This was a quick read. I started and finished it while waiting in the bank the other day. There were some funny and insightful quotes and here are some of my favorites.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

“When I am in trouble, eating is the only thing that consoles me. Indeed, when I am in really great trouble, as anyone who knows me intimately will tell you, I refuse everything except food and drink. At the present moment I am eating muffins because I am unhappy. Besides, I am particularly fond of muffins.”

“I don’t desire to change anything in England except the weather.”

“I only care to see doctors when I am in perfect health; then they comfort one, but when one is ill they are most depressing.”

“You believe good of everyone, Jane. It is a great fault.”

“It is only about things that do not interest one that one can give a really unbiased opinion, which is, no doubt, the reason why an unbiased opinion is always absolutely valueless. The man who sees both sides of a question is a man who sees absolutely nothing at all.”

“Thinking is the most unhealthy thing in the world, and people die of it just as they die of any other disease. Fortunately, in England at any rate, thought is not catching.”

I liked this collection of Oscar Wilde quotes well enough, but a number of them may have been funnier or more meaningful in the context of his plays and stories. Some favorites from this collection were:

"Experience is the name every one gives their mistakes."


"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."

"Moods don't last. It is their chief charm."

Master of Writing

Wilde tells Truth with most fascinating style of writing ! He exquisitely reveals the hidden face of human society. One should read all of his literature

This book truly shows the wit of Oscar Wilde and gives insight into his views on various topics. Any true Wilde fan must pick it up!

Wilde was indeed witty and wise.

Oscar Wilde is always my inspiration. He must have been witty, funny and wise back then. And I will re-read this again, and again :))

Some examples:

Good taste is the excuse I've always given for leading such a bad life.

I am always astonishing myself. It is the only thing that makes life worth living.

Life cannot be written. Life can only be lived.

People who count their chickens before they are hatched, act very wisely, because chickens run about so absurdly that it is impossible to count them accurately.

It is absurd to divide people into good or bad. People are either charming or tedious.

I like men who have a future and women who have a past.

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

Being natural is simply a pose, and the most irritating pose I know.

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

He hasn't a single redeeming vice.

I can resist everything except temptation.

Starvation, and not sin, is the parent of modern crime.

It is the confession, not the priest that gives us absolution.

Most religious teachers spend their time trying to prove the unproven by the unprovable.

The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself, because he is absolutely himself.

To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim.

No great artist sees things as they really are. If he did he would cease to be an artist.

The only portraits in which one believes are portraits where there is very little of the sitter and a very great deal of the artist.

Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being obscure.

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.

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

I hate people who talk about themselves, as you do, when one wants to talk about oneself, as I do.

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.

An absolute genius! I love this man! His extremely wise words miraculously work in today's societies. I will always re-read this handy little book. Granted, not all of his quotes are in this book, but a whole lot of them are. I do adore books, and love to keep them crease-free and in pristine condition, but perhaps with this one I will highlight the quotes I simply adore the most. And ones that I feel are relevant in my life. Oscar Wilde; I'm so glad I have discovered your genius, and only regret not finding out about you sooner. Having already read Dorian Gray (which I've removed from my Goodreads 'read' list as I want to re-visit it) I can't wait to read the rest of his works.

I've never read any of his work but these quotes are very witty and makes you want to pick something of his up.

Wonderful quotes giving full insight into various themes and subjects as seen by the ever witty Oscar Wilde.

This is a fun little collection for those who have a special place in their hearts for the irreverant and arrogant teachings of Oscar Wilde. In this slim volume is contained the majority (if not all) of his most famous quotes on such subjects as romance, sincerity, science, and even life itself.

Taking a few of these to heart will mean that you can lead a particularly dandy life.

Soooooo, this is Oscar Wilde? ha ha