WIST Quotations

Wilde, Oscar -- “Literary and Other Notes — I,” Woman’s World (Nov 1887)

Dave — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:20:00 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- “Oscariana” (1909)

Dave — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:39:10 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “Sebastian Melmoth”

Dave — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:51:19 +0000

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”

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” (1898)

Dave — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 13:38:19 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Critic as Artist,” Intentions (1891)

Dave — Mon, 27 May 2019 18:57:56 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Critic as Artist,” Part 2 [Gilbert], Intentions (1891)

Dave — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:34:25 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Critic as Artist” (2), Intentions (1891)

Dave — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:02:37 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Critic as Artist” [Gilbert] (1891)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Critic as Artist” [Gilbert] (1891)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Decay of Lying: A Dialogue,” Littell’s Living Age (16 Feb 1889)

Dave — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 14:07:07 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Decay of Lying” [Cyril] (1889)

Dave — Tue, 17 May 2022 16:26:47 +0000

If you cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use reading it at all.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Decay of Lying” [Cyril] (1889)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Portrait of Mr. W.H.,” Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (Jul 1889)

Dave — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:24:14 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review (Feb 1881)

Dave — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:06:19 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Soul of Man under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review (Feb 1891)

Dave — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:48:27 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review (Feb 1891)

Dave — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:50:49 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Soul of Man Under Socialism” (1891)

Dave — Mon, 14 May 2018 19:50:24 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Simple pleasures are the last refuge of the complex.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

After Johnson.

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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®.

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Nothing is so aggravating as calmness.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Put your talent into your work, but your genius into your life.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The truth is rarely plain and never simple.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Who, being loved, is poor?

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

A true friend stabs you in the front.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 10:41:39 +0000

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:05:02 +0000

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Attributed)

After Johnson.

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 06 May 2022 19:52:06 +0000

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

Wilde, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 19:54:48 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- (Spurious)

Dave — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 05:31:01 +0000

Some men improve the world only by leaving it.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
(Spurious)

Not found in Wilde's writing; its earliest appearance is around AD 2000. Nor is a related quotation authentic to Wilde: "Some cause happiness wherever they go; other whenever they go," which first shows up in 1908, after Wilde's death.

Note that the orator Robert Ingersoll, discussing suppression of thought and mob mentality, wrote in his lecture "Plea for Individuality and Arraignment of the Church" (1873-12-21) (emphasis mine):

It is mortifying to feel that you belong to a mental mob and cry "crucify him," because others do; that you reap what the great and brave have sown, and that you can benefit the world only by leaving it.

That is the earliest reference I can find to that phrasing, but it is unclear if the phrase was borrowed from Ingersoll and put into the mouth of Wilde.

Wilde, Oscar -- A Woman of No Importance, Act 3 [Lord Illingworth] (1894)

Dave — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:03:15 +0000

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
A Woman of No Importance, Act 3 [Lord Illingworth] (1894)
(Source)

See also Sohrab.

Wilde, Oscar -- An Ideal Husband, Act 2 (1895)

Dave — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 15:53:43 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- An Ideal Husband, Act 2 (1895)

Dave — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 11:59:50 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- An Ideal Husband, Act 2 [Mrs. Cheveley] (1895)

Dave — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:02:09 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- An Ideal Husband, Act 4 (1895)

Dave — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:29:49 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- Intentions, “The Decay of Lying” (1891)

Dave — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:52:24 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windemere’s Fan, Act 1 [Lord Darlington] (1892)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windermere’s Fan

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 1 (1892)

Dave — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:32:54 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 1 [Lord Darlington] (1893)

Dave — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 20:55:22 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 3 (1892)

Dave — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:56:39 +0000

CECIL GRAHAM: What is a cynic?
LORD DARLINGTON: A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 3 (1892)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 3 [Dumby] (1892)

Dave — Mon, 09 May 2022 23:28:31 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act 3 [Mr. Dumby] (1892)

Dave — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 18:02:15 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- Sebastian Melmoth

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Sebastian Melmoth

Wilde, Oscar -- The Canterville Ghost (1887)

Dave — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:54:24 +0000

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.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Canterville Ghost (1887)

See Shaw.

Wilde, Oscar -- The Canterville Ghost, ch. 5 [The Ghost] (1887)

Dave — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 23:28:25 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:42:46 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 2 (1895)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 2 (1895)

Dave — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 15:17:24 +0000

GWENDOLEN: 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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Importance of Being Earnest, act 2 (Miss Prism) [1895]

Dave — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 02:26:16 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 3 (1895)

Dave — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 13:15:32 +0000

LADY BRACKNELL: Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years. Lady Dumbleton is an instance in point. To my own knowledge she has been thirty-five ever since she arrived at the age of forty, which was many years ago now.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 3 (1895)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Importance of Being Ernest, Act 3 (1895)

Dave — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 22:48:03 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 1 (1891)

Dave — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:43:26 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 14 (1891)

Dave — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:27:58 +0000

Youth smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 14 (1891)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 17 (1891)

Dave — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 16:44:21 +0000

Skepticism is the beginning of faith.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 17 (1891)

See also Emerson, Hesse, Tennyson.

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 19 [Lord Harry] (1891)

Dave — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:38 +0000

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 19 [Lord Harry] (1891)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 4 (1891)

Dave — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 17:43:51 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 6 (1891)

Dave — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 15:07:05 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 8 (1891)

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:52:18 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 8 (1891)

Dave — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 14:10:15 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 8 [Lord Henry] (1891)

Dave — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 14:17:59 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, Preface (1891)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 04:44:18 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- Vera; or, The Nihilists, Act 2 [Prince Paul] (1881)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:05:27 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- Essay (1891-02), “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review, Vol. 49 (ns)

Dave — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 22:10:11 +0000

Sometimes the poor are praised for being thrifty. But to recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Essay (1891-02), “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” Fortnightly Review, Vol. 49 (ns)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- Essay (1891-02), “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” The Fortnightly Review, Vol. 49

Dave — Sun, 12 Oct 2025 19:09:37 +0000

Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Essay (1891-02), “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” The Fortnightly Review, Vol. 49
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- Lecture to Art Students, Royal Academy, London (30 Jun 1883)

Dave — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 17:46:57 +0000

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)

Wilde, Oscar -- Letter (1897-03) to Alfred Douglas, “Epistola: In Carcere et Vinculis”

Dave — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 20:38:37 +0000

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.

Wilde, Oscar -- Letter to Robert Ross (c. 1898-05-28)

Dave — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 23:18:50 +0000

After all, the only proper intoxication is conversation.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Letter to Robert Ross (c. 1898-05-28)
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