Quote Origin: Life Is Not Complex. We Are Complex. Life Is Simple, and the Simple Thing Is the Right Thing
Oscar Wilde? Robert Ross? Rudolf Flesch? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: Modern life seems to be extremely complicated, but the underlying principles of a worthwhile life are quite simple. I am reminded of the following quotation:
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing.
These words have been attributed to the famous Irish wit Oscar Wilde, but I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please help me to trace this remark?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In April 1897 Oscar Wilde penned a note to his friend Robert Ross. Wilde was unhappy because Ross had ignored the guidance specified in a previous note. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹
You should have seen that my wishes were carried out. You were very wrong not to do so. I was quite helpless in prison and I relied on you. You thought that the thing to do was the clever thing, the smart thing, the ingenious thing. You were under a mistake.
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing. Look at the result! Are you pleased with it?
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 1957 Rudolf Flesch published the compilation “The Book of Unusual Quotations” which contained the following entry:²
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple and the simple thing is the right thing. Oscar Wilde
In 1959 Alvin Redman published the compilation “The Wit and Humor of Oscar Wilde”. The book stated that the quotation had appeared in a letter from Wilde to Ross:³
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple and the simple thing is the right thing.
Letter to Robert Ross from Reading Gaol.
In 1964 the quotation with an ascription to Wilde appeared in “Distilled Wisdom” compiled by Alfred Armand Montapert.⁴
In 1966 the “Wilkes-Barre Times Leader” of Pennsylvania printed an instance:⁵
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple and the simple thing is the right thing.
— Oscar Wilde.
In 1996 the quotation with credit to Wilde appeared in “The Fairview Guide To Positive Quotations” compiled by John Cook.⁶
In 2000 Wilde’s letter containing the quotation was reprinted in “The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde” edited by Merlin Holland and Rupert Hart-Davis.⁷
In 2006 the quotation together with a citation pointing to “The Complete Letters” appeared in “Oscar Wilde in Quotation: 3,100 Insults, Anecdotes, and Aphorisms” compiled by Tweed Conrad:⁸
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing. Letter to Robert Ross (Letters, p783)
In conclusion, Oscar Wilde deserves credit for this quotation. He wrote it in a letter to Robert Ross dated April 1897.
Image Notes: Complex presentation of the simple word “Love” from Gerd Altmann at Pixabay. The image has been expanded vertically and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Jane Bella whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.
[1] 1962, The Letters of Oscar Wilde, Edited by Rupert Hart-Davis, Letter to: Robert Ross, Letter from: Oscar Wilde, Letter date: April 1, 1897, Start Page 512, Quote Page 514, Published by Rupert Hart-Davis, London. (Verified on paper)
[2] 1957, The Book of Unusual Quotations, Compiled by Rudolf Flesch, Topic: Simple, Quote Page 263, Harper & Brothers, New York. (Verified with scans)
[3] 1959, The Wit and Humor of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde, Edited by Alvin Redman, (Formerly published under the title The Epigrams of Oscar Wilde in 1952), Chapter 5: Life, Quote Page 74, Dover Publications, New York. (Verified with scans)
[4] 1964, Distilled Wisdom, Compiled and Edited by Alfred Armand Montapert, Topic: Simplicity, Quote Page 309, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. (Verified with scans)
[5] 1966 December 28, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Today’s Thoughts, Quote Page 24, Column 6, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com)
[6] 1996, The Fairview Guide To Positive Quotations, Compiled by John Cook, Part 1: Peace of Mind, Chapter: Simplicity, Topic: We Complicate Life, Quote Page 194, Column 1, Fairview Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Verified with scans)
[7] 2000, The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde, Edited by Merlin Holland and Rupert Hart-Davis, Letter to: Robert Ross, Letter from: Oscar Wilde, Letter date: April 1, 1897, Start Page 780, Quote Page 783, Fourth Estate, London, England. (Verified with scans)
[8] 2006, Oscar Wilde in Quotation: 3,100 Insults, Anecdotes, and Aphorisms, Topically Arranged with Attributions, Compiled and edited by Tweed Conrad, Chapter 38: Life and Living, Quote Page 125, McFarland & Company Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina. (Verified with scans)
