It is not beauty that endears, it’s love that makes us see beauty.
 Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (1869). copy citation

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Author Leo Tolstoy
Source War and Peace
Topic beauty love
Date 1869
Language English
Reference
Note Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude
Weblink http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2600/2600-h/2600-h.htm

Context

““Mary, don’t talk nonsense. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” he said gaily. “It seems to be that you can’t love me, that I am so plain... always... and now... in this cond...” “Oh, how absurd you are! It is not beauty that endears, it’s love that makes us see beauty. It is only Malvínas and women of that kind who are loved for their beauty. But do I love my wife? I don’t love her, but... I don’t know how to put it. Without you, or when something comes between us like this, I seem lost and can’t do anything.” source