“The public make use of the classics of a country as a means of checking the progress of Art. They degrade the classics into authorities.... A fresh mode of Beauty is absolutely distasteful to them, and whenever it appears they get so angry and bewildered that they always use two stupid expressions--one is that the work of art is grossly unintelligible; the other, that the work of art is grossly immoral. What they mean by these words seems to me to be this. When they say a work is grossly unintelligible, they mean that the artist has said or made a beautiful thing that is new; when they describe a work as grossly immoral, they mean that the artist has said or made a beautiful thing that is true.”

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Originally said in English.

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About Oscar Wilde

Irish playwright and wit of the late 19th century, Wilde was celebrated for his razor-sharp wit and satirical genius. His works, including *The Importance of Being Earnest*, blend humor with social critique, while his aphorisms remain enduringly quotable.

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"The public make use of the classics of a country as a means of checki…" — Oscar Wilde | Daily Quotes