--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The axe of intemperance has lopped off…" description: "\"The axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs and left him a withered trunk.\" — Jonathan Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/jonathan-swift-433_drunkenness_the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-h_1046908.jpg" --- # The axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs… ![“The axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs and left him a withered trunk.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/jonathan-swift-433_drunkenness_the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-h_1046908.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/jonathan-swift-433_drunkenness_the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-h_1046908.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/jonathan-swift-433_drunkenness_the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-h_1046908.jpg) > “The axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs and left him a withered trunk.” [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. Excessive indulgence destroys vitality, leaving only a weakened core. **In simple terms:** Overindulgence weakens you. Key Takeaway Avoid excess, preserve strength. Themes self‑control moderation consequences Mood reflective cautionary Type moral literary When to use this quote - personal health - financial habits - relationships - career choices Key Concepts human frailty temperance Questions to Reflect On - What habits are draining you? - How can you restore balance? A Different Perspective Excess can be hard to recognize early. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Axe Intemperance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/axe-intemperance-2480403/) [Drunkenness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkenness/) [Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green/) [Intemperance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intemperance/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left Withered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-withered-2480404/) [Lopped Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lopped-green-2480405/) [Trunks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trunks/) [Withered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/withered/) [Withered Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/withered-trunk-2480402/) ## Related quotes > [This single Stick, which you now behold ingloriously lying in that neglected Corner, I once knew in a flourishing State in a Forest: It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/this-single-stick-which-you-now-behold-ingloriously-lying-in-that/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I never drink. I cannot do it, on equal terms with others. It costs them only one day; but me three, the first in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/i-never-drink-i-cannot-do-it-on-equal-terms-with-others-it-costs-them/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Shall I, to please another wine-sprung minde, Lose all mine own? God hath giv'n me a measure Short of His can and body; must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/shall-i-to-please-another-wine-sprung-minde-lose-all-mine-own-god/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Oh! if you could only hear Intemperance with drunkards' bones drumming on the top of the wine cask the Dead March of immortal souls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/oh-if-you-could-only-hear-intemperance-with-drunkards-bones-drumming/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [Poverty is dishonorable, not in itself, but when it is a proof of laziness, intemperance, luxury, and carelessness; whereas in a person that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/poverty-is-dishonorable-not-in-itself-but-when-it-is-a-proof-of/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [There can be little doubt that absence from work, and inefficient work, are frequently due to intemperance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lyon-mackenzie-king/there-can-be-little-doubt-that-absence-from-work-and-inefficient-work/) [William Lyon Mackenzie King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lyon-mackenzie-king/) > [Those men who destroy a healthful constitution of body by intemperance as manifestly kill themselves as those who hang or poison or drown themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sherlock/those-men-who-destroy-a-healthful-constitution-of-body-by/) [Thomas Sherlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sherlock/) > [A youth of sensuality and intemperance delivers over to old age a worn-out body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-youth-of-sensuality-and-intemperance-delivers-over-to-old-age-a/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Why should we desire the destruction of human passions? Take passions from human beings and what is left? The great object should be not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/why-should-we-desire-the-destruction-of-human-passions-take-passions/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [What does drunkenness accomplish? It discloses secrets, it ratifies hopes, and urges even the unarmed to battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/what-does-drunkenness-accomplish-it-discloses-secrets-it-ratifies/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Intemperance weaves the winding-sheet of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bartholomew-gough/intemperance-weaves-the-winding-sheet-of-souls/) [John Bartholomew Gough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bartholomew-gough/) > [A man hath riches. Whence came they, and whither go they? for this is the way to form a judgment of the esteem which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jortin/a-man-hath-riches-whence-came-they-and-whither-go-they-for-this-is/) [John Jortin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jortin/) > [Intemperance is naturally punished with diseases; rashness, with mischance; injustice; with violence of enemies; pride, with ruin; cowardice, with oppression; and rebellion, with slaughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/intemperance-is-naturally-punished-with-diseases-rashness-with/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Drunkenness is an immoderate affection and use of drink. That I call immoderation that is besides or beyond that order of good things for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/drunkenness-is-an-immoderate-affection-and-use-of-drink-that-i-call/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [Men cannot labor on always. They must have intervals of relaxation. They cannot sleep through these intervals. What are they to do? Why, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orville-dewey/men-cannot-labor-on-always-they-must-have-intervals-of-relaxation/) [Orville Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orville-dewey/) ## 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 Drunkenness quotes > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, jail with large families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/very-early-in-my-childhood-i-associated-poverty-toil-unemployment/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [“You Are My Drunkenness You are my drunkenness... I did not sober up, as if I can do that; I don't want to anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/you-are-my-drunkenness-you-are-my-drunkenness-i-did-not-sober-up-as/) [Nazim Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/) > [“The weather had freshened almost to coldness, for the wind was coming more easterly, from the chilly currents between Tristan and the Cape; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/the-weather-had-freshened-almost-to-coldness-for-the-wind-was-coming/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [For although Claudius had been accused of gambling and drunkenness, not only were no worse sins laid to his charge, but he had successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-although-claudius-had-been-accused-of-gambling-and-drunkenness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Drunkenness is an immoderate affection and use of drink. That I call immoderation that is besides or beyond that order of good things for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/drunkenness-is-an-immoderate-affection-and-use-of-drink-that-i-call/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [Drunkeness is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkeness-is-temporary-suicide-the-happiness-that-it-brings-is/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [The secret of drunkenness is, that it insulates us in thought, whilst it unites us in feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-secret-of-drunkenness-is-that-it-insulates-us-in-thought-whilst/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When my pals in high school were starting to drink, it always looked unappealing to me. I would be at a big party and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/when-my-pals-in-high-school-were-starting-to-drink-it-always-looked/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [ \[Retirement\] is a dangerous experiment, and generally ends in either drunkenness or hypochrondriacism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/retirement-is-a-dangerous-experiment-and-generally-ends-in-either/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Before the Roman came to Rye or out to severn strode, / The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/before-the-roman-came-to-rye-or-out-to-severn-strode-the-rolling/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [By all means, there should be no children when either mother or father suffers from such diseases as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, cancer, epilepsy, insanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/by-all-means-there-should-be-no-children-when-either-mother-or-father/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [Drunkenness doesn't create vices, but it brings them to the fore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-doesn-t-create-vices-but-it-brings-them-to-the-fore/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) [Browse all 288 Drunkenness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkenness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs and left him a withered trunk.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-his-green-boughs-and-left-him/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drunkenness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-his-green-boughs-and-left-him/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/jonathan-swift-433_drunkenness_the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-h_1046908.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/jonathan-swift-433_drunkenness_the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-h_1046908.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/jonathan-swift-433_drunkenness_the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-h_1046908.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs and left him a withered trunk.” — 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": "The axe of intemperance has lopped...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-his-green-boughs-and-left-him/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-axe-of-intemperance-has-lopped-off-his-green-boughs-and-left-him/#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 } } ] } ```