She was a curious woman, whose dresses always looked as if they had been designed in a rage and put on in a tempest. She was usually in love with somebody, and, as her passion was never returned, she had kept all her illusions. She tried to look picturesque, but only succeeded in being untidy.
– Oscar Wilde –
As for believing things, I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible.
– Oscar Wilde –
I never approve, or disapprove, of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.
– Oscar Wilde –
It often happens that the real tragedies of life occur in such an inartistic manner that they hurt us by their crude violence, their absolute incoherence, their absurd want of meaning, their entire lack of style.
They affect us just as vulgarity affects us. They give us an impression of sheer brute force, and we revolt against that.
Sometimes, however, a tragedy that possesses artistic elements of beauty crosses our lives. If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect.
Suddenly we find that we are no longer the actors, but the spectators of the play.
Or rather we are both.
We watch ourselves, and the mere wonder of the spectacle enthralls us.
– Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray
He wanted to be where no one would know who he was. He wanted to escape from himself.
– Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray
I am happy in my prison of passion
– Oscar Wilde –
In the wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures, and so we fill our minds with rubbish and facts, in the silly hope of keeping our place.
– Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray
When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy.
– Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray
People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I call the depth of generosity.
– Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray
Some things are more precious because they don’t last long.