--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps there is no gift of nature that…" description: "\"Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little exertion on the part of the owner as personal beauty. I am not certain but that it is this v..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/bret-harte-16965_absence_perhaps-there-is-no-gift-of-nature-that_165292.jpg" --- # Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little… ![“Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little exertion on the part of the owner as personal beauty. I am not certain but that it is this very absence of effort which excites our admiration.” quote by Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/bret-harte-16965_absence_perhaps-there-is-no-gift-of-nature-that_165292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/bret-harte-16965_absence_perhaps-there-is-no-gift-of-nature-that_165292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/bret-harte-16965_absence_perhaps-there-is-no-gift-of-nature-that_165292.jpg) > “Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little exertion on the part of the owner as personal beauty. I am not certain but that it is this very absence of effort which excites our admiration.” [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal beauty requires little effort, yet it captivates admiration because of its effortless appearance. **In simple terms:** Effortless beauty draws admiration. Key Takeaway Appreciate natural qualities without overworking them. Themes beauty effort admiration Mood contemplative admiring Type observational reflective When to use this quote - social interactions - self‑esteem - media representation Key Concepts aesthetics human perception Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of beauty do you value beyond appearance? - How does effort influence perceived worth? A Different Perspective Effortless beauty may be superficial and overlook deeper qualities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Admiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admiration/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Personal beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-beauty/) ## Related quotes > [Those who make money make little exertion; those who make much exertion make no money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/those-who-make-money-make-little-exertion-those-who-make-much/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/personal-beauty-is-a-greater-recommendation-than-any-letter-of/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct, for high birth; success for learning; and proper spending for wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/moral-excellence-is-an-ornament-for-personal-beauty-righteous-conduct/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [“To be beautiful, handsome, means that you possess a power which makes all smile upon and welcome you; that everybody is impressed in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/to-be-beautiful-handsome-means-that-you-possess-a-power-which-makes/) [Théophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [Personal beauty requires that one should be tall; little people may have charm and elegance, but beauty-no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/personal-beauty-requires-that-one-should-be-tall-little-people-may/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [If either man or woman would realize that the full power of personal beauty, it must be by cherishing noble thoughts and hopes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-upham/if-either-man-or-woman-would-realize-that-the-full-power-of-personal/) [Misty Upham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-upham/) > [I approach everyday personal beauty very naturally; I try to make it look like I'm not wearing makeup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-carpenter/i-approach-everyday-personal-beauty-very-naturally-i-try-to-make-it/) [Sabrina Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-carpenter/) > [Personal beauty is then first charming and itself, when it dissatisfies us with any end; when it becomes a story without an end; when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/personal-beauty-is-then-first-charming-and-itself-when-it/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Fine manners are like personal beauty,--a letter of credit everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-a-bartol/fine-manners-are-like-personal-beauty-a-letter-of-credit-everywhere/) [C. A. Bartol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-a-bartol/) > [Be the trouble you want to see in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-comeau/be-the-trouble-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/) [Joey Comeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-comeau/) > [A representative is free delivery; she's a personal beauty consultant. Some people want that high touch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-jung/a-representative-is-free-delivery-she-s-a-personal-beauty-consultant/) [Andrea Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-jung/) > [Be the compromise you want to see in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/be-the-compromise-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Build what you want to see in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dorsey/build-what-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/) [Jack Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dorsey/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“It is not the actual, physical exertion that counts towards one’s progress, not the nature of the task but by the spirit of faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-the-actual-physical-exertion-that-counts-towards-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Bret Harte > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“Nellie was a good girl, and I think had a sort of quiet respect for old Fagg's unobtrusiveness. But her fancy was already taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/nellie-was-a-good-girl-and-i-think-had-a-sort-of-quiet-respect-for/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Howbeit, though no scholar, I am not one of those who misuse the English speech, and, being foolishly led by the hasty custom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/howbeit-though-no-scholar-i-am-not-one-of-those-who-misuse-the/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“Tommy, you're a good little man, but you can't gamble worth a cent. Don't try it over again.' He then handed him his money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/tommy-you-re-a-good-little-man-but-you-can-t-gamble-worth-a-cent-don/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“I've had some mighty mean moments afore I kem to this spot,-- Lost on the plains in '50, drowned almost, and shot; But out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/i-ve-had-some-mighty-mean-moments-afore-i-kem-to-this-spot-lost-on/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [But, when the goddess' work is done,The woman's still remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/but-when-the-goddess-work-is-done-the-woman-s-still-remains/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [The delicate thought, that cannot find expression, For ruder speech too fair, That, like thy petals, trembles in possession, And scatters on the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/the-delicate-thought-that-cannot-find-expression-for-ruder-speech-too/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“There was, I think, a prevailing impression common to the provincial mind, that his misfortune was the result of the defective moral quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/there-was-i-think-a-prevailing-impression-common-to-the-provincial/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Your voices break and falter in the darkness, Break, falter, and are still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/your-voices-break-and-falter-in-the-darkness-break-falter-and-are/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Each lost day has its patron saint!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/each-lost-day-has-its-patron-saint/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is linked to the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-and-the-end-is-linked-to-the/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [When folks find I ain't afeard to speak my mind on their affairs, they kinder guess I'm tellin' the truth about my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/when-folks-find-i-ain-t-afeard-to-speak-my-mind-on-their-affairs-they/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [It would seem evident, therefore, that the secret of the American short story was the treatment of characteristic American life, with absolute knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/it-would-seem-evident-therefore-that-the-secret-of-the-american-short/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Never a tear bedims the eye that time and patience will not dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/never-a-tear-bedims-the-eye-that-time-and-patience-will-not-dry/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [But still when the mists of doubt prevail, And we lie becalmed by the shores of age, We hear from the misty troubled shore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/but-still-when-the-mists-of-doubt-prevail-and-we-lie-becalmed-by-the/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) [Explore all 38 Bret Harte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little exertion on the part of the owner as personal beauty. 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