“He used to say that personal beauty was a better introduction than any letter; 18 but others say that it was Diogenes who gave this description of it, while Aristotle called beauty "the gift of God"; that Socrates called it "a short-lived tyranny"; Theophrastus, "a silent deceit"; Theocritus, "an ivory mischief"; Carneades, "a sovereignty which stood in need of no guards."”

Aristotle, 9.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 5: The Peripatetics

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Diogenes Laërtius 107
biographer of ancient Greek philosophers 180–240

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“We may pretend that beauty is only skin deep, but Aristotle was right when he observed that "beauty is a far greater recommendation than any letter of introduction.””

The sad truth is that attractive people do better in school, where they receive more help, better grades, and less punishment; at work, where they are rewarded with higher pay, more prestigious jobs, and faster promotions; in finding mates, where they tend to be in control of the relationships and make most of the decisions; and among total strangers, who assume them to be interesting, honest, virtuous, and successful. After all, in fairy tales, the first stories most of us hear, the heroes are handsome, the heroines are beautiful, and the wicked sots are ugly. Children learn implicitly that good people are beautiful and bad people are ugly, and society restates that message in many subtle ways as they grow older. So perhaps it’s not surprising that handsome cadets at West Point achieve a higher rank by the time they graduate, or that a judge is more likely to give an attractive criminal a shorter sentence.
Source: A Natural History of the Senses (1990), Chapter 5 “Vision” (pp. 271-272)

Paramahansa Yogananda photo

“It is the call of the beauty — robed ones
To worship the great Beauty.
It is the call of God
Through silent intelligences
And starburst of feelings.”

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952) Yogi, a guru of Kriya Yoga and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship

Songs of the Soul by Paramahansa Yogananda, Quotes drawn from the poem "What is Love?"

“He also knew when to stop. In the fine art of deceit and personal advancement as in any other calling this is the hallmark of the master.”

Source: Titus Groan (1946), Chapter 31 “Reintroducing the Twins” (p. 173)

Jeremy Clarkson photo
Socrates photo

“He [Socrates] would say that the rest of the world lived to eat, while he himself ate to live.”

Socrates (-470–-399 BC) classical Greek Athenian philosopher

Socrates II: xxiv http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=D.+L.+2.5.24&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0258#note-link18. Original Greek: ἔλεγέ τε τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ζῆν ἵν᾽ ἐσθίοιεν: αὐτὸς δὲ ἐσθίειν ἵνα ζῴη.
Diogenes Laertius

Anacreon photo

“Nature gave horns to the bull,
Hoofs gave she to the horse.
To the lion cavernous jaws,
And swiftness to the hare.
The fish taught she to swim,
The bird to cleave the air;
To man she reason gave;
Not yet was woman dowered.
What, then, to woman gave she?
The priceless gift of beauty.
Stronger than any buckler,
Than any spear more piercing.
Who hath the gift of beauty.
Nor fire nor steel shall harm her.”

Anacreon (-570–-485 BC) Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns

Odes, XXIV.
Variant: The bull by nature hath his horns, The horse his hoofs, to daunt their foes; The light-foot hare the hunter scorns; The lion's teeth his strength disclose.The fish, by swimming, 'scapes the weel; The bird, by flight, the fowler's net; With wisdom man is arm'd as steel; Poor women none of these can get. What have they then?—fair Beauty's grace, A two-edged sword, a trusty shield; No force resists a lovely face, Both fire and sword to Beauty yield.

“Philosophers conclude that they need no longer participate personally in what Socrates called “the tendance of the soul.””

Bruce Wilshire (1932–2015) American philosopher

Source: Fashionable Nihilism (2002), p. xii

Martha Raye photo

“Ask any girl what she'd rather be than beautiful, and she'll say more beautiful.”

Martha Raye (1916–1994) American comic actress and singer

Quoted in Susan Horowitz: "Queens of comedy: Lucille Ball, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers" p. 128 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=X77jSHAkKnMC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=%22Ask+any+girl+what+she'd+rather+be+than+beautiful,+and+she'll+say+more+beautiful.%22&source=bl&ots=AzUsYOZJ2m&sig=QQAYhtyJb5NBPdpOSJdI_ZlKmLc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2U8sT9rgAeaj0QXH-tysCA&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Ask%20any%20girl%20what%20she'd%20rather%20be%20than%20beautiful%2C%20and%20she'll%20say%20more%20beautiful.%22&f=false

Torquato Tasso photo

“Love, let others read
The Socratic papers,
While in two beautiful eyes I will apprehend this art.”

Amor, leggan pur gli altri
Le Socratiche carte,
Ch'io in due begl'occhi apprenderò quest'arte.
Act II, Chorus.
Aminta (1573)

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