How is it possible to expect that mankind will take advice when they will not so much as take warning.
Jonathan SwiftRead
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote presents a darkly humorous perspective on consumption and morality, particularly regarding the value of human life.
In this quote, Jonathan Swift uses satire to highlight society's disregard for human life through an extreme and grotesque suggestion of cannibalism. By presenting the idea that a young child can be considered a delicacy, Swift not only challenges the reader's moral compass but also critiques societal norms regarding wealth, poverty, and parenting. It serves as a commentary on the desperation and dehumanization faced by the less fortunate in society, all wrapped in a shocking yet clever metaphor.
Themes
SatireCannibalismMoralitySocietyHuman LifeCritique
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the extremes of satire in literature, one might quote Jonathan Swift to illustrate the power of dark humor in social commentary.
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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