--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps, after all, America never has…" description: "\"“Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered,” said Mr. Erskine; “I myself would say that it had merely been detected.”\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/oscar-wilde-16_quote_perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been_956411.jpg" --- # Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered,”… ![“Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered,” said Mr. Erskine; “I myself would say that it had merely been detected.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/oscar-wilde-16_quote_perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been_956411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/oscar-wilde-16_quote_perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been_956411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/oscar-wilde-16_quote_perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been_956411.jpg) > ““Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered,” said Mr. Erskine; “I myself would say that it had merely been detected.”” [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. America is portrayed as a place never truly understood, only noticed superficially **In simple terms:** America is seen as merely observed, not truly known Key Takeaway Question assumptions about national identity Themes identity perception nationalism Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - travel - immigration - education - political discourse Key Concepts existentialism cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to truly 'discover' a country? - How does perception shape national identity? A Different Perspective Discovery requires deeper engagement than mere detection ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-discovered-1280948/) [Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus/) [Detected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detected/) [Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered/) [Discovered Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered-said-1740190/) [Merely Detected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-detected-1451184/) ## Related quotes > [Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered. I myself would say that it has merely been detected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been-discovered-i-myself-would/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [It is a vulgar error to suppose that America was ever discovered. It was merely detected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-a-vulgar-error-to-suppose-that-america-was-ever-discovered-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/america-had-often-been-discovered-before-columbus-but-it-had-always/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If America had been discovered as many times as I have, no one would remember Columbus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/if-america-had-been-discovered-as-many-times-as-i-have-no-one-would/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [If he had had all Peru in his pocket, he would certainly have given it to this dancer; but Gringoire had not Peru in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/if-he-had-had-all-peru-in-his-pocket-he-would-certainly-have-given-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [When America has been discovered in America it will be discovered in Europe. They are looking for America now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/when-america-has-been-discovered-in-america-it-will-be-discovered-in/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else; when discovered it was not wanted; and most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-eliot-morison/america-was-discovered-accidentally-by-a-great-seaman-who-was-looking/) [Samuel Eliot Morison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-eliot-morison/) > [America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, until people got tired of living in a place called "Vespuccia" and changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/america-was-discovered-by-amerigo-vespucci-and-was-named-after-him/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [In 1492, the natives discovered they were indians, discovered they lived in America, discovered they were naked, discovered that the Sin existed, discovered they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-1492-the-natives-discovered-they-were-indians-discovered-they/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [Yeah, I know he discovered the West Indies; it wasn't America. But the whole thing with Columbus was that people had been telling him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cowher/yeah-i-know-he-discovered-the-west-indies-it-wasn-t-america-but-the/) [Bill Cowher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cowher/) > [“Pepper it was that brought Vasco da Gama's tall ships across the ocean, from Lisbon's Tower of Belem to the Malabar Coast: first to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/pepper-it-was-that-brought-vasco-da-gama-s-tall-ships-across-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The history taught in our schools is scandalous. We grew up believing that Columbus actually discovered America. We still celebrate Columbus Day. Columbus was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/the-history-taught-in-our-schools-is-scandalous-we-grew-up-believing/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [“You're like Christopher Columbus. You discovered something millions of people did before you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-simpson/you-re-like-christopher-columbus-you-discovered-something-millions-of/) [Lisa Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-simpson/) > [Columbus discovered no isle or key so lonely as himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/columbus-discovered-no-isle-or-key-so-lonely-as-himself/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Chastity is curable, if detected early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/chastity-is-curable-if-detected-early/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) ## 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 Columbus quotes > [I think at Ohio State, we're professional athletes in Columbus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-elliott/i-think-at-ohio-state-we-re-professional-athletes-in-columbus/) [Ezekiel Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-elliott/) > [“Columbus was not the first person to discover America, but the last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-domingos/columbus-was-not-the-first-person-to-discover-america-but-the-last/) [Pedro Domingos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-domingos/) > [I walk out into a nature such as the old prophets and poets Menu, Moses, Homer, Chaucer, walked in. You may name it America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-walk-out-into-a-nature-such-as-the-old-prophets-and-poets-menu/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [And your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians and Princes, devoted to the holy Christian faith and the propagation thereof - and enemies of the sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/and-your-highnesses-as-catholic-christians-and-princes-devoted-to-the/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [I'm a Buckeye at heart. I spend more time giving concerts in Ohio than I do in any other state - perhaps more time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jarreau/i-m-a-buckeye-at-heart-i-spend-more-time-giving-concerts-in-ohio-than/) [Al Jarreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jarreau/) > [I remember my first run-in with cops. It took me really getting to hang, well after that, with cops who were cool, and realizing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/i-remember-my-first-run-in-with-cops-it-took-me-really-getting-to/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [Chris Columbus was really interesting to watch how he works with children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-ellis/chris-columbus-was-really-interesting-to-watch-how-he-works-with/) [David R. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-ellis/) > [ We see it \[the as-yet unseen, probable new planet, Neptune\] as Columbus saw America from the coast of Spain. Its movements have been felt,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-herschel/we-see-it-the-as-yet-unseen-probable-new-planet-neptune-as-columbus/) [William Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-herschel/) > [Columbus discovered no isle or key so lonely as himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/columbus-discovered-no-isle-or-key-so-lonely-as-himself/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There are more American Indians alive today than there were when Columbus arrived or at any other time in history. Does this sound like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-are-more-american-indians-alive-today-than-there-were-when/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [It is the striving after perfection that makes one an artist. It is the sense that one is imperfect, unfulfilled, unfinished. One attempts by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/it-is-the-striving-after-perfection-that-makes-one-an-artist-it-is/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Bunkum and tummyrot! You'll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that. Would Columbus have discovered America if he'd said 'What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/bunkum-and-tummyrot-you-ll-never-get-anywhere-if-you-go-about-what/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [Force was the factor in the government of the world when Christ was born, and force was the source and exercise of authority both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/force-was-the-factor-in-the-government-of-the-world-when-christ-was/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [“If Captain Cook was not the first of European navigators to discover the Hawaiian Islands, he was at least the first to chart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-david-kalakaua/if-captain-cook-was-not-the-first-of-european-navigators-to-discover/) [King David Kalakaua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-david-kalakaua/) [Browse all 284 Columbus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered,” said Mr. Erskine; “I myself would say that it had merely been detected.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been-discovered-said-mr-erskine-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Columbus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been-discovered-said-mr-erskine-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/oscar-wilde-16_quote_perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been_956411.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/oscar-wilde-16_quote_perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been_956411.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/oscar-wilde-16_quote_perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been_956411.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered,” said Mr. Erskine; “I myself would say that it had…” — Oscar Wilde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Perhaps, after all, America never has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been-discovered-said-mr-erskine-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been-discovered-said-mr-erskine-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```