122.3 Sean Moore 687 perpetually earmarked for this purpose.The (Bell 53),but it also denigrates payments to authors used this phrase to imply that the public creditors by showing how the support moderns'embrace of the“altitudo”associ- of the few at the top of the mountain requires ated with Longinus's doctrine of the sublime ever-increasing levies on those at its foot.Yet was valued because it helped maintain the in- its narrator also suggests that,given the con- vestment bubble supporting the ruling party nection between popular literature and infla- (Scriblerus 345).The Whig ideology of the tion,bathos might be a mode of realism that sublime,as Peter De Bolla has argued,linked could finally sink the debt,providing a bot- the age's proliferation of printed informa- tom to the market:"I have undertaken...to tion and incalculable debt.It arose to explain lead them as it were by the hand,and step by how the "feeling of boundlessness"generated step,the gentle down-hill way to the bathos; by these excesses produced a crisis,reducing the bottom,the end,the central point,the non comprehension to the limits of the self and plus ultra,of true modern poesy"(Scriblerus the boundaries of the state of which it was a 345).His repeated use of the term“Profund” part(65).The sublime both explained and in- for bathos connects the signification of depth vented British national identity as the product associated with profound with the“pro-fund” of anxieties about debt and knowledge,culti- process of pouring forth wealth toward Brit- vating a transcendental aesthetic of transport ain's sinking fund(Scriblerus 348).The nar- as a means of escape from responsibility for rator is suggesting that bathos's ironic effect is these problems.The Tory critique of this aes- reconstructive-an attempt to rebuild a deep thetic was based in the sublime's ability to po- foundation to support"an appalling destabi- tentially paralyze the political agency required lisation of the national economy and its moral for the reform of empire. basis"(Bell 54).The market,the Scriblerians What stabilizes the subject in this epi- argued,may be underwritten more effectively steme is“inflationary rhetoric”:an equally by laughter than sensibility. excessive literature of pathos,exactly the In this context,A Modest Proposal may device Swift satirizes in the Proposal's first have evinced consciousness about overpopu- paragraphs(Furniss 235).Paper money,an lation,but it unconsciously reveals a concern invention of the financial revolution,had with national debt and that debt's relation to consistently been a target of the Scriblerians financial and rhetorical bubbles.It had become because it was a medium that reified Britain's clear to Swift that population growth and infla- national debt into wealth.In the Tory imagi- tion were linked by the practical requirements nation,both popular literature and currency of the fiscal-military state:revenue produced inflation were linked in the ideology of the by an ever-increasing supply of taxpayers.The sublime.Peri Bathos explains that Whig writ- proliferation of children,whether they were ers,by valuing the sublime,were increasing regarded literally as bodies whose alienated the gap between rich and poor on "Parnas- labor would pay debts or metaphorically as in- sus,"the work's metonym for the British state flationary pulp fictions keeping the public pre and republic of letters.It remarks that it is occupied,was necessary for the continuation 'surprizing,given the "populous of our low- of Whig hegemony.Given Swift's use of these lands,"that"all dignities and honours should pregnancy metaphors,postcolonial assessments be bestowed upon the exceeding few mea- of his critique of empire may be informed by a ger inhabitants on the top of the mountain" historicization of the period's organic unifica- (Scriblerus 345-46).Peri Bathos may consist tion of publishing,capitalism,and legal agency of"bathetic images of the futile attempt to under the aegis of sexual reproduction.Laura hold onto wealth in the modern economy Brown's contention that Swift is a misogynist This content downloaded from 202.120.14.172 on Fri,10 Nov 2017 17:56:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms12 2.3 Sean Moore 687 perpetually earmarked for this purpose. The authors used this phrase to imply that the moderns' embrace of the "altitudo" associ ated with Longinus's doctrine of the sublime was valued because it helped maintain the in vestment bubble supporting the ruling party (Scriblerus 345). The Whig ideology of the sublime, as Peter De Bolla has argued, linked the age's proliferation of printed informa tion and incalculable debt. It arose to explain how the "feeling of boundlessness" generated by these excesses produced a crisis, reducing comprehension to the limits of the self and the boundaries of the state of which it was a part (65). The sublime both explained and in vented British national identity as the product of anxieties about debt and knowledge, culti vating a transcendental aesthetic of transport as a means of escape from responsibility for these problems. The Tory critique of this aes thetic was based in the sublime's ability to po tentially paralyze the political agency required for the reform of empire. What stabilizes the subject in this epi steme is "inflationary rhetoric": an equally excessive literature of pathos, exactly the device Swift satirizes in the Proposal's first paragraphs (Furniss 235). Paper money, an invention of the financial revolution, had consistently been a target of the Scriblerians because it was a medium that reified Britain's national debt into wealth. In the Tory imagi nation, both popular literature and currency inflation were linked in the ideology of the sublime. Peri Bathos explains that Whig writ ers, by valuing the sublime, were increasing the gap between rich and poor on "Parnas sus," the work's metonym for the British state and republic of letters. It remarks that it is "surprizing," given the "populous of our low lands," that "all dignities and honours should be bestowed upon the exceeding few mea ger inhabitants on the top of the mountain" (Scriblerus 345-46). Peri Bathos may consist of "bathetic images of the futile attempt to hold onto wealth" in the modern economy (Bell 53), but it also denigrates payments to public creditors by showing how the support ofthe few at the top ofthe mountain requires ever-increasing levies on those at its foot. Yet its narrator also suggests that, given the con nection between popular literature and infla tion, bathos might be a mode of realism that could finally sink the debt, providing a bot tom to the market: "I have undertaken ... to lead them as it were by the hand, and step by step, the gentle down-hill way to the bathos; the bottom, the end, the central point, the non plus ultra, of true modern poesy" (Scriblerus 345). His repeated use ofthe term "Profund" for bathos connects the signification of depth associated with profound with the "pro-fund" process of pouring forth wealth toward Brit ain's sinking fund (Scriblerus 348). The nar rator is suggesting that bathos's ironic effect is reconstructive?an attempt to rebuild a deep foundation to support "an appalling destabi lisation ofthe national economy and its moral basis" (Bell 54). The market, the Scriblerians argued, may be underwritten more effectively by laughter than sensibility. In this context, A Modest Proposal may have evinced consciousness about overpopu lation, but it unconsciously reveals a concern with national debt and that debt's relation to financial and rhetorical bubbles. It had become clear to Swift that population growth and infla tion were linked by the practical requirements of the fiscal-military state: revenue produced by an ever-increasing supply of taxpayers. The proliferation of children, whether they were regarded literally as bodies whose alienated labor would pay debts or metaphorically as in flationary pulp fictions keeping the public pre occupied, was necessary for the continuation of Whig hegemony. Given Swift's use of these pregnancy metaphors, postcolonial assessments of his critique of empire may be informed by a historicization ofthe period's organic unifica tion of publishing, capitalism, and legal agency under the aegis of sexual reproduction. Laura Brown's contention that Swift is a misogynist This content downloaded from 202.120.14.172 on Fri, 10 Nov 2017 17:56:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms