--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But desire must also be cultivated; the…" description: "\"“But desire must also be cultivated; the beautiful does not always immediately commend itself to every taste; Christ's beauty, like that of Isaiah's su..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/david-bentley-hart-4691_beauty_but-desire-must-also-be-cultivated-the-b_786198.jpg" --- # But desire must also be cultivated; the beautiful does not… ![“But desire must also be cultivated; the beautiful does not always immediately commend itself to every taste; Christ's beauty, like that of Isaiah's suffering servant, is not expressed in vacuous comeliness or shadowless glamor, but calls for a love that is charitable, that is not dismayed by…” quote by David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/david-bentley-hart-4691_beauty_but-desire-must-also-be-cultivated-the-b_786198.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/david-bentley-hart-4691_beauty_but-desire-must-also-be-cultivated-the-b_786198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/david-bentley-hart-4691_beauty_but-desire-must-also-be-cultivated-the-b_786198.jpg) > ““But desire must also be cultivated; the beautiful does not always immediately commend itself to every taste; Christ's beauty, like that of Isaiah's suffering servant, is not expressed in vacuous comeliness or shadowless glamor, but calls for a love that is charitable, that is not dismayed by distance or mystery, and that can repent of its failure to see; this is to acquire what Augustine calls a taste for the beauty of God (Soliloquia 1.3-14). Once this taste is learned, divine beauty, as Gregory of Nyssa says, inflames desire, drawing one on into an endless epektasis, a stretching out toward an ever greater embrace of divine glory. And,”” [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultivating a deep love for divine beauty requires moving beyond superficial appeal, embracing a charitable love that persists despite distance or mystery, and constantly seeking greater divine glory. **In simple terms:** Love divine beauty beyond surface; seek deeper, lasting devotion. Key Takeaway Pursue deeper love for divine beauty. Themes spirituality beauty devotion theology Mood reverent contemplative Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - Personal prayer - art appreciation - theological study - spiritual mentorship Key Concepts Divine love epektasis theological aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - How can one balance yearning for divine beauty with everyday responsibilities? - What practices help sustain charitable love amid mystery? A Different Perspective Such pursuit may lead to endless longing without practical grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Divine beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-beauty/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Sin turns ugly and is subject to defeat only when seen in the light of Christ's beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-storms/sin-turns-ugly-and-is-subject-to-defeat-only-when-seen-in-the-light/) [Sam Storms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-storms/) > [Wicked people will on the day of judgment see all there is to see of Jesus Christ, except His beauty and loveliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/wicked-people-will-on-the-day-of-judgment-see-all-there-is-to-see-of/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [“Kyrie...I need to feel you. Need to kiss your skin. I have to taste your beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/kyrie-i-need-to-feel-you-need-to-kiss-your-skin-i-have-to-taste-your/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [Every moment a taste of that beauty in our mouths, another stashed in a pocket. Impossible to say what: no cypress so handsome, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/every-moment-a-taste-of-that-beauty-in-our-mouths-another-stashed-in/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Love is cure, Love is power, Love is the magic of changes. Love is the mirror, of divine beauty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/love-is-cure-love-is-power-love-is-the-magic-of-changes-love-is-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Dare to see yourself for what you really are! Do not be limited by the judgements of others. Do not believe the lie of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-see-yourself-for-what-you-really-are-do-not-be-limited-by-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Immortal rhythms swayed in her time-born steps; Her look, her smile awoke celestial sense Even in earth-stuff, and their intense delight Poured a supernal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/immortal-rhythms-swayed-in-her-time-born-steps-her-look-her-smile/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [“If we thought we were building up a heaven on earth, if we looked for something that would turn the present world from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/if-we-thought-we-were-building-up-a-heaven-on-earth-if-we-looked-for/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Wrapped within another's arms further intensifies the divine beauty of a sunrise...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-alison/wrapped-within-another-s-arms-further-intensifies-the-divine-beauty/) [Virginia Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-alison/) > [“How may paintings have preserved the image of a divine beauty which in its natural manifestation has been rapidly overtaken by time or death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/how-may-paintings-have-preserved-the-image-of-a-divine-beauty-which/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“There is divine beauty in learning... To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth. Others have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/there-is-divine-beauty-in-learning-to-learn-means-to-accept-the-2/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [You are the mirror of divine beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-are-the-mirror-of-divine-beauty/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [ ...\[K\]now that however ugly the parts appear the whole remains beautiful. A severed hand Is an ugly thing, and man dissevered from the earth… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/k-now-that-however-ugly-the-parts-appear-the-whole-remains-beautiful/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [ The world of ideas which it \[mathematics\] discloses or illuminates, the contemplation of divine beauty and order which it induces, the harmonious connexion of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joseph-sylvester/the-world-of-ideas-which-it-mathematics-discloses-or-illuminates-the/) [James Joseph Sylvester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joseph-sylvester/) > [There is divine beauty in learning... To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth. Others have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/there-is-divine-beauty-in-learning-to-learn-means-to-accept-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More by David Bentley Hart > [“What makes today’s popular atheism so depressing is neither its conceptual boorishness nor its self-righteousness but simply its cultural inevitability. 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No attempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/the-general-argument-from-the-contingent-to-the-absolute-or-from-the/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“Simply said, one is contingent through and through, partaking of being rather than generating it out of some source within oneself; and the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/simply-said-one-is-contingent-through-and-through-partaking-of-being/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) [Explore all 107 David Bentley Hart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. 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