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Jonathan Swift Quotes - Page 12

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

There are certain common privileges of a writer, the benefit whereof, I hope, there will be no reason to doubt; particularly, that where I am not understood, it shall be concluded, that something very useful and

There are certain common privileges of a writer, the benefit whereof, I hope, there will be no reason to doubt; particularly, that where I am not understood, it shall be concluded, that something very useful and profound is couched underneath; and again, that whatever word or sentence is printed in a different character, shall be judged to contain something extraordinary either or wit of sublime.

Character, Profound, Sublime

Jonathan Swift (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Jonathan Swift (Illustrated)”, p.26, Delphi Classics

An English tongue, if refined to a certain standard, might perhaps be fixed forever.

Forever, Might, Tongue

The power of fortune is confessed only by the miserable, for the happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.

Success, Congratulations, Sadness

Jonathan Swift, Sir Walter Scott (1814). “The Works of Jonathan Swift: Miscellaneous essays”, p.436

The proper words in the proper places are the true definition of style.

Style, Literature, Definitions

Pray steal me not, I'm Mrs. Dingley's, Whose heart in this four-footed thing lies.

Funny, Friendship, Dog

Jonathan Swift (1860). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: With Copious Notes and Additions, and a Memoir of the Author”, p.449

A Child will make two Dishes at an Entertainment for Friends; and when the Family dines alone, the fore or hind Quarter will makea reasonable Dish; and seasoned with a little Pepper or Salt, will be very good Boiled on the fourth Day, especially in Winter.

Children, Winter, Two

1729 A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Ireland from being a Burden to their Parents or Country.

A traveler's chief aim should be to make men wiser and better, and to improve their minds by the bad-as well as good example of what they deliver concerning foreign places.

Men, Mind, Example

Jonathan Swift (2005). “Gulliver's Travels - Literary Touchstone Edition”, p.253, Prestwick House Inc

When any one person or body of men seize into their hands the power in the last resort, there is properly no longer a government, but what Aristotle and his followers call the abuse and corruption of one.

Men, Hands, Abuse

Jonathan Swift (1856). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published ... With Memoir of the Author”, p.213

An atheist has got one point beyond the devil.

Atheist, Infidelity, Devil

When a real genius appeares in this world, you'll know him by the fact that all the fools have allied against him.

Real, Genius, World

What vexes me most is, that my female friends, who could bear me very well a dozen years ago, have now forsaken me, although I am not so old in proportion to them as I formerly was: which I can prove by arithmetic, for then I was double their age, which now I am not. Letter to Alexander Pope. 7 Feb. 1736.

Friendship, Years, Age

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Roscoe (1843). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published ... With Memoir of the Author”, p.764

Nothing is so great an instance of ill-manners as flattery.

Flattery, Manners, Ill

Jonathan Swift (1861). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: With Cop'ous Notes and Additions”, p.625

There is no vice or folly that requires so much nicety and skill to manage as vanity; nor any which by ill management makes so contemptible a figure.

Vanity, Skills, Vices

Jonathan Swift, John Hawkesworth (1755). “The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin: Accurately Revised in Six Volumes, Adorned with Copper-plates : with Some Account of the Author's Life and Notes Historical and Explanatory”

It is an uncontrolled truth, that no man ever made an ill figure who understood his own talents, nor a good one who mistook them.

Men, Talent, Figures

Jonathan Swift, Sir Walter Scott (1824). “Epistolary correspondence. Letters from September 1725 to May 1732”, p.373

I shall be like that tree-I shall die at the top.

Inspirational, Confidence, Tree

In Sir Walter Scott 'Life of Swift'

I remember it was with extreme difficulty that I could bring my master to understand the meaning of the word opinion, or how a point could be disputable; because reason taught us to affirm or deny only where we are certain; and beyond our knowledge we cannot do either.

Taught Us, Opinion, Remember

Jonathan Swift (2005). “Gulliver's Travels - Literary Touchstone Edition”, p.233, Prestwick House Inc

I won't quarrel with my bread and butter.

Bread, Quarrels, Bread And Butter

1738 Polite Conversation, dialogue 1.

Satire, being levelled at all, is never resented for an offence by any.

Satire, Offence

'A Tale of a Tub' (1704) 'The Author's Preface'

Seamen have a custom, when they meet a whale, to fling him out an empty tub by way of amusement, to divert him from laying violent hands upon the ship.

Hands, Whales, Amusement

Jonathan Swift, William Wotton (1811). “A tale of a tub,: written for the universal improvement of mankind. To which is added, An account of a battle between the ancient and modern books in St. James's Library”, p.43

Apollo was held the god of physic and sender of disease. Both were originally the same trade, and still continue.

Apollo, Disease, Trade

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Roscoe (1859). “The works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.: with copious notes and additions and a memoir of the author”, p.615

If a man makes me keep my distance, the comfort is, he keeps his at the same time.

Distance, Men, Comfort

Jonathan Swift (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Jonathan Swift (Illustrated)”, p.899, Delphi Classics

Then, rising with Aurora's light, The Muse invoked, sit down to write; Blot out, correct, insert, refine, Enlarge, diminish, interline.

Writing, Light, Rising

'On Poetry' (1733) l. 85

Whatever the poets pretend, it is plain they give immortality to none but themselves; it is Homer and Virgil we reverence and admire, not Achilles or Aeneas. With historians it is quite the contrary; our thoughts are taken up with the actions, persons, and events we read, and we little regard the authors.

Taken, Aeneas, Giving

Jonathan Swift (2010). “The Battle of the Books: And Other Works, Including 'A Modest Proposal'”, p.187, The Floating Press

Ingratitude is amongst them a capital crime, as we read it to have been in some other countries: for they reason thus; that whoever makes ill-returns to his benefactor, must needs be a common enemy to the rest of the mankind, from where he has received no obligations and therefore such man is not fit to live.

Country, Men, Enemy

The latter part of a wise person's life is occupied with curing the follies, prejudices and false opinions they contracted earlier.

Wise, Time, Age

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