The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 10 / Historical Writings

by Jonathan Swift

BOOK I.

P. 6. Burnet. That king saw that those who were most in his interests were likewise jealous of his authority, and apt to encroach upon it.—Swift. Nonsense.

P. 10. Burnet says that competent provision to those who served the cure:—was afterwards in his son's time raised to about fifty pounds a year.—Swift. Scotch pounds, I suppose.

P. 11. Burnet. Colonel Titus assured me that he had from King Charles the First's own mouth, that he was well assured he [Prince Henry] was poisoned by the Earl of Somerset's means.—Swift. Titus was the greatest rogue in England.

P. 18. Burnet says that Gowry's conspiracy against King James was confirmed to him by his father.—Swift. Melvil makes nothing of it.

P. 20. Burnet. I turn now to the affairs of Scotland, which are but little known.—Swift. Not worth knowing.

P. 23. Burnet, Archbishop Spotswood began:—his journey as he often did on a Sunday, which was a very odious thing in that country.—Swift. Poor malice.

P. 24. Burnet, Mr. Steward, a private gentleman, became:—so considerable that he was raised by several degrees to be made Earl of Traquair and Lord-Treasurer [of Scotland], and was in great favour; but suffered afterwards such a reverse of fortune, that I saw him so low that he wanted bread, ... and it was believed died of hunger.—Swift. A strange death: perhaps it was of want of meat.

P. 26. Burnet. My father ... carefully preserved the petition itself, and the papers relating to the trial [of Lord Balmerinoch]; of which I never saw any copy besides those which I have. ... The whole record ... is indeed a very noble piece, full of curious matter.—Swift. Puppy.

P. 28. Burnet. The Earl of Argyle was a more solemn sort of man, grave and sober, free of all scandalous vices.—Swift. As a man is free of a corporation, he means.

P. 29. Burnet. The Lord Wharton and the Lord Howard of Escrick undertook to deliver some of these; which they did, and were clapt up upon it.—Swift. Dignity of expression.

P. 30. Burnet. [King Charles I.] was now in great straits ... his treasure was now exhausted; his subjects were highly irritated; the ministry were all frighted, being exposed to the anger and justice of the Parliament. ... He loved high and rough methods, but had neither the skill to conduct them, nor the height of genius to manage them.—Swift. Not one good quality named.

P. 31. Burnet. The Queen [of Charles I.] was a woman of great vivacity in conversation, and loved all her life long to be in intrigues of all sorts.—Swift. Not of love, I hope.

Ibid. Burnet. By the concessions that he made, especially that of the triennial Parliament, the honest and quiet part of the nation was satisfied, and thought their religion and liberties were secured: So they broke off from those violenter propositions that occasioned the war.—Swift. Dark, or nonsense.

Ibid. Burnet. He intended not to stand to them any longer than he lay under that force that visibly drew them from him contrary to his own inclinations.—Swift. Sad trash.

P. 33. Burnet. The first volume of the Earl of Clarendon's "History" gives a faithful representation of the beginnings of the troubles, though writ in favour of the court.—Swift. Writ with the spirit of an historian, not of

P. 34. Burnet. Dickson, Blair, Rutherford, Baily, Cant, and the two Gillispys ... affected great sublimities in devotion: They poured themselves out in their prayers with a loud voice, and often with many tears. They had but an ordinary proportion of learning among them; something of Hebrew, and very little Greek: Books of controversy with Papists, but above all with the Arminians, was the height of their study.—Swift. Great nonsense. Rutherford was half fool, half mad.

P. 40. Burnet, speaking of the bad effects of the Marquess of Montrose's expedition and defeat, says:—It alienated the Scots much from the King: It exalted all that were enemies to peace. Now they seemed to have some colour for all those aspersions they had cast on the King, as if he had been in a correspondence with the Irish rebels, when the worst tribe of them had been thus employed by him.—Swift. Lord Clarendon differs from all this.

P. 41. Burnet. The Earl of Essex told me, that he had taken all the pains he could to enquire into the original of the Irish massacre, but could never see any reason to believe the King had any accession to it.—Swift. And who but a beast ever believed it?

P. 42. Burnet, arguing with the Scots concerning the propriety of the King's death, observes:—Drummond said, "Cromwell had plainly the better of them at their own weapon."—Swift. And Burnet thought as Cromwell did.

P. 46. Burnet. They [the army] will ever keep the Parliament in subjection to them, and so keep up their own authority.—Swift. Weak.

Ibid. Burnet. Fairfax was much distracted in his mind, and changed purposes often every day.—Swift. Fairfax had hardly common sense.

P. 49. Burnet. I will not enter farther into the military part: For I remember an advice of Marshal Schomberg's, never to meddle in the relation of military matters.—Swift. Very foolish advice, for soldiers cannot write.

P. 50. Burnet. [Laud's] defence of himself, writ ... when he was in the Tower, is a very mean performance. ... In most particulars he excuses himself by this, that he was but one of many, who either in council, star-chamber, or high commission voted illegal things. Now though this was true, yet a chief minister, and one in high favour, determines the rest so much, that they are generally little better than machines acted by him. On other occasions he says, the thing was proved but by one witness. Now, how strong soever this defence may be in law, it is of no force in an appeal to the world; for if a thing is true, it is no matter how full or how defective the proof is.—Swift. All this is full of malice and ill judgement.

Ibid. Burnet, speaking of the "Eikon Basilike," supposed to be written by Charles the First, says:—There was in it a nobleness and justness of thought with a greatness of style, that made it to be looked on as the best writ book in the English language.—Swift. I think it a poor treatise, and that the King did not write it.

P. 51. Burnet. Upon the King's death the Scots proclaimed his son King, and sent over Sir George Wincam, that married my great-aunt, to treat with him while he was in the Isle of Jersey.—Swift. Was that the reason he was sent?

P. 53. Burnet. I remember in one fast-day there were six sermons preached without intermission. I was there myself, and not a little weary of so tedious a service.—Swift. Burnet was not then eight years old.

P. 61. Burnet, speaking of the period of the usurpation in Scotland:—Cromwell built three citadels, at Leith, Ayr, and Inverness, besides many little forts. There was good justice done, and vice was suppressed and punished; so that we always reckon those eight years of usurpation a time of great peace and prosperity.—Swift. No doubt you do.

P. 63. Burnet, speaking of the Scotch preachers at sacrament times during the civil wars, says:—The crowds were far beyond the capacity of their churches, or the reach of their voices.—Swift. I believe the church had as much capacity as the minister.

P. 64. Burnet. The resolutioners sent up one Sharp, who had been long in England, and was an active and eager man.—Swift. Afterwards archbishop, and murdered.

P. 66. Burnet. Thus Cromwell had all the King's party in a net. He let them dance in it at pleasure. And upon occasions clapt them up for a short while.—Swift. Pox of his claps.

P. 87. Burnet, speaking of the Restoration:—Of all this Monk had both the praise and the reward, though I have been told a very small share of it belonged to him.—Swift. Malice.