected from dif-
ferent perfons, as are fufficient to place the dignity
of human nature in an amiable and exalted ftation.
We muſt lament indeed the many inftances of thoſe
who degenerate, or go aftray from the end and in-
tention of their being. The true fource of this de-
pravity is often owing to the want of education, to
the falſe indulgence of parents, or to fome other bad
caufes, which are conftantly prevalent in every na-
tion. Many of theſe errors are finely ridiculed in
the foregoing parts of this romance: but the voy-
age to the Houyhnhnms is a real infult upon man-
kind.
I am heartily tired of this laft part of GULLI-
VER's travels, and am glad, that, having exhauſted
all my obfervations on this difagreeable fubject, I
may finiſh my letter; efpecially as the conclufion of
it naturally turns my thoughts from YAHOOS, to
one of the deareft pledges I have upon earth,
yourſelf to whom I am a moft
Affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
LET.
132 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
59565656535656 5656:5050565RONINIS
LETTER
W
XVI.
HAT is to be done, my HAMILTON, with
the fourth volume of SWIFT's works?
How can I amuſe you with any remarks from a
collection of tracts, not only upon exceeding grave
fubjects, but entirely relative to the kingdom of
Ireland? not only local, but temporary? In the be-
ginning of the volume is a pamphlet entitled A
Letter from a Member of the House of Commons in
Ireland, to a Member of the House of Commons in
England, concerning the Sacramental Test, written in
the year 1708: and it is preceded by an explanatory
advertiſement, that was either dictated, or ſtrictly
reviſed by the Dean himſelf. He held the diffen-
ters in the utmoft degree of ridicule and deteftation.
He had an opennefs in his difpofition, and a frank-
nefs in his conduct, that bore an abhorrence to all
kind of referve; even to difcretion. Solemnities
and outward forms were defpifed by him. His hu-
morous difpofition tempted him to actions incon-
ſiſtent with the dignity of a clergyman: and fuch
flights drew upon him the general character of an
irreligious man. I remember to have heard a ſtory
of
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 133
66
>>
of him that fully fhews how little he regarded cer-
tain ceremonies, which ought always to be obferved
with refpect. Soon after he had been made Dean
of St. PATRICK's, he was loitering one Sunday in
the afternoon at the houſe of Dr. RAYMOND (with
whom he had dined) at Trim, a little town near
Dublin, of which the Doctor was vicar. The bell
had rung the parishioners were affembled, for
evening prayers and Dr. RAYMOND was prepar-
ing to go to the church, which was fcarce two
hundred yards from his houfe. "RAYMOND, faid
"the Dean, I'll lay you a crown I will begin pray-
ers before you
this afternoon. "I accept the
wager," replied Dr. RAYMOND; and immedi-
ately they both ran as faft as they could towards the
church. RAYMOND, who was much the nimbler
man of the two, arrived first at the door and
when he entered the church walked decently to-
wards the reading defk. SWIFT never flackened
kis pace, but, running up the ifle, left Dr. RAY-
MOND behind him in the middle of it, and ſtepping
into the reading deſk, without putting on a furplice,
or opening the prayer-book, began the liturgy in
an audible voice, and continued to repeat the fervice
fufficiently long to win his wager. To fuch a dif-
pofition it is impoffible that the gravity of noncon-
formifts could be agreeable. The diſlike was mu-
tual on both fides. Dr. SWIFT hated all fanatics:
:
all
134
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
all fanatics hated Dr. SWIFT. The pamphlet, which
now lies before me, is particularly written against
repealing the test act: and whoever confiders him-
felf related to the kingdom of Ireland, will find in it
ſome arguments of weight and confideration, in
caſe any ſuch repeal ſhould ever be attempted there.
66
I cannot help pointing out to you one particular
piece of fatir, that is entirely in SWIFT's own ftyle
and manner. In the fourth page he expreffes him-
felf thus. "One of theſe authors (the fellow that was
pilloried, I have forgot his name, is indeed fo grave,
fententious, dogmatical a rogue, that there is no en-
"during him." The fellow that was pilloried was
DANIEL DEFOE, whofe name SWIFT well knew
and remembered, but the circumftance of the pil-
lory was to be introduced; and the manner of in-
troducing it ſhews great art in the niceft touches of
fatir, and carries all the marks of ridicule, indigna-
tion, and contempt. The fcoffs and farcafms of
SWIFT, like the bite of the rattle-fnake, diftin-
guiſh themſelves more venomously dangerous, than
the wounds of a common ferpent.
The next tract is A Propofal for the univerſal uſe
of Iriſh Manufacture in clothes, and furniture of
houſes, &c. utterly rejecting and renouncing every
thing wearable that comes from England.
Writ-
ten in the year 1720.
In a former letter I be-
lieve I have told you, that, upon looking over the
,
a Letter V1.
dates
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 135
dates of Dr. SWIFT's works, he does not appear as
a political writer from the year 1714 to the year
1720. You will probably be curious to know, in
what manner he employed his time from the death
of the Queen till the South-fea year. Not in poetry,
for his poetical pieces, during that period, are in a
manner domeftic; being ſcarce any more than tri-
fles to SHERIDAN, or poematia to STELLA. How
then is the chafm to be filled up? I imagine, by
GULLIVER's travels. Such a work muft, in all
likelihood, have engroffed his leifure, during five or
fix years.
When that was finished, he found an
opening to indulge his love of politics, and to com-
mence a patriot for Ireland: and he made uſe of
the opportunity, by encreafing the natural jealouſy
which the leffer iſland conftantly entertains of the
greater. His treatiſe, or propoſal, immediately raiſed
a very violent flame. The printer was profecuted :
and the proſecution had the fame effect, which ge-
nerally attends meaſures of that kind: it added fuel
to the flame. But his greatest enemies must confefs,
that the pamphlet is written in the ftyle of a man, who
had the good of his country nearest his heart, who
faw her errors, and wifhed to correct them ; who
felt her oppreffions, and wifhed to relieve her; and
who had a deſire to rouze, and awaken an indolent
nation from a lethargic difpofition, that might prove
fatal to her conſtitution.
To
136
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
*
To the propoſal, in favour of the Iriſh manufac-
tures, fucceed, Some arguments againſt enlarging the
Power of Bishops in letting of Leafes. This is too
ferious a pamphlet for your perufal; nor fhall I de-
tain you with any farther account of it, than to
fay, that it is intermixt with thoſe maſterly ftrokes
of irony, which fo often appear in SWIFT's works.
But the general fubject of the pamphlet leads me
to recollect a circumftance much to the Dean's ho-
nour. He could never be induced to take fines for
any of the chapter lands. He always chofe to raiſe
the rents, as the method leaft oppreffive to the pre-
fent tenant, and moft advantageous to all future te-
nants and landlords. He conftantly refuſed to give
charity out of the chapter funds, which he alledged
were fearce fufficient to maintain the neceffary re-
pairs of the cathedral. I have already told you*,
that, among his prebendaries, the vox Decani was
the vox Dei.
b
We are now come to THE DRAPIER's Letters,
thoſe brazen monuments of his fame. They were
written in the year 1725. I have faid fo much in
one of my former letters of the cauſe which gave
rife to them, and of the effect which they had upon
the nation, that I need fay no more in this place,
than to recommend them to your perufal, for the
a See Letter V.
Þ Letter VI.
style
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 137
ſtyle and conduct of their manner: but, left they
may appear too grave to fo young a man, and one
who is fo little intereſted in the prefent, and much
lefs in the paſt affairs of Ireland, you will find a pa-
per at the end of them that will excite your rifibility,
or I am miſtaken. It is entitled, A full and true
account of the folemn proceffion to the Gallows at the
execution of WILLIAM WOOD, Efq; and hard-
ware-man ‘. The author makes the feveral artifi-
cers attend WILLIAM WOOD (reprefented by a log
of timber) to the gallows, and each tradefman ex-
preffes his refentment in the terms of his proper
calling. "The Cook will BASTE him. The Book-
SELLER Will TURN OVER A NEW LEAF with him.
The TAYLOR will fit IN HIS SKIRTS;" and fo on,
through a number of people of different conditions.
Then follows the proceffion, moft humorously de-
fcribed. The whole is a piece of ridicule too pow-
erful for the ſtrongeſt gravity to withſtand.
The next tract is, A ſhort view of the fate of
Ireland, written in the year 1727 °. Of this I
need take little notice, fince the prefent ſtate of
Ireland is, in general, as flouriſhing as poffible.
Agriculture is cultivated: arts and fciences are
encouraged and in the space of eighteen years,
which is almoſt the full time that I have known
a Page 233.
b Page 240.
it,
138
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
it, no kingdom can be more improved. Ireland,
in relation of England, may be compared to a
younger fifter lately come of age, after having fuf-
fered all the miſeries of an injured minor; fuch as law
fuits, encroachments upon her property, violation
of her rights, deftruction of her tenants, and every
evil that can be named. At length, time, and
her own noble fpirit of induftry, have entirely
relieved her; and, fome little heart-burnings ex-
cepted, the enjoys the quiet poffeffion of a very
ample fortune, fubject, by way of acknowledge-
ment, to certain quit rents, payable to the elder
branch of her houfe: and let me add by experi-
ence, that take her all in all, ſhe cannot have a
greater fortune than fhe deferves.
I ſhall not make any comments upon An An-
fwer to a Paper called A Memorial of the poor In-
babitants, Tradeſmen, and Labourers of the King-
dom of Ireland, written in the year 1728. The
pamphlet which comes next in order of fuccef-
fion, is written with SWIFT's ufual peculiarity
of humour. The title of it is, A Modeft propofal
for preventing the Children of Poor People in Ire-
land, from being a burden to their Parents or
Country; and for making them beneficial to the
Public, written in the year 1729. The propo-
b Page 262.
* Page 251.
fal
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 139
fal is to fatten beggars children, and fell them for
food to rich landlords, and perfons of quality.
The vindication of his Excellency JOHN Lord
CARTERET from the charge of favouring none
but Tories, High-Churchmen, and Jacobites, is
entirely humorous, and fo I think are all the re-
maining pamphlets in this volume. But the laſt
piece, entitled, The Speech and dying Words of
EBENEZOR ELLISTON, who was executed the
Second of May 1722, written and publiſhed at his
defire for the common good, had a moſt excellent.
effect". The thieves, vagabonds, and all the low-
er clafs of people thought it the real work of
EBENEZOR ELLISTON, who had received the
grounds of a good education; and the ftyle of this
paper is fo natural for a perfon in fuch circum-
ftances, that it would almoft deceive the niceft
judgement.
I have now compleated my animadverfions up-
on the four firft volumes of SWIFT's works; the
laft of which contains abundance of ironical wit
founded upon the bafis of reafon and good fenfe.
But, I had almoft forgot, that, at the latter end
of the volume, there are three copies of verſes, two
of which are addreſſed to the Dean, and the third is
his answer the first being my property may ferve
:
Page 275. Written in the year 1730.
2
Ե
▷ Page 363.-
to
140
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
to conclude this letter. It was occafioned by an
annual cuſtom, which I found purfued among his
friends, of making him a preſent on his birth-day.
As he had admitted me of that number, I ſent him
a paper-book, finely bound, in the firſt leaf of which
I wrote the following lines.
Dublin, November 30, 1732,
O thee,dear SWIFT,thefe fpotlefs leaves I fend;
T%
Small is the preſent, but fincere the friend.
Think not fo poor a book below thy care,
Who knows the price that thou canft make it bear?
Tho' tawdry now, and like TYRILLA's face,
The ſpecious front fhines out with borrow'd grace:
Tho' paſte-boards, glittering like a tinſel'd coat,
A rafa tabula within denote;
Yet if a venal and corrupted age,
And modern vices fhould provoke thy rage;
If warn'd once more by their impending fate
A finking country and an injur'd ſtate,
Thy great affiſtance ſhould again demand,
And call forth reaſon to defend the land;
Then ſhall we view theſe ſheets, with glad furprize,
Infpir'd with thought, and ſpeaking to our eyes :
3
Each
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 141
Each vacant ſpace fhall then, enrich'd, difpenfe
True force of eloquence, and nervous ſenſe ;
Inform the judgement, animate the heart,
And facred rules of policy impart,
The ſpangled covering, bright with ſplendid ore,
Shall cheat the fight with empty fhew no more;
But lead us inward to thoſe golden mines,
Where all thy foul in native luftre fhines.
So when the eye furveys fome lovely fair,
With bloom of beauty, grac'd with fhape and air,
How is the rapture heighten'd, when we find
Her form excell'd by her celeftial mind!
ORRER Y.
LET
142 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
$56:50:56/561URUMUROROUGHFIRUTUSUGUGUS
I
LETTER XVII.
1
Have already told you, my dear HAM, that
the four firſt volumes of SwIFT's works were
publiſhed together, and paffed immediately under
his own inſpection. Not long afterwards came
out two additional volumes, both which were
fuperviſed and corrected by the author.
The conduct of the Allies begins the fifth vo-
lume. I imagine that the publisher's Preface was
compofed by the Dean himſelf, but affectedly
written in a bad ftyle. The laſt paragraph makes
me fufpect his hand. "It is plainly feen, fays
"the publiſher, that a spirit of liberty is dif
fuſed through all these writings, and that the
"author is an enemy to tyranny and oppreffion in
“
CC
any shape whatever." This is the character at
which SWIFT aimed, and this is the character
which indeed he deferved.
Throughout the courfe of thefe letters I have
freely pointed out to you all his faults, but I
beg you to remember, that, with all thofe faults,
he was above corruption. A virtue in itſelf ſuf-
[ficient to cover a multitude of hunan failings;
fince
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 143
fince from that virtue alone can flow profperity
to the commonwealth.
The conduct of the Allies was written in the
year 1712, and it is preparatory to the peace,
which the minifters were then concerting, and
which was afterwards perfected at Utrecht. It
begins by reflexions on war in general, and then
particularly mentions the feveral civil wars in our
kingdom. When I am reading treatifes of this
fort, I cannot help pitying my unhappy country,
torn to pieces by her own fons. A wretched mo-
ther of vultures, for whom, like TirYus, the
produces new entrails only to be devoured.
The papers called the Examiners, at leaſt thoſe
of which Dr. SWIFT is the author, fill up the
reft of the volume. They begin in November
1710, and they are carried down to the end of
July 1711. They are written in defence of the
new adminiftration, and the particular revolutions
at court which had introduced the Earl of Ox-
FORD, and had difplaced the Earl of GODOLPHIN
and his friends.
Many of SWIFT'S Examiners are perfonally
aimed at the General *. In a free country, the
power of a general is always to be feared. The
greater his military capacity, or the more fuccefs-
*The Duke of MARLBOROUGH,
G
fu!
144
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ful his arms, in the greater danger are the liberties
of the people. On this maxim SWIFT proceed-
ed; and while he was writing in defence of the
commonwealth, he had an opportunity of giving a
looſe to his own feverity, of which the house of
Pride, and feveral other allegorical effays are very
fpirited examples.
But I am fettered in my animadverfions on theſe
papers. The prefent times, and the honour which
I bear to many noble families, defcended from per-
fons mentioned in the Examiners, make me will-
ing to take as flight notice as poffible even of the
wittieft paffages in thofe papers; becauſe many of
thoſe paffages arife from perfonal reflexions, or
party farcafms. In general, the ſeveral points re-
lating to the national debt (alas! how encreafed
fince the year feventeen hundred and ten) the too
long continuance of the war, and other public
topics of complaint are melancholy truths, juftly
becoming the pen of a man who loves his country.
Within theſe laſt forty years, the political trea-
tifes have been fo numerous, fo various, fo local,
and fo temporary, that each new pamphlet has
fucceeded its predeceffor, like a youthful fon to
an antient father amidſt a multiplicity of followers,
admirers, and dependants, whilft the antiquated
Sire having ſtrutted and foamed his hour upon the
Stage, is heard no more, but lies filent, and almoſt
entirely
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 145
entirely forgotten, except by a few friends and
cotemporaries, who accidentally remember fome
of his juſt obſervations, or prophetical aphorifms,
which they have lived to fee accompliſhed. Thus
has it fared, even in my time, with the EXAMI-
NERS, the FREEHOLDERS, and the CRAFTSMAN:
and the fame fate will attend moft writings of
that fort, which being framed to ferve particular
views, fulfil the purport of their creation, and
then periſh while works of a more liberal and
diffufive kind are acceptable to all perfons, and all
times; and may affume to themfelves a certain
profpect of furviving to the lateft pofterity.
But my deareſt HAMILTON, when you enter
into the commerce of life, you will be obliged,
in your own defence, to look into every thing
that has been written upon political fubjes. In
England, a man cannot keep up a converfation
without being well verfed in politics. In whatever
other point of learning he may be deficient, he
certainly muft not appear fuperficial in ftate affairs.
He muſt chuſe his party; and he muft ftick to
the choice. Non revocare gradum muſt be his
motto; and Heaven forgive you, my dear fon, if
the gradus now and then enforces you to act
againſt felf conviction.
If party, and the confequences of it had arifen
to that heighth among the Romans and Grecians,
G 2
As
1
146
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
as it has ariſen of late years among the Engliſh,
their poets would probably have added her to the
three furies, and would have placed her in hell, as
a fit companion for TISIPHONE, MEGARA, and
ALECTO, from whence, according to their de-
fcription, fhe might have made excurfions upon
earth, only with an intention to deftroy, confound,
miſlead, and difunite mankind.
It is true, that all countries have their parties
and their factions. But there is a certain contagi-
ous diftemper, of this fort, fo peculiar to the Britiſh
iflands, that, I believe, it is unknown to every other
part of the world. It encreaſes our natural gloom,
and it makes us fo averſe to each other, that it
keeps men of the beft morals, and moft focial
inclinations, in one continued ftate of warfare and
oppofition. Muft not the fource of this malady
arife rather from the heart, than from the head?
from the different operations of our paffions, than
of our reaſon?
