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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. 14–15〕〔Daw, 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."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sermons of Jonathan Swift」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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