“MRS. ALLONBY. It is only fair to tell you beforehand he has got no conversation at all.LADY STUTFIELD. I adore silent men.MRS ALLONBY. Oh, Ernest isn't silent. He talks the whole time. But he has got no conversation. What he talks about I don't know. I haven't listened to him for years.”

“MRS ALLONBY I adore them. The clever people never listen, and the stupid people never talk.HESTER I think the stupid people talk a great deal.MRS ALLONBY Ah, I never listen!”

“MRS ALLONBY You have your looking-glassLORD ILLINGWORTH It is unkind. I merely shows me my wrinkles.MRS ALLONBY Mine is better behaved. It never tells me the truth.LORD ILLINGWORTH Then it is in love with you.”

“MRS ALLONBY Is she such a mystery?LORD ILLINGWORTH She is more than a mystery - she is a mood.MRS ALLONBY Moods don't last.LORD ILLINGWORTH It is their chief charm.”

“There is no good talking to him," said a Dragon-fly, who was sitting on the top of a large brown bulrush; "no good at all, for he has gone away.""Well, that is his loss, not mine," answered the Rocket. "I am not going to stop talking to him merely because he pays no attention. I like hearing myself talk. It is one of my greatest pleasures. I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.""Then you should definitely lecture on Philosophy," said the Dragon-fly.”

“MRS ALLONBY Have you tried a good reputation?LORD ILLINGWORTH It is one of the many annoyances to which I have never been subjected.”

“Oh! I don't think I would like to catch a sensible man. I shouldn't know what to talk to him about.”