“Brass shines as fair to the ignorant as gold to the goldsmiths.”

Letter (1581).

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 30, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Brass shines as fair to the ignorant as gold to the goldsmiths." by Elizabeth I of England?
Elizabeth I of England photo
Elizabeth I of England 29
Queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 … 1533–1603

Related quotes

Christopher Marlowe photo
Alan Greenspan photo
Adi Shankara photo

“The Atman, the Sun of Knowledge that rises in the sky of the heart, destroys the darkness of the ignorance, pervades and sustains all and shines and makes everything to shine.”

Adi Shankara (788–820) Hindu philosopher monk of 8th century

Source: Atma Bodha (1987), p. 121: Quote nr. 67.

William Blake photo
William Blake photo

“This cabinet is formed of gold
And pearl and crystal shining bright,
And within it opens into a world
And a little lovely moony night.”

William Blake (1757–1827) English Romantic poet and artist

The Crystal Cabinet, st. 2
1800s, Poems from the Pickering Manuscript (c. 1805)

Phillis Wheatley photo

“Thy ev'ry action let the goddess guide. A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine, With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! be thine.”

Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784) American poet

1770s, To His Excellency, George Washington (1775)

William Wordsworth photo

“A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye;
Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.”

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Romantic poet

She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways, st. ? (1799).
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Wendell Berry photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Felix Adler photo

“The moral ideal would embrace the whole of life. In its sight nothing is petty or indifferent. It touches the veriest trifles and turns them into shining gold.”

Felix Adler (1851–1933) German American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, and lecturer

Section 4 : Moral Ideals
Founding Address (1876), Life and Destiny (1913)
Context: The moral ideal would embrace the whole of life. In its sight nothing is petty or indifferent. It touches the veriest trifles and turns them into shining gold. We are royal by virtue of it, and like the kings in the fairy tale, we may never lay aside our crowns.
The moral order never is, but is ever becoming. It grows with our growth.

Related topics