“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
As commonly credited to Oscar Wilde and Dr. Seuss
- Credited to
- Oscar Wilde and Dr. Seuss
- Actually said by
- Unknown
Findings
It is not listed in The Wit & Wisdom of Oscar Wilde, an extensive collection compiled by quotation expert Ralph Keyes. Who actually said it? Maybe Thomas Merton, whose essay “Day of a Stranger” pushes back on all the talk about “being yourself,” reserving the right to forget about being himself, since there is very little chance of his being anybody else.