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About this quote

What does it mean?
Wilde claims he encapsulated all systems and existence in a brief phrase.
In plain terms
He summed up all systems and existence in one epigram.
What can you take from it?
Complex ideas can be captured concisely.

Where it applies

  • writing
  • philosophy

Putting it to work

  • use epigrams for clarity
  • distill ideas

Questions to consider

  • When does brevity oversimplify?
  • How to balance depth and brevity?

Another view

Some concepts resist reduction.

More from Oscar Wilde

  1. On [George Bernard Shaw] An excellent man: he has no enemies, and none of his friends like him.

    Permalink to quote #22
  2. People who count their chickens before they are hatched act very wisely because chickens run about so absurdly that it's impossible to count them accurately.

    Permalink to quote #24
  3. The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.

    Permalink to quote #21

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