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Excerpt ​

Excerpt from Intentions, by Oscar Wilde

VIVIAN. Enjoy Nature! I am glad to say that I have entirely lost that
faculty. People tell us that Art makes us love Nature more than we loved
her before; that it reveals her secrets to us; and that after a careful
study of Corot and Constable we see things in her that had escaped our
observation. My own experience is that the more we study Art, the less
we care for Nature. What Art really reveals to us is Nature’s lack of
design, her curious crudities, her extraordinary monotony, her absolutely
unfinished condition. Nature has good intentions, of course, but, as
Aristotle once said, she cannot carry them out. When I look at a
landscape I cannot help seeing all its defects. It is fortunate for us,
however, that Nature is so imperfect, as otherwise we should have no art
at all. Art is our spirited protest, our gallant attempt to teach Nature
her proper place. As for the infinite variety of Nature, that is a pure
myth. It is not to be found in Nature herself. It resides in the
imagination, or fancy, or cultivated blindness of the man who looks at
her.

CYRIL. Well, you need not look at the landscape. You can lie on the
grass and smoke and talk.

VIVIAN. But Nature is so uncomfortable. Grass is hard and lumpy and
damp, and full of dreadful black insects. Why, even Morris’s poorest
workman could make you a more comfortable seat than the whole of Nature
can. Nature pales before the furniture of ‘the street which from Oxford
has borrowed its name,’ as the poet you love so much once vilely phrased
it. I don’t complain. If Nature had been comfortable, mankind would
never have invented architecture, and I prefer houses to the open air.
In a house we all feel of the proper proportions. Everything is
subordinated to us, fashioned for our use and our pleasure. Egotism
itself, which is so necessary to a proper sense of human dignity, is
entirely the result of indoor life. Out of doors one becomes abstract
and impersonal. One’s individuality absolutely leaves one. And then
Nature is so indifferent, so unappreciative. Whenever I am walking in
the park here, I always feel that I am no more to her than the cattle
that browse on the slope, or the burdock that blooms in the ditch.
Nothing is more evident than that Nature hates Mind. Thinking is the
most unhealthy thing in the world, and people die of it just as they die
of any other disease. Fortunately, in England at any rate, thought is
not catching. Our splendid physique as a people is entirely due to our
national stupidity. I only hope we shall be able to keep this great
historic bulwark of our happiness for many years to come; but I am afraid
that we are beginning to be over-educated; at least everybody who is
incapable of learning has taken to teaching—that is really what our
enthusiasm for education has come to. In the meantime, you had better go
back to your wearisome uncomfortable Nature, and leave me to correct my
proofs.

Explanation ​

Oscar Wilde’s Intentions (1891) is a collection of dialogues and essays exploring aestheticism, the philosophical and artistic movement that championed "art for art’s sake" and rejected didacticism, morality, or utilitarianism in art. The excerpt you’ve provided is from the dialogue "The Decay of Lying" (specifically the exchange between Vivian, the aestheticism advocate, and Cyril, his more conventional foil). Wilde uses Vivian as a mouthpiece for his own provocative, paradoxical ideas about art, nature, and human perception.

This passage is a satirical, hyperbole-laden critique of Romantic and Victorian idealizations of nature, while simultaneously elevating art as a superior, human-centered creation. Below is a detailed breakdown of the text’s arguments, themes, literary devices, and significance, with a focus on the excerpt itself.

1. Central Argument: Art vs. Nature ​

Vivian’s monologue is a rejection of the Romantic and Victorian reverence for nature (exemplified by poets like Wordsworth or Ruskin, who saw nature as divine, moral, or spiritually uplifting). Instead, he argues:

  • Nature is flawed and incomplete: It lacks "design," is "crude," "monotonous," and "unfinished." Unlike art, which is deliberate and refined, nature is accidental and imperfect.

    • "What Art really reveals to us is Nature’s lack of design, her curious crudities, her extraordinary monotony..."
    • This inverts the traditional view that art imitates nature; here, art exposes nature’s deficiencies.

  • Art is a human rebellion against nature’s indifference:

    • "Art is our spirited protest, our gallant attempt to teach Nature her proper place."
    • Nature is not a nurturing mother but an adversary—indifferent to human suffering, comfort, or intellect. Vivian’s disdain for nature’s "hard and lumpy" grass and "dreadful black insects" underscores this.
    • Art, by contrast, is anthropocentric: it serves human needs (comfort, beauty, ego) and reflects human ingenuity (e.g., furniture vs. the ground).

  • Nature’s "variety" is an illusion:

    • The idea that nature is endlessly diverse is a projection of human imagination, not an inherent truth.
    • "It resides in the imagination, or fancy, or cultivated blindness of the man who looks at her."
    • This aligns with Wilde’s broader aestheticist belief that beauty is subjective—created by the artist or observer, not inherent in the object.

2. Themes ​

A. The Superiority of Artifice ​

Vivian extols human-made spaces (houses, furniture, architecture) over the "uncomfortable" natural world. This reflects Wilde’s aestheticist principle that art is more real than nature because it is shaped by intention and craftsmanship.

  • "In a house we all feel of the proper proportions. Everything is subordinated to us, fashioned for our use and our pleasure."
  • This echoes Wilde’s famous line from The Decay of Lying: "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life."

B. Egotism and Human Dignity ​

Vivian links indoor life to egotism, which he frames as necessary for human dignity.

