Oscar Wilde: Gold Merchants Silver
on Friday, August 14, 2020Oscar Wilde Money Quote saying religious figures value the soul at an infinitely higher rate than do business people. Oscar Wilde said:
“How strange a thing this is! The Priest telleth me that the soul is worth all the gold in the world, and the merchants say that it is not worth a clipped piece of silver” — Oscar Wilde
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This Oscar Wilde quote reflects on the differing views of the soul’s value between religious figures and businessmen. The “Priest” sees the soul as infinitely precious, worth more than all the gold on earth. In contrast, the “merchants” view the soul in purely monetary terms, seeing it as worthless compared to even a small coin.
Wilde seems to be highlighting the irony that while priests preach the soul’s immeasurable worth, merchants consider it a commodity with little financial significance. The quote presents a critique of a profit-driven mindset that reduces human worth and spirituality to cold economic calculations rather than profound spiritual significance.
It conveys Wilde’s perspective that religious and commercial views of human value are often diametrically opposed.
Birthday: October 16, 1854 – Death: November 30, 1900