Oscar Wilde Quotes About Morality

• The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

  Oscar Wilde

  Inspirational, Anger, Reading

  The Picture of Dorian Gray ch. 19 (1891)

• Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.

  Oscar Wilde

  Book, Writing, Reading Literature

  The Picture of Dorian Gray preface (1891)

• Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.

  Oscar Wilde

  Inspirational, Art, Mean

• Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.

  Oscar Wilde

  Inspirational, Funny, Inspiring

  An Ideal Husband act 2 (1895)

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

  Oscar Wilde

  Book, Reading, Writing

  The Picture of Dorian Gray preface (1891)

• What is termed Sin is an essential element of progress. Without it the world would stagnate, or grow old, or become colorless. By its curiosity Sin increases the experience of the race. Through its intensified assertion of individualism it saves us from monotony of type. In its rejection of the current notions about morality, it is one with the higher ethics.

  Oscar Wilde

  Race, Rejection, Curiosity

  Oscar Wilde (1908). “Intentions”

• Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.

  Oscar Wilde

  Gossip, Political, Scandal

  Oscar Wilde (2016). “Aphorisms”, p.9, Oscar Wilde

• Ethics, like natural selection, make existence possible. Aesthetics, like sensual selection, make life lovely and wonderful, fill it with new forms, and give it progress, and variety and change.

  Oscar Wilde

  Love Life, Giving, Lovely

• Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.

  Oscar Wilde

  Beautiful, Book, Mean

  The Picture of Dorian Gray preface (1891)

• My dear Arthur, I never talk scandal. I only talk gossip. What is the difference between scandal and gossip? Oh! Gossip is charming! History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.

  Oscar Wilde

  Differences, Gossip, Scandal

  Oscar Wilde (2007). “The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde”, p.518, Wordsworth Editions

• There is no such thing as morality or immorality in thought. There is immoral emotion.

  Oscar Wilde

  Morality, Emotion, Immorality

  Oscar Wilde (1969). “The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde”, p.437, University of Chicago Press

• Individualism has really the higher aim. Modern morality consists in accepting the standard of one's age.

  Oscar Wilde

  Age, Ethics, Morality

  Oscar Wilde (2015). “The Picture of Dorian Gray (with an Essay by Jules Barbey D'Aurevilly)”, p.50, Mondial

• I don't like principles. I prefer prejudices.

  Oscar Wilde

  Principles, Prejudice, Ethics

  Oscar Wilde (1983). “Two Society Comedies”, A&C Black

• Intellectual generalities are always interesting, but generalities in morals mean absolutely nothing.

  Oscar Wilde

  Mean, Interesting, Intellectual

  Oscar Wilde (2012). “The Wit and Humor of Oscar Wilde”, p.190, Courier Corporation

• His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be

  Oscar Wilde

  Sympathy, Morality, Should

  Oscar Wilde, Russell Jackson, Ian Small (2000). “The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: De profundis, "Epistola : in carcere et vinculis"”, p.120, Oxford University Press on Demand

• The morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.

  Oscar Wilde

  Art, Perfect, Use

  'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (1891) preface

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