Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
The true perfection of man lies not in what man has, but in what man is.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True perfection is defined by one's character and essence rather than material possessions.
Oscar Wilde's quote suggests that the essence of what makes a person perfect is not measured by their wealth or possessions but rather by their intrinsic qualities and character. It emphasizes the importance of internal values over external appearances, urging individuals to focus on who they are rather than what they own.
Themes
PerfectionCharacterEssenceValuesWealth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech aimed at young adults exploring their identity, this quote can encourage them to focus on personal growth.
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.
Oscar WildeRead
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.
Oscar WildeRead
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.
Oscar WildeRead
His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Oscar WildeRead
Similar quotes
Rulers who destroy men's freedom commonly begin by trying to retain its forms. ... They cherish the illusion that they can combine the prerogatives of absolute power with the moral authority that comes from popular assent.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
It is in the union of the Ascending and the Descending currents that harmony is found, and not in any war between the two. It seems that only when the Ascending and the Descending are united can both be saved. And if we - if you and I - do not contribute to this union, then it is very possible that not only will we destroy the only Earth we have, we will forfeit the only heaven we might otherwise embrace.
Ken WilberRead
Christ calls us to carry the Cross; churches call us to have fun in His name.
Aiden Wilson TozerRead
Then we shall... be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God.
Stephen HawkingRead
It is the nature of men having escaped one extreme, which by force they were constrained long to endure, to run headlong into the other extreme, forgetting that virtue doth always consist in the mean.
Walter RaleighRead
We are a society dying, said Aunt Lydia, of too much choice.
Margaret AtwoodRead