--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty is desired in order that it may be…" description: "\"Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaning it.\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/tom-stoppard-437_beauty_beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-b_627208.png" --- # Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not… ![“Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaning it.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/tom-stoppard-437_beauty_beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-b_627208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/tom-stoppard-437_beauty_beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-b_627208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/tom-stoppard-437_beauty_beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-b_627208.png) > “Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaning it.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty is sought so it can be defiled, finding pleasure in its inevitable corruption. **In simple terms:** People enjoy ruining what they desire. Key Takeaway Recognize the paradox of desire and destruction. Themes beauty desire corruption Mood cynical thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - art criticism - relationships - consumer culture - environmental exploitation Key Concepts philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - Why do we sometimes want to spoil what we love? - Can appreciation exist without the urge to defile? A Different Perspective Desire can lead to self‑sabotage; not all destruction is intentional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Desired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-desired-971401/) [Befouled Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/befouled-sake-5062356/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Certainty Profaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-profaning-5062354/) [Desired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desired/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Profaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profaning-5062355/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have to go very far to see the power of beauty. Being desired, feeling desired is a very seductive aspect of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/i-don-t-have-to-go-very-far-to-see-the-power-of-beauty-being-desired/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [From principles is derived probability, but truth or certainty is obtained only from facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/from-principles-is-derived-probability-but-truth-or-certainty-is/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Terror works like a musical composition, so many instruments, all in tune, playing perfectly together to create their desired effect. Sorrow and horror and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/terror-works-like-a-musical-composition-so-many-instruments-all-in/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [The first right of every child is to be wanted, to be desired, to be planned for with an intensity of love that gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/the-first-right-of-every-child-is-to-be-wanted-to-be-desired-to-be/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [“Desire may cease once the desired person or object is acquired. The desire of reading doesn’t cease once a book is read, however extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-dubois/desire-may-cease-once-the-desired-person-or-object-is-acquired-the/) [Gabrielle Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-dubois/) > [I've got a feeling that with the best coppers - and in fact the best people in any field of work - what sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-stott/i-ve-got-a-feeling-that-with-the-best-coppers-and-in-fact-the-best/) [Ken Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-stott/) > [As long as humans have existed, we have always desired to live longer. Every society, every religion, every culture. Of course, they all failed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/as-long-as-humans-have-existed-we-have-always-desired-to-live-longer/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [I found that what I had desired all my life was not to live - if what others are doing is called living -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-found-that-what-i-had-desired-all-my-life-was-not-to-live-if-what/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Friendship is a relationship that is given to few, but desired by all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-is-a-relationship-that-is-given-to-few-but-desired-by-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What must that be like? To be admired before you’ve even said a word, to be desired two or three hundred times a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-must-that-be-like-to-be-admired-before-you-ve-even-said-a-word/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I'm sorry, I guess my company leaves a lot to be desired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-m-sorry-i-guess-my-company-leaves-a-lot-to-be-desired/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [The US wished things to turn out as they did, and worked to bring this about. The department of state desired that the UN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/the-us-wished-things-to-turn-out-as-they-did-and-worked-to-bring-this/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [“When a long-desired baby is born, what joy! More happiness than we find in sex, more than we take in success, revenge, or wealth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/when-a-long-desired-baby-is-born-what-joy-more-happiness-than-we-find/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/i-feel-in-me-the-vocation-of-the-priest-i-have-the-vocation-of-the/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/peace-above-all-things-is-to-be-desired-but-blood-must-sometimes-be/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## 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": "Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaning it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Stoppard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-be-befouled-not-for-its-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-be-befouled-not-for-its-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/tom-stoppard-437_beauty_beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-b_627208.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/tom-stoppard-437_beauty_beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-b_627208.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/tom-stoppard-437_beauty_beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-b_627208.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the…” — Tom Stoppard", "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": "Tom Stoppard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Beauty is desired in order that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-be-befouled-not-for-its-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/beauty-is-desired-in-order-that-it-may-be-befouled-not-for-its-own/#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 } } ] } ```