Jonathan Swift

The Battle of the Books and Other Short Pieces Jonathan Swift

Swift's satire, written in 1697, describes the battle between ancient and modern books. At that time, "ancient" referred to the Greek classics and "modern" referred to books written in the 17th century. It was a rebuttal to authors who were writing that modern knowledge had surpassed the knowledge that had been available in earlier books. Swift argued that the essential ideas taught by Aristotle and others were just as valid and important as ever.