Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote illustrates that both desire and fulfillment can lead to suffering.
Oscar Wilde's quote highlights the dual nature of human desire and fulfillment, suggesting that the pursuit of what we want can result in disappointment, while obtaining it can lead to a different set of challenges. This reflects the complexities of life where both unmet desires and their fulfillments can lead to their own forms of tragedy, emphasizing the idea that happiness is not solely found in achieving one's goals.
Themes
TragedyDesireFulfillmentLifeSuffering
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to highlight the complexities of ambition.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes →London 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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To everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.
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Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.
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You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile.
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Anyone who's looked into a newborn's innocent eyes should realize how incredible it is to be blessed with a new life.
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