Frederick Franck? Oscar Wilde? Donna J. Stone? J. Stone? Timothy Morrissey? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Artists do not always require implements such as brushes, clay, chisels, hammers, or guitars to create works. Some artists use life itself as a medium. This fascinating notion has been expressed in a family of quotations that I have …
Tag Archives: Oscar Wilde
Quote Origin: Socialism Would Take Too Many Evenings
Oscar Wilde? H. G. Wells? George Bernard Shaw? Michael Walzer? Arnold S. Kaufman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Some forms of socialism are implemented via a participatory process. An engaged citizenry would attend meetings, learn about different approaches, discuss topics, formulate policies, build consensus, and vote. These tasks can be quite laborious. Here are two …
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Quote Origin: Success Is a Science; If You Have the Conditions, You Get the Result
Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, I encountered the following bromide within a get-rich-quick self-help book: Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result. I was astonished to find that the words were attributed to the famous wit Oscar Wilde. The websites listing the quotation were useless. None …
Quote Origin: My Idea of a Gentleman Is He Who Can Play a Cornet and Won’t
Oscar Wilde? Mark Twain? Frank Fiest? Will Rogers? Walter Armstrong? Herman Lindauer? William M. Lewis? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: What do the following musical instruments have in common: cornet, ukulele, saxophone, bagpipes, accordion, and banjo? Each of these instruments has a distinctive sound that is unpleasant to some listeners providing inspiration for a family …
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Quote Origin: What You Read When You Don’t Have To, Determines What You Will Be When You Can’t Help It
Oscar Wilde? Charles Francis Potter? Mabel C. Wolcott? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Oscar Wilde was an avid reader and an excellent classicist. The following statement has been attributed to him: It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. …
Quote Origin: A Work of Art Is Never Finished, Merely Abandoned
Paul Valéry? W. H. Auden? Anaïs Nin? Maya Deren? Jean Cocteau? Esther Kellner? Gene Fowler? Gore Vidal? Marianne Moore? George Lucas? Oscar Wilde? Question for Quote Investigator: A creative person who is absorbed with the task of generating an artwork hesitates to declare completion. Reworking and improving a piece is always a tantalizing possibility. Here …
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Dialogue Origin: “Are You Enjoying Yourself?” “Yes, But That’s the Only Thing I Am Enjoying”
Oscar Wilde? George Bernard Shaw? Ambrose Bierce? Charles Frederick Joy? Percival Christopher Wren? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you are attending a soporific party, and the host asks whether you are content you might reply with the following comically self-absorbed zinger attributed to the famous Irish wit Oscar Wilde: “Are you enjoying yourself, Mr. …
Quote Origin: Keep Your Eyes On the Stars, But Your Feet On the Ground
Theodore Roosevelt? Oscar Wilde? William Allen Harper? Ayn Rand? Casey Kasem? Question for Quote Investigator: High aspirations should be combined with a practical spirit to achieve greatness. This notion can be expressed with the following adage: Keep your eyes on the stars, but your feet on the ground. This statement has been attributed to U.S. …
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Quote Origin: I Am Pleased To Believe That You Like the Piece Almost as Much as I Do Myself
Oscar Wilde? Louise Jopling? Hesketh Pearson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: After the enormously successful debut of a comedy by Oscar Wilde the audience demanded that the playwright deliver a few words. His speech included a comically self-congratulatory line that was similar to the following: You think almost as highly of the play as I …
Quote Origin: Everything Is About Sex Except Sex. Sex Is About Power
Oscar Wilde? Michael Cunningham? Robert Klitzman? Robert Michels? Frank Underwood? Kevin Spacey? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: While reading about the precipitous downfall of an influential literary tastemaker and powerbroker at “The Paris Review” I encountered once again a remark attributed to Oscar Wilde. Here are three versions: The Wilde ascription is often labeled …
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