"The king, when he is highest provoked, and most determined to press a city to rubbish, orders the island to descend with great gentleness, out of a pretence of tenderness to his people, but, indeed, for fear of breaking the adamantine bottom; in which case, it is the opinion of all their philosophers, that the loadstone could no longer hold it up, and the whole mass would fall to the ground."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Chapter 3
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gulliver's_Travels
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Gulliver's Travels
44 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Gulliver's Travels →
Related Quotes
"He is taller by almost the breadth of my nail, than any of his court, which alone is enough to strike an awe into the…"
"Big-endians and small-endians."
"It is allowed on all hands, that the primitive way of breaking eggs, before we eat them, was upon the larger end; but…"
"It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death, rather than submit to break their e…"
"All crimes against the state, are punished here with the utmost severity; but, if the person accused makes his innoce…"
"They look upon fraud as a greater crime than theft, and therefore seldom fail to punish it with death; for they alleg…"
"Ingratitude is among them a capital crime, as we read it to have been in some other countries: for they reason thus; …"
"You have made a most admirable panegyric upon your country [England]; you have clearly proved that ignorance, idlenes…"
"I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature eve…"
"If the censure of the Yahoos could any way affect me, I should have great reason to complain, that some of them are s…"