Misfortunes one can endure, they come from outside, they are accidents. But to suffer for one's faults--ah! there is the sting of life. 我们能忍受不幸,因为他们来自外界,他们是意外。可是,对于自己的错误我们却备受煎熬 - 啊!那是生命中锥心的刺痛。
"When one has weighed the sun in the balance, and measured the steps of the moon, and mapped out the seven heavens star by star, there still remains oneself. Who can calculate the orbit of his own soul?" --from "De Profundis" (1897) 当一个人称量太阳的重量,量度月亮的脚步,一颗一颗地绘制七重天的星星的时候,他还保持着自我。可是,谁能测算自己灵魂的轨迹? ——《自深深处》(1897)
"Anyone can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success." --"Sebastian Melmoth" 谁都能同情朋友的不幸,但要能做到为朋友的成功感到欢欣,那他就需要具备高贵的品质。 ——塞巴斯蒂安. 梅莫斯 注:塞巴斯蒂安. 梅莫斯是王尔德出狱后的化名。
"There are only two kinds of people who are fascinating - people who Know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing." ----The picture of Dorian Gray 只有两种人令人着迷,一种人无所不知,另一种人一无所知。 ----道林格雷的画像。
"If you pretend to be good the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad it doesn't. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism." -- Lady Windmere's Fan 如果你装好人,全世界都对你当真,要是你装坏人,那就没人把你当回事。这就是乐观主义惊人的愚蠢。 -----《温夫人的扇子》
"Oh! It is absurd to have a hard-and-fast rule about what one should read and what one shouldn't. More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn't read." -- "The Importance of Being Ernest" 哦!严格规定一个人应该读什么和不应该读什么的规则真是荒唐。超过一半的现代文化都依赖于那些我们不应该阅读的内容。 ——《不可儿戏》