How is it possible to expect that mankind will take advice when they will not so much as take warning.
Jonathan SwiftRead
Interest is the spur of the people, but glory that of great souls. Invention is the talent of youth, and judgment of age.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the motivations behind human actions and the contrast between youth and age.
Jonathan Swift's quote reflects on the nature of human motivation, suggesting that while common people are driven by personal interest, truly great individuals are motivated by a desire for glory and impact. Furthermore, he contrasts the traits associated with youth—innovativeness and creativity—with those of age, emphasizing the value of wisdom and judgment that comes with experience. This duality underscores the dynamic interplay between youthful ambition and the wisdom of maturity.
Themes
MotivationGloryInventionJudgmentYouthAge
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about pursuing ambitions and appreciating the wisdom that comes with age.
More from Jonathan Swift
All quotes →What 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.
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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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