Oscar Wilde

I am not a man of letters. I am a man of words.

I hate people who are not serious about meals.

Pessimism, when you get used to it, is as agreeable as optimism.

A truly popular man is a man who knows nothing about art, and whose brain is as soft as his heart.

There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.

I like Americans. They are bright, amusing, and can be taught anything. Except the art of taking a joke, perhaps.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.

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

To get into the best society nowadays, one has either to feed people, amuse people, or shock people—that is all!

Work is the curse of the drinking classes.

I am not at all sure that I am a popular person. But I am certainly a person who attracts a great deal of attention.

The only thing worse than being quoted is being misquoted.

I never approve or disapprove of anything. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.

I am not a genius, I am a great genius.

Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.

I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.

Punctuality is the thief of time.

It is always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is absolutely fatal.

I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.

What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.