Dear love, dear life, you do not need adorning —
hair curled, silk rustling down your slender side.
Not by that heavy scent, those foreign bangles,
is this your natural beauty magnified.
No. Let that beauty shine in its own brilliance,
your charm, your grace, transcend what gold can buy.
Believe me, art is needless. You are lovely,
and love goes naked nor would trick the eye.[Quid iuvat ornato procedere, vita, capillo
et tenuis Coa veste movere sinus,
aut quid Orontea crines perfundere murra,
teque peregrinis vendere muneribus,
naturaeque decus mercato perdere cultu,
nec sinere in propriis membra nitere bonis?
Crede mihi, non ulla tuaest medicina figurae:
nudus Amor formam non amat artificem.]Propertius (50-16 BC) Roman elegiac poet [Sextus Propertius]
Elegies, Book 1, Elegy 2, l. 1ff (1.2.1-8) [tr. Carrier (1963)]
(Source)
(Source (Latin)). Other translations:Why walk, my love, with locks bedeck'd with gold?
And rustle Coan robes with silken fold?
Ah, why with Syrian unguents drench thy hair,
Trick'd out for sale with artificial ware?
Why scorn to please by nature's simple grace,
And seek th' allurements of a borrw'd face?
From tricks like these thy charms no fairer prove,
For artificial beauty wins not love.
[tr. Moore (1870)]Why wear, my Life, when thou abroad dost stir,
A head trimmed up to fashion's latest laws?
A Coan vestment of transparent gauze,
And hair perfumed with Orontean myrrh?
Why deck thyself with gems and costly dress?
Why mar with trinkets Nature's form divine,
And not allow thy beauties forth to shine
In all their own, their matchless loveliness?
To thee such aids can add no charms -- ah, no!
True love will aye disdain the artist's care.
[tr. Cranstoun (1875)]Why delight, my life, in walking delicately with hair elaborately decked, and in fluttering the transparent folds of a Coan vesture? Why drench your hair with Syrian myrrh? Why set yourself off by artificial means, to spoil the grace of nature by purchased adornment, and not suffer your limbs to shine in their own loveliness. Believe me, there is no improving beauty like yours by adventitious aid: geniuine Love likes not a disguised form.
[tr. Gantillon (1884)]Why to walk forth, sweet life, thy tresses braid?
Why in the Coan garb’s thin folds array’d?
Why with Orontes’ myrrh thy locks imbue?
Thy beauty’s price enhance by foreign show?
Why Nature’s charms with purchas’d lustre hide,
Nor let thy limbs disclose their genuine pride?
Trust me thy face wants no cosmetic’s aid;
Love’s naked god abhors the dressing trade.
[tr. Nott, ed. Gantillon (1884)]What does it profit, sweet life, to walk abroad with bedizened hair and play off the delicate folds in a muslin of Cos? Or to steep your locks in a perfume from the Orontes, and make a market of yourself by these outlandish dowries, using purchased braveries to spoil the grace of nature instead of letting the bodily form dazzle by its proper excellences? Take my word for it, all this leechcraft of yours to mend the looks is naught: Master Love is naked and loves not one that makes a craft of beauty.
[tr. Phillimore (1906)]What boots it, light of my life, to go forth with locks adorned, and to rustle in slender folds of Coan silk? Or avails it aught to steep thy tresses in the myrrh of Orontes, to parade thyself in the gifts that aliens bring, to spoil the grace of nature by the charms that gold can buy nor allow thy limbs to shine in the glory that is their own? Believe me, thou hast no art can make thy form more fair; Love himself goes naked and hates those that make a craft of beauty.
[tr. Butler (Loeb) (1912)]Why, dear, do you love to go out with your hair arranged
In the latest style and besprinkled with Eastern perfumes?
To parade in filmy ripples of Coān silk
And set yourself off with exotic adornments?
Such purchased graces ruin the charms of nature
And let no part of you glow with its own true light.
Believe me, they're futile -- these arts for improving your looks;
Love goes naked and has no time
For contrivers of beauty.
[tr. Musker (1972)]What avails it, my love, to step out with coiffured hair and flutter the sheer folds of a Coan dress? What avails it to drench your locks with Syrian perfume and to vaunt yourself in foreign finery, to destroy your natural charm with purchased ornament, preventing your figure from displaying its own true merits? Believe me, there is no improving your appearance. Love is naked, and loves not beauty gained by artifice.
[tr. Goold (Loeb) (1990)]Why choose, my life, to step out with styled hair
And move sheer curves in Coan costume?
