--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As he looked back upon man moving through…" description: "\"“As he looked back upon man moving through History, he was haunted by a feeling of loss. So much had been surrendered! and to such little purpose!...He..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/oscar-wilde-16_feeling_as-he-looked-back-upon-man-moving-throug_59926.jpg" --- # As he looked back upon man moving through History, he was… ![“As he looked back upon man moving through History, he was haunted by a feeling of loss. So much had been surrendered! and to such little purpose!...Hedonism... was to teach man to concentrate himself upon the moments of a life that is but itself a moment.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/oscar-wilde-16_feeling_as-he-looked-back-upon-man-moving-throug_59926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/oscar-wilde-16_feeling_as-he-looked-back-upon-man-moving-throug_59926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/oscar-wilde-16_feeling_as-he-looked-back-upon-man-moving-throug_59926.jpg) > ““As he looked back upon man moving through History, he was haunted by a feeling of loss. So much had been surrendered! and to such little purpose!...Hedonism... was to teach man to concentrate himself upon the moments of a life that is but itself a moment. ”” [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 speaker mourns humanity's surrender of deeper purpose to fleeting pleasures, urging focus on the present as the essence of life. **In simple terms:** Loss of meaning to hedonism Key Takeaway Prioritize present moments Themes Existentialism Hedonism Temporal awareness Purpose History Surrender Mood Melancholic Reflective Contemplative Type Philosophical Reflective Cautionary When to use this quote - Reflecting on personal priorities - Teaching mindfulness - Analyzing historical trends - Discussing philosophy - Guiding personal growth Key Concepts Meaning of life Present focus Cultural critique Practical Applications - Philosophical essays - Mindfulness workshops Questions to Reflect On - How does present focus alter our sense of purpose? - What does surrender mean in modern life? A Different Perspective Some argue that hedonism can coexist with purpose when balanced with reflective practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Hedonism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonism/) [Hedonism Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonism-teach-820633/) [Loss Surrendered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss-surrendered-820634/) [Purpose Hedonism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-hedonism-820632/) ## Related quotes > [Punctuality is the thief of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/punctuality-is-the-thief-of-time/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [There’s Socialism and Communism and Capitalism and there’s Feminism and Hedonism, and there’s Catholicism and Bipedalism and Consumerism, but I think Narcissism is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoagland/there-s-socialism-and-communism-and-capitalism-and-there-s-feminism/) [Tony Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoagland/) > [You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-ll-live-to-be-a-hundred-if-you-give-up-all-the-things-that-make/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“They are all about romance, about life's excitement and adventure and it's essential sadness and transience. They savour everything both fine and bittersweet that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/they-are-all-about-romance-about-life-s-excitement-and-adventure-and/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [A night out isn't just chaos and hedonism. It can be beautiful as well and there's a sadness to the end of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/a-night-out-isn-t-just-chaos-and-hedonism-it-can-be-beautiful-as-well/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [Unrestrained automobility, hedonism, individualism, and conspicuous consumption cannot be sustained because they take more than they give back. A spiritually impoverished world cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-orr/unrestrained-automobility-hedonism-individualism-and-conspicuous/) [David W. Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-orr/) > [The left-wing Democrats will represent the party of total hedonism, total exhibitionism, total bizarreness, total weirdness, and the total right to cripple innocent people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/the-left-wing-democrats-will-represent-the-party-of-total-hedonism/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [Critics of Consequentialism have often assumed that hedonism (or preference-satisfaction) must be the theory of the good, that the deontic principle must be maximizing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/critics-of-consequentialism-have-often-assumed-that-hedonism-or/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Never before has the seductive market way of life held such sway in nearly every sphere of American life. 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Our descendants will be animated by gradients of genetically pre-programmed well-being that are orders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pearce/i-predict-we-will-abolish-suffering-throughout-the-living-world-our/) [David Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pearce/) > [By consequence I hold that no one ever did, or can do, anything for "society."... Comte invented the term altruism as an antonym for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/by-consequence-i-hold-that-no-one-ever-did-or-can-do-anything-for/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [Selfish hedonism is not a pejorative. It is a description - an exactly accurate description of what is involved in homosexual relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/selfish-hedonism-is-not-a-pejorative-it-is-a-description-an-exactly/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## 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. 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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 Feeling quotes > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myself/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Hate not knowing when things are going to happen feeling different every single day. 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