Page:The battle of the books - Guthkelch - 1908.djvu/340

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266
NOTES

is not wounded. For the mention of Descartes, see note on p. II, l. 7.

P. 31, l. 11. into his own vortex, refers to Descartes' theory of vortices to explain the movements of the heavenly bodies.

P. 32, l. 3. Gondibert. With the exception of the Seven Wise Masters (see note on p. 11, l. 8), this is the only book named in the Battle. Temple said that under certain circumstances he would yield that Gondibert might have excelled Homer (p. 70 of Appendix). Swift very possibly took Gondibert for the name of an author.

Gondibert (1650) was written by Sir William D'Avenant.

P. 32, l. 6. his docility in kneeling. Cf. Hudibras, I. i. 437-40.

P. 32, l. 9. Madman, who had never once seen, &c. Presumably this means that D'Avenant had not read Homer—at least not in Greek.

P. 32, l. 13. Denham, Sir John (1615-1669), is best known as the author of Cooper's Hill, Swift evidently had some regard for his work.

The following note appears in the 5th Edn.: 'Sir John Denham's Poems are very unequal, extremely good, and very indifferent, so that his detractors said, he was not the real author of Cooper's Hill.'

P. 32, l. 18. W-sl-y, Samuel (1662-1735), the father of John and Charles Wesley, wrote some poems, which are now forgotten, on religious subjects.

P. 32, ll. 19, 20. Perrault . . . Fontenelle, see pp. xi.-xiv. of Introduction.

P. 32, l. 22. Vergil . . . Dryden. Dryden published his translation of Vergil in 1697.

P. 33, l. 6. upon a sorrel gelding, &c. Cf. Hudibras, Part I.