Oscar Wilde Playwright

Work is the curse of the drinking classes. work

Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance. romantic

Ambition is the last refuge of the failure. failure

A poet can survive everything but a misprint. poetry

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

I suppose society is wonderfully delightful. To be in it is merely a bore. But to be out of it is simply a tragedy. society

I think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability. God

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. experience

Society exists only as a mental concept in the real world there are only individuals. society

I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability. God

Those whom the gods love grow young. love

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. future

If there was less sympathy in the world, there would be less trouble in the world. sympathy

I see when men love women. They give them but a little of their lives. But women when they love give everything. love, men & women

The world has grown suspicious of anything that looks like a happily married life. life

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. art & work

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

Women love us for our defects. If we have enough of them, they will forgive us everything, even our gigantic intellects. love, men & women

Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life. art & life

I want my food dead. Not sick, not dying, dead. food

Children begin by loving their parents after a time they judge them rarely, if ever, do they forgive them. time

I put all my genius into my life I put only my talent into my works. life

It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information. sad

It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious. good

Romance should never begin with sentiment. It should begin with science and end with a settlement. science

Who, being loved, is poor? love

In married life three is company and two none. life

How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being. marriage

He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends. friendship

Men marry because they are tired women, because they are curious both are disappointed. men & women

Women are made to be loved, not understood. women

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

Anybody can be good in the country. There are no temptations there. good

True friends stab you in the front. friendship

An excellent man he has no enemies and none of his friends like him. friendship

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. love

It is through art, and through art only, that we can realise our perfection. art

Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one. best & friendship

If one plays good music, people don't listen and if one plays bad music people don't talk. good & music

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

I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. best

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. women

All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling. poetry

The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius. forgiveness

How marriage ruins a man! It is as demoralizing as cigarettes, and far more expensive. marriage

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

There is nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It is a thing no married man knows anything about. marriage

It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But... it is better to be good than to be ugly. good

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

Death and vulgarity are the only two facts in the nineteenth century that one cannot explain away. death

If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life. life

The imagination imitates. It is the critical spirit that creates. imagination

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

What we have to do, what at any rate it is our duty to do, is to revive the old art of Lying. art

It is only by not paying one's bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes. hope

I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself. good

Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everyone in good society holds exactly the same opinion. good & society

Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing. experience

Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance. love, men & women

If one could only teach the English how to talk, and the Irish how to listen, society here would be quite civilized. society

Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching. learning & teacher

In modern life nothing produces such an effect as a good platitude. It makes the whole world kin. good & life

All art is quite useless. art

Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the sexes. men & women

This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. hope

Success is a science if you have the conditions, you get the result. science & success

The salesman knows nothing of what he is selling save that he is charging a great deal too much for it. great

There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. life

When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life now that I am old I know that it is. life & money

No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist. art & great

One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. love & marriage

When good Americans die they go to Paris. good

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much. forgiveness

Hatred is blind, as well as love. love

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. education & time

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. dreams

The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it's dead for you. art, great & work

The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means. good

Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious. patriotism

The one charm about marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. life & marriage

One's real life is so often the life that one does not lead. life

To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. intelligence

A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction. work

The truth is rarely pure and never simple. truth

No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating. age

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

Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about. life

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

Biography lends to death a new terror. death

It is only an auctioneer who can equally and impartially admire all schools of art. art

Now that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm. great

One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation. death & good

A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her. love

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. life & love

When a man has once loved a woman he will do anything for her except continue to love her. love

The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation. technology

Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. art

Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. friendship, love, men & women

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. war

There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love. love