Beau

“ Oh! lovely as the golden ray
Of sunshine sleeping on the glade,
When morning brightens into day,
And in its radiance melts the shade;
And lovelier than that gorgeous sun,
May be the smile from woman won.
But beauty does not deign to shine,
In brightness from a woman's eye;
Nor does she in a smile recline,
Blooming, as flowerets do, to die;
All earth-born charms shall fade in death:
Nor change nor ruin beauty hath. ”

“ He held by the hand a youth cast in the mould of symmetry and perfection, so fair that his beauty might well be the subject of proverbs; for he was like a tender sapling, ravishing every heart with his beauty and seducing every wit with his amorous grace. It was of him the poet spoke, when he said:
Beauty they brought to liken it with him: But Beauty hung its
head for shame and fear.
"O Beauty," said they, "dost thou know his like?" ”

“ The feeling which swept over him now was the yearning that every true lover of the beautiful feels at the sight of great beauty: the hopeless desire to hold it forever unchanged—be it the delicate flush on an exquisite cheek, which must go as quickly as it comes, the freshness of a perfect flower which must fade with the rising of the sun, or the miracle of the dawn which must soon vanish before the noontide glare. ”

“ The spirit floating over these forms of beauty, and adorning them with all the richness of colour—painting the rose, and giving perfume to the violet—is, in the poet’s mind, one which ascends to nearly the highest point of etherealization, and which becomes, indeed, to him a spirit of light; they ride upon the zephyrs, and they float, in all the luxury of an empyreal enjoyment, down to the earth upon a sunbeam. ”

“ She was all chance, all change; but now
A smile is on her radiant brow,—
A moment, and that smile is fled—
Contempt and scorn are there instead.
Ah, every change of beauty's face
And beauty's mood has its own grace. ”

“ Rather let us admire the lovely lady coming up towards us, with the roses in her hand—I never see her without roses, they are so closely connected with her past history, as you are doubtless aware. Ah, beauty! ”

“ Its beauty was a beauty moulded out of many mysteries—the beauty, in fact, which is psychological, not plastic—and the faint smile that just played across the lips was far too subtle to be really sweet. ”

“ I ascribe it entirely to this sharper and more extended sensitiveness to Beauty, this new and exquisite receptiveness that has established itself as a motive-power in my life. I have changed the poet's line, using prose of course: There is beauty everywhere and therefore joy. ”

“ And thus the sight of any earthly beauty in face or form, thrills the genuine lover with unutterable awe and amazement, because it recalls the memory of the celestial beauty seen by him once in the sphere of eternal being. ”

“ That wraps her spirit in such ecstasy.
⁠Then had you known what 'tis to feel the charm
Of all that's beautiful in our fair earth;
⁠For her mind fed on loveliness, nor form,
Real nor spiritual, that has its birth,
⁠But was familiar to her delicate eye,
Until her spirit became poetry!
⁠And her I loved for beauty that is given
⁠To make us less of earth and more of heaven. ”

“ And this much for the beauties of sense, which, like images and shadows flowing into matter, adorn with spectacles of beauty its formless being, and strike the respective senses with wonder and delight. ”

“ As to the eye half-veiled beauty is,
More precious than the whole. ”

“ In the true mythology, Love is an immortal child, and Beauty leads him as a guide: nor can we express a deeper sense than when we say, Beauty is the pilot of the young soul.
Beyond their sensuous delight, the forms and colors of Nature have a new charm for us in our perception, that not one ornament was added for ornament, but is a sign of some better health, or more excellent action. Elegance of form in bird or beast, or in the human figure, marks some excellence of structure: or beauty is only an invitation from what belongs to us. ”

“ See how he turns about, and shows forth his gorgeous beauty. As the sun's rays strike upon him, the wonder grows: there is a subtle transmutation of colours, one glory vanishing and giving place to another. ”

“ The most beautiful face may sometimes, by nature's indelible portrayer, reveal itself soulless in heart and mind; and the plainest face possess an irresistible charm, if it is allowed to interpret the emotions of a truly noble heart. ”

“ Breathing each varied grace, thy heart beguile;
Though Mirth and Pleasure kindle on her brow,
Though bright the gleams of love and laughter glow,
Yet thou each soft seductive glance distrust,
And feel that beauty is not always just. ”

“ They lead us to the delightful conclusion that beauty is in the list of the utilities--that the Divine Artist himself is a lover of loveliness-- that he has communicated a taste for it to his creatures and most lavishly provided for its gratification. ”

“ The thousand changing forms of beauty with which she clothes the woods, the banks, and the very ground we tread on, ought to be to all, but especially to lovers of beauty and truth, objects of the purest joy and delight. ”

“ Yet its own characteristics of beauty satisfy, and are congenial to the people, among whom it flows: and justly may it be said,—
"No peaceful skies o'er fairer vallies shine,
Nor drinks the sea a lovelier wave than thine." ”

“ Love of the beautiful and sublime was with her almost a passion, and conversing with her, when animated by her favourite theme, was like reading a page of rare poetry, or gazing upon a series of paintings, the work of a well-skilled hand. ”

“ The sublimity of the scene, when first beheld, produced unlimited astonishment; viewed again and again, all was softened down into harmonious shades of beauty, imparting a pleasure that cannot be understood by mere dwellers amidst the works of man. ”

“ Beauty has as many meanings as man has moods. Beauty is the symbol of symbols. Beauty reveals everything, because it expresses nothing. When it shows us itself, it shows us the whole fiery-coloured world. ”

