Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. And unselfishness is letting other people's lives… - Oscar Wilde

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Engraved portrait of Oscar Wilde

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. And unselfishness is letting other people's lives alone, not interfering with them. Selfishness always aims at creating around it an absolute uniformity of type. Unselfishness recognizes infinite variety of type as a delightful thing, accepts it, acquiesces in it, enjoys it. It is not selfish to think for oneself. A man who does not think for himself does not think at all. It is grossly selfish to require of one's neighbor that he should think in the same way, and hold the same opinions. Why should he? If he can think, he will probably think differently. If he cannot think, it is monstrous to require thought of any kind from him. A red rose is not selfish because it wants to be a red rose. It would be horribly selfish if it wanted all the other flowers in the garden to be both red and roses.

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About Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish dramatist, essayist, novelist and poet.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Napoleon Sarony / Adam Cuerden (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Pen Names: С.3.3. Sebastian Melmoth
Birth Name: Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde
Alternative Names: Oscar O'Flahertie Wills Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde Oscar O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde

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