Furorne cæcus, an rapit vis acrior,
An culpa?
SWIFT, a man of violent paffions, was, in confe-
quence of thofe paffions, violent in his party: but
as his capacity and genius were fo extraordinary and
extenfive, even his party writings carry with them
dignity
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 147
dignity and inſtruction: and in that light I wiſh you
to read the Examiners, where you will find a
nervous ſtyle, a clear diction, and great knowledge
of the true landed intereft of England.
1 am,
My dear HAMILTON,
Your ever affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
55 56.56.56:OGOGISTUTE IGASE OGOS STION ONES
LETTER XVIII.
UCH a confufion, fuch a mixture of verfe,
S pr
profe, politics, letters, fimiles, wit, trifles, and
polite converfation, are thrown into the fixth vo-
lume, that I know not in what manner to treat it,
or what particular part to recommend to your per-
ufal. The poetry, the fimiles, and the trifles are
not worth your attention. Of the letters, the two
from the Earl of PETERBOROUGH to Mr. POPE
are ſhort, but excellent in their kind. The others,
I mean thofe of the Dean, and of Mr. POPE, have
much
G 3
148
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
much leſs merit, or at leaft are much lefs agree-
able. Lord PETERBOROUGH's wit is eafy and
unaffected. At the time when he wrote thoſe
two letters, he had hung up his helmet, and his
buckler, and was retired to his plough, and his
wheelbarrow, wearied of courts, and difgufted with
ftatefmen. He had made a moft confiderable figure
in his day. His character was amiable and uncom-
mon. His life was a continued ſeries of variety.
In his public and private conduct he differed from
moſt men. He had vifited all climates, but had
ftaid in none. He was a citizen of the world.
He conquered and maintained armies without
money. His actions and expreffions were pecu-
liar to himſelf. He was of a vivacity fuperior
to all fatigue, and his courage was beyond any
conception of danger. He verified, in many in-
ftances, whatever has been faid of romantic heroes.
He ſeems to have been fixed only in his friend-
ſhips and moral principles. He had a true regard
and affection for SWIFT and POPE. The Dean,
in a fhort copy of verfes*, has deſcribed him in
a very particular manner, but fo juftly, that the
four laft ftanzas will give a moft perfect, and com-
pleat idea of Lord PETERBOROUGH's perfon and
military virtues,
* Vol. II. Page 222.
‹ A
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
149
"A skeleton in outward figure,
"His meagre corps, though full of vigour,
"Would halt behind him were it bigger.
"So wonderful his expedition,
"When you have not the leaft fufpicion,
"He's with you like an apparition.
"Shines in all climates like a ſtar,
"In fenates bold, and fierce in war,
"A land commander, and a tar.
"Heroic actions early bred in,
"Ne'er to be match'd in modern reading,
"But by his name-fake CHARLES of Sweden.
The Publick Spirit of the Whigs is a pamphlet
in anſwer to the Crifis written by Sir RICHARD
STEELE, but it contains fuch acute fatir against
the nobility of Scotland, that in an advertiſement
printed before it, we are told, "All the Scotch
"lords then in London went in a body to complain
"against the author; and the confcquence of that
66
complaint was a proclamation offering a reward
"of three hundred pounds to difcover him." It
was written in the year 1712, by the confent,
if not the encouragement of the minifters of that
æra. In the ftyle and conduct, it is one of the
G 4
boldeft,
150
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
է
boldeft, as well as one of the moſt maſterly tracts
that SWIFT ever wrote. And I cannot help again
obferving, that on whatever topic he employs his
pen, the fubject which he treats of, is always fo
excellently managed, as to feem to have been the
whole ſtudy, and application of his life: fo that
he appears the greateſt maſter through a greater
variety of materials, than perhaps have been dif-
cuffed by any other author.
The Bishop of Salfbury [Dr. BURNET] is the
next antagonist whom SWIFT attacks in fingle
combat. I can give you no better idea of this
work, than by a quotation from the tract itſelf,
which is called, A Preface to the Bishop of Salif
bury's introduction to the third volume of the Hif
tory of the Reformation of the church of England.
Towards the latter end of the Pamphlet* SwIFT
fays,
"However he [THE BISHOP] thanks GOD,
"there are many among us who stand in the breach :
"I believe there may: it is a BREACH of their
66 own making, and they defign to come forward,
"and Storm and plunder, if they are not driven
"back. THEY MAKE
FOR
THEIR
CHURCH
THEMSELVES A WALL
AND COUNTRY.
A
SOUTH wall, I suppose, for all the best fruit
* Page 89.
of
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 151
66
<<
(6
Let
OF
of the church and country to be nailed on.
us examine this metaphor. THE WALL
OUR CHURCH AND COUNTRY is built of thoſe
"who love the conftitution in both. Our domeftic
“enemies undermine fome parts of the WALL, and
"place themselves in the BREACH; and then they cry,
"WE ARE THE WALL. We do not like fuch
"patch-work; they build with untempered mortar;
'
nor can they ever cement with us, till they get better
"materials, and better workmen: GOD keep us
.
"6
from having our BREACHES made up with fuch
"rubbish: THEY STAND UPON THE WATCH-
"TOWER! They are indeed pragmatical enough
to do so; but who affigned them that poſt, to
give us falfe intelligence, to alarm us with
falfe dangers, and fend us to defend one gate,
"while their accomplices are breaking in at an-
"other? THEY CRY TO GOD DAY AND NIGHT
..
66
66
TO AVERT THE JUDGEMENT OF POPERY,
WHICH SEEMS ΤΟ HASTEN TOWARDS US.
"Then I affirm, they are hypocrites by day, and
filthy dreamers by night. When they cry un-
"to Him, He will not hear them: for they cry
"out against the plainest dictates of their own con-
66 Science, reafon and belief.
"But lastly, THEY
THEY LIE IN THE DUST,
CC MOURNING BEFORE HIM. Hang me if 1
"believe that, unless it be figurativily spoken,
G S
But,
152 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
"But, fuppofe it to be true, why do THEY LIE
•
IN THE DUST? because they love to raiſe it;
❝ for what do they mourn? why for power, wealth,
"and places. There let the enemies of the Queen,
"Monarchy, and the Church lie, and mourn, and
"lick the DUST like SERPENTS, till they are
truly fenfible of their ingratitude, falfhood, dif-
"obedience, flander, blafphemy, fedition, and every
evil work.”
66
I must follow the fame method in forming your
idea of the next pamphlet, by a quotation out of
it, which happens to be the first paragraph. The
title is, The Prefbyterians Plea of Merit in order
to take off the Teft, impartially examined: and the
author begins in the true vein of wit and ſpirit,
by faying, "We have been told in the common
news papers, that all attempts are to be made this
Seffions by the prefbyterians and their abettors,
for taking off the test; as a kind of prepara-
::
CC
..
tory step to make it go down smoother in Eng-
« land. For, if once THEIR LIGHT WOULD SO
"SHINE, the papists, delighted with the blaze,
"would all come in, and dance about it. This I
"take to be a prudent method, like that of a dif-
"creet physician, who firft gives a new medicine to a
"dog; before he preferibes it to A HUMAN CREA-
"TURE." I have quoted this fhort paffage for
the ftyle, as well as the matter; and I dare fay,
2
even
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 153
even from hence, you will be confirmed in one
general obfervation, that SWIFT maintains and
conducts his metaphors and allufions, with a juft-
nefs particularly delicate and exact, and without
the leaft ftiffness, or affectation. In fome of my
former letters, I have mentioned in what degree
of contempt and hatred he held the diffenters,
eſpecially the prefbyterians: and I need only add,
that as this pamphlet was written for the meridi-
an of Ireland, it ought to have been placed with
the other tracts on the fame fubject.
The fubfequent pamphlet is, fdvice offered to the
Members of the October Club. It was written in the
year 1711, and is fo applicable to that particular
time, that I fhall not make any animadverfions
upon it. From political tracts, the true history of
England is to be deduced: and if foreigners were to
enter into that branch of reading, they might frame
a more diftint notion of our legiflature, and of
our manners, than from more laboured, and con-
nected accounts of our conftitution. In fuch a
view, I am apt to think, that, at firit fight, they
muft behold us a difunited, difcontented, and
feemingly an unfteady people: but I am certain,
that, upon a more minute difquifition, they muſt
find in us a fixed, and, I may fay, an innate love
of liberty, variegated, and perhaps fometimes er-
roncous in its progrefs, but conftant, and unweari-
66
ed
154
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ed in the purſuit of that glorious end. What peo-
ple upon earth can defire a more exalted, or a
more diftinguiſhed character? To fpeak in the
dialect of the heathen world, our errors are the
errors of men, our principles are the principles of
gods.
The other pieces in this volume, except The
Remarks on the Barrier Treaty, are not, in my
mind, fufficiently ftriking to deſerve much notice.
Some of them are the minutiffima of SWIFT'S
writings, which, I believe, he would fcarce have
publiſhed, fond as he was of feeing his works in
print, if he had been in the full vigour of his under-
ſtanding, or had confidered, that trifles of that
kind, which are weak as feathers, in fupporting a
reputation, are heavy as lead, in depreffing it.
I am, my dearest HAM,
your moſt affectionate Father
.
ORRER Y.
LET-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 155
UNONINVOVINININ#15AIN INIGIONININ
T
LETTER XIX.
HE feventh volume contains SWIFT's epifto-
lary correfpondence, from the year 1714 to
the year 1737, and, as it is an acknowledged obfer-
vation, that no part of an author's writings give a
greater inſight into his natural difpofition than his
letters, (eſpecially when written with freedom and
fincerity) I ſhall endeavour to point out to you, fuch
circumſtances in SWIFT's epiftles, and in the an-
fwers of his friends, as may afford you materials to
form your own conjectures upon the different cha-
racters not only of the Dean, but of his correfpond-
ents. From preceding letters, you are probably be-
come acquainted with Dr. SWIFT; but the manners
and opinions of thofe perfons with whom he corre-
ſponded, are in every refpect fo blended with his
own, as not to be eafily feparated, and in fuch a
kind of united view, they will mutually reflect light
upon each other.
To a young man juft entering into the world as
you are, the ſubject may prove of particular import-
ance, as it may guide him not only in the choice of
his correfpondents, but in his manner of writing to
them.
The
156
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
The freedom of the prefs is to be watched and de-
fended with the moft jealous eye. It is one of the
chief articles of that great Charter of liberty to
which the people of England are entitled: but as no
human inſtitution can be perfect, even this branch
of liberty has its excrefcences that might be pruned.
I mean particularly that licence which of late has
too much prevailed of publiſhing epiftolary cor-
refpondences. Such a faſhion, for I know not what
elfe to call it, is extremely pernicious. At preſent
it fatisfies the curiofity of the public; but for the fu-
ture, it will tend to reſtrain that unfufpicious open-
neſs, which is the principal delight of writing to our
friends. I am forry to fay by experience, that the
letters which contain the moft fincere, and perhaps
hafty obfervations upon perfons, times, and circum-
ſtances, are often referved as treaſures, and hoarded
up, as mifers hoard gold; like which, they lie con-
cealed in cabinets and ftrong boxes for fome time,
till chancing to fall into the hands of an extrava-
gant heir, or an injudicious executor, they are not
only brought into light, but difperfed and expofed,
fo as to become the property of the whole world.
Let me adviſe you therefore, my HAMILTON,
when you give your opinion upon any important
fubject, to confide, it well, before you commit your
thoughts to paper. Exprefs yourfelf with diffidence.
Preferve
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 157
Preferve a prudent reftraint over the fallies of wit
and humour: and be cautious in all declarations of
friendſhip; as the very common offers of civility,
are too often explained into undefigned engagements.
I own, HAM, I find myfelf under no fmall diffi-
culty in difcuffing this volume of SWIFT's letters.
General criticiſms will be attended with obfcurity:
and it would be tedious to confider them in their
exact order. I fhall endeavour therefore, to take a
review only of what feems to deferve your attention.
Let us begin with the letters that paffed between Dr.
SWIFT and Mr. POPE. The correfpondence had
commenced in a very early part of Mr. POPE's life,
and was carried on with ſcarce any interruption from
the death of the Queen. If we may judge of Mr.
POPE from his works, his chief aim was to be e-
ſteemed a man of virtue. His letters are written in
that ftyle. His laft volumes are all of the moral
kind. He has avoided trifles, and confequently has
efcaped a rock which has proved very injurious to
SWIFT's reputation. He has given his imagination
full ſcope, and yet has preferved a perpetual guard
upon his conduct. The conftitution of his body
and mind might early incline him to habits of caution
and referve. The treatment which he met after-
wards from an innumerable tribe of adverfaries, con-
firmed thofe habits, and made him flower than the
Dean in pronouncing his judgement upon perfons
and
158
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
and things. His profe writings are little lefs har-
monious than his verfe: and his voice in common
converfation was fo naturally mufical, that I re-
member honeſt TOM SOUTHERNE ufed always to
call him The little nightingale. His manners were
delicate, eaſy, and engaging and he treated his
friends with a politeness that charmed, and a gene-
rofity that was much to his honour. Every gueſt
was made happy within his doors. Pleaſure dwelt
under his roof, and elegance prefided at his table.
Dr. SWIFT was of a different difpofition: To his
domeſtics he was paffionate and churlish: to his
equals and fuperiors rather an entertaining than a
defirable companion. He told a ftory in an admi-
rable manner: his fentences were ſhort, and per-
fpicuous; his obfervations were piercing. He had
feen the great world, and had profited much by his
experience. He had not the leaft tincture of vanity
in his converſation. He was perhaps, as he ſaid
himſelf, too proud to be vain. When he was po-
lite, it was in a manner entirely his own. In his
friendſhips he was conftant and undiſguiſed. He
was the fame in his enmities. He generally fpoke
as he thought in all companies and at all times. I
remember to have heard, that he dined once at a
Lord Mayor's feaft in Dublin, and was attacked,
and teized by an opulent, boisterous, half-intoxica-
ted 'Squire, who happened to fit next him: he bore
2
the
AND WRITING S OF DR. SWIFT.
159
the aukward raillery for fome time, and then on a
fudden called out in a loud voice to the Mayor,
“My Lord, here is one of your bears at my ſhoulder,
" he has been worrying me this half hour, I defire you
“will order him to be taken off." In theſe laſt par-
ticulars he differed widely from his friend POPE,
who could ftifle refentment, and wait with patience
till a more diſtant, and perhaps a more ſeaſonable
hour of revenge. But notwithſtanding the diffimi-
litude of minds, and manners, which was apparent
between theſe two great men, yet the fame fort of
friendſhip ſeems to have fubfifted between them, as
between VIRGIL and HORACE. The mutual af-
fection of the two Engliſh poets appears through-
out their works: and therefore in this place, I can-
not avoid taking notice of a report very induftrioufly
ſpread, and not without fome degree of fuccefs,
"That the friendſhip between POPE and SWIFT
(6 was not fo firm and perfect at the latter end as at
"the beginning of their lives." On Dr. SWIFT's
fide, I am certain, it ever remained unalterable;
nor did it appear lefs fervent on the fide of Mr.
POPE. Their letters are the beſt evidence to de-
termine the doubt. In one of SWIFT's lateſt letters
to me, not long before he was loft to all human
comforts, he fays, "IVhen you fee my dear friend
“ POPE, tell him I will anfwer his letter foon; I
❝ love him above all the rest of mankind.” In my
long
160 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
long correfpondence with Mr. POPE I fcarce re-
ceived the leaft billet from him, without the kindeſt
mention of Dr. SWIFT, and the tendereſt anxiety
for his ſtate of health. Judge by the following para-
graphs. The firft, dated July the 12th, 1737.
My Lord, The pleaſure you gave me, in acquainting
me of the Dean's better health, is one fo truly great,
as might content even your own humanity: and what-
ever my fincere opinion and respect of your Lordship
prompts me to wish from your hands for myſelf, your
love for him makes me as happy. Would to GOD my
weight, added to your's, could turn his inclinations to
this fide, that I might live to enjoy him here thro' your
means, and flatter myself 'twas partly thro' my own !
But this, I fear, will never be the cafe; and I think
it more probable, his attraction will draw me on the
other fide, which, I proteſt, nothing leſs than a proba-
bility of dying at ſea, confidering the weak frame of
my breast, would have hindered me from, two years
paſt. In ſhort, whenever I think of him, 'tis with
the vexation of all impotent paſſions that carry us out
of ourſelves only to ſpoil our quiet, and make us return
to a refignation, which is the most melancholy of all
virtues. And in another letter, dated April 2, 1738,
he fays, I write by the fame poft that I received your
very obliging and humane letter. The confideration
you fhew towards me, in the just apprehenfion that any
news
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT 161
news of the Dean's condition might alarm me, is moſt
kind and generos. The very iaft post I writ to him
a long letter, little fufpecting him in that dangerous
circumſtance. I was ſo far from fearing his health,
that I was propoſing ſchemes, and hoping poffibilities
for our meeting once more in this world. I am weary
of it; and ſhall have one reafon more, and one of the
Strongest that nature can give me (even when she is
Shaking my weak frame to pieces) to be willing to leave
this world, when our dear friend is on the edge of the
other. Yet I hope, I would fain hope, he may yet ho-
ver a while on the brink of it, to preferve to this
wretched age a relique and example of the last. One
more quotation, and I have done. TWITNAM,
November 7. When you get to Dublin (whither I
direct this, fuppofing you will see our dear friend as
foon as poffible) pray put the Dean in mind of me, and
tell him I hope he received my laft. Tell him how
dearly I love, and how greatly I honour him: how
greatly I reflect on every teftimony of his friendſhip;
how much I refolve to give the best I can of my esteem
for him to pofterity; and affure him the world has
nothing in it I admire fo much, nothing, the loss of
which I ſhould regret fo much, as his genius and his
virtues.
