Quotes from Oscar Wilde

Art is not a thing. It is a way.

But neither milk-white rose nor red May bloom in prison air; The shard, the pebble, and the flint, Are what they give us there: For flowers have been known to heal A common man's despair.

Nothing is so dangerous as being too modern.  One is apt to grow old-fashioned quite suddenly. 

She is all the great heroines of the world in one.

Art is always more abstract than we fancy. Form and colour tell us of form and colour - that is all. It often seems to me that art conceals the artist far more completely than it ever reveals him.

Besides, every experience is of value, and whatever one may say against marriage, it is certainly an experience.

the moment that an artist takes notice of what other people want, and tries to supply the demand, he ceases to be an artist, and becomes a dull or an amusing craftsman, an honest or a dishonest tradesman. He has no further claim to be considered as an artist.

Yes, Dorian, you will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.

Don't squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are sickly aims, the false ideals of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.

Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.

I never intend to grow old. The soul is born old but grows young. That is the comedy of life.

The sunlight slipped over the polished leaves.

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

If something cannot be done to check, or at least to modify, our monstrous worship of facts, art will become sterile and beauty will pass away from the land.

I can resist anything but temptation

Todas las mujeres llegan a parecerse a sus madres. Esa es su tragedia. A los hombres no les ocurre lo mismo. Esa es la de ellos.

I would merely beg you not to be too much bowed down by grief. What seem to us bitter trails are often blessings in disguise.

Besides, women were better suited to bear sorrow than men.

Destiny does not send us heralds. She is too wise or too cruel for that.

I can resist everything except temptation.

Cecily is the sweetest, dearest, prettiest girl in the whole world. And I don't care twopence about social possibilities.

The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. They can sit at their ease and gape at the play. If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat.

In matters of great importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing.

But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself.