From his earliest years he
hated dependence, and yet, until middle life he was forced to be a
dependent. His education was furnished by the charity of relatives,
between whom and himself there was no affection. His college degree was
conferred in a manner which made it a disgrace rather than an honor.
The long years which he passed in the household of Sir William Temple,
subject to the humors and caprices of his master, embittered his temper
at the time of life when it should have been most buoyant and hopeful.
Thus began the melancholy and misanthropy which marred his whole life,
darkening his triumphs, turning such love as he had to give into a
curse to those who received it, producing an eccentricity which often
gave him the appearance of a madman, and finally bringing him to a
terrible end--to die, as he himself foretold, like a blasted elm, first
at the top. He kept his birthday as a day of mourning. He solemnly
regretted his escape when nearly killed by an accident. He habitually
parted from a friend with the wish that they might never meet again.
Caesar's description of Cassius is wonderfully applicable to Swift:[151]
----He reads much;
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men ----
Seldom he smiles; and smiles in such a sort
As if he mocked himself, and scorn'd his spirit
That could be amused to smile at any thing.
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