The great mistake is that of looking upon men as virtuous or thinking that they can be made so by laws.

Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke

More information about this quote

Topic

Misunderstanding human nature Human nature

Speaker

Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke

Source

Observations, Anecdotes, and Characters

Language

English

Time

1728 1720s 17th century

Occupation

Politician Philosopher

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lord Bolingbrooke. Quoted in Observations, Anecdotes, and Characters, written by Joseph Spence, edited by Samuel Weller Singer. W. H. Carpenter, 1820.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke about misunderstanding human nature: “The great mistake is that of looking upon…”
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A quote by Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke about misunderstanding human nature: “The great mistake is that of looking upon…”
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A quote by Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke about misunderstanding human nature: “The great mistake is that of looking upon…”
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Another quote from the 1720s

He had been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put into vials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw inclement summers.

Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels

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Read Gulliver's Travels at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Research

Author

Jonathan Swift
Source
Gulliver's Travels
Genre
Satire Travel writing
Language
English
Time
1726 1720s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Swift, Jonathan. Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships. London: Benjamin Motte, 1726, pt. 3, ch. 5.

Current Citation

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels, edited by Albert J. Rivero. W. W. Norton & Company, 2001, pt. 3, ch. 5.

Another quote about Human nature

All men by nature desire to know.

Aristotle

Metaphysics

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More information about this quote
Topic
Curiosity Knowledge Human nature

Author

Aristotle
Source
Metaphysics
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Aristotle. τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικά [Those after the physics]. c. 322 BC, bk. 1.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Metaphysics, translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. Penguin Classics, 1999, book alpha.