xy
@xy, member from Sept. 25, 2023
Oscar Wilde book The Soul of Man under Socialism
The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891)
Context: Don't imagine that your perfection lies in accumulating or possessing external things. Your perfection is inside of you. If only you could realise that, you would not want to be rich. Ordinary riches can be stolen from a man. Real riches cannot. In the treasury-house of your soul, there are infinitely precious things, that may not be taken from you. And so, try to so shape your life that external things will not harm you. And try also to get rid of personal property. It involves sordid preoccupation, endless industry, continual wrong. Personal property hinders Individualism at every step.
“Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated (1894)
“You like every one; that is to say, you are indifferent to every one.”
Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“One can always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing.”
Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“If Nature had been comfortable, mankind would never have invented architecture”
Oscar Wilde book The Decay of Lying
The Decay of Lying (1889)
Context: If Nature had been comfortable, mankind would never have invented architecture... In a house, we all feel of the proper proportions. Everything is subordinated to us, fashioned for our use and our pleasure.
“I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else.”
Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“Consistency is the hallmark of the unimaginative.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
"The Relation of Dress to Art," The Pall Mall Gazette http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14062/14062-h/14062-h.htm (February 28, 1885)<br>reprinted in Aristotle at Afternoon Tea:The Rare Oscar Wilde (1991). <br class="br">Variant: Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
“I love acting. It is so much more real than life.”
Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
Quoted by Alvin Redman in The Epigrams of Oscar Wilde http://books.google.com/books?id=qUjQAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Keep+love+in+your+heart+a+life+without+it+is+like+a+sunless+garden+when+the+flowers+are+dead+the+consciousness+of+loving+and+being+loved+brings+a+warmth+and+richness+to+life+that+nothing+else+can+bring%22&pg=PA102#v=onepage (1952)
“He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
“The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
Source: The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan
Mr. Dumby, Act III
Variant: There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.
Source: Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
“A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
Source: The Critic as Artist (1891), Part II
Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray
Variant: There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is by far the best ending for one.”
Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray
Variant: Laughter is not a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is the best ending for one.
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray