Where there are large powers with little ambition... nature may be said to have fallen short of her purposes.

Quote by Jonathan Swift

Topics: Jonathan Swift Quotes

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.

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

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

Our passions are like convulsion fits, which, though they make us stronger for the time,...

Our passions are like convulsion fits, which, though they make us stronger for the time,...

Whoever makes two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow where only...

Whoever makes two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow where only...

Politics, as the word is commonly understood, are nothing but corruptions.

Politics, as the word is commonly understood, are nothing but corruptions.

Human brutes, like other beasts, find snares and poison in the provision of life, and...

Human brutes, like other beasts, find snares and poison in the provision of life, and...

As blushing will sometimes make a whore pass for a virtuous woman, so modesty may...

As blushing will sometimes make a whore pass for a virtuous woman, so modesty may...

Argument, as usually managed, is the worst sort of conversation, as in books it is...

Argument, as usually managed, is the worst sort of conversation, as in books it is...

Laws are best explained, interpreted and applied by those whose interest and abilities lie in...

Laws are best explained, interpreted and applied by those whose interest and abilities lie in...

If Heaven had looked upon riches to be a valuable thing, it would not have...

If Heaven had looked upon riches to be a valuable thing, it would not have...

The want of belief is a defect that ought to be concealed when it cannot...

The want of belief is a defect that ought to be concealed when it cannot...

I have almost done with harridans, and shall soon become old enough to fall in...

I have almost done with harridans, and shall soon become old enough to fall in...

No preacher is listened to but time, which gives us the same train and turn...

No preacher is listened to but time, which gives us the same train and turn...

A lie does not consist in the indirect position of words, but in the desire...

A lie does not consist in the indirect position of words, but in the desire...

I have now lost my barrier between me and death; God grant I may live...

I have now lost my barrier between me and death; God grant I may live...

A nice man is a man of nasty ideas.

A nice man is a man of nasty ideas.

Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break...

Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break...

Observation is an old man's memory.

Observation is an old man's memory.

I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not...

I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not...

A tavern is a place where madness is sold by the bottle.

A tavern is a place where madness is sold by the bottle.