--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Look at the successful men in any of the…" description: "\"“Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are! Except, of course, in the Church. But then in the Church..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/oscar-wilde-16_bishop_look-at-the-successful-men-in-any-of-the_2444405.jpg" --- # Look at the successful men in any of the learned… ![“Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are! Except, of course, in the Church. But then in the Church they don't think. A bishop keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he was told to say when he was a boy of eighteen, and as a natural consequence…” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/oscar-wilde-16_bishop_look-at-the-successful-men-in-any-of-the_2444405.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/oscar-wilde-16_bishop_look-at-the-successful-men-in-any-of-the_2444405.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/oscar-wilde-16_bishop_look-at-the-successful-men-in-any-of-the_2444405.jpg) > ““Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are! Except, of course, in the Church. But then in the Church they don't think. A bishop keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he was told to say when he was a boy of eighteen, and as a natural consequence he always looks absolutely delightful.”” [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. Wilde satirically critiques clergy hypocrisy, noting that religious leaders often repeat outdated teachings without critical thought. **In simple terms:** Clergy repeat old ideas without thinking. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek genuine insight. Themes religion hypocrisy authority Mood wry analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - church sermons - educational settings - public discourse Key Concepts critical thinking institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - Do you see value in tradition? - How can institutions encourage critical thinking? A Different Perspective Satire may oversimplify complex religious roles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bishop/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [A bishop keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he was told to say at the age of eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/a-bishop-keeps-on-saying-at-the-age-of-eighty-what-he-was-told-to-say/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I think a bishop who doesn't give offence to anyone is probably not a good bishop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thomson/i-think-a-bishop-who-doesn-t-give-offence-to-anyone-is-probably-not-a/) [James Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thomson/) > [She decided she'd rather die in some less memorable way- maybe falling down the stairs, or going peacefully in her sleep at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/she-decided-she-d-rather-die-in-some-less-memorable-way-maybe-falling/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [My Aunt Ida at age eighty-three: 'Yeah,' she said, 'I'll be dead pretty soon. And frankly, I don't give a damn.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/my-aunt-ida-at-age-eighty-three-yeah-she-said-i-ll-be-dead-pretty/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/life-would-be-infinitely-happier-if-we-could-only-be-born-at-the-age/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Florida Scott-Maxwell, a Jungian analyst who did not begin her training until midlife, began writing a private notebook at the age of eighty-two, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/florida-scott-maxwell-a-jungian-analyst-who-did-not-begin-her/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“Nothing resembles a person as much as the way he dies, and no death could resemble the man he was thinking about less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/nothing-resembles-a-person-as-much-as-the-way-he-dies-and-no-death/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“in a teal polo shirt could perish of anything other than heart disease at age eighty-six, possibly at a polo match.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/in-a-teal-polo-shirt-could-perish-of-anything-other-than-heart/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“...How would you like to die, Tyrion son of Tywin?" "In my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a maiden's mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/how-would-you-like-to-die-tyrion-son-of-tywin-in-my-own-bed-with-a/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Any attempts at autobiography before the age of eighty seem pretty self-involved to me. There are a lot of smart middle aged people but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/any-attempts-at-autobiography-before-the-age-of-eighty-seem-pretty/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) > [At whatever age you find the truth, that will be your real birth year! That's why man can be born even at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/at-whatever-age-you-find-the-truth-that-will-be-your-real-birth-year/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [After the age of eighty, all contemporaries are friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/after-the-age-of-eighty-all-contemporaries-are-friends/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) > [“Shaga: How would you like to die, little man? Tyrion: In my bed, at the age of eighty with a belly full of wine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/shaga-how-would-you-like-to-die-little-man-tyrion-in-my-bed-at-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And old Dave, he'd go up to his room, y'understand, put on his green velvet slippers - I'll never forget - and pick up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/and-old-dave-he-d-go-up-to-his-room-y-understand-put-on-his-green/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Who among us can claim normalcy, Bishop?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/who-among-us-can-claim-normalcy-bishop/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) ## 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. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. 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 Bishop quotes > [“Who among us can claim normalcy, Bishop?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/who-among-us-can-claim-normalcy-bishop/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [Only a good bishop can be sacrificed, a bad bishop can only be lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-razuvaev/only-a-good-bishop-can-be-sacrificed-a-bad-bishop-can-only-be-lost/) Yuri Razuvaev > [Once a bishop is appointed, in terms of governance, we are semi-autonomous. It's not like we are branch managers of a bank or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/once-a-bishop-is-appointed-in-terms-of-governance-we-are-semi/) [Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/) > [“We are like the moon. The moon shines anyway, but it does not produce its own light. It reflects the light illuminated onto its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/we-are-like-the-moon-the-moon-shines-anyway-but-it-does-not-produce/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/wherever-the-bishop-shall-appear-there-let-the-multitude-also-be-even/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [“There were many candidates for this office, but none, thought the bishop, of the stuff of which an archdeacon is made. And he went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nathan/there-were-many-candidates-for-this-office-but-none-thought-the/) [Robert Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nathan/) > [“CHAPTER XII—THE BISHOP WORKS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/chapter-xii-the-bishop-works/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [It is important that the Church of London, which has now lost its ruler, should receive for its new bishop a man whose personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-becket/it-is-important-that-the-church-of-london-which-has-now-lost-its/) [Thomas Becket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-becket/) > [“Does it have a name? All of these fancy magical weapons usually have names." Bishop glared at her. "Yeah. I like to call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-rowen/does-it-have-a-name-all-of-these-fancy-magical-weapons-usually-have/) [Michelle Rowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-rowen/) > [I think that the Pope has trust in every bishop that is appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/i-think-that-the-pope-has-trust-in-every-bishop-that-is-appointed/) [Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/) > [“The Bishop blessed him and helped him to his feet. "May God have mercy on you," he said. And erased him from his heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/the-bishop-blessed-him-and-helped-him-to-his-feet-may-god-have-mercy/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [How can a bishop marry? How can he flirt? The most he can say is "I will see you in the vestry after service."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/how-can-a-bishop-marry-how-can-he-flirt-the-most-he-can-say-is-i-will/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [“Chandler’s “She was blonde enough to make a bishop kick a hole through a stained-glass window”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/chandler-s-she-was-blonde-enough-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-through/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [“The power of self deception is great in the case of all men, but I incline to think that it is greatest in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hensley-henson/the-power-of-self-deception-is-great-in-the-case-of-all-men-but-i/) Herbert Hensley Henson > [I did think of becoming a priest quite late on, when other boys were thinking of knocking over fences and going out with girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-did-think-of-becoming-a-priest-quite-late-on-when-other-boys-were/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) [Browse all 108 Bishop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bishop/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. 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