Reflections upon Ireland

rdf:langString Reflections upon Ireland

rdf:langString Reflections upon some Persons and Things in Ireland

rdf:langString Reflections upon some Persons and Things in Ireland

rdf:langString Title page of Reflections 1660

rdf:langString United Kingdom

rdf:langString English

rdf:langString London : Printed for John Martin, James Allestreye, and Thomas Dicas

rdf:langString page 15/6

rdf:langString I have gotten the occasion of practising upon my own Morals, that is, to learn, how with silence and smiles to elude the sharpest Provocations, and without troublesome Menstruums to digest the toughest Injuries that ever a poor man was crammed with.

rdf:langString Reflections upon Ireland

rdf:langString Reflections upon some Persons and Things in Ireland is an essay, written by Sir William Petty (1620-1687) and published in 1660. It contains a summary of the work carried out by Petty in the so-called Down Survey, and especially a defense against the critics that were cast upon him afterwards. It was a further elaboration of the short pamphlet, titled The Proceedings between Sankey and Petty, that was published by Petty the year before. William Petty, who was educated in France and the Netherlands, became a doctor in physics in Oxford in 1649. The next year he was elected a fellow of Brasenose College. He also became a Gresham Professor of Music. In 1651 he went to Ireland as physician-general in Cromwell's army. In 1655 he was in charge of the Down Survey, and acquired much land. This made him vulnerable for accusations of corruption. Jerome Sankey was among the people that accused Petty in Parliament of bribery and fraud. Petty defended himself and published his Proceedings between Sankey and Petty in 1659. One year later he published his Reflections upon some Persons and Things in Ireland (often shortened to Reflections upon Ireland, or simply Reflections) in continuation of the controversy. In 1659 he also wrote an extensive manuscript on the Down Survey, which was not published during his life, and appeared in print in 1851 as , edited by Thomas Aiskew Larcom for the Irish Archaeological Society.