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89-776: Abigail became the mother of one of David's sons, who is listed in the Book of Chronicles under the name Daniel , in the Masoretic Text of the Books of Samuel as Chileab, and in the Septuagint text of 2 Samuel 3:3 as Δαλουια, Dalouia . Her name is spelled Abigal in 2 Samuel 17:25 in the American Standard Version . Derived from the Hebrew word ab, "father", and the Hebrew root g-y-l , "to rejoice,"

178-628: A " lasting dynasty " (verse 28). Jon Levenson calls this an "undeniable adumbration " of Nathan 's prophecy in 2 Samuel 7 . Alice Bach notes that Abigail pronounces a "crucial prophecy," and the Talmud regards her as one of the Tanakh 's seven female prophets. Levenson, however, suggests that she "senses the drift of history" from intelligence rather than from special revelation. After Abigail reveals to Nabal what she has done, "God struck Nabal and he died" (v. 38), after which David married her. Abigail

267-472: A Whig in politics ... But, as to religion, I confessed myself to be an High-Churchman." In his Thoughts on Religion , fearing the intense partisan strife waged over religious belief in seventeenth-century England, Swift wrote that "Every man, as a member of the commonwealth, ought to be content with the possession of his own opinion in private." However, it should be borne in mind that, during Swift's time period, terms like "Whig" and "Tory" both encompassed

356-619: A belief that he had been promised a position. This failed so miserably that he accepted the lesser post of secretary and chaplain to the Earl of Berkeley , one of the Lords Justice of Ireland. However, when he reached Ireland, he found that the secretaryship had already been given to another. He soon obtained the living of Laracor, Agher , and Rathbeggan, and the prebend of Dunlavin in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Swift ministered to

445-632: A cast-off mistress, which he would not contemplate. Johnston's theory is expounded fully in his book In Search of Swift . He is also cited in the Dictionary of Irish Biography and the theory is presented without attribution in the Concise Cambridge History of English Literature . Swift was a prolific writer. The collection of his prose works (Herbert Davis, ed. Basil Blackwell, 1965–) comprises fourteen volumes. A 1983 edition of his complete poetry (Pat Rodges, ed. Penguin, 1983)

534-562: A century later than what had been largely accepted for two millennia. Much of the content of Chronicles is a repetition of material from other books of the Bible, from Genesis to Kings , and so the usual scholarly view is that these books, or an early version of them, provided the author with the bulk of his material. It is, however, possible that the situation was rather more complex, and that books such as Genesis and Samuel should be regarded as contemporary with Chronicles, drawing on much of

623-463: A clarification of the history in Genesis–Kings, or a replacement or alternative for it. Presbyterian theologian Paul K. Hooker argues that the generally accepted message the author wished to give to his audience was a theological reflection, not a "history of Israel": Translations Introductions Audiobooks Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745)

712-664: A confrontation, possibly involving Esther Johnson. Esther Vanhomrigh died in 1723 at the age of 35, having destroyed the will she had made in Swift's favour. Another lady with whom he had a close but less intense relationship was Anne Long , a toast of the Kit-Cat Club . Before the fall of the Tory government, Swift hoped that his services would be rewarded with a church appointment in England. However, Queen Anne appeared to have taken

801-535: A congregation of about 15 at Laracor , which was just over four and a half miles (7.2 km) from Summerhill, County Meath , and twenty miles (32 km) from Dublin. He had abundant leisure for cultivating his garden, making a canal after the Dutch fashion of Moor Park, planting willows, and rebuilding the vicarage. As chaplain to Lord Berkeley, he spent much of his time in Dublin and travelled to London frequently over

890-572: A curriculum largely set in the Middle Ages for the priesthood. The lectures were dominated by Aristotelian logic and philosophy. The basic skill taught to students was debate, and they were expected to be able to argue both sides of any argument or topic. Swift was an above-average student but not exceptional, and received his B.A. in 1686 "by special grace." Swift was studying for his master's degree when political troubles in Ireland surrounding

979-509: A dislike to Swift and thwarted these efforts. Her dislike has been attributed to A Tale of a Tub , which she thought blasphemous, compounded by The Windsor Prophecy , where Swift, with a surprising lack of tact, advised the Queen on which of her bedchamber ladies she should and should not trust. The best position his friends could secure for him was the Deanery of St Patrick's ; this was not in

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1068-576: A fictional biography of Swift, titled I Live Under a Black Sun and published in 1937. A. L. Rowse wrote a biography of Swift, essays on his works, and edited the Pan Books edition of Gulliver's Travels . Literary scholar Frank Stier Goodwin wrote a full biography of Swift: Jonathan Swift – Giant in Chains , issued by Liveright Publishing Corporation , New York (1940, 450pp, with Bibliography). In 1982, Soviet playwright Grigory Gorin wrote

1157-479: A pamphlet issued on 30 March claiming that Partridge had in fact died, which was widely believed despite Partridge's statements to the contrary. According to other sources, Richard Steele used the persona of Isaac Bickerstaff, and was the one who wrote about the "death" of John Partridge and published it in The Spectator , not Jonathan Swift. The Drapier's Letters (1724) was a series of pamphlets against

1246-518: A paper bearing the words, "Only a woman's hair". Death became a frequent feature of Swift's life from this point. In 1731 he wrote Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift , his own obituary, published in 1739. In 1732, his good friend and collaborator John Gay died. In 1735, John Arbuthnot, another friend from his days in London, died. In 1738 Swift began to show signs of illness, and in 1742 he may have suffered

1335-522: A pet form of Esther, to the "Van" of her surname, Vanhomrigh), and she features as one of the main characters in his poem Cadenus and Vanessa . The poem and their correspondence suggest that Esther was infatuated with Swift and that he may have reciprocated her affections, only to regret this and then try to break off the relationship. Esther followed Swift to Ireland in 1714 and settled at her old family home, Celbridge Abbey . Their uneasy relationship continued for some years; then there appears to have been

1424-469: A stroke, losing the ability to speak and realising his worst fears of becoming mentally disabled. ("I shall be like that tree", he once said, "I shall die at the top.") He became increasingly quarrelsome, and long-standing friendships, like that with Thomas Sheridan, ended without sufficient cause. To protect him from unscrupulous hangers-ons, who had begun to prey on the great man, his closest companions had him declared of "unsound mind and memory". However, it

1513-426: A suitable position in England. His work made enemies among some of Temple's family and friends, in particular Temple's formidable sister Martha, Lady Giffard, who objected to indiscretions included in the memoirs. Moreover, she noted that Swift had borrowed from her own biography, an accusation that Swift denied. Swift's next move was to approach King William directly, based on his imagined connection through Temple and

1602-427: A theatrical fantasy called The House That Swift Built based on the last years of Jonathan Swift's life and episodes of his works. The play was filmed by director Mark Zakharov in the 1984 two-part television movie of the same name . Jake Arnott features him in his 2017 novel The Fatal Tree . A 2017 analysis of library holdings data revealed that Swift is the most popular Irish author, and that Gulliver's Travels

1691-476: A wide array of opinions and factions, and neither term aligns with a modern political party or modern political alignments. Also during these years in London, Swift became acquainted with the Vanhomrigh family (Dutch merchants who had settled in Ireland, then moved to London) and became involved with one of the daughters, Esther . Swift furnished Esther with the nickname " Vanessa " (derived by adding "Essa",

1780-482: Is 953 pages long. One edition of his correspondence (David Woolley, ed. P. Lang, 1999) fills three volumes. Swift's first major prose work, A Tale of a Tub , demonstrates many of the themes and stylistic techniques he would employ in his later work. It is at once wildly playful and funny while being pointed and harshly critical of its targets. In its main thread, the Tale recounts the exploits of three sons, representing

1869-610: Is a great mystery and controversy over Swift's relationship with Esther Johnson, nicknamed "Stella". Many, notably his close friend Thomas Sheridan , believed that they were secretly married in 1716; others, like Swift's housekeeper Mrs Brent and Rebecca Dingley (who lived with Stella all through her years in Ireland), dismissed the story as absurd. Swift certainly did not wish her to marry anyone else: in 1704, when their mutual friend William Tisdall informed Swift that he intended to propose to Stella, Swift wrote to him to dissuade him from

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1958-402: Is also listed as one of the seven Jewish women prophets, the other six being Miriam , Deborah , Hannah , Sarah , Huldah , and Esther . In terms of her moral character, Abraham Kuyper argues that Abigail's conduct indicates "a most appealing character and unwavering faith," but Alice Bach regards her as subversive. Adele Berlin contrasts the story of Abigail with that of Bathsheba. In one,

2047-399: Is described as intelligent and beautiful. The Talmud amplifies this idea, mentioning her as being one of the "four women of surpassing beauty in the world" (the other three being Rahab , Sarah , and Esther ). Being married to the wealthy Nabal, she is also a woman of high socioeconomic status. Whether David married her because he was attracted to her, or as an astute political move, or both

2136-573: Is laid the Body of Jonathan Swift, Doctor of Sacred Theology, Dean of this Cathedral Church, where fierce Indignation can no longer injure the Heart. Go forth, Voyager, and copy, if you can, this vigorous (to the best of his ability) Champion of Liberty. He died on the 19th Day of the Month of October, A.D. 1745, in the 78th Year of his Age. W. B. Yeats poetically translated it from

2225-448: Is that its closing sentence is repeated as the opening of Ezra–Nehemiah. In antiquity, such repeated verses, like the "catch-lines" used by modern printers, often appeared at the end of a scroll to facilitate the reader's passing on to the correct second book-scroll after completing the first. This scribal device was employed in works that exceeded the scope of a single scroll and had to be continued on another scroll. The latter half of

2314-672: Is unclear. Abigail and David's second wife, Ahinoam the Jezreelite, accompany David and his war band as they seek refuge in Philistine territory. While David and his men are encamped near Jezreel, the women are captured by Amalekites who raided the town of Ziklag and carried off the women and children. David led the pursuit, and they were subsequently rescued. Both wives then settle with David in Hebron, where Abigail gives birth to David's second son, Chileab (also called Daniel). Abigail

2403-540: The English Civil War . His maternal grandfather, James Ericke, was the vicar of Thornton in Leicestershire . In 1634 the vicar was convicted of Puritan practices. Sometime thereafter, Ericke and his family, including his young daughter Abigail, fled to Ireland. Swift's father joined his elder brother, Godwin, in the practice of law in Ireland. He died in Dublin about seven months before his namesake

2492-644: The Epistles were a later forgery. A response by the supporters of the Ancients was then made by Charles Boyle (later the 4th Earl of Orrery and father of Swift's first biographer). A further retort on the Modern side came from Richard Bentley , one of the pre-eminent scholars of the day, in his essay Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris (1699). The final words on the topic belong to Swift in his Battle of

2581-732: The Glorious Revolution forced him to leave for England in 1688, where his mother helped him get a position as secretary and personal assistant of Sir William Temple at Moor Park, Farnham . Temple was an English diplomat who had arranged the Triple Alliance of 1668 . He had retired from public service to his country estate, to tend his gardens and write his memoirs. Gaining his employer's confidence, Swift "was often trusted with matters of great importance". Within three years of their acquaintance, Temple introduced his secretary to William III and sent him to London to urge

2670-688: The Neo-Babylonian Empire , and authorises the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem and the return of the exiles. Originally a single work, Chronicles was divided into two in the Septuagint , a Greek translation produced in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. It has three broad divisions: Within this broad structure there are signs that the author has used various other devices to structure his work, notably through drawing parallels between David and Solomon (the first becomes king, establishes

2759-512: The Septuagint in the mid-3rd century BC. In Christian contexts Chronicles is referred to in the plural as the Books of Chronicles , after the Latin name chronicon given to the text by Jerome , but is also referred to by its Greek name as the Books of Paralipomenon . In Christian Bibles , they usually follow the two Books of Kings and precede Ezra–Nehemiah , the last history-oriented book of

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2848-477: The 20th century, amid growing skepticism in academia regarding history in the Biblical tradition, saw a reappraisal of the authorship question. Though there is a general lack of corroborating evidence, many now regard it as improbable that the author of Chronicles was also the author of the narrative portions of Ezra–Nehemiah. These critics suggest that Chronicles was probably composed between 400 and 250 BC, with

2937-622: The 5th-century BC figure Ezra , who gives his name to the Book of Ezra ; Ezra is also believed by the Talmudic sages to have written both his own book (i. e., Ezra–Nehemiah ) and Chronicles up to his own time, the latter having been finished by Nehemiah . Later critics, skeptical of the long-maintained tradition, preferred to call the author " the Chronicler ". However, many scholars maintain support for Ezra's authorship, not only based on centuries of work by Jewish historians, but also due to

