A Few Maxims For The Instruction Of The Over-Educated by Oscar Wilde

<p>Education is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. &nbsp;Public opinion exists only where there are no ideas. &nbsp;The English are always degrading truths into facts. When a truth becomes a fact it loses all its intellectual value. &nbsp;It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information. &nbsp;The only link between Literature and Drama left to us in England at the present moment is the bill of the play. &nbsp;In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody. &nbsp;Most women are so artificial that they have no sense of Art. Most men are so natural that they have no sense of Beauty. &nbsp;Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer. &nbsp;What is abnormal in Life stands in normal relations to Art. It is the only thing in Life that stands in normal relations to Art. &nbsp;A subject that is beautiful in itself gives no suggestion to the artist. It lacks imperfection. &nbsp;The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious. The result is the Criticism of the Journalist. &nbsp;Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious. &nbsp;To be really mediæval one should have no body. To be really modern one should have no soul. To be really Greek one should have no clothes. &nbsp;Dandyism is the assertion of the absolute modernity of Beauty. &nbsp;The only thing that can console one for being poor is extravagance. The only thing that can console one for being rich is economy. &nbsp;One should never listen. To listen is a sign of indifference to one's hearers. &nbsp;Even the disciple has his uses. He stands behind one's throne, and at the moment of one's triumph whispers in one's ear that, after all, one is immortal. &nbsp;The criminal classes are so close to us that even the policemen can see them. They are so far