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The English can laugh and at the same time strike you down, without the least compunction. It is the secret of their success as a nation.

— Peter Ackroyd The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

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More quotes by Peter Ackroyd

I believe that the gods themselves are frightened of the world which they have fashioned.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

Only those with great ambitions know what great fears drive them forward.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

One can forgive Shakespeare anything, except one's own bad lines.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

He had the satisfied countenance of a man who has never succeeded in boring himself.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London.

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We spend our lives fighting to get people very slightly more stupid than ourselves to accept truths that the great men have always known.

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To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.

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Greatness by nature includes a power, but not a will to power.

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The weak shows his strength and hides his weaknesses; the magnificent exhibits his weaknesses like ornaments.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Peter Ackroyd (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.