Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift, born in Dublin in 1667, became the foremost satirist of the English language. Educated at Trinity College, he was ordained an Anglican priest in 1695. His early works, including A Tale of a Tub (1704), revealed his mastery of satire. He wrote under pseudonyms like Isaac Bickerstaff and M.B. Drapier, skewering hypocrisy and corruption. Appointed Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1713, he spent much of his life in Ireland, fiercely criticizing English exploitation. His Gulliver’s Travels (1726) brilliantly dissected human pride, while A Modest Proposal (1729) shocked with its ironic remedy for poverty. Swift died in 1745, leaving a legacy of “Swiftian” satire.
Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it
Every man desires to live long, but no man wishes to be old