Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
The value of an idea has nothing whatever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The worth of an idea is independent of the person's sincerity or character who presents it.
Oscar Wilde emphasizes that an idea's significance is not influenced by the intentions or integrity of the person voicing it. This challenges the notion that the value of ideas should be judged by the speaker's credibility, highlighting the importance of the idea itself rather than the individual behind it.
Themes
IdeasValueSincerityExpressionPerspective
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about social reform where various ideas are presented regardless of the politicians' backgrounds.
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
Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want to impress people they don't like.
Will RogersRead
I believe the reason we sleep is not just to allow our body to rest but that it is to allow this inner wisdom to speak to us through symbols. This includes the body or somatic problems as well as psychological ones. Dreams and drawings are useful in diagnosing physical conditions.
Bernie SiegelRead
To accept grace is to admit failure, a step we are hesitant to take. We opt to impress God with how good we are rather than confessing how great he is.
Max LucadoRead
From here on out, there's just reality. I think that's what maturity is: a stoic response to endless reality. But then, what do I know?
Carrie FisherRead
You can be deprived of your money, your job and your home by someone else, but remember that no one can ever take away your honor.
William Lyon PhelpsRead
I never felt I knew it all. I always felt there's something new to learn, something new to do.
Don ShulaRead