The comic spirit is given to us in order that we may analyze, weigh, and clarify things in us which nettle us, or which we are outgrowing, or trying to reshape
Thornton WilderRead
Ninety-nine percent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that most people lack wisdom and that their foolishness can negatively influence the more rational among us.
Thornton Wilder's quote reflects a cynical view of humanity, proposing that the majority of people lack critical thinking and wisdom, and thus, the few who do possess these qualities must protect themselves from being influenced or swayed by the masses. It emphasizes the danger of conforming to popular opinion or behavior, which is often misguided or foolish. The notion of contagion implies that foolishness is not only prevalent but also infectious, urging individuals to be vigilant in thinking for themselves.
Themes
FoolishnessWisdomInfluenceCritical ThinkingAuthenticity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion on the importance of independent thinking versus following the crowd.
More from Thornton Wilder
All quotes →A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in a mighty public way.
Thornton WilderRead
Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners... Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths...and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.
Thornton WilderRead
When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.
Thornton WilderRead
Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.
Thornton WilderRead
I want you to try and remember what it was like to have been very young. And particularly the days when you were first in love; when you were like a person sleepwalking, and you didn’t quite see the street you were in, and didn’t quite hear everything that was said to you. You’re just a little bit crazy. Will you remember that, please?
Thornton WilderRead
Similar quotes
Thinking is generally thought of as doing nothing in a production - oriented society and doing nothing is hard to do. It's best done by disguising it as doing something and the something closest to doing nothing is walking.
Rebecca SolnitRead
I know that I cannot take responsibility for other people. We are all under the law of our own consciousness.
Louise HayRead
Service brings merit, merit allows you to go deeper in meditation, meditation brings back your smile.
Sri Sri Ravi ShankarRead
People only see what they are prepared to see.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Discipline is the highest of all virtues. Only so may strength and desire be counterbalanced and the endeavors of man bear fruit.
Nikos KazantzakisRead
There aren't many such enthusiasts born. The average person is not especially curious about the world. He is alive, and being somehow obliged to deal with this condition, feels the less effort it requires, the better. Whereas learning about the world is labor, and a great all-consuming one at that. Most people develop quite antithetical talents, in fact - to look without seeing, to listen without hearing, mainly to preserve onself within oneself.
Ryszard KapuscinskiRead