quote · Legacy record
People are afraid of themselves, nowadays. They have forgotten the highest of all duties, the duty that one owes to one's self. Of course, they are charitable. They feed the hungry and clothe the beggar. But their own souls starve, and are naked. Courage has gone out of our race. Perhaps we never really had it. The terror of society, which is the basis of morals, the terror of God, which is the secret of religion—these are the two things that govern us. And yet—
People are afraid of themselves, nowadays. They have forgotten the highest of all duties, the duty that one owes to one's self. Of course, they are charitable. They feed the hungry and clothe the beggar. But their own souls starve, and are naked. Courage has gone out of our race. Perhaps we never really had it. The terror of society, which is the basis of morals, the terror of God, which is the secret of religion—these are the two things that govern us. And yet—
Approximate author period: c. 1877 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
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- Author or tradition
- Oscar Wilde
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1877 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1854–1900)
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 317356; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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