“ Beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich. ”
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). copy citation
Author | Oscar Wilde |
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Source | The Picture of Dorian Gray |
Topic | sin privilege |
Date | 1890 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | |
Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/174/174-h/174-h.htm |
Context
“"But, surely, if one lives merely for one's self, Harry, one pays a terrible price for doing so?" suggested the painter.
"Yes, we are overcharged for everything nowadays. I should fancy that the real tragedy of the poor is that they can afford nothing but self-denial. Beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich."
"One has to pay in other ways but money."
"What sort of ways, Basil?"
"Oh! I should fancy in remorse, in suffering, in ... well, in the consciousness of degradation."
Lord Henry shrugged his shoulders.”
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