Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
As one reads history ... one is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the disturbing nature of justice and punishment in history, suggesting that often the actions of the virtuous can be as troubling as those of the wicked.
In this quote, Oscar Wilde expresses a deep concern regarding the nature of justice throughout history. He suggests that what is most disturbing is not merely the atrocities committed by malicious individuals, but rather the harsh and punitive measures taken by those who consider themselves good. This reflection prompts a critical examination of morality, justice, and the responses of the so-called righteous in society.
Themes
JusticeHistoryMoralityPunishmentGoodnessWickedness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of justice during a philosophy class.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes βLondon 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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Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
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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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