Oscar Wilde

The great events of life often leave one unmoved; they pass out of consciousness, and, when thinks of them, become unreal. Even the scarlet flowers of passion seem to grow in the same meadow as the poppies of oblivion. We reject the burden of their memory, and have anodynes against them. But the little things, the things of no moment, remain with us. In some tiny ivory cell the brain stores the most delicate, and the most fleeting impressions.

And the marvellous rose became crimson, like the rose of the eastern sky. Crimson was the girdle of petals, and crimson as a ruby was the heart

Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art.

I never approve, or disapprove, of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life. We are not sent into the world to air our moral prejudices. I never take any notice of what common people say, and I never interfere with what charming people do. If a personality fascinates me, whatever mode of expression that personality selects is absolutely delightful to me.

Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me quite nervous.

Down the long and silent street, The dawn, with silver-sandaled feet, Crept like a frightened girl.

Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight For the greatest tragedy of them all Is never to feel the burning light.

I do not approve of anything which tampers with natural ignorance

From the point of view of literature Mr. Kipling is a genius who drops his aspirates. From the point of view of life, he is a reporter who knows vulgarity better than any one has ever known it.

God's eternal laws are kind-and break the heart of stone.

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 the poor only had profiles there would be no difficulty in solving the problem of poverty

The face of the enemy frightens me only when I see how much it resembles me

Few parents nowadays pay any regard to what their children say to them. The old fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out.

Judges, like the criminal classes, have their lighter moments

An actor is part illusionist, part artist, part ham.

I am not at all cynical, I have merely got experience, which, however, is very much the same thing.

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want.

Keep 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 a richness to life that nothing else can bring.

Bore: a man who is never unintentionally rude.

It often happens that the real tragedies of life occur in such an inartistic manner that they hurt us by their crude violence, their absolute incoherence, their absurd want of meaning, their entire lack of style.

I could never quite accustom myself to absinthe, but it suits my style so well

Do not be afraid of the past. If people tell you that it is irrevocable, do not believe them. The past, the present and the future are but one moment in the sight of God, in whose sight we should try to live. Time and space, succession and extension, are merely accidental conditions of thought. The imagination can transcend them.

I wrote when I did not know life;<br />now that I do know the meaning of life,<br />I have no more to write.<br />Life cannot be written; life can only be lived.

Sin is the only real colour element left in modern life.

No crime is vulgar,<br />but all vulgarity is crime.

A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.

As yet, Bernard Shaw hasn't become prominent enough to have any enemies, but none of his friends like him.

The only thing that can console one for being poor is extravagance.

Sometimes the poor are praised for being thrifty. But to recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less.