Pithy prose: the wit & wisdom of Oscar Wilde by Philip Yaffe

var sc_project=3372029; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=37; var sc_security=”918325f4″; Home Books Clients How I work Pricing Research Services Free eBooks Home Articles Courses Nonverbal Products Twitter Case studies Presentations* Info Pack* –> My blog is here About me Search * opens in new browser window Second Life blog (both links open in a new window) –> Current Adelaide time: obj = new Object;obj.clockfile = “5002-blue.swf”;obj.TimeZone = “ACDT”;obj.width = 192;obj.height = 19;obj.Place = “”;obj.DateFormat = “DD-mm”;obj.TimeFormat = “hhmmTT”;obj.wmode = “transparent”;showClock(obj); Contact me: +61 410 642 052 Pithy prose: the wit & wisdom of Oscar Wilde by Philip Yaffe var sc_project=3372029; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=37; var sc_security=”918325f4″; Home Books Clients How I work Pricing Research Services Free eBooks Home Articles Courses Nonverbal Products Twitter Case studies Presentations* Info Pack* –> My blog is here About me Search * opens in new browser window Second Life blog (both links open in a new window) –> Current Adelaide time: obj = new Object;obj.clockfile = “5002-blue.swf”;obj.TimeZone = “ACDT”;obj.width = 192;obj.height = 19;obj.Place = “”;obj.DateFormat = “DD-mm”;obj.TimeFormat = “hhmmTT”;obj.wmode = “transparent”;showClock(obj); Contact me: +61 410 642 052 Fresh News: Pithy prose: the wit & wisdom of Oscar Wilde 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 been ever since I learned how to write, I mean professionally, not in primary school. I am particularly fond of what I like to call “pithy prose”. These short quotations can cover an unlimited variety of subjects: love, religion, politics, human nature, etc. What unites them is their ability to say more in one or two sentences than could be expressed in a thousand-word treatise. It’s like being able to pour a liter of liquid into a half-liter bottle. They are superb examples of Mark Twain’s famous dictum, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” In principle, all writers and public speakers are capable of producing pithy prose, but clearly some are better at it than others. Any collection of pithy prose must necessarily be biased in terms of what it includes and excludes. I make no apologies for my selections, only for the hundreds of other meritorious quotations I had to leave out. No one will agree with all these quotations; this was not their intention. You may even find some of them repugnant or outrageous. This was their intention. We seldom learn anything of value from what we already agree with. Only those ideas that grate on our nerves can open our minds. As with oysters, irritation can produce pearls. So if anything you are about to read annoys or shocks you, try to think clearly and dispassionately about what it is saying. You will either be confirmed in your current belief or shaken into re-examining it. Either way, you win! This article is part of an occasional series. In each article, I will be offering more amusing, educating, and exasperating quotations to your judgment. But just to be certain that we agree on what we are talking about, here it is in a nutshell. Pithy Prose: A quotation where at first you may not be quite certain what it means. But when you become certain, you become equally certain that it couldn’t have been said better any other way. In short, big ideas in small packages. If you have a better definition of pithy prose, please contact me. I would love to hear it. Who Is Oscar Wilde? Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900), whose full name was Oscar Fingal O’Flaherty Wills Wilde, was a renowned Irish dramatist, novelist, and poet. His best known plays 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 dark tragedy, is considered to be 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 it during his trial. However, the phrase actually comes from the poem “Two Loves”, published in 1894 by Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde was widely known for his barbed wit, which is clearly reflected in the following quotations. 1. A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. 2. A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. 3. A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone’s feelings unintentionally. 4. A man who does not think for himself does not think at all. 5. A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction. 6. A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it. 7. A true friend stabs you in the front. 8. All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his. 9. Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much. 10. An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all. 11. As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular. 12. Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same. 13. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. 14. Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them. 15. Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. 16. I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself. 17. I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying. 18. I can resist everything except temptation. 19. I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. 20. I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability. 21. If there was less sympathy in the world, there would be less trouble in the world. 22. Illusion is the first of all pleasures. 23. Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not. 24. Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable. 25. Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. 26. One’s real life is so often the life that one does not lead. 27. Pessimist: One who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both. 28. Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals. 29. The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic. 30. The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. 