How is it possible to expect that mankind will take advice when they will not so much as take warning.
Jonathan SwiftRead
It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the lengths to which individuals will go to maintain their principles and beliefs, even in the face of adversity.
Jonathan Swift's quote reflects the stubbornness and determination of individuals who refuse to compromise their beliefs or practices, even when such rigidity may lead to dire consequences. The act of not breaking their eggs at the smaller end symbolizes an adherence to personal convictions, showcasing how some people prioritize their principles over their own well-being.
Themes
PrinciplesStubbornnessBeliefsConvictionsResistance
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about personal values, one might say, 'Like Swift noted, some would rather suffer than compromise their beliefs.'
More from Jonathan Swift
All quotes βWhat vexes me most is, that my female friends, who could bear me very well a dozen years ago, have now forsaken me, although I am not so old in proportion to them as I formerly was: which I can prove by arithmetic, for then I was double their age, which now I am not. Letter to Alexander Pope. 7 Feb. 1736.
Jonathan SwiftRead
This is every cook's opinion - _x000D_ no savory dish without an onion, _x000D_ but lest your kissing should be spoiled _x000D_ your onions must be fully boiled.
Jonathan SwiftRead
The bulk of mankind is as well equipped for flying as thinking.
Jonathan SwiftRead
This single Stick, which you now behold ingloriously lying in that neglected Corner, I once knew in a flourishing State in a Forest: It was full of Sap, full of Leaves, and full of Boughs: But now, in vain does the busy Art of Man pretend to vie with Nature, by tying that withered Bundle of Twigs to its sapless Trunk: It is at best but the Reverse of what it was; a Tree turned upside down, the Branches on the Earth, and the Root in the Air.
Jonathan SwiftRead
I'm as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.
Jonathan SwiftRead
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