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Examinations, sir, are pure humbug from beginning to end. If a man is a gentleman, he knows quite enough, and if he is not a gentleman, whatever he knows is bad for him.
Oscar Wilde
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Examinations are meaningless; a true gentleman's knowledge is sufficient, while a non-gentleman's knowledge is harmful.

Oscar Wilde critiques the significance of examinations, suggesting they are superficial and unrepresentative of a person's true character or intelligence. He argues that a genuine gentleman possesses intrinsic knowledge, whereas someone lacking in character, no matter how much they know, only carries knowledge that may lead to negative outcomes.

Themes

ExaminationsKnowledgeGentlemanEducationCharacter

In practice

Example use cases

A teacher might use this quote to discuss the limitations of standardized testing in a classroom setting.

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Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
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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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A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
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