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Jonathan Swift Quotes

All Quotes Abuse Age Art Atheism Belief Character Children Church Coffee Cooking Corruption Country Criticism Desire Devil Eating Education Evil Fate Flattery Food Friends Friendship Funny Genius Giving Gold Greatness Greed Happiness Hate Heart Heaven House Inspirational Joy Judging Justice Kissing Language Life Literature Love Lying Madness Mankind Manners Mathematics Money Moon Pain Passion Philosophy Poetry Politics Praise Pride Quality Rain Reading Religion Romance Running Sarcasm Satire School Science Shame Style Success Talent Time Understanding Virtue Vision War Wine Wisdom Writing

Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect.

Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect.

Men, Too Late, Limping

Jonathan Swift, John Hawkesworth (1784). “The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin: Including the Whole of His Posthumous Pieces, Letters, &c”, p.15

When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.

Funny, Education, Truth

"Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

You should never be ashamed to admit you have been wrong. It only proves you are wiser today than yesterday

Writing, Yesterday, Rejection

You cannot reason a person out of something they were not reasoned into.

Reason, Persons

We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.

Love, Religious, Hate

'Thoughts on Various Subjects' (1706)

Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending. May you live all the days of your life.

Opportunity, May, Happy Endings

Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.

Inspirational, Law, Break Through

A Critical Essay upon the Faculties of the Mind (1709) See Anacharsis 1

There are few wild beasts more to be dreaded than a talking man having nothing to say.

Men, Talking, Beast

Vision is the Art of seeing Things invisible.

Inspirational, Leadership, Teacher

"Thoughts on various subjects (Further thoughts on various subjects)". Book by Jonathan Swift, 1745.

Every man desires to live long, but no man wishes to be old.

Cute, Men, Long

Live every day as your last, because one of these days, it will be.

Lasts, These Days, Live Every Day

The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet, and Doctor Merryman.

Inspirational, Funny, Humorous

Jonathan Swift (1761). “The Works of Dr Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin. Accurately Corrected by the Best Editions. With the Author's Life and Character; Notes Historical, Critical, and Explanatory; Tables of Contents, and Indexes. More Complete Than Any Preceding Edition. In Eight Volumes”, p.323

Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent.

Blessed, Blessing, Power

In men desire begets love, and in women love begets desire.

Love, Men, Desire

Jonathan Swift, John Hawkesworth (1766). “Letters, Written by the Late Jonathan Swift ... and Several of His Friends: From the Year 1703-to 1740. Published from the Originals; with Notes Explanatory and Historical”, p.117

The ruin of a State is generally preceded by an universal degeneracy of manners and contempt of religion.

Ruins, Manners, States

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Roscoe (1859). “The works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.: with copious notes and additions and a memoir of the author”, p.244

There were many times my pants were so thin I could sit on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails.

Funny, Life, Money

That the universe was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, I will no more believe than that the accidental jumbling of the alphabet would fall into a most ingenious treatise of philosophy.

Philosophy, Believe, Fall

Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches as to conceive how others can be in want.

Friendship, Family, Wisdom

Jonathan Swift (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Jonathan Swift (Illustrated)”, p.1168, Delphi Classics

A tavern is a place where madness is sold by the bottle.

Drinking, Bottles, Literature

For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.

Government, Slavery, Definitions

The Drapier's Letters no. 4 (1724)

Men are happy to be laughed at for their humor, but not for their folly.

Humor, Men, Laughing

I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.

Men, Evil, Guilt

Jonathan Swift (1850). “The Works of Jonathan Swift: Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published ; with a Memoir of the Author”, p.307

Wise people are never less alone than when they are alone.

Wise, People, Solitude

Party is the madness of many for the gain of a few.

Party, Political, Politics

Jonathan Swift, Sir Walter Scott (1814). “The Works of Jonathan Swift: Miscellanies, by Mr. Pope, Dr. Arbuthnot, Mr. Gay, &c. Prose miscellanies by Swift and Sheridan”, p.255

He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.

Food, Men, Oysters

1738 Polite Conversation, dialogue 2.

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