--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty is no quality in things…" description: "\"Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them\" — David Hume" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/david-hume-538_beauty_beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselve_2951778.jpg" --- # Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists… ![“Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/david-hume-538_beauty_beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselve_2951778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/david-hume-538_beauty_beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselve_2951778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/david-hume-538_beauty_beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselve_2951778.jpg) > “Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty exists only in the mind that perceives it, not in objects themselves. **In simple terms:** Beauty is a mental construct. Key Takeaway Recognize beauty as subjective perception. Themes aesthetics perception subjectivity Mood contemplative philosophical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art critique - personal reflection - design Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does your mind shape what you find beautiful? - Can beauty be shared objectively? A Different Perspective May ignore cultural influences on perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-which-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Beauty in things lies in the mind which contemplates them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-lies-in-the-mind-which-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [It is a faculty of the human mind to become what it contemplates, and to act in unison with its object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-is-a-faculty-of-the-human-mind-to-become-what-it-contemplates-and/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselves-it-exists-merely-in-the-2/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“Age is merely mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. Mark Twain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-egerton-wilder/age-is-merely-mind-over-matter-if-you-don-t-mind-it-doesn-t-matter/) Elizabeth Egerton Wilder > [Neither rejoice nor lament prematurely; for whatever may happen, all will be well if we only have health; for happiness exists--merely in the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/neither-rejoice-nor-lament-prematurely-for-whatever-may-happen-all/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [In truth, to know oneself seems to be the hardest of all things. Not only our eye, which observes external objects, does not use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/in-truth-to-know-oneself-seems-to-be-the-hardest-of-all-things-not/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [“to hope til Hope creates from its own wreak the thing it contemplates;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/to-hope-til-hope-creates-from-its-own-wreak-the-thing-it-contemplates/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“To hope until hope creates from its very own wreck the thing it contemplates.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/to-hope-until-hope-creates-from-its-very-own-wreck-the-thing-it/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/that-which-sings-and-contemplates-in-you-is-still-dwelling-within-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“The soul of the just contemplates in sleep a mysterious heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-soul-of-the-just-contemplates-in-sleep-a-mysterious-heaven/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He that contemplates hath a day without night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-that-contemplates-hath-a-day-without-night/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Every art and every faculty contemplates certain things as its principal objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/every-art-and-every-faculty-contemplates-certain-things-as-its/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More by David Hume > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-morality-depends-upon-our-sentiments-and-when-any-action-or/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/virtue-is-attended-by-more-peace-of-mind-than-vice-and-meets-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may conclude, therefore, that, in order to establish laws for the regulation of property, we must be acquainted with the nature and situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-conclude-therefore-that-in-order-to-establish-laws-for-the/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-observation-of-human-blindness-and-weakness-is-the-result-of-all/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Manufacturers...gradually shift their places, leaving those countries and provinces which they have already enriched, and flying to others, whether they are allured by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/manufacturers-gradually-shift-their-places-leaving-those-countries/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“The most perfect happiness, surely, must arise from the contemplation of the most perfect object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-most-perfect-happiness-surely-must-arise-from-the-contemplation/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“They all make up new species of crime and bring unhappiness in their train. When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hume" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselves-it-exists-merely-in-the-3/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselves-it-exists-merely-in-the-3/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/david-hume-538_beauty_beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselve_2951778.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/david-hume-538_beauty_beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselve_2951778.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/david-hume-538_beauty_beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselve_2951778.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them” — David Hume", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Hume", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Beauty is no quality in things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselves-it-exists-merely-in-the-3/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-is-no-quality-in-things-themselves-it-exists-merely-in-the-3/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```