The only difference between a caprice and a life-long passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer.
逢場作戲和終身不渝之間的區別只在於逢場作戲稍微長壹些。
When one is in love, one always begins by deceiveing one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what would calls a romance.
愛,始於自我欺騙,終於欺騙他人。這就是所謂的浪漫。
——戀愛總是以自欺開始,以欺人結束。
The very essence of romance is uncertainty.
浪漫的精髓就在於它充滿種種可能。
Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.
人是理性動物,但當他被要求按照理性的要求行動時,可又要發脾氣了。
My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other of us has to go.
墻紙越來越破,而我越來越老,兩者之間總有壹個要先消失。——1900年11月30日,於左岸旅店,他的遺言。
No man is rich enough to buy back his own past.
-An Ideal Husband (1895)
沒有人富有到可以贖回自己的過去。
——改編自《理想的丈夫》
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
-The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
真相很少純粹,也決不簡單。
——《不可兒嬉》
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
愛自己是終身浪漫的開始。
——愛自己就是開始延續壹生的羅曼史。
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
我們都生活在陰溝裏,但仍有人仰望星空。
Most people discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes.
大多數人發現他們從未後悔的事情只是他們的錯誤,但發現時已經太晚了。
What is the chief cause of divorce? Marriage.
什麽是離婚的主要原因?結婚。
When a love comes to an end, weaklings cry, efficient ones instantly find another love and wise already had one in reserve.
當愛情走到盡頭,軟弱者哭個不停,有效率的馬上去尋找下壹個目標,而聰明的早就預備了下壹個。
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did he would cease to be an artist.
偉大的藝術家所看到的,從來都不是世界的本來面目。壹旦他看透了,他就不再是藝術家。
I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.
我給妳們講述的是所有妳們沒勇氣去犯的罪孽。
One can always be kind to people one cares nothing about.
壹個人總是可以善待他毫不在意的人。
We Irish are too poetical to be poets; we are a nation of brilliant failures, but we are the greatest talkers since the Greeks.
我們愛爾蘭人太詩意以至不能做詩人,我們的國家裏充滿才華橫溢的失敗者,可我們是自希臘人以來最偉大的說空話之人。
What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise
看似痛苦的試煉的往往是偽裝的祝福。
The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray.
情感的好處就是讓我們誤入歧途。
Over the piano was printed a notice: Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.
Personal Impressions of America (Leadville) (1883)
鋼琴上貼著壹條告示:請不要槍殺鋼琴師,他已經盡力了。
The heart was made to be broken.
心是用來碎的。
The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.
公眾驚人地寬容。他們可以原諒壹切,除了天才。
Religions die when they are proved to be true. Science is the record of dead religions.
宗教壹旦被證明是正確時就會消亡。科學便是已消亡宗教的記錄。
Why was I born with such contemporaries
為什麽我會和這樣同時代的人壹塊出生呢?
A poet can survive everything but a misprint.
詩人可以從任何事件中存活,印刷錯誤除外。
Only the shallow know themselves.
-Phrases and Philosophies for the use of the Young (1894)
只有淺薄的人才了解自己。
The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it... I can resist everything but temptation.
擺脫誘惑的唯壹方式是臣服於誘惑……我能抗拒壹切,除了誘惑。
Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation
不滿是個人或民族邁向進步的第壹步。
I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments.
我喜歡自言自語,因為這樣節約時間,而且不會有人跟我爭論。
Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.
格言是智慧耐用的替代品。