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.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Swift argues that humanity should prioritize constructive and beneficial products over destructive ones.
- In plain terms
- We should choose to create good things instead of bad things.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus on creating value rather than harm.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you create that helps others?
- What harms do you avoid?
Another view
Swift assumes all humans can easily choose virtue over vice.
More from Jonathan Swift
Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own.
Permalink to quote #5 Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.
Permalink to quote #7 Books, the children of the brain.
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
You will no longer believe that you 'don't count.' You will know and advocate your knowledge that you are the bearer of human society. Don't run away. Don't be…
Wilhelm ReichWilhelm Reich quote #53 I speak an open and disinterested language, dictated by no passion but that of humanity. To me, who have not only refused offers, because I thought them improp…
Thomas PaineThomas Paine quote #1 Monsters remain human beings. In fact, to reduce them to a subhuman level is to exonerate them of their acts of terrorism and mass murder - just as animals are…
Andrew SullivanAndrew Sullivan quote #1