Jonathan Swift, "Hints Toward an Essay on Conversation" (c1713), in The Works of Jonathan Swift (London: J. Johnson, 1801), Vol. V, p. 233.

And surely one of the best rules in conversation is, never to say a thing which any of the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid…

— Jonathan Swift on Conversation

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "And surely one of the best rules in conversation is, never to say a thing which any of the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid…" in the context of "Jonathan Swift, "Hints Toward an Essay on Conversation" (c1713), in The Works of Jonathan Swift (London: J. Johnson, 1801), Vol. V, p. 233." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Conversation" (Quotes, 18th century) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jonathan Swift

About Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer and satirist. Acclaimed as one of the finest prose satirists in the English language, he was also well known for his poetry and essays.