My excufe, for I ftand in need of one, by hav-
ing inferted thefe fcraps of letters, is my real de-
fire of convincing you, that the affection of
SWIFT
162
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
SWIFT and POPE fubfifted as entire and unin-
terrupted as their friends could wifh, or their
enemies regret. It must be owned, that we as
feldom fee a mutual attachment between poets, as
between ſtateſmen. "True friendſhip, as TUL-
"LY obferves, proceeds from a reciprocal efteem,
"and a virtuous reſemblance of manners." When
fuch is the bafis, the variety in certain tenets and
opinions is of no ill confequence to the union:
and will ſcarce ever unloofe the focial ties of love,
veneration, and efteem. Thus the friendſhip be-
tween ATTICUS and HORTENSIUS, although they
were of different fects, one a Stoic, and the other
an Epicurean, fubfifted like Mr. POPE's and Dr.
SWIFT'S, firm and conftant to the laft, when
that of ANTONY, LEPIDUS, and AUGUSTUS,
continued no longer than while it was fubfervient
to their views of intereft. CATILINE fays, Idem
velle, ac idem nolle, ea demum amicitia eft. This
often attends a vicious confpiracy; and perhaps
an agreement ſo perfectly mutual is fcarce to be
met with in any other inftance. Emulation
generally breaks the chain of friendſhip between
poets. They are running with the utmoſt eager-
neſs to the fame goal; no wonder, if, in the
race, they endeavour to trip up each other's heels.
As I have often reverted in my mind certain
particulars relating to my two poetical friends, I
have
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 163
have always thought, that the circumftance of
their purſuing different roads in poetry, and living
in different kingdoms, was probably one of the
happieſt incidents in their lives. Such a feparati-
on prevented all perfonal diffenfions, and fixt them
in a correſpondence, that conftantly tended to
eſtabliſh their endearments; when, perhaps, a re-
fidence near each other might have had a very
contrary effect. It is much eaſier to rectify any
miſtake, or to cool any animofity that may have
arifen, in a letter, than to recal a paffionate ver-
bal anſwer, eſpecially if uttered with all the actions,
and vehemence of anger. The impreffion of ſuch
a fcene remains long upon the mind of the per-
fon offended, and the old adage is tranfpofed,
Vox audita manet, litera fcripta perit. Few men
can fubmit to contradiction. SWIFT was certainly
not of the number, and therefore I am perfuad-
ed, that his diſtance from his English friends proved
a ftrong incitement to their mutual affection. But,
I must again repeat, that throughout the long
feries of letters which have been publifhed, not
the leaft altercations appear to have happened be-
tween SWIFT and PCPE.
In all SWIFT's writings, you will find his own
peculiar vein of humour. The fame liberty of
expreffion would have been improper and abfurd
in any other writer, but it produced the confe-
quences
164
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
quences which he defired. His feeming arrogance
gained him more favour than the humility and
affected benevolence of others. His raillery and
freedom of cenfure are conveyed in a manner
more prevalent, and perhaps often more agreeable
than flattery. He feldom praiſed, but where
merit was confpicuous. A fingle ftroke of his
pen pleafed more, and gave more honour, than a
long flattering dedication from any other author.
His ſtyle was maſterly, correct, and ſtrong: never
diffufive, yet always clear; and, if we confider it
in compariſon with his predeceffors, he has out-
done them all, and is one, perhaps the chief, of
thofe few ſelect English writers, who have ex-
celled in elegance and propriety of language.
Lord BACON is the first author, who has at-
tempted any ftyle that can be relifhable to the
preſent age, for I must own to you, that I think
SWIFT, and his contemporaries, have brought our
language to the utmoft degree of perfection, with-
out the help of a LONGINUS, a QUINTILIAN,
or even of a dictionary, or a grammar. Lord
BACON has written with an infinite fund of know-
ledge every fcience that he treats upon, is dif-
cuffed by him with the greateſt learning and dig-
nity, and he ſhews himſelf at once a philoſopher,
an hiftorian, a politician, and a divine: but his dia-
lect (for that demands our prefent attention) is
quibbling
A
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 165
quibbling and pedantic; and never more fo than
when he condefcends to flatter his royal mafter,
and the minions of that court.
Confider the profaical works of MILTON, you
will find them more nervous than elegant; more
diſtinguiſhed by the ftrength of reaſon, than by the
rules of rhetoric; his diction is harfh, his periods
tedious; and, when he becomes a profe-writer, the
majeſty, that attends his poetry, vanishes, and is
entirely loft: yet, with all his faults, and excluſive
of his character as a poet, he muſt ever remain the
only learned author of that taftelefs age in which
he flouriſhed: and it is probable, that his great at-
tention to the Latin language might have rendered
him less correct, than he otherwife would have
been, in his native tongue.
HARRINGTON has his admirers, he may poffibly
have his merits, but they flow not in his ftyle. A
later writer, of the fame republican principles, has
far excelled him; I mean ALGERNON SYDNEY,
whofe diſcourſes concerning government are ad-
mirably written, and contain great hiſtorical know-
ledge, and a remarkable propriety of diction; fo
that his name, in my opinion, ought to be much
higher eſtabliſhed in the temple of literature, than
I have hitherto found it placed.
Lord CLARENDON is an hiftorian, whofe dig-
nity of expreffion has juſtly given him the prefer-
ence
166
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ence to any of our biographical authors. But his
periods are the periods of a mile. His parentheſes
embarraſs the fenfe of his narration, and certain inac-
curacies, appearing throughout his works, are deli-
vered with a formality that renders them ſtill more
confpicuous.
Among our Engliſh writers, few men have gained
a greater character for elegance and correctneſs,
than SPRAT, Bifhop of Rochester, and few men
have deferved it lefs. When I have read his works,
I have always wondered from whence fuch a piece
of good fortune might have arifen, and could only
attribute it to Mr. COWLEY, who, in a very delicate
copy of verſes, has celebrated his friend Dr. SPRAT
for eloquence, wit, and a certain candid ftyle, which
the poet compares to the river Thames, gliding with
an even current, and difplaying the moſt beautiful
appearances of nature. Poets and painters have their
favourites, whom they tranfmit to pofterity in what
colours and attitudes they pleaſe: but I am mif-
taken, if, upon a review of SPRAT's works, his
language will not fooner give you an idea of one of
the infignificant tottering boats upon the Thames,
than of the finooth noble current of the river it-
felf.
Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE is an eafy, careless, in-
correct writer, elegantly negligent, politely learned
and engagingly familiar.
Thus,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 167
Thus, my dear HAM, I have curforily mentioned
fome of the brighteſt fons of fame among our Eng-
liſh authors, only to point out to you the preference
due to Dr. SWIFT: but he is not entitled alone to
the olive garland: he has had his coadjutors in the
victory. The triumvirate, to whom we owe an
elegance and propriety unknown to our forefathers,
are SWIFT, ADDISON, and BOLINGBROKE. At
the fight of fuch names, no difpute can ariſe in pre-
ferring the English moderns to the English antients.
The prefent century, and indeed all future genera-
tions may be congratulated upon the acquifition of
three fuch men.
But to return more closely to SWIFT. He has
perfectly ſtudied the drama of human life, and parti-
cularly the tendency and irregularities of its different
charaters. He has chofen, (as I dare fay I have
mentioned in former letters) to recommend virtue,
by reprefenting vice in a difagreeable and ridiculous
light. As his temper was naturally full of acri-
mony, a certain innate feverity runs throughout all
his letters. You will find him, in the advice, which
he offers to his friends, and in the general account
which he gives of his own conduct, too clofe an
ceconomist. This parfimony proceeded from a de-
fire of being independent and fince that was the
caufe, he will be forgiven, or, at leaft, excufed by
all honeſt men.
H
Mr.
168
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
Mr. POPE had different talents from his friend
SWIFT: his imagination was fine and delicate : his
fancy was ever on the wing. In his earlier time of
life, his way of thinking was diffufive, and confe-
quently his judgement was unconfined. As that
judgement ripened with years, he fhewed the full
ſtrength of it in his Ethic Epiſtles, and his Eſſay on
Man. There the poet has almoft yielded to the
philofopher; and his moral fyftem has charmed
more by the force of truth and reaſon, than even
by the numbers with which he adorned it.
I cannot avoid thinking, that, in this particular
branch of learning, Mr. POPE owed the exertion of
his talents to Lord BOLINGBROKE, who had ftudied
the procedure, and limits of the human underſtand-
ing, as exactly as SWIFT had confidered the irregu-
larities of the paffions in different characters of the
human fpecies. Lord BOLINGBROKE had early
made himſelf maſter of books and men: but, in his
firſt career of life, being immerfed at once in bufi-
neſs and pleaſure, he ran thorough a variety of ſcenes
in a ſurprizing and eccentric manner. When his
paffions fubfided by years and diſappointments, and
when he improved his rational faculties by more.
grave ſtudies and reflexion, he fhone out in his re-
tirement with a luftre peculiar to himfelf; though
not feen by vulgar eyes. The gay ftatefman was
changed
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 169
changed into a philofopher equal to any of the fages
of antiquity.
The wiſdom of SOCRATES, the
dignity and eaſe of PLINY, and the wit of HORACE,
appeared in all his writings and converfation.
But my letter is growing to an intolerable length.
It is time to finish it; and believe me, HAMILTON,
were my letters to fill reams of paper, they would
be written only with a view of repeating the dictates
of my heart, which, in its laſt beating moments will
throb towards you, and thoſe other dear objects, to
whom I am
An affectionate Father
ORRER Y
H 2
LET-
170
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
I
LETTER XX.
Have been reading this morning a long letter
from Dr. SWIFT to Mr. POPE, dated at Dub-
lin, January 10, 1721, and I have been confined
to a greater fhare of attention, as it feems to furnish
more materials of his life and principles, than any
other of his epiftolary writings. The letter breathes
an air of fincerity and freedom, and is addreffed to
a particular friend, at a time when the views of am-
bition were at an end. It may therefore be confi-
dered as a confeffion of one departing from this
world, who is defirous only to vindicate his own
character, and is anxious that his afhes may reſt in
peace,
It was written immediately after the arbitrary
conduct of a judge in Ireland, who endeavoured to
deftroy the freedom of juries, and confequently the
very effence of that liberty and fafety, which we
have a right to poffefs by the conftitution of our
ftate. SWIFT very generously declares himſelf a-
verſe to all rigorous proceedings againſt perſons fuf-
peed of problematical guilt. "By fuch strict en-
66
quiries, fays he, a gate is left open to the whole tribe
a Vol. VII. page 12.
*
• of
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
171
<c
of informers, the most accurfed, prostitute, and aban-
"doned race that GOD ever permitted to plague man-
"kind." Upon this fubject I cannot avoid recol-
lecting fome particulars from a book, which has
lately given me great delight and inftruction, and
which I recommend very warmly to your perufal.
I mean L'Esprit des Loix. The author of that book,
MONSIEUR DE MONTESQUIEU, obferves, "that
"informers have been chiefly encouraged under,
"the moft tyrannical governments. In the reign
"of TIBERIUS triumphal ornaments were confer-
"red upon them, and ftatues ere&ed to their ho-
66 nour. In the reign of NERO, upon the difco-
"very and punishment of a pretended confpiracy,
"triumphal dignities were allotted to TURPILIA-
"NUS, COCCEIUS NERVA, and TIGILLINUS."
In another part of his book, the BARON DE MON-
TESQUIEU takes notice," that in Turkey, where
"little regard is fhewn to the honour, lives, or
"eftates of the fubject, all caufes are determined
"by the prefiding Bafhaw: and in Rome, the
"judges had no more to do than to declare, that
"the perfon accufed was guilty of a particular
"crime, and then the punishment was found in
"the laws." From thefe, and other examples of
arbitrary government, this elegant author takes a
particular pleaſure in diftinguiſhing, and admiring
the civil conſtitution of England, where, he fays,
H 3
the
172
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
"the jury determine, whether the fact, brought
"under their cognizance, be proved or not; if it
be proved, the judge pronounces the puniſhment
"inflicted by the law for fuch a particular fact:
and for this, adds the BARON, he need only open
"his
his eyes." But if MONSIEUR DE MONTES-
QUIEU had read SWIFT's letter, or indeed had re-
collected many notorious facts of our hiſtory, he
muſt have obſerved, that the judges have been often
deaf to the repeated voice of the jury, and have not
only ſhut their eyes againſt our excellent laws,
but have affumed that terrible and menacing air,
"which COMMODUS ordered to be given to his
"ſtatues."
The method of trials by juries is generally looked
upon as one of the most excellent branches of our
conſtitution. In theory it certainly appears in that
light. According to the original eſtabliſhment, the
jurors are to be inen of competent fortunes in the
neighbourhood and are to be fo avowedly indiffer-
ent between the parties concerned, that no reaſon-
able exception can be made to them on either fide.
In treaſon the perſon accuſed has a right to challenge
five and thirty, and in felony twenty, without ſhew-
ing caufe of challenge. Nothing can be more equit-
able. No prifoner can defire a fairer field. But
the misfortune is, that our juries are often compofed
of men of mean eftates, and low underſtandings,
and
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 173
and many difficult points of law are brought before
them, and fubmitted to their verdict, when perhaps
they are not capable of determining, properly and
judiciously, fuch nice matters of juftice, although
the judges of the court explain the nature of the cafe,
and the law which arifes upon it. But, if they are
not defective in knowledge, they are fometimes, I
fear, from their ftation and indigence, liable to cor-
ruption. This indeed is an objection more to the
privilege lodged with juries, than to the inftitution
itſelf. The point, moft liable to objection, is the
power, which any one, or more of the twelve have
to ftarve the reft into a compliance with their opi-
nion; fo that the verdict may poffibly be given by
ſtrength of conftitution, not by conviction of confci-
ence: “and wretches hang that jurymen may dine."
All this by the by. Now let us return to SWIFT'S
letter of the tenth of January.
In it is moft evidently diſplayed his immutable
attachment to Ireland. Such a kind of patriotifin
muſt have proceeded from a true love of liberty;
for he hated individuals, and defpifed moſt of the
men of property and power in that kingdom: he
owed them no obligations, and while by his writings
he laboured to make their pofterity happy, he forced
from themſelves an involuntary, but univerfal ap-
plaufe. His conduct was fo uniform and conſtant
in the caufe of Ireland, that he not only gained the
H 4
praiſe,
174
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
praiſe, but the confidence of that whole nation, who
are a people ſeldom, if ever, inclined to ſtudy and
purſue their own intereft, and who are always ex-
ceedingly apt to ſuſpect any advice that is contrary,
or in defiance to a minifterial direction.
SWIFT's principles of government ſeem to have
been founded upon that excellent maxim, Salus po-
puli fuprema eft lex. He begins by clearing himſelf
from Jacobitifm. He fpeaks of the revolution as a
neceffary but dangerous expedient, which has fince
been attended with unavoidable bad confequences.
He declares his mortal antipathy to ſtanding armies
in time of peace. He adores the wifdom of that in-
ftitution which rendered our parliaments annual.
He prefers the landed to the monied intereft, and
expreffes a noble abhorrence to the fufpenfion of
thofe laws, upon which the liberty of the fubject de-
pends. When thefe articles of his political tenets
are examined, they will leave no room for any one
particular party to affume the honour of having had
him in their alliance. He was neither Whig nor
Tory, neither Jacobite nor Republican. He was
DOCTOR SWIFT.
His judgement, in relation to the visible decay of
literature and good fenfe, is perfectly juft. He at-
tributes this national calamity to the prevailing lu-
xury of the times, which he inftances in the encou-
ragement of factions, and of feveral public diverfions,
all
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 175
all tending to the encreafe of folly, ignorance, and
vice. His fentiments are delivered more with the
air of a philofopher than of a divine: and the conclu-
fion of the letter is ſo proper, and fo excellent a de-
fence of his own manner of acting and thinking,
that, in regard to his memory, I muſt be at the trou-
ble of tranſcribing it.
"a All I can reaſonably hope for, fays SWIFT, ly
"this letter, is to convince my friends and others,
"who are pleaſed to wish me well, that I have neither
"been fo ill a ſubject, nor ſo ſtupid an author, as I
"have been reprefented by the virulence of libellers,
“where malice hath taken the fame train in both, by
<<
fathering dangerous principles in government upon
"me, which I never maintained, and infipid produc-
“tions, which I am not capable of coriting. For,
"however I may have been fowered by perfonal ill
"treatment, or by melancholy proſpects for the public,
"I am too much a politician to expoſe my own fafety
"by offenfive words; and, if my genius and spirit le
(6
funk by encreafing years, I have at leaſt enough dij-
"cretion left, not to mistake the meaſure of my own
"abilities, by attempting ſubjects where thofe talents
are neceſſary, which perhaps I may have loft with
my youth.'
">
a Vol. VII. Page 26.
H 5
I have
176
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
I have choſen out this particular letter, as one of
the moſt ſerious and beft performances that he has
given us in the epiftolary way. But, if I am to de-
clare my opinion of the whole collection in the fe-
venth volume, I own to you, it has not anſwered
my expectation. The index at the beginning will
make you hope for great treaſures, from the illuftri-
ous names that are there inferted: but, in your pur-
fuit, you will ſcarce find any remarkable inftru&i-
ons, of morality, or even the common reaſonings
and refinements that might naturally arife from fo
high a claſs of men, in the ordinary current of their
thoughts. What is more furprifing, you will fel-
dom diſcover any keen ftrokes of fatir, or any in-
ftantaneous fallies of vivacity. I have often heard
SWIFT fay, "When I fit down to write a letter, I
never lean upon my elbow, till I have finished it."
