Verses on the death of Dr. Swift. Occasioned by reading the following maxim in Rochfoucault. Written by himself; Nov. 1731. Quotes

“The Dean, if we believe report,
Was never ill receiv'd at Court.
As for his works in verse and prose
I own myself no judge of those;
Nor can I tell what critics thought 'em:
But this I know, all people bought 'em.
As with a moral view design'd
To cure the vices of mankind:
His vein, ironically grave,
Expos'd the fool, and lash'd the knave.
To steal a hint was never known,
But what he writ was all his own.”
― Jonathan Swift, Verses on the death of Dr. Swift. Occasioned by reading the following maxim in Rochfoucault. Written by himself; Nov. 1731.

“Fair Liberty was all his cry,
For her he stood prepar’d to die;
For her he boldly stood alone;
For her he oft expos’d his own.”
― Jonathan Swift, Verses on the death of Dr. Swift. Occasioned by reading the following maxim in Rochfoucault. Written by himself; Nov. 1731.

“The time is not remote, when I
Must by the course of nature die;
When I foresee my special friends
Will try to find their private ends:
Tho' it is hardly understood
Which way my death can do them good,
Yet thus, methinks, I hear 'em speak:
"See, how the Dean begins to break!
Poor gentleman, he droops apace!
You plainly find it in his face.
That old vertigo in his head
Will never leave him till he's dead.
Besides, his memory decays:
He recollects not what he says;
He cannot call his friends to mind:
Forgets the place where last he din'd;
Plies you with stories o'er and o'er;
He told them fifty times before.
How does he fancy we can sit
To hear his out-of-fashion'd wit?
But he takes up with younger folks,
Who for his wine will bear his jokes.”
― Jonathan Swift, Verses on the death of Dr. Swift. Occasioned by reading the following maxim in Rochfoucault. Written by himself; Nov. 1731.