Something of a cliché nowadays, but here goes. Oscar Wilde's definition of a cynic.
"A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
Alas, 'tis true; I really do believe in the essential decency of the people I have met and loved, wherever they live and whatever their religion.
Ruthrieston (December 31st, 2021)
It’s definitely a cliché quoted by the intellectually lazy. The line comes from Lady Windermere’s Fan, a play about the value of a good reputation, where two businessmen are discussing value vs. price. The full context is Darlington responding to the question “What is a cynic?”Originally Posted by Oliver2
Lord Darlington: A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
Cecil Graham: And a sentimentalist, my dear Darlington, is a man who sees an absurd value in everything and doesn’t know the market price of any single thing.”
Whether that is what Wilde himself believed depends on whether you believe (mistakenly) that a playwright or a novelist believes everything he writes. Wilde uses the line as a dramatic device to underline the question the play is asking. Equally Lord Darlington is making the very common mistake of confusing a cynic with a sceptic
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