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Jonathan Swift Quotes - Page 16

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

The two maxims of any great man at court are, always to keep his countenance, and never to keep his word.

The two maxims of any great man at court are, always to keep his countenance, and never to keep his word.

Greatness, Men, Two

Jonathan Swift, David Laing Purves (1871). “The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.: Carefully Selected; with a Biography of the Author”, p.520

Great abilities, when employed as God directs, do but make the owners of them greater and more painful servants to their neighbors.

Greatness, Painful, Neighbor

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Roscoe (1859). “The works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.: with copious notes and additions and a memoir of the author”, p.145

Hail, follow, well met, All dirty and wet: Find out, if you can, Who's master, who's man.

Dirty, Men, Hail

My Lady's Lamentation" l. 165 (written 1728)

Liberty of conscience is nowadays only understood to be the liberty of believing what men please, but also of endeavoring to propagate that belief as much as they can.

Believe, Men, Liberty

Jonathan Swift (1801). “The Works ...”, p.45

I'm up and down and round about, Yet all the world can't find me out; Though hundreds have employed their leisure, They never yet could find my measure.

Circles, World, Down And

Jonathan Swift (1823). “The select works of Jonathan Swift ...: containing the whole of his poetical works ... embellished with engravings”, p.237

A footman may swear; but he cannot swear like a lord. He can swear as often: but can he swear with equal delicacy, propriety, and judgment?

Funny, Humorous, Delicacy

Jonathan Swift (1861). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: With Copious Notes and Additions, and a Memoir of the Author”, p.22

Oh how our neighbour lifts his nose, To tell what every schoolboy knows.

Education, Noses, Lifts

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Park (1808). “The Poetical Works of Jonathan Swift, ...: Collated with the Best Editions:”, p.153

Not die here in a rage, like a poisoned rat in a hole.

Self Improvement, Rats, Rage

Letter to Bolingbroke, 21 March 1730, in Harold Williams (ed.) 'The Correspondence of Jonathan Swift' vol. 3 (1963) p. 382

A maxim in law has more weight in the world than an article of faith.

Faith, Law, World

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.267

Let a man be ne'er so wise, he may be caught with sober lies.

Wise, Lying, Men

Jonathan Swift, David Laing Purves (1871). “The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.: Carefully Selected; with a Biography of the Author”, p.590

Had Windham possessed discretion in debate, or Sheridan in conduct, they might have ruled their age.

Age, Might, Debate

If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots in it, I would burn my Travels.

Science, Gulliver, World

A jargon form'd from the lost language, wit, Confounded in that Babel of the pit; Form'd by diseased conceptions, weak and wild, Sick lust of souls, and an abortive child; Born between whores and fops, by lewd compacts, Before the play, or else between the acts; Nor wonder, if from such polluted minds Should spring such short and transitory kinds.

Children, Spring, Play

Jonathan Swift (1801). “The Works of of the Rev. Jonathan Swift”, p.411

Dignity, high station, or great riches, are in some sort necessary to old men, in order to keep the younger at a distance, who are otherwise too apt to insult them upon the score of their age.

Distance, Men, Order

Jonathan Swift (1841). “The works of Jonathan Swift, containing papers not hitherto publ. With memoir of the author by T. Roscoe”, p.306

You must take the will for the deed.

Deeds

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Roscoe (1859). “The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.: With Copious Notes and Additions and a Memoir of the Author”, p.69

Tell truth, and shame the devil.

Truth, Devil, Shame

Jonathan Swift (1860). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: With Copious Notes and Additions, and a Memoir of the Author”, p.642

A carpenter is known by his chips.

Wise, Wisdom, Identity

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols (1801). “Poems, Polite convesation, etc”, p.344

I am of the level with common Astrologers; who, with an old paltry cant, and a few pot-hooks for planets to amuse the vulgar, have too long been suffered to abuse the world.

Astrology, Long, Abuse

Jonathan Swift (1856). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published ... With Memoir of the Author”, p.253

Every age might perhaps produce one or two geniuses, if they were not sunk under the censure and obloquy of plodding, servile, imitating pedants.

Two, Age, Pedants

Jonathan Swift (1761). “Works”, p.359

Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe, how much it altered her person for the worse.

Believe, Lasts, Saws

A Tale of a Tub ch. 9 (1704)

I forget whether advice be among the lost things which Ariosto says are to be found in the moon: that and time ought to have been there.

Moon, Advice, Forget

Jonathan Swift, Sir Walter Scott (1814). “The Works of Jonathan Swift: Miscellaneous essays”, p.432

Two women seldom grow intimate but at the expense of a third person.

Women, Two, Intimate

Though Diogenes lived in a tub, there might be, for aught I know, as much pride under his rags, as in the fine-spun garments of the divine Plato.

Plato, Pride, Might

Jonathan Swift (1861). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: With Cop'ous Notes and Additions”, p.554

Flattery is the worst and falsest way of showing our esteem.

Way, Flattery, Worst

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

Interest is the spur of the people, but glory that of great souls. Invention is the talent of youth, and judgment of age.

Birthday, People, Soul

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