Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
There is something terribly morbid in the modern sympathy with pain. One should sympathise with the colour, the beauty, the joy of life. The less said about life's sores the better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of focusing on the beauty and joy of life rather than dwelling on pain and suffering.
Oscar Wilde suggests that modern society has a tendency to overly sympathize with pain and suffering, which he views as a morbid perspective. Instead, he advocates for celebrating the vibrant aspects of life—its color, beauty, and joy—implying that by shifting our focus away from sorrow, we can foster a more positive and uplifting outlook on existence.
Themes
PainSympathyJoyLifeBeautyCelebration
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about finding happiness in difficult times.
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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