Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
He is remembered for works such as Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, Drapier's Letters, The Battle of the Books, An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, and A Tale of a Tub. Swift is probably the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetry. Swift originally published all of his works under pseudonyms – such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, MB Drapier – or anonymously. He is also known for being a master of two styles of satire: the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
Famous quotes by jonathan swift:
“‘He hardly drinks a pint of wine,
And that, I doubt, is no good sign.
His stomach too begins to fail:
Last year we thought him strong and hale,
But now, he’s quite another thing;
I wish he may hold out till spring.’
Then hug themselves, and reason thus;
‘It is not yet so bad with us.’”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“For the rest, whatever we have got has been by infinite labour, and search, and ranging through every corner of nature; the difference is that instead of dirt and poison, we have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax, thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“Description would but tire my Muse:
In short, they both were turned to yews.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet, and Doctor Merryman.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)