Or why to drench your tresses in Orontes' myrrh
And sell yourself with foreign gifts
And lose the charm of Nature for bought elegance,
Not letting limibs shine with their own attraction?
This doctoring of your looks is pointless, believe me;
Love, being naked, does not love beauticians.
[tr. Lee (1992)]What need is there, mea vita, to come with your hair adorned, and slither about in a thin silk dress from Cos? Why drench your tresses in myrrh of Orontes, betray yourself with gifts from strangers, ruin nature’s beauty with traded refinements, nor allow your limbs to gleam to true advantage? Believe me nothing could enhance your shape: naked Amor ever hates lying forms.
[tr. Kline (2001)]Who can be pleased, my love, by such a hairdo, float
of contours through a Cōan dress?
Or curls so wetted with Orontean myrrh they frame
a face sold out to foreign ways?
You have a natural beauty with unblemished limbs
that need not trade in cultivation.
Your figure, trust me, is its own revival: how
can naked looks need artifice?
[tr. Holcombe (2009)]Cupid is naked and does not like artifices contrived by beauty.
[E.g.]
Quotations about:
attraction
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
It is of the first importance not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit, a factor in a problem. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor.
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) British writer and physician
Story (1890-02), “The Sign of the Four,” ch. 2 [Holmes], Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45 (US) / 1 (UK)
(Source)
The original publication, and Doyle's manuscript (along with many other iterations across media) use "The Sign of the Four" as the title, while others (including the first book publications) use "The Sign of Four." The five-word form is used most commonly in the story, but the four-word form does show up. (More info.)
Published in novel form as The Sign of Four (1890-10).
Oh, give me of the kisses of your mouth,
For your love is more delightful than wine.
Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance,
Your name is like finest oil —
Therefore do maidens love you.
Draw me after you, let us run!
The king has brought me to his chambers.
Let us delight and rejoice in your love,
Savoring it more than wine —
Like new wine they love you!יִשָּׁקֵ֙נִי֙ מִנְּשִׁיק֣וֹת פִּ֔יהוּ כִּֽי־טוֹבִ֥ים דֹּדֶ֖יךָ מִיָּֽיִן׃
לְרֵ֙יחַ֙ שְׁמָנֶ֣יךָ טוֹבִ֔ים שֶׁ֖מֶן תּוּרַ֣ק שְׁמֶ֑ךָ עַל־כֵּ֖ן עֲלָמ֥וֹת אֲהֵבֽוּךָ׃
מׇשְׁכֵ֖נִי אַחֲרֶ֣יךָ נָּר֑וּצָה הֱבִיאַ֨נִי הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ חֲדָרָ֗יו נָגִ֤ילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה֙ בָּ֔ךְ נַזְכִּ֤ירָה דֹדֶ֙יךָ֙ מִיַּ֔יִן מֵישָׁרִ֖ים אֲהֵבֽוּךָ׃ {פ}The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 22. Song of Songs (of Solomon; Canticles) 1: 2ff (Song (Cant) 1:2-4) [tr. RJPS (2023 ed.)]
(Source)
This passage is usually identified a the Woman/Beloved's text.
(Source (Hebrew)). Alternate translations:Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth:
for thy love is better than wine.
Because of the savour of thy good ointments
thy name is as ointment poured forth,
therefore do the virgins love thee.
Draw me, we will run after thee:
the king hath brought me into his chambers:
we will be glad and rejoice in thee,
we will remember thy love more than wine:
the upright love thee.
[KJV (1611)]Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Your love is more delightful than wine; delicate is the fragrance of your perfume, your name is an oil poured out, and that is why the maidens love you.
Draw me in your footsteps, let us run. The King has brought me into his rooms; you will be our joy and our gladness. We shall praise your love above wine; how right it is to love you.
[JB (1966)]Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love-making is sweeter than wine; delicate is the fragrance of your perfume, your name is an oil poured out, and that is why girls love you.
Draw me in your footsteps, let us run. The king has brought me into his rooms; you will be our joy and our gladness. We shall praise your love more than wine; how right it is to love you.
[NJB (1985)]Your lips cover me with kisses;
your love is better than wine.
There is a fragrance about you;
the sound of your name recalls it.
No woman could keep from loving you.
Take me with you, and we'll run away;
be my king and take me to your room.
We will be happy together,
drink deep, and lose ourselves in love.
No wonder all women love you!
[GNT (1992 ed.)]If only he would give me some of his kisses ...
Oh, your loving is sweeter than wine!
Your fragrance is sweet;
your very name is perfume.
That’s why the young women love you.
Take me along with you; let’s run!
My king has brought me into his chambers, saying,
“Let’s exult and rejoice in you.
