"You boast, indeed, of being obliged to no other Creature, but of drawing, and spinning out all from your self; That is to say, if we may judge of the Liquor in the Vessel by what issues out, You possess a good plentiful Store of Dirt and Poison in your Breast; And, tho' I would by no means, lessen or disparage your genuine Stock of either, yet, I doubt, you are somewhat obliged for an Encreafe of both, to a little foreign Assistance."
The Battle of the Books
Published with <u>A Tale of a Tub</u>. 43 entries in the ESTC (1704, 1705, 1710, 1711, 1724, 1726, 1727, 1733, 1734, 1739, 1741, 1742, 1743, 1747, 1750, 1751, 1752, 1753, 1754, 1756, 1760, 1762, 1766, 1768, 1769, 1771, 1772, 1776, 1781, 1784, 1798).<br>
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Reading Jonathan Swift, <u>A Tale of a Tub and Other Works</u>, eds. Angus Ross and David Woolley. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986). Some text drawn from <a href="http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/swift/jonathan/s97t/complete.html">ebooks@Adelaide</a>.<br>
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Note, the textual history is complicated. First published May 10, 1704. The second edition of 1704 and the fifth of 1710 include new material. Ross and Woolley's text is an eclectic one, based on the three authoritative editions.<br>
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See <u>A Tale of a Tub. Written for the Universal Improvement of Mankind. To Which Is Added, an Account of a Battel Between the Antient and Modern Books in St. Jamesâ€™s Library</u>, 2nd edition, corrected (London: Printed for John Nutt, 1704). &lt;<a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T49833">Link to ESTC</a>&gt;