John Arbuthnot, The Art of Political Lying

Pat Rogers (University of South Florida)

Ed. by Nicholas Seager, University of Keele
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1712 - 1712

Places

United Kingdom (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Pamphlets/ Tracts/ Chapbooks

Resources

On 9 October 1712 Jonathan Swift reported to his women friends in Dublin the arrival of a manuscript dispatched to him by Queen Anne’s physician: “Arbuthnot has sent me from Windsor a pretty Discourse upon Lying, and I have orderd the Printer to come for it. It is A Proposall for publishing a curious Piece, calld the Art of Politicall Lying, in two Volumes &c. And then there is an Abstract of the first volume, just like those pamphlets which they call the works of the Learned” (Journal, 449). The author of this work was the Scottish polymath Dr John Arbuthnot, whom Swift had known for about a year. Both men had recently become founder members of a politico-literary pressure group often called the Brothers, …

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1569 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "The Art of Political Lying". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 April 2021 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40503, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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