ABSTRACT
The publication of the four volumes of Miscellanies naturally spurred Swift into wishing for a proper collected edition of his works. He could not control Pope’s manner of editing; he could not direct the instruments he had tried to work with in London. The contemplation of his own death deepened the desire to see his literary monument erected while he could still enjoy the sight. Yet Swift could not openly launch such a collection. His commitments to persons like Pope and Motte would have made obvious sponsorship awkward. The old reasons for anonymity and pseudonymity still held. I suspect too that Swift wished to avoid both the imputation of vanity and the responsibility he would have for many aspects of the edition if he admitted that he supervised it. Yet such a project would allow him to introduce a number of subtleties into the presentation of his works if he outwardly seemed hostile or at least indifferent to the scheme of producing it.
