Quote by Jonathan Swift

In the school of political projectors, I was but ill entertained, the professors appearing, in my judgment, wholly out of their senses; which is a scene that never fails to make me melancholy. These unhappy people were proposing schemes for persuading monarchs to choose favorites upon the score of their wisdom, capacity, and virtue; of teaching ministers to consult the public good; of rewarding merit, great abilities, and eminent services, of instructing princes to know their true interest, by placing it on the same foundation with that of their people; of choosing for employment persons qualified to exercise them; with many other wild impossible chimeras, that never entered before into the heart of man to conceive; and confirmed in me the old observation, that there is nothing so extravagant and irrational which some philosophers have not maintained for truth.

Summary

This quote from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" satirically criticizes the political theorists and intellectuals of his time. Swift expresses his disillusionment with their unrealistic and impractical ideas on governance. He sarcastically depicts their proposals for convincing kings to select advisers based on qualities like wisdom and virtue, teaching politicians to prioritize the welfare of society, and rewarding merit and abilities. Swift views these ideas as mere fantasies, highlighting his belief that philosophers often embrace irrational and extravagant concepts as truth. In summary, Swift's quote portrays his skepticism and disappointment towards the impracticality of some political theories.