Remarks by Alfred Douglas | V2Melody Quotations

“I gave up all idea of happiness in this life, and clung to Catholicism as my only consolation.”

Describing religious faith as a refuge during a period of profound personal loss · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“There is really nothing more to tell of my life, which at present appears to have settled into a placid groove.”

A quiet late-life reflection after years of controversy and upheaval · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“I decline to go on sticking to the convention which has hitherto forced me to suppress the truth.”

Declaring his intention to speak openly despite prevailing convention · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“Up till the time when I became a Catholic the guiding principle of my life was the desire to be loved and admired.”

A retrospective acknowledgement of his former need for affection and approval · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“There is only one man in ten thousand who will brave the full violence of public opinion.”

Distinguishing moral courage from more conventional forms of bravery · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“One should never allow one's nature to run away with one, but, on the other hand, one should be careful not to resist or repress it too much.”

Advocating a balance between self-control and self-acceptance · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“Everyone should try to control his nature, but to try to distort it or force it is a great mistake, and leads to all sorts of miseries and misunderstandings, both for oneself and for others.”

Arguing for self-discipline without denying fundamental aspects of one's nature · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“At my age, and believing as I do that the battle of my life is over, I decline to put on any of the convenient cloaks and masks which convention has at our disposal whenever we need them.”

Rejecting socially convenient disguises in favour of candour late in life · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“As a model of what may and may not properly be said or written on any subject, Shakespeare will always be good enough for me.”

Invoking Shakespeare as his standard against restrictive literary convention · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“However much I may like a man or a woman, and however much I may desire to please him or her, I will not say that he or she has written good poetry unless I really think it.”

Putting critical sincerity above friendship or the desire to please · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“All good poetry is the result of struggle and effort.”

Insisting that accomplished poetry depends upon sustained creative labour · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“Good poets do not 'pour out words' like inspired gramophones.”

Rejecting the romantic notion that good poetry simply arrives without labour · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“If I had my life to live again I might even go in more for sport and less for literature.”

A retrospective reconsideration of the balance between art and active life · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“I love literature and poetry and art and music with a passionate love. But I am equally fond of sport.”

Rejecting any division between artistic enthusiasm and physical pursuits · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“I have always had the utmost contempt for public opinion.”

A characteristic declaration of independence from social judgement · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“A man cannot help his instincts and the natural tendencies he is born with. But he can control and direct them.”

Distinguishing innate tendencies from the responsibility to govern them · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“While I, necessarily, believe in free-will, I believe also in the influence of heredity.”

Balancing individual choice against inherited tendencies · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“Whatever I have done in life has been done in obedience to an overpowering instinct.”

Presenting instinct as a powerful force behind personal choices · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“It has been the passion of my life to sacrifice myself for others, to find and fight for 'lost causes' (which I never believe to be really lost).”

Describing his attraction to difficult causes and resistance to defeat · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“My motto has always been 'Give, give, give.”

Expressing his ideal of generosity towards others · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

“It is astonishing how rapidly memories of that kind disappear.”

Reflecting on how quickly achievements can vanish from collective memory · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

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