Let’s savor your loving more than wine.
No wonder they all love you!”
[CEB (2011)]Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.
Draw me after you; let us make haste.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]
A love of heavenly beauty does not preclude
A proper love for earthly pulchritude.[L’amour qui nous attache aux beautés éternelles
N’étouffe pas en nous l’amour des temporelles.]Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Tartuffe, or the Hypocrite [Le Tartuffe, ou L’Imposteur], Act 3, sc. 3 (1669) [tr. Wilbur (1963)]
(Source)
When Elmire suggests that the (falsely) pious Tartuffe must surely be focused solely on Heaven.
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:The Love which engages us to eternal Beauties, does not extinguish in us the Love of temporal ones.
[tr. Clitandre (1672)]The love which attaches us to eternal beauties does not stifle in us the love of earthly things.
[tr. Van Laun (1876)]Our love for the beauty which is eternal, stifles not in us love for that which is fleeting and temporal.
[tr. Wall (1879)]The love which leads us to eternal beauties does not extinguish in us the love of temporal ones.
[tr. Mathew (1890)]Our love for the beauty which is eternal does not stifle in us the love for things fleeting.
[tr. Waller (1903)]Love for the beauty of eternal things
Cannot destroy our love for earthly beauty.
[tr. Page (1909)]The love which draws us to eternal beauty
Does not exclude the love of temporal things.
[tr. Bishop (1957)]To love eternal beauties far above
Is not to be immune to other love.
[tr. Frame (1967)]The love that draws us to eternal beauty does not stifle love of this world.
[tr. Steiner (2008)]The love that binds us to eternal beauties
Does not entirely stifle in us the love of temporal.
[tr. Campbell (2013)]
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 ...."
ELMIRE: However high the passion which inflames us,
Still, to confess its power somehow shames us.[Quelque raison qu’on trouve à l’amour qui nous dompte,
On trouve à l’avouer toujours un peu de honte.]Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Tartuffe, or the Hypocrite [Le Tartuffe, ou L’Imposteur], Act 4, sc. 5 (1669) [tr. Wilbur (1963)]
(Source)
On women modestly protesting against the advances of lovers.
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:Whatever Reason we may find for the Passion that subdues us, we shall always be a little ashm'd to own it.
[tr. Clitandre (1672)]Whatever reason we may find for the passion that subdues us, we always feel some shame in owning it.
[tr. Van Laun (1876)]Whatever reasons we may find to justify the love that conquers us, there is always a certain shame attached to the avowal of it.
[tr. Wall (1879)]Whatever gratification we may find for the passion that subdues us, we shall always be rather ashamed to own it.
[tr. Mathew (1890). 4.4]Whatever reasons we may find for the love which conquers us, there is always a little shame in the avowal of it.
[tr. Waller (1903)]Whatever cause we find to justify
The love that masters us, we still must feel
Some little shame in owning it.
[tr. Page (1909)]Even though overmastered by our feelings,
We always find it shameful to admit them.
[tr. Bishop (1957)]However strong and justified our flame,
We never can admit it without shame.
[tr. Frame (1967)]No matter how much love persuades us,
we always feel a tiny bit of shame.
[tr. Steiner (2008)]
Whatever good that Nature can reveal
is hers — she’s beauty’s touchstone on review.[Ella è quanto de ben pò far natura;
per essemplo di lei bieltà si prova.]Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet
La Vita Nuova [Vita Nova; New Life], ch. 19, Canzone 1 (c. 1294, pub. 1576) [tr. Frisardi (2012), ch. 10]
(Source)
Love waxing lyrical about the beauty of Dante's beloved Beatrice.
(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:All choicest gifts in nature’s power are her’s:
In her example beauty finds its test.
[tr. Lyell (1845)]She is as high as Nature’s skill can soar;
Beauty is tried by her comparison.
[tr. Rossetti (c. 1847; 1899 ed.)]She is the sum of all on earth most rare;
Beauty by her bright standard tests its claim.
[tr. Martin (1862)]Whate’er of good Nature can make she is,
And by her pattern beauty tries itself.
[tr. Norton (1867)]She is the sum of nature's universe.
To her perfection all of beauty tends.
[tr. Reynolds (1969)]She is the highest nature can achieve
And by her mold all beauty tests itself.
[tr. Musa (1971)]She is the best that Nature can achieve and by her mold all beauty tests itself.
[tr. Hollander (1997)]She is the greatest good nature can create:
beauty is proven by her example.
[tr. Kline (2002)]She is the highest good that nature can make;
beauty is tested with her as the touchstone.
[tr. Appelbaum (2006)]
All is not gold that glisters.
