Oscar Wilde Quotes

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. Oscar Wilde

Punctuality is the thief of time. Oscar Wilde

A man cannot be too careful in his choice of enemies. Oscar Wilde

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live. It is asking others to live as one wishes to live. Oscar Wilde

Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same. Oscar Wilde

Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people. Oscar Wilde

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. Oscar Wilde

The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. Oscar Wilde

The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on; it is never of any use to oneself. Oscar Wilde

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

Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess. Oscar Wilde

In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane. Oscar Wilde

I adore political parties. They are the only place left to us where people don’t talk politics. Oscar Wilde

Ridicule is the tribute paid to the genius by the mediocrities. Oscar Wilde

To love one’s self is the beginning of a life-long romance. Oscar Wilde

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. Oscar Wilde

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Oscar Wilde

There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. Oscar Wilde

To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. Oscar Wilde

Better the rule of One, whom all obey, than to let clamorous demagogues betray our freedom with the kiss of anarchy. Oscar Wilde

Fathers should be neither seen nor heard. That is the only proper basis for family life. Oscar Wilde

A true gentleman is one who is never unintentionally rude. Oscar Wilde

Murder is always a mistake – one should never do anything one cannot talk about after dinner. Oscar Wilde

I hate vulgar realism in literature. The man who could call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for. Oscar Wilde

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. Oscar Wilde

One should never make one’s debut with a scandal. One should reserve that to give an interest to one’s old age. Oscar Wilde

Dullness is the coming of age of seriousness. Oscar Wilde

Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow. Oscar Wilde

Crying is the refuge of plain women but the ruin of pretty ones. Oscar Wilde

Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals. Oscar Wilde

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives. Oscar Wilde

The sign of a Philistine age is the cry of immorality against art. Oscar Wilde

A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. Oscar Wilde

Vulgarity is simply the conduct of other people. Oscar Wilde

Those who try to lead the people can only do so by following the mob. Oscar Wilde

It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution. Oscar Wilde

Duty is what one expects from others, it is not what one does oneself. Oscar Wilde

I can sympathize with everything, except suffering. Oscar Wilde

I don’t like Switzerland; it has produced nothing but theologians and waiters. Oscar Wilde

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

The basis of optimism is sheer terror. Oscar Wilde

Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike. Oscar Wilde

The more one analyses people, the more all reasons for analysis disappear. Sooner or later one comes to that dreadful universal thing called human nature. Oscar Wilde

Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is always Judas who writes the biography. Oscar Wilde

I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. Oscar Wilde

Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation. Oscar Wilde

Examinations, sir, are pure humbug from beginning to end. If a man is a gentleman, he knows quite enough, and if he is not a gentleman, whatever he knows is bad for him. Oscar Wilde

In examinations, the foolish ask questions the wise cannot answer. Oscar Wilde

Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not. Oscar Wilde

One should always play fair when one has the winning cards. Oscar Wilde

Missionaries are going to reform the world whether it wants to or not. Oscar Wilde

Hear no evil, speak no evil – and you’ll never be invited to a party. Oscar Wilde

There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves we feel no one else has a right to blame us. Oscar Wilde

To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim. Oscar Wilde

In fact, the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people…. The Japanese people are … simply a mode of style, an exquisite fancy of art. Oscar Wilde

A sentimentalist is simply one who desires to have the luxury of an emotion without paying for it. Oscar Wilde

Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself. Oscar Wilde

We who live in prison, and in whose lives there is no event but sorrow, have to measure time by throbs of pain, and the record of bitter moments. Oscar Wilde