In Gulliver's Travels, Swift has dual intentions beyond crafting an engaging adventure narrative. Concealed within the story, he satirizes the pettiness of human nature overall and specifically targets the Whigs. By underscoring the Lilliputians' diminutive stature of six inches, he vividly diminishes the significance of politicians and, by extension, all of humanity. Utilizing elements such as the fire in the Queen's chambers, the rope dancers, Gulliver's bill of particulars, and the inventory of his pockets, Swift employs allusions that contemporaries would recognize as critiques of Whig politics.
The genesis of Swift's intense contempt for the Whigs can be traced to his entry into politics as the representative of the Irish church. While advocating for financial aid to the Irish church as the representative of the Irish bishops, Swift faced rejection from Queen Anne and the Whigs. Despite having considered them friends and having assisted them during his tenure with Sir William Temple, Swift turned against the Whigs. Aligning himself with the Tories in politics, he channelled his propaganda skills in their favour. Drawing on political events from 1714-1718, Gulliver's Travels subtly highlights parallels between Lilliputian folly and English, specifically Whig, folly. The intricate process Gulliver undergoes to swear allegiance mirrors the absurd obstacles created by the Whigs regarding the credentials of Tory ambassadors signing the Treaty of Utrecht.
Swift's strategic approach proved successful; his book gained popularity for its captivating adventure and puzzle-like elements. Readers eagerly sought to identify characters, leading to discussions that offered a fresh perspective on politics and politicians. In the overarching narrative of Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver appears as a typical man in eighteenth-century England, preoccupied with family and work. However, he is thrust into a world where political machinations reduce individuals to insignificance. Gulliver, with his normal and imperfect moral life, starkly contrasts with the petty and foolish political existence of emperors, prime ministers, and informers in Lilliput.
In the second book, Swift alters the size dynamic, portraying Gulliver as a giant in Lilliput and a miniature figure in Brobdingnag. This shift signifies a moral distinction, depicting Gulliver as an ordinary man surrounded by amoral political figures in Lilliput and, in contrast, as an ordinary man amidst morally upright Brobdingnagians. While not flawless, the Brobdingnagians maintain consistent morality, attributing intentional evil only to children and the deformed.
Against this moral backdrop, Gulliver's apparent "ordinariness" reveals inherent flaws, including pride and acceptance of the madness and malice inherent in European politics and society. Despite attempts to conceal these flaws, the Brobdingnagian king sees through Gulliver's facade, branding the English as "odious vermin." Swift lauds the Brobdingnagians, presenting them as morally superior superhumans bound to humanity by flesh and blood. Their virtues, attainable by humans, require significant maturation to reach the status of moral giants. Brobdingnag, depicted as a practical and moral utopia, fosters goodwill and calm virtue. Despite physical unattractiveness when magnified, their moral beauty transcends their appearance. Rejecting them based on physical grossness forces us to confront the verminous morality of ordinary individuals.
In Books I and II of Gulliver's Travels, Swift directs his satire more toward specific individuals than abstract concepts. In Book I, his primary focus is on criticizing Whig politics and politicians rather than examining the abstract notion of politics. In Book II, he chooses to rebuke immoral Englishmen rather than delving into the concept of abstract immorality. Moving to Book III, Swift's target becomes somewhat abstract, centring on pride in reason. However, he also singles out and condemns a group of contemporaries whom he perceives as particularly depraved in their exaltation of reason—his old enemies, the Moderns, along with their associates, the Deists and rationalists. Swift, along with Pope, Arbuthnot, Dryden, and many orthodox theologians of the Augustan Age, denounces this group for their love of reason.
This affinity for reason criticized by Swift is rooted in the rationalism prevalent in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Popular readings of John Locke's theories of natural religion and Descartes' ideas about the use of reason contributed to the formation of a loosely connected group known as the Deists. Generally, the Deists believed in the capacity of people to reason, observe the universe accurately, and intuitively perceive axioms, allowing them to arrive at religious truth without relying on biblical revelation.
The Deists challenged orthodox theology by asserting that reason could stand alone, independent of God and morality. They attacked revealed religion, arguing that reason, if it can support the God described by the Bible, may also lead to a different conception of God based on the observer's chosen observations and axioms.
Swift had opposed excessive pride in reason even before writing Gulliver's Travels. In his ironic "Argument Against Abolishing Christianity," he elucidates the consequences he associates with excessive reliance on reason over faith and revelation. According to Swift, presumptuous pride in reasoning leads to disbelief, and disbelief leads to immorality. He firmly believed that religion is crucial for maintaining moral society, asserting that individuals who lack faith in God by revelation are at risk of also disbelieving in morality.
