The Benefits of Farting Explained & A Modest Proposal

Book excerpt: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public, commonly referred to as A Modest Proposal, is a satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729. Swift suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. This satirical hyperbole mocks heartless attitudes towards the poor, as well as Irish policy in general. The Benefits of Farting Explained was published in pamphlet form in 1722. Why is farting considered to be a taboo? Swift's The Benefit of Farting argues eloquently, that most of the distempers thought to affect the fairer sex are due to flatulence not adequately vented. To complete the excursus into this venerable and age-old human activity, Charles James Fox's Essay upon Wind provides a detailed analysis, classification and history of farting, peppered with wit and curious anecdotes about particularly eminent farts of the past. Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) was an Anglo-Irish poet, writer and cleric who gained reputation as a great political writer and an essayist. Jonathan, who became Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin, is also known for his excellence in satire. His most remembered works include Gulliver's Travels, A modest Proposal, An Argument against Abolishing Christianity and A Tale of a Tub.