“Gulliver leaves and makes his way back to England, where he is now appalled by human contact, even with his family. They’re all Yahoos to him, and for a long time he avoids interaction. He eventually comes to a sort of détente with his fellow human beings, and lives out his days, spending as much time with horses as possible.”

My time spent with Oscar-Wood Mercer (parrot) in the kitchen preparing food are sheer joy. The little guy converses with me using voice intonations: “Hmm. Ooh. Oh. Aha.” This is a most sincere and loving attempt to carry-on a conversation with someone he loves. So what if it’s in a different language.

He degrades the kitchen cabinets with his beak; I chop the food. And we talk.

Seriously, when I said Pope & Swift should be emulated, I didn’t exactly mean that you should write like them. I don’t expect our best polemicists (such as the host of this eponymous site) to start writing allegorical novels or iambic pentameters. To be sure, I wrestle with Enlightenment prose whenever I read it, although the best of it, like Boswell’s Life of Johnson, is sublime. But we should strive for excellence in our own time. Writing first-rate & truthful prose these days is an act of rebellion against the establishment. Swift & Pope were never on the winning team, but they could hold their heads high, & know their adversaries never took their measure. Always think of the long run.