By which expreffion he meant, that he never ftudied.
for particular phrafes, or poliſhed paragraphs; his
letters therefore are the truer repreſentations of his
mind. They are written in the warmth of his af-
fections, and when they are confidered in the light
of kindness and fincerity, they illuftrate his charac-
ter to a very high degree. Throughout his various
correspondence you will diſcover very ſtrong marks
of an anxious, benevolent friend: and, to my great
pleaſure, I find the mifanthrope often loft in the
good-natured man, Read his letters to Mr. GAY,
3
and
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 177
and you will be of my fentiment; read thofe to Dr.
SHERIDAN, in the eighth volume 2, and you will
be farther confirmed in that opinion; we may
compound therefore to loſe fatir and raillery, when
we gain humanity and tenderneſs in their flead:
yet, even in fome of his higheſt ſcenes of benevo-
lence, his expreffions are delivered in fuch a man-
ner, as to feem rather the effects of haughtiness
than of good-nature: but you must never look up-
on him as a traveller in the common road. He
muſt be viewed by a camera obfcura that turns all
objects the contrary way. When he appears moſt
angry, he is moft pleafed ; when moft humble, he
is moſt affuming. Such was the man, and in ſuch
variegated colours must he be painted.
b
The letters from Lord BOLINGBROKE, which
are inſerted in this collection, are written with an
elegance and politeness that diſtinguiſh them from
all the reft. We fee they were not intended for the
prefs; but how valuable are the moſt careleſs ſtrokes
of fuch a pen!
GAY's letters have nothing in them ftriking or
recommendatory. His fentiments are thofe of an
a
Beginning at page 384.
See his letters to GAY, and to the Duchefs of
Queensborough, in Vol. VII.
• See his letter to Lord PALMERSTON, Vol. VIII.
page 373.
H 6
honeſt,
178
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
honeft, indolent, good-natured man. He loved
SWIFT to a degree of veneration and the friend-
thip was returned with great fincerity. SWIFT
writes to him in the fame ftrain as he would have
written to a fon; and feems to diftinguiſh him as
the correſpondent to whom he has not the leaſt
grain of reſerve. In the feveral accounts which
he gives of his fituation at Dublin, and the idle
manner of his paffing his time there, he writes fome-
times in an ironical, and fometimes in a contrary
ftyle. But, in one of his letters, dated Auguſt 28,
1731 2,
*, he tells GAY, "that the moſt arrant tri-
"fles of his former writings are ferious philofophi-
"cal lucubrations, in comparifon to what he now
"bufies himfelf about ;" and his conclufive words
are," As the w rld may one day fee." By this defire
of letting the world fee what other men of lefs wit
and more difcretion would carefully have concealed,
he has placed him felf open to the cenfure of his ene-
mies, and beyond the reach of any defence from
his friends. He has not only committed to the
preſs a moſt deſpicable heap of writings, but has
publicly recorded the loweft amufements of his pri-
vate ſcenes of life, without having once fufpected,
that perfons, whofe ftations, or abilities, have fixed
them in a confpicuous attitude, are looked upon by
• Vol. VII. Letter LIII. page 185.
2
the
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 179
the rest of mankind with a very critical, and
a very envious eye. AUGUSTUS, as I remember,
was a little aſhamed to be difcovered at a game
of cob-nuts; and even DOMITIAN was cunning
enough to withdraw into his clofet to catch
flies. Great minds, you will fay, require to be
often unbent. I allow it; but thofe relaxations
might be chofen, fo as to make idleness appear
in a beautiful light: and SwIFT would have
forfeited a lefs degree of fame by playing many
years at puſh-pin (the records of which he
could not have printed,) than by compofing
various kinds of nonfenfe, which, by his own option,
have been honoured with a place in his works.
I ſhould have been much pleafed in finding
fome of Dr. ARBUTHNOT's letters among this
collection. Although he was juftly celebrated for
wit and learning, there was an excellence in his
character more amiable than all his other quali-
fications: I mean the excellence of his heart.
He has fhewed himfelf equal to any of his con-
temporaries in humour and vivacity: and he was
fuperior to most men in acts of humanity and
benevolence: his very farcalms are the fatirical
ftrokes of good-nature; they are like flaps of the
face given in jeſt, the effects of which may raiſe
bluſhes, but no blacknefs will appear after the
blows. He laughs as jovially as an attendant up-
on
180
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
a
on BACCHUS, but continues as fober and confider-
ate as a difciple of SOCRATES. He is feldom fe-
rious, except in his attacks upon vice; and then
his ſpirit rifes with a manly ftrength, and a noble
indignation. His epitaph upon CHARTRES (al-
lowing one fmall alteration, the word permitted,
inſtead of connived at) is a complete, and a maſ-
terly compofition in its kind. No man exceed-
ed him in the moral duties of life: a merit ftill
more to his honour, as the ambitious powers of
wit and genius are feldom fubmiffive enough to
confine themſelves within the limitations of mo-
rality. In his letter to Mr. POPE, written, as
it were, upon his death-bed, he difcovers fuch a
noble fortitude of mind at the approach of his
diffolution, as could be infpired only by a clear
confcience, and the calm retrofpect of an unin-
terrupted ſeries of virtue. The DEAN laments
the lofs of him with a pathetic fincerity. "The
"death of Mr. GAY and the DOCTOR (fays he
to Mr. POPE) have been terrible wounds near my
<<
C
d
a See POPE's Works, by WARBURTON, Vol. III.
page 219.
See again POPE by WARBURTON, Vol. VIII.
Letter XLVIL
• SWIFT's Works, Vol. VII. Letter LXX.
4 AKBUTHNOT.
"heart.
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
181
"heart. Their living would have been a great
comfort to me, although I ſhould never have ſeen
"them; like a fum of money in a bank, from which
"I ſhould receive at least annual intereft, as I do
66
from you, and have done from Lord BOLING-
BROKE." I have chofen this laſt quotation,
not more in honour of SwIFT's tenderneſs and
affection to thofe whom he esteemed, than with
a defign of ſpecifying to you as fine a group of
friends, as have appeared fince the Auguftan age.
As their letters were not intended for the public,
perhaps I was unreaſonable in looking for medals,
and not being contented with the common cur-
rent ſpecies. In our prejudices of favour or aver-
fion we are apt to be deceived by names; nor
can it be doubted, that fuch writers might have
furniſhed us with familiar letters, very different
from thofe, which have been collected in this fe-
venth volume. They are filled indeed (efpecially
in the correfpondence between SWIFT and POPE)
with the ſtrongeſt expreffions of mutual eſteem; but
thoſe expreffions are repeated too often. When
friendſhip has fubfifted fo long, that time cannot
encreaſe, nor words improve it, the commerce
of affection between friends ought to be carried on
a Lord BOLINGBROKE, SWIFT, POPE, ARBUTHNot,
Gay.
in
182
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
in a ſtyle that neither finks below politeness, nor
rifes into forced compliments. I cannot avoid ob-
ferving the epiftolary conciſenefs that was in fafhi-
on among the antients, efpecially their conclufive
fentences, [vale. Or again, Si valeas bene eft,
valeo:] which I own feems preferable to our me-
thod of loading every letter with compliments,
not only to wives and children, but to uncles,
aunts, and couſins: and of confequence, every re-
lation, that is not particularly named, is particu-
larly affronted. It will appear too minute a cri-
ticifm to affirm, that the English language is not
well adapted for epiftolary writings: be that as it
may, it is certainly inferior to the French, which
engages, and perhaps improves us by a fucceffive
flow of phraſes that are peculiar to that nation.
MADAME DE SEVIGNE has filled four volumes of
letters, all addreffed to her daughter: they contain
nothing, except different fcenes of maternal fond-
nefs; yet, like a claffic, the oftener they are
read, the more they are relifhed. MONSIEUR
DE PELISSON has publifhed three volumes of let-
ters, which he calls Lettres Hiftoriques, and
which are little clfe than materials for a ga-
zette: they inform us at what time the grand Mo-
narque arofe; when he went to bed; at what
hour he dined; and what he faid while he was
at fupper: yet all thefe trifles are told in fo a-
greeable
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
183
greeable a manner, and appear fo natural and
eafy, that I can fcarce think the fkill of OVID
greater, who, in his Fafli, has turned the Ro-
man Calendar into elegant poetry, and has ver-
fified a ſet of old Almanacs. I need not men-
tion VOITURE, or BALZAC; and perhaps it was
wrong to turn afide into the Roman and the
French territories, when I ought to have con-
fined myſelf to the Britiſh iſlands; but I love
to wander about with you, and in writing, as
in walking, to peep into every corner that may
afford us matter of entertainment.
I am, my dear HAMILTON,
Your ever affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
P. S. At the latter end of the ſeventh volume is a
pamphlet written in the year 1714. It is entitled,
Free Thoughts upon the prefent State of Affairs.
When you have read it, digito compefce labellum.
LET-
184 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
UFORONININIFIN ITXIRININOADFSASSIN
LETTER XXI.
My dear HAMIlton,
T is ſcarce poffible to know in what manner
IT
to comment upon the laft volume of the
Dean's works. A general confufion and diforder
runs throughout the whole; and one of the firſt
pieces is, what ought to have been the laft, Dr.
SWIFT's Will: which, like all his other writ-
ings, is drawn up in his own peculiar manner.
Even in fo ferious a compofition he cannot help
indulging himſelf, in leaving legacies that carry
with them an air of raillery and jeft. He dif
poſes of his three hats (his beft, his fecond beft,
and his third beft beaver) with an ironical fo-
lemnity, that renders the bequests ridiculous.
He bequeaths" to Mr. JOHN GRATTAN a fil-
66 ver box, to keep in it the tobacco which the
"faid JOHN ufually chewed, called pigtail."
But his legacy to Mr. ROBERT GRATTAN is
ſtill more extraordinary. " Item, I bequeath to
"the Reverend Mr. ROBERT GRATTAN Pre-
"bendary of St. Audeon's, my strong box, on
"condition
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 185
(
condition of his giving the fole use of the faid
"box to his brother, Dr. JAMES GRATTAN,
"during the life of the faid Doctor, who hath
more occafion for it." Theſe are ſo many
laft impreffions of his turn and way of think-
ing: and, I dare fay, the perfons thus diftin-
guiſhed look upon theſe inſtances as affectionate
memorials of his friendfhip, and as tokens of
the jocofe manner in which he had treated them
during his life time.
His monumental infcription, written by him-
felf, and inferted at the beginning of his Will,
may confirm to you the obfervation which I
made in a former letter, that he was not an
elegant writer of Latin. An harfher epitaph
has feldom been compofed. It is fcarce intel-
ligible; and if intelligible, is a proof how dif-
ficult a taſk it is, even for the greateſt genius, to
draw his own character, or to reprefent himfelf
and his actions in a proper manner to poſterity.
I am now drawing towards the laſt ſcene of
his life. The total deprivation of his fenfes came
upon him by degrees. In the year 1736, I
remember him feized with a violent fit of gid-
dinefs. He was at that time writing a fatirical
poem, called The Legion Club; but he found
the effects of his giddinefs fo dreadful, that he
left the poem unfiniſhed; and never afterwards
attempted
196
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
attempted a compofition of any length either in
verfe or profe. However, his converfation ftill
remained the fame; lively and fevere; but his
memory gradually grew worfe and worfe: and
as that decreaſed and was impaired, he appeared
every day more fretful and impatient. From the
year thirty-nine to the latter end of the year forty-
one, his friends found his paffions fo violent and un-
governable, his memory fo decayed, and his reafon
ſo depraved, that they took the utmoſt precautions
to keep all ſtrangers from approaching him: for, till
then, he had not appeared totally incapable of con-
verfation but early in the year forty-two, the fmall
remains of his underſtanding became entirely con-
fuſed, and the violence of his rage increaſed abſo-
lutely to a degree of madnefs. In this miferable
ftate he ſeemed to be appointed as the first pro-
per inhabitant for his own hofpital: eſpecially
as from an outrageous lunatic, he funk after-
wards into a quiet, fpeechlefs idiot; and drag-
ged out the remainder of his life in that help-
lefs fituation. He died towards the latter end
of October 1745. The manner of his death was
eafy, without the leaſt pang or convulfion. Even
the rattling in his throat was fcarce fufficient
to give any alarm to his attendants, till with-
in fome very little time before he expired. A man
in full poffeffion of his reafon would have wiſh-
ed
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 187
ed for fuch a kind of diffolution; but SWIFT
was totally infenfible of happineſs or pain: he
had not even the power or expreffion of a
child, appearing, for fome years before his death,
referved only as an example to mortify human
pride, and to reverfe that fine defcription of
human nature, which is given us by Shakeſpeare
in an inimitable manner: "IVhat a piece of
"work is man! how noble in reajon! how in-
finite in faculty! in form and moving, how ex-
prefs and admirable! in action, how like an
CC
66
CC
angel! in apprehenfion, how like a god! the
"beauty of the world, the paragon of animais."
Thus poets paint; but how vain and perishable is
the picture! The fmalleft thunderbolt from heaven
blaſts it in a moment, and every tint is fo
effectually obliterated, that fcarce the outlines
of the figure remain.
SWIFT, as I have hinted in a former letter 2,
certainly forefaw his fate. His frequent attacks
of giddinefs, and his manifeft defect of memo-
ry gave room for fuch apprehenfions. I have
often heard him lament the ftate of childhood,
and idiotiſm, to which fome of the greatest men
of this nation were reduced before their death.
He mentioned, as examples within his own time,
* See Letter VI.
the
188
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
the duke of MARLBOROUGH, and Lord SoмERS:
and when he cited thefe melancholy inftances, it
was always with a heavy figh, and with geftures
that fhewed great uneafinefs, as if he felt an
impulſe of what was to happen to him before
he died.
Unleſs I am mifinformed, he died worth a-
bout twelve thouſand pounds, inclufive of the
ſpecific legacies mentioned in his will, and which
may be computed at the fum of twelve hun-
dred pounds; fo that the remainder, near eleven
thousand pounds, is entirely applicable to the
hofpital for idiots and lunatics: a charitable foun-
dation, particularly beneficial in theſe kingdoms,
where the epidemic diftemper of lunacy is fo
prevalent, that it will conftantly furniſh the
largeſt building with a fufficient number of in-
habitants.
Lunacy may in general be confidered as arifing
from a depraved imagination; and must therefore
be originally owing to a fault in the body, or
the mind. We fee inftances every day, where,
as in fevers, all the powers of fenfe and reafon
are utterly overturned by a raging madneſs: this
frenzy conquers, or is conquered, foon: but,
from more flow and chronical caufes, fuch ob-
ftructions may be formed, as gradually to pro-
duce various degrees of this diforder, and to re-
main
1
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 189
main invincible to the very laft moments of life.
Nothing more ftrongly difpofes the mind to this
depraved ſtate, than too fixed an attention to
any particular object. Mr. LockE, if my me-
mory does not deceive me, defines madneſs as
arifing from fome particular idea, or ſet of ideas,
that makes ſo ſtrong an impreffion upon the mind,
as to baniſh all others: and the perfons affected
are chearful or melancholy, well-tempered or
fierce, according as the objects and ideas of their
minds are different. From hence it is evident,
that we ought to confider the ftrength of the
mind even in the purfuit of knowledge, and of
ten to vary our ideas by exerciſe and amuſe-
ments; conftantly fixing a ftrict guard against
any paffion, that may be prevalent in too high
a degree, or may acquire an habitual ſtrength
and dominion over us. Paffions are the gales of
life and it is our part to take care, that they
do not rife into a tempeft.
Love, with all its charms, muſt be reftrained
within proper bounds, otherwiſe it will torture
that breaſt which it was formed to delight. Love
contains within itſelf a variety of other paffions,
and lays fuch a foundation of madnefs in the mind,
that the frenzy, in this particular cafe, never
fails to appear in its full force, and to difplay
itſelf in all its ſtrength of horror.
Religion,
190
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
Religion, which alone can make the mind hap-
py, and is our fureft and beft defence againſt
the paffions, if confidered in a wrong and melan-
choly view, has often perverted the feat of
reaſon, and given more inhabitants to Bedlam
than any other caufe. A religious lunatic is miſer-
able, even to the deepeſt tortures of deſpair.
The mifer, whom I muſt always rank among
madmen, heaps up gold with an anxiety that af-
fects his looks, his appetite, and his fleep. The
wretch dreads poverty in the center of plenty;
and farves, only becauſe he dares not tafte thoſe
fruits which appear moſt agreeable to his defires.
In fome other fpecies of madnefs, the per-
fons affected are really more happy than in their
fenſes; and it is almoſt a crime to baniſh the
agreeable delufion. You remember the cafe of
the citizen of Argos, who, after a falutiferous
dofe of hellebore, cried out,
Pol me occidiftis, amici,
Non ferváflis (ait) cui fic extorta voluptas,
Et demptus per vim mentis gratiſſimus error.
Such again would be the cafe of the beau of
Bedlam, who, amidft darkneſs and confinement,
fill retains his pride and ſelf-admiration: dreffes
himſelf up in ſtraw inſtead of embroidery, and
when
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 191
when fuffered to go to the window, imagines
that he captivates every female, who chances to
pafs thro' Moor-fields. Is not fuch a man hap-
pier in his madnefs, than in his fenfes?
