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

Why Jennifer Hudson Forgave Her Mother's Killer -- Life Stories By Goalcast

At the peak of her career, Jennifer Hudson faced a horrific family tragedy. Hudson's mother and brother were brutally attacked in their family home, and her seven-year-old nephew was kidnapped. What followed was a heart-wrenching manhunt to rescue her nephew and seek justice against the man who took her family. Hudson speaks from the heart in this video on what happened to her family and how she was able to move forward.

Celebrities
People smiling in unison united
Racism Quotes

Racism is considered the marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges another race. The term is applied in many areas of a society that perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race or strengthen racial inequalities in education, health care, income, and civil rights.

Ever since the 20th century, the concept of biological race is considered a cultural invention that has no scientific basis. The progress over the past half-century has been impressive, but the nation still has a long way to go to reach true racial equality.

Keep ReadingShow less
Everyday Heroes
hands are put together as part of community volunteer efforts
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

A community is so much more than people sharing a space. It's a living, breathing network of connections and shared experiences. While it's usually defined as “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common,” true community runs much deeper than that.

Diversity

Keep ReadingShow less
Quotes