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

"Mors omnibus communis"

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 originally had two shelves:

books that make me want to have children so I can read to them

and

books that make me want to have children so I can eat them

But really this is the only one that would fall in the latter category.

This is one of the greatest pieces of satire ever written, but seriously, have you ever noticed that babies really do taste better? Think about it. Veal, lamb, kittens. I could go on.

I was in high school when I first read this and once I got over the shock of the proposal I grew to appreciate the wit in the satire and the history behind the motivation and purpose of the author for writing it.

Swift's satiric proposal that Ireland solve overpopulation and hunger by literally eating their young. Still bristles.

At first I thought oh my lord he’s not even joking..... I mean people have suggested crazier things. But oh, the glorious satire against the political state in Ireland at that time is palpable. Good show.

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.

With this paragraph, around a quarter of the way through a 1729 text, Swift (originally writing anonymously) detonates the bomb that is at the core of A Modest PROPOSAL For preventing the CHILDREN of POOR PEOPLE From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the PUBLICK.

But this, of course, is Swift, and we must never take his writings at their word. When he discusses the main advantages of such a policy for Ireland (such as fewer Catholics, the introduction of a new dish for gentlemen with refined tastes, an added draw for taverns, an income for the 'breeders' and an economic policy to encourage marriage) his purpose is to criticise social attitudes, but as with all satire, outward appearances are outrageous--but also deceptive.

Swift was Anglo-Irish Anglican clergyman, and his position was to be a signpost always to a via media (as characterises the Church of England itself, being somewhere in the middle of a Christian continuum stretching from Dissenter to Roman Catholic). By taking arguments to extremes, as with A Modest Proposal, he exposed what he saw as inherent ridiculousness, but with such po-faced earnestness that it was sometimes hard to know when he was being serious without close reading of the text.

In this slim volume are also included four other works. The Battle of the Books is the longest, and was essentially a discourse on the three strands of Christianity in the west, with the individuals Peter, Martin and Jack standing for Catholicism, Anglicanism and Nonconformism. (As a digression, I wonder if this piece indirectly influenced R M Ballantyne's famous novel The Coral Island, the leads of which were Peterkin, Jack Martin and Ralph, and which itself directly inspired William Golding's characters Piggy, Jack and Ralph in The Lord of the Flies.)

Also here is the very short A Meditation upon a Broomstick, a mock allegory of the human condition perpetrated as a joke upon a Lady Berkeley. This is followed by A Discourse concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit: in this Swift equates spirit with 'enthusiasm', literally the state of being possessed by a god. The manifestation of enthusiasm Swift calls 'ejaculating the spirit, or transporting it beyond the sphere of matter'; to the three expressions of this manifestation--divine prophecy or inspiration, devilish possession, and the product of the imagination or strong emotions--Swift adds 'the mechanical operation of the spirit', which he at first compares to the ass on which Mohammed is said to have travelled to Paradise. (He also has witty words to say about epistolatory conventions, but there is no space, dear reader, to expand on this.)

That only leaves the last of these papers published before 1729, An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England, which, however dry the subject appears to be from the title, is as knockabout a farce attacking all and sundry as any in this collection. Swift's own footnotes, along with the editor's, are included here, as well as a brief biography by way of introduction.

Even allowing for a three-century gap these pieces have a surprisingly relevant contemporary bite, especially in view of recent political events: the shocking satire of A Modest Proposal throws a light on the downsides of utilitarianism, the dangers of cynical commercialism and the human capacity for self-delusion.

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.

"Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own" (p.2)

Gostei muito destes cinco textos, nos quais Jonathan Swift satiriza, com enorme mestria, o meio social e político que o rodeia, condenando a hipocrisia e o cinismo de ambos com a ferocidade de alguém realmente indignado.

A Modest proposal é, desta compilação, o seu trabalho mais forte. O sentido de humor tão bem aguçado e espirituoso, a forma como pinta com humor algumas das suas ideias mais repulsivas, tornam-no uma referência no género.

"of what use is freedom of thought, if it will not produce freedom of action?" (p.51)

It was interesting to read. A bit hard to get into but once it was clear to me that the extra texts were to provide context.
Once I got into it I really enjoyed reading it. It was hard to follow because some of them are letters and written a bit wishy washy with language.
He’s very humorous and does satire incredibly well. Some is more obvious that others but that’s what makes it effective.
This has made me want to know more about the political influence and social influence (historical context).