Have you ever come across a witty, humorous quote that made you stop and think? Chances are it might have been an Oscar Wilde quotes. The famous Irish writer and playwright were known for his sharp wit and clever insights. His quotes are still popular today and continue to inspire and entertain readers.
In this article, we’ll explore the world of Oscar Wilde’s quotes and discover the deeper meanings behind his words. So sit back, relax, and get ready to be inspired by the wit and wisdom of one of the greatest writers of all time.
Who is Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer and playwright who lived in the 19th century. He is best known for his wit, humor, and his works such as “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and plays like “The Importance of Being Earnest.” He was also known for his flamboyant personality and was eventually imprisoned for his homosexuality, which was illegal at the time. Despite this, Wilde’s works remain popular and continue to be studied and celebrated.
Here are a few interesting facts about Oscar Wilde:
- Oscar Wilde was known for his flamboyant personality and love of fashion.
- Wilde was a brilliant student and attended Oxford University, where he was known for his academic achievements and his wit.
- Wilde was known for his love of fairy tales, and he wrote his own fairy tales, including “The Happy Prince” and “The Selfish Giant.”
- After his release from prison, Wilde moved to Paris and lived out the rest of his life in relative obscurity. He died in 1900 at the age of 46 from meningitis.
Oscar Wilde Quotes on Life and Love
Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
No man is rich enough to buy back his past.
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.
If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for.
Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
It’s beauty that captures your attention. the personality which captures your heart.
An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be.
If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.
The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.
It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.
Conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
Selfishness is not living your life as you wish to live it. Selfishness is wanting others to live their lives as you wish them to.
Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable.
There is no necessity to separate the monarch from the mob; all authority is equally bad.
The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.
Religion is like a blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn’t there, and finding it.
The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it’s dead for you.
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
The answers are all out there, we just need to ask the right questions.
The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.
Yes: I am a dreamer. 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.
A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
You can never be overdressed or overeducated.
If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.
The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.
Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.
The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks.
One’s real life is so often the life that one does not lead.
There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.
Life is too short to be taken seriously.
Oscar Wilde Famous Quotes
Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.
You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.
It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But it is better to be good than to be ugly.
A good friend will always stab you in the front.
One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.
Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everyone in a good society holds exactly the same opinion.
Most people die of a sort of creeping common sense and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one’s mistakes.
Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds.
Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.
The best way to enjoy your job is to imagine yourself without one.
Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.
There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating – people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.
To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.
I don’t want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.
It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place the blame.
Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.
Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.
Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.
Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.
A good friend will always stab you in the front.
A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.
You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.
Women are made to be loved, not understood.
I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.
I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.
He has no enemies but is intensely disliked by his friends.
Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
Marriage is a long, dull meal with dessert served at the beginning.
When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.
Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.
Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world’s original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, History would have been different.
I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.
Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.
Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.
Cats are put on earth to remind us that not everything has a purpose.
They’ve promised that dreams can come true – but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.
The nicest feeling in the world is to do a good deed anonymously and have somebody find out.
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.
Women love us for our defects. If we have enough of them, they will forgive us for everything, even our gigantic intellects.
Did you find these quotes by Oscar Wilde inspiring?
Have you found Oscar Wilde’s quotes inspiring? If so, don’t hesitate to share them with others who enjoy his unique blend of wit and wisdom.
Despite living over a century ago, Oscar Wilde’s legacy endures through his writing and his continued influence on popular culture. His quotes resonate with readers all over the world, offering a glimpse into the mind of an extraordinary and unconventional thinker.
Take a moment to appreciate these Oscar Wilde quotes and consider how they can inspire you in your own life. Remember Wilde’s famous advice, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” With his words as our guide, we can embrace our unique perspectives and live life to the fullest.
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