“ It seemed, in fact, a new development of the love of the beautiful, such as might have made him a poet, a painter, or a sculptor, and which was as completely refined from all utilitarian coarseness as it could have been in either of the fine arts. ”

“ A rose, for instance, is among the most beautiful of the smiles of nature. The "laughing flowers," exclaims the poet! But there is more than gaiety in blooming flowers, though it takes a wise man to see the beauty, the love, and the adaptation, of which they are full. ”

“ The beauty has a subtle enervating charm, languid and voluptuous, at the same time as clear and limpid in tone. The effect produced is one and whole, that of a perfect work of art, and the same impression remains with us afterwards. ”

“ And he poured forth his very soul in Beauty; Beauty as simple as the common flowers the whole world loves, and as true as the stars in heaven, Beauty that ravished the soul of the Neglected Child, opened its eyes to Radiant Joy, and lifted it along the ages. And the World bathed in Beauty, and loved him. Also its taste improved continually under the influence of his Art. ”

“ Now, if the Beauty here referred to is of the human being, we do not gainsay it; but this is beauty in its mixed mode,--not in its high, passionless form, its singleness and purity. It is not Beauty as it descended from heaven, in the cloud, the rainbow, the flower, the bird, or in the concord of sweet sounds, that seem to carry back the soul to whence it came. ”

“ It was indeed a scene of beauty—beauty as well as magnificence—an interesting exhibit of the grandiose style of living wherein the rich sacrifice practically all the joys of life and most of its comforts for the sake of tickling their own vanity and stimulating the envy of their fellow-beings. ”

“ Hath past, and left its shadow on thy brow,
And solemn thoughts are gently mellowing
The splendour of thy beauty’s summer now.
Thou art most fair! but thine is loveliness
That dwells not only on the lip, or eye;
Thy beauty, is thy pure heart’s holiness ”

“ Thou hast attraction of a grander tone, Some charm more subtle e'en than beauty's own! "Though woman throws no greater lure than this, The lip regretful which we fain would kiss, The eye made softer by the unfallen tear, And sunlight brighter for the shadow near. ”

“ Or does sweet Beauty dwell in lovely things
Scattering the holy hintings of her name
In women, in dear friends, in flowers, in springs,
In the brook’s voice, for us to catch the same?
Or is it we who are Beauty, we who ask?
We by whose gleams the world fulfils its task. ”

“ Is the sunshine more glorious, the air more quiet, the sounds of harmony more soothing, the perfume of flowers more exquisite, or forms of beauty more soul-satisfying to his senses, than to hers? To all these interrogatories every one will answer, No! ”

“ The glory of the day was in her face,
The beauty of the night was in her eyes. ”

“ It is not beauty that endears, it’s love that makes us see beauty. ”

“ Their bright, happy faces—which were far more beautiful in their piquant irregularities of feature, and gave one far more pleasure in the contemplation than if they had been moulded in the coldly chiselled forms of classic beauty—appeared with no diminution of charms, when set off by their pretty felt riding-hats ”

“ Say what we will, and a great deal may be said, of his lavish profusion, his heady and uncontrolled excess, in the richness of picture and imagery in which he indulges,—still there it lies before us, like the most gorgeous of summer gardens, in the glory and brilliancy of its varied blooms, in the wonder of its strange forms of life, in the changefulness of its exquisite and delicious scents. No one who cares for poetic beauty can be insensible to it. ”

“ Contrast increases the splendor of beauty, but it disturbs its influence; it adds to its attractiveness, but diminishes its power. ”

“ Beauty has got to be astonishing, astounding—it's got to burst in on you like a dream, like the exquisite eyes of a girl." ”

“ He surrounds us with beauty; He envelops us in beauty. Beauty is spread out on the familiar grass, glows in the daily flower, glistens in the dew, waves in the commonest leafy branch. All about us, in infinite variety, beauty is lavished by God in sights and sounds, and odors. ”

“ Love is like the glass,
That throws its own rich colour over all,
And makes all beautiful. ”

“ The beautiful must ever rest in the arms of the sublime. The gentle needs the strong to sustain it, as much as the rock flowers need rocks to grow on, or yonder ivy the rugged wall which it embraces. ”

“ In some, the angelic beauty is sacrificed in the endeavour to portray the majestic glance, which thus becomes stern; or the dignity fades, that the beauty, which thus becomes inexpressive, may be preserved. ”

“ Beauty hidden in all things mortal,
Who shall mingle his eyes with thine? [Pg 99]
Thou, to whom Life and Death surrender
All earth's forms as to heaven's deep care,
Who shall pierce to thy naked splendour,
Bind his brows with thy hair?
XIII
Beauty, perfect in blinding whiteness,
Softly suffused thro' the world's dark shrouds,
Kindling them all as they pass by her brightness,—
Hills, men, cities,—a pageant of clouds,
She, the unchanging, shepherds their changes,
Bids them mingle and form and flow,
Flowers and flocks and the great hill-ranges
Follow her cry and go. ”

“ While through all and over all must breathe the informing spirit of Beauty—whether of the delicate or the sublime, whether of sweetness or of power—harmonizing both the interior essence and its outward expression. ”

“ But beauty, as he understood it, was something of deeper and wider significance than that generally accepted. It was all, in mankind and nature, that appeals to and gratifies the senses and sensuous emotions. ”

“ Let me dream only with my heart,
Love first, and after see:
Know thy diviner counterpart
Before I kneel to thee.
So in thy motions all expressed
Thy angel I may view:
I shall not on thy beauty rest,
But Beauty's ray in you. ”

“ Things are pretty, graceful, rich, elegant, handsome, but, until they speak to the imagination, not yet beautiful. ”