---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Their education is of little consequence…"
description: "\"“Their education is of little consequence to the public; but the old and diseased among them are supported by hospitals: for begging is a trade unknown..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/jonathan-swift-433_education_their-education-is-of-little-consequence_995887.jpg"
---

#  Their education is of little consequence to the public…

![“Their education is of little consequence to the public; but the old and diseased among them are supported by hospitals: for begging is a trade unknown in this Empire” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/jonathan-swift-433_education_their-education-is-of-little-consequence_995887.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/jonathan-swift-433_education_their-education-is-of-little-consequence_995887.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/jonathan-swift-433_education_their-education-is-of-little-consequence_995887.jpg)

> ““Their education is of little consequence to the public; but the old and diseased among them are supported by hospitals: for begging is a trade unknown in this Empire””

[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 critiques how society neglects education while supporting the infirm, highlighting misplaced priorities.

**In simple terms:** Education ignored, infirm supported.

Key Takeaway

Reevaluate societal values.

Themes

social critique education healthcare inequality

Mood

critical ironic

Type

satirical political

When to use this quote

- public policy debates
- healthcare funding
- educational reform
- philanthropy

Key Concepts

satire political commentary

Questions to Reflect On

- How should resources be balanced?
- What values drive public support?

A Different Perspective

May overlook other systemic issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/)

## Related quotes

> [“Drop the delusion that you have become old or diseased, or that you have become weak and debilitated. Some people begin to count the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/drop-the-delusion-that-you-have-become-old-or-diseased-or-that-you/)

[Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/)

> [My system is to be considered a system leading up, in a general way, to education. It can be followed not only in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/my-system-is-to-be-considered-a-system-leading-up-in-a-general-way-to/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [Back in the 1960s , I got a superb education for very little money. The bill for my first year at Harpur College in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/back-in-the-1960s-i-got-a-superb-education-for-very-little-money-the/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [The great menace of civilization in the present is that we offer an education with too little regard for the roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-massey/the-great-menace-of-civilization-in-the-present-is-that-we-offer-an/)

[Vincent Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-massey/)

> [If we had in this room a hundred teachers, good teachers from good schools, and asked them to define the word education, there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/if-we-had-in-this-room-a-hundred-teachers-good-teachers-from-good/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [Too much of what is called 'education' is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/too-much-of-what-is-called-education-is-little-more-than-an-expensive/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [“I replied that England (the dear place of my nativity) was computed to produce three times the quantity of food, more than its inhabitants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-replied-that-england-the-dear-place-of-my-nativity-was-computed-to/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet, and Doctor Merryman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-doctors-in-the-world-are-doctor-diet-doctor-quiet-and-doctor/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/)

[Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/)

> [We long for our father. We wear his clothes, and actually try to fill his shoes. . . . We hang on to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/we-long-for-our-father-we-wear-his-clothes-and-actually-try-to-fill/)

[Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/)

> [“He kept begging God, “Please, please, please open my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/he-kept-begging-god-please-please-please-open-my-heart/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“Any fool that had once helped you will someday make known to everyone that you were once a needy. No matter how broke you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/any-fool-that-had-once-helped-you-will-someday-make-known-to-everyone/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Better go drunk and begging round the taverns. Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/how-much-more-of-the-mosque-of-prayer-and-fasting-better-go-drunk-and/)

[Omar Khayyam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/)

> [Daddy always said the only thing worth begging for was your life, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe sometimes your love is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/daddy-always-said-the-only-thing-worth-begging-for-was-your-life-but/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [“You are the queen, he ought to be begging leave of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/you-are-the-queen-he-ought-to-be-begging-leave-of-you/)

[George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/)

## 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 Begging quotes

> [“You are the queen, he ought to be begging leave of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/you-are-the-queen-he-ought-to-be-begging-leave-of-you/)

[George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/)

> [Daddy always said the only thing worth begging for was your life, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe sometimes your love is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/daddy-always-said-the-only-thing-worth-begging-for-was-your-life-but/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Better go drunk and begging round the taverns. Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/how-much-more-of-the-mosque-of-prayer-and-fasting-better-go-drunk-and/)

[Omar Khayyam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/)

> [“Any fool that had once helped you will someday make known to everyone that you were once a needy. No matter how broke you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/any-fool-that-had-once-helped-you-will-someday-make-known-to-everyone/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [“He kept begging God, “Please, please, please open my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/he-kept-begging-god-please-please-please-open-my-heart/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [We long for our father. We wear his clothes, and actually try to fill his shoes. . . . We hang on to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/we-long-for-our-father-we-wear-his-clothes-and-actually-try-to-fill/)

[Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/)

> [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/)

[Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/)

> [While you're ignoring me, someone else is begging for my attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-you-re-ignoring-me-someone-else-is-begging-for-my-attention/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I would willingly stand at street corners, hat in hand, begging passerby to drop their unused minutes into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/i-would-willingly-stand-at-street-corners-hat-in-hand-begging/)

[Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/)

> [A man in love ... is the master, so it seems, but only if his lady friend permits it! The need to interchange the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/a-man-in-love-is-the-master-so-it-seems-but-only-if-his-lady-friend/)

[Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/)

> [As for poker, I've stayed away from that, even though when I was in Vegas for Ocean's Eleven, I would get accosted by these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/as-for-poker-i-ve-stayed-away-from-that-even-though-when-i-was-in/)

[Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/)

> [“The whole four to five weeks that we've been here in this courtroom has been for one reason. And that is because Theodore Robert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rule/the-whole-four-to-five-weeks-that-we-ve-been-here-in-this-courtroom/)

[Ann Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rule/)

> [“This is scary,” she whispers. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before. I don’t know how this works. Do people become exclusive this fast? Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/this-is-scary-she-whispers-i-ve-never-had-a-boyfriend-before-i-don-t/)

[Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/)

> [“On my way over to Park Avenue to find a cab I pass an ugly, homeless bum-- a member of the genetic underclass-- and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/on-my-way-over-to-park-avenue-to-find-a-cab-i-pass-an-ugly-homeless/)

[Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/)

> [I turned into a monk when my mother went to learn Buddhism in Burma. While she learnt at the monastery, I used to roam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/i-turned-into-a-monk-when-my-mother-went-to-learn-buddhism-in-burma/)

[Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/)

Browse all 501 Begging quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Their education is of little consequence to the public; but the old and diseased among them are supported by hospitals: for begging is a trade unknown in this Empire”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jonathan Swift"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/their-education-is-of-little-consequence-to-the-public-but-the-old/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Begging"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/their-education-is-of-little-consequence-to-the-public-but-the-old/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/jonathan-swift-433_education_their-education-is-of-little-consequence_995887.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/jonathan-swift-433_education_their-education-is-of-little-consequence_995887.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/jonathan-swift-433_education_their-education-is-of-little-consequence_995887.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Their education is of little consequence to the public; but the old and diseased among them are supported by…” — 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": "“Their education is of little consequence...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/their-education-is-of-little-consequence-to-the-public-but-the-old/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/their-education-is-of-little-consequence-to-the-public-but-the-old/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
