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The only people I would care to be with now are artists and people who have suffered: those who know what beauty is, and those who know what sorrow is: nobody else interests me.
Oscar Wilde
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote expresses a preference for the company of those who understand both beauty and sorrow.

Oscar Wilde emphasizes that he values relationships with artists and individuals who have experienced suffering, as they possess a deeper understanding of life's complexities. The appreciation for beauty intertwined with sorrow reflects a profound emotional depth that Wilde finds lacking in those who have not faced such experiences, making them uninteresting to him.

Themes

BeautySorrowArtRelationshipsEmotion

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the importance of creativity, one might say, 'As Oscar Wilde noted, the only people I would care to be with now are artists and people who have suffered.'

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Quote by Oscar Wilde | QuoteProject