--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The soul is placed in the body like a…" description: "\"The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.\" — Daniel Defoe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/daniel-defoe-1971_body_the-soul-is-placed-in-the-body-like-a-ro_1067172.jpg" --- # The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and… ![“The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.” quote by Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/daniel-defoe-1971_body_the-soul-is-placed-in-the-body-like-a-ro_1067172.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/daniel-defoe-1971_body_the-soul-is-placed-in-the-body-like-a-ro_1067172.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/daniel-defoe-1971_body_the-soul-is-placed-in-the-body-like-a-ro_1067172.jpg) > “The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.” [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The soul is likened to a rough diamond that must be refined through experience to reveal its brilliance. **In simple terms:** The soul needs polishing to shine. Key Takeaway Cultivate growth and self‑refinement. Themes self‑development potential spirituality Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal crises - education - career advancement - creative projects Key Concepts alchemy self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself need refinement? - How can hardship become a polishing process? A Different Perspective Polishing requires effort and may be painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamond/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [A diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without trials. Someone is enjoying shade today because someone planted a tree a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/a-diamond-cannot-be-polished-without-friction-nor-a-person-perfected/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Manners must adorn knowledge and smooth its way in the world, without them it is like a great rough diamond, very well in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/manners-must-adorn-knowledge-and-smooth-its-way-in-the-world-without/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [If a diamond is polished by friction, then a man is perfected by trials. -](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/if-a-diamond-is-polished-by-friction-then-a-man-is-perfected-by-trials/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Diamond cannot be polished without friction, gold cannot be purified without fire. good people go through trials but don't suffer, with that experience their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/diamond-cannot-be-polished-without-friction-gold-cannot-be-purified/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's the rough diamond that dictates what you can get out of a diamond. You can't say, "I'm going to make this," or, "I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-graff/it-s-the-rough-diamond-that-dictates-what-you-can-get-out-of-a/) [Laurence Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-graff/) > [The ability to talk well is to a man what cutting and polishing are to the rough diamond. The grinding does not add anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-s-marden/the-ability-to-talk-well-is-to-a-man-what-cutting-and-polishing-are/) [Orison S. Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-s-marden/) > [Just as a diamond can only be polished by another diamond, it is only through genuine, all-out engagement with others that people can polish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-as-a-diamond-can-only-be-polished-by-another-diamond-it-is-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just as a mirror, which reflects all things, is set in its own container, so too the rational soul is placed in the fragile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hildegard-of-bingen/just-as-a-mirror-which-reflects-all-things-is-set-in-its-own/) [Hildegard of Bingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hildegard-of-bingen/) > [“I wonder how our souls are picked for our bodies. Is a good soul placed into a bad body just to show others not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennae-cecelia/i-wonder-how-our-souls-are-picked-for-our-bodies-is-a-good-soul/) [Jennae Cecelia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennae-cecelia/) > [The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-gem-cannot-be-polished-without-friction-nor-man-perfected-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials.’ Ain’t so?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-reed/the-gem-cannot-be-polished-without-friction-nor-the-man-perfected/) [Stephanie Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-reed/) > [“A diamond doesn't start out polished and shining. It once was nothing special, but with enough pressure and time, becomes spectacular. I'm that diamond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/a-diamond-doesn-t-start-out-polished-and-shining-it-once-was-nothing/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/a-gem-cannot-be-polished-without-friction-nor-a-man-perfected-without-2/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without adversity.” – Donina Va’a Renata”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-maclean/a-gem-cannot-be-polished-without-friction-nor-a-man-perfected-without/) [Julianne MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-maclean/) > [Great thoughts in crude, unshapely verse set forth lose half their preciousness, and ever must, unless the diamond with its own rich dust be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/great-thoughts-in-crude-unshapely-verse-set-forth-lose-half-their/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) ## More by Daniel Defoe > [“Strah od opasnosti je deset tisuća puta snažniji nego sama opasnost kad se pojavi pred očima.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/strah-od-opasnosti-je-deset-tisu-a-puta-sna-niji-nego-sama-opasnost/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“He told me it was for men of desperate fortunes on one hand, or of aspiring, superior fortune on the other, who when abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/he-told-me-it-was-for-men-of-desperate-fortunes-on-one-hand-or-of/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“From this moment I began to conclude in my mind that it was possible for me to be more happy in this forsaken, solitary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/from-this-moment-i-began-to-conclude-in-my-mind-that-it-was-possible/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wit is the Fruitful Womb where Thoughts conceive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-is-the-fruitful-womb-where-thoughts-conceive/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wherever God erects a house of prayer the Devil always builds a chapel there; And 't will be found, upon examination, the latter has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wherever-god-erects-a-house-of-prayer-the-devil-always-builds-a/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wit, like the Belly, if it be not fed, Will starve the Members, and distract the Head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-like-the-belly-if-it-be-not-fed-will-starve-the-members-and/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“was to prepare more land, for I had now seed enough to sow above an acre of ground. 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I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. 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