In the case of the Moderns the lists in the Battle and the Essay are not nearly so much alike; this is partly due to the fact that Temple had mentioned a large number of the Moderns in terms of praise. Swift had necessarily to omit these names, and substitute others. On the other hand Swift mentions nearly all those whom Temple had disparaged.
Surprise is sometimes expressed that Swift should have taken the wrong side in the dispute about the Epistles of Phalaris. In one sense the explanation is simple enough. He had to support the doctrines of his patron, who was deeply committed on the subject. But the account of the controversy which he gives in the Episode of W-tt-n and B-ntl-y shows that he did f not trouble to discover either the real course of the dispute, or the merits of either side. If the story he tells were interpreted strictly it would appear that Boyle first attacked Wotton, because the latter had attacked Temple, that he next turned his attention to Bentley, that Wotton then came to Bentley's assistance, and that Boyle defeated them both. This, perhaps, is to consider too curiously; but Swift certainly appears to be only half-informed of the
