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Oscar Wilde

106 quotes

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most celebrated writers of the late Victorian era. Famous for his biting wit, flamboyant style, and masterful use of language, Wilde wrote enduring works including *The Importance of Being Earnest* and *The Picture of Dorian Gray*.

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

— Oscar Wilde

Life

All Quotes by Oscar Wilde

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

— Oscar Wilde

Life

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

— Oscar Wilde

Family

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”

— Oscar Wilde

Experience

“Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.”

— Oscar Wilde

Romantic

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

— Oscar Wilde

Good

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

— Oscar Wilde

Art

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

— Oscar Wilde

Art

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

— Oscar Wilde

Good

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

— Oscar Wilde

Friendship

“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.”

— Oscar Wilde

Marriage

“All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling.”

— Oscar Wilde

Poetry

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

— Oscar Wilde

Time

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

— Oscar Wilde

Future

“There is something terribly morbid in the modern sympathy with pain. One should sympathise with the colour, the beauty, the joy of life. The less said about life's sores the better.”

— Oscar Wilde

Beauty

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

— Oscar Wilde

Great

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

— Oscar Wilde

Art

“All art is quite useless.”

— Oscar Wilde

Art

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

— Oscar Wilde

Life

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

— Oscar Wilde

Best

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

— Oscar Wilde

Society