The Quietude of Establishment: On Jonathan Swift, the Irish House of Lords, and the Established Church
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Abstract
Throughout Jonathan Swift’s life and writings there can be found a consistent and principled adherence to the idea that the church is a divine creation functioning as best it can in a political state. Swift’s writings and the topics upon which he chose to say nothing or little all demonstrate an understanding that, finally, the church could have an authority outside the state and that the church-state compact was a negotiated, revocable contract rather than an inviolable natural state. In making this case, the essay particularly considers the “Ode to Dr William Sancroft,” the Letter concerning the Sacramental Test, Some Arguments against Enlarging the Power of Bishops, and the nature of Swift’s comments on the Irish House of Lords in general.