Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation, Dialogue III.

'Tis happy for him that his father was born before him.

— Jonathan Swift on Ancestors

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "'Tis happy for him that his father was born before him." in the context of "Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation, Dialogue III." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Ancestors" (Quotes, Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations: Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 23-25.) 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.