When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. – Jonathan Swift
Politics, as the word is commonly understood, are nothing but corruptions. – Jonathan Swift
Complaint is the largest tribute heaven receives and the sincerest part of our devotion. – Jonathan Swift
Nevertheless, a maxim does not necessarily become a proverb. Many grubs never grow to butterflies; and a maxim is only a proverb in its caterpillar stage—a candidate for a wider sphere and longer flight than most are destined to attain. – “Proverbs Secular and Sacred,” The North British Review, February 1858