Swift
Swift names 5 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Swift JONATHAN (1667-1745)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JONATHAN (1667-1745), Dean of St. Patrick's, was born in Dublin on Nov. 30, 1667, the posthumous son of Jonathan Swift, an Irish lawyer of Eng lish parentage, by Abigail Erick of Leicester. He was educated at Kilkenny and Trinity College, Dublin, from which he graduated with difficulty. During this period he was supported by his uncles, but their generosity was either so limited or so ungracious that Swift felt little and developed a fierce desire and gratitude for independence. For his mother he seems to have always had a genuine affection. On account of the disturbances attendant on the abdication of James II., Swift left Ireland, and after a period with his mother at Leicester, was taken into the family of Sir William Temple, JONATHAN SWIFT the statesman and essayist, as a kind of secretary, and proved himself extremely useful. In 1694 he took orders and received a living at Kilroot near Belfast, but after two years was recalled by Temple to prepare his letters and memoirs for publication. He employed his abundant leisure in hard reading, and wrote in 1697 his first important work, "The Battle of the Books," published in 1704. This was a satirical contribution to the famous quarrel of the ancients and moderns, which Temple had brought to England from France. Along with it appeared "The Tale of a Tub," a powerful satire upon the divisions of Christianity, full of effective ridicule of shams and pedantry. Temple died in 1699, and a year or more later, Swift received the livings of Laracor, Agher, and Rathbeggan in Ireland. These he held till 1713, when he was made Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin. He had not, however, lived in Ireland continuously during these years, but had spent much of his time in London, where he was intimate with Addison, Steel, Congreve, and others of the wits of the time of Queen Anne. He became involved in politics, first on the Whig, after 1708 on the Tory side. It was the great period of political pamphleteering. Swift's pen was much in demand, and he was deep in the intrigues of the time. He worked hard on behalf of the Irish clergy, and did much to relieve the poverty of fellow authors. Among his most important partisan writings during this period were the papers in the "Examiner," between Nov. 2, 1710, and Jun June 14, 1711, directed against the continuation of the war with France, and a pamphlet on "The Conduct of the Allies" (1711). He was closely associated with Harley, Earl of Oxford, and on his fall and the death of Queen Anne in 1714, Swift retired to Dublin. During his residence with Sir William Temple, Swift had become intimate with Esther Johnson ("Stella"), also a member of the household. After the death of her mother, Stella and her friend, Mrs. Dingley, went to live in Ireland, often occupying Swift's houses at Dublin and Laracor, and for her Swift wrote while he was in London the famous "Journal to Stella." The actual nature of their relation has never been definitely ascertained, many authorities believing that they were married. If there was a marriage it was merely formal, though Stella was passionately devoted to Swift, and he had for her great admiration and affection. But it is probable that his knowledge of his own temperament and his love of independence kept him single. During his sojourn in London he formed a close friendship with Esther Vanhomrigh, who also came to love him devotedly, and who was the inspiration of his poem, "Cadenus and Vanessa." She also followed him to Ireland and in 1723 wrote asking if he were married to Stella. He rode to her house, threw down the letter, and went out without speaking. Esther died from the shock. Some time after his return to Ireland Swift became interested in the political grievances of that country, and in 1724 of "Drapier's he published the series Letters," which was effective in breaking up a scheme by which, through a bribe to the king's mistress, a certain Wood was to have a patent for copper coinage at the expense of the Irish people. This success made Swift very popular, and inclined him to take up politics again. In 1726 he went to London, visited Gay and Pope, and published "Gulliver's Travels," which became instantly famous. This political allegory has the curious characteristic of being a children's classic and at the same time a pitiless satire on human nature in general and on the politics of his own day in particular. On this visit Swift attempted in vain to get Walpole, now Prime Minister, to share his view of the wrongs of the English in Ireland. He was again in England in the next year, hoping for preferment under the new King, George II., but he was disappointed and returned to Ireland for the last time, tortured by the prospect of the death of Stella, which occurred in January, 1728. For some years he continued to write political pamphlets, the tone of which showed, if possible, increasing bitterness and ferocity. He quarrelled elled with most of the people of high station with whom he came in contact, but constantly exerted himself to aid his inferiors. Toward the end of his life his mind began to give way, and during the last three years he lay paralyzed and apathetic. He died on Oct. 19, 1745, and was buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral by the side of Stella. On his grave was carved an inscription by himself, saying that he had gone "ubi saeva indignatio ulterius cor lacerare nequit." Swift is the greatest of English satirists. He wielded a pen of extraordinary power, and expressed expr by it a temperament of great intensity. He was a pessimist and misan misanthropist, and the injustices and shams of men stirred him to rage. In his personal relations he was extremely masterful, but to those who submitted he could be tender and affectionate. He left over £10,000 to found a hospital in Dublin, and he spent a large part of his income on charity. Yet he met few people whom he did not insult, and he was early embittered by disappointed ambition. From his friendships and affections he seems to have suffered more than he enjoyed, and the life of no Englishman of letters is so unhappy and so terrible.
