--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were sins whose fascination was…" description: "\"There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that gratified the pride more than the passions, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/oscar-wilde-16_fascination_there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-mo_1452919.jpg" --- # There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory… ![“There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that gratified the pride more than the passions, and gave to the intellect a quickened sense of joy, greater than any joy they brought, or could ever bring, to the senses.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/oscar-wilde-16_fascination_there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-mo_1452919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/oscar-wilde-16_fascination_there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-mo_1452919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/oscar-wilde-16_fascination_there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-mo_1452919.jpg) > “There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that gratified the pride more than the passions, and gave to the intellect a quickened sense of joy, greater than any joy they brought, or could ever bring, to the senses.” [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. Intellectual fascination with sin can be more rewarding than the act itself, stimulating pride and joy. **In simple terms:** Thinking about sin can be more thrilling than doing it. Key Takeaway Reflect on the allure of forbidden ideas. Themes morality intellect pride Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literature analysis - ethical debates - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do we romanticize transgression? - How does imagination shape moral judgment? A Different Perspective Glorifying sin can lead to harmful rationalizations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fascination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascination/) [Gratified Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratified-pride-5229949/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Passions Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passions-gave-2507347/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Sins Fascination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sins-fascination-2507348/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Triumphs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-triumphs-2507346/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Triumphs Gratified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumphs-gratified-2507349/) ## Related quotes > [“There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that gratified the pride more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-more-in-the-memory-than-in-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“He felt that if he brooded on what he had gone through he would sicken or grow mad. There were sins whose fascination was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-felt-that-if-he-brooded-on-what-he-had-gone-through-he-would/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [My work involves the physical manifestation of emotional reality. Thus, the invisible becomes visible; the normal, abnormal; and the familiar, unfamiliar. Ordinary life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-skoglund/my-work-involves-the-physical-manifestation-of-emotional-reality-thus/) [Sandy Skoglund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-skoglund/) > [My personal fascination with the power of the crowd has been growing: Exactly what can a 'crowd' accomplish? We know crowds can raise billions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/my-personal-fascination-with-the-power-of-the-crowd-has-been-growing/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [This fascination with computer models is something I understand very well. Richard Feynmann called it a disease. I fear he is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-fascination-with-computer-models-is-something-i-understand-very/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I love all animals. I have a fascination with fish, birds, whales - sentient life - insects, reptiles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/i-love-all-animals-i-have-a-fascination-with-fish-birds-whales/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Bringing nature into the classroom can kindle a fascination and passion for the diversity of life on earth and can motivate a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/bringing-nature-into-the-classroom-can-kindle-a-fascination-and/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [The population at large is neither 'ordinary' or 'normal'. They seem to be bound together by a collective ignorance of themselves and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-nilsen/the-population-at-large-is-neither-ordinary-or-normal-they-seem-to-be/) [Dennis Nilsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-nilsen/) > [There's a lot of Google fascination out there and we share it, and we're going to compete, we're going to compete very, very hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/there-s-a-lot-of-google-fascination-out-there-and-we-share-it-and-we/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Coming to terms with our true natures and who we really are has always been a fascination to humans. I know it fascinates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/coming-to-terms-with-our-true-natures-and-who-we-really-are-has/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/it-is-a-great-profession-there-is-the-fascination-of-watching-a/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [I've always had a fascination with vampires. It's not that I'm exactly fascinated with the dark side. It's the human struggle with it. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-lee/i-ve-always-had-a-fascination-with-vampires-it-s-not-that-i-m-exactly/) [Sheryl Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-lee/) > [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) ## 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 Fascination quotes > [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I've always had a fascination with vampires. 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I know it fascinates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/coming-to-terms-with-our-true-natures-and-who-we-really-are-has/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [There's a lot of Google fascination out there and we share it, and we're going to compete, we're going to compete very, very hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/there-s-a-lot-of-google-fascination-out-there-and-we-share-it-and-we/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [The population at large is neither 'ordinary' or 'normal'. They seem to be bound together by a collective ignorance of themselves and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-nilsen/the-population-at-large-is-neither-ordinary-or-normal-they-seem-to-be/) [Dennis Nilsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-nilsen/) > [Bringing nature into the classroom can kindle a fascination and passion for the diversity of life on earth and can motivate a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/bringing-nature-into-the-classroom-can-kindle-a-fascination-and/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [I love all animals. I have a fascination with fish, birds, whales - sentient life - insects, reptiles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/i-love-all-animals-i-have-a-fascination-with-fish-birds-whales/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [This fascination with computer models is something I understand very well. Richard Feynmann called it a disease. I fear he is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-fascination-with-computer-models-is-something-i-understand-very/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [My personal fascination with the power of the crowd has been growing: Exactly what can a 'crowd' accomplish? We know crowds can raise billions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/my-personal-fascination-with-the-power-of-the-crowd-has-been-growing/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [My work involves the physical manifestation of emotional reality. Thus, the invisible becomes visible; the normal, abnormal; and the familiar, unfamiliar. Ordinary life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-skoglund/my-work-involves-the-physical-manifestation-of-emotional-reality-thus/) [Sandy Skoglund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-skoglund/) > [There is a fascination with violence and power in all modernism, and I sort of saw classic modernism as being more similar to Wyndham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-is-a-fascination-with-violence-and-power-in-all-modernism-and-i/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [“Most of her friends owned laptops and seemed to spend more time with their phones than anything else. Steffy kept her latest playlists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/most-of-her-friends-owned-laptops-and-seemed-to-spend-more-time-with/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) [Browse all 533 Fascination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that gratified the pride more than the passions, and gave to the intellect a quickened sense of joy, greater than any joy they brought, or could ever bring, to the senses.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-more-in-the-memory-than-in-the-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fascination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-more-in-the-memory-than-in-the-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/oscar-wilde-16_fascination_there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-mo_1452919.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/oscar-wilde-16_fascination_there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-mo_1452919.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/oscar-wilde-16_fascination_there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-mo_1452919.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that…” — 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": "There were sins whose fascination was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-more-in-the-memory-than-in-the-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-were-sins-whose-fascination-was-more-in-the-memory-than-in-the-2/#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 } } ] } ```