--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knowledge of ideal beauty is not to be…" description: "\"Knowledge of ideal beauty is not to be acquired. It is born with us. Innate ideas are in every man, born with him; theyare truly himself.\" — William Blake" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/william-blake-397_beauty_knowledge-of-ideal-beauty-is-not-to-be-a_3214553.jpg" --- # Knowledge of ideal beauty is not to be acquired. It is… ![“Knowledge of ideal beauty is not to be acquired. It is born with us. Innate ideas are in every man, born with him; theyare truly himself.” quote by William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/william-blake-397_beauty_knowledge-of-ideal-beauty-is-not-to-be-a_3214553.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/william-blake-397_beauty_knowledge-of-ideal-beauty-is-not-to-be-a_3214553.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/william-blake-397_beauty_knowledge-of-ideal-beauty-is-not-to-be-a_3214553.jpg) > “Knowledge of ideal beauty is not to be acquired. It is born with us. Innate ideas are in every man, born with him; theyare truly himself.” [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True beauty is innate, not learned; it exists within each person as a fundamental aspect of self. **In simple terms:** Beauty is inherent, not taught. Key Takeaway Trust your inner sense of beauty. Themes beauty innateness philosophy human nature Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical personal growth When to use this quote - personal development - artistic expression - self‑discovery Key Concepts innate ideas aesthetic perception essential self Questions to Reflect On - What innate qualities do you recognize in yourself? - How can you honor your inner beauty despite external pressures? A Different Perspective Innate beauty may be obscured by cultural standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Acquired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-acquired-6019403/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born Innate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-innate-5783588/) [Every man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/) [Ideal Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-beauty-680267/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Innate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innate/) [Innate Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innate-ideas-4399419/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Innate ideas are in every man, born with him; they are truly himself. The man who says that we have no innate ideas must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/innate-ideas-are-in-every-man-born-with-him-they-are-truly-himself/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I wasn't born with any innate talent. I've never been naturally gifted at anything. I always had to work at it. The only way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-karnazes/i-wasn-t-born-with-any-innate-talent-i-ve-never-been-naturally-gifted/) [Dean Karnazes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-karnazes/) > [I think that, like most of us, I was born with an innate goodness. And I believe that God has seen that in me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/i-think-that-like-most-of-us-i-was-born-with-an-innate-goodness-and-i/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [“Starting from Descartes’ commitment to a few absolutely certain innate ideas and reason’s ability to determine some facts about reality a priori, Leibniz ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/starting-from-descartes-commitment-to-a-few-absolutely-certain-innate-2/) [Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/) > [ “Men who read it \[beauty pornography\] don't do so because they want women who look like that. The attraction of what they are holding… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/men-who-read-it-beauty-pornography-don-t-do-so-because-they-want/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Nothing, indeed, is more dangerous to the young artist than any conception of ideal beauty: he is constantly led by it either into weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/nothing-indeed-is-more-dangerous-to-the-young-artist-than-any-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [When I was growing up, we didn't have this super-skinny, flawless image to compete with. I find it unfortunate that young women may look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellee-stewart/when-i-was-growing-up-we-didn-t-have-this-super-skinny-flawless-image/) [Kellee Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellee-stewart/) > [The fact that my body is presented as an unrealistic ideal of 'beauty' to the world doesn't stop me - or most other models…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreja-pejic/the-fact-that-my-body-is-presented-as-an-unrealistic-ideal-of-beauty/) [Andreja Pejic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreja-pejic/) > [The ideal beauty is a fugitive which is never found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/the-ideal-beauty-is-a-fugitive-which-is-never-found/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [The judge is not the knight-errant, roaming at will in pursuit of his own ideal of beauty or of goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-judge-is-not-the-knight-errant-roaming-at-will-in-pursuit-of-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Love in full life and length, not love ideal, No, nor ideal beauty, that fine name, But something better still, so very real...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gordon-byron/love-in-full-life-and-length-not-love-ideal-no-nor-ideal-beauty-that/) [George Gordon Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gordon-byron/) > [Art ought never to be considered except in its relations with its ideal beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-vigny/art-ought-never-to-be-considered-except-in-its-relations-with-its/) [Alfred de Vigny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-vigny/) > [The ideal of beauty is simplicity and tranquility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-ideal-of-beauty-is-simplicity-and-tranquility/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It has always seemed to me. ever since early childhood, amid all the commonplaces of life, i was very near to a kingdom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/it-has-always-seemed-to-me-ever-since-early-childhood-amid-all-the/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [Nothing, indeed, is more dangerous to the young artist than any conception of ideal beauty: he is constantly led by it either into weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/nothing-indeed-is-more-dangerous-to-the-young-artist-than-any/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by William Blake > [Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/poetry-fettered-fetters-the-human-race-nations-are-destroyed-or/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Where any view of money exists, art cannot be carried on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/where-any-view-of-money-exists-art-cannot-be-carried-on/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [God only acts and is, in existing beings or men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/god-only-acts-and-is-in-existing-beings-or-men/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Kill not the moth nor butterfly, For the Last Judgement draweth nigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/kill-not-the-moth-nor-butterfly-for-the-last-judgement-draweth-nigh/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-world-of-imagination-is-the-world-of-eternity-it-is-the-divine/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/imagination-is-the-real-and-eternal-world-of-which-this-vegetable/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Painters are noted for being dissipated and wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/painters-are-noted-for-being-dissipated-and-wild/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Time is the mercy of Eternity; without Time's swiftness Which is the swiftest of all things, all were eternal torment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/time-is-the-mercy-of-eternity-without-time-s-swiftness-which-is-the/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The difference between a bad artist and a good one is: the bad artist seems to copy a great deal; the good one really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-difference-between-a-bad-artist-and-a-good-one-is-the-bad-artist/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Cruelty has a human heart, and jealousy a human face. Terror, the human form divine, And secrecy, the human dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/cruelty-has-a-human-heart-and-jealousy-a-human-face-terror-the-human/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [A dead body revenges not injuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/a-dead-body-revenges-not-injuries/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place & governs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/those-who-restrain-desire-do-so-because-theirs-is-weak-enough-to-be/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [To generalize is to be an idiot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-generalize-is-to-be-an-idiot/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [THE POISON TREE I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-poison-tree-i-was-angry-with-my-friend-i-told-my-wrath-my-wrath/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The bird a nest the spider a web the human friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-bird-a-nest-the-spider-a-web-the-human-friendship/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) [Explore all 592 William Blake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## 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": "Knowledge of ideal beauty is not to be acquired. It is born with us. 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