Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare. Let all who prate of Beauty hold their peace, And lay them prone upon the earth and cease To ponder on themselves, the while they stare At nothing.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- True beauty is seen only through pure mathematical truth, not through empty chatter.
- In plain terms
- Only math sees real beauty; others just talk.
- What can you take from it?
- Abstract truths reveal beauty better than words.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where is true beauty found?
- Does math reveal truth?
Another view
It ignores beauty found in human connection.
More from Edna St. Vincent Millay
My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends - It gives a lovely light.
Permalink to quote #2 Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain; Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink And rise and sink and rise and sink…
Permalink to quote #4 The world stands out on either side No wider than the heart is wide; Above the world is stretched the sky, - No higher than the soul is high. The heart can pus…
Permalink to quote #1
Related quotes
Understand this, I mean to arrive at the truth. The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it.
Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie quote #1 Science and mathematics Run parallel to reality, they symbolize it, they squint at it, They never touch it: consider what an explosion Would rock the bones of …
Robinson JeffersRobinson Jeffers quote #27 Que sais-je?
Michel de MontaigneMichel de Montaigne quote #1