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Oscar Wilde on Mother's Day

1854–1900

← All quotes by Oscar Wilde

19 quotes

There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)

Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love; it is the faithless who know love's tragedies.

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.

Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young (1894)

When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.

The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

All sins, except a sin against itself, Love should forgive. All lives, save loveless lives, true Love should pardon.

An Ideal Husband (1895)

The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.

But she—she heard the violin,
And left my side, and entered in:
Love passed into the house of lust.

The Harlot’s House (1882)

I love talking about nothing, father. It is the only thing I know anything about.

An Ideal Husband (1895)

The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her if she is pretty and to someone else if she is plain.

The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

Oh, I love London society! It is entirely composed now of beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics. Just what society should be.

An Ideal Husband (1895)

Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold.

Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898)

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.

Don't be deceived, George. Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely if ever do they forgive them.

A Woman of No Importance (1893)

To be in love is to surpass one's self.

Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.

A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated (1894)

Those whom the gods love grow young.

A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated (1894)

Be happy, be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart's-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty.

The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888)

Romance lives by repetition, and repetition converts an appetite into an art. Besides, each time that one loves is the only time one has ever loved. Difference of object does not alter singleness of passion. It merely intensifies it. We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Oscar Wilde (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.