To fpecify the many different claffes of mad-
men would be endleſs. They are innumerable:
ſo that it is almoſt a rare felicity to enjoy mens
Jana in corpore fano. Some men have owed
their reputation and fuccefs in the world to a
tincture of madnefs, while others, merely from
a fuperior underſtanding, have been ranked a-
mong lunatics of the latter fort HIPPOCRATES
(whom I wiſh you to look upon as a claffic au-
thor, as well as a phyſician) gives a remarkable
inftance in one of his letters. He fays, he was
fent for by the people of Abdera to cure Dɛ-
MOCRITUS of madneſs; but, to his furprize, he
found him the wifeft man of the age; and, by
his laughing manner of talking and reaſoning, he
almoſt convinced HIPPOCRATES, that all the reft
of the world, except DEMOCRITUS, were mad.
It is not improbable, that madnefs has been coæval
with mankind. There have certainly been many
inftances of it among the Greeks and Romans:
among the Jews, the enthuſiaſtic fury of SAUL
is equally remarkable with the ecftatic rage of
NEBUCHADNEZZAR: nor have any parts of the
world, I believe, entirely eſcaped this raging evil.
I
It
192
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
It was frequently miſtaken for infpiration, and
the prophetic Sibyls were obliged to put on
the airs and looks of madneſs, to obtain an im-
plicit belief to their prophecies. From theſe
facerdotal impofitions, mad people reaped fome
remarkable advantages. They were often looked
upon as meffengers fent by heaven, to declare
the will of the gods, and the prophetical decrees
of fate they were revered as perfons facred
and divine; and, inſtead of ſcourges, they re-
ceived tokens of adoration. In how great a de-
grée muft the fubtilty of priests have prevailed,
when they could make one
one of the greateſt
curfes that attends human life, appear one of
the greatest bleffings?
Lunatics are fo called from the influence
which the moon has over bodies, when its at-
tractive power is greateſt; by which means the
preffure of the atmoſphere being leffened, the
humours of the body are more rarefied, and pro-
duce a greater plenitude in the veffels of the
brain. This has been illuftrated by our good
and learned friend Dr. MEAD, in his treatiſe
De imperio lunæ et folis; and I have particular-
ly obferved, that in the last book, which he
publiſhed, he takes notice in his chapter de
a
Entitled, Monita & præcepta medica.
Infania,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 193
Infania, "that the blood of fuch perfons, who
"have been moft liable to this malady, was
"thick and fizy, and, upon diffection, their
"brain always appeared dry, and their veffels
"filled with black fluggish blood:" from whence,
perhaps, we may, in fome meaſure, account
for the principal fource of SWIFT's lunacy: his
countenance being dark, bilious, and gloomy,
and his eyes fometimes fixed, and immoveable
for a long time. HORACE, I remember, at-
tributes the madneſs of ORESTES to a phyfi-
cal caufe, where he fays,
vocando
Hanc furiam, hunc aliud, juffit quod fplendida bilis.
So that diſeaſes, formed originally in the mind,
often bring on this diſorder, and by degrees af-
fect the body; eſpecially in fuch conftitutions as
have any tendency to this diftemper. But what
can be the reaſon, that it is fo remarkably epidemical
in theſe kingdoms? I am inclined to believe, that
it must be owing to the groffnefs of our food,
and to our immoderate ufe of fprituous liquors:
the one frequently caufing the deepeft melan-
choly, the other the moſt unlimited rage. Our cli-
mate is fo variable and uncertain, and our at-
moſphere is ſo perpetually filled with clouds and
I 2
ful-
194
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
fulphureous vapours, that theſe cauſes muft necef-
farily have a great effect upon the natural im-
patience and inconftancy of the inhabitants. We
are apt to revel in a free indulgence of our paffions;
and they are as apt to agitate and enervate the
fibres of the brain, and to imprint by degrees
many fatal impreffions, that can never be era-
dicated from the mind. Even the greateft blefs-
ing we enjoy, the freedom of our laws, may,
I am afraid, in fome meafure, contribute to
thoſe raſh actions, that often end in dreadful
murders of the worst kind, parricide, and ſuicide.
Men muſt be reckoned in the higheſt claſs of
lunatics, who are capable of offending the great
Author of nature, by depriving themſelves of
that life, which he only has a right of taking
away, becauſe he only had the power of giving
it. No perfon in his fenfes can voluntarily pre-
fer death to life. Our defires of exiſtence are
ſtrong and prevalent. They are born with us;
and our ideas of a future ftate are not ſuffici-
ently clear, to make us fond of hurrying into
eternity; eſpecially as eternity itſelf muft ever
remain incomprehenfible to finite beings. Hu-
man nature has an abhorrence, and a terror, of
its own diffolution. The philofopher fubmits to
death, becauſe he looks upon it as a neceffary
event: in the mean time, he uſes every method of
3
prudence,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 195
prudence, and every art of caution, to lengthen
out life as far as he poffibly can extend it, and
to prevent the leaſt accident that may bring on
death one hour fooner than the laws of the hu-
man ftructure require. The military hero meets
the king of terrors more from the
reaſon, than the impulfes of nature.
dictates of
His fame,
his fortune, every object that can be dear to
him, depend upon his refolution to die. He ex-
poſes himſelf to the danger of being deftroyed;
becauſe an effort of fecuring his life muſt be
attended with contempt and infamy. But, on
the other hand, who would wantonly chuſe
death, unleſs he were agitated to fuch a choice
by the fumes and vapours of a distempered brain?
The fubjects, where arbitrary power is efta-
bliſhed, live in a continual ſtate of dread and ap-
prehenfion, and all their other paffions are fub-
dued by fear fo that fewer inftances of fuicide
have appeared in defpotic governments, than in
kingdoms, where liberty is more prevalent, and
where the paffions are lefs reftrained.
The diet, the air, and the political conftitu-
tion of a country, give the peculiar and dif
tinguiſhing character of the people and as the
characteriſtics change, the inhabitants undergo
the fame metamorphofes. How different are the
modern Italians from the antient Romans! If
I 3
BRUTUS
196 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
BRUTUS were now living, he would probably ac-
quiefce in the depending ſtate of a cardinal, and
the papal crown would be unanimoufly prefented to
CÆSAR.
The melancholy cafe of Dr. SWIFT has, I find,
feduced me into a long digreffion: when I am writ-
ing to you, my HAM, I give a full ſcope to my
thoughts, and wander licentiouſly out of my ſphere.
I aim at placing all obfervations in your way, which
I think can be of any uſe in your future road of life.
But, why talk to you on the melancholy effects of
madness? only, my dear fon, to obferve in general,
that temperance, exercife, philofophy, and true reli-
gion, are the ſureſt means to make men happy, and
to preſerve them from a contagious malady, to
which the inhabitants of theſe kingdoms are unfor-
tunately liable.
A ftate of idiotifm is lefs deplorable, not lefs
fhocking, than that of madneſs. Idiots are afflicted
with no turbulent paffions: they are innocent and
harmleſs, and often excite pity, but never occafion
fear. The proverb tells us, They are the favourites
of fortune: but I fuppofe it alludes only to thoſe forls,
who can number twenty rightly, and can tell the days
of the week; and alas! thofe are no idiots in the
eye of the law. The abfolute naturals owe their
wretchedneſs to a wrong formation in their brain,
or
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 197
or to accidents in their birth, or the dregs of fevers,
and other violent diftempers. The laft was the
cafe of the Dean of St. PATRICK's, according to
the account fent me by his two relations Mrs.
WHITEWAY, and Mr. SWIFT: neither of whom,
I think, makes the leaft mention of a deafness, that
from time to time attacked the Dean, and rendered
him extremely miferable. You will find him com-
plaining of this misfortune in feveral parts of his
writings, eſpecially in his letters (of the eighth vo-
lume) to Dr. SHERIDAN. Poffibly fome inter-
nal preffure upon his brain might first have affected
the auditory nerves, and then, by degrees, might
have encreaſed, fo as entirely to ftop up that foun-
tain of ideas, which had before fpread itfelf in the
moft diffufive, and furprifing manner.
Having just now hinted to you the advantages
that have accrued to madmen, I ought not to omit
the honours that have been paid to fools. In for-
mer ages the courts of France and England were
not thought completely embellifhed without a fa-
vourite idiot, who bore the title of the King's Jef
ter, and was as remarkably diftinguiſhed by a cap
and bells, as his royal mafter was diſtinguiſhed by a
diadem and robes. This animal, like JUNIUS
BRUTUS, frequently affumed the face and beha-
• See page 94, and page 96.
I 4
See Vol. VIII. f. 419.
viour
198
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
viour of folly, to anfwer his own particular views
and advantages. His bluntnefs and fimplicity re-
commended him in thoſe places, where truths, if
ſpoken by a man of ſenſe, were diſagreeable and
dangerous. If he had not the honour, like BRU-
TUS, to fave his country, at leaft he had the happi-
nefs to fecure himfelf: and his expreffions were of-
ten fo full of humour and ſarcaſm, that, to this day,
they are recorded as pieces of wit. Such was the
famous reply of ARCHY to King JAMES the first,
when his Majefty, amidſt all his wiſdom, was fuffi-
ciently inſpired with folly, to fend his only fon into
Spain. But, fools at prefent are no longer admired
in courts, or, if they are, they appear there without
their cap and bells.
And now,
now, my dear HAMILTON, to quit reflexi-
ons, that tend in general rather to terrify, than to
improve your underſtanding, let me obferve, in ho-
nour of my friend SWIFT, that his eſtabliſhment
of an hofpital for idiots and lunatics is remarkably
generous as the unhappy perfons, who receive the
benefit, muft, for ever, remain infenfible of their
benefactor.
I am your affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
LET-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 199
UNBOSTOSANINITOR + STORICOCK56:56:50
LETTER XXII.
THE Directions to Servants, which is the tract
immediately following SWIFT's Will, is imper-
fect and unfiniſhed. The editor tells us, that a
preface and a dedication were to have been added
to it. I think it was not publiſhed till after the
Dean's death; but I remember the manufcript
handed about, and much applauded, in his life-time.
To ſay the moſt that can be offered in its favour,
the tract is written in fo facetious a kind of low hu-
mour, that it muſt pleaſe many readers: nor is it
without fome degree of merit, by pointing out with
an amazing exactnefs (and what in a lefs trivial cafe
muſt have been called judgement) the faults, blun-
ders, tricks, lyes, and various knaveries of domeftic.
fervants. How much time muſt have been em-
ployed in putting together fuch a work! What an
intenſeneſs of thought muſt have been bestowed up-
on the lowest, and moft flaviſh fcenes of life! It is
one of thoſe compofitions, that the utmoft ftrength
of wit can ſcarce fuftain from finking. A man of
SWIFT's exalted genius ought conftantly to have
foared into higher regions. He ought to have look-
I S
ed
200
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ed upon perfons of inferior abilities, as children,
whom nature had appointed him to inftruct, en-
courage, and improve. Superior talents feem to
have been intended by Providence as public bene-
fits; and the perfon, who poffeffes fuch bleffings,
is certainly answerable to Heaven for thofe endow-
ments, which he enjoys above the reſt of mankind.
Let him jeft with dignity, and let him be ironical
upon uſeful fubjects; leaving poor flaves to heat
their porridge, or drink their ſmall beer, in fuch veffels
as they fhall find proper 2. The Dean, it feems,
had not this way of thinking: and having long in-
dulged his paffions, at laft perhaps miftook them for
his duty. The miftake, my dear HAMILTON, is
neither extraordinary nor furprifing. In points of
religion it has carried men into great extravagancies ;
in thoſe of morality, into no lefs; but in politics,
into the greateſt of all. Our inclinations are fo apt
to hurry us into inconfiderate actions, that we are
afterwards inclined to flatter ourſelves they are right,
only becauſe they have proceeded from our own
thoughts and dire ions. Thus SWIFT, when he
had once eſtabliſhed the rule of Vive la bagatelle,
was refolved to purfue it at all hazards. I with his
thoughts had taken another turn. The lower claffes
a See Vol. VIII. page 8.
of
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 201
of mankind paſs on unnoticed; the great only are
cenfured. They ought to be particularly attentive
to every ſtep they take. The Dean of St. PA-
TRICK'S ſhould have known himſelf, as Rex idem
hominum, Phœbique facerdos, and fhould have re-
membered, that kings and priests are extremely
liable to be cenfured. Poor SwIFT! why did he
fink below himſelf, before he was deprived of rea-
fon? Forgive him that error, my HAMILTON,
and draw a veil of oblivion over certain excrefcen-
cies of wit and humour; you will then admire him,
as an honour to the public, and a fcourge to all the
knaves and fools of his time.
Three pamphlets, relating to Ireland, fucceffively
follow the Directions to Servants. The firft is en-
titled, Reaſons humbly offered to the Parliament of Ire-
land, for repealing the Sacramental Teft in favour of
the Catholics: The fecond, Some Reaſons againſt
the Bill for fettling the Tythe of Hemp, Flax, &c.
by a Modus: The third, Some farther Reaſons a-
gainst the Bill for fettling the Tythe of Hemp, Flax,
&c. The fubject-matter of theſe pamphlets may
perhaps be little worth your confideration; but their
ftyle will always command your attention. They
are very much misplaced, and, in any more metho-
dical edition of the Dean's works, ought to appear
with fuch other pieces, as have been compofed by
him againſt the diffenters. The first tract is writ-
I 6
ten
202
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ten under the affumed character of a Roman catho-
lic, by which means the author attacks his adver-
faries with a great advantage. He freely acknow-
ledges the feveral atrocious crimes of the papifts;
but at the fame time palliates them fo fkilfully,
that, from that very acknowledgment, he enables
himſelf to aim the heavier blows at the prefbyte-
rians. A paragraph extracted from the pamphlet
will exemplify my meaning. "We allow, fays he,
"the CATHOLICS to be BRETHREN of the Diffen-
"ters; fome people, indeed (which we cannot allow),
" would have them to be our children; because we
"both diffent from the church eſtabliſhed, and both
"agree in aboliſhing this perfecuting facramental teſt;
"by which NEGATIVE DISCOURAGEMENT
"are both rendered incapable of civil and military
we
employments. However, we cannot but wonder at
"the bold familiarity of theſe ſchifmatics, in calling
"the members of the national church their BRE-
63
་་
86
THREN and FELLOW-PROTESTANTS. It is
true, that all theſe fects (except the CATHOLICS)
are BRETHREN to each other in faction, igno-
rance, iniquity, perverſeneſs, pride, and (if we ex-
cept the QUAKERS) in rebellion. But, bow the
"churchmen can be styled their FELLOW-PRO-
"TESTANTS, we cannot comprehend. Because,
“when the whole BABEL of fectaries joined againſt
the Church, the King, and the Nobility, for twenty
"C years,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 203
66
66
66
C.
years, in a MATCH AT FOOT-BALL; where the
. proverb exprefly tells us, that ALL ARE FEL-
Lows; while the three kingdoms were toſſed to and
fro, the churches and cities, and royal palaces,
"Shattered to pieces by their BALLS, their BUFFETS,
" and their KICKS; the victors would allow no more
FELLOWS AT FOOT-BALL: but murdered, ſe-
"queftered, plundered, deprived, baniſhed to the plan-
"tations, or enflaved, all their oppoſers who had LOST
<< THE GAME." The greateſt art, and the keen-
eft ſtrokes of irony, difplay themſelves throughout
the whole compofition: and the conclufion of it is
drawn up with a mixture of ferious and ironical
arguments that ſeem to defy all kinds of refutation.
The two next pamphlets for fettling the Tythe of
Hemp, &c. by a Modus, are entirely adapted to the
clergy of Ireland; but I cannot avoid obferving in
thofe papers a greater fund of calmnefs, nor a lefs
degree of fpirit, than in many other of SWIFT's po-
litical writings.
The remainder of this volume is like a garden
over-run with docks and thiftles, among which
ſome rofe-trees accidentally make their appear-
ance.
The fcythe of time, or the weeding-knife
of a judicious editor, will cut down the docks
and thiftles, but the beauty of the roſes will
particularly appear in fome fermons that are curi-
ous; and curious for fuch reafons, as would
make
204
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
make other works defpicable. They were written.
in a careleſs, hurrying manner, and were the off-
ſpring of neceffity, not of choice: fo that you will
fee the original force of his genius more in theſe
compofitions, that were the legitimate fons of duty,
than in other pieces, that were the natural fons of
love. They were held in fuch low esteem in his
own thoughts, that fome years before he died, he
gave away the whole collection to Dr. SHERIDAN,
with the utmoſt indifference: Here, fays he, are
a bundle of my old fermons ; you may have them if you
pleafe: they may be of use to you; they have never
been of any to me.” The parcel given to Dr. SHE-
RIDAN confifted, as I have heard, of about five-and-
thirty fermons. Three or four only are publiſhed;
and thoſe I have read over with attention. The
firſt is upon Mutual Subjection,, and that duty
which is owing from one man to another. A
clearer ſtyle, or a difcourfe more properly adapted
to a public audience, can fearce be framed. Every
paragraph is fimple, nervous, and intelligible. The
threads of each argument are clofely connected,
and 1 gically purſued but in places where the
Dean has the leaft opportunity to introduce political
maxims, or to dart an arrow at the conduct of prin-
ces, he never fails to indulge himſelf in his ufual man-
ner of thinking, as you will judge from the follow-
ing quotations: "A wife man, fays Dr. SWIFT,
" who
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 205
"who doth not affist with his counſels; a great man
"with his protection; a rich man with his bounty
"and charity; and a poor man with his labour, are
"perfect nuifances in a commonwealth. Neither is
"any condition of life more honourable in the fight of
"GOD than another; otherwife he would be a re-
“Specter of perſons, which he aſſureth us he is not :
'
for he hath propoſed the ſame falvation to all men,
"and hath only placed them in different ways or ſta-
"tions to work it out. Princes are born with no more
" advantages of ſtrength or wisdom than other men;
"and, by an unhappy education, are ufually more de-
<< fective in both than thouſands of their fubjects."
