--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One should not look at anything. Neither…" description: "\"“One should not look at anything. Neither at things, nor at people should one look. Only in mirrors is it well to look, for mirrors do but show us mask..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/oscar-wilde-16_quote_one-should-not-look-at-anything-neither_1244325.jpg" --- # One should not look at anything. Neither at things, nor at… ![“One should not look at anything. Neither at things, nor at people should one look. Only in mirrors is it well to look, for mirrors do but show us masks.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/oscar-wilde-16_quote_one-should-not-look-at-anything-neither_1244325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/oscar-wilde-16_quote_one-should-not-look-at-anything-neither_1244325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/oscar-wilde-16_quote_one-should-not-look-at-anything-neither_1244325.jpg) > ““One should not look at anything. Neither at things, nor at people should one look. Only in mirrors is it well to look, for mirrors do but show us masks.”” [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. One should avoid judging external appearances; true insight comes from self‑reflection, as mirrors reveal the masks we wear. **In simple terms:** Look within, not at others. Key Takeaway Seek self‑knowledge. Themes self‑awareness authenticity perception Mood contemplative insightful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal relationships - leadership - therapy - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What masks do you wear? - How can you use self‑reflection to improve interactions? A Different Perspective Self‑reflection can be limited by denial or lack of honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) ## Related quotes > [“Neither at things, nor at people should one look. Only in mirrors should one look, for mirrors do but show us masks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/neither-at-things-nor-at-people-should-one-look-only-in-mirrors/) [Oscar wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Everyone in the Lotus Eaters is so concerned with appearances, but there's an emptiness under the surface that they're trying to ignore. We talked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-mcguinness/everyone-in-the-lotus-eaters-is-so-concerned-with-appearances-but/) Alexandra McGuinness > [Hypocrisy annoys me, people need to look into mirrors. Let me hold a mirror in front of your face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/hypocrisy-annoys-me-people-need-to-look-into-mirrors-let-me-hold-a/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [One doesn't generally look into mirrors when one is especially angry; one has better things to do, like pace the floor or throw things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/one-doesn-t-generally-look-into-mirrors-when-one-is-especially-angry/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [We too, must shatter the mirrors. 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They look at themselves doing the deed and they see Rex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-never-want-to-look-in-a-mirror-lula-said-men-love-mirrors-they/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) ## 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. 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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 Mirrors quotes > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“You understand now... how simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-understand-now-how-simple-life-becomes-when-things-like-mirrors/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [What Gods do you believe in? I'll build you a temple of mirrors so you can see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/what-gods-do-you-believe-in-i-ll-build-you-a-temple-of-mirrors-so-you/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [When they took me to do the camera test for the vampire make up, after they put the prosthetic on, I went though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-benz/when-they-took-me-to-do-the-camera-test-for-the-vampire-make-up-after/) [Julie Benz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-benz/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [You mostly know that you want to be funny, know that you have the desire. It's not like people who grow up beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/you-mostly-know-that-you-want-to-be-funny-know-that-you-have-the/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Mirror, mirror, here I stand. Who is the fairest in the land?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mirror-mirror-here-i-stand-who-is-the-fairest-in-the-land/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [ The only way you can do that \[decrease taxes, balance the budget, and increase military spending\] is with mirrors… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-anderson/the-only-way-you-can-do-that-decrease-taxes-balance-the-budget-and/) John B. Anderson > [I'm paranoid. 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