--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; A…" description: "\"“Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly; A flower that dies when first it 'gins to bud; A brittle that's broken p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_beauty-is-but-a-vain-and-doubtful-good-a_375015.jpg" --- # Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; A shining gloss… ![“Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly; A flower that dies when first it 'gins to bud; A brittle that's broken presently; A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower, Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour. And as goods lost are seld or never found, As vaded…” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_beauty-is-but-a-vain-and-doubtful-good-a_375015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_beauty-is-but-a-vain-and-doubtful-good-a_375015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_beauty-is-but-a-vain-and-doubtful-good-a_375015.jpg) > ““Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly; A flower that dies when first it 'gins to bud; A brittle that's broken presently; A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower, Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour. And as goods lost are seld or never found, As vaded gloss no rubbing will refresh, As flowers dead lie withered on the ground, As broken glass no cement can redress; So beauty blemished once, for ever lost, In spite of physic, painting, pain and cost.”” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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 fleeting, fragile, and once tarnished cannot be fully restored, highlighting the impermanence of external allure. **In simple terms:** Beauty is temporary and easily ruined. Key Takeaway Value inner qualities over superficial appearances. Themes beauty impermanence vanity loss appearance Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - art criticism - personal self‑esteem - marketing - fashion Key Concepts ephemerality aesthetic philosophy human desire Questions to Reflect On - How do you define beauty beyond the surface? - Can lasting value be found in impermanent things? A Different Perspective Even if restored, beauty may still feel superficial and not address deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; a shining gloss that fadeth suddenly; a flower that dies when it begins to bud; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-is-but-a-vain-and-doubtful-good-a-shining-gloss-that-fadeth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Beauty's a doubtful good, a glass, a flower, Lost, faded, broken, dead within an hour; And beauty, blemish'd once, for ever's lost, In spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-s-a-doubtful-good-a-glass-a-flower-lost-faded-broken-dead/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [No sooner have you feasted on beauty with your eyes than your mind tells you that beauty is vain and beauty passes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/no-sooner-have-you-feasted-on-beauty-with-your-eyes-than-your-mind/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“My favorite flower lost its voice, and through aroma therapy and the assistance of both my nostrils, I’m trying to help it get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/my-favorite-flower-lost-its-voice-and-through-aroma-therapy-and-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“She should have cut off her damn hair ages ago, but the long, dark locks were her one claim to beauty and she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-grey/she-should-have-cut-off-her-damn-hair-ages-ago-but-the-long-dark/) Jamie Grey > [“Grace is false, and beauty is vain. A woman who fears God—she is praised. 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Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman who fears the Lord, She shall be praised. 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That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. 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And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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. 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