The renaissance that spread across Europe, while effectively marking the transformation of medieval traditionalism into modern pragmatism, brought into conflict a plethora of new and old ideas. From the Enlightenment born of the Renaissance came new interests in logic, reason, science, individuality and humanity. These characteristics often clashed with the staid traditionalism of old world religion and superstition. But this period cannot be accurately called a conflict between science and religion. With the sudden influx of new ideas to complicate life, ideas rooted in seemingly contradictory forms of rationality and religion each exhibited wildly divergent characteristics. The timeless conflict between religions, especially between different branches of Christianity, has sparked indescribable bloodshed and hatred. Likewise, science and reason became buzzwords frequently misused by people who indulged nothing but their imagination, hoping that it would pass for a form of creative logic. In some ways, these differences of thought produced, in the eyes of the more sane members of society, a clear polarization between those who sought the truth and those who simply made foolish attempts to create it. As a result, humorous stories full of sarcasm and subtle ridicule became a popular literary tool for writers of the time. Their satires attempted to bring true rationality to an age full of confusion that passed for clarity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift satirizes the era's attempts to apply reason and logic to select the "true" religion. At the time, sects of Christianity such as Catholics, Lutherans, Protestants, and Calvinists came into bitter conflict with each other. Everyone claimed that this was the only true path to salvation. The hostilities between these different Christians inspired a number of people to engage logic and reason to promote the "truth" of their religion. In the section of Tale of a Tub titled "Digression Concerning the Original, Use, and Improvement of Madness in a Commonwealth", Swift attacks the brand of "rationality" used by many involved in these debates by ridiculing The absurdity of their style of bringing to light the most mysterious elements of ourselves and our world with imaginative but incredibly simple explanations. John Donne's Satire III is also based on the futility of allowing people's limited capacity for knowledge and understanding to determine the truth behind God. But Donne's shorter poem addresses Christian fundamentalism more directly. Rather than engaging in long satirical explanations of the stupidity of certain rationalists, he sets out to quickly and simply denounce the Churches of Europe which, according to him, undermine the most fundamental principles of Christianity. Together, these selections from Donne and Swift complement each other by highlighting the relationship between futile arguments about the truths of religion and the hopelessly flawed reason and logic that spring from charlatan scientists and rationalists. Jonathan Swift's narrator in his satire, Tale of a Tub represents the arbitrary, non-linear and overly imaginative tendency of certain "thinkers" who helped shape the philosophiesextremely contradictory from the end of the 17th century. This character attempts to weave together the legitimately philosophical views of other characters in The Tale, each representing a contradictory view of Christianity (Abrams, 2312). As a result, this narrator is the target of his satire and, through his many digressions throughout the play, demonstrates the great disparity between those who based their opinions on rationality and evidence and those who profited from this period of innovative thought to indulge in uncontrolled ejaculations. of thought. In the section titled "A Digression Concerning the Original, Use and Improvement of Madness in a Commonwealth", the narrator spits out a series of deeply convoluted paradoxes. Endlessly, the narrator accuses certain deep “thinkers” of his and earlier eras of conjecturing wild opinions and theories that have no basis in reality. He accuses early scientists like Epicurus of having conjured up the idea that the universe is made up of the attraction of atoms. It turns out that Epicurus wasn't far off, but the narrator of course implies that a similar miracle would be necessary to take him seriously (Swift, 2315). And yet the carefully explained reason for this trend smacks of the same illogic he seeks to denounce. In an attempt to offer a pseudo-scientific explanation for the inconsistencies of modern thought, the narrator describes a kind of vapor that escapes from the "lower faculties" (Swift, 2313) of men, and infects the brain with the disease of irrationality. Although he uses a surprisingly accurate metaphor for the process by which a thunderstorm forms, his analogy seeks scientific value where there clearly is none. According to the narrator, Man is, in his natural state, docile and unlikely to produce distinguished things, much like a clear sky. But like the moisture in the ground that eventually rises to the sky to form rain clouds, the vapors rise from the "lower faculties" of men, forming storms of thought