Lord Henry Intellectualism Quotes

“We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. . . . Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. (25).”
In the beginning of the book, Lord Henry initiates a conversation about the act of sinning to Dorian. Lord Henry venturing out to strike up this conversation was due to how enthralled he was to Dorian’s youth and beauty. He noticed the innocence that Dorian had conceived, hoping to see if he could challenge his naivety. Lord Henry proceeds to tantalize Dorian by saying that resistance to desire in souls “grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself.” This longing is implied to poison a person who doesn’t engage in the imploring of the mind. Thus, the only way is to indulge
For example, the philosophy that Lord Henry believes and says is based on his intellectual abilities, which relies on his observations and deductive reasoning. His foundation of his beliefs are not based on the physical application of them, and is merely just his perception on scenarios that he has not experienced first hand. This led to the ultimate change of Dorian, who has experienced corruption of sin, and has been greatly affected by the sin he indulged in. Dorian then began to have an obsession with youth because of Lord Henry, who told him that it has great importance to society and the world. With that, Dorian sold his soul to preserve his youth and beauty, and started to engage in grotesque behavior behavior he let the artificial sense of beauty cloud his thoughts and perception of himself and his own