Nutshell: misanthropic rightwinger thinks that he’s funny, but he’s just a dick.

The foregoing conclusions are authorized by the author, who admitted in a letter to fellow douchebag Pope:

I have got materials toward a treatise proving the falsity of that definition animal rationale, and to show that it would be only rationis capax. Upon this great foundation of misanthropy, … the whole building of my Travels is erected. (21)

Several texts in this collection:

A Tale of a Tub--
Lots of derridean outworks here, including the opening dedication to some inbred aristocrat

I should now, in right of a dedicator, give your Lordship a list of your own virtues, and at the same time be very unwilling to offend your modesty; but chiefly I should celebrate your liberality towards men of great parts and small fortunes, and give you broad hints that I mean myself. And I was just going on in the usual method to peruse a hundred or two of dedications, and transcribe an abstract to be applied to your Lordship. (27)

Fourth such outwork explains the title:

seamen have a custom when they meet a Whale to fling him out an empty Tub, by way of amusement, to divert him from laying violent hands upon the Ship. This parable was immediately mythologised; the Whale was interpreted to be Hobbes’ “Leviathan,” which tosses and plays with all other schemes of religion and government, whereof a great many are hollow, and dry, and empty, and noisy, and wooden, and given to rotation. This is the Leviathan from whence the terrible wits of our age are said to borrow their weapons. The Ship in danger is easily understood to be its old antitype the commonwealth. (39-40)

Preface otherwise makes sure to avoid going forward “without declaiming, according to custom, against the multitude of writers whereof the whole multitude of writers most reasonably complain” (40). Speaker of the preface notes that in England it’s fine to state openly that “we live in the very dregs of time” (46)—not sure how to take that, as the layers of irony here are numerous—but it would be consistent with the retrograde politics.

The ‘Tale’ proper proceeds as an allegory of three guys (Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist) who inherit cloaks (church praxis) from their father’s will (scripture) and go about dicking up their cloaks. This allegory is intermingled with digressions. The Introduction makes plain that the text is concerned with “oratorical machines” (50), from whose company attorneys are apparently excluded (?). We see that the scheme of “oratorical receptacles or machines contains a great mystery, being a type, a sign, an emblem, a shadow, a symbol, bearing analogy to the spacious commonwealth of writers and to those methods by which they must exalt themselves to a certain eminency above the inferior world” (53).

Most interesting is the use of ellipsis to omit materials (as we may have noted regarding  Gulliver’s Travels). Author has a ‘hiatus’ regarding “faction” (54) and regarding Calvinism (140). (In the “Mechanical Operation” text, infra, he also specifically omits the explanation of “the whole scheme of spiritual mechanism,” i.e., ostensibly the point of the text, because “it was thought neither safe nor convenient to print it” (162).) Best elision, from the famous essay on madness, while working through the important problem of “how it is possible to account for such imaginations as these in particular men, without recourse to my phenomenon of vapours ascending from the lower faculties to overshadow the brain, and there distilling into conceptions” (118-19) (which is substantially identical to Ayn Rand’s epistemology, no?): “There is in mankind a certain […] and this I take to be a clear solution of the matter [!]” (120). So, there it is.

Nice jab at ‘critics,’ insofar as we are told:

For it hath been objected that those ancient heroes, famous for their combating so many giants and dragons and robbers, were in their own persons a greater nuisance to mankind than any of the monsters they subdued; and therefore, to render their obligations more complete, when all other vermin were destroyed, should in conscience have concluded with the same justice upon themselves, as Hercules most generously did. (72)

Criticism is thereafter cunningly identified with the intention

to travel through this vast world of writings; to peruse and hunt those monstrous faults bred within them; to drag out the lurking errors, like Cacus from his den; to multiply them like Hydra’s heads; and rake them together like Augeas’ dung; or else drive away a sort of dangerous fowl who have a perverse inclination to plunder the best branches of the tree of knowledge, like those Stymphalian birds that ate up the fruit. (73)

So, good to see that he has developed an enlightened attitude toward his interlocutors, for whom, I think, he has just recommended suicide.

On the other hand, text will, at another moment, with perhaps a different speaker, suggest that Homer, “a person not without some abilities, and for ancient of a tolerable genius,” is nevertheless full of “many gross errors” (92).

Anyway, have dwelled overlong on the “Tale,” which is first rate overall. Much of interest that I haven’t mentioned. Suffice to say that one speaker recommends a derridean oblique approach:

get a thorough insight into the index by which the whole book is governed and turned, like fishes by the tail. For to enter the palace of learning at the great gate requires an expense of time and forms, therefore men of much haste and little ceremony are content to get in by the backdoor. For the arts are all in a flying march, and therefore more easily subdued by attacking from the rear. (104)

“A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit”—
Opens with the suggestion that Mohammed “is known to have borrowed a moiety of his religious system from the Christian faith”(153), and then descends to the bizarre proposition that “there are three general ways of ejaculating the soul” (155). Inter alia, deduces a “history of fanaticism” (167 ff.).

