Close Ad

20 Eye-Opening Jonathan Swift Quotes that You Need to Know
Jonathan Swift Quotes
Authors

20 Eye-Opening Jonathan Swift Quotes that You Need to Know

Jonathan Swift (Nov. 30, 1667 — Oct. 19, 1745) was an

essayist, cleric, writer and one of the most influential satirists of all time.


Gulliver’s Travels is perhaps Swift’s

most popular work.

Swift’s father was a famous attorney, but sadly, he died

when his son was only two months old. His mother didn’t have a steady income

and Swift was a sickly child, so she mostly struggled to provide for him. She

decided to leave Swift in the care of his Uncle Godwin, who took care of his

education.

The writer first worked as a statesman's assistant, after

receiving his bachelor’s degree. Swift’s first work was the short satire The Battle of the Books but it was published

some years after it was actually written. In fact, most of his writing were

published under pseudonyms, one of them being Isaac Bickerstaff.

Swift was a pioneer of satire and a gifted writer. He used

humor in describing people’s weaknesses and bad habits, hoping that we’ll recognize

our darker side and shun it. His specific style gave rise to a particular kind

of satire that came to be known as ‘Swiftian’.  

Hare are 20 eye-opening Jonathan Swift quotes that you need

to know.

A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, that he is wiser today than yesterday.

A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.

Health is the greatest of all possessions.

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

It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.

The worthiest people are the most injured by slander, as is the best fruit which the birds have been pecking at.

There is no absolute success in the world, only constant progress.

May you live every day of your life.

Words are the clothing of our thoughts.

Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall be disappointed.

When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign: that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

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

To get angry is like to revenge yourself for the guilt of others.

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

Undoubtedly, philosophers are in the right when they tell us that nothing is great or little otherwise than by comparison.

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.

Simplicity, without which no human performance can arrive at perfection.

Every day is an opportunity to a make a new happy ending.

Books, the children of the brain.

Coffee makes us severe, and grave and philosophical.

Hot Stories

Leonardo DiCaprio Told Kate Winslet To “Let The Fat Girl Thing Go”
Leo Dicaprio Told Kate Winslet To “Let The Fat Girl Thing Go” …

Forced to feel ashamed for her weight and appearance, Kate Winslet struggled with her body image for years. The media loved to tease her for being “the fat girl,” but there was ONE PERSON who saw the real her. What did Leo see in Kate? And what important message does Kate have for young women everywhere?


Keep ReadingShow less
Videos
dave chappelle and wife elaine

Dave Chappelle may be one of the most popular comedians in the world, but to his wife Elaine, he's just Dave.

Chappelle had his big break with his Comedy Central Show Chappelle Show which ran from 2003 to 2005. The show was enormously popular and put Chappelle on the map. Chappelle’s Show was scheduled to have a third season after the success of the first two seasons but that never happened.

Keep ReadingShow less
Celebrities
41 Daughter Quotes That Will Touch and Melt Your Heart
daughter quotes

Having a daughter is undoubtedly a blessing. However, raising a girl with high self-esteem can be quite challenging. Between social media's filtered reality of perfect women and society's shifting expectations, parents face the daunting task of nurturing authentic self-worth in their daughters.

These carefully selected daughter quotes help provide a starting point. They're simple reminders that whatever accomplishments you may have to date, raising a daughter is probably your biggest one.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family