Death and vulgarity are the only two facts in the nineteenth century that one cannot explain away. death
A poet can survive everything but a misprint. poetry
It is only an auctioneer who can equally and impartially admire all schools of art. art
The world has grown suspicious of anything that looks like a happily married life. life
Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. life & love
Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not. being good & life
A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. art & work
Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching. learning & teacher
One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. love & marriage
Children begin by loving their parents after a time they judge them rarely, if ever, do they forgive them. time
I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability. God
I suppose society is wonderfully delightful. To be in it is merely a bore. But to be out of it is simply a tragedy. society
When good Americans die they go to Paris. being good
I see when men love women. They give them but a little of their lives. But women when they love give everything. love, men & women
How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being. marriage
Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life. art & life
I want my food dead. Not sick, not dying, dead. food
All art is quite useless. art
If one plays good music, people don't listen and if one plays bad music people don't talk. being good & music
If there was less sympathy in the world, there would be less trouble in the world. sympathy
Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance. love, men & women
Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing. experience
One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation. death & being good
This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. hope
In modern life nothing produces such an effect as a good platitude. It makes the whole world kin. being good & life
Fathers should be neither seen nor heard. That is the only proper basis for family life. family & life
I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. best
Hatred is blind, as well as love. love
Women are made to be loved, not understood. women
Ambition is the last refuge of the failure. failure
I think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability. God
Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious. patriotism
The truth is rarely pure and never simple. truth
A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction. work
The one charm about marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. life & marriage
The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means. being good
Now that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm. greatness
Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everyone in good society holds exactly the same opinion. being good & society
It is only by not paying one's bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes. hope
How marriage ruins a man! It is as demoralizing as cigarettes, and far more expensive. marriage
The imagination imitates. It is the critical spirit that creates. imagination
If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life. life
Success is a science if you have the conditions, you get the result. science & success
Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the sexes. men & women
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. truth
As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular. war
Women love us for our defects. If we have enough of them, they will forgive us everything, even our gigantic intellects. love, men & women
Biography lends to death a new terror. death
Those whom the gods love grow young. love
I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself. being good
Society exists only as a mental concept in the real world there are only individuals. society
Romance should never begin with sentiment. It should begin with science and end with a settlement. science
In married life three is company and two none. life
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. art
No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating. aging
What we have to do, what at any rate it is our duty to do, is to revive the old art of Lying. art
An excellent man he has no enemies and none of his friends like him. friendship
A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. dreams
I put all my genius into my life I put only my talent into my works. life
It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But... it is better to be good than to be ugly. being good
There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. life
The salesman knows nothing of what he is selling save that he is charging a great deal too much for it. greatness
There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love. love
All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. women
Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much. forgiveness
Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one. best & friendship
Men marry because they are tired women, because they are curious both are disappointed. men & women
Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. the future
To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. intelligence
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. greatness
One's real life is so often the life that one does not lead. life
There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. life
It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information. sadness
Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike. attitudes
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist. art & greatness
Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance. romance
Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. friendship, love, men & women
Anybody can be good in the country. There are no temptations there. being good
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. education & time
He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends. friendship
The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation. technology
It is through art, and through art only, that we can realise our perfection. art
All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling. poetry
I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. travel
When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life now that I am old I know that it is. life & money
A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her. love
There is nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It is a thing no married man knows anything about. marriage
True friends stab you in the front. friendship
The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it's dead for you. art, greatness & work
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about. life
The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius. forgiveness
When a man has once loved a woman he will do anything for her except continue to love her. love
If one could only teach the English how to talk, and the Irish how to listen, society here would be quite civilized. society
It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious. being good
The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself. being good
Who, being loved, is poor? love
Some cause happiness wherever they go others whenever they go. happiness
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. experience
Work is the curse of the drinking classes. work
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. love