--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could get back my youth, I'd do…" description: "\"“If I could get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world except get up early, take exercise or be respectable.”\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/oscar-wilde-16_ageing_if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anyt_2733349.jpg" --- # If I could get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world… ![“If I could get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world except get up early, take exercise or be respectable.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/oscar-wilde-16_ageing_if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anyt_2733349.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/oscar-wilde-16_ageing_if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anyt_2733349.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/oscar-wilde-16_ageing_if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anyt_2733349.jpg) > ““If I could get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world except get up early, take exercise or be respectable.”” [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. Youth is cherished; early rising, exercise, and respectability are rejected. **In simple terms:** Youth prefers freedom over responsibility. Key Takeaway Embrace youthful spontaneity. Themes humor age society Mood witty reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal choices - social expectations - health habits Key Concepts individualism conformity Questions to Reflect On - Why do we resist responsibility? - What balances youth and duty? A Different Perspective Neglecting health can have long‑term costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ageing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-get-back-my-youth-i-would-do-anything-in-the-world-except-take/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I came into the world either too early or too late; at present, I am good for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klemens-von-metternich/i-came-into-the-world-either-too-early-or-too-late-at-present-i-am/) [Klemens von Metternich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klemens-von-metternich/) > [“it’s better to be a bit late in this world than too early in the next.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-fergusson/it-s-better-to-be-a-bit-late-in-this-world-than-too-early-in-the-next/) L.P. Fergusson > [Oil production should peak out around the world in the early 1990s...That means in five years' time we may have chewed up most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-r-schlesinger/oil-production-should-peak-out-around-the-world-in-the-early-1990s/) [James R. Schlesinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-r-schlesinger/) > [Triumphant hours are the Lark's Who circles skywards from his home each day: World's early riser, with bubbling golden song, Towards the firmament, guardian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dafydd-ap-gwilym/triumphant-hours-are-the-lark-s-who-circles-skywards-from-his-home/) Dafydd ap Gwilym > [The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/the-men-who-have-done-the-most-for-god-in-this-world-have-been-early-2/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [Today the world changes so quickly that in growing up we take leave not just of youth but of the world we were young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/today-the-world-changes-so-quickly-that-in-growing-up-we-take-leave/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The future of the world belongs to the youth of the world, and it is from the youth and not from the old that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-mann/the-future-of-the-world-belongs-to-the-youth-of-the-world-and-it-is/) Tom Mann > [“Oh ignorant youth, the world is not a joyous place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/oh-ignorant-youth-the-world-is-not-a-joyous-place/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Boy or girl, the youth of the world deserve opportunity and we as leaders have to be the ones that at least create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/boy-or-girl-the-youth-of-the-world-deserve-opportunity-and-we-as/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [We must accept the fact that transport and communications will bring the world in close relations and the youth of the world should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-gordon-low/we-must-accept-the-fact-that-transport-and-communications-will-bring/) [Juliette Gordon Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-gordon-low/) > [I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-would-like-to-recapture-that-freshness-of-vision-which-is/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Everyone believes in his youth that the world really began with him, and that all merely exists for his sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/everyone-believes-in-his-youth-that-the-world-really-began-with-him/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Many signs point to the fact that the youth of the Third World will no longer tolerate living in circumstances that give them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rom-o-dallaire/many-signs-point-to-the-fact-that-the-youth-of-the-third-world-will/) [Roméo Dallaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rom-o-dallaire/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## 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 Ageing quotes > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [People's opinions don't interfere with me. Ageing gracefully is supposed to mean trying not to hide time passing and just looking a wreck. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-moreau/people-s-opinions-don-t-interfere-with-me-ageing-gracefully-is/) [Jeanne Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-moreau/) > [“Ageing must be like wearing a heavy, itchy suit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cardamone/ageing-must-be-like-wearing-a-heavy-itchy-suit/) [Tom Cardamone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cardamone/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [“She has built her whole life on the foundation of beauty: each chiseled plane, each sloping dimple, each soft curve as crucial as keystones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/she-has-built-her-whole-life-on-the-foundation-of-beauty-each/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“I've been 21 for many years now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/i-ve-been-21-for-many-years-now/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Age doesn't define maturity. Some people will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-doesn-t-define-maturity-some-people-will-never-grow-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ageing is so many different things, and cells being able to self-renew is part of the picture but not all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-blackburn/ageing-is-so-many-different-things-and-cells-being-able-to-self-renew/) [Elizabeth Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-blackburn/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/dying-is-a-matter-of-slapstick-and-pratfalls-the-ageing-process-is/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Anyone who stops learning is old — whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/anyone-who-stops-learning-is-old-whether-this-happens-at-twenty-or-at/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [All of my friends are my age and we are all ageing at the same time. We talk about it and moan, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-schiffer/all-of-my-friends-are-my-age-and-we-are-all-ageing-at-the-same-time/) [Claudia Schiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-schiffer/) > [You've got to get your head right about ageing. Taking care of diet and exercise and facing your fears about growing older will lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/you-ve-got-to-get-your-head-right-about-ageing-taking-care-of-diet/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [Ageing is very rare. We only see it in humans and laboratory animals and in zoo animals and in our pets. Basically, organisms that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/ageing-is-very-rare-we-only-see-it-in-humans-and-laboratory-animals/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [“Growing age can kill the beauty, not the style.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/growing-age-can-kill-the-beauty-not-the-style/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 311 Ageing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I could get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world except get up early, take exercise or be respectable.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anything-in-the-world-except-get/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ageing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anything-in-the-world-except-get/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/oscar-wilde-16_ageing_if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anyt_2733349.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/oscar-wilde-16_ageing_if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anyt_2733349.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/oscar-wilde-16_ageing_if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anyt_2733349.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I could get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world except get up early, take exercise or be…” — 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": "“If I could get back my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anything-in-the-world-except-get/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-i-could-get-back-my-youth-i-d-do-anything-in-the-world-except-get/#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 } } ] } ```