What a fuss people make about fidelity!" exclaimed Lord Henry. "Why, even in love it is purely a question for physiology. It has nothing to do with our own will. Young men want to be faithful, and are not; old men want to be faithless, and cannot: that is all one can say.

People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I call the depth of generosity.

I have learned this: it is not what one does that is wrong, but what one becomes as a consequence of it.

Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing.

What is the good of friendship if one cannot say exactly what one means?

In America the young are always ready to give to those who are older than themselves the full benefits of their inexperience.

Bad artists always admire each other's work. They call it being large-minded and free from prejudice. But a truly great artist cannot conceive of life being shown, or beauty fashioned, under any conditions other than those he has selected.