That afternoon Dorian Gray came to the studio, and Basil, against his will, introduced him to Lord Henry. While the painter worked, Lord Henry talked, and the boy listened as he had never listened to anyone. "You have a wonderfully beautiful face, Mr Gray," said Lord Henry. "And beauty is a form of genius. It needs no explanation. People say that it is only shallow, but the truly shallow people are those who judge by anything else. You have only a few years in which to live really and perfectly. Time is jealous of you. You will become sallow and hollow-cheeked and dull. You will suffer horribly. Every month you grow nearer to something terrible. Ah! Realise your youth while you have it. Live! Search always for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing. A new hedonism — that is what our century wants, and you might be its visible symbol. There is nothing in the world but youth." Dorian listened, wide-eyed and wondering. New ideas came to him that he could not name.