3026-555: The Bible. His nurse returned him to his mother, still in Ireland, when he was three. More background to the Whitehaven connection. Archived 22 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine Swift's family had several interesting literary connections. His grandmother Elizabeth (Dryden) Swift was the niece of Sir Erasmus Dryden , grandfather of poet John Dryden . The same grandmother's aunt Katherine (Throckmorton) Dryden

3115-592: The Books (1697, published 1704) in which he makes a humorous defence on behalf of Temple and the cause of the Ancients. In 1708, a cobbler named John Partridge published a popular almanac of astrological predictions. Because Partridge falsely determined the deaths of several church officials, Swift attacked Partridge in Predictions for the Ensuing Year by Isaac Bickerstaff , a parody predicting that Partridge would die on 29 March. Swift followed up with

3204-446: The Books , a satire responding to critics of Temple's Essay upon Ancient and Modern Learning (1690), though Battle was not published until 1704. Temple died on 27 January 1699. Swift, normally a harsh judge of human nature , said that all that was good and amiable in mankind had died with Temple. He stayed on briefly in England to complete editing Temple's memoirs, and perhaps in the hope that recognition of his work might earn him

3293-607: The Death of Dr. Swift" (1739) Swift recalled this as one of his best achievements. Gulliver's Travels , a large portion of which Swift wrote at Woodbrook House in County Laois, was published in 1726. It is regarded as his masterpiece. As with his other writings, the Travels was published under a pseudonym, the fictional Lemuel Gulliver, a ship's surgeon and later a sea captain. Some of the correspondence between printer Benj. Motte and Gulliver's also-fictional cousin negotiating

3382-509: The English language. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—including Lemuel Gulliver , Isaac Bickerstaff , M. B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles. His deadpan , ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal , has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian". Jonathan Swift

3471-647: The Established Church of Ireland . He was appointed to the prebend of Kilroot in the Diocese of Connor in 1694, with his parish located at Kilroot , near Carrickfergus in County Antrim . Swift appears to have been miserable in his new position, being isolated in a small, remote community far from the centres of power and influence. While at Kilroot, however, he may well have become romantically involved with Jane Waring, whom he called "Varina",

3560-584: The Irish judiciary almost unparalleled in its ferocity, his principal target being the "vile and profligate villain" William Whitshed , Lord Chief Justice of Ireland . Also during these years, he began writing his masterpiece, Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts, by Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships , better known as Gulliver's Travels . Much of

3649-545: The King to consent to a bill for triennial Parliaments. Swift took up his residence at Moor Park where he met Esther Johnson , then eight years old, the daughter of an impoverished widow who acted as companion to Temple's sister Lady Giffard . Swift was her tutor and mentor, giving her the nickname "Stella", and the two maintained a close but ambiguous relationship for the rest of Esther's life. In 1690, Swift left Temple for Ireland because of his health, but returned to Moor Park

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3738-414: The Latin as: British politician Michael Foot was a great admirer of Swift and wrote about him extensively. In Debts of Honour he cites with approbation a theory propounded by Denis Johnston that offers an explanation of Swift's behaviour towards Stella and Vanessa. Pointing to contradictions in the received information about Swift's origins and parentage, Johnston postulates that Swift's real father

3827-617: The Protestant Old Testament. The Chronicles narrative begins with Adam, Seth and Enosh , and the story is then carried forward, almost entirely through genealogical lists , down to the founding of the United Kingdom of Israel in the "introductory chapters", 1 Chronicles 1–9. The bulk of the remainder of 1 Chronicles, after a brief account of Saul in chapter 10, is concerned with the reign of David . The next long section concerns David's son Solomon , and

3916-491: The Publick was published in Dublin by Sarah Harding . It is a satire in which the narrator, with intentionally grotesque arguments, recommends that Ireland's poor escape their poverty by selling their children as food to the rich: "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 ..." Following

4005-648: The Queen's gift, and Anne, who could be a bitter enemy, made it clear that Swift would not have received the preferment if she could have prevented it. With the return of the Whigs, Swift's best move was to leave England and he returned to Ireland in disappointment, a virtual exile, to live "like a rat in a hole". Once in Ireland, however, Swift began to turn his pamphleteering skills in support of Irish causes, producing some of his most memorable works: Proposal for Universal Use of Irish Manufacture (1720), Drapier's Letters (1724), and A Modest Proposal (1729), earning him

