--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is through¦ Art and Art only that we…" description: "\"It is through¦ Art and Art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/oscar-wilde-16_art_it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-c_130626.jpg" --- # It is through¦ Art and Art only that we can shield… ![“It is through¦ Art and Art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/oscar-wilde-16_art_it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-c_130626.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/oscar-wilde-16_art_it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-c_130626.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/oscar-wilde-16_art_it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-c_130626.jpg) > “It is through¦ Art and Art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.” [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. Art provides a protective barrier against life's harsh realities, allowing us to find meaning and solace. **In simple terms:** Art shields us from life's harshness. Key Takeaway Seek refuge in creative expression. Themes art protection meaning solace Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - daily stress - creative work - mental health Key Concepts aestheticism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does art help you cope? - What role does creativity play in resilience? A Different Perspective Art may not solve practical problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actual Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actual-existence-864448/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Shield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-shield-1498715/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Perils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perils/) [Perils Actual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perils-actual-1498716/) ## Related quotes > [It is only through Art and through Art only that we can realize our perfection; Through Art and art only that we can shield…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-only-through-art-and-through-art-only-that-we-can-realize-our/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Now, nothing can be brought from potentiality to actual existence except through something actually existing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/now-nothing-can-be-brought-from-potentiality-to-actual-existence/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“I suspect there is something in our very mode of thought which makes it inevitable that we should always be baffled by actual existence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-suspect-there-is-something-in-our-very-mode-of-thought-which-makes/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Is time real? …In one sense, it’s a silly question. The “reality” of something is only an interesting issue if its a well-defined concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-carroll/is-time-real-in-one-sense-it-s-a-silly-question-the-reality-of/) [Sean Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-carroll/) > [...no-one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away... The span of someone's life, they say, is only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/no-one-is-finally-dead-until-the-ripples-they-cause-in-the-world-die/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Everything actual must also first have been possible, before having actual existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/everything-actual-must-also-first-have-been-possible-before-having/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [MATERIAL, adj. Having an actual existence, as distinguished from an imaginary one. Important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/material-adj-having-an-actual-existence-as-distinguished-from-an/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“The soul is a mystery. Scientists and Theologians constantly butt heads on the soul’s definitive and can’t come to grips with its purpose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-rennerfeldt/the-soul-is-a-mystery-scientists-and-theologians-constantly-butt/) [H.D. Rennerfeldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-rennerfeldt/) > [In the Ramtops village where they dance the real Morris dance, for example, they believe that no-one is finally dead until the ripples they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/in-the-ramtops-village-where-they-dance-the-real-morris-dance-for/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The actual existence of the subject of the proposition is therefore only apparently, not really, implied in the predication, if an essential one: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-actual-existence-of-the-subject-of-the-proposition-is-therefore/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-we-look-back-on-all-the-perils-through-which-we-have-passed-and/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Although science and technology open up boundless opportunities, they also present great perils because Satan employs these marvelous discoveries to his great advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/although-science-and-technology-open-up-boundless-opportunities-they/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [I am wise enough to know that there are some perils from which a man must flee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faramir/i-am-wise-enough-to-know-that-there-are-some-perils-from-which-a-man/) [Faramir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faramir/) > [Let no man boast himself that he has got through the perils of winter till at least the seventh of May.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/let-no-man-boast-himself-that-he-has-got-through-the-perils-of-winter/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“Not since life taught him the perils of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christi-caldwell/not-since-life-taught-him-the-perils-of-love/) [Christi Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christi-caldwell/) ## 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is through¦ Art and Art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-can-shield-ourselves-from-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-can-shield-ourselves-from-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/oscar-wilde-16_art_it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-c_130626.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/oscar-wilde-16_art_it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-c_130626.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/oscar-wilde-16_art_it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-c_130626.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is through¦ Art and Art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.” — 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": "It is through¦ Art and Art...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-can-shield-ourselves-from-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-through-art-and-art-only-that-we-can-shield-ourselves-from-the/#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 } } ] } ```