“Do not tell me that you are going to be good,” Lord Henry Wotton said. He put his fingers into a bowl of rose-water. He told Dorian Gray that he was already perfect. He did not want Dorian Gray to change.
Dorian Gray shook his head. He said he did many terrible things in his life. He did not want to do any more bad things. He said his good actions started yesterday.
Lord Henry Wotton asked where Dorian Gray was yesterday. Dorian Gray said he was in the country at a small inn (a simple hotel). Lord Henry Wotton smiled. He said anyone can be good in the country because there are no temptations (things that make you want to do something bad) there.
Dorian Gray said he knew about both culture and corruption (dishonest or bad behavior). He said he wanted to be a different person now. Lord Henry Wotton asked about his good action.
Dorian Gray told a story about a girl named Hetty. She was a simple girl from a village. She was very beautiful and she looked like Sibyl Vane. Dorian Gray loved her. They planned to go away together this morning.
But Dorian Gray decided to leave her. He did not want to ruin her life or make her a bad person. He left her while she was still happy and good. He thought this was a great self-sacrifice (giving up something you want to help someone else).
Lord Henry Wotton laughed at Dorian Gray. He said Dorian Gray only wanted a new feeling. He said that Hetty was probably very sad now. He said the girl would never be happy with a normal husband because she loved Dorian Gray.
Dorian Gray told Lord Henry Wotton to stop. He did not want his friend to mock him. He wanted to be a better man. He asked Lord Henry Wotton about the news in London.
Lord Henry Wotton said people were still talking about Basil Hallward. The artist disappeared six weeks ago. The police in London thought he went to Paris. The police in France said he never arrived.
Dorian Gray asked what Lord Henry Wotton thought about Basil Hallward. Lord Henry Wotton did not know. He said he did not want to think about death. Death was the only thing that made him afraid.
They went into the music-room to have coffee. Dorian Gray sat at the piano. He asked Lord Henry Wotton if he thought someone murdered Basil Hallward.
Lord Henry Wotton said Basil Hallward was not clever enough to have enemies. He said Basil Hallward was a great artist, but he was a dull man. He said Basil Hallward only became interesting when he painted Dorian Gray.
Dorian Gray watched his friend closely. He asked, "What would you say if I told you that I killed Basil Hallward?" Lord Henry Wotton laughed again. He said Dorian Gray was not a murderer.
Lord Henry Wotton said that crime was vulgar and ugly. He believed that only poor or common people committed crimes. He told Dorian Gray that he was too beautiful for such a thing.
Dorian Gray asked if a man could commit the same crime twice. Lord Henry Wotton said that anything was a pleasure if you did it often. But he thought Basil Hallward probably had an accident in a river.
Lord Henry Wotton asked about the famous portrait of Dorian Gray. He had not seen it for many years. Dorian Gray said he lost the picture or someone stole it. Dorian Gray said he hated the memory of that painting.
Dorian Gray played some soft music on the piano. Lord Henry Wotton asked a serious question. He asked what a man gets if he wins the whole world but loses his own soul.
Dorian Gray stopped playing. He was shocked. He asked Lord Henry Wotton why he asked that. Lord Henry Wotton said he heard a man shouting the question in the street. He thought it was an interesting idea.
Dorian Gray said the soul was a terrible reality. He said a soul could be poisoned or made perfect. Lord Henry Wotton said the soul was just an illusion. He told Dorian Gray to play more music.
Lord Henry Wotton looked at Dorian Gray. He was amazed that Dorian Gray still looked so young. Lord Henry Wotton was ten years older and he looked tired. Dorian Gray looked exactly like he did many years ago.
Lord Henry Wotton said he would do anything to be young again. He said that youth was the most important thing in the world. He told Dorian Gray that his life was like a beautiful song.
Dorian Gray said his life was not perfect. He said that Lord Henry Wotton did not know everything about him. He said that if Lord Henry Wotton knew the truth, he would turn away.
Lord Henry Wotton invited Dorian Gray to go to a club. He wanted to introduce Dorian Gray to a young man who admired him. But Dorian Gray said he was too tired. He wanted to go to bed early.
Dorian Gray told Lord Henry Wotton that he was changing. He said he was going to be good. Lord Henry Wotton said they would always be friends.
Dorian Gray mentioned the book that Lord Henry Wotton gave him years ago. He said the book was poisonous and did harm. He asked Lord Henry Wotton never to give it to anyone else.
Lord Henry Wotton said that art does not change how people act. He invited Dorian Gray to go for a ride the next morning at eleven o'clock. Dorian Gray agreed to come. He said good night and left the room.