Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
As one reads history, not in the expurgated editions written for schoolboys and passmen, but in the original authorities of each time, one is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted; and a community is infinitely more brutalised by the habitual employment of punishment than it is by the occasional occurrence of crime.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the harshness of punishment in society compared to the occurrences of crime.
Oscar Wilde's quote critiques the nature of justice and punishment throughout history. He suggests that societies are more morally degraded by the consistent use of punishment against individuals, particularly those who are inherently good, than they are harmed by the crimes committed by the wicked. This points to a troubling aspect of human behavior where the mechanisms of justice, rather than the acts of crime themselves, can lead to greater brutality and moral decline within a community.
Themes
PunishmentCrimeSocietyMoralityJustice
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about criminal justice reform, this quote can emphasize the need to reconsider harsh punishments.
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His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
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