Which is now a more hopeful statement than Swift intended it to be.

Sixty years ago I knew everything. Now I know nothing. Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

As knowledge grew, fear decreased; men thought less of worshiping the unknown, and more of overcoming it.

All deductions having been made, democracy has done less harm, and more good, than any other form of government. It gave to human existence a zest and camaraderie that outweighed its pitfalls and defects. It gave to thought and science and enterprise the freedom essential to their operation and growth. It broke down the walls of privilege and class, and in each generation it raised up ability from every rank and place.

If a man is fortunate he will, before he dies, gather up as much as he can of his civilized heritage and transmit it to his children.

The concentration of wealth is a natural result of this concentration of ability, and regularly recurs in history. The rate of concentration varies (other factors being equal) with the economic freedom permitted by morals and laws.

Drunkenness was in good repute in England till "Bloody Mary" frowned upon it; it remained popular in Germany. The French drank more stably, not being quite so cold.