The Picture of Dorian Gray Quotes

Context

This line is from the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890). 

Britain was scandalized (scandalized, we say!) when Wilde first published this novel about a morally challenged dude named Dorian who sells his soul in exchange for never getting old. Instead of his body getting wrinkles and age spots, a magic oil painting does his aging for him. This quote comes from a love letter that an admirer writes to Dorian. But at the point in the novel when Dorian remembers this, he's disgusted with the way he wasted his endless youth. So remembering a compliment about his beauty makes him throw a hissyfit.

Where you've heard it

You might've heard this line in the movie Velvet Goldmine, which stars Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys Myers and is loosely inspired by the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop. This quote from Dorian Gray pops up right before Ewan and Jonathan kiss, which makes a lot of sense given all the homoerotic undertones (or overtones) of Wilde's original novel.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

No doubt quoting Wilde is a little pretentious, but if you say this one to the right person, you might land a date.