--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty…" description: "\"“Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not she: Truth and beauty buriéd be.”\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag_800372.jpg" --- # Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not… ![“Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not she: Truth and beauty buriéd be.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag_800372.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag_800372.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag_800372.jpg) > ““Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not she: Truth and beauty buriéd be.”” [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. Truth and beauty are often mistaken for each other, yet they remain distinct and elusive truths **In simple terms:** Truth and beauty differ and are hard to grasp Key Takeaway Recognize and value truth over superficial beauty Themes philosophy beauty truth Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - art criticism - self‑reflection Key Concepts metaphysics aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate truth from appealing appearances? - When have you mistaken beauty for truth? A Different Perspective Truth can be obscured by appearances, leading to misjudgment ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth and beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-and-beauty/) ## Related quotes > [“...their heathen fingers understand truth and beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/their-heathen-fingers-understand-truth-and-beauty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive, And, constant stars, in them I read such art, As truth and beauty shall together thrive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-from-thine-eyes-my-knowledge-i-derive-and-constant-stars-in-them/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In the society of men the truth resides now less in what things are than in what they are not. Our social realities are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/in-the-society-of-men-the-truth-resides-now-less-in-what-things-are/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Math is the only place where truth and beauty mean the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danica-mckellar/math-is-the-only-place-where-truth-and-beauty-mean-the-same-thing/) [Danica McKellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danica-mckellar/) > [There is a truth and beauty in rhetoric; but it oftener serves ill turns than good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/there-is-a-truth-and-beauty-in-rhetoric-but-it-oftener-serves-ill/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [My goal as a creative person is to express truth and beauty in whatever I do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/my-goal-as-a-creative-person-is-to-express-truth-and-beauty-in/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [Goodness is a special kind of truth and beauty. 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Existence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-dovzhenko/if-it-s-necessary-to-choose-between-truth-and-beauty-i-ll-choose/) Alexander Dovzhenko > [All you need in life is truth and beauty and you can find both at the Public Library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/all-you-need-in-life-is-truth-and-beauty-and-you-can-find-both-at-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“Our plans and designs should be so perfect in truth and beauty, that in touching them the world could only mar. We should thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/our-plans-and-designs-should-be-so-perfect-in-truth-and-beauty-that/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“I live my life in pursuit of truth and beauty. It doesn't pay very well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-haidle/i-live-my-life-in-pursuit-of-truth-and-beauty-it-doesn-t-pay-very-well/) Noah Haidle ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. 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. 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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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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": "“Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not she: Truth and beauty buriéd be.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag-but-tis-not-she-truth-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag-but-tis-not-she-truth-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag_800372.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag_800372.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/william-shakespeare-4_beauty_truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag_800372.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not she: Truth and beauty buriéd be.” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Truth may seem, but cannot be;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag-but-tis-not-she-truth-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-may-seem-but-cannot-be-beauty-brag-but-tis-not-she-truth-and/#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 } } ] } ```