We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
- The Picture of Dorian Grey, ch. 3
I feel like this is the key to the character of Lord Henry, really. He says all of this intelligent, deep-thinking stuff, which makes you go DDDDDD: O_O!!! ... And then it turns out that he was just saying it to impress people, and he (apparently) does not really believe any of it. I don't know if that exactly takes the value away from it ... but ... DAMN IT, LORD HENRY, YOU ARE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!