The fact is, the public make use of the classics of a country as a means of checking the progress of Art. They degrade the classics into authorities. They use them as bludgeons for preventing the free expression of Beauty in new forms.
Source: The Soul of Man under Socialism, in Fortnightly Review (London, Feb 1890).
-- Oscar Wilde, (Oct 16 1856-1900), Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist; He was noted for his flamboyant witty, sophisticated plays, e.g., The Importance of Being Ernest, 1895.