--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is neither wise nor honest to detract…" description: "\"“It is neither wise nor honest to detract from beauty as a quality. There cannot be a refined soul insensible to its influence.”\" — Lew Wallace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lew-wallace-10516_beauty_it-is-neither-wise-nor-honest-to-detract_160694.jpg" --- # It is neither wise nor honest to detract from beauty as a… ![“It is neither wise nor honest to detract from beauty as a quality. There cannot be a refined soul insensible to its influence.” quote by Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lew-wallace-10516_beauty_it-is-neither-wise-nor-honest-to-detract_160694.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lew-wallace-10516_beauty_it-is-neither-wise-nor-honest-to-detract_160694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lew-wallace-10516_beauty_it-is-neither-wise-nor-honest-to-detract_160694.jpg) > ““It is neither wise nor honest to detract from beauty as a quality. There cannot be a refined soul insensible to its influence.”” [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty influences the soul; a refined person cannot ignore its impact, and it is unwise to diminish beauty's value. **In simple terms:** Beauty shapes us; ignoring it is foolish. Key Takeaway Appreciate beauty and its moral influence. Themes aesthetic morality human nature philosophy culture Mood contemplative thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - art criticism - education - media Key Concepts sensory perception ethical appreciation artistic value Questions to Reflect On - Why do we sometimes devalue beauty? - How does beauty affect our decisions? A Different Perspective Dismissing beauty can limit emotional growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“God sees Himself in the eyes of the refined soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-bertram/god-sees-himself-in-the-eyes-of-the-refined-soul/) [Robin Bertram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-bertram/) > [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/) > [We need to create the beauty and the quality first. The quantity will follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-chadwick/we-need-to-create-the-beauty-and-the-quality-first-the-quantity-will/) [Alan Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-chadwick/) > [Don't compare me with anybody. I was born with my own body. I'm not gifted with any beauty, but I have my own quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shioni/don-t-compare-me-with-anybody-i-was-born-with-my-own-body-i-m-not/) [Shioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shioni/) > [Beauty is that quality which, next to money, is generally the most attractive to the worst kinds of men; and, therefore, it is likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/beauty-is-that-quality-which-next-to-money-is-generally-the-most/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“And beauty has a quality all of its own that seems supreme; that seems above mere men with slaving ships and pistols...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mccafferty/and-beauty-has-a-quality-all-of-its-own-that-seems-supreme-that-seems/) [Kate McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mccafferty/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Lew Wallace > [“Heaven may be won, not by the sword, not by human wisdom, but by Faith, Love, and Good Works.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/heaven-may-be-won-not-by-the-sword-not-by-human-wisdom-but-by-faith/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“They are like men: if bold, the better of scolding; if timid, the better of praise and flattery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/they-are-like-men-if-bold-the-better-of-scolding-if-timid-the-better/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [I know what I should love to do - to build a study; to write, and to think of nothing else. I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/i-know-what-i-should-love-to-do-to-build-a-study-to-write-and-to/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“From her love, O, reader!--her mother-love, which, if thou wilt observe well, hath this unlikeness to any other love: tender to the object, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/from-her-love-o-reader-her-mother-love-which-if-thou-wilt-observe/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“The most perfect life develops as a circle, and terminates in its beginning, making it impossible to say, This is the commencement, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/the-most-perfect-life-develops-as-a-circle-and-terminates-in-its/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“For power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its wings always spread for flight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-and-hath-its-wings-always/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [There is no law by which to determine the superiority of nations; hence the vanity of the claim, and the idleness of disputes about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/there-is-no-law-by-which-to-determine-the-superiority-of-nations/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“Latin is an abomination!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/latin-is-an-abomination/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [What children we are, even the wisest! When God walks the earth, his steps are often centuries apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/what-children-we-are-even-the-wisest-when-god-walks-the-earth-his/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“From the depths of the well I had discovered a light above, and yearned to go up and see what all it shone upon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/from-the-depths-of-the-well-i-had-discovered-a-light-above-and/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“Father of all--God!--what we have here is of thee; take our thanks and bless us, that we may continue to do thy will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/father-of-all-god-what-we-have-here-is-of-thee-take-our-thanks-and/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“The enemy of man is man, my brother.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/the-enemy-of-man-is-man-my-brother/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“I would have had to kill him, and Death, you know, keeps secrets better even than a guilty Roman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/i-would-have-had-to-kill-him-and-death-you-know-keeps-secrets-better/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“He was angry; not as the irritable, from chafing of a trifle; nor was his anger like the fool's, pumped from the wells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/he-was-angry-not-as-the-irritable-from-chafing-of-a-trifle-nor-was/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“In every four there is one the slowest, and one the swiftest; and while the race is always to the slowest, the trouble is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/in-every-four-there-is-one-the-slowest-and-one-the-swiftest-and-while/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) [Explore all 65 Lew Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) ## 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": "“It is neither wise nor honest to detract from beauty as a quality. 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