--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s just that we wear rose-coloured…" description: "\"“It’s just that we wear rose-coloured spectacles when we return here [to Oxford] – we are dazzled by the foolish idealism of our youthful years.”\" — Ji..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/jill-paton-walsh-38453_oxford_it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spe_272645.png" --- # It’s just that we wear rose-coloured spectacles when we… ![“It’s just that we wear rose-coloured spectacles when we return here [to Oxford] – we are dazzled by the foolish idealism of our youthful years.” quote by Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/jill-paton-walsh-38453_oxford_it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spe_272645.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/jill-paton-walsh-38453_oxford_it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spe_272645.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/jill-paton-walsh-38453_oxford_it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spe_272645.png) > ““It’s just that we wear rose-coloured spectacles when we return here \[to Oxford\] – we are dazzled by the foolish idealism of our youthful years.”” [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youthful idealism blinds us, making us view the world through overly optimistic lenses. **In simple terms:** Young idealism clouds reality. Key Takeaway Balance optimism with realistic expectations. Themes youth idealism perception growth Mood hopeful nostalgic Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - college reunions - career planning - personal development Key Concepts Cognitive bias nostalgia self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - What benefits come from youthful optimism? - How can we temper idealism with experience? A Different Perspective Idealism can ignore practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Foolish Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish-idealism-2168859/) [Idealism Youthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism-youthful-2662894/) [Oxford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxford/) [Oxford Dazzled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxford-dazzled-2662892/) [Spectacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spectacles/) [Spectacles Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spectacles-return-2662893/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [“The line between courageous faith and foolish idealism is, almost by definition, one angstrom wide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/the-line-between-courageous-faith-and-foolish-idealism-is-almost-by/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/hence-it-is-that-such-democracies-have-ever-been-spectacles-of/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [After they had accustomed themselves at Rome to the spectacles of the slaughter of animals, they proceeded to those of the slaughter of men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/after-they-had-accustomed-themselves-at-rome-to-the-spectacles-of-the/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/it-is-hard-to-believe-when-i-m-with-you-that-there-can-be-anything-as/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [Kant, discussing the various modes of perception by which the human mind apprehends nature, concluded that it is specially prone to see nature through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/kant-discussing-the-various-modes-of-perception-by-which-the-human/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [The absolutist trumpets his plain vision; the relativist sees only someone who is unaware of his own spectacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-blackburn/the-absolutist-trumpets-his-plain-vision-the-relativist-sees-only/) [Simon Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-blackburn/) > [There, I guess King George will be able to read that without his spectacles!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hancock/there-i-guess-king-george-will-be-able-to-read-that-without-his/) [John Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hancock/) > [Young men mend not their sight by using old men's spectacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/young-men-mend-not-their-sight-by-using-old-men-s-spectacles/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [“Spectacles, on that strong-featured face…and his hair mussed as if he had been tugging absently on the front locks. All that combined with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/spectacles-on-that-strong-featured-face-and-his-hair-mussed-as-if-he/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“They don’t make spectacles for you, do they?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-charles/they-don-t-make-spectacles-for-you-do-they/) [K.J. Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-charles/) > [I have told you of the Spaniard who always put on his spectacles when about to eat cherries, that they might look bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/i-have-told-you-of-the-spaniard-who-always-put-on-his-spectacles-when/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Let us read the Bible without the ill-fitting colored spectacles of theology, just as we read other books, using our judgment and reason. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/let-us-read-the-bible-without-the-ill-fitting-colored-spectacles-of/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [ Spectacles are deaths Harquebuze. \[Spectacles are death's arquebuse.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/spectacles-are-deaths-harquebuze-spectacles-are-death-s-arquebuse/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [On the one hand, we had great filmic spectacles that brought in big audiences, adults as well as primary and secondary school students. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/on-the-one-hand-we-had-great-filmic-spectacles-that-brought-in-big/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) ## More by Jill Paton Walsh > [There is nothing more important than writing well for the young, if literature is to have a continuance ... They will inherit the earth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/there-is-nothing-more-important-than-writing-well-for-the-young-if/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [“allowed themselves to reinhabit themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/allowed-themselves-to-reinhabit-themselves/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [If you tell someone a secret, and ask them to keep it secret, you are asking them to display a discretion you are unable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/if-you-tell-someone-a-secret-and-ask-them-to-keep-it-secret-you-are/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [“Granted, a man may smile and smile and be a villain, but it takes nerve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/granted-a-man-may-smile-and-smile-and-be-a-villain-but-it-takes-nerve/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [“It’s the Queen’s English now,’ observed Peter mildly. ‘Is there a difference?’ asked Oundle rhetorically. ‘I fervently hope not.’ ‘There will be in time,’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/it-s-the-queen-s-english-now-observed-peter-mildly-is-there-a/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [The protagonist of folktale is always, and intensely, a young person moving through ordeals into adult life. . . . and this is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/the-protagonist-of-folktale-is-always-and-intensely-a-young-person/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [ “\[A\]fter all, the position of a reader in a book is very like that occupied by angels in the world, when angels still had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/a-fter-all-the-position-of-a-reader-in-a-book-is-very-like-that/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [It is only grown-ups who want children to be children; children themselves always want to be real people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/it-is-only-grown-ups-who-want-children-to-be-children-children/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [“Harriet said, "You shouldn't have reminded me to sign that book, Peter." "Why ever not? Have you suddenly become bashful about your hard-earned glories?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/harriet-said-you-shouldn-t-have-reminded-me-to-sign-that-book-peter/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) > [“Bunter came with me in the role of a friend. A role he has always played to perfection." "It does not require dissimulation, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/bunter-came-with-me-in-the-role-of-a-friend-a-role-he-has-always/) [Jill Paton Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) [Explore all 11 Jill Paton Walsh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/) ## More Oxford quotes > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) > [I went to study at Oxford University in the 1980s on an imperial scholarship instituted by Cecil Rhodes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-went-to-study-at-oxford-university-in-the-1980s-on-an-imperial/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [At Oxford University, I studied languages so I could read the great novels as they were originally written. I took what in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/at-oxford-university-i-studied-languages-so-i-could-read-the-great/) [Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/) > [As a graduate student at Oxford in 1963, I began writing about books in revolutionary France, helping to found the discipline of book history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-darnton/as-a-graduate-student-at-oxford-in-1963-i-began-writing-about-books/) [Robert Darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-darnton/) > [“I knew I should believe him, as he taught at Oxford, but his answers did not feel complete. It was like having a meal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-knew-i-should-believe-him-as-he-taught-at-oxford-but-his-answers/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [Clothing should be like food. There should never be a $5000 sweater. You know what should cost $5000? A car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/clothing-should-be-like-food-there-should-never-be-a-5000-sweater-you/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [...The two great turning-points of my life were when my father sent to Oxford, and when society sent me to prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-two-great-turning-points-of-my-life-were-when-my-father-sent-to/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Jonathan Coe's genial, likeable novel can only be described as a kind of lit-prog-rock concept album... Coe recreates the period with such loving accuracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bradshaw/jonathan-coe-s-genial-likeable-novel-can-only-be-described-as-a-kind/) [Peter Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bradshaw/) > [I drove to Oxford with my van full of petrol and tin cans, as I didn't know there were service stations on the motorway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-drove-to-oxford-with-my-van-full-of-petrol-and-tin-cans-as-i-didn-t/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Oxford is very pretty, but I don't like to be dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/oxford-is-very-pretty-but-i-don-t-like-to-be-dead/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Rome has been called the "Sacred City": - might not our Oxford be called so too? There is an air about it, resonant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/rome-has-been-called-the-sacred-city-might-not-our-oxford-be-called/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Governance has been at the heart of the work of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations and is a clear focus in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-ibrahim/governance-has-been-at-the-heart-of-the-work-of-the-oxford-martin/) [Mo Ibrahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-ibrahim/) > [“Very well. I will take you to Oxford. It might be an educational opportunity at that. You can see the college your father attended,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-metzger/very-well-i-will-take-you-to-oxford-it-might-be-an-educational/) [Barbara Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-metzger/) > [Economists use the word consume to mean "utilize economic goods," but the Shorter Oxford Dictionary's definition is more appropriate to ecologists: "To make away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-thein-durning/economists-use-the-word-consume-to-mean-utilize-economic-goods-but/) [Alan Thein Durning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-thein-durning/) [Browse all 324 Oxford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxford/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s just that we wear rose-coloured spectacles when we return here [to Oxford] – we are dazzled by the foolish idealism of our youthful years.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jill Paton Walsh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spectacles-when-we-return-here/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Oxford" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spectacles-when-we-return-here/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/jill-paton-walsh-38453_oxford_it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spe_272645.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/jill-paton-walsh-38453_oxford_it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spe_272645.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/jill-paton-walsh-38453_oxford_it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spe_272645.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s just that we wear rose-coloured spectacles when we return here [to Oxford] – we are dazzled by the…” — Jill Paton Walsh", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jill Paton Walsh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paton-walsh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It’s just that we wear rose-coloured...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spectacles-when-we-return-here/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paton-walsh/it-s-just-that-we-wear-rose-coloured-spectacles-when-we-return-here/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```