4094-660: The Septuagint "occurs in the most suitable place", namely with the conclusion of David's reign as king and the initiation of Solomon's reign. The Talmud considered Chronicles one book. The last events recorded in Chronicles take place in the reign of Cyrus the Great , the Persian king who conquered Babylon in 539 BC; this sets the earliest possible date for this passage of the book. Chronicles appears to be largely

4183-537: The Whig administration of Lord Godolphin the claims of the Irish clergy to the First-Fruits and Twentieths ("Queen Anne's Bounty"), which brought in about £2,500 a year, already granted to their brethren in England. He found the opposition Tory leadership more sympathetic to his cause, and when they came to power in 1710, he was recruited to support their cause as editor of The Examiner . In 1711, Swift published

4272-486: The anonymous publication of his book. First published in November 1726, it was an immediate hit, with a total of three printings that year and another in early 1727. French, German, and Dutch translations appeared in 1727, and pirated copies were printed in Ireland. Swift returned to England one more time in 1727, and stayed once again with Alexander Pope. The visit was cut short when Swift received word that Esther Johnson

4361-540: The beginning of Chapter 42, whilst Thomas Mann makes the same reference at the start of the second chapter of Part 2 in Buddenbrooks (published in 1901). William Rose Benet notes the notoriety of Abigail Hill , better known as "Mrs Masham", a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne . George MacDonald Fraser makes mention of "an 'abigail' fussing about the room" in his novel Flashman from The Flashman Papers series. Abigail, and especially her meeting with David,

4450-478: The book's publication has survived. Though it has often been mistakenly thought of and published in bowdlerised form as a children's book, it is a great and sophisticated satire of human nature based on Swift's experience of his times. Gulliver's Travels is an anatomy of human nature, a sardonic looking-glass, often criticised for its apparent misanthropy . It asks its readers to refute it, to deny that it has adequately characterised human nature and society. Each of

4539-568: The consistency of language and speech patterns between Chronicles and Ezra–Nehemiah. Professor Emeritus Menahem Haran of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem explains, "the overall unity of the Chronistic Work is … demonstrated by a common ideology, the uniformity of legal, cultic and historical conceptions and specific style, all of which reflect one opus." One of the most striking, although inconclusive, features of Chronicles

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4628-656: The core of the Martinus Scriblerus Club (founded in 1713). Swift became increasingly active politically in these years. Swift supported the Glorious Revolution and early in his life belonged to the Whigs . As a member of the Anglican Church , he feared a return of the Catholic monarchy and "Papist" absolutism. From 1707 to 1709 and again in 1710, Swift was in London unsuccessfully urging upon

4717-805: The days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books ( 1–2 Chronicles ) in the Christian Old Testament . Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible , concluding the third section of the Jewish Tanakh , the Ketuvim ("Writings"). It contains a genealogy starting with Adam and a history of ancient Judah and Israel up to the Edict of Cyrus in 539 BC. The book was translated into Greek and divided into two books in

4806-399: The death of Queen Anne and the accession of George I that year, the Whigs returned to power, and the Tory leaders were tried for treason for conducting secret negotiations with France. Swift has been described by scholars as "a Whig in politics and Tory in religion" and Swift related his own views in similar terms, stating that as "a lover of liberty, I found myself to be what they called

4895-569: The final part is concerned with the Kingdom of Judah , with occasional references to the northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Chronicles 10–36). The final chapter covers briefly the reigns of the last four kings, until Judah is destroyed and the people taken into exile in Babylon . In the two final verses, identical to the opening verses of the Book of Ezra , the Persian king Cyrus the Great conquers

4984-409: The following year. The illness consisted of fits of vertigo or giddiness, now believed to be Ménière's disease , and it continued to plague him throughout his life. During this second stay with Temple, Swift received his M.A. from Hart Hall , Oxford , in 1692. He then left Moor Park, apparently despairing of gaining a better position through Temple's patronage, in order to become an ordained priest in

5073-521: The four books—recounting four voyages to mostly fictional exotic lands—has a different theme, but all are attempts to deflate human pride. Critics hail the work as a satiric reflection on the shortcomings of Enlightenment thought. In 1729, Swift's A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to

