Oscar Wilde
“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”
Oscar Wilde, “The Relation of Dress to Art,” Pall Mall Gazette (1885)
Documented source
Attribution
Oscar Wilde
Source
Oscar Wilde, “The Relation of Dress to Art,” Pall Mall Gazette (1885)
In full
“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”
Status
Public domain in the United States
Every quote here is traced to a documented source. How we verify →
About this line
Wilde wrote it in an art review, of all places, to defend the freedom to change your mind — and to needle a society that mistook rigidity for virtue. In his hands, being consistent isn’t principle; it’s a failure of imagination.
Why we carry this line
Permission to change your mind, from the man who made a career of it. I change my mind frequently when good information helps me see differently. And sometimes, just because. I wanted a reminder somewhere I’d see it.
Objects carrying this line
More from this authorOscar Wilde →