--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For, when with beauty we can virtue join…" description: "\"For, when with beauty we can virtue join, We paint the semblance of a form divine.\" — Matthew Prior" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/matthew-prior-32916_beauty_for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join_1381993.png" --- # For, when with beauty we can virtue join, We paint the… ![“For, when with beauty we can virtue join, We paint the semblance of a form divine.” quote by Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/matthew-prior-32916_beauty_for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join_1381993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/matthew-prior-32916_beauty_for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join_1381993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/matthew-prior-32916_beauty_for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join_1381993.png) > “For, when with beauty we can virtue join, We paint the semblance of a form divine.” [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Combining beauty with virtue creates an elevated, almost divine artistic expression that transcends mere appearance. **In simple terms:** Beauty plus virtue yields higher art. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtue alongside appreciation of beauty. Themes beauty virtue art expression Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - painting - poetry - creative pursuits - personal development Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy morality Questions to Reflect On - Can art be beautiful without moral depth? - What role does virtue play in artistic creation? A Different Perspective Pure beauty without virtue is shallow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-virtue-463132/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Form Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-divine-2228277/) [Join](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/join/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Join](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-join-4791499/) ## Related quotes > [This is a human form in which every Divine entity, every Divine principle, that is to say, all the names and forms ascribed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/this-is-a-human-form-in-which-every-divine-entity-every-divine/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [No more was seen the human form divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/no-more-was-seen-the-human-form-divine/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Loveliest of women! heaven is in thy soul, Beauty and virtue shine forever round thee, Bright'ning each other! thou art all divine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/loveliest-of-women-heaven-is-in-thy-soul-beauty-and-virtue-shine/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“It is quite edifying to hear women speculate upon the worthlessness and the duration of beauty. But though virtue is a much finer thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-is-quite-edifying-to-hear-women-speculate-upon-the-worthlessness/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [The concept of physical beauty as a virtue is one of the dumbest, most pernicious and destructive ideas of the Western world, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/the-concept-of-physical-beauty-as-a-virtue-is-one-of-the-dumbest-most/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Beauty and virtue: the most kissable ass in the world is no guarantee of good intentions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/beauty-and-virtue-the-most-kissable-ass-in-the-world-is-no-guarantee/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/beauty-without-virtue-is-like-a-rose-without-scent/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Not beauty, no, but virtue rais'd my fires, whose sacred flame did cherish chaste desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-1st-earl-of-stirling/not-beauty-no-but-virtue-rais-d-my-fires-whose-sacred-flame-did/) [William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-1st-earl-of-stirling/) > [Beauty is the virtue of the body as virtue is the beauty of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/beauty-is-the-virtue-of-the-body-as-virtue-is-the-beauty-of-the-soul/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Physical beauty will fade over time, but true beauty (virtue) is timeless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-courtney/physical-beauty-will-fade-over-time-but-true-beauty-virtue-is-timeless/) [Vicki Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-courtney/) > [ Let them (the wicked) see the beauty of virtue, and pine at having forsaken her. \[Lat., Virtutem videant, intabescantque relicta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aulus-persius-flaccus/let-them-the-wicked-see-the-beauty-of-virtue-and-pine-at-having/) [Aulus Persius Flaccus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aulus-persius-flaccus/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The best people know that they should join a rocketship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/the-best-people-know-that-they-should-join-a-rocketship/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [If you join a choir, it's a wonderful outlet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/if-you-join-a-choir-it-s-a-wonderful-outlet/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) ## More by Matthew Prior > [And 'tis remarkable that they talk most who have the least to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/and-tis-remarkable-that-they-talk-most-who-have-the-least-to-say/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [“The end must justify the means.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/the-end-must-justify-the-means/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [They talk most who have the least to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/they-talk-most-who-have-the-least-to-say/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [Who walks the fastest, but walks astray, is only furthest from his way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/who-walks-the-fastest-but-walks-astray-is-only-furthest-from-his-way/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [“They talk most who have least to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/they-talk-most-who-have-least-to-say/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [For hope is but a dream for those that wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/for-hope-is-but-a-dream-for-those-that-wake/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [Who fastest walks, but walks astray, Is only furthest from his way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/who-fastest-walks-but-walks-astray-is-only-furthest-from-his-way/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [Hope is but the dream of those who wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/hope-is-but-the-dream-of-those-who-wake/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [Be to their virtue very kind; be to their faults a little blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/be-to-their-virtue-very-kind-be-to-their-faults-a-little-blind/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [The ends must justify the means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/the-ends-must-justify-the-means/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [“And hope is but a dream of those that wake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/and-hope-is-but-a-dream-of-those-that-wake/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [Cured yesterday of my disease, I died last night of my physician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/cured-yesterday-of-my-disease-i-died-last-night-of-my-physician/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/it-takes-two-to-quarrel-but-only-one-to-end-it/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) > [Fantastic tyrant of the amorous heart. How hard thy yoke, how cruel thy dart. Those escape your anger who refuse your sway, and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/fantastic-tyrant-of-the-amorous-heart-how-hard-thy-yoke-how-cruel-thy/) [Matthew Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) [Explore all 15 Matthew Prior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "For, when with beauty we can virtue join, We paint the semblance of a form divine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Prior" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join-we-paint-the-semblance-of-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join-we-paint-the-semblance-of-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/matthew-prior-32916_beauty_for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join_1381993.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/matthew-prior-32916_beauty_for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join_1381993.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/matthew-prior-32916_beauty_for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join_1381993.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For, when with beauty we can virtue join, We paint the semblance of a form divine.” — Matthew Prior", "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": "Matthew Prior", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-prior/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For, when with beauty we can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join-we-paint-the-semblance-of-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-prior/for-when-with-beauty-we-can-virtue-join-we-paint-the-semblance-of-a/#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 } } ] } ```