And, after all, what is a fashion? From the artistic point of view, it is usually a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“Literary and Other Notes — I,” Woman’s World (Nov 1887)
Full text.
Quotations by:
Wilde, Oscar
The value of an idea has nothing whatever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“Oscariana” (1909)
ERNEST: What is the differnece between literature and journalism?
GILBERT: Oh! journalism is unreadable, and literature is not read.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“Sebastian Melmoth”
Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word.
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Ballad of Reading Gaol” (1898)
The security of society lies in custom and unconscious instinct, and the basis of the stability of society, as a healthy organism, is the complete absence of any intelligence amongst its members. The great majority of people being aware of this, rank themselves naturally on the side of that splendid system that elevates them to the dignity of machines, and rage so wildly against the intrusion of the intellectual faculty into any question that concerns life, that one is tempted to define man as a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Critic as Artist,” Intentions (1891)
(Source)
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Critic as Artist,” Part 2 [Gilbert], Intentions (1891)
(Source)
It is so easy to convert others. It is so difficult to convert oneself.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Critic as Artist” (2), Intentions (1891)
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
Paradox though it may seem — and paradoxes are always dangerous things — it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Decay of Lying: A Dialogue,” Littell’s Living Age (16 Feb 1889)
If you cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use reading it at all.
A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Portrait of Mr. W.H.,” Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (Jul 1889)
Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review (Feb 1881)
There are three kinds of despots. There is the despot who tyrannizes over the body. There is the despot who tyrannizes over the soul. There is the despot who tyrannizes over the soul and body alike. The first is called the Prince. The second is called the Pope. The third is called the People.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Soul of Man under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review (Feb 1891)
There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review (Feb 1891)
What is said by great employers of labor against agitators is unquestionably true. Agitators are a set of interfering, meddling people, who come down to some perfectly contented class of the community and sow the seeds of discontent amongst them. That is the reason why agitators are so absolutely necessary. Without them, in our incomplete state, there would be no advance towards civilization.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Soul of Man Under Socialism” (1891)
(Source)
The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Simple pleasures are the last refuge of the complex.
Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
WILDE: I wish I had said that.
WHISTLER: You will, Oscar, you will.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
An anecdotal exchange between Wilde and James Whistler, associated with how Wilde was known for reusing epigrams and witticisms from various folk, usually not crediting them.
References to the exchange date back, in various sources and forms, as far as 1886, with the specific language varying, and the original bon mot from (usually) Whistler not mentioned. More details and discussion: “I Wish I Had Said That” “You Will, Oscar, You Will” – Quote Investigator®.
Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Nothing is so aggravating as calmness.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Put your talent into your work, but your genius into your life.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
The truth is rarely plain and never simple.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Who, being loved, is poor?
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
A true friend stabs you in the front.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live. It is asking other people to live as one wishes to live.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
I sometimes think that God in creating man, somewhat over-estimated his ability.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
(Source)
The quotation first appears, without much citation, in Francis Douglas, Oscar Wilde and the Black Douglas, ch. 2 (1940), four decades after Wilde's death. Further discussion of the quotation here: God In Creating Man, Somewhat Overestimated His Ability – Quote Investigator
I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)
(Source)
Quoted in Edgar Saltus, Oscar Wilde: An Idler's Impression (1917), as a comment made to him by Wilde.
Also attributed to Winston Churchill, with less foundation.
For more discussion about this quotation: I Have the Simplest Tastes; I Am Always Satisfied with the Best – Quote Investigator.
They are so pleased to find out other people’s secrets. It distracts public attention from their own.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
An Ideal Husband, Act 2 (1895)
When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
An Ideal Husband, Act 2 (1895)
Morality is the attitude we adopt toward people whom we personally dislike.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
An Ideal Husband, Act 2 [Mrs. Cheveley] (1895)
There is one thing worse than an absolutely loveless marriage: a marriage in which there is love, but on one side only.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
An Ideal Husband, Act 4 (1895)
If Nature had been comfortable, mankind would never have invented architecture.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Intentions, “The Decay of Lying” (1891)
It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windemere’s Fan, Act 1 [Lord Darlington] (1892)
(Source)
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windermere’s Fan
Misfortunes one can endure — they come from outside, they are accidents. But to suffer for one’s own faults — ah! — there is the sting of life.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 1 (1892)
I can resist everything except temptation.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 1 [Lord Darlington] (1893)
(Source)
Also attributed to Mark Twain, Mae West, and W. C. Fields. The sentiment may not be original to Wilde, but his use popularized it.
CECIL GRAHAM: What is a cynic?
LORD DARLINGTON: A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 3 [Dumby] (1892)
(Source)
More discussion of this quote: There Are Only Two Tragedies. One Is Not Getting What One Wants, and the Other Is Getting It – Quote Investigator.
Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 3 [Mr. Dumby] (1892)
(Source)
Also in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 4 (1890):Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes.
A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Sebastian Melmoth
Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.
Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Canterville Ghost, ch. 5 [The Ghost] (1887)
(Source)
Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can’t get into it do that.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
GWENDOLYN: On an occasion of this kind it becomes more than a moral duty to speak one’s mind. It becomes a pleasure.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 2 (1895)
(Source)
The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Importance of Being Earnest, act 2 (Miss Prism) [1895]
(Source)
Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 3 (1895)
LADY BRACKNELL: I dislike arguments of any kind. They are always vulgar, and often convincing.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Importance of Being Ernest, Act 3 (1895)
(Source)
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 1 (1891)
All that [experience] really demonstrated was that our future would be the same as our past, and that the sin we had done once, and with loathing, we would do many times, and with joy.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 4 (1891)
(Source)
The passage also occurs in ch. 3 of the original Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (1890-06) version.
As extracted into Oscariana and epigram form (e.g.), it is given in the present tense:All that it really demonstrates is that our future will be the same as our past, and that the sin we have done once, and with loathing, we shall do many times, and with joy.
Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 6 (1891)
It is confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 8 (1891)
There is luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel no one else has a right to blame us. It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 8 (1891)
(Source)
Nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. Conscience makes egotists of us all.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 8 [Lord Henry] (1891)
(Source)
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Preface (1891)
Life is much too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Vera; or, The Nihilists, Act 2 [Prince Paul] (1881)
(Source)
Almost always paraphrased, "Life is too important to be taken seriously."
In Lady Windermere's Fan, Act 2 (1892), he recycled the line as "Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it."
Also (mis)attributed to G.K. Chesterton. More discussion of this quotation: Life Is Too Important To Be Taken Seriously – Quote Investigator.
No object is so ugly that, under certain conditions of light and shade, or proximity to other things, it will not look beautiful; no object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lecture to Art Students, Royal Academy, London (30 Jun 1883)
(Source)
Ultimately, the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or friendship, is conversation.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Letter (1897-03) to Alfred Douglas, “Epistola: In Carcere et Vinculis”
(Source)
Wilde titled the letter, written while in prison in Reading, England, Epistola: In Carcere et Vinculis ("Letter: In Prison and in Chains"). Upon his release, the letter was entrusted to Robert Ross, who in 1905, after Wilde's death, published an edited version under the title De Profundis ("From the Depths," from Psalm 130), and later editions have retained that name.
This quotation was not in the 1905 edition, but in the eventually fully-restored version in Wilde's complete letters.
More information on the history of the letter here.
After all, the only proper intoxication is conversation.