Портрет Доріана Грея
Chapter 18
Youhavechanged,ofcourse,butnotinappearance. Iwishyouwouldtellmeyoursecret. TogetbackmyyouthIwoulddoanythingintheworld,excepttakeexercise,getupearly,orberespectable. Youth! Thereisnothinglikeit. It’sabsurdtotalkoftheignoranceofyouth. TheonlypeopletowhoseopinionsIlistennowwithanyrespectarepeoplemuchyoungerthanmyself.Theyseeminfrontofme. Lifehasrevealedtothemherlatestwonder. Asfortheaged,Ialwayscontradicttheaged. Idoitonprinciple. Ifyouaskthemtheiropiniononsomethingthathappenedyesterday,theysolemnlygiveyoutheopinionscurrentin1820,whenpeopleworehighstocks,believedineverything,andknewabsolutelynothing. Howlovelythatthingyouareplayingis! IwonderdidChopinwriteitatMajorca,withtheseaweepingroundthevilla,andthesaltspraydashingagainstthepanes? Itismarvellouslyromantic. Whatablessingitisthatthereisoneartlefttousthatisnotimitative! Don’tstop.Iwantmusicto-night. ItseemstomethatyouaretheyoungApollo,andthatIamMarsyaslisteningtoyou. Ihavesorrows,Dorian,ofmyown,thatevenyouknownothingof. Thetragedyofoldageisnotthatoneisold,butthatoneisyoung. Iamamazedsometimesatmyownsincerity. Ah,Dorian,howhappyyouare! Whatanexquisitelifeyouhavehad! Youhavedrunkdeeplyofeverything. Youhavecrushedthegrapesagainstyourpalate. Nothinghasbeenhiddenfromyou. Andithasallbeentoyounomorethanthesoundofmusic. Ithasnotmarredyou. Youarestillthesame."
"Iamnotthesame,Harry."
"Yes:youarethesame. Iwonderwhattherestofyourlifewillbe. Don’tspoilitbyrenunciations. Atpresentyouareaperfecttype. Don’tmakeyourselfincomplete. Youarequiteflawlessnow. Youneednotshakeyourhead:youknowyouare. Besides,Dorian,don’tdeceiveyourself.
