His Majesties Declaration Defended
By John Dryden
()
About this ebook
John Dryden
John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made England's first Poet Laureate in 1668. Vinton A. Dearing, editor of the California Dryden edition, is Professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Read more from John Dryden
Harvard Classics: All 71 Volumes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbsalom and Achitophel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hind & The Panther: “Beware the fury of a patient man.” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Aeneid by Virgil: Translated by John Dryden Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Annus Mirabilis; The Year of Wonders, 1666: An Historical Poem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll For Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarriage A La Mode: “Better shun the bait, than struggle in the snare. ” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHalloween, A Theme In Verse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDryden's Works Vol. 3 (of 18) Sir Martin Mar-All; The Tempest; An Evening's Love; Tyrannic Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life of St Francis Xavier, of the Society of Jesus, Apostle of the Indies, and of Japan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAureng-Zebe: A Tragedy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOedipus: A Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All for Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnnus Mirabilis - The Year of Wonders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 2 With Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Indian Emperor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe AeneidEnglish Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All for Love Or, the World Well Lost A Tragedy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Limberham: or, The Kind Keeper Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlmanazor and Almahide - Volume 1: or, The Conquest of Granada. The First Part Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Longer Poems - Volume 2: “Errors like straws upon the surface flow: Who would search for pearls must dive below.” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 1 With Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poets, 12 Poems, 1 Topic ― Music Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to His Majesties Declaration Defended
Related ebooks
His Majesties Declaration Defended Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Duke of Guise: A Tragedy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of Jeremy Bentham Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAre these Things So? (1740) The Great Man's Answer to Are These things So: (1740) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of the English People, Volume IV Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDialogues Of The Dead: “Women, like princes, find few real friends” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife and Death of John of Barneveld — Complete (1609-1623) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNot Paul, But Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of the Scottish Covenants in Outline Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSome Unpublished Letters of Lord Chesterfield Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAre these Things So? (1740) The Great Man's Answer to Are These things So: (1740) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of a Plague in London Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Native Land Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narratives of the New England Witchcraft Cases Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An Essay Upon Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiscourses On Satire & Epic Poetry: “We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMemoirs of a Cavalier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Johnson's Lives of the Poets — Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Vision of Piers the Plowman (Verse) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Of Plymouth Plantation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dryden's Palamon and Arcite Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Vision of Piers the Plowman (Prose) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Memoirs of a Cavalier: A Military Journal of the Wars in Germany, and the Wars in England. / From the Year 1632 to the Year 1648 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmboyna: or The Cruelities of the Dutch to the English Merchants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEssays on Mankind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dorr War: Treason, Rebellion, & the Fight for Reform in Rhode Island Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDelphi Complete Works of Jonathan Swift (Illustrated) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reference For You
Anatomy 101: From Muscles and Bones to Organs and Systems, Your Guide to How the Human Body Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51,001 Facts that Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Emotion Thesaurus (Second Edition): A Writer's Guide to Character Expression Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Emily Post's Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art 101: From Vincent van Gogh to Andy Warhol, Key People, Ideas, and Moments in the History of Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mythology 101: From Gods and Goddesses to Monsters and Mortals, Your Guide to Ancient Mythology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legal Words You Should Know: Over 1,000 Essential Terms to Understand Contracts, Wills, and the Legal System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5THE EMOTIONAL WOUND THESAURUS: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Astrology 101: From Sun Signs to Moon Signs, Your Guide to Astrology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bored Games: 100+ In-Person and Online Games to Keep Everyone Entertained Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51001 First Lines Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learn Sign Language in a Hurry: Grasp the Basics of American Sign Language Quickly and Easily Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robert's Rules For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5U.S. History 101: Historic Events, Key People, Important Locations, and More! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51200 Creative Writing Prompts (Adventures in Writing) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for His Majesties Declaration Defended
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
His Majesties Declaration Defended - John Dryden
John Dryden
His Majesties Declaration Defended
Published by Good Press, 2022
goodpress@okpublishing.info
EAN 4057664601391
Table of Contents
Cover
Titlepage
INTRODUCTION
PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION
Table of Contents
Wherever English literature is studied, John Dryden is recognized as the author of some of the greatest political satires in the language. Until recently the fact has been overlooked that before he wrote the first of these satires, Absalom and Achitophel, he had entered the political arena with the prose tract here reproduced. The proof that the Historiographer Royal contributed to the anti-Whig propaganda of the spring of 1681 depends partly on contemporary or near-contemporary statements but principally on internal evidence. An article by Professor Roswell G. Ham (The Review of English Studies, XI (1935), 284-98; Hugh Macdonald, John Dryden, A Bibliography, p. 167) demonstrated Dryden's authorship so satisfactorily that it is unnecessary to set forth here the arguments that established this thesis. The time when Dryden was composing his defence of the royal Declaration is approximately fixed from the reference to it on June 22, 1681, in The Observator, which had noted the Whig pamphlet Dryden was answering under the date of May 26.
The bitter controversy into which Dryden thrust himself was the culmination of eleven years' political strife. In 1670, by the secret Treaty of Dover, Charles II and Louis XIV agreed that the English king should declare himself a Roman Catholic, and receive from his brother of France the equivalent of 80,000 pounds sterling and, in case of a Protestant rebellion, 6000 French soldiers. In addition, the two kings were pledged to undertake a war for the partition of the United Provinces. In the words of the late Lord Acton this treaty is the solid substance of the phantom which is called the Popish Plot.
(Lectures on Modern History (1930), p. 211) The attempt to carry out the second part of the treaty was made in 1672, when England and France attacked the United Provinces which made a successful defence, aided by a coalition including the Emperor, Elector of Brandenburg, and King of Spain. The unpopularity of the war compelled Charles II to make peace in 1674. Meanwhile the King had taken a step to put into operation the first part of the Treaty of Dover by issuing a Declaration of Indulgence relieving Catholics and Dissenters alike from the penal laws. He was forced, however, to withdraw it and to give his assent to the Test Act which excluded from all public offices those unwilling to take the sacraments according to the rites of the Church of England. Henceforth Charles II abandoned all hope of restoring Catholicism, though his brother and heir, James, Duke of York, already a convert, remained resolute to secure at least toleration for his co-religionists. But many Englishmen continued to suspect the royal policy.
Roman Catholicism was feared and hated by many Englishmen for two distinct reasons. The first was based on bigotry, nourished by memories of the Marian persecution, the papal bull dethroning Elizabeth, Guy Fawkes' Plot, and by apprehensions that a Catholic could not be a loyal subject so long as he recognized the temporal power of the Pope. The second was political and assumed that Catholicism was the natural support of absolutism. As Shaftesbury, the leader of the opposition, stated, popery and slavery went hand in hand. Such fears were deepened as the general purport of the Treaty of Dover became known.
Into this atmosphere charged with suspicion was interjected the Popish Plot, said by Titus Oates and his fellow perjurers to be designed to murder Charles II and place James on the throne. From September 1678, when Oates began his series of revelations until the end of March 1681, when the King dissolved at Oxford the third Parliament elected under the Protestant furore excited by the Plot, Shaftesbury and his followers had the upper hand. The King was obliged to propose concessions to the popular will and to offer to agree to limitations on the authority of a popish successor. But Shaftesbury was bent on