"Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight, For the greatest tragedy of them all, Is never to feel the burning light."

-Attributed to Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright, 1854-1900

These lines are almost universally attributed to Oscar Wilde, even though they cannot be found in the poet’s complete works. Regardless of the true author, this quote speaks to the inner drive for flight that exists in all of us. It points out that Icarus got to taste the power and freedom of flight, and even though he ended up paying for it with his life, he still got to feel what it means for a human to fly. As the quote goes, it’s a tragedy to live a human life and never feel this power and freedom as Icarus did.

Read more about the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus here.

Check out other myths and legends that deal with flight here.