A Tale of a TubThe Floating Press, 2009 M12 1 - 220 pages Jump into Jonathan Swift's take-no-prisoners parody of seventeenth-century Christianity. Equal parts uproarious humor and incisive satire, A Tale of a Tub dissects the foibles and shortcomings of three brothers, each of whom represents a different branch of the Christian religion. Swift, himself a clergyman, sealed his reputation as one of England's most ruthless -- and notorious -- satirists with the book's publication. It's a thought-provoking and rollicking read whether you're a believer or a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 16
Page 13
... received his last hand, or whether he intended to fill up the defective places, is like to remain a secret. If I should go about to tell the reader by what accident I became master of these papers, it would, in this unbelieving age ...
... received his last hand, or whether he intended to fill up the defective places, is like to remain a secret. If I should go about to tell the reader by what accident I became master of these papers, it would, in this unbelieving age ...
Page 14
... receiving his directions. But I have been lately alarmed with intelligence of a surreptitious copy which a certain great wit had new polished and refined, or, as our present writers express themselves, "fitted to the humour of the age ...
... receiving his directions. But I have been lately alarmed with intelligence of a surreptitious copy which a certain great wit had new polished and refined, or, as our present writers express themselves, "fitted to the humour of the age ...
Page 35
... received than the first; for this being bestowed only upon one or a few persons at a time, is sure to raise envy, and consequently ill words, from the rest who have no share in the blessing. But satire, being levelled at all, is never ...
... received than the first; for this being bestowed only upon one or a few persons at a time, is sure to raise envy, and consequently ill words, from the rest who have no share in the blessing. But satire, being levelled at all, is never ...
Page 49
... received, next to the transitory state of all sublunary things, has been a superficial vein among many readers of the present age, who will by no means be persuaded to inspect beyond the surface and the rind of things; whereas wisdom is ...
... received, next to the transitory state of all sublunary things, has been a superficial vein among many readers of the present age, who will by no means be persuaded to inspect beyond the surface and the rind of things; whereas wisdom is ...
Page 50
... received; nor do I think any of the learned will dispute that famous treatise to be a complete body of civil knowledge, and the revelation, or rather the apocalypse, of all state arcana. But the progress I have made is much greater ...
... received; nor do I think any of the learned will dispute that famous treatise to be a complete body of civil knowledge, and the revelation, or rather the apocalypse, of all state arcana. But the progress I have made is much greater ...
Contents
5 | |
7 | |
13 | |
15 | |
24 | |
39 | |
Section II | 56 |
Section III A Digression Concerning Critics | 72 |
Section VIII A Tale of a Tub | 129 |
Section IX A Digression Concerning the Original the Use and Improvement of Madness in a Commonwealth | 139 |
Section X A Farther Digression | 158 |
Section XI A Tale of a Tub | 166 |
The Conclusion | 184 |
The History of Martin | 190 |
A Digression on the Nature Usefulness and Necessity of Wars and Quarrels | 197 |
The History of Martin Continued | 200 |
Section IV A Tale of a Tub | 86 |
Section V A Digression in the Modern Kind | 102 |
Section VI A Tale of a Tub | 111 |
Section VII A Digression in Praise of Digressions | 121 |
A Project for the Universal Benefit of Mankind | 203 |
Endnotes | 207 |
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Common terms and phrases
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