Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swiftwas an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth30 November 1667
CountryIreland
littles body goodness
She has more goodness in her little finger than he has in his whole body.
lying responsibility excuse
An excuse is a lie guarded.
sarcasm men vices
It is as hard to satirize well a man of distinguished vices, as to praise well a man of distinguished virtues.
delicacy may judgment
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?
book scandal tongue
Nor do they trust their tongue alone, but speak a language of their own; can read a nod, a shrug, a look, far better than a printed book; convey a libel in a frown, and wink a reputation down.
past carpe-diem locks
Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is once past, there is no recalling it.
greed vices humankind
There is no vice which humankind carries to such wild extremes as that of avarice.
art children causes
O Grub Street! how do I bemoan thee, whose graceless children scorn to own thee! . Yet thou hast greater cause to be ashamed of them, than they of thee.
kind rating pedantry
Pedantry is properly the over-rating of any kind of knowledge we pretend to.
bread quarrels bread-and-butter
I won't quarrel with my bread and butter.
hate world charity
I hate nobody: I am in charity with the world.
prayer sunday journey
I always love to begin a journey on Sundays, because I shall have the prayers of the church to preserve all that travel by land, or water.
thinking owl woods
Do you think I was born in a wood to be afraid of an owl?
young worst company
Usually speaking, the worst-bred person in company is a young traveller just returned from abroad.