To Swift, the progression from rationalism leads to Deism, Deism to atheism, and atheism to immorality. In societies that worship reason, he argues, traditions and common sense are forsaken. While tradition and common sense universally condemn actions like murder, whoring, and drunkenness, those who depend solely on reason for morality find no logical proof against such behaviours. Swift contends that will, rather than reason, often becomes the dominating force.
Alexander Pope aligns with Swift's perspective, asserting in his Essay on Man that people cannot perceive accurately, their axioms are contradictory, and rational systems for living in society are abstract and meaningless. Pope contends that individuals are filled with self-love and pride, rendering them incapable of true rationality. Swift would concur with this view.
In Gulliver's Travels, particularly in Book III, Swift exaggerates the Laputan systematizing, emphasizing the manifestation of proud rationalism. The Laputans, immersed in abstract thinking, lose touch with common sense, resulting in chaos and mass delusion. Their abstract focus on thought over practical considerations leads to unproductive outcomes.
Swift further demonstrates the detrimental effects of abstract theories in various societies, such as how philology and scholarship betray the best interests of the Luggnaggians, pragmatic scientism fails in Balnibarbi, and accumulated experience does not bring happiness or wisdom to the Struldbruggs. Political references highlight the cruelty arising from abstract political theories imposed by selfish politicians, causing suffering for the common people.
Gulliver's Travels serves as a variation on the question, "Why are people often vicious and cruel?" Swift suggests that this stems from succumbing to the worst elements within themselves. Man, depicted as an infinitely complex animal, oversimplifies the understanding of human nature. In the final book, Swift presents the folly of advancing theories that portray a Reasonable Man as a Complete Man, showcasing the impracticality and undesirability of such an ideal.
Swift introduces the Houyhnhnms, beings characterized by super-reasonableness. While possessing virtues advocated by stoics and Deists, they lack emotions, remaining untroubled by greed, politics, or lust. However, Swift highlights the impracticality of such beings by emphasizing their lack of emotions. In contrast, the Yahoos represent the essence of sensual human sinfulness, embodying the natural vices of humanity. Gulliver, placed between these extremes, becomes irrational in his excessive admiration for reason. His aspiration to become a horse exposes his grave weakness and inability to accept the virtues present in fellow humans who may not be entirely reasonable.
Swift uses concrete examples to demonstrate that extreme abstractions, such as super-reasonable horses, are impossible and useless models for humans. The Houyhnhnms, having never fallen, lack redemption and are incapable of Christian virtues. Swift contrasts this with the Christian virtues exhibited by humans like Pedro de Mendez and the Brobdingnagians, emphasizing the possibility of grace and redemption for humanity.
In Four Essays on "Gulliver's Travels," Professor Arthur E. Case discusses Swift's political theory, highlighting that Swift, despite his association with the Tories, adhered to a political theory associated with the Old Whigs. This theory emphasized the equal importance of the three estates—king, nobles, and commons—in maintaining the state, with the king serving as a balancer. Swift's adherence to this theory, identified as "gothic," is explored in connection with the historical development of the mixed or balanced state.
The mixed state theory, which Swift subscribed to, posited that the best governments incorporate monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic elements in balance. This concept originated with Polybius, who admired the Roman republic and Sparta as mixed political organizations. The theory evolved through Cicero, Machiavelli, and others, annexing the political reputation of the Republic of Venice. During the Puritan era, classical republicans sought to establish a republican mixed state in England, while post-Restoration Whigs revived the idea of England as a mixed monarchy, later associating it with Gothic principles.
Swift's advocacy of mixed government is discussed in the context of the Whig-Gothic version and the classical-republican-Venetian tradition. Despite writing within the Whig tradition, Swift's awareness of classical models, exemplified by Rome, is evident. The essay also explores Swift's alignment with the classical republican idea of a partyless state, opposing factionalism. Swift's views on standing armies and militias, influenced by the classical tradition, reveal his preference for a militia as a means of preventing the concentration of power.
Swift's association with the classical tradition is further demonstrated through his consideration of the tendency of governments to deteriorate. His proposals for reform often involve a return to earlier practices, reflecting a belief in societal decline. Swift's advocacy for a militia in Brobdingnag and its role in preserving balance align with the classical concept of a remedy against the inherent deteriorationism of states. Thus, Swift's political theory in "Gulliver's Travels" reflects a nuanced combination of Gothic and classical traditions, addressing the challenges of governance, balance, and the prevention of societal decay.
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