“Hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do.”

— Oscar Wilde, "The Remarkable Rocket", The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888)

About Oscar Wilde

1854 – 1900

Irish poet and playwright renowned for his razor-sharp wit, flamboyant style, and tragic life. Author of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest.

See all 40 Oscar Wilde quotes →

More from Oscar Wilde

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

— Oscar Wilde

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”

— Oscar Wilde

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

— Oscar Wilde

“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty!”

— William Shakespeare

“We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.”

— Mark Twain

“Why does this magnificent applied science which saves work and makes life easier bring us so little happiness?”

— Albert Einstein

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”

— Winston Churchill

“Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”

— Winston Churchill

“Hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do.”

About Oscar Wilde

More from Oscar Wilde

Related quotes