The Poetry Library
Featured
Curated
Contribute
Wiki-Literary?
Poetry or Not?
Metaphor / Personification
What's that Number?
About
Go!
The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.
<<
Text (OCR)
Scanned Image
76
MEMOIRS
OF
These
were
the
leading
principles
which
governed
him
through
life
;
nor
will
it
be
difficult
to
shew,
that
he
uniformly
acted
up
to
them,
unless
in
address
ing
those
who
confound
principle
with
party,
and
deem
that
consistence
can
only
be
claimed
by
such
as,
with
blindfold
and
iridiscriminating
attachment,
fol
low
the
banners
and
leaders
of
a
particular
denomi
nation
of
politicians.
Swift,
on
the
contrary,
as
he
carried
into
the
ranks
of
the
Whigs
the
opinions
and
scruples
of
a
high-church
clergyman,
joined,
in
like
manner,
the
standard
of
Harley
with
those
sentiments
of
liberty,
and
that
hatred
of
arbitrary
power,
which
became
the
pupil
of
Sir
William
Temple.
Such
a
distinction
between
opinions
in
church
and
state
has
not
frequently
existed,
the
high-churchmen
being
usually
Tories,
and
the
low-church
divines
univer
sally
Whigs.
But
in
Swift ' s
mind
the
distinction
did
exist,
and
however
it
might
embarrass
his
politi
cal
conduct,
nothing
can
be
more
certain
than
that
he
early
drew
the
line,
and
constantly
adhered
to
it.
Even
while
residing
with
Sir
William
Temple,
he
judged
the
constancy
of
Archbishop
Sancroft,
who
refused
the
oaths
to
William
and
Mary,
worthy
to
be
celebrated
in
an
ode
;
while,
at
the
same
time,
as
far
as
can
be
safely
argued
from
the
Pindaric
obscu
rity
of
the
following
stanzas,
the
poet
gave
his
full
approbation
to
the
measure
which
placed
those
prin-
>>