Quote#Wisdom
Seamen have a custom, when they meet a whale, to fling him out an…
Quote byJonathan Swift · 1667–1745
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: A Tale of a Tub (1704), Preface.
English (original)
Seamen have a custom, when they meet a whale, to fling him out an empty tub by way of amusement, to divert him from laying violent hands upon the ship.
— Jonathan Swift
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