--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue and learning, like gold, have…" description: "\"Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value: but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster: and even po..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/lord-chesterfield-757_brass_virtue-and-learning-like-gold-have-their_91029.jpg" --- # Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic… ![“Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value: but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster: and even polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold.” quote by Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/lord-chesterfield-757_brass_virtue-and-learning-like-gold-have-their_91029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/lord-chesterfield-757_brass_virtue-and-learning-like-gold-have-their_91029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/lord-chesterfield-757_brass_virtue-and-learning-like-gold-have-their_91029.jpg) > “Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value: but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster: and even polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold.” [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Virtue and knowledge possess inherent worth, yet without refinement they lose impact; even polished but inferior material can outshine raw excellence in perception. **In simple terms:** Intrinsic value needs refinement. Key Takeaway Polish enhances worth. Themes philosophy education ethics a Mood thought‑provoking didactic Type maxim reflective When to use this quote - teaching moral lessons - personal development Key Concepts intrinsic value refinement Practical Applications - self‑improvement workshops - ethical curricula Questions to Reflect On - Why does presentation affect perceived value? - Can raw talent succeed without refinement? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brass/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Inspirational life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-life/) [Intrinsic value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intrinsic-value/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/polished-brass-will-pass-upon-more-people-than-rough-gold/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Manners must adorn knowledge and smooth its way through the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/manners-must-adorn-knowledge-and-smooth-its-way-through-the-world/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Manners must adorn knowledge and smooth its way in the world, without them it is like a great rough diamond, very well in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/manners-must-adorn-knowledge-and-smooth-its-way-in-the-world-without/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Almsgiving above all else requires money, but even this shines with a brighter luster when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/almsgiving-above-all-else-requires-money-but-even-this-shines-with-a/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Why allow all the old memories to have supremacy? Make new ones, memories of such luster and beauty that, should the old ones come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/why-allow-all-the-old-memories-to-have-supremacy-make-new-ones/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [When malice has reason on its side, it looks forth bravely, and displays that reason in all its luster. 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Everything is new as a kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/when-you-re-a-kid-nine-times-out-of-10-everthing-is-pure-depending-on/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/i-have-come-to-light-the-lamp-of-love-in-your-hearts-to-see-that-it/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [“Luster, bring me home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-coville/luster-bring-me-home/) [Bruce Coville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-coville/) > [I ne'er could any luster see in eyes that would not look on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/i-ne-er-could-any-luster-see-in-eyes-that-would-not-look-on-me/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) ## More by Lord Chesterfield > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [No woman ever yet either reasoned or acted long together consequentially; but some little thing, some love, some resentment, somepresent momentary interest, some supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/no-woman-ever-yet-either-reasoned-or-acted-long-together/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [I am in the pitiable situation of feeling all the force of temptation without having the strength to succumb to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/i-am-in-the-pitiable-situation-of-feeling-all-the-force-of-temptation/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Mankind is made up of inconsistencies, and no man acts invariably up to his predominant character. 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Chiron's collection!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/hercules-used-noise-brass-bells-he-scared-them-away-with-the-most/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I smiled,"Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes she'll find it strong as iron-bound brass, or gold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-smiled-deoch-my-heart-is-made-of-stronger-stuff-than-glass-when-she/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Man, I did love this game. I'd have played for food money... 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