--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The English public always feels perfectly…" description: "\"The English public always feels perfectly at ease when a mediocrity is talking to it.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/oscar-wilde-16_ease_the-english-public-always-feels-perfectl_2887095.jpg" --- # The English public always feels perfectly at ease when a… ![“The English public always feels perfectly at ease when a mediocrity is talking to it.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/oscar-wilde-16_ease_the-english-public-always-feels-perfectl_2887095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/oscar-wilde-16_ease_the-english-public-always-feels-perfectl_2887095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/oscar-wilde-16_ease_the-english-public-always-feels-perfectl_2887095.jpg) > “The English public always feels perfectly at ease when a mediocrity is talking to it.” [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 feels comfortable when mediocrity speaks, highlighting complacency and lack of critical standards **In simple terms:** People accept mediocrity without question Key Takeaway Challenge mediocrity, demand excellence Themes society criticism mediocrity Mood ironic critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - media consumption - public speaking - education systems Key Concepts cultural complacency public discourse Questions to Reflect On - What standards do we lower for comfort? - How can we foster critical engagement? A Different Perspective Comfort can mask lack of depth ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) [Ease Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease-mediocrity-4034572/) [English Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-public-911130/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Feels Perfectly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-perfectly-2428744/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Mediocrity Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity-talking-4034573/) [Perfectly Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfectly-ease-4034571/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) ## Related quotes > [The English public takes no interest in a work of art until it is told that the work in question is immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-english-public-takes-no-interest-in-a-work-of-art-until-it-is/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Modern man no longer regards Nature as in any sense divine and feels perfectly free to behave toward her as an overweening conqueror and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/modern-man-no-longer-regards-nature-as-in-any-sense-divine-and-feels/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“True love feels perfectly safe to explore and admit one's weaknesses, because doing so is not an admission that one is bad or inferior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-woodward-thomas/true-love-feels-perfectly-safe-to-explore-and-admit-one-s-weaknesses/) [Katherine Woodward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-woodward-thomas/) > [In the U.S., the term 'general aviation' means its exact opposite, the way 'public school' does in England. An English public school is private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/in-the-u-s-the-term-general-aviation-means-its-exact-opposite-the-way/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I avoid the public because the English public is too aggressive these days for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-avoid-the-public-because-the-english-public-is-too-aggressive-these/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [The English public doesn't really like Shakespeare; it prefers football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/the-english-public-doesn-t-really-like-shakespeare-it-prefers-football/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [You can't be an American if you don't speak English. Our public schools should be mandated to teach all children in English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/you-can-t-be-an-american-if-you-don-t-speak-english-our-public/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [Caricature is the tribute which mediocrity pays to genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/caricature-is-the-tribute-which-mediocrity-pays-to-genius/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Indifference is the revenge the world takes on mediocrities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/indifference-is-the-revenge-the-world-takes-on-mediocrities/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Every effect that one produces gives one an enemy. To be popular one must be a mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/every-effect-that-one-produces-gives-one-an-enemy-to-be-popular-one/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Imitation is the homage mediocrity pays to greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/imitation-is-the-homage-mediocrity-pays-to-greatness/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Only mediocrity can be trusted to be always at its best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/only-mediocrity-can-be-trusted-to-be-always-at-its-best/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [It is an error common to many artists, who strive merely to avoid mistakes, when all our efforts should be to create positive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/it-is-an-error-common-to-many-artists-who-strive-merely-to-avoid/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## 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 Ease quotes > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/to-be-at-ease-is-better-than-to-be-at-business-nothing-really-belongs/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us free of charge to enable you to do with ease what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/grace-is-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-coming-to-us-free-of-charge-to/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Men who have lived significant lives are men who never waited: not for money, security, ease, or women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/men-who-have-lived-significant-lives-are-men-who-never-waited-not-for/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [Whenever I'm asked about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, I always answer: 'Neymar is the best,' not just because of his goals but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/whenever-i-m-asked-about-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-i-always/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The only way to ease our fear and be truly happy is to acknowledge our fear and look deeply at its source. Instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-way-to-ease-our-fear-and-be-truly-happy-is-to-acknowledge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Efforts to ease regulations and reform the nation's tax system have helped put this self-sustaining recovery on track, The numbers prove our policies have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinzo-abe/efforts-to-ease-regulations-and-reform-the-nation-s-tax-system-have/) [Shinzo Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinzo-abe/) > [If I replace the word God with the word nature, I am far more at ease with the whole religious enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-s-kesselheim/if-i-replace-the-word-god-with-the-word-nature-i-am-far-more-at-ease/) [Alan S. Kesselheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-s-kesselheim/) > [This kind of horror has become all too familiar to us. As parents, Cindy and I offer our prayers to the memory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/this-kind-of-horror-has-become-all-too-familiar-to-us-as-parents/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“In quixotically trying to conquer death doctors all too frequently do no good for their patients’ “ease” but at the same time they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/in-quixotically-trying-to-conquer-death-doctors-all-too-frequently-do/) [Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/) > [Although I'm perceived as very optimistic and upbeat, it comes out of being the opposite of that - feeling isolated or lonely, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/although-i-m-perceived-as-very-optimistic-and-upbeat-it-comes-out-of/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [Good-breeding is not confined to externals, much less to any particular dress or attitude of the body; it is the art of pleasing, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/good-breeding-is-not-confined-to-externals-much-less-to-any/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Browse all 1,502 Ease quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The English public always feels perfectly at ease when a mediocrity is talking to it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-english-public-always-feels-perfectly-at-ease-when-a-mediocrity/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ease" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-english-public-always-feels-perfectly-at-ease-when-a-mediocrity/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/oscar-wilde-16_ease_the-english-public-always-feels-perfectl_2887095.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/oscar-wilde-16_ease_the-english-public-always-feels-perfectl_2887095.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/oscar-wilde-16_ease_the-english-public-always-feels-perfectl_2887095.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The English public always feels perfectly at ease when a mediocrity is talking to it.” — 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": "The English public always feels perfectly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-english-public-always-feels-perfectly-at-ease-when-a-mediocrity/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-english-public-always-feels-perfectly-at-ease-when-a-mediocrity/#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 } } ] } ```