Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Quotables: Oscar Wilde


Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Oscar Wilde became one of the most well-known personalities of his day. It was his only novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" - still widely read - that brought him more lasting recognition. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six.

1. Genius is born -- not paid.

2. Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.

3. Work is the curse of the drinking classes.

4. I can resist anything but temptation.

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

6. Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

7. Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

8. A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction.

9. Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.

10. I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability.

11. Illusion is the first of all pleasures.

12. Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.

13. To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

14. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

15. Women are made to be loved, not understood.

27 comments:

  1. I think that I may tatoo the "Women are to be loved . . ." quote on my husband's chest, backwards, so thatevery time he is shaving and looking in the mirror, he will see it. :)

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  2. I love: I can resist anything but temptation!

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  3. Loved all the quotes...especially the last one :)

    A very wise man indeed....

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  4. The last one is my favorite. I love reading quotes by famous people. Thanks for sharing these.

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  5. Number 6 got me. The masked person really tells the truth.

    Note to self: Google where to buy a mask!

    hee hee

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  6. @ Annie - LOL! Atta girl!

    @ Heather - Yeah, I love temptation.

    @ Lazy Pineapple - Wilde has always been a favorite of mine, definitely a man of timeless wisdom.

    @ Leeuna - My pleasure. I'm always amazed when I'm researching for "Quotable" to learn where some of our day-to-day sayings originally come from.

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  7. @ Quirky - Oops, you sneaked in there on me. Yes, a mask, I suppose would help one to tell the truth - to save face. HaHa!

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  8. To paraphrase a friend after seeing a movie based on an Oscar Wilde play (can't remember what it was called, off hand): all the really good lines are by Oscar Wilde.

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  9. Here I go again. My homophobia kicks in every time I hear his name. I even think Dorian Gray is gay. At least his name is Oscar and not Othello or Orifice.

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  10. @ Dr. Jay - LOL, seriously?!

    @ Don - Ok, Mr. Smarty Pants.

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  11. Love the last one! # 10 is pretty funny.

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  12. PS Tag you're it!

    Check out my blog to see what I mean!

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  13. I'm a bit of a quote junkie, so I love all of these.

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  14. I can resist anything but temptation. So true, so true.

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  15. These are words to live by, especially
    #7.

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  16. I like the one about loving oneself. It takes years to get to that point sometimes!!!!

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  17. Some very wise quotes! Especially the last one!

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  18. I just love Oscar Wilde.

    Pearl

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  19. Love these Wilde quotes. Great man. The one reminded me of an Abraham Lincoln quote-

    "Is it not conquering our enemies when we make friends with them?"

    That's paraphrasing, but the spirit and gist is there.

    Marvin D Wilson

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  20. Those are great. He's right. Talk about me all you want!

    ;-)

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  21. Regarding #6... you know everything I say on my blog is the truth because I'm wearing my mask!

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  22. Great! I cannot resist temptation either...for the most part!

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  23. Lovely quotes. A wise man indeed. #9 was funny!
    Have a good day!:)

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  24. Love him. He had such a painfully honest and cynical outlook on life.

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  25. My favorite: We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

    I love snarcastic cynics.

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  26. Oscar Wilde was snarky when snarky wasn't cool. Seriously, though, wouldn't he have been the greatest blogger? I am an actress and his plays are brilliant. Thanks for reminding me of some of my favorite lines.
    :-)
    Traci

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  27. Oscar Wilde really got the human condition. You can tell that with these quotes and his literary works. Quote Numbers 6, 9 and 14 are my favorites. Loads of real meaning and humor for all.

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