Again in the fame ftrain, "The best prince is, in
"the opinion of wife men, only the greateſt ſervant of
"the nation; not only a fervant to
the public
"in general, but in fome fort to
" in it "" But the moſt extraordinary paffage
is a covert ſtroke at the
his brethren the clergy. It
every man
every
higheſt order of
runs thus: "The
* miferies of life are not properly owing to the unc-
qual diftribution of things; but God Almighty,
GOD
"the great King of heaven, is treated like the kings
"of the earth; who (although perhaps intending well
themselves) have often mest abominable minifters
"and ſtewards, and thofe generally the vileft, to
66
a
Page 211.
b Page 215.
" whom
206 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
"whom they entruſt the moſt talents *." Dark as it
is, this paragraph requires no explanation. The
author's natural turn of mind breaks forth upon all
occafions, and the politician frequently outweighs
the divine. If the dictates of fuch a fpirit were ca-
pable of forcing their way from the pulpit, what
a glorious, what a confiftent figure, muft SWIFT
have made in the roftrum at Rome, or in one of the
porticos at Athens!
The next moral effay, for I can ſcarce call it a
fermon, is upon the Teftimony of Confcience: in
which the author inferts fome very ftriking obfer-
vations upon fuch falfe notions of honour as are too
prevalent in the world. I am fo far from thinking
it a trouble, that I think it a pleaſure, to tranfcribe
the particular paffage : "The falfe principle, which
CC
6C
Some men fet up in the place of conscience to be their
"director in life, is what those who pretend to it, call
HONOUR. This word is often made the fan&tion
of an oath; it is reckoned a great commendation to
"be a man of ftri&t honour; and it is commonly un-
derstood, that a man of honour can never be guilty
of a baje action. This is ufually the flyle of mili-
"tary men; of perfons with titles; and of others
"who pretend to birth and quality. It is true in-
deed, that in antient times it was univerfally un-
«Ε
ac
* Page 218.
❝derſtood,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 207
"derstood, that honour was the reward of virtue ;
"but if fuch honour as is now a-days going will not
permit a man to do a bafe action, it must be allowed
"there are very few fuch things as baſe actions in
nature. No man of honour, as that word is ufu-
"ally understood, did ever pretend, that his honour
obliged him to be chaste or temperate; to pay his
"creditors; to be useful to his country; to do good to
"mankind; to endeavour to be wife or learned; to
"regard his word, his promife, or his oath; or if he
"hath any of these virtues, they were never learned
"in the catechism of honour; which contains but two
"precepts, the punctual payment of debts contracted
"at play, and the right understanding the feveral
"degrees of an affront, in order te revenge it by the
"death of an adverſary *.”
The third difcourfe upon The Trinity is indeed a
fermon, and one of the beſt in its kind. Dr. SWIFT
ſeems not to have made fuch a plan his voluntary
choice, nor to have built, fuo ex motu, upon ſuch a
bafis ; but he has completed the fuperftructure in
a moſt maſterly manner: the materials anfwer the
dignity of the edifice; and the artificer may affume
b
a Page 228.
In the beginning of his fermon, he lets us know, that
he preached it on Trinity Sunday, a day on which all the
clergy think themfelves confined to this theme.
great
208 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
great honour, upon the completion of fo noble, fo
uſeful a pile. The mysterious parts of our religi-
on are apt to have dreadful effects upon weak
minds. The general comments upon the facred
writings, and the feveral fermons upon the moſt
abſtruſe points of fcripture, are too often compoſed
in the gloomy ftyle. Damnation, eternal damnation,
is placed with all its horror before our eyes; and
we are fo terrified at the profpect, that fear makes
us imagine, we can comprehend myfteries, which,
on this fide of the grave, must be for ever denied
to our limited understandings. SWIFT has taken
the fafeft, and the propereft method of expounding
theſe arcana. He advances every poſition that can be
eſtabliſhed upon fo incomprehenfible a fubject. He
fuftains the belief, avows the doctrine, and adapts
the matter of faith, as well as poffible, to the hu-
man capacity. His manner of reafoning is mafterly,
and his arguments are nervous; particularly where
he fays,
"It is highly probable, that if GOD fhoud
દ pleaſe to reveal unto us this great mystery of the
"Trinity, or fome other myfteries in our holy religi-
66 on, we ſhould not be able to underſtand them, un-
lefs he would at the fame time think fit to bestow
on us some new powers or faculties of the mind,
"which we want at prefent, and are referved to the
day of refurrection to life eternal." But, my
a Page 246.
(6
HAM,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 209
HAM, you muſt be weary of quotations. I will
make no more: and, in excufe of thoſe already
made, I can only offer, that in comments upon
original authors quotations are often the beſt, and
perhaps the only explanations that can fully anfwer
the end propofed. I mean, that the original ſpirit
is fo volatile, as not to admit of the leaſt transfufi-
on. In ordinary compofitions, the effence may be
extracted, and the fubtileft parts diftilled: but
SWIFT's fermons appeared a chymical preparation
of fo extraordinary and penetrating a nature, that I
was reſolved to fend you as much of the æthereal
ſpirit, as might be ſafely conveyed by the poſt.
b
I fhall take no notice of a fourth fermon, as it
is evidently not compofed by the Dean: but I
find, that I have omitted to mention two poems
of great wit and humour. They are previous to
the fermons. The firt was artfully publiſhed
by Dr. SWIFT in a manner fo different from thoſe
rules of poetry to which he confined himſelf, that
he hoped the public might miſtake it for a ſpurious,
or incorrect copy ftolen by memory from his ori-
ginal poem. He took great pleaſure in this fup-
pofition and I believe it anſwered his expectati-
:
The difficulty of knowing one's felf, p. 255.
The Life and Genuine Character of the Reverend
Dr. SWIFT.
on.
210
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
on.
One of his ſtricteft rules in poetry was to a-
void triplets. What can have given rife to fo nice
a peculiarity, is difficult to determine. It might
be owing only to a fingular turn of thinking; but
the reafon which he publicly affigned feemed not
fo much againſt the practice itſelf, as againſt the
poets who indulged themſelves in that manner of
writing. "A cuftom (according to the Dean's
"opinion) introduced by lazinefs, continued by
"ignorance, and eſtabliſhed by falfe tafte." With
deference to fo great a critic, it is a cuftom, that
has frequently been purfued with remarkable fuc-
cefs. Mr. DRYDEN abounds in triplets; and in
fome of his moft elegant poems, the third conclud-
ing verfe forms the fineſt climax in the whole piece.
Mr. WALLER, the father of all flowing poetry, has
generally referved the niceft point of wit to his tri-
pricate line and upon an impartial enquiry, it is
almoſt to be queftioned, whether, in many inftan-
ces, this deſpicable triplet may not add a greater
beauty to a poetical compofition, than any other
circumſtance. To be confined, on any terms, by
the links of rhyme, is of great difadvantage to our
Engliſh poetry. The fineſt poem that we can boaft,
and which we equalize, and perhaps would will-
ingly prefer, to the Iliad, is void of thofe fetters.
But, when it is our deftiny to wear chains, furely
we
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 211
we may be allowed to make them as light and eafy
as we can.
The fecond poem, entitled, Verfes on the Death
of Dr. SWIFT, occafioned by reading a Maxim in
ROCHEFOUCAULT, is a moft pointed piece of farcafm.
Not any of the Dean's poems have more wit; nor
are any of them more fevere. In it he has fummon-
ed together his whole powers of fatir and poetry. It
is a parting blow; the legacy of anger and difap-
pointment; but as the two laft lines are gramina-
tically incorrect, and as they were not inferted in
the first edition publiſhed at London, I cannot tell
how they have crept into a poem, that is otherwiſe
as exactly polished as any of SWIFT's niceft compo-
fitions.
b
The remaining pieces in this volume are neither
worthy of SWIFT's pen, nor of your perufal.
Many of them are fpurious, and many more are
trifling, and in every reſpect improper for the pub-
lic view: ſo that what was once ludicrouſly ſaid up-
on a different occafion, may be applied not only to
the laſt volume, but indeed to fome of the former,
as they put us in mind of the famous machine in
"WINSTANLEY's water-works, where, out of
66
Page 151.
↳ That kingdom he hath left his debtor,
I wish it fon may have a better.
the
212
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
the fame veffel, the fpectators were prefented
"with tea, coffee, chocolate, champaigne, and
"four fmall beer."
I am, my dear Son,
Your truly affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
1567676CCOYOTETOS XISOKOKONONOKOCIÓN
LETTER XXIII.
W
E have now gone through FAULKNER'S
edition of SWIFT's works; but there are ſtill
remaining three of his pieces, The Tale of a Tub, the
Battle of the Books in St. James's Library, and The
Fragment, which, although not abſolutely owned by
the Dean, aut Erafmi funt aut Diaboli.
The firft of thefe, The Tale of a Tub, has
made much noife in the world. It was one of
SWIFT's earliest performances, and has never been
excelled in wit and fpirit by his own, or any other
pen. The cenfures that are paffed upon it are vari-
The moſt material of which were fuch as re-
flected
ous,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 213
flected upon Dr. SWIFT, in the character of a
clergyman, and a Chriftian. It has been one of
the misfortunes attending Chriftianity, that many
of her fons, from a miſtaken filial piety, have
indulged themſelves in too reſtrained, and too
melancholy a way of thinking. Can we wonder
then, if a book compofed with all the force of
wit and humour in derifion of facerdotal tyran-
ny, in ridicule of grave hypocrify, and in con-
tempt of phlegmatic ftiffneſs, fhould be wilfully
miſconſtrued by fome perfons, and ignorantly
miſtaken by others, as a farcafm and reflexion
upon the whole Chriftian Church? SwIFT's un-
governable ſpirit of irony has fometimes carried
him into very unwarrantable flights of wit. I
have remarked fuch paffages with a moft
unwilling eye. But, let my affections of
friendſhip have been ever fo great, my paternal
affection is ſtill greater and I will purfue can-
dour, even with an aching heart, when the
purſuit of it may tend to your advantage or
inftruction. In the ftyle of truth therefore, I
muſt ſtill look upon The Tale of a Tub, as no
intended infult againſt Chriſtianity; but as a fatir
against the wild errors of the church of Rome,
the flow and incomplete reformation of the Lu-
therans, and the abfurd and affected zeal of the
Prefbyterians. In the character of PETER, we
:
2
fee
214
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
ſee the pope feated on his pontifical throne, and
adorned with his triple crown. In the picture
of MARTIN, we view LUTHER, and the firſt
reformers and in the reprefentation of JACK,
we ſee JOHN CALVIN and his difciples. The
author's arrows are chiefly directed againſt PEter
and JACK. To MARTIN he fhews all the in-
dulgence that the laws of allegory will permit.
The actions of PETER are the actions of a
man intoxicated with pride, power, rage, tyran-
ny, and ſelf-conceit. Theſe paffions are placed
in the moft ridiculous light: and the effects of
them produce to us the tenets and doctrines of
papal Rome, fuch as purgatory, penance, images,
indulgences, auricular confeffion, tranfubftantia-
tion, and thofe dreadful monfters, the pontifical
bulls, which, according to this ludicrous author,
derived their origin from the famous bulls of
COLCHIS, defcribed by OVID.
Terribiles vultus, præfixaque cornua ferro,
Pulvereumque folum pede pulſavere bifulco;
Fumificifque locum mugitibus implevere ª.
"But LORD PETER'S BULLS, fays The Tale
"of a Tub, were extremely vitiated by time in
. OVID Metam. Lib. VII. ver. 112.
" the
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 215
"the metal of their feet, which, from BRASS,
(C was now degenerated into common LEAD. How-
ever, the terrible roaring peculiar to their line-
<<
ແ
age was preſerved, as likewife that faculty of
BREATHING out fire at their noftrils." Thefe
paffages, and many others, no doubt, muſt be
conftrued as antichriftian by the church of Rome.
When the chief minifter, and his minions, are
expoſed, the keener the fatir, the more liable is
it to be interpreted into high treaſon againſt
the king.
In the character of JACK, a fet of people
were alarmed, who are eafily offended, and who
can ſcarce bear the chearfulneſs of a ſmile. In
their dictionary, wit is only another name for
wickedness and the purer or more excellent
the wit, the greater and more impious the a-
bomination. However wide therefore the differ-
ence of PETER and JACK might have been in
fashioning their coats, the two brothers moft fin-
cerely agreed in their hatred of an adverfary fo
powerful as this anonymous author. They fpared
no unmannerly reflexions upon his character.
They had recourfe to every kind of abufe that
could reach him. And fometimes it was the
work of SWIFT, and his companions: fome-
times not a fyllable of it was his work; it was
the work of one of his uncle's fons, a clergyman :
K
and
216 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
and fometimes it was the work of a perſon, who
was to be nameless. Each of thefe malicious
conjectures reigned in its turn; and you will
find, my HAMILTON, that bold affertions, how-
ever falſe, almoft conftantly meet with fuccefs;
a kind of triumph, that would appear one of
the fevereſt inftitutes of fate, if time, and truth,
did not foon obliterate all marks of the victory.
(6
The criticisms of the Martinifts (whom we may
ſuppoſe the members of the church of England)
were, it is to be hoped, more candid: for MAR-
TIN, as I have juft now hinted, is treated with a
much lefs degree of farcaſm than the other two
brothers. What relates to him is fo fhort, that
I will venture to tranſcribe it. They both [LU-
THER and CALVIN] "unanimously entered up-
"on this great work [THE REFORMATION],
looking fometimes on their coats, and fometimes
σ on the WILL. MARTIN laid the first hand; at
"one twitch brought off a large handful of POINTS;
"and with a fecond pull, fript away ten dozen
"yards of FRINGE. But
<6
k
when he had gone thus
he knew very well,
deal more to be done:
far, he demurred a while
"there yet remained a great
"however the first heat being over, his violence
"began to cool, and he refolved to proceed more
"moderately in the rest of the work; having already
very narrowly escaped a swinging rent in pulling
"S
2
$6
off
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 217
(C
(C
CC
t.
"off the POINTS, which being TAGGED WITH
SILVER (as we have obferved before) the judi-
"cious workman had, with much fagacity, double
fown to preferve them from FALLING. Refolu-
"ing therefore to rid his coat of a huge quantity of
GOLD LACE, he picked up the ftitches with much
"caution, and diligently gleaned out all the loose
"threads as he went; which proved to be a work of
"time. Then he fell about the embroidered INDIAN
" figures of men, women and children; againſt
“which, as you have heard in its due place, their
father's teftament was extremely exact and ſe-
vere. Theſe, with much dexterity and applicati-
on, were, after a while, quite eradicated, or ut-
terly defaced. For the rest, where he obferved the
embroidery to be worked fo cloſe, as not to be got a-
<< way without damaging the cloth, or where it fer-
"ved to hide or ftrengthen any flaw in the body of
"the coat, contracted by the perpetual tampering of
"workmen upon it; he concluded, the wifft courfe
"was to let it remain, refolving in no cafe what-
foever, that the fubſtance of the fluff ſhould ſuffer
injury, which he thought the best method for
(6
66
tt
(6
"C
(C
Jerving the true intent and meaning of his fa-
«ther's WILL. And this is the nearest account I
“have been able to collect of MARTIN's proceedings
upon this great revolution.”
66
The church of England can fcarce be angry
K2
at
218
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
at fuch a favourable account of LUTHER: efpeci-
ally as we have fince reformed from LUTHER him-
felf, and, fo far as our judgements can teach us,
have reſtored our habits ſtill nearer to the origin-
al faſhion, which they bore at the perfection of
the Teftament. The beft, and, what is more ex-
traordinary, the moft ferious apology, that can be
made for the author, was written by himself, and
is dated June 3, 1709; from which time, it has
been conftantly printed in a prefatory manner to
the work itſelf. In this apology, Dr. SWIFT can-
didly acknowledges, that "There are several
"youthful fallies, which, from the grave and the wife,
may deſerve a rebuke." And further adds, that
"He will forfeit his life, if any one opinion can
fairly be deduced from the Book, which is con-
"trary to religion or morality."
t
66
you
The dedication to Prince Pofterity will pleaſe
: nor will you be lefs entertained by the fe-
veral digreffions which are written in ridicule of
bad critics, dull commentators, and the whole fra-
ternity of Grub-ſtreet philofophers. The Introduc-
tion abounds with wit and humour: but the au-
thor never lofes the leaft opportunity of venting
his keeneſt fatir against Mr. DRYDEN, and con-
fequently loads with infults the greateft, although
the leaft profperous, of our English poets. Yet
who can avoid fmiling, when he finds the Hind
and
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 219
and Panther mentioned as a complete abstract of
fixteen thousand fchoolmen, and when TOMMY
PUTTS is fuppofed written by the fame hand, as
a fupplement to the former work? I am willing to
imagine, that DRYDEN, in fome manner or other,
had offended my friend Dr. SwIFT, who, other-
wife, I hope, would have been more indulgent to
the errors of a man oppreffed by poverty, driven
on by party, and bewildered by religion.
But although our fatirical author, now-and-
then, may have indulged himſelf in fome perfon-
al animofities, or may have taken freedoms not
fo perfectly confiftent with that folemn decency,
which is required from a clergyman; yet, through-
out the whole piece, there is a vein of ridicule
and good humour, that laughs pedantry and af-
fectation into the lowest degree of contempt, and
expoſes the character of PETER and JACK in
ſuch a manner, as never will be forgiven, and
never can be anſwered.
