Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
The only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else, and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the notion of superiority and how it shapes one's perspective on life.
Oscar Wilde's quote reveals a cynical view of human relationships, suggesting that a sense of superiority over others is what provides a person with the strength to navigate life's challenges. It implies that a belief in one's own superiority can sustain an individual emotionally and psychologically, even if it stems from a flawed view of others' worth.
Themes
SuperiorityConsciousnessLifeInferiorityPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a group discussion on personal growth and confidence, this quote can highlight the pitfalls of negative self-perception.
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.
Oscar WildeRead
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
Oscar WildeRead
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They don't ask much of you. They only want you to hate the things you love and to love the things you despise.
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