---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You are young. No hungry generations…"
description: "\"You are young. No hungry generations tread you down. The past does not mock you with the ruins of a beauty the secret of whose creation you have lost\" ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-trea_361635.jpg"
---

#  You are young. No hungry generations tread you down. The…

![“You are young. No hungry generations tread you down. The past does not mock you with the ruins of a beauty the secret of whose creation you have lost” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-trea_361635.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-trea_361635.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-trea_361635.jpg)

> “You are young. No hungry generations tread you down. The past does not mock you with the ruins of a beauty the secret of whose creation you have lost”

[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 should not be crushed by past failures; beauty and meaning are lost when history is ignored.

**In simple terms:** Youth must not be weighed down by history.

Key Takeaway

Preserve curiosity and learn from the past.

Themes

youth history beauty learning generations

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- education
- personal growth
- artistic creation
- intergenerational dialogue

Key Concepts

existentialism romanticism cultural memory

Questions to Reflect On

- What beauty from history can inspire today?
- How do we honor past generations without being burdened?

A Different Perspective

Focusing on the past can cause stagnation if not balanced with present action.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Generations Tread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations-tread-2463747/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Hungry Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry-generations-3319054/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mock/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-hungry-836199/)

## Related quotes

> [“For you, at least, are young; ‘no hungry generations tread you down,’ and the past does not weary you with the intolerable burden of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/for-you-at-least-are-young-no-hungry-generations-tread-you-down-and/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“She looks so young, so hungry, her eyes full of possibility, of what is in store for her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-watson/she-looks-so-young-so-hungry-her-eyes-full-of-possibility-of-what-is/)

[S.J. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-watson/)

> [“Blood bears all it has known and seen unto the following generations. Those who tread the earth leave the scent of memory, registered in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-joy-myers/blood-bears-all-it-has-known-and-seen-unto-the-following-generations/)

[Linda Joy Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-joy-myers/)

> [Within this arena, which grows more stable night after day, generations work and love and hope and vanish. New generations tread on the corpses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/within-this-arena-which-grows-more-stable-night-after-day-generations/)

[Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/)

> [When you sign players who are young and hungry, that's good for the side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-silva/when-you-sign-players-who-are-young-and-hungry-that-s-good-for-the/)

[David Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-silva/)

> [Old man, 40 years old against young hungry man from Great Britain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/old-man-40-years-old-against-young-hungry-man-from-great-britain/)

[Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/)

> [I use that term, 'Young and hungry can be dangerous,' and it's true. There's a little naivete to not knowing even. It's inspiring as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-payton/i-use-that-term-young-and-hungry-can-be-dangerous-and-it-s-true-there/)

[Sean Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-payton/)

> [You start at SNL when you're young and hungry, but I don't want my pro years to be my SNL years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-sudeikis/you-start-at-snl-when-you-re-young-and-hungry-but-i-don-t-want-my-pro/)

[Jason Sudeikis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-sudeikis/)

> [The gods are strange. It is not our vices only they make instruments to scourge us. They bring us to ruin through what in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-gods-are-strange-it-is-not-our-vices-only-they-make-instruments/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Crying is the refuge of plain women but the ruin of pretty ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/crying-is-the-refuge-of-plain-women-but-the-ruin-of-pretty-ones/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [A kiss may ruin a human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/a-kiss-may-ruin-a-human-life/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [All parents should be aware that when they mock or curse gay people, they may be mocking or cursing their own child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/all-parents-should-be-aware-that-when-they-mock-or-curse-gay-people/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [When in doubt, mock the powerful, not the powerless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-in-doubt-mock-the-powerful-not-the-powerless/)

[Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/)

> [“It can be so difficult to train up the peasants,” she said, pretending to commiserate, her voice heavy with irony. “They find it so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-crews/it-can-be-so-difficult-to-train-up-the-peasants-she-said-pretending/)

[Caitlin Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-crews/)

> [My hero among heroes is my grandmother, she's the epitome of strength and I try to mock that strength all the time. She's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeriel-miranda/my-hero-among-heroes-is-my-grandmother-she-s-the-epitome-of-strength/)

[Aeriel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeriel-miranda/)

## 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 Beauty quotes

> [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/)

[Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

> [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/)

[Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/)

> [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/)

[Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/)

> [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/)

[Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/)

> [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/)

[Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/)

[Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "You are young. No hungry generations tread you down. The past does not mock you with the ruins of a beauty the secret of whose creation you have lost",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Oscar Wilde"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-tread-you-down-the-past-does-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beauty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-tread-you-down-the-past-does-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-trea_361635.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-trea_361635.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-trea_361635.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You are young. No hungry generations tread you down. The past does not mock you with the ruins of a beauty…” — 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": "You are young. No hungry generations...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-tread-you-down-the-past-does-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-are-young-no-hungry-generations-tread-you-down-the-past-does-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
