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Jonathan Swift Quotes - Page 3

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

Nothing is so great an example of bad manners as flattery. If you flatter all the company, you please none; If you flatter only one or two, you offend the rest.

Nothing is so great an example of bad manners as flattery. If you flatter all the company, you please none; If you flatter only one or two, you offend the rest.

Two, Example, Flattery

I said there was a society of men among us, bred up from their youth in the art of proving by words multiplied for the purpose, that white is black, and black is white, according as they are paid. To this society all the rest of the people are as slaves.

Success, Art, Men

Gulliver's Travels "A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms" ch. 5 (1726)

Reason is a very light rider, and easily shook off.

Light, Reason, Riders

Jonathan Swift (1800). “Tale of a Tub: written for the universal improvemend of mankind”, p.140

And surely one of the best rules in conversation is, never to say a thing which any of the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid.

Wish, Conversation, Unsaid

Jonathan Swift (1843). “Works: Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers Not Hitherto Published”, p.294

Vanity is a mark of humility rather than of pride.

Humility, Pride, Vanity

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols (1808). “Works”, p.443

I'm as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.

Tongue, Teeth, Littles

Jonathan Swift (1856). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published ... With Memoir of the Author”, p.336

I wonder what fool it was that first invented kissing.

Funny, Inspiration, Being In Love

1738 Polite Conversation, dialogue 2.

It is impossible that anything so natural, so necessary, and so universal as death, should ever have been designed by providence as an evil to mankind.

Death, Evil, Dying

Jonathan Swift, Sir Walter Scott (1824). “Sermons (cont.) Tracts in defence of Christianity. Tracts in support of the Church establishment. Tracts on the test act. Essays, periodical and miscellaneous”, p.56

Coffee makes us severe, and grave and philosophical.

Coffee, Philosophical, Espresso

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Roscoe (1843). “The Works of Jonathan Swift ...: Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published ... With Memoir of the Author”, p.55

No man was ever so completely skilled in the conduct of life, as not to receive new information from age and experience.

Funny, Life, Time

They say fingers were made before forks, and hands before knives.

Hands, Knives, Eating

Jonathan Swift (1857). “The works of Dean Swift: comprising A tale of a tub, The battle of the books, with thoughts and essays on various subjects, together with The Dean's advice to a young lady on her marriage”, p.373

A secret is seldom safe in more than one breast.

Secret, Safe, Breasts

Jonathan Swift (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Jonathan Swift (Illustrated)”, p.1932, Delphi Classics

Blot out, correct, insert, refine, enlarge, diminish, interline. Be mindful, when invention fails. To scratch your head and bite your nails.

Nails, Mindfulness, Scratches

Jonathan Swift (2011). “Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings”, p.625, Bantam Classics

What poet would not grieve to see His brother write as well as he? But rather than they should excel, He'd wish his rivals all in Hell.

Brother, Writing, Grieving

Jonathan Swift (1841). “The Works. Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published. With Memoir of the Author, by Thomas Roscoe. -London, Washbourne 1841”, p.655

Two friendships in two breasts requires The same aversions and desires.

Friendship, Two, Feelings

Jonathan Swift, William Broome, Samuel Johnson (1822). “The Poems of Jonathan Swift ...”, p.217

When we desire or solicit anything, our minds run wholly on the good side or circumstances of it; when it is obtained, our minds run wholly on the bad ones.

Running, Greed, Mind

Jonathan Swift (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Jonathan Swift (Illustrated)”, p.893, Delphi Classics

Praise is the daughter of present power.

Daughter, Praise

Jonathan Swift (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Jonathan Swift (Illustrated)”, p.897, Delphi Classics

Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind reception it meets with in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.

Sarcasm, Glasses, Faces

Jonathan Swift (2013). “The Very Best of Jonathan Swift In Plain and Simple English (Translated)”, p.534, BookCaps Study Guides

It often happens that, if a lie be believed only for an hour, it has done its work, and there is no further occasion for it.

Work, Lying, Done

Jonathan Swift, Thomas Roscoe (1859). “The works of Jonathan Swift, D.D.: with copious notes and additions and a memoir of the author”, p.458

I love good creditable acquaintance; I love to be the worst of the company.

Worst, Acquaintance, Company

'Journal to Stella' (published in 'Works', 1768) 17 May 1711

It is the first rule in oratory that a man must appear such as he would persuade others to be: and that can be accomplished only by the force of his life.

Men, Oratory, Firsts

Jonathan Swift, Sir Walter Scott (1824). “The Works of Jonathan Swift: Containing Additional Letters, Tracts, and Poems Not Hitherto Published; with Notes, and a Life of the Author”, p.27

Cruel people are ever cowards in emergency.

People, Coward, Emergencies

Fine words! I wonder where you stole them.

Sarcastic, Fine Words, Wonder

'Whitshed's Motto on his Coach' (1724) (Libertas... Freedom and the land of my birth)

I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers, but I love Counsellor Such-a-one, and Judge Such-a-one: so with physicians - I will not speak of my own trade - soldiers, English, Scotch, French, and the rest. But principally I hate and detest that animal called man, although I heartily love John, Peter, Thomas, and so forth. This is the system upon which I have governed myself many years, but do not tell.

Hate, Animal, Love Is

Jonathan Swift (2016). “Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal”, p.374, Simon and Schuster

It is remarkable with what Christian fortitude and resignation we can bear the suffering of other folks.

Christian, Suffering Of Others, Bears

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