--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty lay not in the thing, but in what…" description: "\"Beauty lay not in the thing, but in what the thing symbolized.\" — Thomas Hardy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/thomas-hardy-410_beauty_beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what_1360335.jpg" --- # Beauty lay not in the thing, but in what the thing… ![“Beauty lay not in the thing, but in what the thing symbolized.” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/thomas-hardy-410_beauty_beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what_1360335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/thomas-hardy-410_beauty_beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what_1360335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/thomas-hardy-410_beauty_beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what_1360335.jpg) > “Beauty lay not in the thing, but in what the thing symbolized.” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty lies not in the object itself but in the meanings it represents. **In simple terms:** Beauty is symbolic. Key Takeaway Look for deeper meaning in beauty. Themes aesthetics symbolism interpretation Mood contemplative analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Art criticism - personal reflection - education Key Concepts Literary analysis psychology of perception Questions to Reflect On - What symbols do you associate with beauty? - How does context change perception? A Different Perspective Interpretations can be subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ## Related quotes > [A butterfly symbolized acceptance of each new phase in life. To keep faith as everything around you changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/a-butterfly-symbolized-acceptance-of-each-new-phase-in-life-to-keep/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“The more I read, the more I felt my understanding of the universe slip away from me. Columbine symbolized both 'desertion' and 'folly'; poppy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-diffenbaugh/the-more-i-read-the-more-i-felt-my-understanding-of-the-universe-slip/) [Vanessa Diffenbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-diffenbaugh/) > [I did not go into the film business to be symbolized as someone else's vision of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-did-not-go-into-the-film-business-to-be-symbolized-as-someone-else/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I symbolized doping... My phone rarely rings. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of riders who call me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-virenque/i-symbolized-doping-my-phone-rarely-rings-i-can-count-on-the-fingers/) [Richard Virenque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-virenque/) > [“One thing? One thing I like? Okay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/one-thing-one-thing-i-like-okay/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Sometimes the only thing to do is to take the thing that you must have. Even if someone gets hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sometimes-the-only-thing-to-do-is-to-take-the-thing-that-you-must/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The celebrity thing is such a thing in itself now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissie-hynde/the-celebrity-thing-is-such-a-thing-in-itself-now/) [Chrissie Hynde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissie-hynde/) > [A thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/a-thing-is-a-thing-not-what-is-said-of-that-thing/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“They say one thing and another thing and both at once;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/they-say-one-thing-and-another-thing-and-both-at-once/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [Life isn't one thing after another, it's the same thing over and over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/life-isn-t-one-thing-after-another-it-s-the-same-thing-over-and-over/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Equality, equality, equality. I'm all about equality, that's the main thing and the only thing I'm about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupcakke/equality-equality-equality-i-m-all-about-equality-that-s-the-main/) [Cupcakke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cupcakke/) > [“I do my thing, and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-perls/i-do-my-thing-and-you-do-your-thing-i-am-not-in-this-world-to-live-up/) Fritz Perls > [The story is the first thing and the last thing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/the-story-is-the-first-thing-and-the-last-thing/) [Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/) > [“Fear will do one thing and one thing only: hold you back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kya-aliana/fear-will-do-one-thing-and-one-thing-only-hold-you-back/) Kya Aliana > [All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-the-thing-of-the-thing/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You ride well, but you don't kiss nicely at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-ride-well-but-you-don-t-kiss-nicely-at-all/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It was mid-May time, bringing with it weather not, perhaps, quite so blooming as that assumed to be natural to the month by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-mid-may-time-bringing-with-it-weather-not-perhaps-quite-so/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-galileo-had-said-in-verse-that-the-world-moved-the-inquisition/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Some folk want their luck buttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/some-folk-want-their-luck-buttered/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/measurement-of-life-should-be-proportioned-rather-to-the-intensity-of/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-was-court-martialed-in-my-absence-and-sentenced-to-death-in-my/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It being the first time in his life that he had touched female fingers under water, Dick duly registered the sensation as rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-being-the-first-time-in-his-life-that-he-had-touched-female/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“As soon as she could discern the outline of the house, it had all its old effect upon Tess's imagination. Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, 'Why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-sinister-spirit-sneered-it-had-to-be-and-again-the-spirit-of-pity/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/justice-was-done-and-the-president-of-the-immortals-in-aeschylean/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Explore all 561 Thomas Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## 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": "Beauty lay not in the thing, but in what the thing symbolized.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hardy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what-the-thing-symbolized/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what-the-thing-symbolized/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/thomas-hardy-410_beauty_beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what_1360335.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/thomas-hardy-410_beauty_beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what_1360335.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/thomas-hardy-410_beauty_beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what_1360335.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Beauty lay not in the thing, but in what the thing symbolized.” — Thomas Hardy", "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": "Thomas Hardy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Beauty lay not in the thing,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what-the-thing-symbolized/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/beauty-lay-not-in-the-thing-but-in-what-the-thing-symbolized/#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 } } ] } ```