Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
Agitators are a set of interfering, meddling people, who come down to some perfectly contented class of the community and sow the seeds of discontent amongst them. That is the reason why agitators are so absolutely necessary. Without them, in our incomplete state, there would be no advance towards civilization.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Agitators challenge the status quo, stimulating progress in society.
This quote by Oscar Wilde emphasizes the crucial role that agitators play in society by disrupting complacency and sparking discontent among individuals who may be otherwise satisfied. Wilde suggests that these agents of change are essential for progress and civilization, as they push people to confront issues that may have been ignored or accepted, ultimately leading to a more evolved society.
Themes
AgitatorsProgressContentmentCivilizationDiscontent
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a rally might use this quote to highlight the importance of activism.
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.
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
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It is curious to note how fragile the memory is, even for the important times in one's life. This is, moreover, what explains the fortunate fantasy of history.
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