54 Mindful Oscar Wilde Quotes That represents His Thoughts

Oscar Wilde Quotes: Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic, Oscar Wilde also wrote plays. One of the best playwrights of the Victorian era, he is highly acclaimed. In addition to countless poetry, short tales, and articles, he produced nine plays and one novel throughout his career.

54 Oscar Wilde Quotes

Wilde supported the Aesthetic movement, which placed a greater emphasis on aesthetic ideals than on moral or social issues. The expression “art for art’s sake” best captures this philosophy. In order for you to enjoy some of Oscar Wilde’s most famous one-liners, we put up a collection of his finest quotes.

20 Quotes from Oscar Wilde

1. “The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.” – Oscar Wilde

2. “Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable.” – Oscar Wilde

3. “There is no necessity to separate the monarch from the mob; all authority is equally bad.” – Oscar Wilde

4. “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.” – Oscar Wilde

5. “We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” – Oscar Wilde

6. “I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.” – Oscar Wilde

7. “Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world’s original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different.” – Oscar Wilde

8. “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.” – Oscar Wilde

9. “You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” – Oscar Wilde

10. “I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.” – Oscar Wilde

11. “A good friend will always stab you in the front.” – Oscar Wilde

12. “To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.” – Oscar Wilde

13. “Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.” – Oscar Wilde

14. “It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.” – Oscar Wilde

15. “Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.” – Oscar Wilde

16. “Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.” – Oscar Wilde

17. “The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.” – Oscar Wilde

18. “Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals.” – Oscar Wilde

19. “Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity.” – Oscar Wilde

20. “The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it’s dead for you.” – Oscar Wilde

20 Famous Sayings and Quotes by Oscar Wilde

21. “The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.” – Oscar Wilde

22. “A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” – Oscar Wilde

23. “When a man has once loved a woman he will do anything for her except continue to love her.” – Oscar Wilde

24. “One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation.” – Oscar Wilde

25. “Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more.” – Oscar Wilde

26. “The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.” – Oscar Wilde

27. “One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.” – Oscar Wilde

28. “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” – Oscar Wilde

29. “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” – Oscar Wilde

30. “One’s real life is so often the life that one does not lead.” – Oscar Wilde

31. “If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it isn’t. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.” – Oscar Wilde

32. “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” – Oscar Wilde

33. “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” – Oscar Wilde

34. “The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde

35. “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” – Oscar Wilde

36. “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” – Oscar Wilde

37. “Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.” – Oscar Wilde

38. “I can resist anything except temptation.” – Oscar Wilde

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

40. “No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” – Oscar Wilde

10+ Quotes of Oscar Wilde

41. “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” – Oscar Wilde

42. “Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.” – Oscar Wilde

43. “What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” – Oscar Wilde

44. “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise, they’ll kill you.” – Oscar Wilde

45. “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” – Oscar Wilde

46. “Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.” – Oscar Wilde

47. “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” – Oscar Wilde

48. “It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But it is better to be good than to be ugly.” – Oscar Wilde

49. “A Man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.” – Oscar Wilde

50. “When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” – Oscar Wilde

51. “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” – Oscar Wilde

52. “I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.” – Oscar Wilde

53. “Experience is merely the name men give to their mistakes.” – Oscar Wilde

54. “I don’t want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.” – Oscar Wilde

To Sum Up

This Irish genius was well-recognised for his caustic sarcasm and sharp wit. A lot of people throughout the world find humour in Oscar Wilde’s quotations, which are also a terrific source of inspiration for budding authors. We are incredibly lucky that, decades after his sad passing, we may still appreciate his writings and sayings.