--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs…" description: "\"“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which he could easily ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/orison-swett-marden-711_gulliver_gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-cap_12561.jpg" --- # Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was… ![“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which he could easily have snapped by itself. But he didn't wake, and the dwarfs wound the thread around him in such number that at last he found himself a prisoner.” quote by Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/orison-swett-marden-711_gulliver_gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-cap_12561.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/orison-swett-marden-711_gulliver_gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-cap_12561.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/orison-swett-marden-711_gulliver_gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-cap_12561.jpg) > ““Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which he could easily have snapped by itself. But he didn't wake, and the dwarfs wound the thread around him in such number that at last he found himself a prisoner.”” [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a powerful individual can be subdued by many minor constraints that seem insignificant alone but become overwhelming when combined. **In simple terms:** Small constraints can imprison the strong. Key Takeaway Beware cumulative trivialities. Themes power dynamics constraints perception resilience agency Mood cautious reflective Type aphor parable When to use this quote - leadership challenges - personal habits - organizational bottlenecks - negotiation tactics Key Concepts systems psychology social hierarchy Practical Applications - risk assessment - strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - What seemingly insignificant pressures could be limiting you? - How can you recognize and dismantle them before they become binding? A Different Perspective A strong will can often break through minor restraints if it chooses to act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gulliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulliver/) ## Related quotes > [“Alviss, son of Vindalf. He's the king of the dwarfs. The biggest, mightiest, greatest of all the dwarf folk. "But he's not a dwarf,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/alviss-son-of-vindalf-he-s-the-king-of-the-dwarfs-the-biggest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“But he’s not a dwarf,” pointed out Shadow. “He’s what, five-eight? Five-nine?” “Which makes him a giant among dwarfs,” said Czernobog from behind him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-he-s-not-a-dwarf-pointed-out-shadow-he-s-what-five-eight-five/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In TV writing, I felt like Gulliver being tied down by the Lilliputians. There's so much more freedom in fiction writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/in-tv-writing-i-felt-like-gulliver-being-tied-down-by-the/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“I didn't want to fall for anybody. It's so messy. I'm so happy it was you. I'm so happy to love you, Gulliver. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-didn-t-want-to-fall-for-anybody-it-s-so-messy-i-m-so-happy-it-was/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“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 was a quick fellow, and when hot from play, would toss himself in a corner, and in five minutes be deep in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/he-was-a-quick-fellow-and-when-hot-from-play-would-toss-himself-in-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“She found herself wondering at what point in her life she had ceased to be Gulliver and had become the strings holding him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-bauermeister/she-found-herself-wondering-at-what-point-in-her-life-she-had-ceased/) [Erica Bauermeister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-bauermeister/) > [“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/) > [Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven. I lay all nagoy to the ceiling, my gulliver on my rookers on the pillow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/then-brothers-it-came-oh-bliss-bliss-and-heaven-i-lay-all-nagoy-to/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“Gulliver arrives in new land and discovers acrid smell; finds whole country massaging cabbages; concludes they are doing it in service to the Wicker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euny-hong/gulliver-arrives-in-new-land-and-discovers-acrid-smell-finds-whole/) [Euny Hong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euny-hong/) > [when ... I've thought of madness, it seems most easily explained to me as poetry in action. A life of symbol rather than reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-eustis/when-i-ve-thought-of-madness-it-seems-most-easily-explained-to-me-as/) [Helen Eustis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-eustis/) > [ \[Gulliver was soon being read\] "from the cabinet council to the nursery". ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-cabinet-council-to-the-nursery/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) ## More by Orison Swett Marden > [“We can so educate the will power that it will focus the thoughts upon the bright side of things, and upon objects which elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-can-so-educate-the-will-power-that-it-will-focus-the-thoughts-upon/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The hatred thought cannot live an instant in the presence of the love thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-hatred-thought-cannot-live-an-instant-in-the-presence-of-the-love/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“About as poor business as one can engage in is that of going through life with one's eyes so fixed upon what others have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/about-as-poor-business-as-one-can-engage-in-is-that-of-going-through/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“We tend to get what we expect, and if we expect nothing we get nothing. The stream cannot rise higher than its fountainhead;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-tend-to-get-what-we-expect-and-if-we-expect-nothing-we-get-nothing/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There never will be a trust in excellence or a combination in superiority. As long as you can do a thing a little better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-never-will-be-a-trust-in-excellence-or-a-combination-in/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Most men fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personal qualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntless will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/most-men-fail-not-through-lack-of-education-or-agreeable-personal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/something-greater-than-wealth-grander-even-than-fame-that-manhood/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The universe is one great kindergarten. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-universe-is-one-great-kindergarten-everything-that-exists-has/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/if-you-want-to-enlarge-your-life-you-must-first-enlarge-your-thought/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [The moment man cuts himself off from living connection with the human race and its needs, he begins to die from poor circulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-moment-man-cuts-himself-off-from-living-connection-with-the-human/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“There is something inside of a man which protests against doing that which tends to injure another, that which does not square with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-is-something-inside-of-a-man-which-protests-against-doing-that/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [A good system shortens the road to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/a-good-system-shortens-the-road-to-the-goal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Keep fear out of your child's mind, as you would keep poison out of his body; for fear is the deadliest of mental poisons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/keep-fear-out-of-your-child-s-mind-as-you-would-keep-poison-out-of/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“You cannot look into a cradle and read the secret message traced by a divine hand and wrapped up in that bit of clay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/you-cannot-look-into-a-cradle-and-read-the-secret-message-traced-by-a/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) [Explore all 396 Orison Swett Marden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## More Gulliver quotes > [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 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/) > [ \[Gulliver was soon being read\] "from the cabinet council to the nursery". ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-cabinet-council-to-the-nursery/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [when ... I've thought of madness, it seems most easily explained to me as poetry in action. A life of symbol rather than reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-eustis/when-i-ve-thought-of-madness-it-seems-most-easily-explained-to-me-as/) [Helen Eustis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-eustis/) > [“Gulliver arrives in new land and discovers acrid smell; finds whole country massaging cabbages; concludes they are doing it in service to the Wicker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euny-hong/gulliver-arrives-in-new-land-and-discovers-acrid-smell-finds-whole/) [Euny Hong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euny-hong/) > [Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven. I lay all nagoy to the ceiling, my gulliver on my rookers on the pillow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/then-brothers-it-came-oh-bliss-bliss-and-heaven-i-lay-all-nagoy-to/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“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/) > [“She found herself wondering at what point in her life she had ceased to be Gulliver and had become the strings holding him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-bauermeister/she-found-herself-wondering-at-what-point-in-her-life-she-had-ceased/) [Erica Bauermeister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-bauermeister/) > [“He was a quick fellow, and when hot from play, would toss himself in a corner, and in five minutes be deep in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/he-was-a-quick-fellow-and-when-hot-from-play-would-toss-himself-in-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“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/) > [“I didn't want to fall for anybody. It's so messy. I'm so happy it was you. I'm so happy to love you, Gulliver. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-didn-t-want-to-fall-for-anybody-it-s-so-messy-i-m-so-happy-it-was/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [In TV writing, I felt like Gulliver being tied down by the Lilliputians. There's so much more freedom in fiction writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/in-tv-writing-i-felt-like-gulliver-being-tied-down-by-the/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [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/) > [“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/) [Browse all 34 Gulliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulliver/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which he could easily have snapped by itself. But he didn't wake, and the dwarfs wound the thread around him in such number that at last he found himself a prisoner.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orison Swett Marden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gulliver" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/orison-swett-marden-711_gulliver_gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-cap_12561.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/orison-swett-marden-711_gulliver_gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-cap_12561.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/orison-swett-marden-711_gulliver_gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-cap_12561.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each…” — Orison Swett Marden", "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": "Orison Swett Marden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Gulliver was a giant whom the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/#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 } } ] } ```