QuoteProject
To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.
Oscar Wilde
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The ability to accurately describe the past is a unique skill that belongs to both historians and anyone with depth and intellect.

In this quote, Oscar Wilde emphasizes the importance of interpretation and narrative in understanding history. He suggests that the task of accurately portraying events, even those that have not occurred, is not solely reserved for historians; rather, it is a privilege and responsibility of anyone who possesses the intellectual capacity and cultural awareness. This highlights a broader viewpoint on how everyone can engage with and interpret history in their own right.

Themes

HistoryInterpretationCulturePrivilegeAccuracy

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about historical narratives, this quote could be used to underline the role of perspective in interpreting events.

More from Oscar Wilde

Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
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.
Oscar WildeRead
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.
Oscar WildeRead
Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
Oscar WildeRead
A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
Oscar WildeRead
His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Oscar WildeRead

Similar quotes

In theory it is easy to convince an ignorant person; in actual life, men not only object to offer themselves to be convinced, but hate the man who has convinced them.
EpictetusRead
The premonition of madness is complicated by the fear of lucidity in madness, the fear of the moments of return and reunion... One would welcome chaos if one were not afraid of lights in it.
Emile M. CioranRead
The most important question we must ask ourselves is, 'Are we being good ancestors?'
Jonas SalkRead
All human knowledge begins with intuitions, proceeds from thence to concepts, and ends with ideas.
Immanuel KantRead
The true greatness of nations is in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the individual.
Charles SumnerRead
Television has made dictatorship impossible but democracy unbearable.
Shimon PeresRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.