Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
What consoles one nowadays is not repentance but pleasure. Repentance is quite out of date.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that in modern times, people find comfort in pleasure rather than feeling remorse for their actions.
Oscar Wilde's quote highlights a shift in societal values, where the pursuit of pleasure has overtaken the need for reflection and remorse. In today's world, the idea of guilt or repentance seems antiquated; instead, individuals prioritize immediate gratification and enjoyment, often overlooking the moral implications of their choices.
Themes
PleasureRepentanceSocietyValuesGratification
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on modern ethical dilemmas, this quote could be used to illustrate how contemporary society prioritizes pleasure.
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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