Sometimes referred to simply as
The Origine of Sciences, this essay was first published in 1732, although it may have been drafted as early as 1714. It is modest in its dimensions, running to fewer than 3,300 words, which happens to be very close to the length of Jonathan Swift’s
A Modest Proposal(1729). However, the work is packed with ingenious humour, and possesses several features that make it a characteristic item among the shorter satires of the Scriblerus group, composed of Swift and his friends. Around the presumed time of writing, they had formed a club to create in collaboration various satires on abuses in learning. Not only does it supply some revealing parallels to
Gulliver’s Travels(1726), it frequently echoes the central work assigned to the pedant Martinus…
3015 words
Citation: Rogers, Pat. "John Arbuthnot, Alexander Pope and Thomas Parnell: An Essay concerning the Origine of Sciences". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 October 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40989, accessed 24 November 2024.]
