“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”Oscar Wilde
HopeLady Windermere's Fan
Oscar Wilde Quotes
Irish - Playwright & Poet|October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900
50 FAMOUS QUOTES · PLAYWRIGHT & POET
Oscar Wilde Quotes
Read 50 genuine Oscar Wilde quotes on life, love, art, temptation and truth from the witty Irish playwright and author of The Importance of Being Earnest.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”Oscar Wilde
LifeLiving Fully
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”Oscar Wilde
IndividualityAuthenticity
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”Oscar Wilde
Self LoveWit
“The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”Oscar Wilde
RedemptionWit
“I can resist everything except temptation.”Oscar Wilde
TemptationHumour
“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”Oscar Wilde
TemptationThe Picture Of Dorian Gray
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”Oscar Wilde
ExperienceMistakes
“Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.”Oscar Wilde
LifeWit
“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.”Oscar Wilde
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”Oscar Wilde
TruthThe Importance Of Being Earnest
“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”Oscar Wilde
CynicismValue
“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”Oscar Wilde
FameWit
“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.”Oscar Wilde
DreamsVision
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.”Oscar Wilde
SelfishnessFreedom
“Anyone can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success.”Oscar Wilde
FriendshipEnvy
“Who, being loved, is poor?”Oscar Wilde
LoveWealth
“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.”Oscar Wilde
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”Oscar Wilde
TruthHuman Nature
“Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.”Oscar Wilde
MemoryThe Importance Of Being Earnest
“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.”Oscar Wilde
PastRegret
“Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.”Oscar Wilde
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”Oscar Wilde
EducationWisdom
“The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.”Oscar Wilde
AdviceWit
“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”Oscar Wilde
ImaginationWit
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About Oscar Wilde
Irish - Playwright & Poet | October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900
Oscar Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish poet, playwright and novelist, born in Dublin. After studying at Trinity College Dublin and Oxford, he became a leading figure of the Aesthetic movement, which championed "art for art's sake," and won fame for his flamboyant style and brilliant conversation.
Wilde wrote one novel, *The Picture of Dorian Gray*, along with beloved fairy tales such as *The Happy Prince* and a string of hit comedies, including *Lady Windermere's Fan*, *An Ideal Husband* and *The Importance of Being Earnest*. At the height of his success in 1895, he was convicted of "gross indecency" over his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas and sentenced to two years' hard labour. He died in Paris at 46, and in 2017 he was posthumously pardoned under UK law. Here are 50 Oscar Wilde quotes.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Oscar Wilde and these famous quotes.
Who was Oscar Wilde?
Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer and playwright of the late 19th century, famous for his wit, his novel *The Picture of Dorian Gray* and comedies such as *The Importance of Being Earnest*.
What is The Importance of Being Earnest about?
*The Importance of Being Earnest* (1895) is a comedy about two young men who invent false identities to escape their social obligations, leading to mistaken identities and romantic confusion. It is considered one of the greatest comedies in the English language.
What is The Picture of Dorian Gray about?
*The Picture of Dorian Gray* (1890) tells the story of a handsome young man whose portrait ages and shows the marks of his sins, while he himself stays youthful and beautiful.
Which famous quotes did Oscar Wilde never say?
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken" has no source in Wilde's writings. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go" and "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much" are also undocumented.
Did Oscar Wilde say "I have nothing to declare except my genius"?
This famous line is said to have been spoken to a customs officer when Wilde arrived in New York in 1882, but it was only reported years later and may be a legend.
Why was Oscar Wilde imprisoned?
In 1895 Wilde was convicted of "gross indecency" over his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas and served two years of hard labour. In 2017 he was among thousands of men posthumously pardoned under the UK's "Alan Turing law."