The Battle of the Books took its rife from the
controverſy between Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE and
Mr WOTTON: a controverfy which made much
noife, and employed many pens, towards the lat-
ter end of the last century. This humorous
treatiſe is drawn up in an heroic comic ftyle, in
which SWIFT, with great wit and fpirit, gives
the victory to the former. The general plan is
excellent,
K 3
220
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
excellent, but particular parts are defective. The
frequent chafms puzzle and interrupt the narra-
tive they neither convey any latent ideas, nor
point out any diftant or occult farcafms. Some
characters are barely touched upon, which might
have been extended; others are enlarged, which
might have been contracted. The name of Ho-
RACE is fcarce inferted, and VIRGIL is introduced
only for an opportunity of comparing his tranflator
DRYDEN, to the Lady in a Lobster: to a Moufe un-
der a Canopy of State: and to a fhrivelled Beau
within the Penthoufe of a full-bottomed Perriwig.
Thefe fimiles carry the true ſtamp of ridicule: but
rancour muſt be very prevalent in the heart of
an author, who could overlook the merits of DRY-
DEN; many of whofe dedications and prefaces are
as fine compofitions, and as juſt pieces of criticifm,
as any in our language. The tranflation of VIR-
GIL was a work of hafte and indigence: DRY-
DEN was equal to the undertaking, but unfortunate
during the conduct of it.
And now as I have mentioned VIRGIL, and
as I indulge myſelf in an unlimited manner of ex-
preffing to you my thoughts, I muft plead that
kind of habit for inferting a conjecture, which, per-
haps, is purely chimerical, but which, in the pur-
fuit of it, has given me no fmall degree of plea-
fure, as the motive tends to vindicate one of your
favourite
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 221
favourite poets from the cenfure of ingratitude.
The critics have been justly furprized, that
VIRGIL feems entirely to have neglected HORACE,
when it is evident, that HORACE takes frequent
occafions of expreffing the greateft tenderness, ef-
teem, and gratitude for VIRGIL. They have
endeavoured to account for this neglect, by fup-
pofing, that fome of VIRGIL's poems have been
loft; otherwife who could imagine, that the au-
thor of the Æneid fhould have paffed over in
filence the name of fo excellent, and fo eftimable
a friend? In the Greek and Roman writers it is
not to be doubted, that there are many expref-
fions, which, at the time when written, were evi-
dent marks to diftinguifh particular characters.
Thefe, by the courfe of years, are now rendered
doubtful and obfcure. HORACE's Glycon was al-
ways taken for a gladiator, till at the bottom of
the ſtatue of the HERCULES FARNESE an old
infcription was difcovered, that fhews it was fo
called from the name of the famous fculptor who
made it. Many paffages in Mr. POPE's poems,
which are now eafily explained, may, in a few
centuries, become entirely unintelligible, and (excuſe
the improbability of the circumftance) when it is
no longer remembered that he lived at Twitnam, he
will no longer be known for the Swan of Thames.
VIRGIL, in his Eclogues, celebrates POLLIO,
VARUS
K 4
222
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
VARUS, and GALLUS, and he dedicates his
Georgics to MECENAS: but in the Eneid, he
could not introduce any of his contemporaries, ex-
cept by feigned names: and even then, the con-
nexion of the fable muft be preferved, and fome
poetical differences muſt be allowed. Such a con-
duct has induced fome of the commentators to affix
various names to particular characters in the Æneid.
They have mentioned MARIUS, POMPEY, Cu-
RIO, and others; but their hints and ſketches have
been imperfect, and written at random.
Biſhop ATTERBURY is more explicit. That
learned prelate, in all the elegance and delicacy of
criticism, illuftrates the paffage relating to IAPIS,
and fixes to it the name and character of ANTONIUS
MUSA, an eminent phyfician, and polite fcholar, at
Rome. The BARRY of his day.
LA
From theſe attempts, I have been encouraged to
fearch for the character of HORACE; and inftead of
an imperfect picture, I hope, I fhall be able to point
out a very remarkable likenefs in the following lines.
Et amicum Cretea mufis,
Cretea mufarum comitem, cui carmina femper
Et cithara cordi, numerofque intendere nervis ;
Semper equos, atque arma virûm, pugnaſque canebat.
a Dr. EDWARD BARRY of Dublin.
An
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
223
An ode in HORACE, which appears, by the men-
tion of TIRIDATES, to have been written at the
fame time with the feventh book of VIRGIL, bears
a very ſtriking resemblance to fome part of this quo-
tation. You remember
Mufis amicus trifti iam et metus
Tradam protervis in mare Creticum
Portare ventis.
The Mufis amicus was, in all probability, a fyno-
nymous name of HORACE, by which he was then
diſtinguiſhed, and perfectly well known at Rome.
Such an appellation might be given to him from this
gay and fpirited ode. He begins it by delivering at
once all his cares and fears to be buried in the Cre-
tan fea. TIBULLUS and ANACREON have the fame
general fentiment; but HORACE chooſes this parti-
cular part of the ocean for the eternal grave of all
his cares. A circumſtance which might occafion
VIRGIL to give him the name of CRETEUS: and I
dare fay, HAM, you will agree with me in obferving,
that VIRGIL repeats that name with a certain ten-
derneſs and eſteem, as if he was unwilling to quit
the fubject, and as if he could wish to dwell
longer in the defcription of ſo excellent a genius,
and fo remarkable a poet.
But the line,
Et cithara cordi, numerofque intendere nervis,
K 5
foems
224 REMARKS ON THE LIFE
feems directly to point out HORACE, and to celebrate
him for his lyric performances. MONSIEUR DA-
CIER, in the preface to his HORACE, gives an
hiſtory of the progreſs and decay of lyric poetry. He
obferves, that from the foundation of Rome to the
reign of AUGUSTUS CÆSAR (a ſpace of above ſe-
ven hundred years) not one lyric poet had appeared.
HORACE was the firft Roman, who, with a furpri-
fing natural genius, having ſtudied and acquired the
beauty and ſtrength of numbers, formed himſelf up-
on the Grecian plan, and became the beſt Latin ly-
ric poet of the Auguftan age. From whence, it
almoſt evidently appears, that this paffage can be ad-
apted only to him.
Thus far, without ftraining the explanation of
thefe lines, I would willingly hope, that the features
of HORACE are difcernible. The laſt verſe indeed
does not ſeem to anfwer fo exactly his poetical
character.
Semper equos, atque arma virum, pugnafque canebat.
Let us try, if we cannot baniſh the objection, and
eſtabliſh a perfect confirmation of the reſemblance.
Several of the odes of HORACE are remarkably
fine in the warlike ftrain, particularly the ode to
AUGUSTUS after the battle of Actium, when the
fenate had agreed to addrefs folemn hymns to the
Emperor
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 225
Emperor in the fame manner as to the celeftial
deities. The ode beginning Colo tonantem, and
occafioned by the conqueft over the Britons and
Perfians, is full of fire. But the addrefs to Asi-
NIUS POLLIO breathes war and ſlaughter ſtill in a
more exalted ſtrain.
Fam nunc minaci murmure cornuum
Perftringis aures: jam litui ftrepunt.
Jam fulgor armorum fugaces
Terret equos, equitumque vultus.
MONSIEUR SANADON obferves, that this ftanza,
and the four which follow it, are written with the
greateſt ſpirit of lyric poetry. His expreffion is La
force de Poefie lyrique ne va point au de-là.
It is very certain, that HORACE was a perfect
mafter of the poetical array of battle, the din of
war, and the found of clarions: or, in the words
of VIRGIL, equos atque arma virúm pugnaſque
canebat. But, notwithſtanding his powers in that
ftyle, he ſeems conftantly defirous of declining any
long poem, or laboured performance upon thofe
fubjects. In his ode beginning Motum ex Metello,
he adviſes ASINIUS POLLIO to lay afide all inten-
tions of writing tragedy; and he further urges him.
to complete a poem upon the civil wars, between
ANTONY and OCTAVIUS: but he damps this ad-
K 6
vice,
226
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
vice, by pointing out the danger of the theme. He
tells POLLIO,
Periculofæ plenum opus aleæ
Tractas; et incedis per ignes
Suppofitos cineri dolofo.
Thus while he expatiates upon the difficulty of
the undertaking, he fhews himſelf fuperior to the
labours that deter him. As a Poet, we may be af
fured he was equal to the taſk: as a politician, we
may prefume, he avoided it. He was unwill-
ing to remind his imperial mafter of a war, in
which he had appeared in arms against his prince :
and in which the character of AUGUSTUS had not
been diſtinguiſhed with the most perfect degree of
luftre. Yet, that fuch a kind of work was expect-
ed from him, may undoubtedly be deduced from
what he ſays in one of his odes to MÆCENAS.
Tuque pedeftribus
Dices hiftoriis prælia Cæfaris,
Macenas, MELIUS.
Here you fee, HORACE affigns to his patron MA-
CENAS all the laurels that might accrue from a com-
plete poem upon the wars of AUGUSTUS: and in
another place, the poet, with more modeſty than
juftice, fays,
Cupidum,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 227
Cupidum, pater optime, vires
Deficiunt: neque enim quivis horrentia pilis
Agmina, nec fracta pereuntes cufpide Gallos,
Aut labentis equo defcribat vulnera Parthi.
Theſe lines are in ſuch a ſtrain, as to demon-
ſtrate the powers of the mufe much lefs deficient
than the will. It is very probable therefore, that
during the time, while the public expectations
were raiſed in hopes of feeing HORACE undertake
ſome poem entirely formed upon the military plan,
VIRGIL might have compofed that part of the
Eneid from whence I have drawn my quotation,
and might very juftly have given HORACE the
character of CRETEUS, not only in confequence
of the odes already written, but under a kind of
certainty of feeing future and more perfect poems.
in the fame ftrain.
I fubmit to your judgement, whether thefe fur-
mifes are juft. I really think they bear a great re-
femblance to truth. Pofitive affertions on fuch
doubtful points I leave to more eſtabliſhed critics:
and return from the civil wars in Italy, to the civil
wars in St JAMES's library.
The two chief heroes among the modern ge-
nerals are WOTTON and BENTLEY. Their figures
are diſplayed in the moft difadvantageous atti-
tudes. The former is defcribed, full of fpleen,
dulnefs,
228
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
dulnefs, and ill manners. The latter is reprefent-
ed, tall, without fhape or comelinefs: large, with-
out ftrength or proportion. But, I will not an-
ticipate your future pleaſure in reading a perform-
ance that you will probably wiſh longer, and
more complete.
The Battle, which is maintained by the an-
tients with great fuperiority of ſtrength, though
not of numbers, ends with the demolition of
BENTLEY and his friend WoTTON by the lance
of your grandfather.
And here, my fon, it is
not poffible for me to avoid taking notice of one
particular paffage relating to my father. "BOYLE,
fays the author, clad in a fuit of armour, WHICH
<< HAD BEEN GIVEN HIM BY ALL THE GODS,
"advanced towards the trembling foe, who now
"fied before him."
I fhall not difpute about the gift of the armour:
but thus far I will venture to obferve, that the gods
never beſtowed celeftial armour, except upon
heroes, whoſe courage and fuperior ftrength dif-
tinguiſhed them from the reft of mankind; whoſe
merits and abilities were already confpicuous; and
who could wield, though young, the fword of
MARS, and adorn it with all the virtues of MI-
NERVA and let me affure you, my deareft HAM-
ILTON, that your grandfather fuftained the cha-
racter, which he had fo early acquired, to the laft
moment
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 229
moment of his life, and, on many occafions, exert-
ed his abilities in fuch a manner, as evidently
ſhewed, that he wanted neither armour, nor extra-
ordinary affiftance, to add to his firft victory fuch
fuperior ornaments, as will for ever be repofited
among the brighteſt trophies, in the temple of
fame.
But before I quit this fubject, give me leave
to own how fenfibly I felt the force of an ar-
row directed from his hand. The wound, I be-
lieve, was not defigned to be lafting. It was
given in a paffion, and upon an extraordinary oc-
cafion but afterwards he was fo defirous to heal
it, by a return of the greateſt degree of friendſhip
and affection, that he had directed the remaining
fcar to be entirely erafed, when his unexpected
and too fudden death prevented the completion of
his kind intentions, and the perfection of my cure.
With difficulty I furvived the fhock. As it was
not in my power to avoid the fevere decree, I
obeyed and, by my obedience, have flattered my-
felf, that I fubmitted to the will of heaven. How-
ever, I have fince thought, that I could not of
fer a more grateful facrifice to his manes than by
exerting thoſe faculties, which he had, at first,
cultivated with fo much care; and had depreffed,
at laſt, perhaps only to raiſe them higher. Oh
my fon! how often have I reflected upon the hap-
pinefs
230
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
pinefs of ÆNEAS, in hearing the ghoft of AN-
CHISES fay,
Sic equidem ducebam animo rebarque futurum,
Tempora dinumerans: nec me mea cura fefellit !
The name of my honoured father has infenfibly
drawn me into this digreffion, which, to ſpeak
the truth, I look upon as due to his memory, to
my own ſentiments, and to your filial tenderneſs.
The Fragment or a Difcourfe concerning the me-
chanical operation of the Spirit, is a fatir againſt
enthuſiaſm, and thofe affected inſpirations, which
conftantly begin in folly, and very often end in
vice. In this treatiſe, the author has revelled in
too licentious a vein of farcafm: many of his ideas
are naufeous, fome are indecent, and others have
an irreligious tendency: nor is the piece itſelf
equal in wit and humour either to The Tale of a
Tub, or The Battle of the Books. I fhould conftant-
ly chooſe rather to praiſe, than to arraign, any part
of my friend SWIFT's writings: but in thofe tracts,
where he tries to make us uneafy with ourſelves,
and unhappy in our prefent exiftence, there, I muſt
yield him up entirely to cenfure.
I am, dear HAMILTON,
Your most affectionate Father
ORRER Y.
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 231
D
LETTER XXIV.
R. SWIFT left behind him few manufcripts.
Not one of any confequence, except an ac-
count of the peace of Utrecht, which he called an
Hiftory of the four last Years of Queen ANNE.
The title of an hiftory is too pompous for fuch a
performance. In the hiſtorical ſtyle, it wants dig-
nity, and candour: but as a pamphlet, it will ap-
pear the beſt defence of Lord OXFORD's admini-
ſtration, and the cleareft account of the treaty of
Utrecht, that has hitherto been written.
In fome of his leisure hours, he had begun an
hiſtory of England, and had purfued it through two or
three reigns, from WILLIAM the conqueror. The
contempt which he conceived of our antient mon-
archs, made him foon lay the defign afide. His
averfion to kings was invincible. You will fay per-
haps, this averfion was rooted in pride: poffibly it
might: but, in your courfe of reading, you will
find fo very few princes whofe merits and abilities.
entitle them even to a crown of rufhes, that you
will probably think no fmall degree of prudence
neceffary to reconcile us to a monarchical ſtate.
What
232
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
What has not this nation fuffered from our former
princes? Even from the beft of them? If we fpeak
candidly of our boafted Queen ELIZABETH, fhe
was, in many inſtances, a tyrant: but ſhe was a
tyrant with fenfe and dignity. She knew the true.
intereft of the nation, and the purfued it; but
fhe purfued it in an arbitrary manner.
She was
fortunate in the time of reigning: for her cha-
racter has been exalted by the want of merit in her
fucceffor, from whofe mifconduct guſhed forth that
torrent of mifery, which not only bore down his
fon, but overwhelmed the three kingdoms. If
you ask what were the precious fruits of the re-
ftoration? the anſwer will be, an exchange only
from one confufion to another: from jealoufies be-
tween general MONK and LAMBERT, to jealoufies
between the dukes of York and Monmouth: a per-
petual rotation of falfe politics: a king with the
beft natured difpofition imaginable, fuffering inno-
cent blood to be ſhed without remorfe. Or, if
you enquire, what was the effect of a lawful fo-
vereign? A fhameful fubmiffion to a neighbouring
kingdom, which, not long before, had trembled at
the frowns of an ufurper. Such was the fate of
poor England! To thefe wretched times fucceeded
the religious fooleries, and the weak attempts,
of JAMES the fecond. Then followed the revolu-
tion. But, I must defcend no lower. Let us
there-
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
233
therefore turn our eyes from home, and take a
momentary view of other nations. If we look
towards antient Rome, and confider her firft feven
monarchs, how wicked, or how infignificant,
were their characters? And when the name of
Monarch was changed into that of Emperor, what
a tyrannical pack of CESARS pafs before our
eyes! Many of them the greateſt monſters that
human nature ever produced: yet theſe were lords,
emperors, and kings of the world. If you read
the Old Teftament, and confult the Chronicles of
the kings of Judah, you will find them a fet of
the proudest, and the moſt obftinate princes upon
earth. Tell me then, my HAMILTON, is not fuch
a retroſpect enough to difguft us againſt kings?
Bad as it is, it muſt not diſguft an Engliſhman.
We ought ever to regard, honour, and preferve
our original conftitution, which of all regal ftates
is the beſt framed in the univerfe. The balance
of our government is hung indeed in the niceſt
manner imaginable: a fingle hair will turn it;
but when it is held exactly even, there cannot be
a finer fyftem under heaven: and I muft freely
own to you, that I think our kings have been
often lefs blameable than their people. You re-
member the exclamation of the Scotchman, up-
on feeing the flatteries paid to JAMES the first at
his acceffion," By my faul, men, yon feulish folk
" will
234
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
:
will ſpoil a geud king." The Scotchman was in
the right but we continued in our fooliſh ways
to JAMES and his fucceffors. Our courtly adu-
lations are always outrageous, we know no bounds.
The perſon flattered muſt be more than human,
not to be fometimes blinded by fueh perpetual in-
cenfe. Perhaps we borrow this kind of fervility
from the French, who, in the last century beftowed
the title of JUST upon LEWIS the thirteenth, dur-
ing whofe reign, fuch repeated acts of cruelty, op-
preffion, and injuftice, were perpetrated, as fcarce
any other annals can produce.
