--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How, like a moth, the simple maid Still…" description: "\"How, like a moth, the simple maid Still plays around the flame!\" — John Gay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/john-gay-4141_flames_how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-pl_2548002.png" --- # How, like a moth, the simple maid Still plays around the… ![“How, like a moth, the simple maid Still plays around the flame!” quote by John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/john-gay-4141_flames_how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-pl_2548002.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/john-gay-4141_flames_how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-pl_2548002.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/john-gay-4141_flames_how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-pl_2548002.png) > “How, like a moth, the simple maid Still plays around the flame!” [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The innocent is drawn to danger despite knowing its risk. **In simple terms:** Moths are attracted to flame. Key Takeaway Beware alluring but harmful temptations. Themes temptation danger innocence Mood cautious reflective Type moral cautionary When to use this quote - Romantic relationships - risk‑taking behavior - addiction Key Concepts Human nature self‑destruction Questions to Reflect On - What draws you to risky situations? - Can awareness prevent harmful attraction? A Different Perspective Even aware of danger, people may still pursue it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) [Like Moth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-moth-395703/) [Maid Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maid-plays-1493053/) [Maids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maids/) [Moth Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moth-simple-1493052/) [Moths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moths/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Plays Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays-flame-1493054/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simple Maid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-maid-1493055/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) ## Related quotes > [“A moth is such a simple machine in the animal world - the go-kart to the modern car - and it takes a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-adams/a-moth-is-such-a-simple-machine-in-the-animal-world-the-go-kart-to/) [Poppy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppy-adams/) > [She was drawn to damaged souls like a moth to a flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-mcpartlin/she-was-drawn-to-damaged-souls-like-a-moth-to-a-flame/) [Anna McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-mcpartlin/) > [The atoms become like a moth, seeking out the region of higher laser intensity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/the-atoms-become-like-a-moth-seeking-out-the-region-of-higher-laser/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [I like the 'Moth' podcast a lot. I listen to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/i-like-the-moth-podcast-a-lot-i-listen-to-that/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [Her body was wrapped in shadows like moth wings, like rose-petals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/her-body-was-wrapped-in-shadows-like-moth-wings-like-rose-petals/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Her lips were drawn to his like a moth to a flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anya-seton/her-lips-were-drawn-to-his-like-a-moth-to-a-flame/) [Anya Seton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anya-seton/) > [“An idea was knocking about in the back of her head, like a moth at a dimly lit window.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-hilary/an-idea-was-knocking-about-in-the-back-of-her-head-like-a-moth-at-a/) [Sarah Hilary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-hilary/) > [“Like a moth to the flame, I am drawn to writing, I do not question it, for no answer would diminish my urge, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christi-anna/like-a-moth-to-the-flame-i-am-drawn-to-writing-i-do-not-question-it/) [Christi Anna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christi-anna/) > [“...like a moth lost in dawn's light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gis-le-pineau/like-a-moth-lost-in-dawn-s-light/) [Gisèle Pineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gis-le-pineau/) > [“Which is why you make me feel like a moth that's reached the moon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasefindthis/which-is-why-you-make-me-feel-like-a-moth-that-s-reached-the-moon/) [pleasefindthis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pleasefindthis/) > [“I'm like a moth that flew into your web of its own accord. I'm dreaming of the day you'll devour me... But you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/setona-mizushiro/i-m-like-a-moth-that-flew-into-your-web-of-its-own-accord-i-m/) [Setona Mizushiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/setona-mizushiro/) > [“I sure wasn't going to ask Aunt Sally, because if she told me once that getting your period was like a moth becoming a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/i-sure-wasn-t-going-to-ask-aunt-sally-because-if-she-told-me-once/) [Phyllis Reynolds Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/) > [“I feel like a moth drawn to the flame.” Contact would hurt, might be fatal, and yet she couldn’t stop herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-feel-like-a-moth-drawn-to-the-flame-contact-would-hurt-might-be/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [“She was herself right off the bat and had this kind of, “this is me, take it or leave it,” attitude, which pulled me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-scardoni/she-was-herself-right-off-the-bat-and-had-this-kind-of-this-is-me/) [Bianca Scardoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-scardoni/) > [“I think I finally understand the saying like a moth to a flame. I’m the moth. My heart flutters like the paper thin wings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-evans/i-think-i-finally-understand-the-saying-like-a-moth-to-a-flame-i-m/) [A.D. Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-evans/) ## More by John Gay > [On the choice of friends, Our good or evil name depends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/on-the-choice-of-friends-our-good-or-evil-name-depends/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [What frenzy dictates, jealousy believes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/what-frenzy-dictates-jealousy-believes/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Whence is thy learning? Hath thy toil O'er books consumed the midnight oil?