Translation of Jonathan Swift's self-written epitaph, from the Latin, by Leo Damrosch:
"Here is deposited the body / of Jonathan Swift S.T.D. [Sacrae Theologiae Doctor] / of this Cathedral church (St. Patrick's, one of Dublin's two cathedrals) / the Dean / where savage indignation / can no longer / lacerate his heart. / Go, traveler, / and imitate, if you can, / a valiant champion / of manly freedom."
"Someone else might have added, 'and great writer.'
Unhappily, Swift was plagued throughout his life by serious health problems. Chief among them was Meniere's disease, leading to frequent vertigo, tinnitus and progressive deafness, eventually total in the left ear. The last, extremely painful years were tragic, with loss of memory and severely impaired movement, culminating in his servants' displaying him to gawkers for money. He even had to be forcibly restrained from tearing out a sore eye.
He did, however, have some good friends, although usually quarreling, even with them in the end. Some distant female relatives cared for him at the last."
-John Simon, a longtime critic of the arts, is the theater critic for The Westchester Guardian and The Yonkers Tribune. (From his review of "Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World" by Leo Damrosch, in the New York Times Book Review, Sunday, December 1, 2013)
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