5162-407: The idea seems inappropriate, since much of Genesis–Kings has been copied almost without change. Some modern scholars proposed that Chronicles is a midrash , or traditional Jewish commentary, on Genesis–Kings, but again this is not entirely accurate since the author or authors do not comment on the older books so much as use them to create a new work. Recent suggestions have been that it was intended as

5251-437: The idea. Although the tone of the letter was courteous, Swift privately expressed his disgust for Tisdall as an "interloper", and they were estranged for many years. During his visits to England in these years, Swift published A Tale of a Tub and The Battle of the Books (1704) and began to gain a reputation as a writer. This led to close, lifelong friendships with Alexander Pope , John Gay , and John Arbuthnot , forming

5340-479: The inflammation of his left eye, which swelled to the size of an egg; five attendants had to restrain him from tearing out his eye. He went a whole year without uttering a word." In 1744, Alexander Pope died. Then on 19 October 1745, Swift, at nearly 78, died. After being laid out in public view for the people of Dublin to pay their last respects, he was buried in his own cathedral by Esther Johnson's side, in accordance with his wishes. The bulk of his fortune (£12,000)

5429-429: The like expedients, till he hath at least some glympse of hope, that there will ever be some hearty and sincere attempt to put them into practice. John Ruskin named him as one of the three people in history who were the most influential for him. George Orwell named him as one of the writers he most admired, despite disagreeing with him on almost every moral and political issue. Modernist poet Edith Sitwell wrote

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5518-515: The main threads of Christianity, who receive a bequest from their father of a coat each, with the added instructions to make no alterations whatsoever. However, the sons soon find that their coats have fallen out of current fashion, and begin to look for loopholes in their father's will that will let them make the needed alterations. As each finds his own means of getting around their father's admonition, they struggle with each other for power and dominance. Inserted into this story, in alternating chapters,

5607-637: The material reflects his political experiences of the preceding decade. For instance, the episode in which the giant Gulliver puts out the Lilliputian palace fire by urinating on it can be seen as a metaphor for the Tories' illegal peace treaty; having done a good thing in an unfortunate manner. In 1726 he paid a long-deferred visit to London, taking with him the manuscript of Gulliver's Travels . During his visit, he stayed with his old friends Alexander Pope, John Arbuthnot and John Gay, who helped him arrange for

5696-426: The monopoly granted by the English government to William Wood to mint copper coinage for Ireland. It was widely believed that Wood would need to flood Ireland with debased coinage in order to make a profit. In these "letters" Swift posed as a shopkeeper—a draper—to criticise the plan. Swift's writing was so effective in undermining opinion in the project that a reward was offered by the government to anyone disclosing

5785-491: The name Abigail has a variety of possible meanings including "my father's joy" and "source of joy". In 1 Samuel 25, Nabal demonstrates ingratitude towards David, the son of Jesse (from the tribe of Judah), and Abigail attempts to placate David, in order to stop the future King from taking revenge. She gives him food, and speaks to him, urging him not to "have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed" (verse 31, NIV) and reminding him that God will make him

5874-424: The narrator includes a series of whimsical "digressions" on various subjects. In 1690, Sir William Temple , Swift's patron, published An Essay upon Ancient and Modern Learning a defence of classical writing (see Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns ), holding up the Epistles of Phalaris as an example. William Wotton responded to Temple with Reflections upon Ancient and Modern Learning (1694), showing that

5963-536: The next ten years. In 1701, he anonymously published the political pamphlet A Discourse on the Contests and Dissentions in Athens and Rome . Swift resided in Trim, County Meath , after 1700. He wrote many of his works during this period. In February 1702, Swift received his Doctor of Divinity degree from Trinity College Dublin . That spring he travelled to England and then returned to Ireland in October, accompanied by Esther Johnson—now 20—and his friend Rebecca Dingley, another member of William Temple's household. There

6052-423: The period 350–300 BC the most likely. This timeframe is achieved by estimates made based on genealogies appearing in the Greek Septuagint . This theory bases its premise on the latest person mentioned in Chronicles, Anani. Anani is an eighth-generation descendant of King Jehoiachin according to the Masoretic Text . This has persuaded many supporters of the Septuagint's reading to place Anani's likely date of birth