After the ‘Tale,’ we have “A Tritical Essay,” “Meditation Upon a Broomstick,” “On Political Lying,” “The Drapier Letters,” and “A Character, Panegyric, and Description of the Legion Club,” about which little need be said. Also included:

“Thoughts on Various Subjects”—
A collection of generally non-satirical gnomics. I fucking hate the gnomic. Here, author outs himself as troglodyte with such items as “Law in a free country is, or ought to be, the determination of the majority of those who have property in land” (193). Uh, fuck you? Also: “Those who are against religion must needs be fools” (195). Whatever? This text also includes the famous ‘confederacy of dunces’ line deployed later by Toole.

“An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England”—
Builds a distinction between “nominal” and “real” Christianity; he won’t defend the latter, as it has “been for some time wholly laid aside by general consent as utterly inconsistent with our present schemes of wealth and power” (201), which strikes me as a nasty disqualificatory thesis. Seriously, you have a state church and you wrote this to oppose repealing the Test Act, no? (“Nothing can be more notorious than that the Atheists, Deists, Socinians, Antitrinitarians, and other subdivisions of freethinkers, are persons of little zeal for the present ecclesiastical establishment; their declared opinion is for repealing the sacramental test” (210). FFS. FFS!)

“A Modest Proposal”—
Obviously one of the great essays in English literary history. One thing I note now in reading through this time is that the impetus for the eponymous proposal is that “I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout,” which is the first overt reference to cannibalism in the text (259).

(No “Battle of the Books,” weirdly.)

Recommended for those who think praise was originally a pension paid by the world, readers affected in the head by tentiginous humour, and persons who have no children by which they can propose to get a single penny.

Buying a 412 page book for what turns out to be the nine page Proposal, is a waste of money. How fascinated would you be to read excerpts of a private journal recording thoughts on the mundane and on persons you have no knowledge of, nor interest in? Would you rather read copies of private letters? Much of the book displays Swift’s caustic wit, but, unless you are an enthusiast for Irish history, there is so much minutia that a quarter of the volume is given to footnotes! Save your money and find “A Modest Proposal” in another edition.

I bet this guy would be a hoot today, working for the Daily Show and the Onion.

One time, in high school, I came up with this idea to decrease our dependency on oil, end world hunger, and cure obesity. It was a very similar vibe to J. Swift's proposal. Mine, suck the bone marrow out of people. Our bodies would no longer support obesity, we could fly like birds, and we can feed the marrow to starving people. Bam.

Me and J. Swift, we could be friends.

The other essays in here are also satirical, but not as... appalling as the modest proposal.

At around three and a half thousand words, this is an extremely short text, which will take probably less than thirty minutes to read.

It is a political satire which is either very funny or outrageously distasteful, as three hundred years of readers have variously argued. Modern readers should be aware that it includes themes of cannibalism (!).

What makes this an interesting read is that it purports to be a serious proposal to address a very serious contemporary problem revolving around the large numbers of beggars. Swift describes the scenes of destitute women trailing half a dozen children as they wander around begging for their living. And the problem persists because none of the politicians can agree on what measures to take to resolve matters.

Swift works through various considerations. He notes that the only work available for young begging children is stealing. But children are not generally skilled enough to do that until the age of 6, so there is a national crisis about what to do with children up to the age of 6.

Swift notes that these children cannot even be sold into slavery as that will scarcely recoup a quarter of the costs of rearing the child to that age. So, what is to be done?

In the absence of any other solutions, he concludes that there is only one way forward: eat the children. He works through various considerations of how that can work in practice.

This is a well-crafted satire which serves to bring into sharper relief, the underlying original problem of the impoverished children on the streets. Swift’s solution is so outrageous, that it forces readers to reflect on the fact that a different solution is needed.

Although the document is carefully crafted and well written for its readership of 1729, changing tastes (excuse the pun) mean that some passages of the text work less well with modern readers. Modern readers do not need the calculations in the text of how many hundreds of thousands of children are affected, nor indeed do modern readers need the references and citations to others who have contributed to the idea. Modern readers are far too used to half baked ill-conceived ideas being shouted out as political proposals.

Overall, this is a classic example of political satire and persuasion. It is a text which deserves to be known by anyone interested in the rhetoric of persuasion, even if parts of the text have weathered less well over the last few centuries.

Read selections for my English Religious Authors seminar at Baylor with Dr. Kevin Gardner (Summer 2014).

xxxi: Hibernian Patriot (also p. xxxiii and 243)
94: punning
100: lying
105: obey the king
106: temperance
230-31: stealing

What an... interesting way of dealing with political problems of his age. I haven't laughed that hard for quite some time.

Satirisk samhällskritik. Titeltexten är helt klart stilmässigt den mest erfarna (1729), textens meningsbyggnad har klarnat, blivit mer klassicistisk, än de tidiga röriga barocktexterna. Titeltexten är så effektiv att den väcker avsky även hos mig, 300 år senare.
De ingående texterna har utvecklats över trettio år och väckt mycket avsky. Ibland förstår jag och roas, men inte alltid, ibland är det för kulturellt tidbunden, som när samhället ändrats. Men en del texter gäller mer generella mänskliga drag, och då går det hem än idag.

