“ If beauty is but a shadow, desire is but a lightning flash. ”
Anatole France, Thaïs (1890). copy citation
| Author | Anatole France |
|---|---|
| Source | Thaïs |
| Topic | beauty desire |
| Date | 1890 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Robert B. Douglas |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2078/2078-h/2078-h.htm |
Context
““Do you not know, Eucrites, that women make little gardens on the terraces, in which they plant boughs in clay pots in honour of the lover of Venus? These boughs flourish a little time, and then fade.”
“What does that signify, Nicias? That it is foolish to attach importance to that which fades?”
“If beauty is but a shadow, desire is but a lightning flash. What madness it is, then, to desire beauty! Is it not rational, on the contrary, that that which passes should go with that which does not endure, and that the lightning should devour the gliding shadow?””
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