The Picture of Dorian Gray

"Conscience is something that causes all kinds of bother."

"I define nothing. Nothing will last."

"Bad art is a great deal worse than no art at all."

"Genius is born, not taught."

"As long as one has this thing called life, there is always some interest in living it."

"What does it matter what happens to us in this world? I care for no one."

"Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face."

"The heart was made to be broken."

"Being natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up."

"What is past is of little account. You have it all before you."

"The basis of optimism is sheer terror."

"I wish it were only the outward form that grew old, and the soul that grew old."

"Youth is the only thing worth having."

"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter."

"I hope I shall have influence. One's life has value so far as one contributes to the lives of others."

"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."

"Beauty is a form of genius."

"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."

"I can resist everything except temptation."

"Do you think your youth will ever come back to you? Time is jealous of you."

"The only shame is being ashamed of one's shame."

"Harry, I cannot bear this. You will drive me to doing something dreadful."

"I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them."

"Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious."

"The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned or made perfect."

"I have always been my own greatest admirer. I have always felt that I should go far."

"Does a gentleman tell his secrets? No, he does not even tell them to his mother."

"The world has always laughed at its own tragedies, that being the only way in which it has been able to bear them."

"I suppose you think I am wicked. But I am not. I am just thoughtless."

"There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating: people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing."