“ for beauty in a modest woman is like fire at a distance or a sharp sword; the one does not burn, the other does not cut, those who do not come too near. Honour and virtue are the ornaments of the mind, without which the body, though it be so, has no right to pass for beautiful ”
Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605). copy citation
| Author | Miguel de Cervantes |
|---|---|
| Source | Don Quixote |
| Topic | beauty virtue |
| Date | 1605 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by John Ormsby |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/996/996-h/996-h.htm |
Context
“Moreover, you must remember that the beauty I possess was no choice of mine, for, be it what it may, Heaven of its bounty gave it me without my asking or choosing it; and as the viper, though it kills with it, does not deserve to be blamed for the poison it carries, as it is a gift of nature, neither do I deserve reproach for being beautiful; for beauty in a modest woman is like fire at a distance or a sharp sword; the one does not burn, the other does not cut, those who do not come too near. Honour and virtue are the ornaments of the mind, without which the body, though it be so, has no right to pass for beautiful; but if modesty is one of the virtues that specially lend a grace and charm to mind and body, why should she who is loved for her beauty part with it to gratify one who for his pleasure alone strives with all his might and energy to rob her of it?”
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