---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty…"
description: "\"“Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty, like the hindquarters of an elephant.”\" — James Elroy Flecker"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/james-elroy-flecker-28113_beauty_thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-lik_816652.png"
---

#  Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty, like the…

![“Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty, like the hindquarters of an elephant.” quote by James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/james-elroy-flecker-28113_beauty_thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-lik_816652.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/james-elroy-flecker-28113_beauty_thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-lik_816652.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/james-elroy-flecker-28113_beauty_thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-lik_816652.png)

> ““Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty, like the hindquarters of an elephant.””

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He likens boldness to an elephant's massive hindquarters, seeing beauty in audacity.

**In simple terms:** Boldness has a striking, massive beauty.

Key Takeaway

Embrace daring confidence.

Themes

creativity confidence beauty

Mood

poetic evocative

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- artistic expression
- public speaking
- leadership challenges
- personal branding

Key Concepts

metaphor aesthetic appreciation

Questions to Reflect On

- What does daring look like to you?
- When is boldness appropriate?

A Different Perspective

Boldness can be perceived as arrogance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Elephant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephant/)

## Related quotes

> [“For a second, she could almost see Caverna as the Kleptomancer did, a murky, monstrous beauty, smiling her fine-fanged smile as she prepared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/for-a-second-she-could-almost-see-caverna-as-the-kleptomancer-did-a/)

[Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/)

> [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [What so pure, which envious tongues will spare? Some wicked wits have libell'd all the fair, With matchless impudence they style a wife, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/what-so-pure-which-envious-tongues-will-spare-some-wicked-wits-have/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [“Long live impudence! It is my guardian angel in this world.” That”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/long-live-impudence-it-is-my-guardian-angel-in-this-world-that/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [Because impudence is a vice, it does not follow that modesty is a virtue; it is built upon shame, a passion in our nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-de-mandeville/because-impudence-is-a-vice-it-does-not-follow-that-modesty-is-a/)

[Bernard de Mandeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-de-mandeville/)

> [Modern education has devoted itself to the teaching of impudence, and then we complain that we can no longer control our mobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/modern-education-has-devoted-itself-to-the-teaching-of-impudence-and/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [“The maxim, by which we commonly conduct ourselves in our reasonings, is, that the objects, of which we have no experience, resemble those, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-maxim-by-which-we-commonly-conduct-ourselves-in-our-reasonings-is/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Art almost always has its ingredient of impudence, its flouting of established authority, so that it may substitute its own authority and its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/art-almost-always-has-its-ingredient-of-impudence-its-flouting-of/)

[Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/)

> [“Do it, my fellow Americans! Do it for every adolescent anomic skank genius cloistered in his room, getting cranked, rabidly humping his sampler as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/do-it-my-fellow-americans-do-it-for-every-adolescent-anomic-skank/)

[Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/)

> [Satiation, like any state of vitality, always contains a degree of impudence, and that impudence emerges first and foremost when the sated man instructs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/satiation-like-any-state-of-vitality-always-contains-a-degree-of/)

[Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/)

> [Long live impudence. It was my guardian angel in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/long-live-impudence-it-was-my-guardian-angel-in-this-world/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Folly often goes beyond her bounds, but impudence knows none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/folly-often-goes-beyond-her-bounds-but-impudence-knows-none/)

[Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/)

> [I do not believe that since man was in the habit of living on this planet anyone has ever lived possessed of the impudence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-gould/i-do-not-believe-that-since-man-was-in-the-habit-of-living-on-this/)

[Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-gould/)

> [Impertinence will intermeddle in things in which it has no concern, showing a want of breeding, or, more commonly, a spirit of sheer impudence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/impertinence-will-intermeddle-in-things-in-which-it-has-no-concern/)

[George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/)

> [How any human being ever has had the impudence to speak against the right to speak, is beyond the power of my imagination. Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/how-any-human-being-ever-has-had-the-impudence-to-speak-against-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

## More by James Elroy Flecker

> [It is not the poet's business to save man's soul but to make it worth saving . . . However, few poets have written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/it-is-not-the-poet-s-business-to-save-man-s-soul-but-to-make-it-worth/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [“Between the Pedestals of Night and Morning Between red death and radiant desire With not one sound of triumph or of warning Stands the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/between-the-pedestals-of-night-and-morning-between-red-death-and/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [But have you wine and music still,And statues and a bright-eyed love,And foolish thoughts of good and ill,And prayers to them who sit above?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/but-have-you-wine-and-music-still-and-statues-and-a-bright-eyed-love/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [For pines are gossip pines the wide world through And full of runic tales to sigh or sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/for-pines-are-gossip-pines-the-wide-world-through-and-full-of-runic/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [“We travel not for trafficking alone; By hotter winds our hearts are fanned: For lust of knowing what should not be known We take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/we-travel-not-for-trafficking-alone-by-hotter-winds-our-hearts-are/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [A ship, an isle, a sickle moon With few but with how splendid stars The mirrors of the sea are strewn Between their silver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/a-ship-an-isle-a-sickle-moon-with-few-but-with-how-splendid-stars-the/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [“O friend unseen, unborn, unknown, Student of our sweet English tongue, Read out my words at night, alone: I was a poet, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/o-friend-unseen-unborn-unknown-student-of-our-sweet-english-tongue/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [I look down the farthest side of the mountain, fulfilled and understanding all, and truly content that I lived a full life and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/i-look-down-the-farthest-side-of-the-mountain-fulfilled-and/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, We Poets of the proud old lineage Who sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/we-who-with-songs-beguile-your-pilgrimage-and-swear-that-beauty-lives/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [“We men of this age are rotten with book-lore and with a yearning for the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/we-men-of-this-age-are-rotten-with-book-lore-and-with-a-yearning-for/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [The poet's business is not to save the soul of man but to make it worth saving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/the-poet-s-business-is-not-to-save-the-soul-of-man-but-to-make-it/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [For the spear was a desert physician, That cured not a few of ambition, And drave not a few to perdition, With medicine bitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/for-the-spear-was-a-desert-physician-that-cured-not-a-few-of-ambition/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [And some to Meccah turn to pray, and I toward thy bed, Yasmin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/and-some-to-meccah-turn-to-pray-and-i-toward-thy-bed-yasmin/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [For lust of knowing what should not be known, we take the Golden Road to Samarkand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/for-lust-of-knowing-what-should-not-be-known-we-take-the-golden-road/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [I have seen old ships sail like swans asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/i-have-seen-old-ships-sail-like-swans-asleep/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

[Explore all 19 James Elroy Flecker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

## 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

> [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": "“Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty, like the hindquarters of an elephant.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "James Elroy Flecker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-like-the-hindquarters-of-an/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beauty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-like-the-hindquarters-of-an/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/james-elroy-flecker-28113_beauty_thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-lik_816652.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/james-elroy-flecker-28113_beauty_thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-lik_816652.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/james-elroy-flecker-28113_beauty_thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-lik_816652.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty, like the hindquarters of an elephant.” — James Elroy Flecker",
                "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": "James Elroy Flecker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Thy impudence has a monstrous beauty,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-like-the-hindquarters-of-an/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/thy-impudence-has-a-monstrous-beauty-like-the-hindquarters-of-an/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
