Unbounded courage and compassion join'd, Tempering each other in the victor's mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete.
Joseph AddisonRead
Good nature will always supply the absence of beauty; but beauty cannot supply the absence of good nature.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good nature is more valuable than physical beauty, as it contributes positively to relationships and interactions.
This quote by Joseph Addison emphasizes the importance of good nature or character over mere physical beauty. While a person with a kind and pleasant disposition can compensate for a lack of traditional beauty, the reverse is not true; beauty alone cannot replace the value of a good nature. In essence, it suggests that true attractiveness stems from one's inner qualities rather than outer appearances.
Themes
Good NatureBeautyCharacterInner QualitiesRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote to remind friends that kindness is more important than looks.
More from Joseph Addison
All quotes βGood nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
Joseph AddisonRead
Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.
Joseph AddisonRead
Admiration is a very short lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it still be fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view.
Joseph AddisonRead
It is impossible for us, who live in the latter ages of the world, to make observations in criticism, morality, or in any art or science, which have not been touched upon by others. We have little else left us but to represent the common sense of mankind in more strong, more beautiful, or more uncommon lights.
Joseph AddisonRead
An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.
Joseph AddisonRead
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