Every man of ambition has to fight his century with its own weapons. What this century worships is wealth. The God of this century is wealth. To succeed one must have wealth. At all costs one must have wealth.

Oscar Wilde was suing the Marquis of Queensbury in 1895 for libel accusing Wilde of homosexuality Counsel: Have you ever adored a young man madly? Wilde: I have never given adoration to anyone except myself.

Nowadays, saying what you really think can be a serious error since one risks being misunderstood.

Time is a waste of money.

There is something terribly morbid in the modern sympathy with pain. One should sympathise with the colour, the beauty, the joy of life. The less said about life's sores the better.

Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the sexes.

Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won't be invited to cocktail parties.