attle of the Books.--Swift's greatest
satire, the greatest prose satire in English, is known as _A Tale of a
Tub_. The purpose of the work is to uphold the Episcopalians and
satirize opposing religious denominations. For those not interested in
theological arguments, there is much entertaining philosophy, as the
following quotation will show:--

"If we take an examination of what is generally understood by
happiness, as it has respect either to the understanding or the
senses, we shall find all its properties and adjuncts will herd
under this short definition,--that it is a perpetual possession of
being well deceived. And first, with relation to the mind or
understanding it is manifest what mighty advantages fiction has over
truth; and the reason is just at our elbow, because imagination can
build nobler scenes and produce more wonderful revolutions than
fortune or nature will be at expense to furnish."

Swift's satiric definition of happiness as the art "of being well
deceived" is a characteristic instance of a combination of his humor
and pessimistic philosophy.

In the same volume with _A Tale of a Tub_, there was published a prose
satire in almost epic form, _An Account of a Battle between the
Ancient and Modern Books in St. James Library_ (1704). Although this
satire apparently aims to demonstrate the superior merits of the great
classical writers, it is mainly an attack on pretentions to knowledge.
Our greatest surprise in this satire comes not only from discovering
the expression, "sweetness and light," made famous by Matthew Arnold
in the Victorian age, but also from finding that a satirist like Swift
assigned such high rank to these qualities. He says that the
"Ancients" thus expressed an essential difference between themselves
and the "Moderns":--

"The difference is that, instead of dirt and poison, we have rather
chosen to fill our lives with honey and wax, thus furnishing mankind
with the two noblest of things, which are Sweetness and Light."

Gulliver's Travels.--The world is always ready to listen to any one
who has a good story to tell. Neither children nor philosophers have
yet wearied of reading the adventures of Captain Lemuel Gulliver in
Lilliput and Brobdingnag. _Gulliver's Travels_ is Swift's most famous
work.

Gulliver makes four remarkable voyages to strange countries. He first
visits Lilliput, which is inhabited by a race of men about six inches
high. Everything i