John Arbuthnot, Annus Mirabilis

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Not to be confused with the better known poem by John Dryden,

Annus Mirabilis

is a threepenny pamphlet in prose, running to just six pages. It was published in London by James Roberts on 21 December 1722. There was a Dublin edition with few changes in the following year. Next it came out in the

Miscellanies

of the Scriblerian group headed by Pope and Swift (1732), with more significant but not extensive revisions. This forms the basis of the text in all subsequent printings. Successive editions attributed the item to “Dr. Arbuthnot and Mr. Pope”, although it also appeared among

Miscellanies by Dr. Arbuthnot

(Dublin, 1746). By 1750, however, it came to be ascribed to Swift, and was included in at least eighteen editions of the Dean’s works up to 1784, with several more in the…

1355 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "Annus Mirabilis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 September 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39343, accessed 24 November 2024.]

39343 Annus Mirabilis 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.