据林沛理，“在西方文学史上，他（王尔德）最重要的身份是散文家（essayist）和雄辩家（polemicist），而他的散文与论述精彩绝伦，就在于它们的一字一句，都洋溢着王尔德对主观的傲慢与偏见。”“王尔德为西方文学史上其中一个最精警（epigrammatic）和可诵（quotable）的作家，要认识他，自然广泛应该从他的警句和隽语入手。”王尔德特色是“善用戏谑（parody）”。

Oscar Wilde有这么一句话："The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young"。字面翻译是：老年的悲剧不在于一个人已经衰老，而在于他仍旧年轻。

但是，如何理解这句话，却不能确定。是不是“这位69岁的荷兰人希望法庭正式让他年轻20岁”可以诠释这句话呢？不能确定。

在网上有几种理解：

第一种：Life is short, and nothing brings that home like reflecting on how little we have seen and done at the point when time is impatiently hurrying us off the stage. The tragedy is that we haven't really lived what we estimate to be full, long lives; for most, decline and death come way too soon.

第二种：It is the difference between the physical infirmity of age, and the mental desires that still exist. The giving up of cherished activities before we want to. The exclusion (or dismissal) by youth when we still wish to be included. The knowledge that one is reaching one's conclusion when there is still so much that we want to see and do.

第三种：The tragedy of old age is not that someone is old (in age), but that one is young (in experience)

第四种：Wilde's referring, firstly, to the fact that we almost always feel younger than we are and than we look, past middle age at least. It's a realization that hits when, for example, we catch sight of some old soul reflected in a shop window and then realize that it's actually us. Also, as we get older and hopefully wiser, we gain a sense of perspective that often lets us to wear life more lightly than we did when we were younger. As Bob Dylan said, "Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now." The tragedy Wilde describes is that the exterior inevitably ages and, no matter the age we may feel, there's no way to turn back time or have it reflect how old we are in our heads.

见：Meaning of the Oscar Wilde quote about the “tragedy of old age”

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/250639/meaning-of-the-oscar-wilde-quote-about-the-tragedy-of-old-age