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The sick do not ask if the hand that smoothes their pillow is pure, nor the dying care if the lips that touch their brow have known the kiss of sin.
Oscar Wilde
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Compassion and care are paramount, regardless of a person's moral standing.

This quote by Oscar Wilde highlights the importance of kindness and compassion in times of suffering. It emphasizes that when faced with pain or mortality, individuals are more concerned with the comfort provided to them than the moral purity of those offering help. The essence of human connection transcends judgments about character; in desperate times, what matters most is the presence of care and support.

Themes

CompassionCareSufferingKindnessHumanity

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of caring for others in healthcare settings.

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Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
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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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