What the worm was to the corpse, his sins would be to the painted image on the canvas. They would mar its beauty, and eat away its grace. they would defile it, and make it shameful. And yet the thing would still live on. It would be always alive. (Dorian Gray regarding his portrait)

Men always want to be a woman's first love. That is their clumsy vanity. We women have a more subtle instinct about things.

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for.

Be happy, be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart's-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty.

Absolute catholicity of taste is not without its dangers. It is only an auctioneer who should admire all schools of art.

With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?

The systems that fail are those that rely on the permanency of human nature, and not its growth and development.