George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 306 (1640 ed.)
(Source)
Usually modernized as "All that glitters is not gold."
Also recorded in James Howell, Paroimiographia [Παροιμιογραφία]: Proverbs, or, Old Sayed Sawes & Adages, "English Proverbs" (1659) [compiler], in three different places.
See Shakespeare, Tolkien.
Away with silks, away with lawn,
I’ll have no scenes or curtains drawn;
Give me my mistress as she is,
Dress’d in her nak’d simplicities;
For as my heart e’en so mine eye
Is won with flesh, not drapery.Robert Herrick (1591-1674) English poet
“Clothes Do But Cheat and Cozen Us,” Hesperides, # 402 (1648)
(Source)
The fable of Tantalus has generally been regarded as symbolizing avarice. It’s at least equally applicable to ambition, love of fame, indeed to almost every passion.
[La fable de Tantale n’a presque jamais servi d’emblème qu’à l’avarice. Mais elle est, pour le moins, autant celui de l’ambition, de l’amour de la gloire, de presque toutes les passions.]Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 1, ¶ 70 (1795) [tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 58]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:The fable of Tantalus is hardly ever applied except to the passion of avarice; but it is at least as applicable to ambition, to the love of glory, and to nearly all the other passions.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]The fable of Tantalus has been used almost exclusively as an emblem of avarice, but it is at least as applicable to ambition, the love of fame, and virtually all the passions.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]The fable of Tantalus has almost never served as a precept except in the case of avarice. But it is, at all events, a precept attaching no wit less to ambition, to love of glory, to almost all passions.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]The fable of Tantalus has nearly only ever served as an emblem of avarice. However, it is at least as much a symbol of ambition, of the love of glory, and of nearly every passion.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]
If it is usual to be strongly impressed with things rare and extraordinary, how comes it then that Virtue is taken so little notice of?
[S’il est ordinaire d’être vivement touché des choses rares, pourquoi le sommes-nous si peu de la vertu?]
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 2 “Of Personal Merit [Du Mérite Personnel],” § 20 (2.20) (1688) [Browne ed. (1752)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:If 'tis common to be Toucht with things Rare, how comes it that we are so little toucht with Virtue?
[Bullord ed. (1696)]If 'tis common to be touch'd with things rare, how comes it we are so little touch'd with Virtue?
[Curll ed. (1713)]If it be usual to be strongly impressed by things that are scarce, why are we so little impressed by virtue?
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]If it is usual to be strongly attracted by things that are rare, why has virtue so little attraction for us?
[tr. Stewart (1970)]
If I had lived in that wild early world
When each day saw new monstrosities,
I would have fawned upon a giantess, curled
Voluptuous as a cat around her knees.[Du temps que la Nature en sa verve puissante
Concevait chaque jour des enfants monstrueux,
J’eusse aimé vivre auprès d’une jeune géante,
Comme aux pieds d’une reine un chat voluptueux.]Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) French poet, essayist, art critic
Les Fleurs du Mal [The Flowers of Evil], # 19 “La Géante [The Giantess],” st. 1 (1857) [tr. Lerner (1999)]
(Source)
Also in in the 1861 ed. (# 19) and 1868 (# 20). (Source (French)). Alternate translations:When Nature in her lavish lustiness
Bred day by day new, strange monstrosities,
Would I had lived with a young giantess
Like a warm cat who at a queen's feet lies.
[tr. Squire (1909)]I should have loved -- erewhile when Heaven conceived
Each day, some child abnormal and obscene,
Beside a maiden giantess to have lived,
Like a luxurious cat at the feet of a queen
[tr. Scott (1909)]From the time when Nature in her furious fancy
Conceived each day monstrosities obscene,
I had loved to live near a young Giantess of Necromancy,
Like a voluptuous cat before the knees of a Queen.
[tr. Symons (1913)]In times of old when Nature in her glad excess
Brought forth such living marvels as no more are seen,
I should have loved to dwell with a young giantess,
Like a voluptuous cat about the feet of a queen.
[tr. Dillon (1936)]When Nature once in lustful hot undress
Conceived gargantuan offspring, then would I
Have loved to live near a young giantess,
Like a voluptuous cat at a queen's feet.
[tr. Shapiro (1942)]Of old when Nature, in her verve defiant,
Conceived each day some birth of monstrous mien,
I would have lived near some young female giant
Like a voluptuous cat beside a queen,
[tr. Campbell (1952)]At the time when Nature with a lusty spirit
Was conceiving monstrous children each day,
I should have liked to live near a young giantess,
Like a voluptuous cat at the feet of a queen.
[tr. Aggeler (1954)]In times when Nature, lusty to excess,
Bred monstrous children, would that I had been
Living beside a youthful giantess,
Like a voluptuous cat beside a queen
[tr. LeClercq (1958)]In those times when Nature in powerful zest
Conceived each day monstrous children,
I would have loved to live near a young giantess,
A voluptuous cat at the feet of a queen.
[tr. Wagner (1974)]Had I been there when primal Nature teemed
with monstrous progeny, I would have tried
to live beside some mammoth girl, the way
a cat will sprawl at the feet of a queen
[tr. Howard (1982)]In olden days when Nature in her lusty exuberance daily conceived monstrous offspring, I would gladly have lived beside some youthful giantess, like a voluptuous cat at the feet of a queen.
[tr. Scarfe (1986)]In times when madcap Nature in her verve
conceived each day a hatch of monstrous spawn,
I might have lived near some young giantess,
Like a voluptuous cat before a queen.
[tr. McGowan (1993)]In the days when Nature, in her playful power,
conceived every day some new, monstrous children,
I should have liked to live with a young giantess,
like a voluptuous cat at the feet of a queen.
[tr. Clark (1995)]Back when Nature in her zestful sway daily brought forth child monsters, I would like to have lived with a young giantess, like a voluptuous cat at the queen's feet.
[tr. Waldrop (2006)]In those days when Nature's overwhelming Lust
Engendered infant-monsters day by day
I'd love to have lived with a young giantess.
Like a lazy cat at the foot of my queen I'd lay.
[tr. Underhill]
History proves there is no better advertisement for a book than to condemn it for obscenity. Forbidden fruits have unique flavors, and the bounds of suppression create new limits of desire.
Holbrook Jackson (1874-1948) English journalist, editor, author
The Fear of Books, Part 2, ch. 1 (1932)
(Source)
Once divested of missionary virus, the cult of our gods gives no offense. It would be a peaceful age if this were recognized, and religion, Christian, communist or any other, were to rely on practice and not on conversion for her growth.
Freya Stark (1893-1993) Franco-British explorer, travel writer [Freya Madeline Stark]
Ionia: A Quest, ch. 17 (1954)
(Source)
It is the people with secret attractions to various temptations who busy themselves most with removing those temptations from other people; really they are defending themselves under the pretext of defending others, because at heart they fear their own weakness.
Ernest Jones (1879-1958) Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst
“Criticisms of Psycho-Analytic Treatment,” Speech, Chicago Neurological and Chicago Medical Societies (18 Jan 1911)
Originally published in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences (Jul 1911). Reprinted in Papers on Psycho-Analysis, ch. 12 (1918).
Frodo drew the Ring out of his pocket again and looked at it. It now appeared plain and smooth, without mark or device that he could see. The gold looked very fair and pure, and Frodo thought how rich and beautiful was its colour, how perfect was its roundness. It was an admirable thing and altogether precious.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, ch. 2 “The Shadow of the Past” (1954)
(Source)
When you offered your wife to each passer-by free,
Not a soul ever wanted to try her.
You have learnt wisdom now: kept beneath lock and key
She has crowds of men waiting to buy her.[Nullus in urbe fuit tota qui tangere vellet
Uxorem gratis, Caeciliane, tuam,
Dum licuit: sed nunc positis custodibus ingens
Turba fututorum est: ingeniosus homo es.]Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 1, epigram 73 (1.73) (AD 85-86) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]
(Source)
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:Cayus, none reckned of they wife a poynt,
While each man might, without all let or cumber,
But since a watch o're her thou didst appoint,
Of Customers she hath no little number.
Well, let them laugh hereat that list, and scoffe it,
But thou do'st find what makes most for thy profit.
[tr. Harington (1618)]Scarce one in all the city would embrace
Thy proffere'd wife, Caecilian, free to have;
But now she's guarded, and lock'd up, apace
Thy custom comes. Oh, thou'rt a witty knave!
[tr. Fletcher (c. 1650)]Your wife's the plainest piece a man can see:
No soul would touch her, whilst you left her free:
But since to guard her you employ all arts,
The rakes besiege her. -- You're a man of parts!
[tr. Hay (1755), ep. 74]These was no one in the whole city, Caecilianus, who desired to meddle with your wife, even gratis, while permission was given; but now, since you have set a watch upon her, the crowd of gallants is innumerable. You are a clever fellow!
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]There was no one in the whole town willing to touch your wife, Caecilianus, gratis, while he was allowed; but now you have set your guards, there is a huge crowd of gallants. You are an ingenious person!
[tr. Ker (1919)]No one in town would touch your wife
so long as she was free, and willing to boot.
But you posted guards, and suddenly brought to life
a swarm of suitors ardent after forbidden fruit
in the garden.
Say, you're a wily warden.
[tr. Bovie (1970)]When you complaisantly allowed Any man, free of charge, to lay Hands on your wife, not one would play. But now you've posted a house guard There's an enormous randy crowd. Caecilianus, you're a card.
[tr. Michie (1972)]Nobody in all Rome would have wanted to lay a finger on your wife gratis so long as it was permitted, Maecilianus; but now you have posted guards, there is a huge crowd of fuckers. You're a smart fellow.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]To screw your wife, unguarded, no one cared.
But once you barred her door, a thousand dared.
[tr. Wills (2007)]None in all Rome would've wished to touch your wife
for free -- if you permitted it -- not ever.
Now that you've posted guards, Caecilianus,
you've drawn a crowd of fuckers. You're so clever.
[tr. McLean (2014)]No one in this city would
touch your wife, while free they could;
now she’s guarded, there’s a band
of fuckers for her -- clever man!
[tr. @sentantiq/Robinson (2016)]Caecilianus,
There wasn’t a guy in this whole damn city
Who would have touched your old lady without a stud fee
When she was easily available.
But now, with all those chaperones you’ve hired,
There’s a pack of cocksmen waiting to bang her.
You sure are clever.
[tr. Salemi]
Why, it is the prohibition that makes anything precious. There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.
Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Note (1896-02), Mark Twain’s Notebook, ch. 24 “Ceylon and India” (1935) [ed. Albert Bigelow Paine]
(Source)
Speaking of Adam and the original Forbidden Fruit. Written while in Bombay, India.
Your breasts are like gazelles,
twin deer feeding among lilies.שְׁנֵ֥י שָׁדַ֛יִךְ כִּשְׁנֵ֥י עֳפָרִ֖ים תְּאוֹמֵ֣י צְבִיָּ֑ה הָרוֹעִ֖ים בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃
The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 22. Song of Songs (of Solomon; Canticles) 4: 5 (Song (Cant) 4:5) [GNT (1976)]
(Source)
Repeated in 7:3 (in some translations 7:4).
(Source (Hebrew)). Alternate translations:Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
[KJV (1611)]Your two breasts are two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.
[JB (1966); NJB (1985)]Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle doe,
that graze among the lilies.
[CEB (2011)]Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]Your breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Browsing among the lilies.
[RJPS (2023 ed.)]
People who care for you inevitably become beautiful.
Many people believe that they are attracted by God, or by Nature, when they are only repelled by man.
William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
More Lay Thoughts of a Dean, Part 4, ch. 1 (1931)
Beauty without grace, is a hook without a bait.
Anne "Ninon" de l'Enclos (1620-1705) French author, courtesan, patron of the arts [Ninon de Lenclos, Ninon de Lanclos]
The Memoirs of Ninon de L’Enclos, Vol. 1, “Life and Character” (1761)
(Source)
Ralph Waldo Emerson used almost precisely the same phrase in "Beauty," The Conduct of Life (1860).
BAIT, n. A preparation that renders the hook more palatable. The best kind is beauty.
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Bait,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)
Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1881-04-23).
The allurement that women hold out to men is precisely the allurement that Cape Hatteras holds out to sailors: they are enormously dangerous and hence enormously fascinating.
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“The Incomparable Buzz-Saw,” The Smart Set (May 1919)
(Source)
We cannot do without it [marriage] yet we go and besmirch it, with the result that it is like birds and cages: the ones outside despair of getting in: the ones inside only care to get out.
[Nous ne nous en pouvons passer, & l’allons avilissant. Il en advient ce qui se voit aux cages, les oiseaux qui en sont dehors, desesperent d’y entrer ; & d’un pareil soin en sortir, ceux qui sont au dedans]
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 3, ch. 5 (3.5), “Of Some Verses of Virgil [Sur des vers de Virgile]” (1586) [tr. Screech (1987)]
(Source)
First published in the 1588 ed.
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:We cannot be without it, and yet we disgrace and vilifie the same. It may be compared to a cage, the birdes without dispaire to get in, and those within dispaire to get out.
[tr. Florio (1603)]We cannot live without it, and yet we do nothing but decry it. It happens, as with Cages, the Birds without despair to get in, and those within despair of getting out.
[tr. Cotton (1686); Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]We can not do without it, and yet we express contempt for it. The same thing happens that we see about cages: the birds outside are in despair at not getting in, and those within feel equal discomfort at not getting out.
[tr. Ives (1925)]We cannot do without it, and yet we go about’ debasing it. The result is what is observed about cages: the birds outside despair of getting in, and those inside are equally anxious to get out.
[tr. Frame (1943)]
Beauties in vain their pretty Eyes may roll;
Charms strike the Sight, but Merit wins the Soul.
If God didn’t want women to be looked at, he would have made ’em ugly — that’s reasonable, isn’t it? God isn’t a cheat; He set up the game Himself — He wouldn’t rig it so that the marks can’t win, like a flat joint wheel in a town with the fix on. He wouldn’t send anybody to Hell for losing in a crooked game.
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Stranger in a Strange Land, ch. 27 [Patty] (1961)
(Source)
It must be added, lest we be reproached for leaving out details important to our readers’ understanding of subsequent events, that the lady seemed to have all the attributes of beauty, grace and charm that make a young man’s heart beat faster and cause his eyes to widen, lest they miss the least nuance of expression or gesture. It need hardly be added that Khaavren was just of the type to appreciate all of these qualities; that is to say, he was young and a man, and had, moreover, a vivid imagination which allowed his thoughts to penetrate, if not the mind of the lady opposite him, at least the folds and angles of her gown.
Steven Brust (b. 1955) American writer, systems programmer
The Phoenix Guards (1991)
Find joy with the wife you married in your youth, fair as a hind, graceful as a fawn. Let hers be the company you keep, hers the breasts that ever fill you with delight, hers the love that ever holds you captive.
יְהִֽי־מְקוֹרְךָ֥ בָר֑וּךְ וּ֝שְׂמַ֗ח מֵאֵ֥שֶׁת נְעוּרֶֽךָ׃
אַיֶּ֥לֶת אֲהָבִ֗ים וְֽיַ֫עֲלַת־חֵ֥ן דַּ֭דֶּיהָ יְרַוֻּ֣ךָ בְכׇל־עֵ֑ת בְּ֝אַהֲבָתָ֗הּ תִּשְׁגֶּ֥ה תָמִֽיד׃The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 20. Proverbs 5:18ff (Prov 5:18-19) [tr. JB (1966)]
(Source)
(Source (Hebrew)). Alternate translations:Rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
[KJV (1611)]So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married -- pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love.
[GNT (1976)]Find joy with the wife you married in your youth, fair as a hind, graceful as a fawn: hers the breasts that ever fill you with delight, hers the love that ever holds you captive.
[NJB (1985)]Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
She is a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts intoxicate you all the time;
always be drunk on her love.
[CEB (2011)]Rejoice in the wife of your youth,
a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
May her breasts satisfy you at all times;
may you be intoxicated always by her love.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]Find joy in the wife of your youth --
A loving doe, a graceful mountain goat.
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be infatuated with love of her always.
[RJPS (2023 ed.)]
Tart Words make no Friends: a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than Gallon of Vinegar.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1744 ed.)
(Source)
Not original with Franklin. See Giovanni Torriano, A Common Place of Italian Proverbs [Piazza universale di proverbi Italiani] (1666):Il mele catta più mosche, che non fà l'aceto.
Honey gets more flyes to it, than doth viniger.
HARKEN: [In an interrogation room] You fought with Captain Reynolds in the war?
ZOE: Fought with a lot of people in the war.
HARKEN: And your husband?
ZOE: Fight with him sometimes, too.
HARKEN: Is there any particular reason you don’t wish to discuss your marriage?
ZOE: Don’t see that it’s any of your business, is all. We’re very private people.
WASH: [In a different interrogation room] The legs! [Laughs] Oh yeah, definitely have to say it was her legs. You can put that down. Her legs, and right where her legs — meet her back. That — actually, that whole area. That, and — and above it. […] Have you seen what she wears? Forget about it. Have you ever been with a warrior woman?Tim Minear (b. 1963) American screenwriter and director
Firefly, 1X03 “Bushwhacked” (27 Sep 2002)
Perhaps we need, for worldly success, virtues which make us loved and vices which make us feared.
[Peut-être, pour les succès du monde, faut-il des vertus qui fassent aimer, et des défauts qui fassent craindre.]
Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 9 “De la Sagesse, de la Vertu, etc. [On Wisdom and Virtue],” ¶ 26 (1850 ed.) [tr. Collins (1928), ch. 8]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:Perhaps, for worldly success, we ought to have virtues that make us beloved, and faults that make us feared.
[tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 8, ¶ 21]
FAUSTUS: Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium —
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss. —
[They kiss]
Her lips suck forth my soul: see, where it flies! —
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
[They kiss again]
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena.Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 1 (sc. 13), l. 1358ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)
(Source)
The "B" text (1594; 1616) has the same wording (l. 1874ff).