Swift the Hirundo apus of Linnæus and Cypselus apus or
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the Hirundo apus of Linnæus and Cypselus apus or murarius of modern ornithologists. Though swifts are like swallows in many respects, their structure is almost entirely different, and some naturalists rather class them with the humming birds or the goat suckers. The swift has all four toes directed forward; it is larger than the swallow; its flight is more rapid and steady; and its scream is very different from the twittering of the swallow. It has the greatest powers of flight of any bird that visits Great Britain. Its weight is most disproportionately small to its extent of wing, the former being scarcely an ounce, the latter 18 inches, the length of the body being about 8 inches. Its color is a somber or sooty black, a whitish patch appearing beneath the chin. It builds in holes in the roofs of houses, in towers, or in hollow trees. It leaves Great Britain in August, having arrived from Africa early in May. The C. melba or alpinus, a larger species with the lower parts dusky white, has its home in the mountainous parts of Central and Southern Europe. A common North American swift is the co-called chimney swallow (Chaætura pelagica), which builds its nest in chimneys (see SWALLOW). The swifts or swiftlets of the genus Collocalia, which inhabit chiefly the islands of the Indian Ocean from the N. of Madagascar E., construct the edible birds'-nests which are used by Chinese epicures in the making of soup.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a family of birds related to that of the hummingbird, but having a strong outward resemblance to the swallow. There are seventy-five species, four North American. They were originally inhabitants of hollow trees and caves, but they are now disposed to seek shelter in buildings. The common swift has adapted itself to new conditions. It builds a bracket-like nest of twigs, glued together with a sticky saliva and attached to the inside of a chimney,--hence the popular but incorrect name of chimney-swallow. Chimney-swift would be more appropriate. The swift has long, pointed wings, curved backward, and has a compact, trim body riding between them. They give the appearance of a tiny bow and arrow when the owner is sailing at a great height, as is its custom of a morning or fine evening. Frequently several nests are made in the same chimney, and occasionally large colonies occupy disused factory chimneys or mill stacks. The swift clings to a wall by small, weak feet, using its tail as a prop, woodpecker fashion. It feeds on insects caught in midair. Its plumage is compact to offer little resistance in swift flight, and, as might be expected from its nesting place, is of a sooty brown, grayish on the throat. Eggs, four to six, white. The edible nest used by the Chinese for soups is made by a species of swift that inhabits the cliffs of Asiatic coasts. See Swallow ; Martin
Swift EBEN, an American military officer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
EBEN, an American military officer, born at Fort Chadbourne, Tex., in 1854. He was educated at Racine (Wis.) College, Washington University and Dickinson College, and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1876. In the same year he was commissioned a 2d lieutenant, and rising through the various grades became brigadier-general in 1916 and major-general in 1917. He saw service in the Indian campaigns in Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Idaho and Colorado; in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands and at the Mexican border. His other assignments included service with the infantry and cavalry schools, the General Service and Staff College, the Army War College and the Army service schools, of which latter he was commandant. Upon the entrance of the United States in the World War, he became commanding officer of Camp Gordon, Atlanta, Ga., and later of the 82d Division, with which he served in France until February, 1918. From February to August, 1918, he was chief of the American Military Mission and commander of the United States Forces in Italy, retiring upon reaching the age limit in September, 1918.
Swift LEWIS, an American astronomer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
LEWIS, an American astronomer; born in Clarkson, N. Y., Feb. 29, 1820; was graduated at Clarkson Academy in 1838, and spent spent the early lecturing. Later he part of his life in became interested in astronomy, built and set up his own telescope in Rochester, N. Y., and began to make observafor comets, and discovered the notable one of 1862. In 1869 he observed a total solar eclipse and secured valuable results. Two years later he found another comet, and in 1877-1879 discovered other comets, for which he was three times awarded the court prize and received a gold medal from the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna. In 1882 he assumed the directorship of the Warner Observatory, and later took charge of the Lowe Observatory. He was the author of "Simple Lessons in Astronomy" (1888). He died in 1913.
Swift . See Lizard
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
. See Lizard
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The outline of Swift's life as Collier's gave it in 1921 still holds, but two of its most dramatic claims have been quietly abandoned by scholars. The secret marriage to Stella, which Collier's says "many authorities" believed in, is now generally rejected for want of any evidence, and the scene in which Swift rides to Esther Vanhomrigh's house, throws down her letter and leaves her to die of the shock is treated as legend rather than biography. The "mind beginning to give way" has also been reinterpreted: the vertigo and deafness that plagued Swift from his thirties are now usually diagnosed as M e i ere's disease, with a stroke in his last years leaving him speechless rather than insane. Irvin Ehrenpreis's three-volume life (1962-83) remains the standard modern account, and Gulliver's Travels is still read exactly as Collier's describes it, as a children's classic and a pitiless satire at once.
Written for this edition, 2026.