Pithy Prose: the Wit & Wisdom of Oscar Wilde

by Philip Yaffe Part 2 of an occasional series I am a collector of quotations. I have since learned that I am, as you write, I mean professionally, not in primary school. I am particularly happy that I would call “pithy prose” you. These short quotations can cover an unlimited variety of themes: love, religion, politics, human nature, etc. What they get is their ability to say more, combines one or two sentences of a document thousand words can be expressed. It is as able to make one liter of liquid in a bottle of beer. They are superb examples of Mark Twain’s famous aphorism “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”

In principle, all writers and public speakers can pithy prose, but some are clearly better off than others. Any collection of pithy prose must necessarily in terms of what it includes and excludes to be biased. I apologize for my choice, not only for the hundreds of other meritorious quotations I had to leave out. Nobody will agree with all those citations, it was not their intention. You can even find some of them repugnant or outrageous. It was their intention. We seldom learn anything of value, which we already agree. Only ideas that grate on the nerves of us can open our minds. As with oysters, irritation can produce pearls. So, if you read all the boring or shock like, try to think clearly and dispassionately, he said. They will be confirmed either in your current belief or shaken in his opinion. Anyway, you win! This article is part of a series occasional.

In each article, I’ll put up more fun with them, and angry quotes to your opinion. But just to be sure we’re on this point, what we agree to talk, here are a few words. Lapidary prose: A quotation where at first you could not quite sure what that means. But when you become certain, you will also ensure that it would better not say any other way. In short, big ideas in small packages. If you have a better definition of pithy prose, please contact me. I hear it. Who is Oscar Wilde? Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900), whose full name was Oscar Fingal O’Flaherty Wills Wilde was a famous Irish playwright, novelist and poet. His most famous pieces are “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Lady Windermere’s Fan” and “An Ideal Husband”, three delicious society farces. “The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel, a tragic black as a classic. In 1895, Wilde was imprisoned for two years for homosexual offenses. “The love that dare not speak its name”, a euphemism for homosexuality. Is closely associated with Wilde because he used during his trial. However, the phrase actually comes from the poem “Two Loves”, published in 1894 by Lord Alfred Douglas.

Wilde was known for his wit barbed, which reflects clearly known in the following quotations.First A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.2nd A dreamer is one who can find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. A third gentleman is someone who does not hurt someone’s feelings unintentionally. A fourth man who does not think for themselves do not even think. A fifth man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction. A sixth thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it. 7th A true friend stabs you in the front. 8th All women are like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. It’s his. Always forgive your enemies 9th – nothing annoys them very much. 10th An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy, as an idea at all. 11 As long as war is regarded as evil, it is always a fascination. If it is considered vulgar, it will lose its popularity. 12 Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same. 13 As we examine the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. The 14th child of loving parents begin after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them. 15th Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to change every six months. 16th I always pass on good advice. It is the only one to do with it. It is never to their advantage. 17th I am so clever that sometimes I do not understand a single word of what I say. 18th I can resist everything except temptation. 19th I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good character and my enemies for their intelligence. A man can not be too careful in the choice of his enemies. 20th I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability. 21st If less sympathy in the world, there would be fewer problems in the world. 22nd Illusion is the first of all pleasures. 23rd Life is never fair, and it may be a good thing for most of us it is not. 24th One can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable. The 25th man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. 26th A real life is so often the life that you will not run. 27th Pessimist: One who, if given the choice between two evils, chooses both. 28th Society exists only as a mental concept in the real world, there are only individuals. 29th Criticism has to educate the public, the artist has to educate the spokesman. The cynic knows the 30th the price of everything and value of nothing. 31st The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never to their advantage. 32nd The simple truth is rarely pure and never simple. The well bred contradict 33rd others. The wise contradict themselves. The 34th world is a stage, but the play is badly cast. 35th There are many things which would throw if we were not afraid that others seek. 36th is a luxury self-reproach. When we blame ourselves we feel no one else has the right to blame us. 37th There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people we no longer love. 38th This uncertainty is terrible. I hope that it will take. 39th Expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern spirit. 40th We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. 41st When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers. 42nd When a man thoroughly stupid thing, it is still nobler motives. 43rd If people agree with me, I always feel that I must be wrong. The 44th woman begins by resisting a man’s advances and ends by blocking his retreat. So far in this series Part 1: Prose Lapidary: The Wit & Wisdom of Mark Twain Philip Yaffe is a former journalist, columnist / with the Wall Street Journal and a consultant in marketing communications. He currently teaches a course in good writing and speaking well in Brussels, Belgium. His latest book in the “I” of the Storm: The simple secrets of writing and speaking (almost) as a professional is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.) and Amazon (amazon. com) . For more information please contact: Philip Yaffe Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 (0) 2660 0405 phil. Yaffe @ yahoo. com, Phil. Yaffe @ gmail. com