--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True beauty dwells on high: ours is a…" description: "\"True beauty dwells on high: ours is a flame But borrowed thence to light us thither. Beauty and beauteous words should go together.\" — George Herbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/973/george-herbert-107_beauty_true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-fla_1778440.jpg" --- # True beauty dwells on high: ours is a flame But borrowed… ![“True beauty dwells on high: ours is a flame But borrowed thence to light us thither. Beauty and beauteous words should go together.” quote by George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/973/george-herbert-107_beauty_true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-fla_1778440.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/973/george-herbert-107_beauty_true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-fla_1778440.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/973/george-herbert-107_beauty_true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-fla_1778440.jpg) > “True beauty dwells on high: ours is a flame But borrowed thence to light us thither. Beauty and beauteous words should go together.” [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True beauty originates from a divine source, a borrowed flame that illuminates us, and should be paired with noble language. **In simple terms:** Beauty comes from a higher source and needs noble words. Key Takeaway Honor beauty with noble speech. Themes beauty divine language Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - wedding vows - art criticism - public speaking - null Key Concepts theology aesthetics poetics Questions to Reflect On - How can inner beauty be cultivated? - What role does language play in perceiving beauty? A Different Perspective Relying on external beauty can be fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauteous Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauteous-words-1840614/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Beauteous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-beauteous-1840615/) [Beauty Dwells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-dwells-1117892/) [Borrowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowed/) [Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [True beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-beauty/) ## Related quotes > [True beauty lives on high. Ours is but a flame borrowed thence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/true-beauty-lives-on-high-ours-is-but-a-flame-borrowed-thence/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Fiction; inner thoughts of Elisha True beauty dwells in deep retreats, Whose veil is unremoved Till heart with heart in concord beats, And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/fiction-inner-thoughts-of-elisha-true-beauty-dwells-in-deep-retreats/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [True beauty dwells in deep retreats, Whose veil is unremoved Till heart with heart in concord beats, And the lover is beloved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/true-beauty-dwells-in-deep-retreats-whose-veil-is-unremoved-till/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [How much more doth beauty beauteous seem by that sweet ornament which truth doth give!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/how-much-more-doth-beauty-beauteous-seem-by-that-sweet-ornament-which/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Mistress?” the leader would say. “Do not tell me that such a beauty as yourself dwells all alone?” “Oh, yes,” I would answer. “Quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/mistress-the-leader-would-say-do-not-tell-me-that-such-a-beauty-as/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Whenever Beauty looks, Love is also there; Whenever beauty shows a rosy cheek Love lights Her fire from that flame. When beauty dwells in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whenever-beauty-looks-love-is-also-there-whenever-beauty-shows-a-rosy/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Truth and Good are one; and Beauty dwells in them, and they in her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/truth-and-good-are-one-and-beauty-dwells-in-them-and-they-in-her/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [Beauty dwells within 0uter is the creation !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tami/beauty-dwells-within-0uter-is-the-creation/) [Tami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tami/) > [Why I love the ancients so much? Aside from everything else, when I read them, the entire past between them and me unfolds at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/why-i-love-the-ancients-so-much-aside-from-everything-else-when-i/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“I came to this world with nothing, and I leave with nothing but love, everything else is just borrowed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-streets/i-came-to-this-world-with-nothing-and-i-leave-with-nothing-but-love/) [The Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-streets/) > [Any sizeable Portuguese town looks like a superstitious bride's finery - something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/any-sizeable-portuguese-town-looks-like-a-superstitious-bride-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I'm no innovator. If anything I'm a stealer, or borrower. I've stolen or borrowed from more people than you can shake a stick at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/i-m-no-innovator-if-anything-i-m-a-stealer-or-borrower-i-ve-stolen-or/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-creation-of-george-smiley-the-retired-spy-recalled-to-hunt-for/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I love awards, especially if I get them. It's up to the courage of the filmmakers to make art in cinema, not just business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gazzara/i-love-awards-especially-if-i-get-them-it-s-up-to-the-courage-of-the/) [Ben Gazzara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gazzara/) ## More by George Herbert > [Sum up at night what thou hast done by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/sum-up-at-night-what-thou-hast-done-by-day/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Beare with evill, and expect good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/beare-with-evill-and-expect-good/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [ In the house of a Fidler, all fiddle. \[In the house of the fiddler all fiddle.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-the-house-of-a-fidler-all-fiddle-in-the-house-of-the-fiddler-all/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [By all means use some time to be alone, salute thyself, see what thy soul doth wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/by-all-means-use-some-time-to-be-alone-salute-thyself-see-what-thy/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Every one is weary, the poore in seeking, the rich in keeping, the good in learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/every-one-is-weary-the-poore-in-seeking-the-rich-in-keeping-the-good/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [He is a great Necromancer, for he asks counsel counsell of the Dead (i.e. books).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-is-a-great-necromancer-for-he-asks-counsel-counsell-of-the-dead-i/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [If all fooles had babies, wee should want fuell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/if-all-fooles-had-babies-wee-should-want-fuell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Weight justly and sell dearely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/weight-justly-and-sell-dearely/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Could have recovered greenness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/could-have-recovered-greenness/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [In every country dogges bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-every-country-dogges-bite/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The back-doore robs the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-back-doore-robs-the-house/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [In cloths cheap handsomeness, doth bear the bell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-cloths-cheap-handsomeness-doth-bear-the-bell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Foolish tongues talke by the dozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/foolish-tongues-talke-by-the-dozen/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [ Spectacles are deaths Harquebuze. \[Spectacles are death's arquebuse.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/spectacles-are-deaths-harquebuze-spectacles-are-death-s-arquebuse/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [None saies his Garner is full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/none-saies-his-garner-is-full/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) [Explore all 1,285 George Herbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) ## 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. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "True beauty dwells on high: ours is a flame But borrowed thence to light us thither. Beauty and beauteous words should go together.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Herbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-flame-but-borrowed-thence-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-flame-but-borrowed-thence-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/973/george-herbert-107_beauty_true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-fla_1778440.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/973/george-herbert-107_beauty_true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-fla_1778440.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/973/george-herbert-107_beauty_true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-fla_1778440.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“True beauty dwells on high: ours is a flame But borrowed thence to light us thither. Beauty and beauteous…” — George Herbert", "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": "George Herbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "True beauty dwells on high: ours...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-flame-but-borrowed-thence-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/true-beauty-dwells-on-high-ours-is-a-flame-but-borrowed-thence-to/#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 } } ] } ```