Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realisation of Utopias.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of aspiring towards an ideal vision of society, or Utopia, which drives human progress.
Oscar Wilde suggests that a worldview lacking the concept of Utopia is incomplete, as it disregards humanity's inherent desire to aspire for something better. By presenting Utopia as a destination that inspires progress, Wilde implies that the pursuit of idealism propels society forward, motivating individuals to envision and strive for advancements in their lives and communities.
Themes
UtopiaProgressAspirationIdealismHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speech about innovation could include this quote to inspire a vision for the future.
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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When one has never heard a man's name in the course of one's life, it speaks volumes for him; he must be quite respectable.
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Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
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A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
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His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
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