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Memoirs of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin
Memoirs of Jonathan Swift DD Dean of St Patrick's Dublin Author:Jonathan Swift Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CONCLUSION. Person, Habits, and Private Character of Swift—His Conversation—His Reading—Apparent Inconsistencies in his Character—His Charity—His Talents for ... more »Criticism —Character of the Dean as a Poet—As a Prose Author. Swift was in person tall, strong, and well made, of a dark complexion, but with blue eyes, black and bushy eye-brows, nose somewhat aquiline, and features whjch remarkably expressed the stern, haughty, and dauntless turn of his mind. He was never known to laugh, and his smiles are happily characterized by the well-known lines of Shakspeare. Indeed, the whole description of Cassius might be applied to Swift: -He reads much, He is a great observer, and he looks Quite through the deeds of men.— Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort, As if he mock'd himself, and scorn'd his spirit That could be moved to smile at any thing. The features of the Dean have been preserved in several paintings, busts, and medals.1 In youth, he was reckoned handsome; Pope 1 There is an excellent portrait of Dean Swift at the deanery-house, painted by Bindon. A genius appears in the piece displaying a scroll, containing a Latin inscription, partly undecypherahle, but which refers to the Dean's exertions in procuring for the church the grant of the first fruits and tenths. At the bottom of the canvass is the following inscription : I I : I. II'M Ht'iCS REV. ADHODUM VIRI JONATII.' SWIFT, S. T. . ECCLESIJE OATH. S. PAT. DUB. l1l rM, IN PERPETUUM HA- HCM i:liItTM TOTIUS CLERI ET HUJUSCE PR.ECIPUE GENTIS IiECUS, AMORIS ET OBSERVANTI.E ERGO PI5GI CURAV1T C4- PITULCM SUUM. PR.ESEKTI TIBI MATUROS LARG1MUR HONORES, K1L ORITURtJM ALIAS, NIL ORTUM TALE FATEXTES. In the back distance, through the window, is seen in perspective the great western door of the cathedral of...« less