--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtues, like essences, lose their…" description: "\"Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed. They are sensitive plants, which will not bear too familiar approaches.\" — William Shenstone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/william-shenstone-4083_approach_virtues-like-essences-lose-their-fragran_1084468.jpg" --- # Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed… ![“Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed. They are sensitive plants, which will not bear too familiar approaches.” quote by William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/william-shenstone-4083_approach_virtues-like-essences-lose-their-fragran_1084468.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/william-shenstone-4083_approach_virtues-like-essences-lose-their-fragran_1084468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/william-shenstone-4083_approach_virtues-like-essences-lose-their-fragran_1084468.jpg) > “Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed. They are sensitive plants, which will not bear too familiar approaches.” [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Essences lose their power when overused; delicate virtues fade with familiarity. **In simple terms:** Overexposure dulls delicate qualities. Key Takeaway Treat precious things with reverence. Themes respect fragility beauty Mood reflective melancholic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - art - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy sensibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect what you cherish? - When does intimacy become overfamiliar? A Different Perspective Too much closeness can cause loss of value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/virtues-like-essences-lose-their-fragrance-when-exposed/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [“But I am not going to give every detail. Some things lose their fragrance when opened to the air, and there are stirrings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-beevers/but-i-am-not-going-to-give-every-detail-some-things-lose-their/) [John Beevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-beevers/) > [When I release something, I'm like, "OK, I want it to be the best." When I release my fragrance, I want it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bieber/when-i-release-something-i-m-like-ok-i-want-it-to-be-the-best-when-i/) [Justin Bieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bieber/) > [Every word has its fragrance: there is a harmony and a disharmony of fragrances, and hence of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-word-has-its-fragrance-there-is-a-harmony-and-a-disharmony-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Red lips and fragrance always top off an outfit for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/red-lips-and-fragrance-always-top-off-an-outfit-for-me/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [The moment one starts sharing one's being without any motive life becomes a sweet fragrance. It is all honey. Then everything remains the same,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-moment-one-starts-sharing-one-s-being-without-any-motive-life/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [For fragrance, I apply a custom blend of essential oils and perfumes. I love spritzing Michelle Roques-O'Neil's Restore Therapie Aura Spray, which is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-mcgrath/for-fragrance-i-apply-a-custom-blend-of-essential-oils-and-perfumes-i/) [Pat McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-mcgrath/) > [“The pictures she drew on were vibrant as ever, though. The crumbling stone farmstead overlooking the great Luberon valley where she was born. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-lawrenson/the-pictures-she-drew-on-were-vibrant-as-ever-though-the-crumbling/) [Deborah Lawrenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-lawrenson/) > [I unpetalled you, like a rose, to see your soul, and I didn't see it. But everything around -horizons of land and of seas-,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-ramon-jimenez/i-unpetalled-you-like-a-rose-to-see-your-soul-and-i-didn-t-see-it-but/) [Juan Ramon Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-ramon-jimenez/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [It's so nice to get flowers while you can still smell the fragrance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/it-s-so-nice-to-get-flowers-while-you-can-still-smell-the-fragrance/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [One my closest friends doesn't care about sharing her clothes or jewelry, but she never shares her fragrance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/one-my-closest-friends-doesn-t-care-about-sharing-her-clothes-or/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU When I hold a rose, I see the soft, velvety petals and smile, because tucked between those precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/the-difference-between-me-and-you-when-i-hold-a-rose-i-see-the-soft/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [The odor of bowel wind is known to every human, but the fragrance of book glue has crossed only a fraction of mortal nostrils.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-odor-of-bowel-wind-is-known-to-every-human-but-the-fragrance-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More by William Shenstone > [When self-interest inclines a man to print, he should consider that the purchaser expects a pennyworth for his penny, and has reason to asperse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/when-self-interest-inclines-a-man-to-print-he-should-consider-that/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Fashion is a great restraint upon your persons of taste and fancy; who would otherwise in the most trifling instances be able to distinguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/fashion-is-a-great-restraint-upon-your-persons-of-taste-and-fancy-who/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Whoe'er has travell'd life's dull round, Where'er his stages may have been, May sigh to think he still has found The warmest welcome at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/whoe-er-has-travell-d-life-s-dull-round-where-er-his-stages-may-have/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [His knowledge of books had in some degree diminished his knowledge of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/his-knowledge-of-books-had-in-some-degree-diminished-his-knowledge-of/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Patience is the panacea; but where does it grow, or who can swallow it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/patience-is-the-panacea-but-where-does-it-grow-or-who-can-swallow-it/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [A large retinue upon a small income, like a large cascade upon a small stream, tends to discover its tenuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/a-large-retinue-upon-a-small-income-like-a-large-cascade-upon-a-small/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Independence may be found in comparative as well as in absolute abundance; I mean where a person contracts his desires within the limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/independence-may-be-found-in-comparative-as-well-as-in-absolute/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Taste is pursued at a less expense than fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/taste-is-pursued-at-a-less-expense-than-fashion/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Long sentences in a short composition are like large rooms in a little house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/long-sentences-in-a-short-composition-are-like-large-rooms-in-a/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Anger is a great force. If you control it, it can be transmuted into a power which can move the whole world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/anger-is-a-great-force-if-you-control-it-it-can-be-transmuted-into-a/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Persons who discover a flatterer, do not always disapprove him, because he imagines them considerable enough to deserve his applications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/persons-who-discover-a-flatterer-do-not-always-disapprove-him-because/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [A man has generally the good or ill qualities which he attributes to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/a-man-has-generally-the-good-or-ill-qualities-which-he-attributes-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [A fool and his words are soon parted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/a-fool-and-his-words-are-soon-parted/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [It should seem that indolence itself would incline a person to be honest, as it requires infinitely greater pains and contrivance to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/it-should-seem-that-indolence-itself-would-incline-a-person-to-be/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) [Explore all 116 William Shenstone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) ## More Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 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If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. 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