Oscar Wilde

One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world it has no existence whatsoever.

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.

The final revelation is that while there are people who are quite uninteresting, there are no uninteresting subjects.

I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works.

There is no sin except stupidity.

The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.

In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.

The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray.

Anybody can be good in the country. There are no temptations there.

The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.

Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.

When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.

I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating: people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.

Beauty is a form of genius--is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation.

The English country gentleman galloping after a fox--the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.

I am too fond of reading books to care to write them.

Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed.