Jonathan Swift, as Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, produced many sermons during his tenure from 1713 to 1745.Mason Although Swift is better known today for his secular writings such as Gulliver's Travels, A Tale of a Tub or the Drapier's Letters, Swift was known in Dublin for his sermons that were delivered every fifth Sunday. Of these sermons, Swift wrote down 35, of which 12 have been preserved.Prose Works ed. Scott Intro In his sermons Swift attempted to impart traditional Church of Ireland values to his listeners in a plain manner.
Of the surviving twelve sermons, four have received serious consideration: "Doing Good", "False Witness", "Mutual Subjection" and "Testimony of Conscience".Ehrenpreis p. 1041 These sermons deal with political matters and are used to give insight to Swift's political writing; the sermon "Doing Good" and its relationship with the Drapier's Letters is one such example. However, the audience at St. Patrick's Cathedral did not come to hear connections to political works, but to enjoy the well-known preacher and be "moved by his manners".Ehrenpreis p. 175
Each sermon begins with a scriptural passage that reinforces the ideas that will be discussed in the sermon and each was preceded with the same opening prayer (which Swift also delivered). The sermons are plainly written and apply a common-sense approach to contemporary moral issues in Dublin. Swift patterned his sermons on the plain style of the Book of Common Prayer and the Church of Ireland Authorized Version of the Bible.Prose Works ed. Davis pp. 14–15Daw, Carl "Favorite Books" p. 201
Background
As Dean of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Jonathan Swift spent every fifth Sunday preaching from the pulpit.Ehrenpreis p. 74 Although many of his friends suggested that he should publish these sermons, Swift felt that he lacked the talent as a preacher to make his sermons worthy of publication.Lyon p. 75 Instead, Swift spent his time working more on political works, such as Drapier's Letters, and justified this by his lacking in religions areas.Delany p. 38
Members of St. Patrick's community would ask, "Pray, does the Doctor preach today?"Delany pp. 41–42 Swift's sermons had the reputation of being spoken "with an emphasis and fervor which everyone around him saw, and felt."Delany p. 43 In response to such encouragement to preach, Swift was reported to say that he "could never rise higher than preaching pamphlets." Swift's friend, Dr. John Arbuthnot, claimed, "I can never imagine any man can be uneasy, that has the opportunity of venting himself to a whole congregation once a week."Correspondence p. 144 Regardless of what Swift thought of himself, the cathedral was always crowded during his sermons.
Swift wrote out his sermons before preaching and marked his words to provide the correct pronunciation or to emphasise the word ironically.Ehrenpreis p. 76 He always practised reading his sermons, and, as Davis claims, "he would (in his own expression) pick up the lines, and cheat his people, by making them believe he had it all by heart."Clifford pp. 147–158 However, he wanted to express the truth of his words and impart this truth in a down-to-earth manner that could be understood by his listeners.
Swift believed that a preacher had to be understood, and states, "For a divine hath nothing to say to the wisest congregation of any parish in this kingdom, which he may not express in a manner to be understood by the meanest among them."Prose Works Vol IX. p. 66 He elaborates further when he says, "The two principal branches of preaching, are first to tell the people what is their duty; and then to convince them that it is so."Prose Works Vol IX. p. 70
Shortly before his death, Swift gave the collection of 35 sermons to Dr. Thomas Sheridan, saying, "You may have them if you please; they maybe of use to you, they never were of any to me." In 1744, George Faulkner, the Dublin publisher of Swift's 1735 Works, printed the sermons entitled "On Mutual Subjection," "On Conscience," and "On the Trinity."
Surviving sermons There are twelve surviving sermons that have been collected, and each sermon was introduced with a corresponding scriptural passage and the following prayer given by Swift: Almighty and most merciful God! forgive us all our sins. Give us grace heartily to repent them, and to lead new lives. Graft in our hearts a true love and veneration for thy holy name and word. Make thy pastors burning and shining lights, able to convince gainsayers, and to save others and themselves. Bless this congregation here met together in thy name; grant them to hear and receive thy holy word, to the salvation of their own souls. Lastly, we desire to return thee praise and thanksgiving for all thy mercies bestowed upon us; but chiefly for the Fountain of them all, Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name and words we further call upon thee, saying, 'Our Father,' &c."
The order of the sermons is presented according to the 1763 Sermons of the Reverend Dr. Jonathan Swift "carefully corrected" edition, which published the first nine of the twelve known sermons.
On the Trinity
Its introductory passage from scripture comes from First Epistle of John 5:7 – "For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these Three are One.""On the Trinity" Intro Note
Swift relies on 1 Corinthians in this sermon, but unlike other uses by Swift of 1 Corinthians, his use of the epistle in "On the Trinity" describe man's inability to understand the complex workings of God.Daw "Favorite Books" p. 205 Swift states "Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.""On the Trinity" Sermon The primarily use of this sermon is to describe the divine mysteries in a simple manner; Swift is not giving answers to the mysteries, but only explaining how Christians are to understand them.Landa, Louis A. "Swift, the Mysteries, and Deism," Studies in English, 1944. pp. 239–256 Swift attempts to describe the ambiguous nature of the Trinity and how many should understand it when he says: Therefore I shall again repeat the doctrine of the Trinity, as it is positively affirmed in Scripture: that God is there expressed in three different names, as Father, as Son, and as Holy Ghost: that each of these is God, and that there is but one God. But this union and distinction are a mystery utterly unknown to mankind.
