Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Beauty is a form of Genius--is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation. It is one of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in the dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Beauty transcends intellect and explanation, embodying a universal truth that is inherently valuable.
In this quote, Oscar Wilde emphasizes that beauty holds a unique power and significance that surpasses mere intelligence or genius. He suggests that beauty is a fundamental truth of existence, likening it to natural phenomena that need no justification and possess a sovereign quality that elevates those who embody it to a status akin to royalty. Through the expression of beauty, individuals can achieve a profound connection with the world, making it an ineffable and essential element of life.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the power of art, one might use this quote to highlight the significance of beauty in creative expression.
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.
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.
Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Similar quotes
Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression.
I was the only one in my family to be musically inclined, and my mother loved that. It encouraged my grand aunt to find me a music teacher, because it was quite obvious music was in me.
Acting isn't really a creative profession. It's an interpretative one.
I do most of the cooking in my head.
Movies are extremely imitative of one another. Whatever works, people will try to do it.
The great advantage of being a writer is that you can spy on people. You're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is useful to a writer, you see - every scrap, even the longest and most boring of luncheon parties.