--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great beauty is often perceived by human…" description: "\"Great beauty is often perceived by human senses as pain.\" — Susan Kay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/susan-kay-23526_beauty_great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human_2587674.jpg" --- # Great beauty is often perceived by human senses as pain. ![“Great beauty is often perceived by human senses as pain.” quote by Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/susan-kay-23526_beauty_great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human_2587674.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/susan-kay-23526_beauty_great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human_2587674.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/susan-kay-23526_beauty_great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human_2587674.jpg) > “Great beauty is often perceived by human senses as pain.” [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty often intertwines with pain, as intense experiences can be both alluring and hurtful. **In simple terms:** Beauty and pain are linked. Key Takeaway Embrace the full depth of experiences. Themes a pain perception Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - art appreciation - relationships - personal growth - overcoming adversity Key Concepts Aesthetic theory human experience Questions to Reflect On - How does pain shape your perception of beauty? - Can you find beauty without pain? A Different Perspective Pain can distort or deepen appreciation, not always universally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) ## Related quotes > [“You don't have to fear your own company being perceived as human. You want it. People don't trust companies; they trust people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-slap/you-don-t-have-to-fear-your-own-company-being-perceived-as-human-you/) [Stan Slap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-slap/) > [Faith will tell us Christ is present, When our human senses fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/faith-will-tell-us-christ-is-present-when-our-human-senses-fail/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [We are all human, and our senses are quicker to prompt us than our reason. Every man gives off a scent, and that scent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/we-are-all-human-and-our-senses-are-quicker-to-prompt-us-than-our/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“The human senses are known to be astoundingly unreliable instruments, easily deceived and fallible. Would you bet everything on shoddy detection equipment? That’s what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hockney/the-human-senses-are-known-to-be-astoundingly-unreliable-instruments/) [Mike Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hockney/) > [Cities give not the human senses room enough. We go out daily and nightly to feed the eyes on the horizon, and require so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/cities-give-not-the-human-senses-room-enough-we-go-out-daily-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The movement of Soul beyond the human senses is such a natural process that one is likely to overlook it in its simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-klemp/the-movement-of-soul-beyond-the-human-senses-is-such-a-natural/) [Harold Klemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-klemp/) > [“Beauty is where it is perceived. When I see the sun shinning on the woods across the pond, I think this side the richer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/beauty-is-where-it-is-perceived-when-i-see-the-sun-shinning-on-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every woman is beautiful in her own way and I don't know why people have norms and ideas on how beauty is perceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-penty/every-woman-is-beautiful-in-her-own-way-and-i-don-t-know-why-people/) [Diana Penty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-penty/) > [As for everything else, so for a mathematical theory: beauty can be perceived but not explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-cayley/as-for-everything-else-so-for-a-mathematical-theory-beauty-can-be/) [Arthur Cayley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-cayley/) > [Beauty may be perceived in any scene by one with sympathy and understanding. Beauty is in the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/beauty-may-be-perceived-in-any-scene-by-one-with-sympathy-and/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [“To think Viviane was beautiful required a certain acquired taste. It was the kind of beauty perceived only through the eyes of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslye-walton/to-think-viviane-was-beautiful-required-a-certain-acquired-taste-it/) [Leslye Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslye-walton/) > [In the Classical tradition, deriving from ancient Greece and Rome, beauty was perceived as the means by which the artist captured the viewer's eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/in-the-classical-tradition-deriving-from-ancient-greece-and-rome/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Why does a man who is truly in love insist that this relationship must continue and be "lifelong"? Because life is pain and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/why-does-a-man-who-is-truly-in-love-insist-that-this-relationship/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [You keep your eyes closed to block out the hardships, the pain, the unwanted; but in that, the true beauty of the world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-keep-your-eyes-closed-to-block-out-the-hardships-the-pain-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“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/) ## More by Susan Kay > [“None of us can chose where we will love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/none-of-us-can-chose-where-we-will-love/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [Happiness is like the first blissful intoxication of morphine.It doesn't last very long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/happiness-is-like-the-first-blissful-intoxication-of-morphine-it/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [Killing is like riding, you see. One never really loses the knack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/killing-is-like-riding-you-see-one-never-really-loses-the-knack/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [Death was the ultimate power and I his eager, willing apprentice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/death-was-the-ultimate-power-and-i-his-eager-willing-apprentice/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [Hell is not a place, it's a state of mind and body; hell is obsession with a voice, a face, a name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/hell-is-not-a-place-it-s-a-state-of-mind-and-body-hell-is-obsession/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [“He saw the Queen and saw her for the first time with the mask of friendship removed, a figure suddenly as ruthless and terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/he-saw-the-queen-and-saw-her-for-the-first-time-with-the-mask-of/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [And it's really very difficult to kill someone when all your inner instincts would oblige you to take off your hat first!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/and-it-s-really-very-difficult-to-kill-someone-when-all-your-inner/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [“I want you to take off the mask, Erik, do you hear me? I want you to take it off right now. -Luciana”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/i-want-you-to-take-off-the-mask-erik-do-you-hear-me-i-want-you-to/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [I had reached up and pulled the castle of dreams down around him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/i-had-reached-up-and-pulled-the-castle-of-dreams-down-around-him/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [I can make anything disappear, if I really want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/i-can-make-anything-disappear-if-i-really-want-to/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [“Flower and bird, two species never meant to mate. Yet at length the rose overcame her fear and from that single, forbidden union was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/flower-and-bird-two-species-never-meant-to-mate-yet-at-length-the/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [“Men like Robin were never content, and men like Robin were all she would ever love, grasping, ambitious reflections of herself... He would begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/men-like-robin-were-never-content-and-men-like-robin-were-all-she/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [“To Renard's suspicious eye, Elizabeth's nebulous role at court had taken on a new and sinister signifiance. This unspoken Protestant heir presumptive was suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/to-renard-s-suspicious-eye-elizabeth-s-nebulous-role-at-court-had/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [“Is the mask magic?" he demanded with sudden, passionate interest. "Yes." I bowed my head, so that our eyes no longer met. "I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/is-the-mask-magic-he-demanded-with-sudden-passionate-interest-yes-i/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [Memories are like fireflies darting across the surface of my mind, showing me here and there images so sharp and vivid that I catch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/memories-are-like-fireflies-darting-across-the-surface-of-my-mind/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) [Explore all 25 Susan Kay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) ## 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": "Great beauty is often perceived by human senses as pain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Kay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human-senses-as-pain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human-senses-as-pain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/susan-kay-23526_beauty_great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human_2587674.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/susan-kay-23526_beauty_great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human_2587674.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/susan-kay-23526_beauty_great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human_2587674.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great beauty is often perceived by human senses as pain.” — Susan Kay", "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": "Susan Kay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great beauty is often perceived by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human-senses-as-pain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/great-beauty-is-often-perceived-by-human-senses-as-pain/#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 } } ] } ```