Although Swift constantly answers moral problems with common sense and reason, Swift believed that reason cannot be used when it comes to the divine mysteries.Harth, Philip. Swift and Anglican Rationalism: The Religious Background of A Tale of a Tub. Chicago 1961 Intro Notes. Instead, faith is all that man needs and, as Swift claims: This is enough for any good Christian to believe on this great article, without ever inquiring any farther: And, this can be contrary to no man's reason, although the knowledge of it is hid from him.
On Mutual Subjection
"On Mutual Subjection" was first given on 28 February 1718, and it was first printed in 1744.Daw, Carl P. "Swift's 'Strange Sermon'" HLQ 38 (1975), pp. 225–236 Its introductory passage from scripture comes from First Epistle of Peter 5:5 – "--Yea, all of you be subject one to another.""On Mutual Subjection" Intro Note
The sermon relies on scripture to emphasise the divine will in calling people to serve their fellow men, which is a common theme in Swift's sermons."On Mutual Subjection" Sermon This calling, as Swift claims, is based on historical events that reinforce scripture and allow mankind to know of the divine will.Johnson, James William. "Swift's Historical Outlook". The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (May 1965), p. 59 In particular, the development of the state and of the human body are parallel to each other, and England may soon be entering into a decline.Johnson p. 73 However, Swift emphasises that man is imperfect, and that sin is a symbol of this imperfectness.Barroll, J. Leeds. "Gulliver and the Struldbruggs". PMLA, Vol. 73, No. 1 (March 1958) p. 46
Swift summarises this message with the Parable of the Talents as he says: God sent us into the world to obey His commands, by doing as much good as our abilities will reach, and as little evil as our many infirmities will permit. Some He hath only trusted with one talent, some with five, and some with ten. No man is without his talent; and he that is faithful or negligent in a little shall be rewarded or punished, as well as he that hath been so in a great deal." To this John Boyle, Lord Orrery states, "A clearer style, or a discourse more properly adapted to a public audience, can scarce be framed. Every paragraph is simple, nervous, and intelligible. The threads of each argument are closely connected and logically pursued.Boyle, John. Remarks on the Life and Writing of Dr. Jonathan Swift. 1752. pp. 289–296
Although the sermon deals primarily with subjection to higher powers, some of Swift's contemporaries viewed the sermon as political propaganda.Ehrenpreis p. 53 John Evans, Bishop of Meath, told the Archbishop of Canterbury that he heard "a strange sermon... It was somewhat like one of Montaigne's essays, making very free with all orders and degrees of men among us – lords, bishops, &c. men in power. The pretended subjects were pride and humiliation."Landa, Louis A. Swift and the Church of Ireland. Oxford 1954. p. 182 He later continued to claim that "in short, [Swift] is thought to be Tory... all over, which (here) is reckon'd by every honest man Jacobite."
However, Evans may have overly emphasised a political interpretation of the sermon for his own political gain; the see of Derry had just opened and Evans wished to have his friend William Nicolson take the position. Evans' political intrigue provoked Swift during an inspection of the clergy of Meath at Trim.Ehrenpreis p. 54 Swift, as vicar of Laracor spoke during a synod to defend himself, his sermons, and his politics, and instead of resolving the issue, only caused more dispute between the two.Delaney p. 217
The emphasis on religious unity, also found in "On the Wisdom of this World", comes from Swift's understanding of St. Paul's treatment of religious dissension among the early Christians.Daw "Favorite Books" p. 204 Paul's words, "that there should be no schism in the body", were important in the formation of this sermon, and served as part of Swift's encouragement to the people of Ireland to follow the same religion.Prose Works IX p. 143
On the Testimony of Conscience
"On the Testimony of Conscience" was first printed in 1744.Swift, Jonathan. Major Works. ed. Angus Ross and David Woolley. Oxford World Classics, 1984. p. 662 Its introductory passage from scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 1:12 – "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience.""On the Testimony of Conscience" Intro Note Part of the sermon relied on discussing the nature of rewards and punishments to come in the afterlife.Barroll p. 45
Religious dissension is the topic of this sermon and argues that dissenters do not want to embrace freedom, but instead exist only to destroy established Churches, especially the Church of Ireland.Ehrenpreis p. 80 In the sermon, Swift conflates all dissenters with the Whig political party, and they are "those very persons, who under a pretence of a public spirit and tenderness towards their Christian brethrene, are so jealous for such a liberty of conscience as this, are of all others the least tender to those who differ from them in the smallest point relating to government.""On the Testimony of Conscious" Sermon To Swift, tolerating dissent is the same as tolerating blasphemy.Ehrenpreis p. 81