A brass balance holds a dark pebble and a pale feather against dusky purple.

Original artwork, not a still

The Portrait of Mr. W. H. · 1889

Oscar Wilde

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Someone's willingness to die for a belief doesn't make the belief correct. Sacrifice shows sincerity or conviction, but not truth. The speaker separates how strongly a person holds an idea from whether the idea is actually right.

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