Quotes from The Nightingale and the Rose

Oscar Wilde ·  12 pages

Rating: (5.5K votes)


“Be happy, cried the Nightingale, be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart's-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty. Flame-coloured are his wings, and coloured like flame is his body. His lips are sweet as honey, and his breath is like frankincense.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“The moon in her chariot of pearl”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“Ah, on what little things does happiness depend! I have read all that the wise men have written, and all the secrets of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose is my life made wretched.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“She has form," he said to himself, as he walked away through the grove - "that cannot be denied to her; but has she got feeling? I am afraid not. In fact, she is like most artists; she is all style, without any sincerity. She would not sacrifice herself for others. She thinks merely of music, and everybody knows that arts are selfish. Still, it must be admitted that she has some beautiful notes in her voice. What a pity it is that they do not mean anything, or do any practical good.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“Then she gave one last burst of music. The white Moon heard it, and she forgot the dawn, and lingered on in the sky. The red rose heard it, and it trembled all over with ecstasy, and opened its petals to the cold morning air. Echo bore it to her purple cavern in the hills, and woke the sleeping shepherds from their dreams. It floated through the reeds of the river, and they carried its message to the sea.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose



“What a silly thing Love is. It is not as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact, it is quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be practical is everything, I shall go back to Philosophy and study Metaphysics.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“What a silly thing Love is," said the Student as he walked away. "It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact, it is quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be practical is everything, I shall go back to Philosophy and study Metaphysics.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“pata de la paloma; y más rojas que los hermosos”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“––“Llora por una rosa roja” ––dijo el ruiseñor.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose


“Entonces el ruiseñor voló sobre el rosal que crecía alrededor del reloj de sol.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Nightingale and the Rose



About the author

Oscar Wilde
Born place: in Dublin, Ireland
Born date October 16, 1854
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“[Benjamin Franklin]identified thirteen virtues he wanted to cultivate--temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility--and made a chart with those virtues plotted against the days of the week. Each day, Franklin would score himself on whether he practiced those thirteen virtues.”
― Gretchen Rubin, quote from The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun


“Ravens are like step-children," Ty answered as he squinted up at the screen. "I love them, but they're still sleeping on the couch when the house is full.”
― Abigail Roux, quote from Fish & Chips


“But I don’t want to be grateful. I’m tired of being kicked about like a pebble, and told that I have to be happy that it’s no worse. I’ve had enough. It’s time the pebble kicked back.”
― Frances Hardinge, quote from Fly Trap


“Autumn that year painted the countryside in vivid shades of scarlet, saffron and russet, and the days were clear and crisp under harvest skies.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Time and Chance


“Congratulations Lord Steldor, Princess Alera, my sympathies.”
― Cayla Kluver, quote from Legacy


Interesting books

Wake of Vultures
(2.9K)
The Butterfly Project
(2.7K)
The Butterfly Projec...
by Emma Scott
The Book of Merlyn
(7.7K)
The Book of Merlyn
by T.H. White
Manners & Mutiny
(9.8K)
Manners & Mutiny
by Gail Carriger
The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime!
(5.5K)
The Millionaire Fast...
by M.J. DeMarco
The Proverbial Mr. Universe
(71)
The Proverbial Mr. U...
by Maria La Serra

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.