A PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
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one kind of seducer's patter like promising the young lady marriage.
And when he preaches individualism, e.g.
The development of the race depends on the development of the individual,
and where self-culture has ceased to be the ideal, the intellectual standard is
instantly lowered.
or
There was to be a new hedonism that was to re-create life. It was to have its
service of the intellect, certainly; yet it was never to accept any theory or
system that would involve the sacrifice of any mode of passionate experience.
. . . Of
the asceticism that deadens the senses, as of the vulgar profligacy that
dulls them, it was to know nothing.
he is not advocating either of the two possible religions of self-develop–
ment, the concentrated discipline of one's nature in a chosen direction,
like Marcus Aurelius, nor the planned exploration of all experience like
Faust, but expressing the simplest and oldest of all wishes, "let's have
fun," which may not be so impressive as a philosophy of life but is
ever so much more sympathetic. I am deeply shocked when Mr. Wood–
cock condemns Wilde's affairs as "ridiculous and sordid" as if his
hero should have devoted himself to the Higher Pleasures, and regrets his
attachment to Alfred Douglas as an object "meanly unworthy of his
admiration" as if he should have selected his friend for his virtue.
Surely, the really nice thing about Wilde is that his life is so much
more honest than his writings; after all the high-falutin' talk about
Beauty and the New Hedonism, it is such a relief to discover that
Wilde was just an ordinary sinner like you and me who liked his
greens and wasn't too particular about the restaurant. He was a
phoney prophet but a serious.. playboy; even serious prophets are not
ideal guests for a party, but a good playboy is always welcome, except
to those who have murdered the child in themselves.
As for Wilde's political views, they are about as valuable as those
of most literary men, i.e., his criticisms of the existing state of affairs
are often just, if a bit obvious, his practical suggestions merely silly.
The nature of the literary profession the influence of which, if any, is
spiritual not material, renders men of letters incapable of understanding
the role of power in society and their social position which, like that of
the gypsies, is interstitial, prevents their having a subjective understand–
ing of social and economic relations. To do Wilde justice he seldom
indulges in the all-too-easy role of political satirist. When, for instance, in
An Ideal Husband,
Lord Chiltern, in a fit of emotional remorse, resolves
to quit public life it is Wilde's alter-ego Lord Goring who dissuades
him,
knowing that Chiltern is by nature a politician and would
be
miserable
