OSCAR
WILDE’S EPIGRAMS ON THOUGHT
A thought is defined as something a
person thinks of or remembers.
And thoughts are said to be a person’s
mind and all the ideas that are there when
thinking is going on.
Some important synonyms of thought
are : Idea, judgement, conclusion, appraisal, assessment, estimation, opinion, point of view, position, stance , stand, feeling, sentiment, belief,
conviction, etc.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish
poet, novelist and playwright. He became famous due to his sharp wit,
flamboyant style and playing a leading role
in the aesthetic movement which promoted art for art’s sake.
He is most famous for his only
novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891),
a brilliant comedy The Importance of
Being Earnest (1895) and his large number of epigrams under various heads.
According to a literary critic Wilde
considered thought to be more important than action, and regarded contemplation
as the most cultured way of living.
When at home, he spent hours, lying
on a sofa, expending his energies of thought.
Given below are some of his great epigrams
on THOUGHT.
1.
A thought is
immoral. Its very essence is destruction. If you think of anything, you kill
it. Nothing survives being thought.
2.
The value of an
idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses
it.
3.
Consistency is
the las refuge of the unimaginative.
4.
An idea that is
not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.
5.
Only the shallow
know themselves.
6.
Men of thought
should have nothing to do with action.
7.
“What are you
thinking?” is the only question that any civilized being should ever be allowed
to whisper to another.
8.
Seriousness is
the only refuge of the shallow.
9.
Action ! What is
action? It dies at the moment of its energy. It is a base concession to fact,
The world is made by the singer for the dreamer !
10.
Intellect is in
itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face. The moment
one sits down to think, one becomes all
nose, all forehead, or something horrid.
-------------
PUNCHLINE: I CAN
STAND BRUTE FORCE, BUT BRUTE REASON IS QUITE
UNREASONABLE.
*******
G. R. Kanwal
15 August 2026
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