The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
by celebrated author Oscar Wilde,
in so far as it relates the impact
of ill deeds on the soul by
way of a magical painting,
joins up with Plato's
metaphysics of the
soul as something
that is impacted
in its health by
our thoughts,
emotions, and
actions.
That is why
'Those who find
beautiful meanings
in beautiful things
are the cultivated.
For these there
is hope.'
—Oscar Wilde,
Plays, Prose
Writings
and Poems,
The Picture of
Dorian Gray,
The Preface