From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which
he 2
was lying , smoking , as was his 2
custom , innumerable cigarettes , Lord Henry Wotton 2
could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum , whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flamelike as theirs ; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window , producing a kind of momentary Japanese effect , and making him 2
think of those pallid , jade-faced painters of Tokyo 3
who , through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile , seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion .
The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through the long unmown grass , or circling with monotonous insistence round the dusty gilt horns of the straggling woodbine , seemed to make the stillness more oppressive .
The dim roar of London 4
was like the bourdon note of a distant organ .
In the centre of the room 5
, clamped to an upright easel , stood the full-length portrait of a young man of extraordinary personal beauty 6
, and in front of it , some little distance away , was sitting , Basil Hallward 42
, whose sudden disappearance some years ago caused , at the time , such public excitement and gave rise to so many strange conjectures .
As the painter 7
looked at the gracious and comely form he 7
had so skilfully mirrored in his 7
art , a smile of pleasure passed across his 7
face , and seemed about to linger there .
But he 7
suddenly started up , and closing his 7
eyes , placed his 7
fingers upon the lids , as though he 7
sought to imprison within his 7
brain some curious dream from which he 7
feared he 7
might awake .
" It is your 7
best work , Basil 7
, the best thing you 7
have ever done , " said Lord Henry 2
languidly .
" You 7
must certainly send it next year to the Grosvenor 8
.
The Academy 9
is too large and too vulgar .
Whenever I 2
have gone there 9
, there have been either so many people 10
that I 2
have not been able to see the pictures , which was dreadful , or so many pictures that I 2
have not been able to see the people 10
, which was worse .
The Grosvenor 8
is really the only place 48
. "
" I 7
do n't think I 7
shall send it anywhere , " he 7
answered , tossing his 7
head back in that odd way that used to make laugh at him 7
at Oxford 12
.
" No , I 7
wo n't send it anywhere . "
Lord Henry 2
elevated his 2
eyebrows and looked at him 7
in amazement through the thin blue wreaths of smoke that curled up in such fanciful whorls from his 2
heavy , opium-tainted cigarette .
" Not send it anywhere ?
, why ?
Have you 7
any reason ?
What odd chaps 13
you painters 14
are !
You 7
do anything in the world 15
to gain a reputation .
As soon as you 7
have one , you 7
seem to want to throw it away .
It is silly of you 7
, for there is only one thing in the world 15
worse than being talked about , and that is not being talked about .
A portrait like this would set you 7
far above all the young men in
England 17
16 , and make the old men 18
quite jealous , if old men 36
are ever capable of any emotion . "
" I 7
know you 2
will laugh at me 7
, " he 7
replied , " but I 7
really ca n't exhibit it .
I 7
have put too much of myself 7
into it . "
Lord Henry 2
stretched himself 2
out on the divan and laughed .
" Yes , I 2
knew you 7
would ; but it is quite true , all the same . "
" Too much of yourself 7
in it !
Upon my 2
word , Basil 7
, I 2
did n't know you 7
were so vain ; and I 2
really ca n't see any resemblance between you 7
, with your 7
rugged strong face and your 7
coal-black hair , and this young Adonis 6
, who looks as if he 6
was made out of ivory and rose-leaves .
Why , Basil 7
, he 6
is a Narcissus 43
, and you 7
-- well , of course you 7
have an intellectual expression and all that .
But beauty , real beauty , ends where an intellectual expression begins .
Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration , and destroys the harmony of any face .
The moment one sits down to think , one becomes all nose , or all forehead , or something horrid .
Look at the successful men 19
in any of the learned professions .
How perfectly hideous they 19
are !
Except , of course , in the Church 20
.
But then in the Church 20
they 19
do n't think .
A bishop 21
keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he 21
was told to say when he 21
was a boy of eighteen 44
, and as a natural consequence he 21
always looks absolutely delightful .
Your 7
mysterious young friend , whose name
you 7
have never told
me 2
, but whose picture really fascinates
me 2
6 , never thinks .
I 2
feel quite sure of that .
He 6
is some brainless beautiful creature who should be always here in winter when
we 22
have no flowers to look at , and always here in summer when
we 22
want something to chill
our 22
intelligence
45 .
Do n't flatter yourself 7
, Basil 7
: you 7
are not in the least like him 6
. "
" You 2
do n't understand me 7
, Harry 2
, " answered the artist 7
.
" Of course I 7
am not like him 6
.
I 7
know that perfectly well .
Indeed , I 7
should be sorry to look like him 6
.
You 2
shrug your 2
shoulders ?
I 7
am telling you 2
the truth .
There is a fatality about all physical and intellectual distinction , the sort of fatality that seems to dog through history the faltering steps of kings .
It is better not to be different from one 's fellows 23
.
The ugly 24
and the stupid 25
have the best of it in this world 15
.
They 26
can sit at their 26
ease and gape at the play .
If they 26
know nothing of victory , they 26
are at least spared the knowledge of defeat .
They 26
live as we 27
all should live -- undisturbed , indifferent , and without disquiet .
They 26
neither bring ruin upon others , nor ever receive it from alien hands .
Your 2
rank and wealth , Harry 2
; my 7
brains , such as they are -- my 7
art , whatever it may be worth ; Dorian Gray 6
's good looks -- we 28
shall all suffer for what the gods 29
have given us 28
, suffer terribly . "
" Dorian Gray 6
?
Is that his 6
name ? "
asked Lord Henry 2
, walking across the studio 0
towards Basil Hallward 7
.
" Yes , that is his 6
name .
I 7
did n't intend to tell it to you 2
. "
" But why not ? "
" Oh , I 7
ca n't explain .
When I 7
like people 30
immensely , I 7
never tell their 30
names to any one 31
.
It is like surrendering a part of them 30
.
I 7
have grown to love secrecy .
It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us 32
.
The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it .
When I 7
leave town 4
now I 7
never tell where I 7
am going .
If I 7
did , I 7
would lose all my 7
pleasure .
It is a silly habit , I 7
dare say , but somehow it seems to bring a great deal of romance into one 's life .
I 7
suppose you 2
think me 7
awfully foolish about it ? "
" Not at all , " answered Lord Henry 2
, " not at all , Basil 7
.
You 7
seem to forget that I 2
am married , and the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties .
I 2
never know where is , and never knows what I 2
am doing .
When we 34
meet -- we 34
do meet occasionally , when we 34
dine out together , or go down to the Duke 35
's -- we 34
tell each other the most absurd stories with the most serious faces .
is very good at it -- much better , in fact , than I 2
am .
She 33
never gets confused over her 33
dates , and I 2
always do .
But when she 33
does find me 2
out , she 33
makes no row at all .
I 2
sometimes wish she 33
would ; but she 33
merely laughs at me 2
. "
" I 7
hate the way you 2
talk about your 2
married life , Harry 2
, " said Basil Hallward 7
, strolling towards the door that led into the garden 1
.
" I 7
believe that you 2
are really a very good husband 46
, but that you 2
are thoroughly ashamed of your 2
own virtues .
You 2
are an extraordinary fellow 47
.
You 2
never say a moral thing , and you 2
never do a wrong thing .
Your 2
cynicism is simply a pose . "
" Being natural is simply a pose , and the most irritating pose I 2
know , " cried Lord Henry 2
, laughing ; and the two young men 22
went out into the garden 1
together and ensconced themselves 22
on a long bamboo seat that stood in the shade of a tall laurel bush .
The sunlight slipped over the polished leaves .
In the grass , white daisies were tremulous .
After a pause , Lord Henry 2
pulled out his 2
watch .
" I 2
am afraid I 2
must be going , Basil 7
, " he 2
murmured , " and before I 2
go , I 2
insist on your 2
answering a question I 2
put to you 2
some time ago . "
" What is that ? "
said the painter 7
, keeping his 7
eyes fixed on the ground .
" You 2
know quite well . "
" I 7
do not , Harry 2
. "
" Well , I 2
will tell you 7
what it is .
I 2
want you 7
to explain to me 2
why you 7
wo n't exhibit Dorian Gray 6
's picture .
I 2
want the real reason . "
" I 7
told you 2
the real reason . "
" No , you 7
did not .
You 7
said it was because there was too much of yourself 7
in it .
Now , that is childish . "
" Harry 2
, " said Basil Hallward 7
, looking him 2
straight in the face , " every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist 37
, not of the sitter 38
.
The sitter 39
is merely the accident , the occasion .
It is not he 39
who is revealed by the painter 40
; it is rather the painter who , on the coloured canvas , reveals
himself 41
41 .
The reason I 7
will not exhibit this picture is that I 7
am afraid that I 7
have shown in it the secret of my 7
own soul . "
Lord Henry 2
laughed .
" And what is that ? "
he 2
asked .
" I 7
will tell you 2
, " said Hallward 7
; but an expression of perplexity came over his 7
face .