1st paragraph of A Modest Propos

November 27th, 2018

Subtitle-For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.-Jonathan Swift

Recite: ( the bold and italic are words that I missed at the first time.)

It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads and cabin doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms. These mothers instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants, who, as they grow up, either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to Barbadoes. 

Paraphrase: 

The author, Jonathan Swift, made a proposal to the policymakers, which is about the children of the poor people. In the 1st paragraph, he talks about the background of the country, especially the miserable living condition of poor people. 

In Ireland, numerous woman beggars are seen everywhere, and they are usually followed by their children, all of whom wear shabby clothes and beg everyone for something. If people go there and see this, they feel sorry for these people. Actually, those woman beggars are forced to beg because they have no ability to do some work. And their children, in the future, will find it hard to have work, and then will find other ways to live in the world, maybe turning thieves or leaving their country, or selling themselves to another country.