"You will laugh at me, I know, but I really went in and paid a whole guinea for the stage-box. To the present day I can’t make out why I did so; and yet if I hadn’t – my dear Harry, if I hadn’t – I should have missed the greatest romance of my life. I see you are laughing. It is horrid of you!"
"I am not laughing, Dorian; at least I am not laughing at you. But you should not say the greatest romance of your life. You should say the first romance of your life. You will always be loved, and you will always be in love with love. A grande passion is the privilege of people who have nothing to do. That is the one use of the idle classes of a country. Don’t be afraid. There are exquisite things in store for you. This is merely the beginning."

– Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 4. At this point Dorian still retains some of his youthful innocence. It hasn’t yet been completely taken away from him by the cynical Lord Henry. But on hearing of Dorian’s "greatest romance" with Sibyl, Henry is hell bent on changing all that. The Svengali-like Henry plays down the romance, tells Dorian that there are exquisite things in store for him, and continues to influence and manipulate him.