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/whence-is-thy-learning-hath-thy-toil-o-er-books-consumed-the-midnight/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [To cheat a man is nothing; but the woman must have fine parts, indeed, who cheats a woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/to-cheat-a-man-is-nothing-but-the-woman-must-have-fine-parts-indeed/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Follow love and it will flee, flee love and it will follow thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/follow-love-and-it-will-flee-flee-love-and-it-will-follow-thee/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Fair is the kingcup that in meadow blows, Fair is the daisy that beside her grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/fair-is-the-kingcup-that-in-meadow-blows-fair-is-the-daisy-that/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > ['T is woman that seduces all mankind; By her we first were taught the wheedling arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/t-is-woman-that-seduces-all-mankind-by-her-we-first-were-taught-the/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Fill it up. I take as large draughts of liquor as I did of love. I hate a flincher in either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/fill-it-up-i-take-as-large-draughts-of-liquor-as-i-did-of-love-i-hate/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [A rich rogue nowadays is fit company for any gentleman; and the world, my dear, hath not such a contempt for roguery as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/a-rich-rogue-nowadays-is-fit-company-for-any-gentleman-and-the-world/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Let firm, well hammer'd soles protect thy feet Through freezing snows, and rains, and soaking sleet; Should the big last extend the shoe too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/let-firm-well-hammer-d-soles-protect-thy-feet-through-freezing-snows/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [A Wolf eats sheep but now and then; Ten thousands are devour'd by men. An open foe may prove a curse, but a pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/a-wolf-eats-sheep-but-now-and-then-ten-thousands-are-devour-d-by-men/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [A man is always afraid of a woman that loves him too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/a-man-is-always-afraid-of-a-woman-that-loves-him-too-much/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [ \[Gulliver was soon being read\] "from the cabinet council to the nursery". ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-cabinet-council-to-the-nursery/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Sure men were born to lie, and women to believe them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/sure-men-were-born-to-lie-and-women-to-believe-them/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Exercise thy lasting youth defends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/exercise-thy-lasting-youth-defends/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) [Explore all 115 John Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) ## More Flames quotes > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [I hate playing games. I want love where there's actual flames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-playing-games-i-want-love-where-there-s-actual-flames/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A real flame of love is a subtle thing. It burns as a will-o'-the-wisp, dancing onward to fairy lands of delight. It roars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/a-real-flame-of-love-is-a-subtle-thing-it-burns-as-a-will-o-the-wisp/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear, animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are seldom in a proper temper of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-sectaries-of-a-persecuted-religion-depressed-by-fear-animated/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [A thing of orchestrated hell-a terrible symphony of light and flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/a-thing-of-orchestrated-hell-a-terrible-symphony-of-light-and-flame/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [I want a blaze of light to flame in me forever in a timeless, dear love of everything. And why should I pretend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-want-a-blaze-of-light-to-flame-in-me-forever-in-a-timeless-dear/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I have been much amused at ye singular phenomena resulting from bringing of a needle into contact with a piece of amber or resin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-have-been-much-amused-at-ye-singular-phenomena-resulting-from/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [The fire inside people is like a match; the way to ignite that flame is initially through friction, then other matches are lit through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/the-fire-inside-people-is-like-a-match-the-way-to-ignite-that-flame/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“Savannah came to him instantly, her face lit up with some emotion he dared not name.She was in a man's silk shirt and nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/savannah-came-to-him-instantly-her-face-lit-up-with-some-emotion-he/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [She was drawn to damaged souls like a moth to a flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-mcpartlin/she-was-drawn-to-damaged-souls-like-a-moth-to-a-flame/) [Anna McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-mcpartlin/) > [“Then think of fire, It’s laughter, the music of splintering beams and glass, The flames reaching through the second story of a house almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-levis/then-think-of-fire-it-s-laughter-the-music-of-splintering-beams-and/) [Larry Levis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-levis/) [Browse all 1,479 Flames quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How, like a moth, the simple maid Still plays around the flame!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Gay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-plays-around-the-flame/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flames" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-plays-around-the-flame/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/john-gay-4141_flames_how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-pl_2548002.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/john-gay-4141_flames_how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-pl_2548002.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/john-gay-4141_flames_how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-pl_2548002.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How, like a moth, the simple maid Still plays around the flame!” — John Gay", "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": "John Gay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How, like a moth, the simple...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-plays-around-the-flame/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/how-like-a-moth-the-simple-maid-still-plays-around-the-flame/#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 } } ] } ```