--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is rarely in the world's history that…" description: "\"“It is rarely in the world's history that its ideal has been one of joy and beauty. The worship of pain has far more often dominated the world.”\" — Osc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_it-is-rarely-in-the-world-s-history-that_2013383.jpg" --- # It is rarely in the world's history that its ideal has… ![“It is rarely in the world's history that its ideal has been one of joy and beauty. The worship of pain has far more often dominated the world.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_it-is-rarely-in-the-world-s-history-that_2013383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_it-is-rarely-in-the-world-s-history-that_2013383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_it-is-rarely-in-the-world-s-history-that_2013383.jpg) > ““It is rarely in the world's history that its ideal has been one of joy and beauty. The worship of pain has far more often dominated the world.”” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society often glorifies suffering, neglecting the pursuit of joy and beauty. **In simple terms:** Pain is glorified, joy ignored. Key Takeaway Prioritize joy and beauty over suffering. Themes philosophy art society values Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - creative work - social critique Key Concepts aestheticism humanism Questions to Reflect On - Why do we romanticize pain? - How can we shift cultural focus to joy? A Different Perspective Some argue pain drives growth and resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [“I love, I love beauty and in it I worship my follies, the ones I found on my own, and the ones to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adonis/i-love-i-love-beauty-and-in-it-i-worship-my-follies-the-ones-i-found/) Adonis > [The closer you get to the truth, the clearer becomes the beauty, and the more you will find worship welling up within you. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/the-closer-you-get-to-the-truth-the-clearer-becomes-the-beauty-and/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [But once the ants and termites jumped the high barrier that prevents the vast variety of evolving animal groups from becoming fully social, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/but-once-the-ants-and-termites-jumped-the-high-barrier-that-prevents/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [You can't expect everything to happen all at once when it's been such a male-dominated world for so long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-morano/you-can-t-expect-everything-to-happen-all-at-once-when-it-s-been-such/) [Reed Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-morano/) > [I grew up at a time when West Indies dominated the world. For 15 years from 1980, the West Indies never lost a Test series.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-lara/i-grew-up-at-a-time-when-west-indies-dominated-the-world-for-15-years/) [Brian Lara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-lara/) > [Wall Street has come a long way from the insider-dominated world that was blown apart by the Great Depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/wall-street-has-come-a-long-way-from-the-insider-dominated-world-that/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Being a woman is power. Just because we live in a male-dominated world doesn't mean that you're incapable or less than a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mya/being-a-woman-is-power-just-because-we-live-in-a-male-dominated-world/) [Mya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mya/) > [The truth is rarely pure and is never simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-truth-is-rarely-pure-and-is-never-simple/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-pure-and-simple-truth-is-rarely-pure-and-never-simple/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The Americans are certainly hero-worshipers, and always take their heroes from the criminal classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-americans-are-certainly-hero-worshipers-and-always-take-their/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I love to sleep late, and I rarely have the chance to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izabel-goulart/i-love-to-sleep-late-and-i-rarely-have-the-chance-to/) [Izabel Goulart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izabel-goulart/) > [I don't wear perfume, and I rarely wear jewelry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-wear-perfume-and-i-rarely-wear-jewelry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am rarely bored alone; I am often bored in groups and crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/i-am-rarely-bored-alone-i-am-often-bored-in-groups-and-crowds/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [People who jump to conclusions rarely alight on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guedalla/people-who-jump-to-conclusions-rarely-alight-on-them/) [Philip Guedalla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guedalla/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. 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For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. 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