Top 3 Gulliver's Travels quotes
" He said, he knew no Reason, why those who entertain Opinions prejudicial to the Publick, should be obliged to change, or should not be obliged to conceal them. And, as it was Tyranny in any Government to require the first, so it was Weakness not to enforce the second." - Gulliver, Part 2, Chapter 6
Gulliver reports the King of Brobdingnag to have said the above when he tells him about the polity of the European nations. Swift himself is known to have made a similar remark elsewhere, although it may be erroneous to conclude that this opinion was indeed his own. This is because the quote is on the subject of freedom of speech, and censorship, both of which are extremely relevant subjects for an author who writes satire like Johnathan Swift.
"I cannot but conclude the Bulk of your Natives, to be the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the Earth." -The King of Brobdingnag, Part 2, Chapter 6
Gulliver doesn't appreciate how the king treats him, and so decides to share with him the feats of the modern world. He does his best to impress his country's long and epic history, as well as the several wars that it has had to contend with. However, opposite to his intended effect, the King begins to have an extremely low opinion of humanity, which ironically Gulliver begins to share by the end of his fourth voyage.
"They go on Shore to rob and plunder; they see an harmless People, are entertained with Kindness, they give the Country a new Name, they take formal Possession of it for the King, they set up a rotten Plank or a Stone for a Memorial, they murder two or three Dozen of the Natives, bring away a Couple more by Force for a Sample, return home, and get their Pardon. Here commences a new Dominion acquired with a Title by Divine Right . . . the Earth reeking with the Blood of its Inhabitants. " -Gulliver, Part 4, Chapter 12
At the end of the account of all his voyages, Gulliver claims that he has been criticized for failing to declare these newfound lands as the new dominions of British rule. Gulliver goes into a caustic criticism of the English colonial policies and blatantly labels wars conducted in this regard to be mindless bloodshed. This criticism of imperial and colonial policies may seem common in today's world, but it was a radical viewpoint at the time the book was written.
