--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a fatal day when the public…" description: "\"It was a fatal day when the public discovered that the pen is mightier than the paving-stone, and can be made as offensive as the brickbat. They at onc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/oscar-wilde-16_found_it-was-a-fatal-day-when-the-public-disco_1841767.jpg" --- # It was a fatal day when the public discovered that the pen… ![“It was a fatal day when the public discovered that the pen is mightier than the paving-stone, and can be made as offensive as the brickbat. They at once sought for the journalist, found him, developed him, and made him their industrious and well-paid servant. It is greatly to be regretted, for…” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/oscar-wilde-16_found_it-was-a-fatal-day-when-the-public-disco_1841767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/oscar-wilde-16_found_it-was-a-fatal-day-when-the-public-disco_1841767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/oscar-wilde-16_found_it-was-a-fatal-day-when-the-public-disco_1841767.jpg) > “It was a fatal day when the public discovered that the pen is mightier than the paving-stone, and can be made as offensive as the brickbat. They at once sought for the journalist, found him, developed him, and made him their industrious and well-paid servant. It is greatly to be regretted, for both their sakes.” [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. The public’s power can turn a journalist into a tool, sacrificing truth for profit and control. **In simple terms:** Power can corrupt media and reduce it to a servant. Key Takeaway Guard journalistic independence. Themes media power ethics control truth Mood cynical critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - political campaigns - corporate media - activist reporting - public opinion shaping Key Concepts journalism propaganda social criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do we protect journalists from becoming propaganda tools? - What responsibilities do audiences have in demanding truth? A Different Perspective Even a free press can be co-opted by those who fund it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Paving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paving/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) ## Related quotes > [It was a fatal day when the public discovered that the pen is mightier than the paving-stone and can be made as offensive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-was-a-fatal-day-when-the-public-discovered-that-the-pen-is-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The pen is mightier than the paving-stone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-pen-is-mightier-than-the-paving-stone/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The very violence of a revolution may make the public grand and splendid for a moment. It was a fatal day when the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-very-violence-of-a-revolution-may-make-the-public-grand-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“..perhaps all our lovers are merely hints and symbols; vagabond languages scrawled on gate-posts and paving stones along the weary road that others have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/perhaps-all-our-lovers-are-merely-hints-and-symbols-vagabond/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [From 50 centuries, we can learn about the close relationship between garden design and urban design, because both arts involve the composition of buildings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-turner/from-50-centuries-we-can-learn-about-the-close-relationship-between/) [Tom Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-turner/) > [I obviously disagree with the individuals who do not support rural America and do not support rural airports. Under their philosophy, maybe we shouldnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-thompson/i-obviously-disagree-with-the-individuals-who-do-not-support-rural/) [Glenn Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-thompson/) > [Men are like paving slabs, lay them right first time and you get to safely walk over them forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristine-shye/men-are-like-paving-slabs-lay-them-right-first-time-and-you-get-to/) [Cristine Shye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristine-shye/) > [The most excellent symbol of the people is the paving stone. One walks on it until it falls on one's head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-most-excellent-symbol-of-the-people-is-the-paving-stone-one-walks/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [We keep on going and paving, creating new ways to take over our Mother's Land. Why? When we have everything we need right here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-nozuka/we-keep-on-going-and-paving-creating-new-ways-to-take-over-our-mother/) [Justin Nozuka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-nozuka/) > [West Africa today is just a quarry of paving stones for Hell, and those stones were cemented in place with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kingsley/west-africa-today-is-just-a-quarry-of-paving-stones-for-hell-and/) [Mary Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kingsley/) > [The theory of social contracts extends as far back as Plato. However, it was the great 18th century social philosophers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/the-theory-of-social-contracts-extends-as-far-back-as-plato-however/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [It may be unpopular and out-of-date to say-but I do not think that a scientific result which gives us a better understanding of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-tarski/it-may-be-unpopular-and-out-of-date-to-say-but-i-do-not-think-that-a/) [Alfred Tarski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-tarski/) > [The last resort of kings, the cannonball. The last resort of the people, the paving stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-last-resort-of-kings-the-cannonball-the-last-resort-of-the-people/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I need to be alone. I need to ponder my shame and my despair in seclusion; I need the sunshine and the paving stones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-need-to-be-alone-i-need-to-ponder-my-shame-and-my-despair-in/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [If you don't like the road youre walking, start paving another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/if-you-don-t-like-the-road-youre-walking-start-paving-another-one/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) ## 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 Found quotes > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I love being in Malibu. 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