evidence: FACT CHECK: Did Jonathan Swift Say, ‘A Love Without Esteem Is Capricious And Volatile; Esteem Without Love Is Languid And Cold’? A Facebook post credits Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift with saying, "A love without esteem is capricious and volatile; esteem without love is languid and cold." [...] Swift, an Anglo-Irish writer active during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, is perhaps best known for writing "Gulliver’s Travels" and "A Modest Proposal." (RELATED: ‘The Trick Is Not To Expect It But To Delight In It When It Comes’ – Did Charles Dickens Say This Quote About Happiness?)