Oscar Wilde

One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.

There is no necessity to separate the monarch from the mob; all authority is equally bad.

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

What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

The well bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.

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

Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity.

There is something terribly morbid in the modern sympathy with pain. One should sympathise with the colour, the beauty, the joy of life. The less said about life's sores the better.

The Lady's World' should be made the recognized organ for the expression of women's opinions on all subjects of literature, art and modern life, and yet it should be a magazine that men could read with pleasure.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for us to do is to choose a notable and joyous dress for men. There would be more joy in life if we were to accustom ourselves to use all the beautiful colours we can in fashioning our own clothes.

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.

All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex and vital.