“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell the truth.” – Oscar Wilde
Book Excerpt
SIR ROBERT CHILTERN. Yes. But the Suez Canal was a very great and splendid
undertaking. It gave us our direct route to India. It had imperial value. It was
necessary that we should have control. This Argentine scheme is a
commonplace Stock Exchange swindle.
MRS. CHEVELEY. A speculation, Sir Robert! A brilliant, daring speculation.
SIR ROBERT CHILTERN. Believe me, Mrs. Cheveley, it is a swindle. Let us call
things by their proper names. It makes matters simpler. We have all the
information about it at the Foreign Office. In fact, I sent out a special
Commission to inquire into the matter privately, and they report that the works
are hardly begun, and as for the money already subscribed, no one seems to
know what has become of it. The whole thing is a second Panama, and with not
a quarter of the chance of success that miserable affair ever had. I hope you
have not invested in it. I am sure you are far too clever to have done that.
An Ideal Husband
By – Oscar Wilde
- PUBLISHED: 1895
- PAGES: 108