--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Use harms and even destroys beauty. The…" description: "\"Use harms and even destroys beauty. The noblest function of an object is to be contemplated.\" — Miguel de Unamuno" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/miguel-de-unamuno-2211_beauty_use-harms-and-even-destroys-beauty-the-n_1579939.png" --- # Use harms and even destroys beauty. The noblest function… ![“Use harms and even destroys beauty. The noblest function of an object is to be contemplated.” quote by Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/miguel-de-unamuno-2211_beauty_use-harms-and-even-destroys-beauty-the-n_1579939.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/miguel-de-unamuno-2211_beauty_use-harms-and-even-destroys-beauty-the-n_1579939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/miguel-de-unamuno-2211_beauty_use-harms-and-even-destroys-beauty-the-n_1579939.png) > “Use harms and even destroys beauty. The noblest function of an object is to be contemplated.” [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Objects should be appreciated for their beauty, not just their utility. **In simple terms:** Beauty matters more than function. Key Takeaway Contemplate beauty. Themes aesthetics philosophy objecthood Mood thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - art galleries - design - daily objects Key Concepts Phenomenology value theory Questions to Reflect On - What objects do you truly contemplate? - How does beauty influence your choices? A Different Perspective Practical needs often outweigh aesthetic appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) ## Related quotes > [If God be God and man a creature made in image of the divine intelligence, his noblest function is the search for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/if-god-be-god-and-man-a-creature-made-in-image-of-the-divine/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [THE SLOW ARROW OF BEAUTY. The noblest kind of beauty is that which does not transport us suddenly, which does not make stormy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-slow-arrow-of-beauty-the-noblest-kind-of-beauty-is-that-which/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Going out of style isn't a natural process, but a manipulated change which destroys the beauty of last year's dress in order to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/going-out-of-style-isn-t-a-natural-process-but-a-manipulated-change/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgiveness is the noblest vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-george-bohn/forgiveness-is-the-noblest-vengeance/) [Henry George Bohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-george-bohn/) > [“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law & justice he is the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/at-his-best-man-is-the-noblest-of-all-animals-separated-from-law/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [In men of the highest character and noblest genius there is to be found an insatiable desire for honor, command, power, and glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/in-men-of-the-highest-character-and-noblest-genius-there-is-to-be/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Labor with the heart, when the heart is pure and true, is the noblest labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-g-maeser/labor-with-the-heart-when-the-heart-is-pure-and-true-is-the-noblest/) [Karl G. Maeser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-g-maeser/) > [Growing up, my dad used to say that politics was the noblest profession. Most would scoff at that, today. Most probably would have when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/growing-up-my-dad-used-to-say-that-politics-was-the-noblest/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [This sight... is by far the noblest astronomy affords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-halley/this-sight-is-by-far-the-noblest-astronomy-affords/) [Edmond Halley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-halley/) > [The call of the spinning wheel is the noblest of all. Because it is the call of love. And love is Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-call-of-the-spinning-wheel-is-the-noblest-of-all-because-it-is/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [To yield reverence to another, to hold ourselves and our lives at his disposal, is not slavery; often, it is the noblest state in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/to-yield-reverence-to-another-to-hold-ourselves-and-our-lives-at-his/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Through this same man and me hath all this war been wrought, and the death of the most noblest knights of the world; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malory/through-this-same-man-and-me-hath-all-this-war-been-wrought-and-the/) [Thomas Malory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malory/) > [It is at our mother's knee that we acquire our noblest and truest and highest ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-at-our-mother-s-knee-that-we-acquire-our-noblest-and-truest-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/surely-the-apple-is-the-noblest-of-fruits/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More by Miguel de Unamuno > [The pessimism that protests and defends itself cannot be truly said to be pessimism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/the-pessimism-that-protests-and-defends-itself-cannot-be-truly-said/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [We should try to be the parents of our future rather than the offspring of our past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/we-should-try-to-be-the-parents-of-our-future-rather-than-the/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [We never know, believe me, when we have succeeded best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/we-never-know-believe-me-when-we-have-succeeded-best/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what he is talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/a-lot-of-good-arguments-are-spoiled-by-some-fool-who-knows-what-he-is/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [Philosophy fulfills the need to create for ourselves a single and complete concept of the world and of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/philosophy-fulfills-the-need-to-create-for-ourselves-a-single-and/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [None are so likely to believe too little as those who have begun by believing too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/none-are-so-likely-to-believe-too-little-as-those-who-have-begun-by/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [The devil is an angel too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/the-devil-is-an-angel-too/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [My work...is to shatter the faith of men here, there, and everywhere, faith in affirmation, faith in negation, and faith in abstention from faith,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/my-work-is-to-shatter-the-faith-of-men-here-there-and-everywhere/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [“I must not throw away my village to win my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/i-must-not-throw-away-my-village-to-win-my-soul/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [Everything that exalts and expands consciousness is good, while that which depresses and diminishes it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/everything-that-exalts-and-expands-consciousness-is-good-while-that/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [Was man made for science, or was science made for man?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/was-man-made-for-science-or-was-science-made-for-man/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [We need God, not in order to understand the why, but in order to feel and sustain the ultimate wherefore, to give a meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/we-need-god-not-in-order-to-understand-the-why-but-in-order-to-feel/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [Science says: 'We must live,' and seeks the means of prolonging, increasing, facilitating and amplifying life, of making it tolerable and acceptable, wisdom says:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/science-says-we-must-live-and-seeks-the-means-of-prolonging/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [To love with the spirit is to pity, and he who pities most loves most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/to-love-with-the-spirit-is-to-pity-and-he-who-pities-most-loves-most/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [These terrible sociologists, who are the astrologers and alchemists of our twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/these-terrible-sociologists-who-are-the-astrologers-and-alchemists-of/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) [Explore all 153 Miguel de Unamuno quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) ## 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": "Use harms and even destroys beauty. 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