“His sudden mad love for Sibyl Vane was a psychological phenomenon of no small interest. There was no doubt that curiosity had much to do with it, curiosity and the desire for new experiences; yet it was not a simple but rather a very complex passion.”

“I asked the question for the best reason possible, for the only reason, indeed, that excuses anyone for asking any question - simple curiosity.”

“You, who know all the secrets of life, tell me how to charm Sibyl Vane to love me! I want to make Romeo jealous, I want the dead lovers of the world to hear our laughter, and grow sad. I want a breath of our passion to stir their dust into consciousness, to wake their ashes into pain. My God, Harry, how I worship her!”

“Well, I can’t help going to see Sibyl play, even if it is only for an act. I get hungry for her presence; and when I think of the wonderful soul that is hidden away in that little ivory body, I am filled with awe.""You can dine with me to-night, Dorian, can’t you?"He shook his head. "To night she is Imogen," he answered, "and tomorrow night she will be Juliet.""When is she Sibyl Vane?""Never.""I congratulate you.”

“What the paradox was to me in the sphere of thought, perversitybecame to me in the sphere of passion. Desire, at the end, was amalady, or a madness, or both.”

“As I lounged in the Park, or strolled down Piccadilly, I used to look at everyone who passed me, and wonder, with mad curiosity, what sort of lives they led. some of them fascinated me. Others filled me with terror.”

“Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing.”