--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They were evidently people on a low…" description: "\"“They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.”\" — Os..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/oscar-wilde-16_life_they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-mate_3076060.jpg" --- # They were evidently people on a low, material plane of… ![“They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/oscar-wilde-16_life_they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-mate_3076060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/oscar-wilde-16_life_they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-mate_3076060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/oscar-wilde-16_life_they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-mate_3076060.jpg) > ““They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.”” [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. Some individuals live in materialism, unable to grasp deeper symbolic meanings of sensory experiences. **In simple terms:** Material focus blocks deeper appreciation. Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness of symbolism. Themes materialism symbolism perception philosophy aesthetics Mood reflective critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - art criticism - education - personal reflection - spiritual practice - literary analysis Key Concepts existentialism cognitive bias sensory experience Questions to Reflect On - How does material focus limit understanding? - Can symbolic appreciation be taught? A Different Perspective Not all can easily shift from material to symbolic thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evidently People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidently-people-4734639/) [Incapable Appreciating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incapable-appreciating-1826751/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Low Material](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-material-5225994/) [People Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-low-1440382/) [Quite Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-incapable-5225995/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Camila\] was quite incapable of establishing any harmony between the claims of her art, of her appetites, or her dreams, and of her crowded… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/camila-was-quite-incapable-of-establishing-any-harmony-between-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“There is little scientific data on the point, but evidently people do speak to themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/there-is-little-scientific-data-on-the-point-but-evidently-people-do/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [“Nature understands no jesting; she is always true, always serious, always severe; she is always right, and the errors and faults are always those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nature-understands-no-jesting-she-is-always-true-always-serious/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“It makes me wretched, Wilhelm, to think that there should be men incapable of appreciating the few things which possess a real value in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-makes-me-wretched-wilhelm-to-think-that-there-should-be-men/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I was born, for instance, incapable of appreciating music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mitchell/i-was-born-for-instance-incapable-of-appreciating-music/) [Maria Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mitchell/) > [“It's funny: one starts off thinking one is shrinkingly sensitive & intelligent & always one down & all the rest of it: then at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/it-s-funny-one-starts-off-thinking-one-is-shrinkingly-sensitive/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [The time-state of attainment eliminates so accurately the time-state of aspiration, that the actual seems the inevitable, and, all conscious intellectual effort to reconstitute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates-so-accurately-the-time-state/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“An impression of love is out of proportion to the other impressions of life, but when it is lost in their midst we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/an-impression-of-love-is-out-of-proportion-to-the-other-impressions/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“People are people, low or high.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/people-are-people-low-or-high/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [There are some people who have a low tolerance for criticism. I'm not one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-shkreli/there-are-some-people-who-have-a-low-tolerance-for-criticism-i-m-not/) [Martin Shkreli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-shkreli/) > [Always keep your expectations of people low, that way you suffer less disappointment….](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anmol-andore/always-keep-your-expectations-of-people-low-that-way-you-suffer-less/) [Anmol Andore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anmol-andore/) > [Its sad that people have low expectations of me, you do not know of what I'm capable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-sad-that-people-have-low-expectations-of-me-you-do-not-know-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/most-people-with-low-self-esteem-have-earned-it/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Poor people put a low value on themselves and their efforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/poor-people-put-a-low-value-on-themselves-and-their-efforts/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [The one thing I’ve always had going for me was people’s low expectations. Nobody ever expects a whole hell of a lot from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-isaak/the-one-thing-i-ve-always-had-going-for-me-was-people-s-low/) [Chris Isaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-isaak/) ## 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 Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-material-plane-of-existence-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-material-plane-of-existence-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/oscar-wilde-16_life_they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-mate_3076060.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/oscar-wilde-16_life_they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-mate_3076060.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/oscar-wilde-16_life_they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-mate_3076060.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the…” — 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": "“They were evidently people on a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-material-plane-of-existence-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-material-plane-of-existence-and/#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 } } ] } ```