"Because," said Lord Henry, passing beneath his nostrils the gilt trellis of an open vinaigrette box, "one can survive everything nowadays except that. Death and vulgarity are the only two facts in the nineteenth century that one cannot explain away."
– Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 19. Lord Henry reply, asked by Dorian why he hates death – the only one thing that terrifies Henry. The wit and humor of Oscar Wilde are unparalleled in literature and real life and quite a lot is channeled through the character of Henry – "You cut life to pieces with your epigrams," Dorian tells him in Chapter 8.