31. The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself. 32. The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple. 33. The well bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves. 34. The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast. 35. There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up. 36. There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves we feel no one else has a right to blame us. 37. There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love. 38. This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. 39. To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. 40. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. 41. When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers. 42. Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives. 43. Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong. 44. Woman begins by resisting a man’s advances and ends by blocking his retreat. Previously in this Series Part 1: Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of Mark Twain Philip Yaffe is a former writer with The Wall Street Journal and international marketing communication consultant. He now teaches courses in persuasive communication in Brussels, Belgium. Because his clients use English as a second or even third language, his approach to writing and public speaking is somewhat different from other communication coaches. His new book The Gettysburg Approach to Writing & Speaking like a Professional will be published in March 2010, and will be available from Amazon.com and other online booksellers. Contact: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com or phil.yaffe@gmail.com. var owHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://” : “http://”);document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + owHost + “onlywire.com/btn/button_3798′ ad=’no’ title=’TITLE’ tags='”business communication” communication nonverbal’ url=’URL’ class=’owbutton’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); Reports I have written: Create Advertising That Sells An interactive advertising course featuring book, workbook, and video instruction. And since we can all learn from the masters, it also features several reproductions of hugely successful ad campaigns. Click here to learn more about Create Advertising That Sells. With Subconscious Internet Marketing you will learn how to bypass your prospects’ unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell – be that a product, a service or an idea. An e-book that tells you 746 ways to get people to buy your products and services. Click here to learn more about Subconscious Internet Marketing. Guerrilla Marketing During Tough Times is the only course that will show you exactly how to survive during bad economic times. Written by the acclaimed marketer Jay Conrad Levinson, you can click here to learn more about Guerrilla Marketing During Tough Times Measuring the impact and ROI of social media – for Ark Group Making Social Media work for your business – for Ark Group Social Media: The New Business Communication Landscape – for Ark Group How to get started with podcasting in your organisation – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to use social media to solve critical internal communication issues – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to use social media to engage employees – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to communicate with hard-to-reach employees – for Melcrum Publishing Have you subscribed to my weekly newsletter yet? As a subscriber you get kept up-to-date on when new articles are added. Subscribe now! and receive a free version of my $79 report, Master the Art and Science of Twitter for Business. It’s the first in a series of reports I’m writing on how to master the various key elements of social media. Each report is an-depth, step-by-step process that explains in clear, plain English how to master a particular social media tool and help your business communicate better for better business results. Each report is easy to read, easy to implement and easy on the pocket — just $79 per copy. But as a new subscriber to my blog and newsletter, I’m giving you a copy of the free version of Master the Art and Science of Twitter for Business report as a way of saying “thank you” for joining my community. Please subscribe, then check for the email you will receive from me shortly after, because in the email will be details of how to download the report [1.2mb pdf] Subscribe now! Enter your EmailPreview | Powered by FeedBlitz If you would like to use any of the articles on this site that I have personally written (they will either have ‘By Lee Hopkins’ on them, or nothing at all) please feel free to do so as long as you include the following ‘resource box’ text and a link back to www.LeeHopkins.com: “Lee Hopkins the author of over 130 articles on business communication, and is recognised world-wide as one of Australia’s leading experts in online business communication, including Social Media or Web2.0 as it’s also known. To connect with him, please email him at Lee at LeeHopkins.com Visit his site at www.LeeHopkins.com to find many more articles on business communication. He also blogs at www.LeeHopkins.net. Whilst there, why not pick up a complimentary copy of his ‘Master the Art and Science of Twitter for Business’, which explains all about this latest seismic change to the business communication landscape!” This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Finally, if this site or any of the articles have been of any help to you, perhaps you’d like to say ‘thank you’ by throwing a few pennies my way. If so, please click on the button below and donate whatever you feel is appropriate. The payment is handled by PayPal and is extremely secure. Thanks. Subscribe Subscribe to my weekly business communication newsletter and receive a FREE version of my highly-regarded report, ‘Master the Art and Science of Twitter for Business’ (that sells for $79) Find out more… Related material : Twitter A 12-step plan to take you from Twitter newbie to Twitter supremo and grow your business in the process. More details Better Business Writing