that have varying results depending on the source of the vapor (Swift 2313). The narrator turns to the example of Henry IV, who inexplicably summoned a frighteningly powerful military presence, ready to embark on a battle or conquest that no one saw the need for. The narrator describes, in truly satirical fashion, how a "surgeon", curious as to the cause of Henry's actions, drove a spike into his head to prove his hunch that mind-altering vapors would escape, the "accidentally" killing him in the process. (Srapid 2313). Indeed, vapors have indeed escaped, and from this clearly artificial story, the narrator professes a totally improbable theory. According to the narrator, Henri was in pursuit of the Princess de Condé, who had been transferred by her husband to the Spanish Netherlands. The prince, desperate and unable to find “relief” from his stoked sexual urges, falls victim to the dreaded vapors. The narrator assumes that the unspent semen, “raised and inflamed” (Swift, 2313) has burned and been converted into a pure product of anger or irritability. They traveled up through the body via the spinal “conduit” and poisoned the brain. Naturally, Henry was then driven into the illusion of a need to pursue and conquer; This is how his vast armies were born. Although this attempt to rationalize a series of obviously coincidental events is a ridiculous excuse for science, it represents a perfectly valid, creative, and colorful metaphor. Perhaps Henry's insecurity after his failed pursuit of Princess Condé caused him to be obsessed with other forms of conquest. But the point of viewof Swift is clear. By making his narrator's scientific reasoning so absurd, he highlights the misconception that particular events in the world can be explained in terms that are not beyond the scale or scope of men. Swift even allows her narrator to make this point. "For what man, in his natural state or in the course of his thought, ever conceived that it was in his power to reduce the notions of all mankind to exactly the same length, breadth, and width? same height as hers” (Swift, 2314)? And so the hypocrisy and paradoxes continue. In the same way that Swifts mocks those, like his narrator, who fabricate truth from conjecture, Donne's Satire III questions people's ability to decide what is or is not religious truth. Donne seems embittered by the narrow-mindedness of various forms of religion and rationality. To attack their methods, he uses the characters Mirreus, Crantz, Graius, Phrygius and Graccus to represent Roman Catholics, Calvinists, the Church of England, skeptics and relativists respectively (Abrams, 1258). He accuses Mirreus of having fled England for Rome where she can revel in her ancient traditions (Donne, 1258, 43). He implies that Crantz is completely free of character, passion, love, or anything other than the religious allegiances prescribed by the state (Donne, 1259, 48). Phrygius, the sceptic, denounces all religions because he is dissatisfied with only one (Donne, 1259, 62). Meanwhile, Graccus, the relativist, is so blinded by his acceptance of all truths that he does not see fit to pursue at least a deeper understanding of the truth (Donne, 1259, 65). Each of these characters is stuck in their ways, unwilling or unable to accept the endless possibilities of themselves and the world they live in. Worse yet, they all promote themselves, insisting their way is the only true way. They, especially those who represent various religions, seek to impose their version of the truth on others. But Donne understands that truth is not a universal constant. One of the most fundamental characteristics of the Renaissance is the resurgence of humanity as a subject worthy of praise rather than scorn. Acceptance of differences and individuality was taken more seriously than before. Donne clearly expresses his belief that people should be free to choose for themselves what they believe to be religious truth. This plays on the idea that truth is not easy to define; that people do not have the capacity to discover the truth in its entirety. Accordingly, people must engage in intimate dialogue with their own hearts, allowing themselves the freedom to evolve toward the religion that speaks most effectively to them. Donne expresses this opinion clearly when he says: “Be busy looking for it”, believe me this, he is not of the worst, nor of the worst, he who seeks the best. To obtain correct information is not to go astray; (Donne, 1259, 74) Donne continues by using the imagery of a steep mountain whose summit represents one's personal fulfillment of religious truth (Donne, 1259, 80). The path to the summit is arduous and difficult, without straight and easy paths; paths that Catholics, Calvinists, etc. try to create. By observing one of the most important conflicts of the 17th century with Donne's Satire III and understanding the character of the narrator in Swift's Tale of a Bathtub, we can begin to understand the method behind the madness. this helped create such a quagmire of religious conflict. Donne encourages those who lack conviction to explore the infinite possibilities of spirituality and to decide for themselves, and only themselves, their, 2000.