--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots I…" description: "\"If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots I would burn my [Gulliver's] Travels.\" — Jonathan Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/jonathan-swift-433_biographies_if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots_2798846.jpg" --- # If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots I would burn my… ![“If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots I would burn my [Gulliver's] Travels.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/jonathan-swift-433_biographies_if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots_2798846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/jonathan-swift-433_biographies_if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots_2798846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/jonathan-swift-433_biographies_if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots_2798846.jpg) > “If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots I would burn my \[Gulliver's\] Travels.” [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Swift mocks pretentious literary criticism, suggesting even a few pretentious scholars could ruin his work. **In simple terms:** Criticizing overblown scholarship. Key Takeaway Beware of elitist critique. Themes literary satire criticism pride Mood wry ironic Type satirical literary When to use this quote - academic circles - book reviews - literary debates - publishing decisions Key Concepts ego elitism satire Questions to Reflect On - How does elitism affect literary value? - What role does humor play in criticism? A Different Perspective Satire may be misread as literal disdain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arbuthnots Burn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbuthnots-burn-3434245/) [Biographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies/) [Burn Gulliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burn-gulliver-3434243/) [Dozen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dozen/) [Dozen Arbuthnots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dozen-arbuthnots-3434244/) [Gulliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulliver/) [Gulliver Travels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulliver-travels-993213/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots in it, I would burn my Travels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots-in-it-i-would-burn-my-travels/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [If I had to make a list of six books which were to be preserved when all others were destroyed, I would certainly put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-i-had-to-make-a-list-of-six-books-which-were-to-be-preserved-when/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [There's a whole slew of wonderful speculation of flying in a fanciful way. Gulliver is one of the central examples; Swift has the hum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/there-s-a-whole-slew-of-wonderful-speculation-of-flying-in-a-fanciful/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Books have their destinies like men. And their fates, as made by generations of readers, are very different from the destinies foreseen for them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/books-have-their-destinies-like-men-and-their-fates-as-made-by/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I get Gulliver’s Travels and Thousand Island dressing mixed up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-get-gulliver-s-travels-and-thousand-island-dressing-mixed-up/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I've never seen the film 'Gulliver's Travels' - and I'm in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-corden/i-ve-never-seen-the-film-gulliver-s-travels-and-i-m-in-it/) [James Corden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-corden/) > [“Books don't repeat the same words over and over. The Gulliver's Travels whose whimsey amused you at twelve is not the Gulliver's Travels whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-morrow/books-don-t-repeat-the-same-words-over-and-over-the-gulliver-s/) [James K. Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-morrow/) > [“The author of these Travels, Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, is my ancient and intimate friend; there is likewise some relation between us on the mother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-author-of-these-travels-mr-lemuel-gulliver-is-my-ancient-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [He had been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put into vials hermetically sealed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/he-had-been-eight-years-upon-a-project-for-extracting-sunbeams-out-of/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The tiny Lilliputians surmise that Gulliver's watch may be his god, because it is that which, he admits, he seldom does anything without consulting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-tiny-lilliputians-surmise-that-gulliver-s-watch-may-be-his-god/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [And he gave it for his opinion, "that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/and-he-gave-it-for-his-opinion-that-whoever-could-make-two-ears-of/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“Gulliver describes a royal personage inspiring awe among the tiny Lilliputians because he was taller than his brethren by the breadth of a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/gulliver-describes-a-royal-personage-inspiring-awe-among-the-tiny/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my-bed-and-behind-my-gulliver/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## More by Jonathan Swift > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“He said, he knew no reason why those who entertain opinions prejudicial to the public should be obliged to change, or should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/he-said-he-knew-no-reason-why-those-who-entertain-opinions/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [May you live every day of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/may-you-live-every-day-of-your-life/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Ale is meat, drink and cloth; it will make a cat speak and a wise man dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/ale-is-meat-drink-and-cloth-it-will-make-a-cat-speak-and-a-wise-man/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [All fits of pleasure are balanced by an equal degree of pain or languor; it is like spending this year part of the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/all-fits-of-pleasure-are-balanced-by-an-equal-degree-of-pain-or/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/satire-is-a-sort-of-glass-wherein-beholders-do-generally-discover/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/when-a-great-genius-appears-in-the-world-you-may-know-him-by-this/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [So endless and exorbitant are the desires of men that they will grasp at all, and can form no scheme of perfect happiness with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-endless-and-exorbitant-are-the-desires-of-men-that-they-will-grasp/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) [Explore all 535 Jonathan Swift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More Biographies quotes > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [I have my own biography of Gram Parsons - I don't want to be part of somebody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-have-my-own-biography-of-gram-parsons-i-don-t-want-to-be-part-of/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [All Philosophy is Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/all-philosophy-is-biography/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [Life is a biography, not a series of disconnected moments, more or less pleasurable but increasingly tedious and unsatisfying unless one imposes a purposive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/life-is-a-biography-not-a-series-of-disconnected-moments-more-or-less/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [I hope any poem I've ever written could stand on its own and not need to be a part of biography, critical theory or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-goldbarth/i-hope-any-poem-i-ve-ever-written-could-stand-on-its-own-and-not-need/) [Albert Goldbarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-goldbarth/) > [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I don't want to say that most rock bands live these formulaic biography existences - but they kinda do. There's always a divorce. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-don-t-want-to-say-that-most-rock-bands-live-these-formulaic/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [On the other hand, when I give it closer thought, I realize I'm not enough of a dictator to conduct an orchestra because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eberhard-weber/on-the-other-hand-when-i-give-it-closer-thought-i-realize-i-m-not/) [Eberhard Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eberhard-weber/) > [It can be a long gap between the emergence of fully researched historical biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/it-can-be-a-long-gap-between-the-emergence-of-fully-researched/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [Always live your life with your biography in mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/always-live-your-life-with-your-biography-in-mind/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) [Browse all 587 Biographies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots I would burn my [Gulliver's] Travels.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots-i-would-burn-my-gulliver-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biographies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots-i-would-burn-my-gulliver-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/jonathan-swift-433_biographies_if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots_2798846.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/jonathan-swift-433_biographies_if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots_2798846.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/jonathan-swift-433_biographies_if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots_2798846.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the world had but a dozen Arbuthnots I would burn my [Gulliver's] Travels.” — Jonathan Swift", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jonathan Swift", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the world had but a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots-i-would-burn-my-gulliver-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/if-the-world-had-but-a-dozen-arbuthnots-i-would-burn-my-gulliver-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```