  • "Egotism itself, which is so necessary to a proper sense of human dignity, is entirely the result of indoor life."
  • Outdoors, one becomes "abstract and impersonal"—lost in nature’s indifference. Indoors, one is the center of a designed world, reinforcing individuality.
  • This is a paradoxical defense of selfishness as a virtue, typical of Wilde’s inversions of conventional morality.

C. Nature’s Hostility to the Mind ​

Vivian personifies nature as anti-intellectual, even malevolent toward human thought:

  • "Nothing is more evident than that Nature hates Mind."
  • "Thinking is the most unhealthy thing in the world, and people die of it just as they die of any other disease."
  • This is satirical hyperbole, mocking Victorian anti-intellectualism (e.g., the fear that "over-education" was unmanly or dangerous). Wilde, an Oxford-educated intellectual, is poking fun at England’s "splendid physique" being due to "national stupidity."

D. The Decay of Lying (Truth vs. Fiction) ​

The dialogue’s title, "The Decay of Lying," refers to the decline of artistic falsehood (myth, imagination) in favor of realism and didacticism. Vivian’s rant is part of Wilde’s broader argument that:

  • Art should lie—it should not mimic reality but transform it.
  • Nature is the true liar because it presents itself as harmonious and meaningful when it is actually chaotic and meaningless.

3. Literary Devices ​

A. Paradox and Inversion ​

Wilde’s wit relies on deliberate contradictions to challenge conventional wisdom:

  • "Nature has good intentions, of course, but... she cannot carry them out." (Nature is personified as well-meaning but incompetent, inverting the Romantic view of nature as perfect.)
  • "Our splendid physique as a people is entirely due to our national stupidity." (A joke at the expense of Victorian anti-intellectualism, praising ignorance ironically.)

B. Hyperbole and Exaggeration ​

Vivian’s claims are deliberately extreme for comedic and rhetorical effect:

  • "Grass is hard and lumpy and damp, and full of dreadful black insects." (A humorous overstatement to underscore nature’s discomfort.)
  • "Thinking is the most unhealthy thing in the world..." (Mocking the Victorian fear of "over-civilization.")

C. Allusion and Intertextuality ​

  • Aristotle: Vivian cites Aristotle’s idea that nature is imperfect (from Physics, where Aristotle argues that nature aims at ends but often fails). Wilde twists this to suit his argument.
  • William Morris: A reference to the Arts and Crafts designer (a socialist who idealized nature and craftsmanship). Vivian mocks Morris’s "poorest workman" as still superior to nature.
  • "The street which from Oxford has borrowed its name": A dig at Matthew Arnold’s poem The Scholar-Gipsy (which idealizes nature). Vivian calls the phrase "vile," rejecting Arnold’s Romanticism.

D. Personification ​

  • Nature is given human traits (having "intentions," "hating Mind") to emphasize its active opposition to humanity.
  • This makes the abstract (nature’s indifference) concrete and comedic.

E. Irony and Satire ​

  • Vivian’s praise of stupidity as a "historic bulwark of happiness" is satirical, critiquing Victorian anti-intellectualism.
  • His claim that "everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching" mocks the poor state of education (a jab at pedantic Victorians).

4. Significance in Wilde’s Work and Aestheticism ​

This passage encapsulates key tenets of aestheticism:

  1. Art is autonomous: It does not serve morality, nature, or utility—only beauty.
  2. Nature is inferior to art: Because it lacks intention and design.
  3. Subjectivity over realism: Beauty is created by the artist/observer, not inherent in the world.
  4. Epitaph on Romanticism: Wilde rejects Wordsworth’s "emotion recollected in tranquility" in favor of artificial, urban, and intellectual beauty.

The dialogue also foreshadows modernist and postmodern ideas:

  • The rejection of nature’s authority prefigures post-structuralist ideas that reality is a construct.
  • The celebration of artifice aligns with later movements like camp (which Wilde’s flamboyant persona helped inspire).

5. Cyril’s Role: The Straight Man ​

Cyril’s brief, practical responses ("Well, you need not look at the landscape. You can lie on the grass and smoke and talk.") serve as a foil to Vivian’s extravagant theorizing. His understated reactions highlight the absurdity and wit of Vivian’s arguments, a common technique in Wilde’s dialogues (see also The Importance of Being Earnest).

6. Why This Matters Beyond Aestheticism ​

While Wilde’s arguments are deliberately extreme and playful, they raise serious philosophical questions:

  • Is nature inherently meaningful, or do we project meaning onto it?
  • Can art improve upon reality, or is it merely escapism?
  • Is human comfort and ego more important than "natural" living?

Wilde’s paradoxical, witty style makes these questions entertaining rather than didactic, embodying his belief that art should delight, not instruct.

Conclusion: The Text’s Core Message ​

This excerpt is a manifesto of anti-naturalism, arguing that:

  1. Nature is flawed, uncomfortable, and indifferent—hardly the divine ideal of Romantic poetry.
  2. Art is humanity’s triumph over nature’s chaos, offering beauty, comfort, and meaning where nature fails.
  3. The imagination is superior to reality because it allows us to reshape the world to our desires.

Wilde’s exaggerations and paradoxes are not meant to be taken literally but to provoke thought and challenge conventions. The passage remains relevant today in debates about environmentalism vs. urbanization, realism vs. artificiality, and the role of art in society.

Would you like a deeper dive into any specific aspect, such as Wilde’s influence on later movements or the historical context of aestheticism?