Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
Lady Bracknell. Good afternoon, dear Algernon, I hope you are behaving very well. Algernon. I’m feeling very well, Aunt Augusta. Lady Bracknell. That’s not quite the same thing. In fact the two things rarely go together.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the distinction between physical well-being and good behavior, suggesting they are often not aligned.
In this exchange between Lady Bracknell and Algernon, Oscar Wilde cleverly illustrates the nuance of human behavior, emphasizing that feeling well physically does not imply moral or social rectitude. The wit comes from the recognition that in society, people may often appear well externally while their behavior might be questionable. This reinforces Wilde's frequently satirical take on Victorian social norms.
Themes
BehavingWellPhysicalHumorSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on societal norms, one might use the quote to highlight the discrepancy between outward appearances and true behavior.
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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