Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. He was one among the most popular playwrights of his time. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays and his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. As a spokesman for aestheticism, he tried his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada and also worked as a journalist in London.
Wilde’s parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. He was fluent in French and German from a young age. His plays focused on numerous social themes. He was famously convicted for gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts and later imprisonment. He died at the early age of 46. Wilde’s life has been the subject of numerous biographies since his death.
1 Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde
Stay true to yourself and be the person who you are. There’s no point in trying to be like someone else. Stay original and love yourself.
2 We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities. -Oscar Wilde
People of this generation have lost touch with their true selves. They yearn for the unnecessary and disregard the things that matter the most in life.
3 To live is the rarest thing in the world, Most people exist, that is all. -Oscar Wilde
Most people just passively go through life without ever really living it the way it is to be. Life is to be enjoyed. It is to be lived and not just survived. Follow your heart and do the things that make you feel alive.
4 We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. -Oscar Wilde
We’re all living in the same cruel world. But there are those among us who look for the better things and enjoy life more.
5 Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. -Oscar Wilde
No one in the world is so pure. We all have sinned in our past. And no sinner is resistant to change. We all have the ability to change for the better in the future.
6 Man is least himself when he talks in his own person, Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. -Oscar Wilde
Anonymity brings out the true nature of people. People show their true selves when they are most confident that their identity will be hidden and they’ll face no consequences.
7 Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. -Oscar Wilde
Some people bring happiness to whoever they meet. Whereas there are also those who bring you happiness whenever they leave.
8 Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success. -Oscar Wilde
People are naturally jealous of each other. It’s quite easy to sympathise with a friend when they are going through their worst times. But to be with them and be genuinely happy for them when they are successful is what makes you a true friend.
9 Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde
Your mistakes teach you a lot in life. They are nothing to be ashamed of. They teach you what you should not have done. Each mistake is an experience.
10 A good friend will always stab you in the front. -Oscar Wilde
People who backstab you are never your true friends. Your friends will always be there for you. And if they ever have to hurt you, they will never do it behind your back.
11 Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary. -Oscar Wilde
Love should make you feel special. It is meant to make you feel precious and extraordinary. If someone makes you feel the opposite, then they are not worth it.
12 The truth is rarely pure and never simple. -Oscar Wilde
The truth is almost always complicated. There’s always more than one side to any story, and that makes the truth just more complicated.
13 Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. -Oscar Wilde
People hate it when you subvert expectations. Forgive those who wrong you. Forgiveness brings you good too. Harboring hate in your heart only harms you.
14 Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. –Oscar Wilde
Education never manages to teach you the things that you really need in life. The lessons in life that you really need cannot be taught in class. You need to live with them to understand them.
15 To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. –Oscar Wilde
Life is a misery if you do not love yourself. The best love story is the one with yourself. You do not need another person to love you if you learn to enjoy your own company.
16 Everyone may not be good, but there’s always something good in everyone. -Oscar Wilde
No matter how bad a person is, there’s always some good within them. Goodness exists in everyone. One just needs to know how to tap into it.
17 It’s beauty that captures your attention. Personality which captures your heart. -Oscar Wilde
Beauty is superficial. All it does is capture your attention and make you infatuated. Personality, on the other hand, is everlasting and profound as it captures your heart.
18 Selfishness is not living your life as you wish to live it. Selfishness is wanting others to live their lives as you wish them to. -Oscar Wilde
Selfishness concentrates on others and their life. A selfish person tries to force others to live their life that he wants them to.
19 Religion is like a blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn’t there, and finding it. -Oscar Wilde
Religion is all about trying to find answers where there aren’t any. While the answers found may make no sense, the people end up believing it nevertheless.
20 The answers are all out there, we just need to ask the right questions. -Oscar Wilde
The answers we want are all around us. The only problem is that we fail to ask the right questions. Know what you seek and you’ll find the answers that you want.
21 Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working. -Oscar Wilde
The great achievers in history have always been people who never stopped trying. No matter how hopeless things got, they alway continued working despite the challenges that they faced.
22 Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. -Oscar Wilde
Love is what makes our life beautiful. A person without love in his heart is empty and desolate. It gives purpose and meaning to our life and takes away the loneliness that exists within.
23 Some people always know the price, but not the value. -Oscar Wilde
There’s a difference between the price of a thing and it’s value. While some people only know the price of something, they fail to see it’s value. They only realize it’s worth when they lose it.
24 What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise. -Oscar Wilde
Most of the challenges in our lives are nothing but blessings in disguise. All we need to do is to hold on and make sure that we never give up. There’s a silver lining to every situation and it will eventually show itself.
25 They’ve promised that dreams can come true – but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too. -Oscar Wilde
Life is uncertain. While the good dreams that you have surely can come true, don’t forget that the bad situations that you’ve thought of can come true too. Be prepared for both either way.
26 A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks. -Oscar Wilde
A pessimist only looks at the negative aspects of things. No matter how good the opportunities before him may be, he’ll only focus on the bad aspects of it.
27 Two men look out a window. One sees mud, the other sees the stars. -Oscar Wilde
Perspective matters the most. While one person may be able to see the goodness behind a situation, another will only see the bad aspects of it depending on his perspective.
28 With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone. -Oscar Wilde
How we grow depends on our experiences and circumstances. While it is true that with age comes wisdom, it doesn’t happen to all. Some people just grow old and stay their same naive selves.
29 True contentment is not having everything, but in being satisfied with everything you have. -Oscar Wilde
Contentment doesn’t come with possessions. It comes from being satisfied with what you have. You don’t need more than what you have. If you put your heart to it, you can make the most of what you already have.
30 If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you. -Oscar Wilde
The truth is often bitter and unfathomable. Truth added with some humor is the easiest to digest.
30 Most Profound Oscar Wilde Quotes That Will Make You Think
1. Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde
2. We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities. -Oscar Wilde
3. To live is the rarest thing in the world, Most people exist, that is all. -Oscar Wilde
4. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. -Oscar Wilde
5. Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. -Oscar Wilde
6. Man is least himself when he talks in his own person, Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. -Oscar Wilde
7. Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. -Oscar Wilde
8. Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success. -Oscar Wilde
9. Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde
10. A good friend will always stab you in the front. -Oscar Wilde
11. Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary. -Oscar Wilde
12. The truth is rarely pure and never simple. -Oscar Wilde
13. Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. -Oscar Wilde
14. Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. –Oscar Wilde
15. To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. –Oscar Wilde
16. Everyone may not be good, but there’s always something good in everyone. -Oscar Wilde
17. It’s beauty that captures your attention. Personality which captures your heart. -Oscar Wilde
18. Selfishness is not living your life as you wish to live it. Selfishness is wanting others to live their lives as you wish them to. -Oscar Wilde
19. Religion is like a blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn’t there, and finding it. -Oscar Wilde
20. The answers are all out there, we just need to ask the right questions. -Oscar Wilde
21. Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working. -Oscar Wilde
22. Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. -Oscar Wilde
23. Some people always know the price, but not the value. -Oscar Wilde
24. What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise. -Oscar Wilde
25. They’ve promised that dreams can come true – but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too. -Oscar Wilde
26. A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks. -Oscar Wilde
27. Two men look out a window. One sees mud, the other sees the stars. -Oscar Wilde
28. With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone. -Oscar Wilde
29. True contentment is not having everything, but in being satisfied with everything you have. -Oscar Wilde
30. If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you. -Oscar Wilde
