Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
If a friend of mine gave a feast, and did not invite me to it, I should not mind a bit. but if a friend of mine had a sorrow and refused to allow me to share it, I should feel it most bitterly. If he shut the doors of the house of mourning against me, I would move back again and again and beg to be admitted so that I might share in what I was entitled to share. If he thought me unworthy, unfit to weep with him, I should feel it as the most poignant humiliation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True friendship is about sharing both joy and sorrow.
In this quote, Oscar Wilde emphasizes the importance of sharing emotional experiences in friendships. He suggests that being excluded from a friend's sorrow is far more painful than not being invited to a celebration, as it indicates a deeper connection and trust that should exist in true companionship. The act of sharing grief is portrayed as an essential part of true friendship, highlighting the value of empathy and support in times of hardship.
Themes
FriendshipSorrowEmpathySupportConnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a eulogy, to highlight the importance of being present in times of grief.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes →London is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.
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A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
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