--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines…" description: "\"Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines the brighter clad in verse, And all the fictions they pursue Do but insinuate what is true.\" — Jonathan Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/jonathan-swift-433_brighter_unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-t_1270685.jpg" --- # Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines the brighter clad… ![“Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines the brighter clad in verse, And all the fictions they pursue Do but insinuate what is true.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/jonathan-swift-433_brighter_unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-t_1270685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/jonathan-swift-433_brighter_unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-t_1270685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/jonathan-swift-433_brighter_unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-t_1270685.jpg) > “Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines the brighter clad in verse, And all the fictions they pursue Do but insinuate what is true.” [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. The poet argues that truth, when expressed poetically, shines brighter than false narratives, revealing deeper realities. **In simple terms:** Poetry reveals truth more clearly. Key Takeaway Use art to uncover truth. Themes truth poetry art perception Mood reflective critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - teaching - public discourse - media analysis Key Concepts literature philosophy aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - Can artistic expression replace factual reporting? - How does verse influence belief? A Different Perspective Poetry can be subjective and may obscure facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Shining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shining/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) ## Related quotes > [Truth shines the brighter, clad in verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truth-shines-the-brighter-clad-in-verse/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In darkness God's truth shines most clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/in-darkness-god-s-truth-shines-most-clear/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [“AUGUSTINE: People love truth when it shines on them and hate it when it rebukes them. For,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-crosby/augustine-people-love-truth-when-it-shines-on-them-and-hate-it-when/) [Cindy Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-crosby/) > [Abstruse and mystic thoughts you must express With painful care, but seeming easiness; For truth shines brightest thro' the plainest dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-dillon-4th-earl-of-roscommon/abstruse-and-mystic-thoughts-you-must-express-with-painful-care-but/) [Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-dillon-4th-earl-of-roscommon/) > [Though Rome's gross yoke Drops off, no more to be endured, Her teaching is not so obscured By errors and perversities, That no truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/though-rome-s-gross-yoke-drops-off-no-more-to-be-endured-her-teaching/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [At times the truth shines so brilliantly that we perceive it as clear as day. Our nature and habit then draw a veil over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/at-times-the-truth-shines-so-brilliantly-that-we-perceive-it-as-clear/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [There is no light greater than truth and it shines at the heart of all creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/there-is-no-light-greater-than-truth-and-it-shines-at-the-heart-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [The truth never shines forth, as the saying goes, because the only truth is that which is known to no one and which remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/the-truth-never-shines-forth-as-the-saying-goes-because-the-only/) [Javier Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/) > [... truth shines brightest thro' the plainest dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-dillon-4th-earl-of-roscommon/truth-shines-brightest-thro-the-plainest-dress/) [Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-dillon-4th-earl-of-roscommon/) > [“None of us is fully able to perceive the truth that shines through another person’s window, nor the falsehood that we may perceive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-church/none-of-us-is-fully-able-to-perceive-the-truth-that-shines-through/) [Forrest Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-church/) > [“Truth shines with brighter light and intenser heat at every moment, and a country torn and rent and bleeding implores relief from its distress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/truth-shines-with-brighter-light-and-intenser-heat-at-every-moment/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [In my books and in romance as a genre, there is a positive, uplifting feeling that leaves the reader with a sense of encouragement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-macomber/in-my-books-and-in-romance-as-a-genre-there-is-a-positive-uplifting/) [Debbie Macomber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-macomber/) > [This world o' God's is brighter Than we ever dream or know; Its burdens growin' lighter- An' it's Love that makes 'em so! An'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lebby-stanton/this-world-o-god-s-is-brighter-than-we-ever-dream-or-know-its-burdens/) [Frank Lebby Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lebby-stanton/) > [I'm lucky because I have the ability to look at the brighter side of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaneesh-murthy/i-m-lucky-because-i-have-the-ability-to-look-at-the-brighter-side-of/) Phaneesh Murthy > [“Life is brighter on the lighter side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-fields/life-is-brighter-on-the-lighter-side/) [L.M. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-fields/) ## 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 Brighter quotes > [“Life is brighter on the lighter side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-fields/life-is-brighter-on-the-lighter-side/) [L.M. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-fields/) > [I'm lucky because I have the ability to look at the brighter side of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaneesh-murthy/i-m-lucky-because-i-have-the-ability-to-look-at-the-brighter-side-of/) Phaneesh Murthy > [This world o' God's is brighter Than we ever dream or know; Its burdens growin' lighter- An' it's Love that makes 'em so! An'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lebby-stanton/this-world-o-god-s-is-brighter-than-we-ever-dream-or-know-its-burdens/) [Frank Lebby Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lebby-stanton/) > [In my books and in romance as a genre, there is a positive, uplifting feeling that leaves the reader with a sense of encouragement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-macomber/in-my-books-and-in-romance-as-a-genre-there-is-a-positive-uplifting/) [Debbie Macomber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-macomber/) > [Had I been brighter, the ladies been gentler, the Scotch been weaker, had the gods been kinder, had the dice been hotter, this could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/had-i-been-brighter-the-ladies-been-gentler-the-scotch-been-weaker/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) > [My computer screen is brighter than my future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/my-computer-screen-is-brighter-than-my-future/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [Gerry Fialka's annual PXL THIS is a reliably surprising and seductive round-up of recent work achieved with the PXL 2000 camera. This humble outdated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-almereyda/gerry-fialka-s-annual-pxl-this-is-a-reliably-surprising-and-seductive/) Michael Almereyda > [Setting is preliminary to brighter rising; decay is a process of advancement; death is the condition of higher and more fruitful life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/setting-is-preliminary-to-brighter-rising-decay-is-a-process-of/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [To show the potentialities of a brighter future we must first resuscitate the visions of a better past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-bernstein/to-show-the-potentialities-of-a-brighter-future-we-must-first/) [Josh Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-bernstein/) > [Until things are brighter.. I'm the man in black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/until-things-are-brighter-i-m-the-man-in-black/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [But when this happens to you - and I think other people would identify with this - suddenly, colors are brighter. You see everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-redgrave/but-when-this-happens-to-you-and-i-think-other-people-would-identify/) [Lynn Redgrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-redgrave/) > [Individuals, too, who cultivate a variety of skills seem brighter, more energetic and more adaptable than those who know how to do one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/individuals-too-who-cultivate-a-variety-of-skills-seem-brighter-more/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [When I look at President Obama, I see a leader with a cool head, a caring heart and an open mind, a president who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-crist/when-i-look-at-president-obama-i-see-a-leader-with-a-cool-head-a/) [Charlie Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-crist/) > [“Although Thanksgiving comes but once a year, every day should be a day of Thanks. Among all the challenges that we face as people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-hammond/although-thanksgiving-comes-but-once-a-year-every-day-should-be-a-day/) Monique Hammond > [My most profound confidence is however based upon the fact that at the head of Germany there stands a man by his entire development,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-jodl/my-most-profound-confidence-is-however-based-upon-the-fact-that-at/) [Alfred Jodl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-jodl/) Browse all 436 Brighter quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines the brighter clad in verse, And all the fictions they pursue Do but insinuate what is true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-the-brighter-clad-in-verse-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brighter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-the-brighter-clad-in-verse-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/jonathan-swift-433_brighter_unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-t_1270685.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/jonathan-swift-433_brighter_unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-t_1270685.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/jonathan-swift-433_brighter_unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-t_1270685.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines the brighter clad in verse, And all the fictions they pursue Do but…” — 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": "Unjustly poets we asperse: Truth shines...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-the-brighter-clad-in-verse-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/unjustly-poets-we-asperse-truth-shines-the-brighter-clad-in-verse-and/#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 } } ] } ```