--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And thus we rust Life's iron chain…" description: "\"And thus we rust Life's iron chain Degraded and alone: And some men curse, and some men weep, And some men make no moan: But God's eternal Laws are kin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/oscar-wilde-16_break_and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degra_688327.jpg" --- # And thus we rust Life's iron chain Degraded and alone: And… ![“And thus we rust Life's iron chain Degraded and alone: And some men curse, and some men weep, And some men make no moan: But God's eternal Laws are kind And break the heart of stone” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/oscar-wilde-16_break_and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degra_688327.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/oscar-wilde-16_break_and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degra_688327.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/oscar-wilde-16_break_and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degra_688327.jpg) > “And thus we rust Life's iron chain Degraded and alone: And some men curse, and some men weep, And some men make no moan: But God's eternal Laws are kind And break the heart of stone” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that while human life can feel isolated and deteriorating, divine laws remain compassionate and can soften even the hardest hearts. **In simple terms:** Life may feel lonely, but divine kindness can soften hearts. Key Takeaway Seek compassion in divine law. Themes loneliness spirituality compassion Mood reflective solemn Type poetic spiritual When to use this quote - personal grief - spiritual seeking - accepting hardship Key Concepts theology human condition resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you recognize divine compassion in hardship? - What does a 'heart of stone' symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Divine kindness may not be evident in all suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart of stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-of-stone/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) ## Related quotes > [God's eternal laws are kind-and break the heart of stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/god-s-eternal-laws-are-kind-and-break-the-heart-of-stone/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [We should weep for men at their birth, not at their death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-montesquieu/we-should-weep-for-men-at-their-birth-not-at-their-death/) [Charles de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-montesquieu/) > [Humility can weep over other men's weaknesses, and joy and rejoice over their graces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/humility-can-weep-over-other-men-s-weaknesses-and-joy-and-rejoice/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Perhaps the early grave Which men weep over may be meant to save.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/perhaps-the-early-grave-which-men-weep-over-may-be-meant-to-save/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“It was “a shape to make men weep,” wrote Firdred of Bain when he first saw it: “exactly the shape of a desecrated sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-samatar/it-was-a-shape-to-make-men-weep-wrote-firdred-of-bain-when-he-first/) [Sofia Samatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-samatar/) > [The chiefest sanctity of a temple is that it is a place to which men go to weep in common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/the-chiefest-sanctity-of-a-temple-is-that-it-is-a-place-to-which-men/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [Death, so called, is a thing which makes men weep, And yet a third of life is passed in sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/death-so-called-is-a-thing-which-makes-men-weep-and-yet-a-third-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-must-have-a-heart-of-stone-to-read-the-death-of-little-nell/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [one pale woman all alone, The daylight kissing her wan hair, Loitered beneath the gas lamps' flare, With lips of flame and heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-pale-woman-all-alone-the-daylight-kissing-her-wan-hair-loitered/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“What are the unreal things, but the passions that once burned one like fire? What are the incredible things, but the things that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-are-the-unreal-things-but-the-passions-that-once-burned-one-like/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“At least, I have not made my heart a heart of stone, Nor starved my boyhood of is goodly feast, Nor walked where beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/at-least-i-have-not-made-my-heart-a-heart-of-stone-nor-starved-my/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The iron chain and the silken cord are both equally bonds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-iron-chain-and-the-silken-cord-are-both-equally-bonds/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A precisely made iron chain 22 yards in length consisting of 100 links.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-gunter/a-precisely-made-iron-chain-22-yards-in-length-consisting-of-100-links/) Edmund Gunter > [No iron chain, or outward force of any kind, can ever compel the soul of a person to believe or to disbelieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-iron-chain-or-outward-force-of-any-kind-can-ever-compel-the-soul/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [An iron chain is less difficult to break than a chain of flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/an-iron-chain-is-less-difficult-to-break-than-a-chain-of-flowers/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) Peter Dunne > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And thus we rust Life's iron chain Degraded and alone: And some men curse, and some men weep, And some men make no moan: But God's eternal Laws are kind And break the heart of stone", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degraded-and-alone-and-some-men/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Break" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degraded-and-alone-and-some-men/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/oscar-wilde-16_break_and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degra_688327.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/oscar-wilde-16_break_and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degra_688327.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/oscar-wilde-16_break_and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degra_688327.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And thus we rust Life's iron chain Degraded and alone: And some men curse, and some men weep, And some men…” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And thus we rust Life's iron...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degraded-and-alone-and-some-men/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/and-thus-we-rust-life-s-iron-chain-degraded-and-alone-and-some-men/#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 } } ] } ```