Macbeth in all It's Glory
...that he is unable to shed the conscience of his "monstrous and unlawful" acts. One must remember, however, that Lord Henry has failed to put his philosophy to the test. Although he is a great advocate of sin, he is hardly a sinner, and his understanding of the soul—sickened or otherwise—never incorporates the knowledge that Dorian acquires. 2. "To be good is to be in harmony with one's self," he replied, touching the thin stem of his glass with his pale, fine-pointed fingers. "Discord is to be forced to be in harmony with others. One's own life—that is the important thing. As for the lives of one's neighbours, if one wishes to be a prig or a Puritan, one can flaunt one's moral views about them, but they are not one's concern. Besides, Individualism has really the higher aim. Modern morality consists in accepting the standard of one's age. I consider that for any man of culture to accept the standard of his age is a form of the grossest immorality." Explanation for Quotation 2 Lord Henry spends a good deal of his time in the novel on a soapbox, eloquently expounding his views of the universe. In Chapter VI, as Dorian prepares to escort Lord Henry and Basil Hallward to the theater where they will see Sibyl Vane perform, Lord Henry chastises the young man, who, in the face of love, dismisses all of his "wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories." Here, Lord Henry expounds on the virtues of individualism, which dictate that one develop according to one's own standard. His view relies on Darwinism, which was very in vogue at the time, and which also asserted that an organism's development would be altered or impaired if it were made to adjust to the standards of another organism. Lord Henry fancies that he and Dorian are creatures that require different standards than the masses in order to develop fully. Thus, he readily rejects modern morality, which governs the many, in favor of a self-determined morality that applies only to himself. Although far from a prig or a Puritan, Lord Henry does spend an inordinate amount of time worrying over Dorian's development. Contrary to the principle of individualism he takes the time to relate, he not only does his best to insinuate himself between Dorian and Sibyl, but he also makes Dorian's proper social development his raison d'être. 3. Yes: there was to be, as Lord Henry had prophesied, a new Hedonism that was to recreate life, and to save it from that harsh, uncomely puritanism that is having, in our own day, its curious revival. 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. Its aim, i...