Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that a lack of humor and the tendency to take life too seriously is a fundamental flaw of humanity.
Oscar Wilde points out that humanity's serious nature is a deep-seated flaw that has led to historical setbacks. He posits that if early humans had embraced laughter and humor, the course of history might have been significantly altered for the better, indicating that a lighter perspective could lead to better outcomes.
Themes
HumorSeriousnessLaughterHistoryHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be a humorous addition to a speech about the importance of maintaining a light-hearted perspective on life.
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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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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