Beauty without intelligence is like a hook without bait.

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
(Misattributed)

Widely attributed to Moliere, and usually to his play Tartuffe. An extensive look across multiple translations of that and other Moliere plays finds no reference to any of those four nouns that at all resembles this sentiment.

Instead, the phrase appears to originate from Ninon de Lenclos (1620-1705), French letter writer, courtesan, and salonnière. Moliere knew her when he was a child. Attributed to her is the phrase "La beauté sans grâce est un hameçon sans appât," which sometimes is translated as above, or as "Beauty without grace ...."

 
Added on 26-Jun-25 | Last updated 26-Jun-25
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