lord goring. You mean that you amused yourself immensely, don’t you?
mrs. cheveley. What do you know about my married life?
lord goring. Nothing: but I can read it like a book.
mrs. cheveley. What book?
lord goring. [Rising.] The Book of Numbers.
mrs. cheveley. Do you think it is quite charming of you to be so rude to a woman in your own house?
lord goring. In the case of very fascinating women, sex is a challenge, not a defence.
mrs. cheveley. I suppose that is meant for a compliment. My dear Arthur, women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the two sexes.
lord goring. Women are never disarmed by anything, as far as I know them.
mrs. cheveley. [After a pause.] Then you are going to allow your greatest friend, Robert Chiltern, to be ruined, rather than marry some one who really has considerable attractions left. I thought you would have risen to some great height of self-sacrifice, Arthur. I think you should. And the rest of your life you could spend in contemplating your own perfections.