Shipwrecked and cast adrift, Lemuel Gulliver wakes to find himself on Lilliput, an island inhabited by little people, whose height makes their quarrels over fashion and fame seem ridiculous. His subsequent encounters with the crude giants of Brobdingnag, the philosophical Houyhnhnms and brutish Yahoos give Gulliver new, bitter insights into human behaviour. Swifts savage satire views mankind in a distorted hall of mirrors as a diminished, magnified and finally bestial species, presenting us with an uncompromising reflection of ourselves.
The history of the publication of the Journal to Stella is somewhat curious. On Swifts death twenty-five of the letters, forming the closing portion of the series, fell into the hands of Dr. Lyon, a clergyman who had been in charge of Swift for some years. The letters passed to a man named Wilkes, who sold them for publication. They accordingly appeared in 1766 in the tenth volume of Dr. Hawkesworths quarto edition of Swifts works; but the editor made many changes in the text, including a suppression of most of the "little language." The publishers, however, fortunately for us, were public-spirited enough to give the manuscripts (with one exception) to the British Museum, where, after many years, they were examined by John Forster, who printed in his unfinished Life of Swift numerous passages from the originals, showing the manner in which the text had been tampered with by Hawkesworth. Swift himself, too, in his later years, obliterated many words and sentences in the letters, and Forster was able to restore not a few of these omissions. His zeal, however, sometimes led him to make guesses at words which are quite undecipherable. Besides Forsters work, I have had the benefit of the careful collation made by Mr. Ryland for his edition of 1897. Where these authorities differ I have usually found myself in agreement with Mr. Ryland, but I have felt justified in accepting some of Forsters readings which p. viwere rejected by him as uncertain; and the examination of the manuscripts has enabled me to make some additions and corrections of my own. Swifts writing is extremely small, and abounds in abbreviations. The difficulty of arriving at the true reading is therefore considerable, apart from the erasures.
Cavalli che parlano e ragionano, giganti dalle proporzioni smisurate, nani cosi piccoli da poter essere tenuti in una tasca, filosofi che popolano isole volanti: sono solo alcune delle creature straordinarie che il capitano Lemuel Gulliver incontra nel corso dei suoi viaggi avventurosi, tra mille peripezie e innumerevoli pericoli. Pubblicato nel 1726, I viaggi di Gulliver e oggi noto soprattutto come un classico della narrativa per ragazzi, ma rappresenta anche un capolavoro del fantastico e della satira. Dietro la favolosa descrizione delle immaginarie popolazioni di Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa e Huyhnhnmlandia, la sferzante penna di Swift ritrae le assurdita e i difetti dellEuropa settecentesca.
PUEDE SABER CUÁNDO APARECE UN GENIO EN EL MUNDO POR LA SIGUIENTE SEÑAL: LA CONJURA DE LOS NECIOS EN SU CONTRA. EN LA DISCUSIÓN, COMO EN LA GUERRA, EL LADO MÁS DÉBIL DEBE PRENDER LUCES FALSAS Y GENERAR MUCHO RUIDO PARA HACER CREER AL CONTRARIO QUE ES MÁS NUMEROSO Y FUERTE DE LO QUE EN REALIDAD ES. UN ENFERMO ES COMO UN PERRO: EN SUCIA A QUIENES MÁS AMA. ALGUNAS PERSONAS SON MÁS CAUTAS EN OCULTAR SU SABIDURÍA QUE SU TORPEZA. CUANDO LEO UN LIBRO, NO IMPORTA SI ESTÁ LLENO DE SABIDURÍA O DE TORPEZA, SIENTO COMO SI ESTUVIERA VIVO, COMO SI ME HABLARA.
Treasury of 5 shorter works by the author of "Gulliver's Travels" offers ample evidence of the great satirist's inspired lampoonery. Title piece plus "The Battle of the Books, A Meditation upon a Broom-Stick, A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit" and "The Abolishing of Christianity in England."
Adaptación de los viajes de Gulliver a Liliput, la isla imaginaria habitada por personas diminutas creada por el irlandés Jonathan Swift. Pensado especialmente para leer en voz alta a nuestros niños y que disfruten con este clasico de todos los tiempos.
"What is the nature, essence, and definition of a fart? What are the consequences and disadvantages of suppressing one? Why is farting considered to be a taboo?" Swift's treatise argues eloquently, in a forceful and posteriori fashion, that most of the distempers thought to affect the fairer sex are due to flatulences 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 and historic farters.