You’ve probably always wanted to improve your writing skills in your workplace, but perhaps there wasn’t a training course around to help you. Well, now there is. More details Turn Guesstimates into Estimates & close more sales!Award-winning ProposalKit gives your clients the detailed price quote and proposal they need so YOU close more sales (and boost your bottom line!) Finally you can quote with accuracy, increasing your profitability and professionalism. ProposalKit is easy, customizable, proven,and downloadable now! http://www.proposalkit.com Social Media White Paper (3rd Edition) Trevor Cook and I wrote a booklet to help our clients and friends come to grips with this new online phenomenon called ‘Social Media’ or ‘Web2.0’. Now in its third edition, it is still being widely cited and is receiving lots of favourable comments. Download your free copy now (pdf) Find out more about it (opens new window) Vodburner is my tool of choice for recording skype video calls, either for later podcasting or simply for my own record. Now that video is becoming more and more important, I can’t imagine online life without it.More about Vodburner… Find out what email marketing can do for your business [opens in new browser window]. What you say about Lee Hopkins: “One of the best days I’ve spent with a man! ” “As a speaker, Lee and his alter ego in the guise of avatar ‘Lee Laperriere’ played a key role in making our virtual event in Second Life a success. Lee was well-researched, engaging and enthusiastic about the possibilities that virtual collaboration brings and his presentation showed that he had really thought about the needs of our audience” “Wow – what a presentation, it went so well, thank you very much! Fantastic job! ” “Lindy and Lee, you were both brilliant and I’m very thankful and pleased for your efforts, it was excellent. Thank you. ” “One of Australia’s leading public relations practitioners in the so-called new media” “While I only had the pleasure of actually meeting Lee face-to-face several months ago, I have been aware of him in conference programs and through feedback from one of my team members for a while. Lee has an amazing and unique skill for managing the new media to support business outcomes” “Oz’s best social network strategist” “As for Local Royalty, you really are a Superstar among the bloggers and blogosphere!” “Lee Hopkins, one of Australia’s most respected social media experts” “Lee was very entertaining and knowledgeable. He demystified social media for me and he made me feel it IS possible.” “His enthusiasm is infectious – exciting stuff!” “Excellent. A really fascinating insight from an engaging speaker.” “A very difficult topic but it was explained in a fantastically simple way.” “The Walkleys relies on the good will of Australia’s talented communicators to make events like these happen and I can’t thank you enough for taking time out from your heavy schedule to make the convention such a memorable event.” “The workshop was very useful in that it enabled us to directly relate what we learnt in the seminar to our business. Lee was very easy to relate to and he presented all the information in a way that was simple to understand.” “Informative and engaging – gave good overview of new on-line technologies and how they can be applied to businesses. Particularly valued the opportunity to have a separate session to look at the specific needs and potential uses for my own business.” “Great to talk to someone who is expert in their field and passionate.” “The ability to interact one on one with Lee, as well as seeing new technologies and how they can be easily implemented into current business processes [was great]” “Great. Lee was very engaging and presented info in easy to understand language and examples. Use of music, video, PowerPoint etc keep contents fun and educational. Great stuff!” “Great! Even I could understand and appreciate the content. Excellent examples, wonderful presentation. I’m going back to share with my team. Thank you. ” “Lee was a great facilitator and his energy and passion for social media was evident.” “Excellent, enthusiastic presenter who is right into what he is talking about. Walking the talk.Just the right amount of info about the different topics. Not too geeky. Strong emphasis on how the tools can assist effective business communication. Relaxed friendly atmosphere. The workshop opened lots of doors, stimulating. I’m strongly encouraged to try things out. Many thanks.” “Lee was great – knowledgeable, enthusiastic, generous in sharing his expertise. I liked the demonstrations.” “Great Workshop… helped me crystalise my thoughts on social media and now I feel ready to develop the strategy and make use of this great new medium” Would you like me to run a workshop in-house for YOUR company? Contact me to discuss how we can bring your company into this new and exciting communication universe. Twitter LinkedIn FacebookDelicious FlickrLast.fmFriendFeed Assoc. of Virtual Worlds Plurk Plaxo Skype me View many of the presentations I have given over at Slideshare Why does employee communication matter? Download a presentation I gave to a group of PR students on slideshare For your consideration: Free VOIP report Free Website design report “I communicate therefore I am” Available in medium and large mug sizes. You KNOW you want one! Available in men’s and women’s fittings. You KNOW you want one! Writing for a web audience Want to write more powerfully for a web audience?… Right-click on this image and download the pdf file to your computer’s hard drive. “The definitive guide to writing for the web” says Lee new TWTR.Widget({ profile: true, id: ‘twtr-profile-widget’, loop: true, width: 195, height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: ‘#3082af’, color: ‘#ffffff’ }, tweets: { background: ‘#ffffff’, color: ‘#444444’, links: ‘#1985b5’ } }}).render().setProfile(‘leehopkins’).start(); RSS Feed | Contact me | Articles | Products | Services | Pricing | Clients | About me | Useful links | How I work | Privacy © Copyright 2002-2011 Lee Hopkins, Design: Luka Cvrk – Solucija & Lee Hopkins