43 which the difputes were carried on, and the ill blood which they occafioned. The bulk of mankind were therefore in a fit difpofition to fall in with the principle of moderation held out by the Whigs; but as it was eafy to fee from fome of their political measures, that moderation was not the point at which they intended to ftop; but that an indifference with regard to any form of religion was likely to enfue, in confequence of fome of their tenets; Swift thought it high time that the attention of the people towards the fecurity of the eftablished Church should be roufed, that they might be guarded against the undermining artifices of its enemies, fecretly carried on under covert of her pretended friends; who in their hearts were little follicitous about her interests, being wholly abforbed in worldly purfuits. And furely nothing could be contrived better to anfwer this end, than to make religion once more a general topic of converfation; but of fuch converfation as no longer excited the difagreeable and malevolent paffions, but gave rife to cheerfulnefs and mirth. Stripped of the frightful mafk with which her face had been covered by bigotry and enthusiasm, and adorned with all the graces of the comic mufe, fhe became a welcome guest in all companies. The beauty of the Church of England, by a plain and well conducted allegory, adapted to all capacities, was fhewn, in the moft obvious light, by the characters of fimplicity and moderation, which are the true marks of Christianity, in oppofition to the pageantry, fuperftition, and tyranny of the Church of Rome, on the one hand; and the fpleen, hypocrify, and enthusiasm of Calvinifm, on the other. This had been often done before in a ferious way, but it was the new manner of treating the fubject that produced the great effect. While the English divines had for more than a century been engaged 3 in a conftant ftate of warfare with their antagonists, and attacked them with ferious reafoning, and vehemence of argumentation, their antagonists were always confidered as powerful and formidable; and though often foiled, were never looked upon as fubdued. While thefe different religions were rendered odious or terrible to the imaginations of people, the very feelings of that hatred and fear were accompanied with the ideas of danger and power in the objects which excited them, and of courfe gave them a confequence. But the inftant they were rendered ridiculous, they became contemptible, and their whole power vanifhed; nor was there ever a stronger inftance of the truth of Horace's rule, Ridiculum acri Fortius & melius magnas plerumque fecat res; than in the effects produced by The Tale of a Tub, with regard to the weakening of the powers of popery and fanaticism in this country. Effects not merely temporary, but which, with their caufe, are likely to laft, as long as the English language fhall be read. After the publication of this work, Swift wrote nothing of confequence for three or four years; during which time his acquaintance was much fought after by all perfons of tafte and genius. There was, particularly, a very clofe connection formed between Mr. Addifon * and him, which ended in a fincere and lasting * In 1705, Mr. Addifon made a prefent of his book of Travels to Dr. Swift, in the blank leaf of which he wrote the following words; To Dr. JONATHAN SWIFT. And the greatest genius of his age, This book is prefented by his The AUTHOR. friendship, friendship, at least on Swift's part. Addison's companionable qualities were known but to a few, as an invincible bafhfulness kept him for the most part filent in mixed companies; but Swift used to say of him, that his converfation in a tête a tête, was the most agreeable he had ever known in any one; and that in the many hours which he paffed with him in that way, neither of them ever wished for the coming in of a third perfon, In the beginning of the year 1708, Swift started forth from his state of inactivity, and published several pieces upon religious and political fubjects, as alfo in the humourous way. That which regarded religion chiefly, was, An Argument against abolishing Christianity; in which he pursues the fame humourous method, which was fo fuccefsfully followed in the Tale of a Tub. Perhaps there never was a richer vein of irony than runs through that whole piece; nor could any thing be better calculated to fecond the general impreffion made by the Tale of a Tub. It is certain, that Swift thought the ftate of the Church in great danger, notwithstanding any vote of Parliament to the contrary; and this chiefly from a fort of lethargic diforder, which had in general feized thofe who ought to have been its watchful guardians. To roufe them from this ftate, he found tickling to be more effectual than lafhing: and that the best way to keep them wakeful, was to make them laugh. It was at this juncture too he chose to publish his political principles. Swift had been hitherto always claffed among the Whigs, as the only political tract of his which had been published was in their favour, and as his chief connections were among that body. And he himself had adopted the name in a * Copy of Verfes to And laft, my vengeance to compleat, the the Honourable Mrs. Finch. And indeed with respect to government, there could not be a ftauncher Whig than he was upon the old principles of Whiggifm, as fet forth by him; but he was an utter enemy to fome new ones adopted by that party, in order to enlarge their bottom, and which evidently tended to Republicanism. And as to their maxims with regard to religion, he widely differed from them. As these were made an effential part of the character of a Whig at. that time, he could not be faid to be of their body. The truth is, that Swift was a man of too much integrity to belong to either party, while they were both fo much in the wrong. This he himself declared in the opening of the political Tract printed at this time, entitled, "The Sentiments of a Church-of-England-Man with refpect to Religion and Government;" which begins with these words: "Whoever has examined the conduct and proceedings of both parties for fome years paft, whether in or out of power, cannot well conceive it poffible to go far towards the extremes of either, without offering fome violence to his integrity, or understanding." His motive for publishing this Tract at that juncture, he has given in the following words: "When the two parties, that divide the whole Commonwealth, come once to a rupture, without any hopes left of forming a third with better principles to balance the others; it seems every man's duty to choose one of the two fides, although he cannot entirely approve of either; and all pretences to neutrality, are juftly exploded by both, being too ftale and obvious; only intending the fafety and ease of a few individuals, while the public is embroiled. This was the opinion and practice of the latter Cato, whom I efteem to have been. the wifeft and the beft of all the Romans. But before things proceed to open violence, the trueft fervice a private private man may hope to do his country, is, by unbiaffing his mind as much as poffible, and then endeavouring to moderate between the rival powers; which must needs be owned a fair proceeding with the world; because it is, of all others, the leaft confiftent with the common defign of making a fortune, by the merit of an opinion." Swift, from feveral circumftances at that time, apprehended that the parties would speedily come to an open rupture; he therefore thought it the duty of a good citizen to endeavour to form a third party out of the more moderate of each, that should serve as a check upon the violence of both. With this view, he reprefents the extremes of both parties, and the evil confequences likely to enfue from each, in the strongest light; at the fame time he clearly fhews that the moderate of both hardly differed in any material point, and were kept afunder only by the odious diftinction of a name. He fet down in this piece, fuch a juft, political, and religious creed, fo far as related to any connection between Church and State, as every honeft fubject of the Church of England must at once affent to. And indeed, if it were in the nature of things, that a party could have been formed upon principles of moderation, good sense, and public fpirit, his fcheme would have taken place, from the masterly manner in which it was propofed. His defign was, to engage all those of both parties, who wifhed well to the established Church, to unite together under the denomination of Church-of-England-men, inftead of the odious terms of High and Low Church, calculated to keep up animofity; and by fo doing, to leave the more violent of both parties, whofe numbers would in that cafe be much reduced, expofed to the world in their true colours, merely by being fingled out in the different herds of |