The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq

In 1700 Sir Richard Steele dueled with one Captain Kelley and wounded him gravely. From then on, Steele was bitterly opposed to dueling, and went on to write several essays, a book, and a comedy opposing it. In this way, much of his writing took different forms, but the themes behind it remained the same. His best friend from grade school, Joseph Addison, turned out to be his literary partner for much of his life; the two published many political journals. These journals, The Tatler and The Spectator, published essays on a variety of topics, with the intent of fortifying the moral fiber of the reading public.