Original: Oscar Wilde '' De Profundis '' 1905 ; Michael Tanner took the quote to introduce '' Sentimentality '' , Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society , New Series , 77 , ( 1976-77 :127 -147 .
Simplified: '' A sentimentalist '' , Oscar Wilde wrote , '' is one who desires ( wants ) to have the of an emotion without paying for it . ''