--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Conceit is to nature what paint is to…" description: "\"Conceit is to nature what paint is to beauty; it is not only needless, but it impairs what it would improve.\" — Alexander Pope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/alexander-pope-235_artist_conceit-is-to-nature-what-paint-is-to-be_1362335.png" --- # Conceit is to nature what paint is to beauty; it is not… ![“Conceit is to nature what paint is to beauty; it is not only needless, but it impairs what it would improve.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/alexander-pope-235_artist_conceit-is-to-nature-what-paint-is-to-be_1362335.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/alexander-pope-235_artist_conceit-is-to-nature-what-paint-is-to-be_1362335.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/alexander-pope-235_artist_conceit-is-to-nature-what-paint-is-to-be_1362335.png) > “Conceit is to nature what paint is to beauty; it is not only needless, but it impairs what it would improve.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conceit is unnecessary and damages what it could enhance, like paint on beauty. **In simple terms:** Pride harms what it tries to improve. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility over vanity. Themes pride beauty self‑image Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - art criticism - personal branding - public speaking - writing Key Concepts aesthetics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does pride affect your work? - When is confidence beneficial? A Different Perspective Some confidence is needed for achievement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Conceit Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit-nature-4667260/) [Conceited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceited/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-paint-619657/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-beauty-840243/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [“So build yourself as beautiful as you want your world to be. Wrap yourself in light then give yourself away with your heart, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/so-build-yourself-as-beautiful-as-you-want-your-world-to-be-wrap/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [I choose to paint beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-babailov/i-choose-to-paint-beauty/) [Igor Babailov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-babailov/) > [We must always take from nature what we paint and always choose the most beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-battista-alberti/we-must-always-take-from-nature-what-we-paint-and-always-choose-the/) [Leon Battista Alberti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-battista-alberti/) > [Nothing makes me so happy as to observe nature and to paint what I see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-rousseau/nothing-makes-me-so-happy-as-to-observe-nature-and-to-paint-what-i-see/) [Henri Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-rousseau/) > [For an Impressionist to paint from nature is not to paint the subject, but to realize sensations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/for-an-impressionist-to-paint-from-nature-is-not-to-paint-the-subject/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [I never use nature as a starting point. I never abstract from nature; I never consciously think of nature when I paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/i-never-use-nature-as-a-starting-point-i-never-abstract-from-nature-i/) [Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/) > [If you will not lend me the money, how can I pay you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-you-will-not-lend-me-the-money-how-can-i-pay-you/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Being bigheaded can be as irritating and as dangerous as being small-minded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/being-bigheaded-can-be-as-irritating-and-as-dangerous-as-being-small/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“An ordinary man gets arrogant with beauty, conceited with knowledge and ruthless with power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-ordinary-man-gets-arrogant-with-beauty-conceited-with-knowledge/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Now shame is the only direct attack on conceit, the defensive image of oneself. Conceit is the common denominator of the Organization man, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/now-shame-is-the-only-direct-attack-on-conceit-the-defensive-image-of/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [It is possible to have a strong self-love without any self-satisfaction, rather with a self-discontent which is the more intense because one's own little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-possible-to-have-a-strong-self-love-without-any-self/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Just because you're beautiful and perfect, it's made you conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/just-because-you-re-beautiful-and-perfect-it-s-made-you-conceited/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“In contrast to your usual minions, I imagine, I’m a bit more awed by your conceit and arrogance than I am by your supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-crews/in-contrast-to-your-usual-minions-i-imagine-i-m-a-bit-more-awed-by/) [Caitlin Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-crews/) > [If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-man-thinks-he-is-not-conceited-he-is-very-conceited-indeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The smaller the mind, the greater the ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-smaller-the-mind-the-greater-the-ego/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. 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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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. 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