Charms in The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
254 pages
"To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim."
"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."
"[T]here is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
"But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face."
"[T]he value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it."
"You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know."
"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances."
"Man is many things, but he is not rational."
"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic."
"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, History would have been different."
"Nowadays people know the price of everything, and the value of nothing."
"There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."
"People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I call the depth of generosity."
"Good artists exist simply in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a really great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating."
"Unselfish people are colorless. They lack individuality."
"The basis of optimism is sheer terror."
"There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us."
"[G]ood resolutions [...] are always made too late."
"Ugliness [..] made things real. Ugliness was the one reality."
"Difference of object does not alter singleness of passion."
"If a man treats life artistically, his brain is his heart."
"[W]hat does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses [..] his own soul?"
--
This book is the embodiment of 'lyrical prose.' Oscar Wilde is a genius, he captures the attention of the reader immediately and creates an amazing story. The plot is unique and the development of characters and events are all breath-taking. I would definitely recommend it if you like the horror, mystery or psychological thriller genres.
Irrelevantly, I normally pair my favorite author Jane Austen with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but I think, she would have been well off with Oscar Wilde too. They both are wit-masters (:
254 pages
"To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim."
"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."
"[T]here is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
"But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face."
"[T]he value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it."
"You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know."
"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances."
"Man is many things, but he is not rational."
"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic."
"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, History would have been different."
"Nowadays people know the price of everything, and the value of nothing."
"There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."
"People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I call the depth of generosity."
"Good artists exist simply in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a really great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating."
"Unselfish people are colorless. They lack individuality."
"The basis of optimism is sheer terror."
"There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us."
"[G]ood resolutions [...] are always made too late."
"Ugliness [..] made things real. Ugliness was the one reality."
"Difference of object does not alter singleness of passion."
"If a man treats life artistically, his brain is his heart."
"[W]hat does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses [..] his own soul?"
--
This book is the embodiment of 'lyrical prose.' Oscar Wilde is a genius, he captures the attention of the reader immediately and creates an amazing story. The plot is unique and the development of characters and events are all breath-taking. I would definitely recommend it if you like the horror, mystery or psychological thriller genres.
Irrelevantly, I normally pair my favorite author Jane Austen with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but I think, she would have been well off with Oscar Wilde too. They both are wit-masters (: