--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some men, under the notion of weeding out…" description: "\"Some men, under the notion of weeding out prejudices, eradicate virtue, honesty, and religion\" — Jonathan Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/271/jonathan-swift-433_character_some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out_2673868.jpg" --- # Some men, under the notion of weeding out prejudices… ![“Some men, under the notion of weeding out prejudices, eradicate virtue, honesty, and religion” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/271/jonathan-swift-433_character_some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out_2673868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/271/jonathan-swift-433_character_some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out_2673868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/271/jonathan-swift-433_character_some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out_2673868.jpg) > “Some men, under the notion of weeding out prejudices, eradicate virtue, honesty, and religion” [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. Efforts to eliminate prejudice can unintentionally destroy virtue, honesty, and religion. **In simple terms:** Removing prejudice may also erase virtue and faith. Key Takeaway Balance reform with moral preservation. Themes social reform morality religion Mood thoughtful critical Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - education policy - community building - interfaith dialogue - legal reforms Key Concepts ethical philosophy cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect core values? - How to reform without loss? A Different Perspective Risk of over‑correction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Prejudices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudices/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Knowledge humanizes mankind, and reason inclines to mildness; but prejudices eradicate every tender disposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/knowledge-humanizes-mankind-and-reason-inclines-to-mildness-but/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Some men, under the notion of weeding out prejudice, eradicate virtue, honesty and religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out-prejudice-eradicate-virtue/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I am a very conscientious golfer. I count every stroke. I learned to play that way. That is the only way I can play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/i-am-a-very-conscientious-golfer-i-count-every-stroke-i-learned-to/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [Only a man of integrity can possess the virtue of honesty, since only the faking of one’s consciousness can permit the faking of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/only-a-man-of-integrity-can-possess-the-virtue-of-honesty-since-only/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [There is no greater virtue than honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/there-is-no-greater-virtue-than-honesty/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [Sincerity is a Christian virtue, as is honesty about our struggles. But my generation needs to realize that Christianity is more than chic fragility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/sincerity-is-a-christian-virtue-as-is-honesty-about-our-struggles-but/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [The latter part of a wise person's life is occupied with curing the follies, prejudices and false opinions they contracted earlier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-latter-part-of-a-wise-person-s-life-is-occupied-with-curing-the/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“...but prejudices, like odorous bodies, have a double existence both solid and subtle — solid as the pyramids, subtle as the twentieth echo of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-prejudices-like-odorous-bodies-have-a-double-existence-both-solid/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [An intensive human rights education for all communities needs to be provided to overcome the old prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-manorama/an-intensive-human-rights-education-for-all-communities-needs-to-be/) Ruth Manorama > [Removing prejudices is, alas! too often removing the boundary of a delightful near prospect in order to let in a shockingly extensive one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/removing-prejudices-is-alas-too-often-removing-the-boundary-of-a/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Prejudices of any kind are the destroyers of human happiness & welfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/prejudices-of-any-kind-are-the-destroyers-of-human-happiness-welfare/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [Show me a person without prejudice of any kind on any subject and I'll show you someone who may be admirably virtuous but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-lacy/show-me-a-person-without-prejudice-of-any-kind-on-any-subject-and-i/) [Allen Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-lacy/) > [We all have prejudices to dispel: the need to get away from thinking that 'I' am important and special and 'you' are not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/we-all-have-prejudices-to-dispel-the-need-to-get-away-from-thinking/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) ## 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 Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some men, under the notion of weeding out prejudices, eradicate virtue, honesty, and religion", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out-prejudices-eradicate-virtue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out-prejudices-eradicate-virtue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/271/jonathan-swift-433_character_some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out_2673868.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/271/jonathan-swift-433_character_some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out_2673868.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/271/jonathan-swift-433_character_some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out_2673868.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some men, under the notion of weeding out prejudices, eradicate virtue, honesty, and religion” — 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": "Some men, under the notion of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out-prejudices-eradicate-virtue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/some-men-under-the-notion-of-weeding-out-prejudices-eradicate-virtue/#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 } } ] } ```