Oscar Wilde on a variety of subjects

Property
If property had simply pleasures, we could stand it; but its duties make it unbearable. In the interest of the rich we must get rid of it.
(Fortnightly Review)

Publishers
I suppose publishers are untrustworthy. They certainly always look It.
(Letter)

Reason
I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.
(The picture of Dorian Gray)

Relations
Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

Sincerity and Style
In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
(The Critic as Artist)

Smoking
A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?
(The Picture of Dorian Gray)

I'm glad to hear you smoke. A man should always have an occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in London as it is.

Socialism
To make men Socialists is nothing, but to make Socialism human is a great thing.
(Pall Mall Gazette)

Society
Never speak disrespectfully of Society. Only people who can't get into it do that.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

I suppose society is wonderfully delightful! To be in it is merely a bore. But to be out of it simply a tragedy.
(A Woman of No Importance)

Speaking Your Mind
On an occasion of this kind it becomes more than a moral duty to speak one's mind. It becomes a pleasure.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

Stupidity
There is no sin except stupidity.
(The Critic as Artist)

Style
I don't wish to sign my name, though I am afraid everybody will know who the writer is: one's style is one's signature always.
(Letter to the Daily Telegraph)

Success
Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.
(Letter)

Suffering
I can sympathise with everything, except suffering.
(The Portrait of Dorian Gray)

Suspense
This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

Talked About
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
(The Portrait of Dorian Gray) 

Temptation
I can resist everything except temptation.
(Lady Windermere's Fan)

Theatre, Audiences, Critics
The play was a great success, but the audience was a disaster.

The central problem in Hamlet is whether the critics are mad or only pretending to be mad.

Truth
The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

Time
Time is a waste of money.
(Chameleon)

Values
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
(Lady Windermere's Fan)

Visitors
I'm sure I don't know half the people who come to my house. Indeed, for all I hear, I shouldn't like to.
(An Ideal Husband)

War
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.
(The Critic as Artist)

Women and Age
One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything.
(A Woman of No Importance)

No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)

Work
Work is the curse of the drinking classes.
(Pearson's Life of Oscar Wilde)

Youth
Those whom the gods love grow young.
(A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated)

Youth! Youth! There is nothing in the world but youth!
(The Picture of Dorian Gray)

The old-fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out.
(The Importance of Being Earnest)