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I never knew a man come to greatness or eminence who lay abed late in the morning.
Jonathan Swift
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Success requires discipline and hard work, often beginning early in the day.

This quote by Jonathan Swift emphasizes that individuals who achieve greatness or become prominent figures tend to exhibit a strong work ethic, which includes starting their day early. It suggests that laziness or a lack of ambition is contrary to the habits of successful people, encouraging a proactive approach to life and responsibilities.

Themes

SuccessDisciplineHard WorkMorningGreatness

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire students to adopt better habits.

More from Jonathan Swift

How is it possible to expect that mankind will take advice when they will not so much as take warning.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I'm as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.
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