Oscar Wilde was a man of many loves. Despite everything, he felt genuine affection towards his wife, Constance, who died suddenly in 1898. He loved his sons Cyril and Vyvyan. He loved the beautiful young men and women he drew into his circle, including his most famous lovers, Alfred Douglas and Robert Ross.
And then there was his writing: He published his very first collection of poems in 1881. As the years passed, his art expanded to include short stories, essays, plays, and novels, but it’s his wit that most often is remembered. This Irish genius was known for his quick humor and biting sarcasm — qualities that made him both famous and infamous during his lifetime. When he died young, at only 46 years old, he left behind what would become some of literature’s most famous quotes. Even his last words before his death in a hotel in Paris became iconic: “This wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. Either it goes, or I do.” It seems fitting that Oscar Wilde’s last words would be so remarkable since he was such a master at speaking them. In his honor, we created a list of the best Oscar Wilde quotes, so you can also enjoy his most memorable one-liners!
#1
“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.”
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#2
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
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#3
"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes or their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear."
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#4
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."
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#5
“The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.”
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#6
“A bore is someone who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company.”
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#7
“Men always want to be a woman’s first love. That is their clumsy vanity. Women have a more subtle instinct about these things. What women like is to be a man’s last romance.”
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#8
“Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.”
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#9
“The answers are all out there, we just need to ask the right questions.”
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#10
"I am not young enough to know everything."
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#11
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
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#12
“We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.”
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#13
“With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.”
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#14
“Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing.”
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#15
“The best revenge is to live well.”
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#16
“It seems to me that we all look at nature too much, and live with her too little.”
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#17
“True contentment is not having everything, but in being satisfied with everything you have.”
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#18
“Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back.”
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#19
“You are beautiful when you are happy.”
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#20
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
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