75 Resounding Quotes by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde, in full Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (born October 16, 1854, Dublin, Ireland – died November 30, 1900, Paris, France), was not only one of the most celebrated Irish playwrights, novelists, and poets of the 19th century, but also a master of wit and profound aphorisms. Known for his sharp sarcasm and striking insight into the human condition, Wilde became a central figure in the Aesthetic movement, advocating for “art for art’s sake” and the pursuit of beauty above all.
Wilde’s works, ranging from his fairy tales and essays to his iconic plays Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), An Ideal Husband (1895), The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), and his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), continue to resonate for their sharp insights into love, identity, marriage, society, and the complexities of human nature. His ability to capture the intricacies of these themes in quotable, often paradoxical statements has left an indelible mark on literature and popular culture.
In this article, we explore some of Wilde’s most memorable quotes, providing insight into his views on love, art, death, friendship, society, and more. These quotes not only reflect his personal philosophy but also offer timeless wisdom that speaks to readers across generations.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 51
In married life three is company and two is none. The Importance of Being Earnest (ed. Methuen & Co., 1919), Page 22
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 190
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 3
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 20
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their life a mimicry, their passions a quotation. De Profundis (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 83
Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people. The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 34
As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 213
The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 325
The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast. Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 17
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 185
It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 5
When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers. An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 86
Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page v
Education is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 111
Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 53
The old believe everything: the middle-aged suspect everything: the young know everything.Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young (December 1894)
Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 53
Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 169
A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 88
We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 138
Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.The Importance of Being Earnest (ed. Methuen & Co., 1919), Page 41
In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 52
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.The Philosophy of Dress, in New-York Tribune (April 19, 1885)
Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 130
Pleasure is Nature’s test, her sign of approval. When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 115
A poet can survive everything but a misprint.The Children of the Poets, inThe Pall Mall Gazette (October 14, 1886)
In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated (November 17, 1894)
Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 88
If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use reading it at all.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 18
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 143
When one is in love one begins by deceiving oneself. And one ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance. A Woman of No Importance (ed. Methuen & Co., 1930), Page 110
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 181
A really well-made buttonhole is the only link between Art and Nature.Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young (December 1894)
When a man has once loved a woman, he will do anything for her, except continue to love her.An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 179
One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.A Woman of No Importance (ed. Methuen & Co., 1930), Page 110
Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 30
The Complete Works of Oscar Wild
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 52-53
The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.The Importance of Being Earnest (ed. Methuen & Co., 1919), Page 69
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page vi
One can survive everything nowadays, except death, and live down anything except a good reputation.A Woman of No Importance (ed. Methuen & Co., 1930), Page 41
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it.Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 8
There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating – people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 125
Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 128
We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell. The Duchess of Padua (ed. Methuen & Co., 1908), Page 169
The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible…The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 33
The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 95
Life is never fair. And perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 79
Hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do. The Happy Prince and Other Stories (ed. Penguin Books, 1994), Page 71
The true perfection of man lies, not in what man has, but in what man is.The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 18
A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 267
Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear.An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 142
If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it doesn’t. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.'Lady Windermere's Fan (ed. Eyre Methuen, 1964), Page 3
Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is a man who resists authority.The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 21
Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 11-12
Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely if ever do they forgive them.A Woman of No Importance (ed. Methuen & Co., 1930), Page 93
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.'Lecture to Art Students (June 30, 1883)
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.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 182
Wealthy people are, as a class, better than impoverished people, more moral, more intellectual, more well-behaved. 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. That is the misery of being poor.The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 27
The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 322
Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young (December 1894)
Beauty has as many meanings as man has moods. Beauty is the symbol of symbols. Beauty reveals everything, because it expresses nothing. When it shows us itself, it shows us the whole fiery-coloured world.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 145
A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 12
Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.A Woman of No Importance (ed. Methuen & Co., 1930), Page 122
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.The Importance of Being Earnest (ed. Methuen & Co., 1919), Page 18
The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 6
One should always play fairly… when one has the winning cards.An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 51
The very essence of romance is uncertainty.The Importance of Being Earnest (ed. Methuen & Co., 1919), Page 7
There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.The Picture of Dorian Gray (ed. Ward, Lock & Co., 1891), Page 74
A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.Intentions (ed. Methuen & Co., 1911), Page 217
Bonus
When one pays a visit it is for the purpose of wasting other people’s time, not one’s own.An Ideal Husband (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 201
Nothing should be able to harm a man except himself. Nothing should be able to rob a man at all. What a man really has, is what is in him. What is outside of him should be a matter of no importance.The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 20
Indifference is the revenge the world takes on mediocrities. Vera; or, The Nihilists (ed. Privately Printed, 1902), Page 34
Absinthe: After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.Letters to the Sphinx from Oscar Wilde: With Reminiscences of the Author by Ada Leverson (1930)
The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.A Woman of No Importance (ed. Methuen & Co., 1930), Page 114
I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.Quoted in Oscar Wilde, an Idler's Impression by Edgar Saltus (ed. Brothers of the Book, 1917), Page 20
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 forgive life, to be at peace.Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories (ed. Methuen & Co., 1912), Page 101
Ordinary riches can be stolen from a man. Real riches cannot. In the treasury-house of your soul, there are infinitely precious things, that may not be taken from you.The Soul of Man Under Socialism (ed. A. L. Humphreys, 1912), Page 26
If one plays good music, people don’t listen, and if one plays bad music people don’t talk.The Importance of Being Earnest (ed. Methuen & Co., 1919), Page 29
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