--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only sin is ugliness, and if we…" description: "\"The only sin is ugliness, and if we believed this with all our being, all other activities of the human spirit could be left to take care of themselves..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/herbert-read-7906_care_the-only-sin-is-ugliness-and-if-we-belie_1186015.jpg" --- # The only sin is ugliness, and if we believed this with all… ![“The only sin is ugliness, and if we believed this with all our being, all other activities of the human spirit could be left to take care of themselves.” quote by Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/herbert-read-7906_care_the-only-sin-is-ugliness-and-if-we-belie_1186015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/herbert-read-7906_care_the-only-sin-is-ugliness-and-if-we-belie_1186015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/herbert-read-7906_care_the-only-sin-is-ugliness-and-if-we-belie_1186015.jpg) > “The only sin is ugliness, and if we believed this with all our being, all other activities of the human spirit could be left to take care of themselves.” [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) ## 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 is moral; if we accept ugliness as sin, other virtues follow naturally. **In simple terms:** Ugliness is the only sin; other virtues follow. Key Takeaway Embrace inner beauty over outward appearance. Themes beauty morality inner virtue human spirit Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - art criticism - spiritual practice Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy ethical living Questions to Reflect On - How does inner beauty influence outer actions? - Can we separate aesthetics from ethics? A Different Perspective Neglecting external factors can also harm relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Human spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-spirit/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Sin Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin-ugliness-3499633/) [Sinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinner/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Take care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-care/) [Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness/) [Ugliness Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness-believed-3499634/) ## Related quotes > [Oh, dear Hazel.” Aphrodite folded her fan. “Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. 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So do crassness, ignorance, dumbness!...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/beauty-and-ugliness-are-only-possible-in-the-light-common-sense-also/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Those who do not know what love is likens it to beauty Those who claim to know what love is likens it to ugliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/those-who-do-not-know-what-love-is-likens-it-to-beauty-those-who/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [Because she knows what it's like to live in a world of black, and black, and the tiny bit of white, but when she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/because-she-knows-what-it-s-like-to-live-in-a-world-of-black-and/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) ## More by Herbert Read > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [There are a few people, but a diminishing number, who still believe that Marxism, as an economic system, off era a coherent alternative to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/there-are-a-few-people-but-a-diminishing-number-who-still-believe/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The sensitive artist knows that a bitter wind is blowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-sensitive-artist-knows-that-a-bitter-wind-is-blowing/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The slave may be happy, but happiness is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-slave-may-be-happy-but-happiness-is-not-enough/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The classicist, and the naturalist who has much in common with him, refuse to see in the highest works of art anything but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-classicist-and-the-naturalist-who-has-much-in-common-with-him/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Man is everywhere still in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/man-is-everywhere-still-in-chains/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [It does not seem that the contradiction which exists between the aristocratic function of art and the democratic structure of modern society can ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/it-does-not-seem-that-the-contradiction-which-exists-between-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I can imagine no society which does not embody some method of arbitration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-can-imagine-no-society-which-does-not-embody-some-method-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Sensibility... is a direct and particular reaction to the separate and individual nature of things. It begins and ends with the sensuous apprehension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/sensibility-is-a-direct-and-particular-reaction-to-the-separate-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In the evolution of mankind there has always been a certain degree of social coherence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-the-evolution-of-mankind-there-has-always-been-a-certain-degree-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Modern man has been in search of a new language of form to satisfy new longings and aspirations - longings for mental appeasement, aspirations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/modern-man-has-been-in-search-of-a-new-language-of-form-to-satisfy/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I am not going to claim that modern anarchism has any direct relation to Roman jurisprudence; but I do claim that it has its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-am-not-going-to-claim-that-modern-anarchism-has-any-direct-relation/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [To realize that new world we must prefer the values of freedom and equality above all other values - above personal wealth, technical power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/to-realize-that-new-world-we-must-prefer-the-values-of-freedom-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Intellect begins with the observation of nature, proceeds to memorize and classify the facts thus observed, and by logical deduction builds up that edifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/intellect-begins-with-the-observation-of-nature-proceeds-to-memorize/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In a sense, every tool is a machine--the hammer, the ax, and the chisel. 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