For if he wou’d try effectually to acquire the real Science or TASTE of Life; he wou’d certainly discover, “That a RIGHT MIND, and GENEROUS AFFECTION, had more Beauty and Charm, than all other Symmetrys in the World besides.”
Anthony Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713) English politician and philosopher
Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, Vol. 3, “Miscellany III,” ch. 3 (1711)
(Source)
I apologize if I get an erection, and I apologize if I don’t.
(Other Authors and Sources)
George C. Scott
Comment to an actress with whom he was shooting a love scene in bed.
There are few things that we so unwillingly give up, even in advanced age, as the supposition that we still have the power of ingratiating ourselves with the fair sex.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Comment to George Stevens
In "Johnsoniana," The European Magazine and London Review (Jan 1785). From an anecdote by George Stevens.
I have never seen anyone who loves virtue as much as he loves beautiful women.
[吾未見好德、如好色者也。]
Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 9, verse 18 (9.18) and Book 15, verse 13 (15.13) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Huang (1997)]
(Source)
The two analects are the same in Chinese, although the second is prefaced by an expression of despair or exasperation (e.g., "It's hopeless!" or "I should just give up!"). In both instances, it is attributed by Sima Qian to Confucius' irritation while riding behind Duke Ling of Wei and his beautiful wife, Nan Tzu.
Legge and other early translators number these as 9.17 and 15.12, as shown below.
(Source: 9.18, 15.13, Chinese). Alternate translations:I have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty.
[tr. Legge (1861), 9.17, 15.12]I have not yet met with the man who loves Virtue as he loves Beauty
[tr. Jennings (1895), 9.17, 15.12]I do not now see a man who can love moral worth in man as he loves beauty in woman. (9.17)
I do not now see a man who loves moral worth as he loves beauty in women. (15.12)
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]I have never yet seen a man whose love of virtue equaled his love of woman. (9.17)
I have never yet seen as man as fond of virtue as of beauty. (15.12)
[tr. Soothill (1910)]I do not see love of looking into the mind and acting on what one sees there to match love of someone having beauty. (9.17)
I have not seen anyone who loves acting from inwit as they love a beautiful person. (15.12)
[tr. Pound (1933)]I have never seen anyone whose desire to build up his moral power was as strong as sexual desire. (9.17)
In vain have I looked for one whose desire to build up his moral power was as strong as sexual desire. (15.12)
[tr. Waley (1938)]I have never yet seen people attracted by virtuous scholars as they are by beautiful women. (Reference)
I haven't yet seen people who love virtue as they love beauty. (Reference)
[tr. Lin Yutang (1938)]I have yet to meet a man as fond of high moral conduct as he is of outward appearances.
[tr. Ware (1950), 9.18, 15.13]I have yet to meet the man who is as fond of virtue as he is of beauty in women.
[tr. Lau (1979), 9.18, 15.13]I have never come across anyone who admires virtue as much as he admires sexual attraction.
[tr. Dawson (1993), 9.18, 15.13]I have never seen anyone who loved virtue as much as sex. (9.18)
I have never seen a man who loved virtue as much as sex. (15.13)
[tr. Leys (1997)]I have not seen one person who likes the virtuousness as likes the beauteousness. (9.18)
I cannot see the person who likes the virtuousness as likes the beauteousness. (15.13)
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998)]I have yet to meet the person who is fonder of excellence (de) than of physical beauty.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998), 9.18, 15.13]I have never seen anyone who loves virtue the way he loves beauty.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998), 9.18, 15.13]I've never seen anyone for whom loving Integrity is like loving a beautiful woman.
[tr. Hinton (1998), 9.18, 15.13]I have yet to meet a man who loves Virtue as much as he loves female beauty.
[tr. Slingerland (2003), 9.18, 15.13]I have never seen the person who loved virtue the way he loved physical beauty.
[tr. Watson (2007), 9.18, 15.13]I have never met a person who loved virtue as much as he loved physical beauty.
[tr. Chin (2014), 9.18]I have never seen anyone who loves virtues as much as sexy women.
[tr. Li (2020), 9.18, 15.13]
And not a girl goes walking
Along the Cotswold lanes
But knows men’s eyes in April
Are quicker than their brains.John Drinkwater (1882-1937) English poet and dramatist
“Cotswald Love”
Women commend a modest Man, but like him not.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 5805 (1732)
(Source)
A strange and vanity-devoured, detestable woman! I do not believe I could ever learn to like her except on a raft at sea with no other provisions in sight.
Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 3, 3 July 1908 (2010)
(Source)