Hilarious!

Jonathan Swift was a satirical genius! His writing style is difficult to read, and it took me a while to parse his sentences and understand what he was trying to say, but it was hilarious once I got it! I originally bought this collection just for his "Modest Proposal" but I enjoyed all of the other works in this short collection as well.

Alçakgönüllü Bir Öneri / Jonathan Swift

Yazarı Gulliver'in Yolculukları'ndan tanıyorum. Denemelerini de sevdim. ''İrfan sahibi kişilerin yürüttüğü savaşlarda mürekkebin son derece önemli bir silah olduğu anlaşılmalıdır. Her iki taraftan da kahramanlar hünerli ve şiddetli biçimde düşmana sonsuz miktarda mürekkep fırlatabilirler. Bu maddenin acılığı ve zehri yüksektir'' diyor. Tarih boyunca iktidarlar da bunu farkettikleri için olsa gerek yazarların başı dertten kurtulmamış.
Birçok güzel özlü sözü de var;
''Bu dünyaya gerçek bir deha geldiğini şöyle anlayabilirsiniz; ahmaklar ona karşı bir araya gelir''
''Politikada yalanlar uydurma sanatı üzerine bir deneme,, bölümü de çok güzel. ''Politik bir yalan bazen yerinden edilmiş bir devlet adamının kafasından doğar ve bir ayaktakımı güruhu da bu yalanı besleyip buyütür. Nitekim iktidar partisine yirmi yıldır kılavuzluk ettiğini hepimiz görüyoruz'' diyor. Üstelik bütün bunlar ta 1710 yılında yazılmış. Eski püskü(!) şeyler yani.
http//beyazkitaplik.com

- only read: a modest proposal

Gulliver’in Gezileri dışında bir kitabını bilmediğim Jonathan Swift’in sıkı bir hiciv ustası olduğunu öğrendiğim denemeler topluluğu.

Yazar, önsözde bilgi olmadan nükte ve zekâ, salt kremadan ibaret derken aslında bir nevi dakika bir gol bir durumu oluşuyor. Zira, yazarımız kapasitesi olmayıp atıp tutanlar kadar zeki ama vasıfsız insanlardan da bayağı mustarip.

Ciddi bir eleştirim olacak, Latince veya Eski Yunanca başta olmak üzere yabancı dil çevirilerinde muhteşem notlarıyla ufkumu açan İş Bankası Kültür Yayınlarının bu kitabında birçok yerde Latince sözlerin çevirileri ve açıklamaları yoktu. Normalde, hiç sorun değil derdim ama o kadar yerinde açıklamalarla bütünü algılamaya yardımcı oluyorlardı bu açıklamalar ki eksik kaldım desem yalan olmaz.

“Hırs, çoğu zaman insanlara en alçak işleri yaptırır.” sözünün altını güzelce dolduruyor Swift. “Kötü arkadaşlık köpeğe benzer; en çok, en sevdiklerini kirletir.” sözünde ise gayriihtiyari aklım Ezel’deki “Oysa herkes öldürür sevdiğini” sözü geldi aklıma Ramiz Dayı’nın. Menfaat, çoğu zaman sinsi bir yol gösterici oluyor tüm insanlığa ne yazık ki.

Kitabın adını aldığı son deneme ise gerçekten tüyler ürpertici ve bir o kadar da düşündürücü. Kitabın kapağını kapatırken yüzümde mutlu bir ifade vardı, teşekkürler Swift bana ayırdığın zaman için.

“Gerçek anlamda çok az insan gerçekten bugünü yaşar, çoğunluğu bir başka zaman yaşamaya başlayabilmek adına bekler ve biriktirir.”
“İmdi, etkili ve dolambaçlı konuşma sanatı ruhun ihsan ettiği sözcükleri, cemaati en fazla etkileyecek kadansta sesletebilmeye bağlıdır.”
“Övgü, mevcut iktidarın kızıdır.”
“…çünkü bugünlerde güneşin yalnızca yükselişine bakıyor, batışına değil…”

n  A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Worksn contains five essays by Swift. n  A Modest Proposaln focuses upon politics, n  Battle of the Booksn upon literature and philosophy, and the remaining three address religious belief and practice.

n  A Modest Proposaln is easily the most famous of Swift's essays, and as such most people are aware of its premise. It is incredibly witty, brief, and poignant. A fine satire.

To appreciate n  Battle of the Booksn requires a fair amount of understanding regarding ancient and modern philosophy and literature. It casts writings (personified as their writers) in struggle against one another set in a library. But in a broader sense, it can be appreciated as expressing vanity, ingratitude, and disdain by some modern thinkers for ancient thinkers.

n  Meditation Upon a Broomstickn is a very short work drawing analogy between broomstick and man, speaking of the nature and purposes of each.

n  An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in Englandn
is a satire against the idea that shortcomings in human nature are religious faults. Even if religion were removed, vices due to human nature would still trouble mankind.

n  Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spiritn is a satire directed against all religious extremists. Swift refers to Muslims and Protestant Christians of his own age in particular. I can't help but think how relevant Swift remains more than 250 years after his death.