Oscar Wilde Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Oscar Wilde quotes, Oscar Wilde sayings, and Oscar Wilde proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. Oscar Wilde
The old believe everything: the middle-aged suspect everything: the young know everything. Oscar Wilde
I only care to see doctors when I am in perfect health; then they comfort one, but when one is ill they are most depressing. Oscar Wilde
Indeed, as anyone who has ever worked among the poor knows only too well, the brotherhood of man is no mere poet's dream, it is a most depressing and humiliating reality. Oscar Wilde
And no hand can gather up the fallen withered petals of the rose of youth. Oscar Wilde
Rudderless, we drift athwart a tempest, and when once the storm of youth is past, / Without lyre, without lute or chorus, / Death the silent pilot comes at last. Oscar Wilde
...the remembrance even of joy having its bitterness, and the memories of pleasure their pain. Oscar Wilde
I have only now, too late perhaps, found out how all art requires solitude as its companion. Oscar Wilde
I see when men love women they give but a little of their lives, but women, when they love, give everything. Oscar Wilde
Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the attractiveness of other. Oscar Wilde
It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also. Oscar Wilde
There is no Mystery so great as Misery. Oscar Wilde
Rugby is a game for barbarians played by gentlemen. Football is a game for gentlemen played by barbarians. Oscar Wilde
What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise. Oscar Wilde
It is awfully hard work doing nothing. Oscar Wilde
Grass is hard and lumpy and damp, and full of dreadful black insects. Oscar Wilde
It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution. Oscar Wilde
Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the life of the intellect—simply a confession of failure. Oscar Wilde
When a love comes to an end, weaklings cry, efficient ones instantly find another love, and the wise already have one in reserve. Oscar Wilde
There is only one real tragedy in a woman’s life. The fact that her past is always her lover, and her future invariably her husband. Oscar Wilde
Comfort is the only thing our civilization can give us. Oscar Wilde
One of the chief faults of modern dress is that it is composed of far too many articles of clothing, most of which are the wrong substance. Oscar Wilde
The mere mechanical technique of acting can be taught, but the spirit that is to give life to lifeless forms must be born in a man. No dramatic college can teach its pupils to think or to feel. Oscar Wilde
He who is in a state of rebellion cannot receive grace, to use the phrase of which the Church is so fond — so rightly fond, I dare say — for in life as in art the mood of rebellion closes up the channels of the soul, and shouts out the airs of heaven. Oscar Wilde
An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young. Oscar Wilde
The past could always be annihilated. Regret, denial, or forgetfulness could do that. But the future was inevitable. Oscar Wilde.
To regret one’s own experiences is to arrest one’s own development. To deny one’s own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one’s own life. It is no less than a denial of the soul. Oscar Wilde
I could deny it if I liked. I could deny anything if I liked. Oscar Wilde
Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers. My elder brother won't die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything else. Oscar Wilde
Have we not lips to kiss with, hearts to love and eyes to see! Oscar Wilde