An additional excufe, that may be made for the
errors of our English kings, is the different treat-
ment which they find at the beginning, from what
they receive at the latter end of their reigns. At
the beginning, all is fmoothnefs, all is joy and feli-
city but the fun fhine is feldom of a very long du-
ration. Clouds of jealouſy ariſe, and the whole at-
moſphere of the court is foon filled with noxious
vapours, with heart-burnings, animofities, and per-
fonal altercations between minifters: which often
aſcend to fuch a height, as even to moleft the king
in his chair of state. Delirant Achivi, plectuntur
reges. Theſe are the unhappy effects that proceed,
as I have before obferved, from the very nobleſt
cauſe, the thirſt of liberty. A free people are con-
ftantly jealous of their rights. A wife king will
preferve
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 235
preferve to them thoſe rights, and by ſuch a maxim
will eſtabliſh his own. But, the great misfortune
of our former English princes has been their indo-
lent ſubmiſſion to the name, without the leaſt
attempt of diſcharging the duties of a fovereign.
The life of fuch a prince muſt have proved inglo-
rious to his people, and unhappy to himſelf. He
muft have found himfelf only the fecond perſon in
his kingdom, nay perhaps the third or fourth; the
leviathans of power being feldom, if ever, without
their coadjutors: and in that cafe, it is a point of
condefcenfion, to permit their royal mafter to be
one of the group. Our English commentaries,
which are in truth a very melancholy, and a very
reproachful hiſtory, gives us many mortifying in-
ſtances of this kind. I live fo detached from the
great world, and I keep myfelf at ſuch a diſtance
from the high commerce of politics, that I know
little or nothing of the prefent times; and there-
fore can only inftruct you from my reading,
and not from my experience. Your fate perhaps
may lead you to have admittance to the facred clo-
fet, or to approach the exalted fteps of the throne.
If that honour is in referve for you, uſe it in fuch a
manner, as fhall fhew, that you think yourſelf ac-
countable to GoD, and your country, for every ac-
tion of your life. Begin by conquering your own
prejudices, and then endeavour to conquer thoſe
of
236
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
nour.
more fatal to princes,
of your mafter. Make him in love with parlia-
ments, but let thoſe parliaments be free. Bring
him thoroughly acquainted, even with the mi-
nuteſt branch of the conftitution. Study his ho-
Prevent his paffions. Correct his errors.
Keep England ever uppermoft in your thoughts:
and confider the king of England as born only for
the good of his people. Shield him, if poffible,
from flattery: it is a rock
than Charybdis ever was to mariners. Guide his
leifure to manly employments, fuch as may pre-
ferve him from the enervating delicacies of a court.
In your public capacity forget your relations, and
your private friends. Know none but the friends
of your country. Defpife all dignities that you
have not more than thoroughly deferved. Fear
nothing but your own confcience. Aim at nothing
but the profperity of the ftate. Remember, that
Great Britain is an ifland; and that nature, by de-
taching it from the continent, has rendered our fitu-
ation particularly fortunate: and has pointed out
to us, in what element our chief ftrength is deſtin-
ed. Cherifh upon all occafions our naval arma-
ment and fail not to oppofe your voice againſt
any greater number of land-forces than are abſo-
lutely neceflary: I had almoſt faid, neceffary for
reviews in Hyde Pork. A king, who enjoys the
true affection of his people, will never ſtand in need
of
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT. 237
of foldiers to defend him. He will dread no compe-
titor: he will apprehend no domeftic danger. He
will diftinguiſh which of the powers abroad are his
natural and political enemies, and which are fo fitu-
ated, as to require his friendſhip and alliance. He
will attend to the improvement of the colonies in
the IVeft Indies, and to the different branches of
trade that may fafely and wifely be encouraged
in the three different kingdoms.
You find, my HAMILTON, that I fuppofe your
imaginary fovereign capable of receiving inſtruction,
and you of giving it. But far be it from me to wiſh.
you his only counſellor, or (to expreſs myſelf more
properly) his fole minifter: one, who draws every
thing within the vortex of his own power; who is
at once admiral, general, treaſurer, archbishop,
judge, and perpetual legiflator. Such a kind of
magiftrate is odious to the English conftitution.
If from the two houfes of parliament you feparate,
or withdraw the king, the government will remain
in the form of a republic, where every man has his
part allotted to him, and is to co-operate with the
reft, for the benefit of the collective body of the
people. What then is the king? Only the firſt
and chief magiſtrate, who acts in a fuperior degree
to the reft. All dignities, all honours, flow from
the crown.
Such a power alone, exclufive of
every other, will give a prince fufficient authority
throughout
1
238
REMARKS ON THE LIFE
}
*
throughout all his dominions: but he has many
more prerogatives. He has the glorious privilege
of pardoning offences, and rewarding great actions :
while the odious, or at leaſt the reluctant parts of
juriſdiction, ſuch as puniſhment, and condemnation,
are allotted to his officers; to himſelf alone is left
the godlike power of mercy and forgiveness. From
hence perhaps, kings have thought themſelves re-
preſentatives of GOD. Would to GoD, they
thought themſelves reprefentatives of the people!
The law, indeed, generouſly looks upon the king
as incapable of doing wrong. Of what pernicious
confequence therefore must be the interpofition of
a fingle man between the king and the people?
How much muſt he eclipſe his maſter's glory, and
the profperity of the ftate? His fituation will necef-
farily make him act in an arbitrary manner. He is
anſwerable to the laws; and, if his orders are dif-
puted, he is unhinged; if they are difobeyed, he is
undone, unleſs he has artfully brought his adverfa-
ries to a greater degree of corruption than himfelf;
and, in that cafe, But having already finiſh-
ed my moft material obfervations upon the life
and writings of the Dean of St. PATRICK'S, I muſt
remember the boundaries of a letter, and con-
fider, that it is time to draw towards an end.
I originally chofe the topic, my dearest HAMIL-
3
TON,
AND WRITINGS OF DR. SWIFT.
239
TON, becauſe few characters could have afforded fo
great a variety of faults and beauties. Few men
have been more known and admired, or more en-
vied and cenfured, than Dr. SWIFT. From the
gifts of nature, he had great powers; and from the
imperfection of humanity, he had many failings. I
always confidered him as an Abſtract and brief chro-
nicle of the times: no man being better acquainted
with human nature, both in the higheſt, and in the
loweſt ſcenes of life.. His friends and correfpond-
ents were the greateſt and moſt eminent men of
the age. The fages of antiquity were often the
companions of his cloſet: and although he induſtri-
ouſly avoided an oftentation of learning, and gene-
rally choſe to draw his materials from his own ſtore,
yet his knowledge in the antient authors evidently
appears from the ſtrength of his fentiments, and the
claffic correctneſs of his ftyle.
You muſt have obferved, my dear fon, that I
could not fubmit to be confined within the narrow
limits of biographical memoirs. I have gone into
a more extenfive field; and, in my progrefs, I wiſh
I may have thrown out fuch hints, as fhall tend to
form your mind to virtue and learning; the ulti-
mate end of all my wifhes, and all my cares. Hea-
ven grant, my HAMILTON, that I may deferve
from you the honour which HORACE pays to his fa-
L
ther,
240 REMARKS ON THE LIFE &c.
ther, (Infuevit pater hoc me, ut fugerem exemplis vi-
tiorum &c.) when you drop a filial tear over the
grave of
Your most affectionate Father,
your fincerest Friend, and
Leicester Fields,
your happy Companion
ORRERY.
Auguſt 28, 1751.
The
END.
THE
INDE X.
LETTER I
THE introduction.
The place of his birth.
A general character of Dr. SWIFT.
An account of his family.
PAGE
I
His education at ſchool, and at the univerſity of Dublin.
His degree of batchelor of arts, ſpeciali gratiâ.
His admiſſion ad eundem at Hart-Hall in Oxford.
LETTER
II.
Dr. SWIFT, a mafter of arts, in the year 1691.
Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE's kindneſs to him.
A letter from him to his uncle, WILLIAM SWIFT, dated
in the year 1692.
Dr. SWIFT quits Oxford, and lives with Sir WILLIAM
TEMPLE.
Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE's death.
The history of STELLA, the wife of Dr. SWIFT.
LETTER
2
4
5
8
7∞ ∞
9
ΙΟ
II
13
14
15
III.
19
He
Dr. SWIFT's fruitless attendance at Whitehall,
L 2
The IN DE X.
么
​PAGE
He goes to Ireland as chaplain and ſecretary to Lord
BERKELEY.
Mr. BUSH fuperfedes him in the office of fecretary.
He is put in poffeffion of two rectories, Laracor and
Rathbeggan.
His clerk Roger.
His fifter difobliges him by marrying a tradefman.
His mother died at Leicester.
His manner of travelling.
The deanery of Derry intended for Dr. SWIFT.
The first interview between Archbishop KING, and Pri-
mate BOULTER.
King WILLIAM dies.
LETTER IV.
20
20
21
21
22
22
22
23
24
24
Queen ANNE's chief minifters.
Dr. SWIFT attaches himſelf to the tories.
The commencement of his intimacy with the Earl of Ox-
FORD.
His inclinations to ſettle in England,
A quotation from one of his letters to Mr. POPE.
He is made Dean of St. PATRICK's, in Ireland, in the
year 1713.
His diſappointment of a bishoprick.
LETTER
V.
The rage of party in Ireland at Dr. SWIFT's arrival
there, in the year 1713.
2.5
26
28
29
30
30
31
33
SWIFT'S
The INDE X.
SWIFT's behaviour to the chapter of St. PATRICK's.
A letter from Mr. POPE to Dr. Swift.
PAGE
33
35
40
Queen ANNE dies, and Dr. SWIFT goes to his deanery in
Ireland.
LETTER
VI.
The ftate of Ireland at the death of Queen ANNE.
41
The different characters of Dr. TILLOTSON, Mr. ADDISON,
and Dr. SWIFT, as writers in profe.
42
SWIFT's want of delicacy.
43
A criticism on SwIFT's poetical writings.
SWIFT compared to HORACE.
4+
4+
SWIFT's works from 1714. to 1720. are few and trifling. 45
In the year 1720. he is diftinguished by the title of
THE DEAN.
The DRAPIER's Letters gain univerfal applause.
LETTER VII.
47
48
FAULKNER's edition of the DEAN's works.
The character of Dr. SHERIDAN.
Some reflexions upon the variegated character of Dr.
SWIFT.
LETTER
VIII.
The first volume of FAULKNER's edition of SWIFT'S
works.
L 3
53
56
59
61
Remarks
The INDE X.
PAGE
Remarks upon A difcourfe of the contefts and diffen-
fions between the nobles and commons in Athens
and Rome.
A Meditation upon a Broom-ſtick.
The Sentiments of a Church-of-Eng-
land Man, with reſpect to Religion
and Government.
The Argument againſt aboliſhing
Chriſtianity.
A Project for the Advancement of Re-
61
64
65
66
ligion,
and
Manners.
the
Reformation of
66
67
The tritical Effay on the Faculties of the
Mind.
The Letter to the Earl of OXFORD for
correcting, improving, and afcertain-
ing the English Tongue.
A Letter to a young gentleman lately en-
tered into holy Orders: And
To a young Lady on her Marriage.
LETTER IX.
67
69.
The fecond volume of SWIFT's works.
The hiftory of VANESSA.
LETTER X.
Remarks upon The Lady's Dreffing-Room.
7༠
71
83
Sone
The INDEX.
Some general remarks upon SWIFT's Poems
An anecdote concerning DAPHNE.
SWIFT's feraglio.
PAGE
85
86.
87
Remarks upon SWIFT's Riddles, his Latin Epiftle to
Dr. SHERIDAN, and his Defcription in Latin of
the Rocks of Carbery.
88
LETTER XI.
Third volume of SWIFT's works.
89
Some general obfervations upon LEMUEL GULLIVER'S
Travels into ſeveral remote Nations of the World. 90
A letter from Mrs.WHITEWAY to Lord ORRERY, dated
November 22, 1742, defcribing the melancholy fitua-
tion of Dr. SWIFT's health and underſtanding.
A letter from DEANE SWIFT, Efq; to the fame purport,
dated April 4, 1744-
CYRANO DE BERGERAC's voyage to the fun and moon.
LETTER XII.
SWIFT unacquainted with mathematics.
Remarks upon the flying iſland, and the manners,
various projects of the philofophers of Lagade.
SWIFT's dictionary for his female fenate.
94
96
99.
101
and
103
105
105
LET
That, true humour and decency, ought always to go to-
gether.
The INDEX.
LETTER
A character of ALEXANDER the Great.
XIII
PAGE
108
Remarks upon HANNIBAL and Livy the hiftorian. 109
The ghosts of PomPFC and CESAR introduced by SWIFT,
only to grace ike entry of BRUTUS, his favourite pa-
triot.
An epigram on the buft of BRUTUS.
A defence of CESAR the dictator.
SWIFT's fextumvirate.
110
111
112
113
115 5 116
The different tempers of the Archbishop of Cambray
and the Dean of St. PATRICK's.
LETTER XIV.
Short characters of HOMER.
117
Of ARISTOTLE.
119
Of RAMUS, SCOTUS, and AQUINAS.
121
Of EPICURUS.
122
Of DESCARTES.
125
Of GASSENDI.
125
Remarks upon the Struldbruggs.
125
LETTER
XV.
Remarks upon the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos.
127
LETTER
XVI.
The fourth volume of SWIFT's works.
132
Remarks
The INDEX.
PAGE
Remarks upon A Letter from a Member of the Houſe
of Commons in Ireland, to a Member of the Houſe
of Commons in England, concerning the Sacra-
mental Teft.
SWIFT's race with Dr. RAYMOND.
Remarks upon A Propofal for the univerfal Ufe of
Irish Manufacture in Cloaths, Furniture of
Houfes, &c.
Some Arguments againſt enlarging
the Power of Bishops in letting
Leafes.
The DRAPIER's Letters, and a full
and true Account of the folemn
proceffion to the Gallows at the
Execution of WILLIAM WOOD,
Efq; and Hard-ware-man.
The prefent fate of Ireland.
being particularly humorous.
Some pamphlets in the fourth volume, mentioned only as
132
133
134
136
136
137
138 & 139
140
A copy of verfes from Lord ORRERY to Dr. SWIFT.
LETTER XVII.
The fifth volume of SWIFT's works.
Remarks upon The Conduct of the Allies.
The Examiners.
142
143
143
145 & 146
LET.
Some reflexions upon Political pamphlets, and upon
party.
The INDE X.
LETTER XVII.
The fixth volume of SWIFT's works.
A character of the Earl of PETERBOROUGH.
PAGE
Remarks upon a pamphlet entitled, The public Spirit
of the Whigs.
A Preface to the Bishop of Salibu-
ry's Introduction to the third Vo-
lume of the Hiftory of the Re-
formation of the Church of Eng-
land.
The Preſbyterians plea of Merit in
order to take off the Teft, impar-
tially examined.
Advice offered to the Members of the
October Club.
147
148
149
150
152
153
LETTER
XIX.
The Seventh volume of SWIFT's works, containing his
epiftolary Correfpondence from the year 1714 to
the year 1737.
155
Some general obfervations and advice.
155
A comparison between the writings and manners of Dr.
SWIFT and Mr. POPE.
157
Their friendship mutual and lafting.
159
Remarks upon the writings of Lord BACON.
164
Of MILTON.
165
Of HARRINGTON,
165
Qf ALGERNON SYDNEY.
165
of
The INDE X.
Rochester.
PAGE
Of Lord CLARENDON.
165
Of Dr. SPRAT, Bishop of
166
166
167
Of Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE.
SWIFT, ADDISON, and Lord BOL.NGBROKE, our three
best English writers.
Remarks on POFE's Ethic Epifiles, and his Eſſay on Man. 168
Some hints at Lord BOLINGBROKE's character.
168
LETTER
XX.
Remarks upon A letter from Dr. SWIFT to Mr. Pore,
dated Dublin, January, 10, 1721.
Lord BOLINGBROKE's letters.
GAY's letters.
A character of Dr. ARBUTHNOT.
Animadverfions upon epiftolary writings.
A poftfcript.
The eighth volume of SWIFT's works.
Remarks on Dr. SWIFT's will.
LETTER XXI.
The fituation of his health, and mind, from the year 1739
to his death, at the latter end of October 1745.
Dr. SWIFT's pre-fentiments of his fate.
The amount of his fortune.
A differtation upon lunacy.
A differtation upon idiotifm.
LETTER XXII.
Remarks upon SwIFT's Directions to Servants,
3
170
177
177
179
179
183
184
184
185
187
188
188
196
199
Reafons
The INDE X.
1
PAGE
Reaſons humbly offered to the Parlia-
ment of Ireland, for repealing the
Sacramental Teft in favour of the
Catholics.
The remainder of the volume compared to a garden over-
run with docks and thistles, among which SWIFT's
three fermons appear as rofes.
Remarks upon thofe fermons.
SWIFT's averfion to triplets.
201
203
From 204 to 209
SWIFT's writings compared to a machine in WINSTAN-
LEY's water-works.
LETTER XXIII.
Remarks upon The Tale of a Tub.
The characters of PETER, JACK and
MARTIN.
The Battle of the Books.
210
211
212
213, 214
A criticifm on VIRGIL, attempting to prove, that he
has mentioned HORACE.
Some hints relating to WOTTON, BENTLEY, and BOYLE.
227
219
221
228
230
A quotation from VIRGIL relating to ANCHISES.
Remarks upon The Fragment, or a Difcourfe con-
cerning the mechanical Operation of the Spirit. 23c
LETTER
XXIV.
Some hints of a manufcript (entitled by Dr. SWIFT),
An Hiſtory of the four laſt years of Queen ANNE. 231
The conclufion.
238