“ And beauty is a form of genius—is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. ”
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). copy citation
Author | Oscar Wilde |
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Source | The Picture of Dorian Gray |
Topic | beauty explanation genius |
Date | 1890 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | |
Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/174/174-h/174-h.htm |
Context
“Some day, when you are old and wrinkled and ugly, when thought has seared your forehead with its lines, and passion branded your lips with its hideous fires, you will feel it, you will feel it terribly. Now, wherever you go, you charm the world. Will it always be so? … You have a wonderfully beautiful face, Mr. Gray. Don't frown. You have. And beauty is a form of genius—is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has its divine right of sovereignty.”
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