6141-451: The political pamphlet The Conduct of the Allies , attacking the Whig government for its inability to end the prolonged war with France. The incoming Tory government conducted secret (and illegal) negotiations with France, resulting in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) ending the War of the Spanish Succession . Swift was part of the inner circle of the Tory government, and often acted as mediator between Henry St John (Viscount Bolingbroke),

6230-456: The same material, rather than a source for it. Despite much discussion of this issue, no agreement has been reached. It is also likely that Chronicles preserved ancient heterodox traditions regarding Israel's history. The translators who created the Greek version of the Jewish Bible (the Septuagint ) called this book Paralipomenon , "Things Left Out", indicating that they thought of it as a supplement to another work, probably Genesis–Kings, but

6319-782: The same person as Abigail, mother of Amasa . Richard M. Davidson , however, points out that "on the basis of the final form of Old Testament canon, references to Abigail in the biblical accounts indicate two different individuals." Abigail's self-styling as a handmaid led to Abigail being a traditional term for a waiting-woman, for example as the "waiting gentlewoman " in Beaumont and Fletcher 's The Scornful Lady , published in 1616. Jonathan Swift , Tobias Smollett , and Henry Fielding use Abigail in this generic sense, as does Charlotte Brontë . Walter Scott , in The Abbot , frequently refers to Lilias, Lady Avenel's maid as an "Abigail". Anthony Trollope makes two references to "the abigail" (all lower case) in The Eustace Diamonds , at

6408-593: The satirical form, he introduces the reforms he is actually suggesting by deriding them: Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients ... taxing our absentees ... using [nothing] except what is of our own growth and manufacture ... rejecting ... foreign luxury ... introducing a vein of parsimony, prudence and temperance ... learning to love our country ... quitting our animosities and factions ... teaching landlords to have at least one degree of mercy towards their tenants. ... Therefore I repeat, let no man talk to me of these and

6497-421: The secretary of state for foreign affairs (1710–15), and Robert Harley (Earl of Oxford), lord treasurer and prime minister (1711–14). Swift recorded his experiences and thoughts during this difficult time in a long series of letters to Esther Johnson, collected and published after his death as A Journal to Stella . The animosity between the two Tory leaders eventually led to the dismissal of Harley in 1714. With

6586-480: The sister of an old college friend. A letter from him survives, offering to remain if she would marry him and promising to leave and never return to Ireland if she refused. She presumably refused, because Swift left his post and returned to England and Temple's service at Moor Park in 1696, and he remained there until Temple's death. There he was employed in helping to prepare Temple's memoirs and correspondence for publication. During this time, Swift wrote The Battle of

6675-524: The status of an Irish patriot. This new role was unwelcome to the Government, which made clumsy attempts to silence him. His printer, Edward Waters, was convicted of seditious libel in 1720, but four years later a grand jury refused to find that the Drapier's Letters (which, though written under a pseudonym, were universally known to be Swift's work) were seditious. Swift responded with an attack on

6764-495: The true identity of the author. Though hardly a secret (on returning to Dublin after one of his trips to England, Swift was greeted with a banner, "Welcome Home, Drapier") no one turned Swift in, although there was an unsuccessful attempt to prosecute the publisher John Harding . Thanks to the general outcry against the coinage, Wood's patent was rescinded in September 1725 and the coins were kept out of circulation. In "Verses on

6853-558: The wife prevents David from murdering her foolish and greedy husband. In the second, David orders the death of a good man because he desires his wife. "In the Abigail story, David, the potential king, is seen as increasingly strong and virtuous, whereas in the Bathsheba story, the reigning monarch shows his flaws ever more overtly and begins to lose control of his family." Levenson and Halpern suggest that Abigail may, in fact, also be

6942-568: The work of a single individual. The writer was probably male, probably a Levite (temple priest), and probably from Jerusalem. He was well-read, a skilled editor, and a sophisticated theologian. He aimed to use the narratives in the Torah and former prophets to convey religious messages to his peers, the literary and political elite of Jerusalem in the time of the Achaemenid Empire . Jewish and Christian tradition identified this author as

7031-454: The worship of Israel's God in Jerusalem, and fights the wars that will enable the Temple to be built, then Solomon becomes king, builds and dedicates the Temple, and reaps the benefits of prosperity and peace). 1 Chronicles is divided into 29 chapters and 2 Chronicles into 36 chapters. Biblical commentator C. J. Ball suggests that the division into two books introduced by the translators of

7120-452: The young man, sending him with one of his cousins to Kilkenny College (also attended by philosopher George Berkeley ). He arrived there at the age of six, where he was expected to have already learned the basic declensions in Latin. He had not and thus began his schooling in a lower form. Swift graduated in 1682, when he was 15. He attended Trinity College Dublin in 1682, financed by Godwin's son Willoughby. The four-year course followed

7209-498: Was Sir William Temple's father, Sir John Temple who was Master of the Rolls in Dublin at the time. It is widely thought that Stella was Sir William Temple's illegitimate daughter. So Swift was Sir William's brother and Stella's uncle. Marriage or close relations between Swift and Stella would therefore have been incest , an unthinkable prospect. It follows that Swift could not have married Vanessa either without Stella appearing to be

7298-603: Was a common subject of European artwork in the Renaissance and post-Renaissance period. Artists depicting her, or them, include Antonio Molinari , Juan Antonio Escalante , and Peter Paul Rubens . Abigail is a featured figure on Judy Chicago 's installation piece The Dinner Party , being represented in one of the 999 tiles of the Heritage Floor . Book of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( Hebrew : דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים Dīvrē-hayYāmīm , "words of

7387-497: Was a first cousin of Elizabeth , wife of Sir Walter Raleigh . His great-great-grandmother Margaret (Godwin) Swift was the sister of Francis Godwin , author of The Man in the Moone which influenced parts of Swift's Gulliver's Travels . His uncle Thomas Swift married a daughter of poet and playwright Sir William Davenant , a godson of William Shakespeare . Swift's benefactor and uncle Godwin Swift took primary responsibility for

7476-475: Was an Anglo-Irish writer who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin , hence his common sobriquet , "Dean Swift". Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in

7565-587: Was born on 30 November 1667 in Dublin in the Kingdom of Ireland . He was the second child and only son of Jonathan Swift (1640–1667) and his wife Abigail Erick (or Herrick) of Frisby on the Wreake in Leicestershire . His father was a native of Goodrich , Herefordshire, but he accompanied his brothers to Ireland to seek their fortunes in law after their Royalist father's estate was brought to ruin during

7654-465: Was born. He died of syphilis , which he said he got from dirty sheets when out of town. His mother returned to England after his birth, leaving him in the care of his uncle Godwin Swift (1628–1695), a close friend and confidant of Sir John Temple , whose son later employed Swift as his secretary. At the age of one, child Jonathan was taken by his wet nurse to her hometown of Whitehaven , Cumberland , England. He said that there he learned to read

7743-430: Was dying, and rushed back home to be with her. On 28 January 1728, Johnson died; Swift had prayed at her bedside, even composing prayers for her comfort. Swift could not bear to be present at the end, but on the night of her death he began to write his The Death of Mrs Johnson . He was too ill to attend the funeral at St Patrick's. Many years later, a lock of hair, assumed to be Johnson's, was found in his desk, wrapped in

7832-533: Was left to found a hospital for the mentally ill, originally known as St Patrick's Hospital for Imbeciles, which opened in 1757, and which still exists as a psychiatric hospital. Jonathan Swift wrote his own epitaph : Hic depositum est Corpus IONATHAN SWIFT S.T.D. Hujus Ecclesiæ Cathedralis Decani, Ubi sæva Indignatio Ulterius Cor lacerare nequit. Abi Viator Et imitare, si poteris, Strenuum pro virili Libertatis Vindicatorem. Obiit 19º Die Mensis Octobris A.D. 1745 Anno Ætatis 78º. Here

7921-640: Was long believed by many that Swift was actually insane at this point. In his book Literature and Western Man , author J. B. Priestley even cites the final chapters of Gulliver's Travels as proof of Swift's approaching "insanity". Bewley attributes his decline to 'terminal dementia'. In part VIII of his series, The Story of Civilization , Will Durant describes the final years of Swift's life as such: "Definite symptoms of madness appeared in 1738. In 1741, guardians were appointed to take care of his affairs and watch lest in his outbursts of violence, he should do himself harm. In 1742, he suffered great pain from

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